Читать книгу Witch's Fury - Deborah LeBlanc - Страница 12

Chapter 4

“I knew something like this was going to happen,” Arabella, the head of the Elders, said when Gilly told them about Viv going missing.

“Well, if you knew, why didn’t you warn us about it?” Gilly asked. The last thing she’d wanted to do was come back to the Elders, especially after they’d been royally reamed out during their last visit. The Elders lived only a couple of blocks from the Triad in the Garden District, but coming here again felt like they’d walked the green mile. They’d had no choice. Not with Viv missing. No matter what the consequences might be, they had to let the Elders know.

“Oh, she did,” Vanessa said.

“She did not,” Gilly insisted.

“Uh-huh,” Taka, the third, said. “Remember the whole thing about Viv and Evee being intimate with their Benders, how it needed to stop. Well, it obviously didn’t stop, because now we’ve got another catastrophe on our hands. They should have listened—that’s all I’ve got to say.”

“I wish,” Vanessa said.

“Wish what?” Taka asked, frowning.

“That that was all you had to say.”

Taka tsked loudly, and then looked at Gavril and said, “No offense meant, Mr. Bender, but witches have rules to live by. If we don’t live by them, then all kinds of havoc occur, like now. There are reasons we have leaders, Elders. It’s not like the Triad is out there on their own. They have us to bounce things off of.”

“So, you’re saying that you’re blaming Evee and Viv’s intimacy with Nikoli and Lucien for all this chaos?” Gavril said.

“I am,” Taka said.

“This isn’t the time to go into your rant about the Triad members having relations with the Benders,” Gilly said. “Viv is missing and that’s what matters most. Besides, I think all three of you have this relationship thing wrong or twisted sideways somehow. It doesn’t connect or make sense.”

“It makes complete sense,” Arabella said. “As it was part of the curse set on the Triads since the 1500s. Nothing has changed to refute it. The intimacy you’ve obviously taken course with regarding these young men has caused nothing but disaster.”

“No disrespect meant, ma’am,” Gavril said, “but that’s baloney. My cousins and I have tracked these Cartesians around the world. Have been to places where they’ve taken out an entire species from the netherworld in a city. Humans died, more Cartesians showed themselves. But not once did it have anything to do with me or my cousins being intimate with any female. Witch or no witch.”

“But if the Triad doesn’t listen, there isn’t much we can do about controlling what happens,” Taka said.

“Oh, there’s plenty we can do about it,” Arabella said.

“Like what?” Vanessa said.

“Leave them to their chaos. They asked for advice, we gave it, they ignored it, and now they have to live with it.”

“I’d appreciate it if you’d stop speaking about us as though we weren’t in the room,” Gilly said angrily.

“Hello?” Gavril said. “Did any of you hear what I said earlier?”

“Yes, of course,” Arabella said.

“How can you say that when Viv’s gone?” Taka said to Arabella. “Mr. Bender said they’ve been trying to help. Surely you won’t attempt to stop them from doing that.”

“Please call me Gavril,” Gavril said. And Taka gave him a shy smile. “And please give my words some consideration. None of what’s been happening was caused by the Triad. The blame goes to the Cartesians.”

“Where was the last place you saw her?” Arabella asked Gilly, ignoring Gavril.

“At home. Evee told me she was headed to the hotel to talk over something with Nikoli, her Bender. The problem was that she never showed up at the hotel.”

“For the love of stupidity,” Vanessa said. “Ever since you three were little girls, your heads were harder than brick and mortar. Now that you’re thirty, that doesn’t seem to have changed one bit. Arabella told you to stay away from the Benders, and what do you do? Show up at their hotel.”

“Talking to someone is no crime,” Gilly said. “Especially when we’re trying to find Viv. Going to somebody’s hotel room doesn’t mean sex is involved, Vanessa. People do meet up and talk in those rooms.”

“I disagree,” Taka said with a smirk. “There are beds in hotel rooms, and where there are beds, there’s sex.”

“Oh, get a grip,” Vanessa snapped at Taka.

Arabella gave Gilly a slow nod. She eyed Gavril, and then looked back at Gilly. “You’re right. There’s no crime in talking, that’s for sure, but let me ask you something.” This time she looked Gavril right in the eye before asking Gilly. “Have the two of you been intimate? After I warned you to stay away, did you disobey? Have you been intimate with this man despite our warning?”

“Nothing was her fault,” Gavril said. “When she heard about Viv—”

“My question wasn’t directed at you, young man,” Arabella said. “It was meant for Gilly.”

Taka huffed. “You did it, didn’t you, Gilly? Was it at the hotel?”

Vanessa shook her head. “A Triad slut brigade, that’s what we have on our hands, sisters. They’re going to do what they want to regardless of our warnings. How does an Elder combat that? We try and we try to lead them down the straight and narrow, and look, they take the first fork in the road they come to.”

“We’ll deal with it by allowing the Triad to handle the consequences of their actions,” Arabella said.

“Wait a minute,” Gilly said angrily. “You’re speculating that I’ve been intimate with Gavril, and because of that, you won’t give me any help in finding Viv? What kind of Elders are you? Ever since the beginning, every Triad had Elders who helped them with problems.”

“Not all of them,” Arabella said. “Or have you forgotten the first Triad? Their Elders didn’t change the monstrosities they’d created back to humans. Instead, they punished the Triad.”

“So is this what this is?” Gilly asked. “Punishment? You won’t help us because of some warped assumption you’re making? It begs the same question—what kind of Elders are you?”

“We have tried to help,” Arabella said. “Repeatedly. We’ve even contact the rest of our sisters and asked for help. Something or someone seems to be blocking all of our spells. My only assumption as to why that might be is, once again, your intimacy with the Benders. Part of the Triad curse in action.”

“And we’re smart Elders,” Taka said. “I think.” They’d been sitting around the kitchen table, and Taka suddenly got to her feet, seemingly flustered. “Anybody want crumpets and tea?”

“Sit down, Taka,” Vanessa said. “Now isn’t the time to extend hospitality. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this.”

“But I’m hungry,” Taka whined.

Arabella gave Taka a stern look, which sent her back into her seat with a pout. “It was just tea and crumpets.”

“You claim your intimacy with your Bender is our speculation, an assumption,” Arabella said to Gilly. “Is it an assumption? Or did it happen?” She looked first at Gavril, and then she allowed her eyes to settle on Gilly. “I want the truth.”

Gilly sighed heavily. “Yeah, we were intimate,” she finally said, and saw Gavril shift uncomfortably in his seat. She didn’t blame him. He was sitting at a table of witches, any of whom could have turned him into a frog or turtle with a kindergartner’s spell.

“Mr. Bender,” Vanessa said, “as you can see, this conversation is getting quite personal. I think it best if you leave us to deal with Abigail, who obviously decided to not heed our advice.”

“He doesn’t have to go,” Taka said.

“It’s best he does,” Arabella said.

“But he’s cute,” Taka said. “Easy on the eyes. And besides, we’re not going to be saying anything he hasn’t already heard or known about. If they were intimate, they were intimate. He already knows that. You think we’re revealing a secret?”

“I’d prefer to stay if it’s all the same to you,” Gavril said. “Gilly is not alone in this. And if I may respectfully add, we came here of our own volition. Vivienne has gone missing, and we wanted to see if you’d seen her or possibly know where she might have gone.”

“I haven’t seen her,” Taka said.

“Me either,” Vanessa said.

“Nor have I,” Arabella added. “Have you tried the compound where Viv kept her Loup-Garous?”

“Yes,” Gilly said. “Her Bender is there looking for her now.”

“You sent a human Bender into the compound?” Arabella said with shock. “Did you purposely want this man dead?”

“He’ll be mauled like ground beef,” Taka said, her brows knitting together. “Surely he’s not alone there, right?”

“Haven’t you heard?” Gilly said. “All of the Loup-Garous are missing.”

“What?” Arabella, Vanessa and Taka said in unison.

Gilly nodded. “They were there one morning, and by the afternoon, not one of them remained on the compound.”

“Oh, Mother Earth and every worm beneath her,” Taka said. “Does that mean they’re all loose in the city?”

“I have no idea,” Gilly said. “We’ve each been taking care of our own. I still have Chenilles in their safe zone, but have about fifteen missing. Evee lost all of her Nosferatu. Same thing with Viv’s. One minute they’re where they’re supposed to be, the next, they’ve vanished.”

Arabella got up from the table and began to pace. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

“That we’re in deep doodoo,” Taka said.

“You’re not kidding,” Gilly said. “With them missing, it means more humans are in danger.”

“If more humans start dying at the hands of the Originals, you know what that means, right?” Vanessa said.

“Well, duh,” Taka said. “It means those humans will be dead.”

“Stop being an idiot,” Vanessa told her. She looked over at Arabella. “It means more cops at our door.”

“Why are police coming here?” Gavril asked. “How do they know about you and the Originals?”

“I suspect a leak,” Arabella said. “And I’m almost certain it’s one of the sorcerers.”

“I don’t understand,” Gavril said.

“I’ll explain later,” Gilly said. “We’ve got to stay on task with Viv. She’s got to be our main focus right now.”

“Oh, heck, that’s right about the cops,” Taka said suddenly. “What do we tell the cops when they come back here to talk to us? Do we not answer the door like before? Ignore them?”

Arabella shook her head. “Not this time. Too much has gotten out of hand. We’ve got to let the police know about the Loup-Garous and the Nosferatu. If we don’t, the entire city will soon be overrun with dead bodies when those Originals get hungry and need to feed.”

“What good will the cops be if they know?” Vanessa asked.

“We’ll have to give them information—information we’ve never given any other human,” Arabella said solemnly. “We’ll have to tell them how to kill them.”

“Have you lost your marbles?” Taka asked. “That means, if they see any Original, attacking a human or not, they’ll kill it.”

“I know what it means,” Arabella said. “But with so many Originals loose, it’s come down to a choice. Their lives or the lives of humans.”

“We can’t let them all be killed,” Vanessa cried. “The Triad needs to find them and regain control.”

“I wish it was that easy,” Gavril said. “But you have no idea what trauma and drama we’ve gone through with the Cartesians over the last week just trying to find the Originals.”

“To hell with the Originals,” Gilly said. “What about Viv? We’ve got to find her. Do you have any idea where she might be? Do you have any spells that might give us some direction as to where she might be hiding?”

“You know we don’t use crystal balls,” Arabella said with a huff as if Gilly had used a foul expletive. “Our spells are innate, herbs and elemental. But you already know that. What I don’t understand is why you’ve come here to ask us about finding Viv when you and Evee both have natural talents that can help find her. Haven’t you thought of doing something with them?”

Gilly looked at her quizzically. “I don’t understand.”

Taka rested her elbows on the table. “Sure you do. You know how Evee can talk to the dead? Channel them? If she can contact one of the Loup-Garous, Chenilles or Nosferatu, like Pierre, one of them who’s already died, they might be able to give her some valuable information. Once she gets that information, you can use your astral projection thing that you do and bring your energy to whatever place the dead might see Viv. Then you’ll know if she’s there. The dead see more than we do, you know. They’re not stuck with two feet on the ground like we are.”

“For once, I think Airhead over here is right,” Vanessa said, referring to Taka.

“Who you calling an airhead?” Taka asked. “I’m the one who came up with the idea, while you were over there checking for chips in your fingernail polish.”

“I was not,” Vanessa claimed. “I was listening closely. Just because I’m not looking at your mug doesn’t mean I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Both of you stop bickering,” Arabella said. She looked over at Gilly. “Taka speaks the truth. You and Evee have natural talents that don’t involve spells that may or may not work. Has Evee tried to communicate with the dead? Have you tried astral projection, since that’s your specialty?”

“No, neither,” Gilly said. “But...the idea has some promise to it.”

“It certainly does,” Gavril said. “Not only in finding Viv but locating the missing Originals, as well. I say we give it a shot.”

Arabella scowled at him. “It’s not your business to say whether or not they attempt to use their powers this way.”

Gavril cocked his head to one side and eyed Arabella. “Ever since I walked through that door, you’ve treated me like I have lice. All I’ve done since coming here is try to protect the Originals and the Triad. We’ve managed to destroy many Cartesians while here. What problem do you have with me?”

Arabella held up a defiant chin. “Although we do appreciate what you have done to help the Originals and the Triad, I’m afraid that the attraction you Benders have for the Triad has caused more problems than anything. This entire situation might be solved right now if you would have kept certain parts of your body in check.”

“Arabella!” Gilly said, appalled that her Elder had confronted Gavril that way. She got up from the table and signaled Gavril to follow her.

“Taka, thank you for your advice,” Gilly said. “We’ll certainly give it a try. Arabella, if I were you, I’d do a conscience check. You might be my Elder, but when I see you headed in the wrong direction, as a witch, I have an obligation to let you know. You’re way off here. Gavril and the other Benders have been nothing but gentlemen. And, if you remember, you’re the one who wanted to get the sorcerers involved, which would have been a far bigger disaster than what we’re dealing with now.”

“I didn’t say the sorcerers weren’t getting involved,” Arabella confessed.

“You...you didn’t go to Cottle with any of this,” Gilly said. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“Cottle? No. But I have spoken to Gunner Stern about it. If you remember, Taka was the one who got him involved in the first place. I simply followed through.”

Gilly glared at her. “And?”

“There is no ‘and.’ He’s doing some snooping around. Seeing if there’s anything he can do to help.”

Gilly shook her head. “Look, as much as we warned you about getting the sorcerers involved, you did as you pleased anyway. You know the sorcerers have always thought us to be an inferior, bothersome species. I’d call that even when it comes to your accusations regarding the Benders. If anything, we owe them our gratitude. You have no idea how hard they’ve been fighting for us.”

With that, Gilly walked out of the kitchen and headed for the front door, Gavril by her side. When they’d made it outside, Gavril grinned. “Really. Do you always talk to your Elders that way?” he asked.

“Only when they’re going way off track.”

They walked a ways, heading down to the French Quarter to meet up with the others as promised. Luckily a trolley came to a stop fifty feet away, and they were able to hop a ride on it all the way down Canal. They then got off where it intersected with Royal.

Gavril got off the trolley and held out a hand to help Gilly down the metal steps. She took his hand and made her way to ground level.

As they walked to the hotel, Gavril kept turning to look at her.

“What?” Gilly finally asked. “Why are you looking at me that way?”

“Just think it’s cute.”

“What is?”

“The set of balls you have is undeniable. You say what you mean and mean what you say. Elder or no Elder. Hell, it could have been the President of the US, and I think you’d have shot him down the same way.”

Gilly shrugged. “I get a bit carried away sometimes.”

“I’d say,” Gavril said. “But I love it. Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Gilly gave him a strange, shy look, and it was then that Gavril realized he’d used the L word. Although he hadn’t actually said the words I love you, it had been close enough to give her pause.

“Good,” Gilly finally said. “I’m glad you like it. ’Cause I only come in one color.”

“What’s that mean?”

She stopped and gave him a long, soulful look. “It means, Mr. Gavril Hyland, that when it comes to me, what you see is what you get.”

“And that’s supposed to be a bad thing?”

“It’s been known to get me into trouble from time to time.”

“Good,” Gavril said with a chuckle. “A woman after my own heart.”