11. Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
Greya
Greya made her way down to the dank cellar underneath her house. It had been several days since she’d been down here last, but she and the other Auster witches had decided to leave the daemon to stew while they dealt with their own. The injured, the dead…
Daria’s slack face flashed through Greya’s mind, and the echo of her mother’s scream followed.
The Coven had been reeling with grief since the attack, both for the loss of life that had occurred, and the destruction of the Sacred Grove.
Some of the trees had been damaged by fire, wind, and cracking earth.
She wasn’t sure it would ever be the same, and the sadness over that was almost as severe as the lost lives.
This man—this daemon—had claimed he’d wanted none of it, that he was a friend of Ena and Ty, but still…he’d been there. He’d stood by and done nothing while the others had killed and destroyed.
So no, she didn’t trust him one bit, and she’d left him to rot. He’d had food and water, of course—she wasn’t that cruel—but otherwise, only darkness as his company for almost a week, and she would’ve left him that way indefinitely if she could’ve. But she couldn’t put it off any longer.
It was her duty as matriarch to deal with him.
She wouldn’t show him mercy if his death became necessary.
But first…she needed to speak with him. If he had useful information about what the King of the Underworld was up to, then she needed to hear it.
Her sister’s safety always came first, and now that Ty was her husband, that extended to him too.
She climbed down the dark, wooden staircase and moved to the small, windowless room where they normally kept their cold storage foods. They’d quickly moved things to others’ houses before depositing the daemon here, but it still smelled strongly of garlic.
She paused for a second outside the door, readying herself, before she spoke:
{Clavis}
The bolt hidden inside the door slid to the side, and the door creaked open.
She lifted up her candle to the darkness, revealing a large man crouched in the corner.
Now that she was inside, she could smell another overwhelming scent, coming from the chamber pot they’d given him which rested in the corner opposite him.
She did not revel in the indignity of it all.
His eyes met hers, black and unforgiving as they reflected the candlelight. “Come to speak with me at last, matriarch?” he asked. His voice was not menacing, nor taunting, as she would expect. Instead, it was almost…understanding.
“Yes,” she said matter-of-factly, not exactly sure what to do with that. “It’s time for you to make yourself useful, after all you’ve put our Coven through.”
The two of them stared at each other—will to will—but the daemon didn’t back down or cower. He just seemed resigned, and ready to move forward.
“I’ll tell you what I know,” he offered. “As I said, I never wanted any of this to happen.”
“So you say, but you’ll forgive me if I’m reticent to believe a word that comes out of your mouth, even with my Knowing. Daemons are known for their trickery and lies.”
“And witches don’t lie?” The man laughed, his chuckle dark and sarcastic. “You’ll forgive me if I find your moral high ground laughable, after all witches have done.”
Greya nearly flinched, but she stopped herself. She couldn’t let the fact that his words affected her show. Because he was correct. Witches had lied. And their lies had been most damning.
“You say you’re Ty’s friend,” she said, changing the subject back to business. “And you know of my sister?”
“Yes. Ty is my best friend, and I met your sister when she came to the Underworld with him. My name is Steig. They may have mentioned me. If they were here?” he asked.
Greya didn’t recognize his name, but Ena, Ty, and Turner hadn’t been here that long. It was entirely possible they just hadn’t had time to mention him.
“They were. They came here to break the bond, as I’m sure you’re already aware, given the changes to our magic,” she responded. “Which begs the question…why were you not with them? If you’re as good of friends as you say.”
Steig swallowed, sadness—maybe regret?—crossing his face. “I had to stay behind. My wife, my children…I couldn’t leave them,” he said simply.
It was a bit harder to read his intentions in the dark, but her Knowing told her he was being sincere—there were no signs of lying, and his emotions seemed deep and genuine.
“So why did you come now?” she asked.
“As I said, I was sent by the king to capture Ty and Ena and bring them back for…punishment. Because of what they did.”
“The king knows of your friendship with Ty, and yet he sent you here to capture them? Why would he do that?”
“To prove my loyalty, of course. I’m united with his daughter.”
“United?” Greya asked, confused with the use of the word.
“It’s our version of handfasting,” Steig explained.
Greya nodded. She was beginning to understand the situation now. The man had divided loyalties…but did he really have Ena and Ty’s best interests at heart…or his own family’s?
“But,” he continued, “I’ve known about the amulet from the start. I was with Ty when he captured Ena, and when they found the amulet. I am on his side, not the king’s.”
That tracked. Greya knew there had been a third daemon, along with Ty and Turner, that had participated in Ena’s capture. Maybe Steig was on Ty’s side, but where did that leave the witches?
“And Ty is on Ena’s side,” Greya stated, testing his reaction to the mention of her sister. “His wife’s.”
“Wife?” Steig asked, his brows jumping up.
“Yes,” she said. “I had the honor of handfasting them before…” Greya paused, not sure how much she wanted to reveal.
“Before what?” Steig asked, his concern for them evident. “Where are they? Are they not here anymore?”
Greya fell silent. She trusted that what he said was true—that he was Ty’s friend and had been involved in the plot to break the bond along with him, but still…could he be trusted now? With the king breathing down his neck and his family presumably left alone without protection?
Steig seemed to sense her hesitance. “Look,” he said. “I’m sorry for the attack. I swear it was not my idea, and I harmed no one. The other two…they couldn’t be stopped. They were absolute idiots, and to be honest, I’m glad to be rid of them.”
Greya scoffed, not sure how she felt about so much harm being done by two daemons Steig dismissed as “idiots.” “Just because you knew my sister, and didn’t participate in the attack, does not mean you are a friend to witches,” Greya said.
“I have no desire to hurt witches,” Steig replied, his voice adamant.
“It’s no secret that I do not trust your kind, and I hope you’ll agree that mistrust on both sides is warranted, but your sister…
she showed me that not all of you are bad, and that our two races have more in common than I thought, especially now that we have access to Gaia once more. ”
Greya paused, assessing him. “And what is Gaia’s will telling you now?” she asked, again testing his response.
Steig sighed, as if reluctant to speak her will out loud. “To keep peace with you and your Coven so you can help me warn Ena and Ty about what the king is up to. And then figure out how to overthrow the bastard,” he said. “Although I’m pretty sure that second part is Iblis’s will.”
Greya watched him, letting her Knowing have free rein to interpret his signs—his facial expressions, the way he breathed, the way his eyes looked about—and she decided once again that he was sincere.
“They’re gone,” she said. “They were here, but…they had to leave.”
She wasn’t sure if she should tell him about the baby. Even if his intentions were good, she did not want to risk that information getting back to the king.
“Where did they go?” he asked, his brows furrowing in concern.
“Over the Chasm Mountains.”
“What?” Steig asked, as if he couldn’t possibly have heard her right.
“It’s true, and I’m sorry, but I don’t—”
“Greya!” a voice called—distressed and muffled, as if far away and…underwater.
It couldn’t be.
Greya looked around the room frantically. She recognized the way that voice sounded.
Greya shone her candle around the dark room, looking for—
There! The pitcher of water they’d given the daemon. Turning her back to Steig so he couldn’t see, she picked it up off the floor and moved it to the center of the room, placing it on the ground in front of her. She held the candle up to it, and almost couldn’t believe what she saw.
In the reflection of the water, she could just barely make out part of Ena’s face. The pitcher was too small to hold the whole thing, but she could tell from her eyes alone that something was wrong.
“Ena! Oh, Gaia. What is it? Why are you contacting me?”
“Greya,” Ena said. She could tell her voice was full of tears, despite being muffled by the water. “It’s Ty.”
Greya looked into the pitcher of water to see Ena’s blue eyes filled with sadness, and her heart plummeted.
If she was using her one and only vial of water from the Sacred Pool to speak to Greya now…something really bad must have happened. Was it the baby?
“What? Ena, what do you mean it’s Ty?” Greya asked, confusion and concern warring inside her. “Hold on a minute,” she added, remembering her present company. She needed to relocate to have this discussion in private.
“Wait, please,” Steig said, standing up abruptly. “Don’t leave. Is that Ena? Is Ty okay? What did she say?”
“Is someone there with you?” Ena asked, clearly having noticed Greya’s distracted attention.
“A daemon. I guess his name is Steig,” she said. “We’ve captured him, and he claims to be your and Ty’s friend.”
“Steig is there with you?” Ena asked in shock. “Yes, Turner, she said Steig—hold on,” she said, looking beside her to where Turner must have been, though Greya couldn’t see him since the blood-to-blood connection was just between Ena and herself.
“I told you they knew me,” Steig said haughtily, but Greya brushed him off.
“How did you capture him? Is he alright?” Ena asked.