Children of Poseidon: Rann (22 page)

Chapter 21

Jewel leaned against the door as Maya nudged past her and headed downstairs. Her head still throbbed with pain. It wasn’t as bad as it had been; she’d spent the previous evening in a darkened room, as lights flashed behind her eyes and her head pounded. Migraines weren’t something she’d ever experienced before, and she couldn’t understand why she had one now.

“Are you sure you won’t come with us?” Lila pulled her coat on. “I don’t know this friend of my father’s
any more than you do.”

“I’m sure.” Jewel wasn’t quite ready to publicly announce her parentage. Too much had happened in the last few days, and she needed time to come to terms with it all. “My head still hurts.” It was the truth. The migraine that had attacked her the day before still pounded dully behind her eyes. She’d delayed things by a day; she didn’t want to slow them down further.

“Do you want me to stay?”

“Just go. I’ll be fine. It’s wearing off a bit. Just apologise for me and say we’ll meet tonight to make the plans. I hope I’ll be okay then.”

Lila hesitated. “You need to gather allies. Kara is likely to be . . .” She hesitated again.

“Difficult.” Jewel forced a smile. “I know. The coven must know they need me for this, though. I’m doing it for them, so they’d better agree to help. I’ll meet them later.” She really needed some time alone. The migraine had completely destroyed her ability to think. Rann had gone out with Lykos. They’d decided to take a boat down the Thames to see the barrier; so, apart from Seawitch, she would be by herself in the flat. Alone she’d be able to think things through. About what Rann had said. A cool cloth over her eyes would clear her mind. Her head throbbed again.

Lila hovered, a worried expression on her face.

“Go on.” Jewel nudged her towards the door. “Maya’s going to get impatient. Seriously. I’ll be all right. I need to think.”

“Don’t we all?” Lila finally gave up. She touched Jewel’s cheek. “Take care of yourself. We’ll only be a couple of hours.”

Once she was alone in the flat, Jewel stretched out on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. Her head still pounded, but the nausea had disappeared and she could think again.
Why can’t life be easy? Why can’t Rann see why I have to make a life for myself? And why does that seem to be less and less of a good idea? Is he right?

She kicked at the end of the sofa.
And what did he mean by telling me he might have changed?

She dreaded all the business with the circle; the very idea made her stomach cramp. She stroked it reflectively.
And what are they going to do with Kara once she’s been stripped of her magic? And Alberic?

They still hadn’t come to any decision about what to do with him. Despite Rann’s dark mumblings about execution, she didn’t think it would be that easy.

When the doorbell rang, she let out a huge sigh, but a visitor might take her mind off her problems for a few minutes. She levered herself up off the sofa and headed into the hall.

Who could it be? If Rann is back, he should have his own key. Maybe he’s forgotten it.

She pressed the entry button and waited until the visitor appeared on the landing. Kara. Her heart sank.

Her mother smiled as she approached, but despite the stretching of her mouth, her eyes were chips of ice. “Jewel. I thought we should have a talk.”

Jewel wrapped her arms round herself. “What about?” She didn’t move out of the doorway.

“Alberic wants us to be a family. With the baby. He says you’ll be her half-sister.” Kara smiled again, and a shiver ran through Jewel’s body. “I know we’ve had problems in the past, but I think we need to clear the air.”

Jewel scowled.

“Can I come in?” Kara raised one carefully groomed eyebrow. “Can we talk over coffee?”

Jewel thought about it. She didn’t want to talk to her. None of their conversations ended well. “I have a headache.”

Kara didn’t move.

She couldn’t see how to get rid of her, not without causing a fuss. “I suppose so. For a minute.” She let her mother pass. Kara glanced backwards as she entered the flat, and Jewel followed her gaze. There didn’t seem to be anything worth looking at, so she shrugged.

“Sit down.” She gestured at the sofas. “I’ll make some coffee.”

Jewel waited for the kettle to boil, rubbing her head. She supposed it was just possible that she wanted to please Alberic enough to try to re-engage with her daughter. It seemed unlikely, though.

She wished her mind would work properly.

Why is Alberic so keen to mend fences?

Pouring water into a cafetiere, she placed it on a tray with two mugs and carried it into the sitting room. It was petty, but Kara wasn’t getting any of Maya’s homemade shortbread.

Kara perched on the edge of one of the sofas, and Jewel reached past her to put the tray on the coffee table. As she straightened, a small pain pierced the side of her neck. She glanced at Kara. Her mother smirked and held up a small syringe. The room swirled, and Jewel’s legs collapsed under her. She couldn’t feel them, and her arms had disappeared from her awareness as well. Kara’s face swam in and out of focus.

What does she think she’s doing?

The light came and went and with it, a debilitating nausea that made her previous migraine feel like a mere twinge. As the dark rushed in, the door opened and Alberic entered the room. She tried to raise her head from its position on the carpet, but her body wouldn’t obey. Terror saturated her, but that, too, dissipated as darkness swept into her mind again.

Rann was tired of hearing Lykos complain about London. It was cold and wet, but compared to Lykos’s Scottish island, the weather was positively balmy. He rested his hands on the railings at the back of the boat and watched the foaming wake flow out into the Thames. He tuned his brother’s voice out and stared into the gray depths until Lykos punched him in the shoulder, jerking him from his reverie.

“What?”

“Your phone.” Lykos shook his head.

Rann pulled it from his pocket. “What?”

“Rann?” It was Lila. Lykos’s head jerked up when he heard her voice, and he grabbed for the phone.

Rann swung away. “Hello, Lila. What can I do for you?”

“Something’s wrong.” Her voice rose in panic. “Bill said Kara knows what we’re planning.”

“Bill?”

“My father’s friend. He said his son told Kara about Jewel forming a circle. He was the one who pushed Jewel into the traffic. The night she found Fergal.”

“His son? That’s who pushed Jewel?”
I need to talk to him.

“He’s only seventeen. He said Kara was the coven leader, and his teacher. He said he owed her obedience.”

Rann ignored that. “
He
pushed Jewel?”

“Just before she found Fergal. She wasn’t hurt. But Kara knows about the circle.” Lila repeated her earlier words, sounding more frantic.

“What does it matter?” Rann asked. “She’d have found out anyway.”

“She knows we’re here. At Bill’s,” Lila said. “Bill’s son said she wanted to be kept informed. Why would she want that? Jewel’s alone. And she had that weird headache.”

“Have you—”

“She’s not answering her phone.”

Rann glanced at Lykos. “We’re heading back. We’ll meet you at the flat. As quickly as possible.” He disconnected and told Lykos what he’d learnt. “We need to get back now.”

“Let me.” Lykos headed to where the navigator steered the boat downstream towards Greenwich.

Rann followed, dialling the flat as he walked. No answer. He dialled the number of Jewel’s new cell phone. It went straight to voicemail.

Lykos placed his hand on the navigator’s arm.

He glanced up in annoyance.

“You need to go back to Westminster Pier.” Lykos’s voice was quiet, but the air vibrated with command.

“Back? I need to go back?” The man screwed up his forehead in confusion but then bent to the controls. The boat swung slowly round.

Chapter 22

Jewel had no idea where she was. Her head both ached and felt as though it had been wrapped in cling film. Moisture pooled in her mouth, and she felt sick. Opening her eyes made her feel worse. She lay on her side on the backseat of a car, and her body felt like unravelled thread. Her arms and legs trembled.

She forced herself to think.
What was in that syringe? Why is she doing this?

Fear washed over her again, leaving her even weaker. She moved her arm in attempt to sit up, but it wouldn’t obey. She took a deep breath and focussed on both arms. They were tied together, and as if that wasn’t enough, they were bound with nullsilver. She knew the nullsilver must have been Alberic’s idea as her mother was so convinced of her poor skills. She felt twice as helpless with her magic cut off. Wriggling experimentally, she realized her legs were bound together as well.

“I think she’s awake.” Alberic’s voice broke into her panic.

“Oh.” Her mother sounded completely disinterested.

“How are you feeling?”

Jewel wasn’t taken in by the concern in Alberic’s voice. She didn’t answer.

“You’ll be fine in a while. The drugs take an hour or two to wear off.”

“You—”

“And the headache will go as well. Sorry about that. You needed to stay in the flat.”

“You gave me a migraine? What do you think you’re doing?” Jewel wriggled to no avail. “Let me go.”

“Now, we can’t do that.”

“You—”

“I know this must seem unreasonable to you,” Alberic interrupted, “but truly, we need you. You have a big part to play in the family.”

“You aren’t my family.”

“Don’t be like that.” Alberic sounded disappointed. He had the most flexible voice she had ever heard. She almost felt guilty. “You’re Kara’s daughter, and Kara is my family. Blood is important.”

“Let me go.” She wished her voice would stop shaking.

“Sorry.” He leaned over the back of his seat. Kara was driving. “We went to a lot of trouble to get you in the first place.”

“What are you going to do with me?”

“We can talk about that later. When the drugs have worn off.”

“You’re going to do something useful for the first time in your life.” Kara’s voice seethed with venom. “You—”

“Later.” Alberic’s voice snapped out, and Kara fell silent.

It was obvious to Jewel who was in charge. The car slowed down, and Jewel assumed they were at the coven headquarters, Kara’s mansion. She must only have been unconscious for minutes. The car halted as gates opened with a groan and then started moving again. The light changed, and Jewel realised they had driven into the underground garage.

The sound of the front door opening had Jewel waiting to be released; instead, Alberic went round to the boot and opened it. A breath of air drifted over Jewel, something thudded to the ground, and a minute later Alberic opened the back door of the car and reached in. Jewel shrank as far away as possible, which wasn’t far. He hooked his hands under her arms and hauled her out. She staggered on her bound legs and collapsed onto the concrete.

Alberic looked down at her with a frown. “I don’t suppose you can walk.” He hauled her to her feet, balancing her carefully, but her legs still felt liquid, and she flopped to the ground again. She would be covered in bruises at this rate. Fortunately, the residue of whatever drug they’d given her muffled the pain.

Alberic sighed and picked her up, hoisting her over his shoulder. She squeaked and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were behind the car. Seawitch lay on the ground, one arm twisted beneath her.

“Watch her.” Alberic nodded at Seawitch.

“Hurry then.” Kara sounded sullen.

“I’ll get her tucked away.” Alberic moved towards the door leading to the underground rooms, his shoulder digging into her already queasy stomach. To add insult to injury, his hand caressed her bottom, squeezing her buttock as he walked along. Although her body tingled with returning feeling, she still had no strength.

The only part of her surroundings visible, from her upside-down position, was the concrete floor beneath, but she had a bad feeling about where they were headed. She heard the sound of a key being turned in a lock and felt Alberic twist to push the heavy metal door with one shoulder. Lowering her onto a narrow bunk in a small cell, he arranged her in a sitting position and regarded her.

“Why are you doing this?” She raised her eyes to his face but looked away almost immediately. Something about him made her stomach churn. How her mother let him touch her, she couldn’t understand, but her mother’s behaviour was completely incomprehensible anyway.

“I told you,” he said. “Blood is important. You have a role to play.” He stroked one hand down her cheek, and she jerked her head away. The effort made her tremble all over. “Don’t be unfriendly. If things were different, I might be your stepfather.” He stroked the top of her head.

“Different?” Her voice came out husky with fear.

“Different,” he agreed. “I’ve always liked those stories about pretty girls and their stepfathers.” He dragged his hand down her neck and cupped a breast.

Jewel’s body still wouldn’t obey her. “Get off me.”

He shook his head. “But life can’t all be about pleasure.” He stepped away from her, and she let out a sigh of relief. “I’ve another guest to deal with.”

“What do you want with Seawitch?” Jewel asked his back.

He paused. “Seawitch? Her name’s Meryll, and she belongs to me.”

“Belongs to you?” Jewel felt stupid, but she wasn’t following him at all.

“I took her from the dark master,” he said. “After the upheavals in his coven. I lost her, though. In the Indian Ocean when my ship was attacked by pirates. About a year ago. I don’t know where she’s been since then.” He smirked. “I suppose I could look for a trail of bodies.”

“Pirates?”

“I took her bracelets off and hoped the death magic would stop the pirates. It did, but not before she was swept away.”

“But—”

Alberic stroked her shoulder, dark eyes glowing. “Her blood is powerful, a strong charm. And I thought I might be able to use the death magic the master had stored in her.”

Jewel wondered why he was telling her all this.
She had a sinking feeling that if he had things his way, she wasn’t going to be talking to anyone again. “So your master did this to her?”

“Not my master. The dark master. I immobilised her, though. I thought she’d be much less trouble that way.” Alberic smiled. “It was a huge bonus finding her in Maya’s flat. She’s still got a lot of the magic in her.”

“What will you do with us?” Jewel’s voice shook.

Alberic lifted one shoulder. “You’ll both help the family. You’ll lend your strength to your unborn sister.”

His smile chilled her to the bone.

“And I’ve had a brilliant idea of how to amplify that strength.” He patted her on the head and left the cell, locking the door behind him.

Rann sprinted up the stairs and pushed open the door into Maya’s hallway. Without waiting for his brother, he headed into the sitting room.

“No one here?” Lykos followed him. “They’re not back yet?”

“Jewel’s not here.” Uneasiness preyed on Rann’s mind. He wasn’t sure why, but something didn’t feel right. A tray with a carafe and two coffee mugs stood on the table. The carafe was full, the mugs empty. He ran his hand over the carafe. Almost cold. “Something’s wrong.”

“How do you know?” Lykos peered out of the window.

“I’m not sure.” Rann turned through three hundred and sixty degrees. Nothing was out of place; the only odd thing in the room was the cold coffee. His skin itched with premonition. “I’ll just check on Seawitch.”

He’d almost expected it, but the empty space in Maya’s bedroom made his pulse rate rise. He returned to the sitting room where Lykos still stared out the window at the rain, waiting for Lila to return.

“Seawitch is missing.”

“What?” Lykos swung round.

“She’s not there.” Rann picked up the phone and pressed in Jewel’s number. It went straight to voicemail again. “Fuck.” He stared at it.

“I’ll call Lila.” Lykos pulled his phone from his pocket.

Rann listened to his half of the conversation.

“Lila? . . . We’re at Maya’s flat . . . She’s not here.”

There was a longer pause this time.

“I think you’d better.” He disconnected and put the phone back in his pocket.

“They’re coming back.”

“What did they say about Jewel?”

“Headache. She wanted to rest.” Lykos ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe she felt better. She might have gone out. Shopping? For coffee?” He didn’t sound convinced.

“And took Seawitch with her?” Rann didn’t try to hide his incredulity. He paced to the door and then whirled round. “I’m going to call Annis and Connor.”

Lykos raised an eyebrow.

“Just in case. Annis’s speciality is finding things and people.”

“Good idea.”

“She’s probably just gone out.” He couldn’t explain why he felt so worried.

“Probably.” Lykos move to join him. “I think you’re right, though. And if not, then your investigators get paid for their time anyway.”

Rann took a deep breath and called Annis.

“They’re on their way.”

“I’m going to have a look at Maya’s bedroom.” Lykos headed out.

Rann followed him. The room looked as always. Bright, slightly messy, colourful. Nothing out of place, except the missing witch.

“Come on.” Rann couldn’t stand still. “The others won’t be long.” He headed back to the sitting room and paused at the door, inspecting the space carefully. He narrowed his eyes and squinted, but there was no clue to where Jewel might have gone.

The doorbell rang.

“The investigators.” He headed for the intercom, but before he pressed it, the sound of several people climbing the stairs echoed through the flat. Lykos pulled the door open, and Lila ran in.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “Where’s Jewel?”

Maya pushed past her, and headed for her bedroom. Only a couple of seconds passed before she burst back into the hall. “She’s definitely gone.”

“Seawitch?” Lila glanced at her.

“Yes. And Jewel wouldn’t have taken her anywhere. Not by herself.”

“And not without calling us.” Lila chewed on her index finger.

“You trust Jewel?” Fergal stood in the hall.

Rann felt rage slip from his control and begin to whip the air round him. Papers flew from the hallway table, and Fergal’s newly tidied hair blew across his face.

“Of course we do.” Maya placed her arm on Rann’s forearm. “We’ve been friends since we were children.”

“Kara is her mother, though, and—”

Rann inhaled deeply and forced his power down. The wind died. “Jewel would never go back to her mother.”

Fergal nodded, but the frown stayed on his face.

“Can we look around?” Annis spoke from the doorway.

“That’s why you’re here.” Rann pointed at Maya’s bedroom door. “Why don’t you look in there first?” He waited until Annis and Connor disappeared through the door. He breathed deeply, grounding himself. “Let’s get out of the hall.” It was extremely crowded with two large demigods, two witches, and a mage crammed into it. Everyone drifted into the sitting room.

“What could have happened?” Lila still chewed on her fingers, and Lykos took her hand, gently pulling it away from her mouth.

“We’ll find out.” He sounded sure.

Rann was glad one of them did. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Jewel should never have left the island. I should have forbidden it. I should never have listened to her idiotic notions.

“We’ll find her”—Maya stared at the door—“and Seawitch.”

Annis came back into the room, closely followed by Connor.

“Well?” Rann knew he sounded impatient.

“Witch’s magic.” Connor bared his teeth. “Dark magic. A mage was there.”

“Albert.” Maya clenched her teeth.

“Maybe.” Connor wasn’t committing himself. “Let me have a look in here.”

Everyone edged away as he circled the room. He stopped at the coffee table and sniffed. “There’s something here.” He glanced up. “I’m going to change. That’ll help.”

The air shimmered; a flash of skin, fur, and hair spun in a shower of light, and when Rann looked again, a large, dark gray wolf sniffed at the carpet. It nudged the edge of the coffee table with its muzzle then checked out the sofa. Finally, it covered the whole room in diagonal paths, its head down. With a growl, it sat back on its haunches and stared up at Annis.

“You’ll have to change back,” she told it. “You know I can’t understand what you’re going on about when you’re in that form.”

The wolf huffed, snapped at its own shoulder, and shimmered into human form again.

“What did you find?” Rann asked.

“The coven leader was here.” Connor pushed his hair away from his face and bent to pick up his jeans. “There’s a chemical smell as well. By the sofa. And a needle.” He scooped it up and dropped it on the table.

“What—”

“I think they used drugs.”

“On Jewel?” Rage bubbled through Rann, and he had to make a conscious effort to clamp it down. It would not be good to lose it here, and he’d had to struggle for control earlier.

“Probably.” Connor’s eyes narrowed. “No point in drugging Seawitch.”

“Kara?” Maya sounded incredulous. “What does she think she’s playing at?”

“And if she was here, then the mage scent must be Alberic.” Lila said. “We’ve got to find them.”