CHAPTER Twenty-Two
After Corrigan’s departure, the silence in the room was almost deafening. My wrists chafed under the bindings and I cursed him out loud for not loosening them even slightly. What exactly did he think I was going to do? I was surrounded by hundreds of shifters; I was hardly a danger.
Sighing loudly, I leaned against the wall and let my legs relax till I slid down and hit the floor. It seemed to be my lot to keep being trapped in little rooms. I supposed that at least this one didn’t have a magical cage stuck inside it. Without any idea about when Corrigan would return, and aware that my time was limited anyway because I had to get back to the mages, I closed my eyes. I was in desperate need of some rest, even if just for an hour, if I was going to have any chance of doing verbal battle with the Lord Alpha. Almost immediately I felt myself drifting off into sleep.
Usually, when I’m tired enough to fall asleep within heartbeats, I don’t dream. Something about the setting perhaps and the stress of the last twenty-four hours changed all that. I dreamt that I was standing in a ring of fire. Mrs Alcoon was with me, holding a cup of herbal tea and flicking hot droplets of it at me with her finger.
“You let me down!” she screeched. “I gave you a job! I took you in! Now look at me!”
I tried to speak but no words came out. From the other side of the fire circle, Alex and Arch-Mage grinned at me. “You can’t trust a dragon, Your Magnificent Sublime Most Fantastical Highness,” said Alex.
“You’re right, Mage Florides,” commented the Arch-Mage. “We have no choice but to exterminate the old lady.”
He flicked a finger and I stared in horror as Mrs Alcoon let out a blood-curdling scream and vanished in a puff of blue smoke. The cup of tea that she had been holding smashed on the floor but, instead of the remnants of tea spilling from it, thick oozing blood trickled towards me.
“It’s no good, my Lord,” stated Anton solemnly. “We knew she wasn’t a shifter. You’ll have to kill us all.”
From the other side of the circle, Corrigan looked at me and winked, blowing me a kiss from his chiseled lips, then with one swipe of a massive furry black paw, cuffed Anton so hard on the side of his head that it came clean off his shoulders and rolled to the edge of the flames.
The bodyless Anton continued talking. “It’s all your fault, Mackenzie Smith. All your fault. All your fault.”
The repetitive phrase banged inside my skull. I felt heat inside me, and smelled burning. Looking down, I realised that where the blood from the teacup had touched me I was burning, my clothes and skin blackening into charcoal. I tried to run away but the flames were pinning me on all sides and smoke was rising and getting into my eyes and my throat.
I could hear Julia’s voice although by this point I could no longer see her. “It’s all your fault, Mack.”
John joined me in the circle and looked at me sadly, shaking his head. “I had such high hopes for you. You’ve just let me down.”
I started to scream; heat and terror and anguish all mixing up inside me. I couldn’t breathe, it was all too much, I couldn’t do anything…
“Red? Wake up!” A hand was shaking my shoulder.
I blinked myself out of the dream and managed to sit up. “Tom?”
“You were having a nightmare. Jesus, Red what the hell have you been doing?”
Although it had only been a scant day or two since I’d seen him at the restaurant, I was so happy to see a friendly face that I almost cried. I tried to fling my arms around him, forgetting that they were still tied behind my back, and just succeeded in sprawling myself across the floor by his feet. Tom bent down and gently brought me back up to a sitting position.
“Thanks,” I muttered.
He leaned over and brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face, then tucked it behind my ear. It was a particularly brotherly gesture, which surprised me.
“No problem. What happened to the fairy?”
I’d forgotten about Solus in the midst of the barrage from Corrigan. “I have no idea,” I growled. “But he’d better have a good explanation when he finally decides to show up.” I stared at Tom, suddenly worried. “Did Corrigan say anything to you about what he was going to do? You know, now he knows that I’m not a shifter?”
“Well, he’s got you tied up here for one, Red.”
I shook my head in irritation. “No, I mean to you. And Betsy. And everyone else.”
Tom looked uncomfortable. “I don’t think he’s going to do anything. That stuff about no humans ever supposed to know about us, well…,” His voice drifted off.
“Tom?” I prompted.
He cast his eyes down to the ground. “Red, I’m not sure I can do this. This conversation, I mean. I’m them. I’m the Brethren now. They’re my family just like John and you and everyone else was. I don’t think that I can discuss these kinds of things with an outsider now. Even you.”
That stung. Especially the part about being called an outsider. I tried not to let Tom see that it got to me and forced myself not to jump down his throat at his absurd tailcoat attitude but instead focused on his words. “But,” I said softly, “you don’t think he’ll hurt you. Or them.”
He looked up and held my eyes for a moment. “No, I don’t.”
That kind of gibed with what I’d registered from Corrigan’s initial reaction. Of course, I couldn’t be completely complacent but it was just remotely possibly that it was true. I wanted it to be true. Not just because I wanted him to leave my friends alone but also because there was a part of me that didn’t want to believe that he would be capable of ordering cold-blooded murder like that. It didn’t seem to make sense that everyone in Cornwall had believed the opposite and I knew for a fact that he was one hell of a scary bugger but still… I leaned my head against the back of the wall thoughtfully. Had all of my running and hiding been for nothing? Could I have stayed with in Cornwall after all? I thought of Anton and the bloodfire and of being a Draco Wyr. No, I had to have left regardless of the Brethren’s anti-human policy.
But…I looked back at Tom. “Why did he come after me?”
He rubbed his neck. “Well, rogue shifters are kind of a problem.”
Huh. A bit like rogue mages perhaps? These otherworlders really didn’t like anyone who tried to break ranks.
“And, you know,” Tom continued, “you can do stuff.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Do stuff?”
“Yeah. You can fight harder than almost anyone else. Almost more than Corrigan.”
I snorted at that. Almost more than Corrigan? Hell, on a good day – when I’d not been beaten up already by half the world - he’d better watch his back.
“There have been some whispers too,” Tom said. “Like that you can use the Voice. Like an alpha. Is that because…?” He didn’t finish the sentence.
“Maybe,” I answered.
“And that green fire shit?”
“Yeah, I’m really not too sure about that and how it works to be honest, Tom.”
He opened his mouth to speak again but was interrupted by a knock at the door. A huge grin spread over his face and he reminded me for just a moment of his carefree puppy dog like attitude back in Cornwall, when life had been simpler.
“You’re going to love this, Red!” he said, bounding up to pull open the door.
“Mack!” Betsy rushed in, a wreath of smiles on her face.
I tried to pull myself up to my feet but failed dismally. She barely noticed, however, and bent down to give me a huge hug.
“It is so amazing to see you!” she sang out. “What the hell happened to your face? Would you believe that you’ve got the whole of the Brethren convinced that you’re some kind of weird badass superhero?”
“Bets,” Tom warned.
“Oh, pshhaw, you.” She hugged me again and then pulled back. “I’ve really missed you, you know.” She held out her left hand in front of me and displayed an ostentatiously large diamond ring. “And look! We’re engaged!”
“Betsy, stop smothering the girl,” came a very familiar voice from the doorway.
I stopped breathing for a moment and craned my neck round Betsy’s body to see if it could really be true. “Julia?” I couldn’t keep the tremor out of my voice.
“Hello, love.” She wheeled herself in in some kind of black metal wheelchair and beamed down at me.
Despite Tom’s implications to the contrary, I was suddenly worried. “Why are you here? Is it because of me?”
Her expression flickered for a second then she smiled kindly. “No, it’s not. I rather think that the Lord Alpha doesn’t actually hold with all of that archaic nonsense about humans.”
I immediately felt awful. Julia still thought I was human because she’d virtually been in a coma the last time I saw her. And she ended up in that state, and now in a wheelchair because of me. “Julia, I…I’m so sorry. All this is my fault…” A big fat tear rolled down my face.
“Don’t you dare, Mackenzie Smith! Don’t you dare suggest that this had anything to do with you at all. You could not have done anything, do you hear me?” She maneouvred her wheelchair to my side and reached down to me with one hand. “You need to forget all that nonsense. None of this was your fault. Now where is that oaf of a Lord Alpha, anyway? How dare he tie you up as if you were some kind of criminal?”
I began to cry harder.
Julia ignored my hiccupping sobs and addressed Betsy. “I need some of the tallow ointment. The orange cream. It’s on my dresser. Will you go fetch it for me, dear?”
Betsy nodded and ran off.
“Tom? I will need some hot water and clean bandages.”
He looked at her for a moment before shaking himself and nodding. “Er, yes right, okay.” He disappeared out the door also.
“Now, Mack, pull yourself together. I need to sort out that mess on your face and can’t do it if you are weeping so unnecessarily. How did it happen? I need to know so I can help the healing process properly.”
I sniffed and tried to calm myself down. “Most of it was some kind of magic attack, but some of it was me trying to get some blood.”
Julia looked remarkably startled at that but managed to prevent herself from commenting. “Okay, that’s good. It means that there’s no chance of infection from some nasty shifter’s unwashed claws. Honestly, dear, you wouldn’t believe how unhygienic some of this Brethren lot can be. It’s really rather disgusting.”
I smiled through my tears.
“There now,” she patted my shoulder again. “I’m going to have some serious words with those wizards if I ever see them though.” She sniffed. “Thinking they can mess up my Mackenzie.”
That almost set me off again but I managed to bite my lip and stay composed. Tom returned, carrying a bowl of steaming water and a pile of soft fluffy towels and bandages. Betsy arrived almost immediately after with some strong smelling tubs of ointment.
“Déjà vu,” I murmured.
They all smiled at me.
“Now then,” Julia said briskly, “let’s get you sorted out.”
I managed to hold it together whilst Julia tended to my cheek, carefully washing it first and then applying the ointment. She was determined to attach some kind of bandage as well, but I managed to persuade her to let it be. It would heal quicker in the open air and make me look less like a fragile little girl to the Brethren members. She was just about done when there was a tentative knock on the door and a nervous face peered round.
“Uh, Miss Julia?”
She didn’t turn around to look straight away but I watched in open curiosity as the owner of the face gestured panickedly to Betsy, whose eyes widened in what could only be described as shock and horror. She clutched onto Julia’s arm.
“Julia, you have to go.”
“Mmm, what?” Julia finally looked up at the intruder. When she took in the expression of the nervous shifter, she sighed deeply and rubbed her forehead.
“I need to go, Mackenzie dear. Betsy, will you finish up here?”
She nodded and Julia swung her wheelchair round adeptly, before leaving the little room with such momentum that I was incredibly impressed at how quickly she’d adapted to having to use wheels instead of legs.
Tom started to tidy up the debris from her ministrations. There was no doubt about it; the tension level in both him and Betsy had been raised several notches. They were both pointedly not looking at each other but something was definitely up.
“What is it?”
Neither of them answered my query.
“Come on, guys, clearly there’s something quite serious going on. Is this why Julia’s really here? What’s up?”
For a moment they both continued to stay silent. Then eventually Tom spoke up. “There’s some kind of disease going round the Pack. It’s virtually decimated the Somerset group. One of the Brethren docs, a wererat called Higgins, went to try and help. Half of them were already bedridden by the time he got there and he couldn’t seem to do anything to stop it. He came back here to make a report before anyone realised how contagious it was.”
“There have been three deaths already, Mack. It’s just awful,” Betsy added in a grim voice.
“Julia’s here because they think she might be able to help,” I said, suddenly realising.
Tom shrugged expansively. “We’ve tried everything else and nothing’s working. It’s a long shot but her knowledge of medicinal herbs might do something.”
Dawning comprehension was hitting me. It was incredibly unusual for anyone other than the local alphas to meet with the Brethren face to face in their own headquarters. I was pretty sure that in the whole time I’d lived in Cornwall it had only ever been John who’d been here before. It had been bothering me as to why Julia had been there and I felt like an idiot for being egotistical enough to think that the reason was me. Other bits and pieces from what Corrigan had let drop and the tired look on his face started to slot into place.
“Has she had any luck yet?” I asked, in a hopeful voice.
The look on both their faces was answer enough.
“This is why we need to make sure that you are kept out of the way of rest of the Pack,” Tom said, seriously. “This disease, whatever it is, only seems to affect shifters. Now that everyone knows that you’re not a shifter after all, they’re a bit pissed off that they’ve expended all this energy trying to get hold of you when their own are at death’s door.”
“And a bit jealous that you’re going to be immune,” Betsy added.
That annoyed me. “Really? Really? How is it my fault that I’m not a shifter? That’s like being f*cked off at the sun for rising.” Another thought occurred to me. “And if I was a shifter they were effectively bringing me into the danger zone by capturing me in the first place! If this disease is only here and in Somerset so far, then…”
“’So far’ being the operative words, Mackenzie,” said Corrigan from the door.
Damn it, he was as quiet as a ninja. Or a cat. Figures.
He moved into the room with silent feline grace. “The disease is spreading. There are already reports from Gloucester. Rogue shifters are of particular concern because they’re nomadic. If one happens to catch this disease and then decides to wander around the country then the results could be catastrophic.”
“So why in the hell don’t you just warn them? Put something out on the Othernet, and tell everyone.”
“”First of all, we’ll create a panic. Second of all, do you really think they’d believe us? The entire shifter world – and that includes the local packs – seem to think that we’re the boogiemen. Some of them,” he looked at me pointedly, “even seem to think that we’d go so far as to destroy entire localities because a single human knows of their existence.”
“Oh,” I muttered. “So you definitely aren’t going to…”
“No, you feckless harpy, I definitely won’t.”
“Why are you telling me this? You could have kept me stringing along so that I’d stay here without you forcing me.”
Corrigan looked momentarily at Tom and Betsy, who were both watching our exchange with slightly astonished expressions on their faces. “I rather thought that someone would have told you the truth already by now.”
“My Lord Alpha, I…,” Tom began nervously.
Corrigan held up a hand and he felt silent.
I cleared my throat. “Actually, Tom suggested it but wouldn’t go so far as to tell me everything. It appears that loyalty around here is in abundance,” I said pointedly, taking a dig at him for his previous remarks.
The Lord Alpha didn’t even glance in their direction, he just stared hard at me before continuing in a lighter tone. “Besides which, kitten, I don’t think anyone could really hold you against your will.”
He stepped over to me and hooked his hands under my armpits, pulling me up to my feet. I hoped that he didn’t come away with any old sweat of mine against his manicured hands. He turned me around and I felt him undoing the cuffs that bound my wrists together. His body was close to mine and his warm breath was scalding my neck. I felt the bloodfire rise in response. F*cking hell, what was wrong with me? I was not, most definitely was NOT, attracted to this overbearing lump of brooding masculinity. Praying that he couldn’t hear my heart thudding, I tried to keep my voice calm.
“You’re letting me go?”
Corrigan finished uncuffing me and turned me around to face him. He took a step backwards and stared at me unfathomably. “We have enough here to deal with without some non-human non-shifter trouble-maker hanging around. I’ve decided it’s better for everyone if we just let you leave.”
I tried to tell myself that I did not feel a little flicker of disappointment at that. “After all that trouble?” I taunted him gently. “What happened to ‘if the mages want you then I want you too?’”
The muscle in his cheek ticked again. “I believe that you are a lady of your word. Promise me that you won’t do anything to hurt any shifter and I will let you go.”
“I can’t promise that, Corrigan,” I protested. “What if a shifter comes after me? I have to be able to protect myself.”
He growled, annoyed. “I will make sure that you are left in peace.”
“You can’t assure me of that! You can’t expect everyone in the whole wide world to jump to your bidding.”
He raised his eyebrows, the green in his irises becoming more pronounced. “Actually, kitten, I’m the Lord Alpha. Yes, I can.”
“Yes, but…,” I began to splutter.
“Fine,” he sighed. “Do you promise not to intentionally hurt without provocation any shifter?”
“Uh, okay, I promise,” I said, still baffled by Corrigan’s abrupt volte-face. What had happened to change his mind?
He gestured towards the door with a flourish. “Then you are free to go.”
Without waiting for me to respond, he turned on his heel and walked out, motioning for both Tom and Betsy to follow him. On the way out, Betsy turned and shot me a look, “Kitten?” she hissed. “What on earth, Mack?”
I just shrugged at her, trying not to look as shocked as I felt. I rubbed my wrists where the cuffs had chafed and looked at the open door. Okay, then. I shrugged again and headed out after them.