“Our own disadvantage is numbers. But, being small, we can move quickly to attack the Hunters. We need to move now to attack, to slow the recruitment and training of more Hunters. We must use guerrilla tactics to do that, and to win—but they happen to be what I specialize in.
“However,” says Celia, “there is one final problem. Black Witches are beginning to wake up to what’s going on but they don’t trust me and we need to attract them to our cause. The Alliance is mainly made up of White Witches and Half Bloods from Britain. We have few influential Black Witches among us. Though we do, of course, have Van and Gus.”
Gus nods. “My influence is minimal, Celia. And, as I’ve said before, to be a true Alliance we need to have a strong representation of all witches: Whites, Blacks, and even Half Bloods. But the Black Witches I speak to are not interested. They don’t believe they should fight alongside White Witches. They say they’ll fight back against the Hunters if they’re attacked. I tell them about the Black Witches who’ve already been killed but . . .” He shrugs. “Black Witches aren’t interested in causes or armies or alliances.”
Celia counters, “But you and Van and now Gabriel have joined us. So some Black Witches do listen.”
Gus turns to Gabriel and asks, “Why are you here, Gabriel?”
“Because I’m with Nathan.”
“So if Nathan is killed or leaves?”
“If he leaves I leave. If he’s killed”—he looks at me—“I don’t know . . .”
Gus says, “We need someone who will attract other Black Witches to the cause. But I don’t know of any other Black Witch who will join just because Nathan is here.” He looks into my eyes. “He’s not a Black Witch.” The black in his own eyes gleams at me and I stare back at him.
Gus is just another racist snob. The witch world is full of them.
“What are you really suggesting, Gus?” asks Celia.
“To attract Black Witches, we need someone they respect, someone who is the embodiment of all that is Black.”
“And who is that?” Van asks, trying to suppress a smile. “I’m rather disappointed it isn’t me.”
Gus laughs with her. “Sorry, Van, but you’ve always been seen as too willing to work with non-Blacks, even fains.”
“So you’re thinking of someone who represents ‘old Blacks’?” Celia sighs and ruffles her spiky hair. “Mercury would be one, I suppose?”
“Yes, she—” Gus begins.
Van interrupts. “Mercury’s dead.”
“Killed by Hunters?”
“No. Killed by . . . us.” And she waves her hand vaguely toward Nesbitt, Gabriel, and me. “In self-defense, I hasten to add, and with this as my memento.” And she turns her face to the light to show her burns. “But even if she was alive, I couldn’t imagine Mercury joining the Alliance. She would have seen no benefit to herself in joining, no . . . honor in it. I understand that. There are several Black Witches as powerful as Mercury: Linden, Dell, Suave . . . but they all think the same way. All the most powerful Blacks will surely be unwilling to risk everything to fight with us—except one. Fortunately he’s the most powerful of them all.” And she looks at me and somehow I knew it was coming to this all along.
“Marcus?” I ask.
“If he joins there’s a chance others will too,” Van says.
Gus smirks. “If he joins we won’t need the others.”
“Is this why I’m really here, why you wanted me to join the Alliance: to somehow bring in Marcus?”
“No. I want you because you’re an excellent fighter,” Celia says. “And I don’t want Marcus. He’ll cause too many problems with the Whites in the Alliance.”
“Including yourself, Celia?” Van asks.
She doesn’t answer but she’s having to think hard.
“Nathan has put his past behind him and come to work with you. We all must do the same if we’re to move forward,” Van says.
Celia still doesn’t answer.
I say, “I can’t see him joining anyway.”
“But you’d be willing to try to persuade him?” Van asks.
“Well . . .” I’m not sure.
“No. We haven’t agreed to this.” Celia looks around the table. “Marcus is murderous. He’s killed too many White Witches. The rebels won’t stand for it.”
“They won’t stand for losing,” Van says. “Marcus will make all the difference to the Alliance’s success. Yes, he’s killed many White Witches but he’s killed a lot of Black Witches too. Most importantly, he’s killed lots of Hunters. And everyone knows that. They may not like him but the White rebels want more than anything to be on the winning side because, if they lose, they’ll find no mercy from Soul. Marcus will make it a winning side.”
Celia says, “I can organize our army without him. We’ll manage it. It’ll take time but—”
“You said yourself a minute ago that we need to attack immediately. And I agree; if we don’t stop Jessica now our fight will only get harder. Exactly how many people do you have that can fight, Celia?” Van asks.
“There are nearly a hundred in the Alliance. I’m training the able ones and—”
“How many could you send out to fight the Hunters today?”
Celia sticks out her lip and glances at me. “At this moment? Very few.”