“Holy fuck on a hand grenade.” Sandy’s irritation vanished, as did mine. “What can we do to help?”
“Nothing. No one can help me.” Tears trickling out of the corners of her eyes, Linda hung her head. “I’m so embarrassed. I’ve broken my oath to the coven. I’m as good as a warlock. I’ve put you all in danger, and I know I should resign, but Essie wants me in power. I’m her pawn. And now, she’ll find out that you know, and my daughter will die.”
I glanced over at Sandy. This complicated matters in an entirely jacked-up way. But it explained why Linda had tried to sidestep the discussion.
“So that’s why she’s targeting me instead of you. I’m a threat. I’m a known enemy to vampires, even though I may be canoodling with one.”
Linda sighed, and the sound settled around us. “Maddy, you’re so well-known for your past. You thought you could walk away from it, but memories run long and deep among Otherkin. Add to that you’ve taken up with Aegis, an unaligned vampire who’s refused to join Essie’s court. He’s too powerful for her to destroy, and you’re under his protection.”
“So Essie doesn’t intend to wipe out the coven. If she has you under her thumb, she has control because nobody questions your authority. Once she gets rid of the members of the coven who might make waves, nobody will know what’s going on until she takes control.”
The thought that the Moonrise Coven had become a sock-puppet for the vampires was sobering. But I realized that the drive to protect one’s young was primary among most beings. Now what the hell were we going to do? We couldn’t leave things alone. On the other hand, if we made any sort of move, it would endanger an innocent girl.
Sandy appeared to be thinking along the same lines. She flashed me a warning look, her gaze darting from me to the door. Linda was a powerful witch—stronger than Sandy and me put together. She could probably destroy us and then spin some lie about what happened.
“So what are you going to do?” I finally asked her.
Linda closed her eyes and we tensed.
Then, she slowly opened them again and gazed at us with resignation. “I don’t care about what happens to me. You’re asking me to choose between my daughter and your own lives. How can I sacrifice an entire coven of people who depend on me? I’m so lost right now.”
I bit my lip. “What if we can smuggle Patty out of where she’s being held captive and then make sure you two reach a sanctuary? You could go to the mother temple, perhaps? You and Patty could live there until Essie is long gone.”
“I’d willingly give up everything to make sure my daughter is safe. But how can you manage it? Kali and her family are threatened, as well.”
“Let Sandy and me find a way. We’ve got resources and I have the beginnings of an idea. We won’t do anything to put you or your daughter in danger without consulting you.”
With a whisper, she agreed. “I suppose I have no choice. At least you know the truth.”
“What do we tell them?” I nodded toward the door. “We’ve been in here a long time.”
Sandy stood, brushing the wrinkles out of her robes. “We tell them that we were discussing how best to help Rose’s parents through this. And that we were discussing matters concerning Ralph Greyhoof.”
“That sounds like a plan.” I turned to Linda. “I want you to be ready to leave. We won’t do anything without your permission, but in case the opportunity arises, you need to be ready to go.” That was the first time I had ever lied to my High Priestess, but I had no choice. If I told her what I was planning she’d freak and put a stop to it.
She gave me a long look. “I’m holding you to your word.”
I nodded. I’d deal with the aftermath later.
“All right. Let’s go.” She led the way.
We returned to the others, who looked at us expectantly. I kept my expression neutral, as did Sandy. Linda quietly explained that, with so much going on, we were going to meet later in the month. That tonight was just not the best time. Within ten minutes, the room had emptied and Sandy and I were standing outside by our cars. I let out a long breath, realizing that I had been afraid that we wouldn’t be allowed to leave the temple.
“Speaking of Ralph, if he’s in thrall to Essie, how do we break it?” Sandy asked.
“First step: find out if he is. I asked Delia to check Ralph for fang marks but she hasn’t gotten back to me yet.”
“Give her a call.”
I pulled out my cell. “Good thought.”
Delia answered on the first ring. “Maddy, I was going to call you but I knew tonight was an Esbat night. Ralph’s definitely in thrall to somebody. We found the marks. I’ve got an APB out on Rachel right now. Hold on.”
I heard the rustle of papers, then she said something to someone and came back on the line.
“Sorry. We’ve got an incident over at Benjar’s Tavern. The Shalof boys are roughing it up again and they’ve broken out into the street. It’s become a street brawl.”
The Shalof boys usually spent at least one night a week cooling it off in jail. They were a couple of happy-go-lucky centaurs until they got drunk and then they took to jousting in the streets, usually with a couple of their goblin friends. Goblins weren’t officially welcome in Bedlam, but somehow they always managed to show up and cause havoc before Delia rousted them out.
“All right. I’ve sent a couple of units over to deal with them. Now, about Ralph.”
“Delia, you said you think he’s in thrall. Do you think he actually killed Rose? Because I don’t. I think somebody else did it and set him up. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Well, there’s one way to find out for certain. We can draw some of his blood and run it by the Oracle. She can tell whether or not it’s Rachel holding him in thrall.”
I thought for a moment. If Essie found out and she suspected she might be exposed, then Ralph was a dead man. But there was another way to cope with someone caught in thrall.
“No! Don’t do that. Ask Andy McGee for one of his Tochlan potions. It will cost a small fortune but I’ll pay for it if the department can’t. Give it to Ralph and it will break the thrall. It might also destroy his memories of the incident, but please—I guarantee you, he didn’t do it.”
“You know who did.” Delia lowered her voice. “And for some reason you can’t tell me who or why right now.”
“Right.”
“All right, we’ll play it your way. I’ll get the potion. I have to keep him locked up for now, but he’ll be out of thrall and no longer subject to control.”
“Keep a watch on him. Don’t leave him alone for a moment. I’ll talk to you in a little while. Meanwhile, I’ve got a few things to arrange.”
As I hung up, I turned to Sandy. “I need to go home and talk to Bubba.”
Sandy gave me a long look. “You aren’t—”
“Can you come back home with me?” I asked. “And ask Lihi to come over.”
“All right, but if you’re thinking what I think you are, heaven help us.”
“Right now, we could use a little help from the gods. I’m going to call Aegis. We have to trust him. We’re walking on shaky ground right now and I really don’t want to topple over the edge.” As I started the engine, I made sure Sandy was safe in her car before easing out of the parking lot and heading back to my house.
“Call Aegis.” I activated the voice control on my phone.
“Maddy?” He answered quickly. “Are you all right?”
“Heading home. Can you meet us there? I’ve got a lot to tell you, and the sooner the better. Sandy’s coming with me. Tell the band it’s important if they complain.” I could hear the strumming of Jorge’s guitar in the background.