Anderson.”
HELENA was still riding on a lovely joy-inspired high when her phone rang. It was Molly and she smiled, answering. “Hey there, Moll.”
“I wish I was only calling with congratulations.”
Helena sighed. “Uh oh.”
“First, congratulations. I’m so happy for you. Faine is perfect and the two of you are so wonderful together. I’m sorry I had to miss the ceremony, but Lark says your parents are planning a big party for a few months from now so Gage and I will definitely be at that one. We’ll need to throw a bachelorette party. Belated of course, but still.”
“Looking forward to seeing you wearing a hat with penises all over it.”
Molly paused and Helena laughed, just imagining her face just then. “All righty then. On that note, and really speaking of dicks, I have some news about Hayes and Powers.”
“Ugh.”
Which of course was an understatement once Molly had updated her. She started her walk over to Rebecca’s office. “I’m on it. Does Lark know?”
“She’s next on my list. I wanted to call you first because it dealt with Rebecca.”
“Have Lark call me once you’re done. Do not go anywhere without Gage, do you hear me?”
“Yes, yes, of course. He was with me when I got the call. He hasn’t been out of reach since.”
She sighed. “All right. Thanks.”
Faine appeared at her side. She didn’t even need to look to know he was there. Aside from his body heat, she just knew.
“I heard part of that. I’m not going to be leaving your side either.”
“It’s The Gennessee we need to be worried about. Listen, I’ve been meaning to ask you about travel through the Veil. Why haven’t we been using it? I mean it takes hours to fly to and from DC and even back and forth to Seattle. If you can leave here and exit in Lycia and then head to Seattle, can we do that and go to DC?”
“What are you thinking of?”
“Can it be done?”
“In some cases. I was able to leave here to go to Lycia and then meet you in Seattle because I came through with Simon. He’d come through in Seattle. But it’s not so straightforward when it comes to originating in one place and coming out another. There are rules about Veil travel. Mainly it’s about keeping numbers down, so different species can’t send an army through to another place. That’s why we can’t send an army of Lycians here en masse all at once. It would have to be done in stages. And even then there are caps. It’s the same with the Fae and anyone else on the other side of the Veil. Why do you ask? Other than making travel to see your sister quicker. Which we can do if they meet us in Lycia.”
“I’d like to sneak to DC and install some spells in Hayes’ and Powers’ homes and offices. We need to know what the heck is happening. They’re up to all this stuff, and while I don’t think they can bring the Magister back, they’re fooling around with dangerous stuff. We have no idea just what it could result in.”
“I can’t get us to DC. Not that way. There are no portals within about six hundred miles of DC. I don’t know why, but that’s the truth. But . . .” He paused. “Mei, Card’s mate, she’s Fae. They can travel that way. Let me call her and see what we can arrange.”
“All right. I need to get permission first anyway. And if we’re a go, I’d like to do it tonight.”
“I do like it that you said
“I know you. And I need the backup. I’d ask Lark, she’s great at the sneaky stuff, but she’s got enough on her plate.”
“Okay. I’ll call when this meeting with Rebecca is over.”
She rapped on Rebecca’s door. “I have some news.”
“Come in. Hello, Faine. Congratulations are in order, I hear.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry to say my visit isn’t a happy one. Molly just called. Senator Sato overheard Powers and Hayes talking about a plot to kidnap you to force you to perform a spell that would open a portal to bring the Magister back.”
“Well, that’s bollocks. We know it’s not possible. I trust our scholars over anyone they might be talking to.”
“Yes, turned witches are not reliable, and none of them are ranked highly enough to have known any of the magicks to even try such a thing. But that doesn’t erase the danger you’re in. For the turned witches and mages, you’re a king-sized snack. They could very well be manipulating the PURITY thugs into grabbing you for their own goals, but it’s still a plot to kidnap you. You have five guards. There are guards stationed at your home as well. I’d like to request that you temporarily move into quarters in an enclave. There’s one here in Pasadena. You and the kids can live there until this passes.”
“Passes? Helena, what if it never does? Am I supposed to just yank my children from the only stability they have right now? From the home they shared with their dad?” Rebecca had lost her husband to lung cancer three years before. She had three kids ranging from nine to fourteen. They were currently being educated in the school the Clan set up two years before. Thank goodness they had, it was one less worry, a safe place free of the harassment the children of Others worldwide were facing in public schools.
“One step at a time. What would the Clan do without you? What would the kids do? We all need you. It’s my job to keep you safe. I don’t think they can bring the Magister back. But I do think they can use you in a horrible way. I’d prefer that not happen.”
“This threat needs to be addressed in another way too.” Rebecca looked straight at Helena. “Faine, I need to speak of something very sensitive.”
“You can trust me. As Helena is Gennessee, I am Gennessee.”
She shrugged and spoke under her breath and the privacy spell knitted around them.
“We need to think about what we’re going to do if and when these bills pass through Congress.”
“Yes. I’ve created a master plan for full military mobilization. I’ve coordinated with the wolves, cats and Vampires on this plan through the COO. We do not have the numbers the humans do, but we have the power they don’t. Lark is working with the witches to get spells in place to shut things down. The power grid, their communications network. The Kelly sisters up in the archives at Owen think they have a spell that will create a version of an EMP, which would disable nearly all their vehicles and everything else electrical. We’d need to be sure ours are shielded and Gage has been working with Marian and reps from different Other groups to get all that in place.”
Rebecca nodded, smiling. “You’re very organized.”
“I feel better when I make plans. If they try to advance this plan to arrest us and put us in camps . . . or worse, we have contingencies in place. I just finished it all when I returned this morning. I hard-copied everyone rather than taking the chance and emailing. It’s probably in your inbox.” She pointed.
Rebecca leaned forward to sift through her mail and found the envelope. “Smart to hard copy. We just don’t know if they have anyone else in our ranks, or if they have ways of hacking into our email or phones.”
“There’s a basic evacuation plan. The kids in the school will be transported to the nearest enclave. That’s where we’ve got the best numbers for protection. They’ve all been warded up tight. Once a physical evacuation has started, we’ll get the spells in place. You, Meriel, the other Clan leaders, Warden, de La Vega and Franco Pendergast will issue a statement of noncompliance. I’m told you all have that in hand?”
“Yes, we agreed on wording just a few hours ago. Meriel pre-recorded it and it’s set to go if and when we need it.”
Helena tried hard not to think about it in a big-picture way. If she just took care of all the preparatory steps she didn’t have to focus on the fact that they were actually really going to war with humans.
“I don’t think the humans have a majority on these ideas. I think the fringes are driving this bus.”
Helena tended to agree. “Hopefully if this ridiculous legislation passes through the both houses, the
