Chapter Seventeen

Lydia

"How much of the conversation did you catch?" I asked.

We were situated at the kitchen table. My stomach was too queasy to tolerate anything but water. Meanwhile, Taliyah was knocking back a drink that was more sugar than lemonade. Indie had hinted that faeries had a sweet tooth, but I hadn't believed her until now. Taliyah treated the drink like it was something infinitely stronger, and had two glasses before she'd even deign to look at me.

"Enough. Big bad apex predator coming to eat all the undead things in Haven Hollow. We're going to set a trap for it. Yada, yada." She took a deep breath as she turned to face me and her expression tightened. "What I want to know is why it's coming after you."

"You heard—" I began.

"—no," she interrupted, shaking her head. "I heard speculation, but the theory just doesn't add up."

"What theory?"

"Libby and Darla make sense as targets—Libby's a zombie and Darla would be a target because she's supposed to be dead. She's got a touch of the other side on her," she continued.

"Right," I said, not following her logic, because she seemed to think I didn't fit that same picture.

"If proximity to gruesome death was a lure, the thing would have come after me," Taliyah continued. "I've seen my share of death as a cop in Portland and again serving the community here."

I felt my stomach drop. "So, what are you trying to say?"

She looked at me. Really looked at me. "I think I'm dealing with another Darla situation with you."

"I don't understand. I didn't use to be a ghost."

"That's not what I'm saying."

"Then what are you saying?"

She paused for a second or two that felt like eternity. "I'm saying I think we're dealing with a Darla situation with you and Indigo—in as much as someone who's supposed to be dead, but isn't."

I swallowed hard and forced myself to keep her gaze. Look away and I was fairly sure I'd be admitting defeat and I just… wasn't ready to show all my cards at the moment. "I'm not following."

"Indigo survived that blast in your shop, didn't she?" Taliyah demanded as she narrowed her eyes at me and my stomach about dropped to the floor for the second time in the course of this conversation.

"How could she have done that?" I asked, frowning.

She knows,Indie said from the back of my mind. She's figured it out.

Seems that way.

"Regardless of how, I want to know if I'm talking to the real Lydia Morton or an allegedly dead witch who's wearing her face?"

My heart began hammering. God, Taliyah was way too perceptive. I licked suddenly dry lips and croaked. "It's me. You're talking to Lydia Morton."

Taliyah continued eyeing me narrowly. "How can I know that for sure?"

"Because you can ask Marty. He knows the truth."

Her eyes narrowed. "And the truth is that Indigo is still here?"

What could I say? I'd just make things worse if I lied now. Marty already knew our secret so it was probably just a matter of time before the rest of the council did. And maybe that time had now come. "Yeah, she's still here."

"Here—where?"

I leaned back and took a deep breath, wondering how to even start explaining. There was just so much to say. "You were on the right track when you compared me to Darla.

"On the right track how?"

"In that my situation with Indigo is similar to Darla's with Cain. Mine is just less... uh... versatile."

"What does that mean? That Indigo's inside your body?"

I nodded. "But she can't control my body in the way Cain can control Darla's—as I understand it." Taliyah nodded like she wanted me to continue explaining. So that was exactly what I did. "I'm not a medium, so I'm not equipped to do the back and forth with my physical self that Cain can do with Darla, owing to her abilities. With Indigo and me, I'm always in control. She's just more like a secondary voice inside my head."

Taliyah glared at me, like she was personally offended with my story. "Why lie about it?"

I shrugged. "Because people are after Indigo. Bad people. And we figured the more people who knew the truth, the more word could get out and the more likely it was that her enemies started coming after me."

"Fair point but we could protect you here," Taliyah pointed out. "That's what a Hollow is for."

"No offense but the only person who was able to protect me from that ice beast was Angelo." I took a deep breath and shook my head at the memory. "In fact, I'm pretty sure that thing was probably let loose to target me—and in targeting me, it was really targeting Indie."

"The Manducare, you mean?"

I looked at her like the answer was obvious. "That's the only thing that's been going around trying and succeeding in killing people, right?"

"Call it by its name. There's less room for confusion," she responded drily.

"Grave Eater is easier to remember than Manducare," I argued.

"Point taken," Taliyah responded with little interest. "Why do you think it was targeting you or Indigo?"

"Because it tried to kill me in the church parking lot."

"And it failed. You healed."

"I didn't know I was going to. Whoever sent that thing probably didn't know either."

She leaned back and regarded me with suspicious interest. "You said you'd explain your ability to heal so fast."

I winced. "It's not a pretty story and I don't know the whole story."

"I don't care whether it's pretty or not. I just want the facts."

I nodded. "I can tell you what I know."

"Shouldn't you know all the details?"

I shook my head. "I only know what Indie chooses to tell me and mostly, she refuses to give me all the details about most things."

Because keeping you in the dark means keeping you safe,she piped up.

Not always. And not in a situation like this.

"She keeps promising to tell me more, but she rarely delivers," I continued, finding Taliyah's expression one of unimpressed suspicion.

"Shouldn't you be able to access her memories since she's possessing you?"

I shook my head. "No, it doesn't work like that."

"Okay, explain what you do know then."

I nodded, figuring I had no other options now. Indie's secret was going to come out and hopefully Taliyah could keep to her promise of keeping me safe. "From what I can gather, the group that Indigo worked with were in the business of draining magic from supernatural creatures. And somehow they grafted that excess power into their own power matrix—which empowered all of them. I think that same power matrix helped me to heal, since Indigo's soul is inside me."

"Then they what… vacuumed out the power and magic from supernaturals and used it to fuel their own power?"

I nodded. "Exactly." Then I took a deep breath because I didn't want her to think I'd always known as much and was using that excess power for my own benefit. "When I pulled on Indie's healing ability, it wasn't a conscious decision on my part. It wasn't something I reached for intentionally—I didn't even know I had access to any sort of power, because—as usual—Indie hadn't told me any of this. Well, not until recently, anyway."

"Then it was a big surprise?" Taliyah sounded skeptical and I couldn't blame her.

"Yeah. I didn't and still don't know what powers Indigo has, because she's never admitted the truth to me. I don't even know what supernatural creatures gave her the abilities she has—or had."

A sigh breezed through my head. A Kaloth Demon, a night hag, and a kelpie. I was offered more than those, but refused.

Then why did you accept any supernatural power at all?

Because I needed the night hag for cover and concealment. They can summon shadows. It also gave me access to their language, marish, which only other night hags can read without pain. It made sending messages easier that way. The Kaloth demon gave me the healing factor, some ability to manipulate fire, and some truly dark power to fuel my spells. The kelpie was to help me spy on certain… creatures.

In order to butcher them?

Another sigh, this time louder. Yes, yes, you're disgusted with me. I was disgusted with me too, when I finally opened my eyes and saw the operation for what it truly was. I had my reservations at the beginning, but I pushed through them.

Why? I asked. Why did you ever agree to do what you did? You had to know it was all sorts of wrong.

I did it for my mother, who lost her entire family in the blood wars and devoted her life to devising spells that could help her avenge them. I did it for my sister, who met a similar fate. And for my nieces, who grew up without their mother.

Because their mother was killed by a vampire? I guessed.

No, she wasn't killed by a vampire—she was killed by a human. A human who wanted a shot at immortality and sold his soul to those bloodsucking bastards. He shot her. That's what happens when our world meets theirs. Humans want to live longer so they can consume more of the dwindling resources of this planet. They want to harness the powers of the things that look like them and kill those that don't. They've continually polluted or destroyed every stronghold monsters have. So, we were fighting back.

I rocked back in my chair, absorbing the implications of her tirade. Holy shit. I finally thought I understood.

You guys are like... what—eco-terrorists or something?

We wanted to exist peacefully with humans, but they've made that impossible. We were simply trying to defend ourselves.

By killing other monsters? That seems kind of counterintuitive, don't you think?

A few had to be sacrificed for the greater good, Indie said. It sounded like a line she'd rehearsed, but didn't really believe in. The Masked Lords said they wanted to consolidate power in a few hundred capable supernaturals. And those few hundred had to be human-presenting.

Why?

Because human-presenting supernaturals would allow us to get close enough to the human power structures to effect real change.

Good God. She really was a terrorist. The more I learned about Indie, the more she scared me.

What made you get out then?

The hellhound attack and… well, Susan's growing madness. She lost more than I did to the humans and she begged me to join her. I never wanted to actively hunt creatures down… I just...

Did the bare minimum, I said dryly. You gave someone a location to their victim and then got to wash your hands of it.

I was never able to wash my hands of anything.

How many times did you just pretend it wasn't happening? How many times did you turn a blind eye to the suffering of all those lives you took?

Too many times, she admitted quietly. It became very real when I was dying on my nieces's floor. I decided I wanted out after I recovered. Unfortunately, Murrain doesn't tolerate defectors.

"Having a deep conversation?" Taliyah asked, looking annoyed.

I realized I'd been staring at a point next to her left ear for a few minutes and shook my head to clear it. "Yeah, something like that."

I gave her a summary of what Indie had just told me. Taliyah's lips pursed like she'd tasted something sour.

"Freaking terrorists," she muttered. "As if my job isn't complicated enough without adding that into the mix."

"Sorry?" I answered hesitantly. I just wasn't sure what else to say.

"What does Indigo know about these Masked Lords?" Taliyah continued. "If this is an attack aimed at you, I need all the information I can get if you want me to do my best to keep you safe."

To my surprise, Indie volunteered the names. Either she was finally through fighting with me or she was too tired to argue.

"There are four Masked Lords. Indie worked under Murrain. The others are named Animus, Phthisis, and Elegy."

"And who are they?" Taliyah asked as she whipped out a small notepad from her pocket and jotted the names down.

I shrugged, feeding Taliyah what Indie began to feed me. "Indie says she doesn't know much about them. She doesn't even know what they look like. They all wear cloaks or masks to hide their faces. What she does know is that they're extremely hard to kill. More so even than Indigo or Susan, themselves."

"What became of Susan?"

"She was eviscerated, but she would have recovered if anything but a hellhound had made the wound. Fire is a purifying force, so it doesn't respond to direct healing magic."

She looked up from her notepad. "So, you're saying that if we lure one of these Masked Lord bastards in, we need a bazooka to seal the deal?"

I laughed and it sounded only slightly hysterical. "Honestly, I'd use a nuke, just to be safe."