9. Cress
Leona Whiteside met with Madigan, Jordan, and Hana early the next morning, before most of us were just waking up. I learned about it when they emerged from a room on floor negative one and the door slammed behind them, startling me into looking up. I was rummaging through the break room with Ben for anything edible, my laughter from a story he was telling fading as I spotted the group of women walking by.
The four of them exchanged a meaningful glance. Each time a secretive look was shared with Hana, the tension along my spine notched a little tighter. I wondered what future she was guiding us toward now.
“Good morning,” I said.
“Before you ask…yes, we know about the online petition. The other governing covens and councils around the world are debating our fate as we speak,” Hana said.
I bared my teeth in a cringe. That was the opposite of comforting to hear from her.
“Well, damn, not such a good morning after all,” Ben muttered.
Madigan brushed a hand through her hair. Unbound orange curls tangled around her head, mussed like she’d been tugging on them in frustration. “I’m going to trust Hana, as I always have, and say it will be handled. I have new instructions for you and the rest of your coven in the meantime.” She gestured broadly toward Leona. “I am entrusting you all and your training to the head librarian.”
Leona’s mouth was set grimly. “I don’t know much about other affinities…but there’s little you can’t learn by doing. We start purging the containment rooms today.”
I swallowed down a surge of nerves and looked over at Madigan. “That sounds really dangerous. Are you sending any more of Ashbough Protective Services to help?” I asked.
Madigan nodded. “Of course. We’re supporting the library with an equal share of people and supplies.”
“Aunt Jordan, you’re going to be here with us?” Ben asked, earning a warm smile and a confirmation from her. She twirled her staff with its single stored spell, brandishing it with a flourish.
“And we’ll all be helping…even Willow?” I added.
The last time Willow had used her magic had been in the Crown Coven’s audience chamber. Her control had gone haywire, and many of the people who’d been around her had clutched their necks and gasped for air like they were drowning on land. It’d only been Madigan’s timely intervention in knocking Willow unconscious that’d saved those people.
“I’ve seen a lot of spells in my day,” Madigan answered slowly. “I believe what I saw was her performing mer magic.”
“Yes, for the first time,” Hana confirmed.
Madigan nodded, unsurprised. “It looked like an explosion of magic that’d been under pressure for a long time. It’s difficult to be half witch and half a different kind of supernatural, but it’s not something to be feared. If we gather any mer survivors, we will seek a mentor for her amongst them. But until then…keep her with you. It’ll be better for her if she’s with her coven, doing what she can without pushing her magic that far again.”
The seer nodded in echo to her. If she wasn’t offering a warning of impending danger, I would gladly have my friend here helping us.
“If I may offer a suggestion,” Hana said. “Grant and Wren will need more space in the coming days. Do with that as you will.”
“And don’t let any interpersonal drama come between you and your duties to this library,” Leona added with the air of a final word.
When Ben and I murmured in agreement, they moved on, speaking quietly amongst themselves. I turned to my man, whispering, “Grant should go spy on what Myuna is doing.”
On our way to Grant’s door, we gathered up Roe, who had donned workout gear from somewhere and was about to try to find a place to exercise. Her familiar, a stout Belgian Malinois named Tank, panted eagerly by her side. He seemed disappointed when we distracted his witch.
She’d paled at the thought of sending Grant out as our spy but didn’t air any protests, only coming along and standing behind Ben and me as we knocked on his door.
Grant answered after a few minutes, looking disheveled. “It’s too early for such long faces,” he said, standing aside so we could come in. The moment he closed and locked the door, his real form spilled out.
The true Grant, if that was even his name, had light brown skin reminiscent of pinewood, with wood grain striations up his arms and stopping at the bare vee of flesh at his collarbones. What marked him as a changeling were the four faceted dragonfly wings folded down on his back.
And part of what proved that he was a fae of the dangerous Autumn Court was his hair, evergreen at the roots and tarnishing to orange halfway down, and the amber-brown eyes he turned our way, alight with intrigue. He had a handsome, angular face and pointed ears that poked a bit out of his bedhead.
“I’m guessing you all want something,” he said, sounding curious.He tried to call Tank over, but the dog gave him a look of distrust and refused to budge from Roe’s side.
“Myuna destroyed the camera we were using to watch what she was doing,” I said. “I know it would be dangerous, but I was wondering if you would be able to spy on her.”
His green eyebrows rose to his hairline. “Yeah, I suppose I could…” he drew out the moment, and I waited, expecting the “but” that came after that statement. Maybe he wanted something in return, even after striking a deal with Roe to use his talents to help us in exchange for information and our discretion.
“I just have to wait until she has a few minions. Then I can slip in no problem. Think I’d make a good monster?” He swiped his hand through the air as if it were tipped with claws. Instead of growling, he rolled his tongue to purr and grinned over at Roe.
She was looking a little pink around the edges. “Not that kind of monster,” she protested. “Are you sure? This seems really unsafe.”
Grant’s expression morphed into an easygoing smile. “It’s my job, Roe. I’d much rather use my talents to try instead of standing behind you and hiding from whatever violence is on the horizon. Don’t you worry about me. I’m going to gather up the finest tea that’s ever been brewed and share it all with you.”
Roe sighed. “Fine, but be careful.”
“You know I will,” he answered. “It’s my ass on the line too.”
The tension between them seemed to break when she rolled her eyes. “Right, so, Wren next?” Ben asked, sharing a quick look with me. He was moments away from a smug, knowing smirk, and I tamped down the urge to return that look back to him.
“What about her?” Roe asked.
“She probably isn’t back yet,” Grant put in.
“What do you mean?” she demanded. “Don’t tell me she left the library…without us?”
That spark of interest was back in his gaze as he covered his lips with a finger. “Shh, it’s a secret.”
“It’s probably fine,” I put in when Roe placed her handson her head, her eyes bugging wide as she started to freak out.
“The Hunger is out there unchecked, but sure, leave the library at night,” she said, breathy with panic. Tank whined and nudged her. My heart beat faster in my chest, imagining Wren being wrenched away into darkness. Hana would warn us, right, rather than let us worry over discovering her body out in the streets?
“I think she was trying to prevent this.” Grant circled a hand her way.
“I’m going up to look for her. You guys coming with?” Roe asked. She gave herself a shake and strode for the door without waiting. Ben and I scrambled after her while Grant locked the door behind us.
The stairs were closer, so Roe charged up them. She cleared the door to the ground level floor first, and I found her standing a few feet away from it and motioning for us to be quiet. I heard the faint sound of a woman trying to cry and talk at the same time, making distinctive sobs of distress.
I didn’t realize it was Wren at first. We crept closer when there was quiet for a few moments, before the sounds of crying intensified. “You don’t understand, Mom!” She burst out. “Listen to yourself.”
Another pause. “He murderedan entirefamily for that job! What do you mean? You knew about it?” She gasped. I felt a twist of dread and fury, realizing they were discussing my family. The death of my birth parents so her father could be voted into his spot on the Crown Coven with my mother out of the way.
Roe made a sound low in her throat and strode forward with purpose. I wished we could’ve eavesdropped a little more, as the naked shock on Wren’s tearstained face morphed into wide-eyed surprise at seeing us before she schooled her expression as best she could. She had a pair of earbuds in and held the edge of her phone close to her face.
Wren and I met gazes, and something passed over hers with the welling of new tears. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” she said, sounding defeated. “Just…please tell the emergency council that we’re going to make a stand against Myuna. They might still listen to you. We just need more—”
She winced, her tears spilling to make new tracks over her face. She wiped them away, then pulled out her earbuds and put them into their case. “She hung up,” she muttered.
My heart tugged, seeing her curled in on herself like this. “Do you want a hug?” I asked. The offer felt wholly inadequate when she was hurting deep enough to show it.
She nodded wordlessly, and Roe intercepted her to pull her into a tight embrace first. “I’m glad you’re okay. We heard you went out after dark without us,” she sighed.
Wren pointed, and for the first time, I noticed that she’d been sitting on a crate that looked like it didn’t belong in a library. There were a few more piled nearby, and her staff was propped up against them, its sunny centerpiece glowing faintly. There was a swirl of magic in a matching yellow underneath the crates, buoying them up by several inches.
Once Roe released her, Wren and I hugged briefly. It was a little awkward, but it was a start. “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to be helpful,” she said, sniffing and lifting her shoulders back, speaking more confidently. “I did some adjusting on my magic and got us everything silver I could lift from a weapons emporium.”
“That’s a lot of silver,” Ben commented.
Wren shrugged. “Whatever the coven doesn’t need, I’m sure Ashbough Protective Services can take. I left a credit card for the owner to charge if they get a chance to return, though I’m not sure it will matter…”
She drifted off with a sigh before turning abruptly toward Roe and Ben and asking, “Could I speak with Cress alone for a few minutes?”
Roe’s lashes fluttered. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go get the coven to look at what you brought. C’mon, Ben.”
Wren deflated again once they were gone and walked over to retrieve her staff. The crates landed on the ground with a jarring clatter. “You used celestial witch magic a few days ago,” she said, inspecting the length of fine wood in her hands.
“I did. It was a stored spell on Evening Guidance. I’m not sure how…” I began to explain, drifting off when she held up a hand.
When she turned to look my way, her eyes were red-rimmed with grief and a new wave of tears. “I want you to know that I don’t regret defending you. My family wronged yours… My parents did the unthinkable. I…I’m not part of it anymore.”
“Wren, it’s okay, I promise. I don’t blame you for anything,” I murmured.
“Good, because I…” She breathed out raggedly. “I’m not a Starsurge anymore.”
All the air left my lungs, a reply drying up on my tongue. Did that mean what I thought it did? “The rest of your family…” I couldn’t even complete the vile thought.
“D-Disowned me,” she said in a miserable whisper. “The only thing I can keep are the clothes I came here wearing and my staff. And I don’t know if I even want the staff.”
What vile people, I thought. I channeled my inner Roe for what to say next, knowing her family would take Wren in if the other woman so much as suggested it.
“Wren, I’m sorry your birth givers were—” I searched for a respectful enough way to say this without hurting her further. “—that they made the decisions that led us here. Family is also what you make of it. You still have the coven. We’ll support you through this if, uh, if you will let us.”
She gave me a hesitant lift of her lips. “I’ll try to be a better friend.” After a scuff of her foot, she changed the subject quickly. “And to start, I want to experiment with your magic.”
I tilted my head, my gaze searching the air above us for my handbook. It held my excess magic, the whole celestial might of my family line. “Experiment how?” I asked.
“It’s not like I’ve met anyone with access to two affinities. Do you have anyone to teach you how to use celestial witch magic?”
Well, there was my birth mother’s ghost, but she wasn’t here for this discussion. Her comings and goings were pretty unreliable, but she’d wanted to be around to help mentor me. And Jordan, though I didn’t know her well enough to ask for magical training. “If you’re offering, count me in,” I said.
We agreed to meet up after dinner time this evening, or whenever we called it quits for the day on purging the library. After we came to an agreement, we waited in companionable silence. She schooled her face to hide the worst of her grief, and I decided not to mention anything to our friends about what we’d discussed. When they arrived, they were occupied with awe as crates were pried open and weapons were laid out on the floor, all made with silver.
There were a few guns and cases of silver bullets. We set those aside for now, going for the weapons associated with our affinities. Our leaders would know who could make the best use of the limited supply of guns and ammunition.
I eagerly traded out my old training sword for a newly made one with a longer cross guard. My decision was fairly easy, so I stood back to watch what everyone else took. Ben secreted away a couple daggers, while Roe tested the weight behind a length of metal with sharp bits extending from the ball at the end—a flanged mace, she called it. Each test swing she took disturbed the air audibly.
Willow lifted a delicate silver trident like she’d break it, twisting it in the light to admire the patterns of fish scales etched into the long, thin pole and up to the three wicked points at the end. It appeared ceremonial, like a celestial witch staff, not meant to actually skewer something.
“I can really take this?” she asked in her whisper of a voice.
“Absolutely,” Wren answered. She didn’t even glance around as she set down her sun-topped staff and picked up a smaller, less ornate one about the length of her forearm. It was topped with a silvery-blue glass globe framed by a pair of crescent moons. Her shoulders loosened like she’d dropped a weight from them as she gave the new tool an approving nod.
Bianca was the one to share that these were made standard for teams of unnatural hunters since creatures determined to be aberrations were almost always twisted from dimensional magic or simply weren’t from our world at all. Silver was the one weakness most of those creatures shared. “The perfect weapons to kill them easily while they’re trapped in the boxes here,” she said.
Ben elbowed her, scowling. “Don’t jinx us.”