There was only more whistling, then the red one grabbed hold of the girl as well. The other two were close now, spreading out to come around the taller and stouter ones, to get at the woman herself.
“I’m sorry!” she sobbed, and let go.
She ran into the street, not looking where she was going. If there were more, then she was done for as well. But luck was on her side, and the street was empty.
Luck, she thought bitterly as she ran. She looked back, almost against her will. The four figures stared out of the alley at her, their featureless faces tracking her.
The girl stood with them, watching her with no expression on her face whatsoever. It was almost as if she wore a mask herself, now.
Chapter 7
It was a formality, really. Jocasta was selected by the council as the next Head of House Whispering Pines. Between her bloodline and the backing of Lord Childress, it was nearly unanimous. The one dissenting vote was Lord Jerome, which was to be expected.
At first, she was tempted to remove him from the council, by whatever means necessary, but Childress convinced her otherwise.
“Let him be,” he suggested. “He has the right to challenge your fitness for the job. Besides, it’s not a bad thing to have someone in place who isn’t afraid to challenge you.”
“Did Florian deal with all this?”
Childress shrugged. “At first, yes. When his father died, Florian came to be Head at a very young age. He should have been out chasing girls and having adventures, but instead he was here, learning how to run things. But he was born to it, and before long, he needed to listen less and less to us.”
Jocasta leaned back in her chair, one of several in Florian’s library. She looked about her, still shocked at the number of volumes that lined the walls. She never knew so many books existed in the entire world. Had the man really read them all?
She kept her eyes roaming. “How did the council take that?”
Childress laughed. “As you would expect. Most of us were appalled, of course. Who was this young upstart to ignore us? Didn’t he know that we were older and wiser than he?” The old man shook his head. “The grumblings were over fairly quickly. As I say, Florian was born to the role.”
Now Jocasta did turn her attention back to him. “If the Head of House can ignore the council, why is it there in the first place?”
“For the very reason we encountered these last few weeks. The Head of House has been vacant, and there was no immediate successor. Our role is to select a new one, and then provide guidance to that person until they have their feet under them.”
“And how long is that supposed to last?”
Childress chuckled. “Until you say so, my dear.”
♦ ♦ ♦
She met with the council in the same chamber as on the day of her return. While there were nicer rooms, with beautiful views of the forest on upper floors, several of the council members were of an advanced age, and the stairs would be difficult for them.
Darius stood behind her chair. She promoted him from doorman to personal attendant, and wanted all present to know this, and to recognize him on sight.
“House Whispering Pines needs a change,” she began.
The muttering started almost immediately. Even Childress was a bit put out. Jocasta hadn’t discussed any of this with him.
“Enough,” she said, and held up her hand for quiet.
When she had their attention again, she continued.
“For years now, our House’s stock in trade has been information. Information on the other Houses, or on the world outside of the Greenweald. It’s brought us riches, yes, but what else?”
She looked around the table, but since it was clear that she didn’t really want an answer, silence greeted her.
“I’ll tell you what else,” she continued. “A reputation. A reputation as sneaks, as snakes in the grass, as untrustworthy. This, while House Towering Oaks is revered above all others save Glittering Birch, and from what I understand, that too is changing. And yet how often did Towering Oaks make use of our information to further its own ends?”
She paused while she scanned her audience. Every face at the table was turned to her, their attention rapt.
“This is the end of that. House Whispering Pines is a force of its own. From here on out, our secrets are ours, and ours alone. We hold what we know close and use it to further our ends, not those of another House. Recently, how many of us died to defend Towering Oaks? And have we even been thanked?”
“Yes, actually,” Lord Jerome drawled. “You weren’t here, so you wouldn’t know. But those two scouts who had so much to do with everything came here and—"
“Sure,” Jocasta interrupted. “They came here with pretty words. What good is that? Does it bring our dead back to us? Does it enrich our coffers? Of course not. We went to war, fought a horrible foe and got nothing in return.”
“Then what do you suggest,” Childress asked.
“I suggest nothing. I am telling you that from here on out House Whispering Pines will have a two-fold purpose. We will continue gathering information, a program run under you, Lord Childress. As it always has been. But in addition, we will strengthen our armed forces, until we rival that of Towering Oaks or Glittering Birch.”
“And who will be in charge of that?” Jerome asked.
“I will.”
The muttering began again, and Jocasta let it run. It didn’t matter what they said, really. Childress had told her himself that the Head of House had the final say.
“If I might ask?” The speaker was someone Jocasta didn’t know, ancient, but with eyes still
