I watched her for a few moments before I said, “Drink.”
She jumped a bit and looked up at me.
“You’ll feel better.”
Hesitantly, she sipped. Her face relaxed. “It’s lovely.”
“I’m glad you like it,” I said with a smile.
She sipped again, and we slipped into silence as I sat back to enjoy my own cup. Vex’s presence weighed heavy at the front of my mind, his attention concentrated on our guest. So many questions buzzed about my head as I studied her, but I held my tongue. Until something struck me.
“This Shadow Council. They didn’t send you here, did they?”
Elaine stilled. “What makes you say that?”
“Your blood holds magic but you’re untrained. No magical organization would send you on a mission where you may find yourself against a rogue magician unless they knew you could hold your own.” I reached over, took her empty cup and prepared another.
“Perhaps they thought my skill with a blade sufficient.” She sipped her tea as I made another cup for myself.
“I don’t doubt your skill, not with the scars you have. But you need a bit more to take on a seasoned magician, and I imagine your Shadow Council knows that. Which leaves me with a question. Just who are you, Elaine Simpson?”
“I could ask you the same question,” she replied. I remained silent, and after a moment she sighed. “You ask for a complicated answer.”
“Now that I believe.”
She laughed, and the tension in her shoulders eased. “My life has changed rapidly in the last few years. At a very low point, I met a man who took me in as I attempted to get my life in order. He was a member of the Shadow Council.”
“Who are they?”
“A league of like-minded, supernaturally-inclined individuals spanning the globe. They keep the magical world in line.”
Very curious. So this Shadow Council operated the same way as the Knight Mages of the Crown, though on an international scale. That Vex trusted Elaine when she mentioned them spoke volumes about their integrity.
They work for the good of the world as well. Not just the British Empire, Vex said.
“You learned of the Golden Dawn from them?”
“I overheard a conversation,” she said, somewhat sheepish. “The Order’s possible aim concerned them, given the possibility that Mathers possessed real magic. They sent a message to some organization here in London to handle the situation. Unfortunately, the Shadow Council had no one that could teach me to use my power, so I came to London to investigate the Golden Dawn myself.”
“And to search for an instructor.”
She didn’t reply, fixing me with her gaze instead. Hope etched her face, but I shook my head. I couldn’t give her what she sought.
“A bit late don’t you think?” I said instead.
“I repressed my power.” Her eyes focused on something distant, perhaps seeing the past.
I waited for her to continue, but she didn’t. “And?” I asked, snapping her out of her reverie.
“And yes,” she focused on me again. “I wormed my way into the ranks of the Golden Dawn to find a magus to instruct me.” She shook her head. “I hoped to ‘find the light of hidden knowledge’ among them, as it were, but found snobbish aristocrats playing pretend instead. Still, something about Mathers seemed off. Men and women such as these don’t sway easily, yet they danced in the palm of his hand and hung on his every word. I decided to research him.”
“By breaking into his house?” I asked.
“As if you didn’t do the same,” she said with a chuckle. “Imagine my surprise to find the Crown employs mages. When I saw your magic, I thought I’d found my teacher. But after your reaction to the drawings we found…” She trailed off, her brow furrowed. “I didn’t know why it scared you so badly, but I knew discovering where those drawings came from was more important than anything else.”
I like this one, Vex said, amused. She keeps her priorities straight.
I ignored him. “And I sincerely appreciate the assistance you’ve given. Without your aid, I’d remain much more ignorant of this rogue, and his spell upon the Order.”
“Speaking of, can you tell me what I saw when my magic reacted?” Elaine said, sipping at her tea. “The whole world changed, and a red web spread before me.”
“The rogue’s spell. He bound the Golden Dawn members together to gain control over them,” I said.
She tilted her head in thought, and I found the gesture rather fetching.
Don’t, I scolded myself.
“To what end?” she said.
I set my cup aside and stood. I walked to the window and pushed the curtains back to peer outside. “Too many of the Golden Dawn’s members also sit in Parliament, and I think he intends to force them to broker a deal to bring that artifact to London. I can’t allow that to happen.”
“What do we do, then?” Elaine said.
I turned. “We don’t do anything.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“I will finish this alone.”
“Now wait a damn minute.” She threw back her blankets and staggered to her feet. “I refuse to walk away after that bastard attacked me.”
“No matter your skills with a blade, you possess none for magic and cannot stand against a blooded sorcerer. Especially one who nearly killed you.” I said, starting for the door. “I’ll make sure you get home safely.”
Elaine stepped between me and the door, shoulders squared and jaw set. “Train me.”
“I don’t take pupils. Move.” My will made it a magical command.
She shivered but didn’t budge.
She shrugged off your command with no wards in place, Vex said, amused. Her strength could prove useful.
“I don’t take pupils,” I said, to both this time.
“Make an exception,” she demanded, her words like iron.
Oh, but she could fight.
“I like you. You certainly hold potential, but I don’t know you, and I don’t fully trust you yet.” True enough, but not the real reason for my reluctance. My father’s face swam in front of my eyes, and I blinked it away.
Vex sat heavy in my mind, watching. Waiting.
Elaine opened her
