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  “That means whatever happens here happens there?” At least we weren’t the only ones suffering. Made me feel a tiny little bit better.

  “We will work on that assumption.” Max backwinged and stopped at the edge of my plane’s veil, heaving a huge sigh. “You frighten me so very much at times,” he said, barely a whisper I caught thanks to the tie of his magic. “How you throw yourself into danger without thought or consideration. And yet,” I didn’t get a chance to defend myself despite my demon’s grumbling, “without your courage and willingness to risk, we would be in the dark about much we now know and are beginning to understand.” Max cut the veil and tossed me through, following in his human form. I landed on the floor of the Gate cavern, hugging myself as the drach lord crossed to me and embraced me. “I would ask you to be more careful, but I know you would ignore me. And that doing so might mean our downfall.”

  I squeezed him back, tears burning the corners of my eyes. I always felt so small next to him, even when I was a drach. Not that he lorded over me, never. Just that his vastness, the dragon shape of his natural form and the power of the first race hung around him like a tangible aura I couldn’t help but be affected by.

  I pulled away from him at last and wiped at my cheeks, the overtired reaction making me emotional. Yeah, I’d blame that for the tears on my face.

  “As long as you’re always there to catch me,” I said, throat tight, “I know I’ll never fall.”

  Max flinched slightly, shook his head, frowned. Then sighed and shrugged.

  “Daughter of my heart,” he said. “You honor and terrify me.”

  Fair enough.

  I didn’t get to prolong—or ruin—our squishy moment. Even as I opened my mouth to respond, a sharp prod of magic slammed into me and left me gasping. I knew that power, understood instantly it wasn’t an attack, but my own energies reacted in defense mode even as Gram’s voice roared in my head.

  SYD! I was moving before she was done saying my name, tearing at the veil, latching onto the family magic through our connection, Max behind me, bless him. HELP ME!

  I let my appearance be my response, bursting into the kitchen of my old house in Wilding Springs, weariness forgotten, powers blazing as I landed with a snarl and a ball of blue fire in one hand, orange in the other.

  Whatever was bothering my grandmother wouldn’t last another heartbeat.

  And stuttered to a halt, mouth gaping, as Demetrius Strong, face sad but stern, stepped into a tunnel of black and disappeared, leaving my grandmother to collapse to her knees and sob like a child with a shattered heart.

  Sassafras and Jiao struggled to hold her back as my demon cat in human form met my eyes, his full of grief.

  The Brotherhood, he sent. However they’re doing it, however they are changing the power of the Steam Union, Demetrius is one of them, now.

  ***

  Chapter Seven

  There was no time for me to freak out over the sorcerer’s loss, not while my grandmother melted down in front of me. One of the strongest people in my life, Ethpeal Hayle had been through hell and brimstone and fire so many times she rivaled me in that regard. Through all of her trials and losses I’d never seen her lose her crap.

  Until now.

  “Gram.” I reached for her with my body as well as my power, wrapping her up, trapping the desperate feel of her, the broken and horribly hurt pressure of her grief in as much padding as I could, squeezing her tight as Sassafras wiped continually at his face while he stood over us.

  Gram’s power tried to open tunnels, her sorcery still active despite the fact I’d reawaken her witch magic by forcing her to take on the family power when I’d left to be drach six months ago. Instinct drove her, perhaps, the link to her husband calling to her soul to use the magic that connected them. I rocked her and breathed and forced myself to hold her tight as gently as possible while she battered at me in frantic desperation.

  LET ME GO. Rage replaced terror, a good sign. In my experience anger fed me and I was her granddaughter, after all.

  Not until you calm down. Not fair of me to ask, not knowing what we did. With the use of the piece of Creator in his grasp Jean Marc Dumont had just poached Demetrius from the Steam Union and made him Brotherhood. Not after my grandmother spent decades first married to a man she didn’t love then insane and finally finding her true soul mate once again only to have him ripped from her.

  I knew how I’d react. And that made me the right person to keep her here. Because with every effort she made, I anticipated her move. We understood each other too well for her to escape me now.

  Didn’t keep her from trying, oh no. And she had some sneaky ways about her. But my power was just too vast. The horror at her loss distracted her enough by the time she collapsed, panting, her face reflected her utter dejection.

  Don’t you quit on me, I sent, soft but with an edge.

  Then let me go. Gram twisted physically in my arms.

  Not that way. Now she’d settled, my own anger burbled to the surface. I looked down into eyes as blue as my own, into a face beloved to me and ground my teeth together before speaking in a voice like tearing metal.

  “It’s time,” I said, “to find Jean Marc Dumont and make him wish he’d never, ever heard of the Hayle family.” Gram wept, hugged me, kissed my cheek. "We'll get him back, Gram." I helped her to her feet while my body ached with the need to act, to do something. Oh, I planned on it. And the moment I had that piece of wasted space in my possession, I wouldn’t hold back.

  About time, my demon growled. And to hell with who sees the body.

  No hiding. No longer. The Dumont family had done enough damage. The moment had come to end their evil legacy once and for all.

  I held Gram’s hand, the only anchor that could keep me here and prevent me from flying off as she’d wanted to do in pursuit of Demetrius. Because there was nothing I could do to save him from what had happened. Or was there? The white sorcery inside me might have answers, but I was still tired from my journey into the void. And I’d rather recruit some assistance.

  Syd. Max’s sadness told me he was going to say something I didn’t want to hear.

  PRIORITIES. I shot that one word at him. The Universe can wait, damn it.

  He hesitated before sighing in my head.

  “I’m coming with you.” Gram’s voice vibrated with need, her eyes still wet, her entire body shaking from the strength it took her to stay in one place. I knew how she felt.

  “No,” I said so firmly she rocked back on her heels. “You’re not.” I glared over her shoulder at Sassafras who frowned back. “You are going to stay here,” I snarled, “watch over the family,” I gestured around me, “my kids,” I caught a glimpse of the both of them watching with huge eyes and sorrowful faces from the entry to the hallway, “while I make Jean Marc and his little cult go away.”

  “You’re not going alone.” Sassafras sounded as bossy as ever, despite the fear in his voice. For me? No. Not for my safety, not that way. He was afraid I’d do something I’d never forgive myself for.

  “Don’t be an idiot.” I didn’t mean to snap at him but this was just too much. I couldn’t think about Demetrius, his cherub face, his kind blue eyes. Refused to reflect on the way he loved my grandmother with all his heart and made her so happy she seemed at times to forget the horror of her past. Or the fact he’d taken his own long, wretched journey into pain and insanity, winning his freedom and his true love after what the Brotherhood had done to him. I wouldn’t go there. Not until he was safe and back with us and Jean Marc was dead. “He might not like it much, but Piers Southway is about to get a visit.” He still blamed me for the loss of his sorcerers, for leaving him like I did. Because it was all about Piers, the fact I shed the people I loved and lived with the drach for six months. Yeah, that was it. I left because of Piers, to snub him, to show him I didn’t give a crap about him. Not because I was heartbroken and shattered and needed to heal.

  And he called me self-centered.r />
  “Hissy fit or not,” I said, tearing open a hole in the veil, Max at my side to my surprise, “the leader of the Steam Union has a job to do.”

  I left my family there, knowing they would be safe, but that from this moment on nowhere in the Universe would be so for Jean Marc Dumont.

  The castle in Scotland felt quiet, somber. Screw that. They could be as sad and mopey as they wanted, the Steam Union sorcerers and their blond leader. I pounded my power through the heavy stones of the sprawling building even as I reached out with my mental voice.

  PIERS SOUTHWAY. Okay, so shouting was becoming a way of life for me. Best I could do under the circumstances. Beat shaking the crap out of the ground beneath my feet. Something Shaylee was more than happy to participate in if I decided such an act was warranted. I figured one of two things were likely. Either Piers would ignore me or he’d come running.

  Ten black tunnels opened in the foyer of the castle and a horde of young sorcerers poured out, led by the tall, lean focus of my attention.

  He looked tired, black circles under his gray eyes, his longcoat dirty in places, the white button up he usually wore open at the collar, showing the stark standout of his collarbone. Piers had lost weight, looked like crap.

  Not my problem. “Jean Marc has Demetrius,” I said without preamble.

  Piers halted his advance, his people behind him. A terrible frown creased a deep line between his eyebrows, lips turned downward, aging him by decades. “I see,” he said, voice crackling with anger. “So, when it’s my people in general you don’t give a damn. But when it’s someone you care about?” He tossed his head, blond hair greasy and unkempt, so unlike him. “I call rubbish, Sydlynn Hayle.”

  I shrugged. “You can call anything you want,” I snapped back. “If you’re about done having your little hissy fit, I suggest we focus our attention on locating Jean Marc and the piece of Creator.”

  Piers barked a laugh. “What do you think we’ve been doing while you abandoned us?”

  Asshole. He did not get to say that to me. “You know how much is at stake,” I said, hating the vibration of emotion in my voice. “You were there when Zoe gave me the white sorcery, Piers. When she made me sever our connection. Because of your mother.” I may have gone too far with that little additive, but it was enough to make him flinch and back down, if only for a second.

  I should have apologized. The irony of this entire conversation wasn’t lost on me. After all, finding Jean Marc was a priority. He had a piece of Creator. But both Max and I decided knowing where a piece was meant less than hunting down the three that had yet to be located. We could find Jean Marc when we needed to, at least that was the supposition. But now? Top of the list.

  “Good luck in your search.” Piers sounded like he hoped I choked on it. “The Steam Union will proceed with our own investigation.”

  He turned, about to walk away. Oh, no he did not. I pinned him with power, knowing it would piss him off and possibly damage our relationship irreparably. But I had to make him listen. He was so far gone in his anger he reminded me too much of his mother, Eva. And I couldn’t let that happen. All of my own rage dribbled away when he didn’t fight back, just held his place, glaring.

  I couldn’t lose my friend to the madness that claimed his mother.

  I told him about the elder council, about the ancient collection of races who had watched over the paranormals of this plane for millennia. Two familiar faces in the crowd seemed shocked by the revelation their grandmother was involved. At least Apollo and Owen Zornov didn’t know their Nona was on that council. Made me feel a little better. They were my friends too and I’d hate to think they chose to keep things from me the way their grandmother and sister did. Thinking about Trill just made me angry all over again.

  “So?” Piers seemed unimpressed, unmoved by the information.

  “So,” I said, “they have resources we don’t. And are looking for Jean Marc right now.” At least, so I’d been told. “I figured it was time to check in with them and see if they’d come up with anything.” And no, I didn’t trust them, not after the fiasco with Femke and my own mother. The elder council wasn’t exactly in it for the benefit of others, it seemed to me. Still, if they could help, I’d take it.

  With a grain of salt.

  Piers hesitated. A good sign. He still wasn’t fighting my grip, either, though he finally pushed gently against me, another positive indicator. At least, I’d take it as such. Wins were few and far between at times so I claimed what I could for the home team.

  “Have you seen Zoe?” He swallowed after he spoke, as if regretting bringing her up.

  I nodded, heart hurting for him, releasing him. Piers remained where he was, the anger draining from him, leaving behind pained resentment. Well, I’d take that, too. “Just a little while ago.” Was it only an hour or so? My life didn’t waste time spiraling into insanity, did it? “She looks good, Piers. She’s doing her job.” I was defending the new Fate of this Universe after she’d betrayed me, really? But it seemed to help my friend. His shoulders sagged forward a bit, his face falling before his expression settled into forced calm.

  “This council,” he said, a spark of the old Piers showing in his eyes. “Will they be forthcoming?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe,” I said. “Maybe not. Figured you’d like to encourage them personally.”

  He nodded, hands flexing at his sides, a dangerous fury on his face before he settled into calm again.

  “I accept your invitation,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  He didn’t have to tell me twice. We might not be besties again, but when I opened the veil and stepped through, Piers’s weighted desperation was gone.

  And the wins just kept on coming.

  ***

  Chapter Eight

  I could have taken us right to the council chamber under the pyramids in Giza, but I was hoping to catch one of the members alone first. However, as soon as we stepped out into the bedchamber of the Empress of vampires I realized such a chance had been optimistic. At least Moa was in residence, the small, withered form of the first vampire perched on her throne at the foot of her bed. Her tiny, black eyes observed me as though she expected me and I wondered if she had spies in the Steam Union.

  It was the tall, stunning Sidhe at her side that made me frown. Everonus, the criminal Fey left behind by Queen Aoilainn when she formed the realm and took her people from this plane observed me with his silver gaze, also unsurprised to see me.

  But the third figure, huddled inside a colorful shawl, did seem startled if only for a moment. So, perhaps the ancient two were better at hiding their shock than the little old maji woman who clutched at Moa’s chair with one wrinkled hand. Nona looked away an instant after meeting my eyes.

  Guilt? New or historic? I guess I’d find out.

  “Doombringer.” Moa’s voice, so young and fresh, always seemed at odds with her mummified appearance.

  “Cut the crap,” I said. “We need to find Jean Marc Dumont and we need to find him now.”

  Piers twitched next to me, his impatience feeding mine. Though my magic had connected me to everyone I’d loved once, I’d severed those connections. Only Piers and I remained apart since I returned, on purpose. Perhaps on his side because of rage at me, but I hadn’t forgotten the fact his mother was using our ties to each other to track me when I hunted the pieces of Creator. As much as I longed to renew our bond, I had to hold him at arm’s length.

  Didn’t keep his power from bouncing off mine like a furious wasp.

  Everonus shrugged elegantly. “We are otherwise occupied,” he said while Moa hissed at him.

  Great. More trouble. “Spill it.” There was a time and a place for politocospeak and diplomacy. This wasn’t it.

  Moa looked away, her child sized body shuddering. “My people,” she snarled, “in case you’ve forgotten, are disappearing.” She spun back, glaring her anger. “I don’t see you doing much to help, Doombringer.”

  Oh, no she di
d not drop that in my lap and expect me to take it. But it was Max who roared with all the power of the drach behind him, his rainbow magic shaking the entire castle. Moa meeped softly in protest, as if shocked by his reaction.

  “Do not test us today,” he said, booming voice carrying. “Or any day, child.”

  Considering she was ancient, that term had to sting. But Moa just sagged, a broken doll on an elaborate throne, while her lóng bodyguards stared at Max with tight expressions. Did they know yet they were the evolution of the drach? Surely Jiao had informed them. They seemed shaken by the power he’d displayed, though, enough I could see it in their normally blank faces.

  “It’s every race for themselves, is that it?” Piers’s question startled me. I hadn’t expected him to speak. He gestured at them with impotent rage. “I’d heard your elder council protected paranormals. Until push comes to shove.”

  Everonus scowled at him. “You have no idea—”

  “Nor do I care.” Piers cut him off with a growl. “All I see before me is a pathetic gathering of those who are unwilling to act. Who have always been unwilling to act.” He turned toward me, power coiling under him in a black cloud that seethed with his anger. “We’re wasting our time here.”

  I found myself reaching out for Sunny even as I nodded. And tried not to flinch internally when I couldn’t reach my aunt. The vampire queen had returned to the mansion outside Wilding Springs, doing her best to protect the vampires who flocked to her side. She’d managed to save a few, but the power drawing them into the void wouldn’t be denied forever. The fact I couldn’t touch her mind with mine made me very, very nervous.

  Until I felt the edge of shields, the push back from the spirit magic protecting the mansion. Okay then. Sunny had things in hand. Time to put this present problem to bed.

  Priorities. I’d be sick of that word shortly, I had a feeling.

  “I fear the scourge is spreading.” This time when Everonus spoke there was real fear replacing the inherent arrogance in his smooth voice. That didn’t sound good. “Several of my Sidhe compatriots have gone missing.”