Magaestra: Loyalties: An urban fantasy series Page 2

  "Yes. Frankie was knocked into a tree and shaken up, but bounced back quickly. Nina needed two stitches, but is otherwise fine. Madeline checked everyone over just in case, and lectured Ori about self-care, however."

  Faith chuckled. "Yeah, well. I'm glad everyone's okay, at least. I hate that anyone's getting hurt because of some crazies."

  Aldric smiled, trying to be as reassuring as possible. He wasn't sure what he should do. Was Faith upset or not?

  "Everyone will heal just fine. Nina will require a day or so, but otherwise no real harm done. Well, not to us at any rate. But we did collect some interesting information. Before the fight started in earnest, Kenya took a picture of one of the attackers. She had her phone out and ready because she was showing someone pictures of something, so with some luck we will be able to identify the vampire that was working with the Goldfangs today. And if we can determine who the vampire is and what coven they belong to..."

  "It might lead us to Crissy!" Faith's eyes went wide and shown with excitement.

  "I do not wish to give you false hope," Aldric cautioned. He let his hand linger on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. Touch was so important to the wolves and he had lived among them so long that many of their mannerisms had become his. Touching Faith to comfort both of them was nearly his own instinct now.

  "It's probably not the same group, though," she slumped back down. "I mean, what are the chances that the mystery vampires and the Goldfangs joined forces? Don't they both want Crissy? How would that work?"

  Aldric had no answer to give her. It was a frustrating fact that they had very little information on who all the players were in this odd situation they found themselves in. To discover not only a human mage within their territory, but that she had a sister and a niece who were, at least initially, being hunted for reasons unrelated to their magic? Then to find unknown vampires were also hunting them?

  "I will be honest and admit that the coincidences piling up have gotten to be a bit unbelievable. These events must be related. We simply do not yet know how."

  Faith sighed so deeply it jostled Aldric beside her. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I know it's all stupid and not true and you're doing your best. It's just so hard. Waiting, I mean. We found the lodge so quickly. So much happened in three days that I guess I got used to the fast pace of it all. That's not how life usually works. I need to be patient."

  She looked so determined that it squeezed Aldric's heart. Nobody should have to be this strong.

  "We will solve this mystery. And we will keep you and Kaylee safe doing it," Aldric said. "And we will protect the clan as a whole. That is what we were discussing when you overheard us. Marc is contacting the Paranormal Council to lodge some formal complaints. One specifically against the Goldfang Stalkers for unwarranted aggression and kidnapping, and one against this unknown vampire force."

  Faith nodded silently before asking, "What is this Paranormal Council, and why haven't we already talked to them?"

  Aldric frowned. "I keep forgetting how much you do not know about our world. The Paranormal Council was set up after World War Two, much like the United Nations. It has similar aims, as well, to foster peace and prevent another conflict of that scale. Unfortunately, it does not have a great deal of power. Marc always complains that they created a wolf and gave it no teeth."

  Faith huffed a soft laugh, but didn't comment.

  "The North American branch is based in Chicago and oversees pack disputes, trade deals, and diplomacy with the other Council branches worldwide. There is a meeting convened once a year to reach accords on a number of issues, or to review policies. Marc wishes to make certain that there are formal complaints lodged with the Council to prevent Alpha Molin from attempting to demand restitution of some sort."

  Faith blinked. "But if they can't enforce anything, why does anyone care?"

  "For the most part, nobody does," Aldric shrugged. "Though it is not that they do not have the resources to enforce their rulings, it is that they are constrained by so many layers of bureaucracy that it is unwieldy and impractical. They do, however, have a court and a prison. And the prison, in particular, is the sort of place that a criminal enters, and never exits, though everyone agrees that the court is scrupulous if slow in its proceedings."

  Faith shivered at his tone. Aldric felt like shivering himself as some of the tales he had heard of the place flashed through his mind.

  "However, mostly packs and covens and clans are left to solve our own problems. And the paranormal world is not always the most diplomatic of places, as you have noticed," Aldric said.

  "So," Faith said with another sniffle. "No badass international black ops super spy team is going to show up to find Crissy?"

  "Err, no." Aldric blinked.

  "Too bad. I'd bet that badass international black ops shifters and vampires would be pretty sexy."

  Aldric had never truly known jealousy until that moment. He would deny growling under his breath if anyone asked, however.

  For the first time since he had come in she looked at him with a small smile. "You lent me the book about the lynx shifter and the computer nerd stopping that human trafficking ring, remember?"

  "Ah, yes. An excellent thriller." Aldric still felt tense, but the smile, small as it was warmed his heart.

  "And the sex scenes are hot as hell." Now she grinned. It wasn't as bright or as wide as usual. Was it hot in here?

  "Indeed."

  They sat quietly for a while, discussing the book and the next in the series, and other topics. Faith seemed to shy away from talking about anything serious again. Aldric hoped that her belief in them had not been too badly shaken.

  "Hey," she said, finally. "Thanks for not being mad."

  He blinked at her. "Why would I be mad?"

  "For what I said downstairs." She shrugged.

  "Marc and I both understand that you have been under an unreasonable amount of pressure for the past several weeks," Aldric assured her. “First with the initial attack, and then with our failure at the lodge. And now with our inability to find where this second group that has Crissy now. Neither Marc nor I are upset. We are concerned about you, though. We look forward knowing you-- all three of you-- under calmer, less stressful circumstances."

  "I--" Faith was cut off by a bellow from downstairs.

  "Jacob Zachary Keller you get your furry tail in the kitchen right now and bring your partner in crime with you! I mean you, Kaylee Francis Latham!”

  Aldric stared at the door, unsure if he should race downstairs to assist, but beside him Faith burst out laughing.

  "I guess Marc noticed the frosted ceiling," she said between giggles. "Come on. Let's see the kids try to talk themselves out of this one."

  "Frosted... ceiling?" Aldric let himself he tugged to his feet and to the hallway.

  "Mmmhmm." Faith grinned at him again-- full and bright again, and in Aldric's opinion beyond spectacular-- "I would have cleaned it off but I needed a stepladder and then I had a mental breakdown. Let's go."

  Aldric simply nodded. He had the feeling that he would follow Faith anywhere.

  3

  Faith paced in her room, still feeling guilty about bringing this mess to the Frostwalker's doorstep, and about her outburst earlier. After her talk with Aldric, and Marc's highly amusing reaction to the frosting on the ceiling, she had pulled Marc aside as well to apologize. He had wrapped her up in a giant bear hug –wolf hug? – and said he understood that she was going to have bad days.

  He also told her a story about the other day when Marc himself had gone off on Aldric, the stress of losing Mia at the lodge and having Jake and Kaylee kidnapped right from under their noses, and the continued incursions from the Goldfangs all adding up to one stressed clan chief. It was good to know that she wasn't the only one that cracked under the pressure sometimes.

  "Not at all, Faith," Marc had said. "We may be paranormal, with all these amazing abilities, but in the long run, really, we're all only human." Then he ha
d hugged her again and grumbled something else about the frosting.

  Pink frosting was officially banned in the clan house.

  Now, however, she was still chastising herself and frustrated as hell at the lack of clues about Crissy’s kidnappers. She understood that the vampires they had killed at the lodge were useless, since the identification they carried were all fakes and they had all withered when they died. They’d been largely unrecognizable by the time Leo asked for photos.

  It was maddening, this lack of knowing, and despite feeling guilty about it, and horrified at herself for her earlier outburst, she was still irritated that Marc and Aldric were spending more energy on this idiotic Molin character, and not on finding her sister.

  Faith was still feeling like she was unravelling a little. Sure, she had gone days, weeks even, without talking to Crissy in the past, but even then, they checked in with each other. Text messages or photos of whatever project had them too busy to call. A comment or a tagged post on social media. There was always something to connect to each other, even when they didn't talk.

  But now? There was nothing. Just a sick, greasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that was starting to creep into the rest of her life. She knew perfectly well what it was. Fear and anger. Fear of what Crissy might be going through. Fear that she might never see Crissy again. Fear that she or Kaylee might be next. And so much anger at the assholes that thought they had any right to steal a person and use them like a piece of office equipment.

  A light tap on her door broke her out of her thoughts and she realized that she had been stomping around her room, growling.

  “Are you alright?” Aldric’s voice came through the door. "I could hear you pacing."

  She sighed and walked over to open it and waved him in.

  “No, I’m not, really,” she said. “I’m sorry if I was making too much noise, though. I was maybe thinking too hard and it was coming out through my feet.”

  Aldric laughed softly. “I can certainly understand that. I don’t think you were being particularly loud,” He opened his mouth to keep speaking, but then closed it again and frowned slightly. “I know that you have only known us for a short while, but please believe that we are doing everything we can to find your sister. We will not abandon her, even if we have other events demanding our attention as well.”

  That was so close to what Faith had been thinking that all her remaining irritation with him fizzled, and she sat heavily on the bed.

  “I’m just so scared, Aldric,” she said. “What if she’s already dead?”

  Aldric grimaced. “Then we will avenge her.”

  He said it as if it would be easy.

  “But how? Who has her? Where do we go to do that?” Faith asked.

  Aldric frowned and shook his head. “I do not know. Leo is working on it. He is hopeful about the photo that he has from today.” He moved to stand by the window and stare out of it. “I don’t like that the vampires at the lodge were fighting against the Goldfangs that were there, but the ones this week have been fighting alongside of them. It’s a change that does not sit well with me, and it is one coincidence too many. Marc agrees. It was one of the things we were discussing earlier.”

  Faith frowned now, too. “Do you think that they joined forces? Like ‘the enemy of my enemy’ style?”

  Aldric nodded. “I am afraid of just exactly that.”

  “Which would mean we’re up against two separate groups. The Goldfangs and the vampires.”

  “Indeed. We already knew there was something of that nature happening, but now... I am not sure that we can fight a war on two fronts like that. Not as we are currently, though a number of people have applied to be sentries, and we are looking at the current sentries to add to the enforcers.”

  They both sat there with their thoughts for a long moment. What would cause two different groups to band together like that? It could be as simple as what she just said. It could be that their goals weren’t identical, simply aligned neatly.

  “What if,” Faith started slowly. “What if the Goldfangs want the territory and the vampires just want us? Me and Kaylee, I mean? Or even just me and they agreed to give Kaylee to Alpha Molin like he originally wanted in exchange for an alliance?”

  “Or perhaps they said they would hand her over and have no actual plans to do so?” Aldric raised a bow at her. “It’s possible.”

  “But then…” Faith looked up at him, searching his eyes. “You have a solution to all this. Why wouldn’t you give us up to get rid of the vampires? You guys could easily beat the Goldfang Stalkers pack on their own. It’s the vampires and their blight hounds that are making it difficult.”

  Aldric blinked at her for a long moment. “Are you honestly asking if we would trade you two for our own safety?”

  Faith winced at his tone, but plunged ahead anyway. “I mean, we’re basically strangers, right? Why would you care about us enough to fight two different factions at the same time?”

  “Faith…” Aldric started. He sighed and drove his fingers through his hair. “Faith, do you truly think we would do that? Is that how you see us? How you see me?”

  He looked at her with such sadness in his eyes that she couldn’t hold his gaze and dropped her eyes to stare at the rug. She didn’t really think that of him, or Marc. Or any of the Frostwalkers that she had met. One of the things that drew the whole clan together was a… a generosity of spirit. Faith couldn’t think of a better way to put it. On the whole, the Frostwalkers were just simply good people.

  “No,” she said. Her whole body slumped where she sat. “I don’t. You are all some of the best people I’ve met. Honestly, it’s a little weird, but I can tell that just plain goodness a quality that’s been encouraged over several generations here. But still, Aldric. Why would you all risk so much? For people you just met?”

  She hated feeling this way. Terrified for her sister and for herself and Kaylee. Angry at the people who took Crissy and started all this. Terrified for her new friends in the Frostwalker Clan, and guilty that they had brought this violence down on them.

  “Because it’s the right thing to do,” Aldric said. He came over and sat beside her and hesitated before putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a hug. “One of the things that Marc’s father always prided himself and his people on was helping those in need. He even nursed a few rogues back to health after a skirmish before making sure they left his territory. He was kind, but not reckless, after all.”

  “I just feel like us being here is putting everyone in danger,” Faith said. She leaned into Aldric’s strength. He was warm and solid and just being near him made her feel better, but it also added to her apparently multi-faceted guilt. She was taking advantage of him. “And what do you get out of it? Your sentries are injured, your people are in danger, Mia died and for what?”

  Aldric sighed. “Do we need to gain something tangible to help someone? What we gain is your friendship.”

  “That’s not worth all this. It can’t be.” Faith felt like she was on the edge of cracking. Mia’s bright grin was one hell of a price to pay. Faith had only talked to the woman a few times, and she still felt the loss deeply. “I can’t be worth all this mess.”

  And that was the root if it, if she wanted to be honest with herself.

  “Mia– and all the sentries and Enforcers– we know that we could be injured in this work. Even before you came to us, we knew that. There are people who hunt us simply for existing, like some sort of modern-day Van Helsings,” Aldric squeezed her shoulders and when she leaned into his shoulder he rested his chin gently on top of her head. “We have a small grove nearby where we honor those who died to protect the rest of us. It’s a lovely place. I will show you if you like. It is where we scattered Mia’s ashes.”

  Faith sniffled. “I would like that. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for that. I–”

  “You were tending to the wounded here, myself included,” Aldric cut off her rambles. “I was not there either,
remember?”

  Faith did. It was two days after the battle, and Aldric, Ori, and several others were still recovering from the worst of their wounds, even with their faster than human healing. Faith had put herself in charge of taking care of them, and had spent most of her time making sure that everyone had plenty of food and drinks and entertainment. It was all she could do to repay them for rescuing Kaylee, and almost rescuing Crissy as well.

  Marc and Tamika and the rest of the Enforcers had gone with Mia’s parents and brothers and fiancé in the morning and returned at lunch, teary but smiling a little, and she served them coffee and tea and a fresh batch of cookies and listened to story after story of Mia’s antics and good humor.

  Faith had barely known the woman, but it sounded like she was one of the bright lights in the world, and now she was gone. Because Faith had unwittingly brought thugs to the Frostwalker’s doorstep.

  “Don’t do that,” Aldric murmured into her hair.

  “Do what?”

  “I felt you tense. You are blaming yourself for Mia’s death. Don’t. It was nobody's fault but the one who killed her, and that person is dead, whichever one of them it was,” Aldric said. “Those who were fighting us lost decisively. The only ones who did not die in that attack were those who grabbed your sister and ran at the beginning of the fight, and they were already long gone before Mia’s final battle.”

  Faith’s breath stuttered, but she nodded into his shoulder.

  “You and Kaylee are worth the fight,” Aldric said. “Your sister is as well, even though I have only spoken a few words with her. I know I can see her reflected in you and in Kaylee, and she is a woman I would like to know better. You are Frostwalkers, and we will protect you. But, even if you were all strangers, we would still do our best to help you.”

  “Even though you’re now in a war with the Goldfang Stalker Pack?” Faith knew he was trying to reassure her, and she believed him that they would help, but it didn’t make her feel much better.