Chapter 11

11

I was starving, more so than usual, and I had a feeling the trip down Bond Land with Wild and my time with the quipu were to blame.

“High Esteemed.”

Barrow. I paused and waited for him to catch up. “Good morning, Barrow. Did you enjoy the dawn walk?”

I’d been pleased to see the advisors here this morning, aside from Wild, who was on sentry duty. The coven numbers at the dawn walk had increased since my talk. Even if we hadn’t been under threat from the demons, the sight of so many magus walking as the light of the moon and sun met would elate me. That was when the Mother’s presence was strongest, and I always felt better for it myself.

“I did. I haven’t done them in so long.” His watery eyes were serious. “Maybe there’s something in what you say. If demon magic wants us divided, then maybe that’s what we were becoming, more and more. I can’t fathom why I stopped walking at dawn in the first place.” He frowned. “I can’t fathom why I stopped purifying before esbat and important events. Why my gems have remained untouched for decades.” He glanced at me. “Maybe there’s truth to this, no matter how impossible it seems.”

I smiled. “If there’s truth to it, then you’re doing the right things to counter the effects of the demons’ magic.”

Barrow nodded, then held up a letter. “This just arrived.”

I’d come to realize that Barrow was my postman. For some reason, letters went to him first. When I’d joked about calling him Postman Barrow, he’d been entirely confused. I’d spent half an hour trying to explain the human postal system to him.

A mistake I wouldn’t make again.

The letter was thin. A seal of black wax secured the contents. Not that Barrow couldn’t have magicked it open, but such magic would leave a trace unless the person was very, very good at the job.

In this case, Barrow hadn’t needed to.

The letter was addressed to me, and on the back, it detailed the names of the Vissimo and Luthers I’d contacted.

Barrow’s gaze was heavy on me.

Caught red-handed.Better own it. “Good, I’ve been waiting for this.”

“The letter the vampires and werewolves last sent was addressed to you.” His eyes widened. “The warning it spoke of in their letter… You were trying to tell them about the demons.”

No point denying it now. “Yes. Like I said, the Vissimo and Luthers have also been embroiled in games of their own. I thought it best to send them word. Alas, our council wasn’t in the mindset to open communications with them at the time. We could be in a better position now otherwise.”

“We had no idea about the demons,” he replied, spots of color appearing on his cheeks.

I squeezed his arm. “No, you didn’t. You operated on what information you had at the time. I’m just happy it can all be out in the open.”

He exhaled, nodding, and I lowered my arm.

“Do you seek an alliance?” Barrow asked.

I caught sight of Josie leaning against a tree nearby. “I seek a meeting with my advisors where we’ll discuss such things in private.” I gripped one of the pendants left by previous council members. I’d altered it so I could summon all my advisors and also individual advisors. That would save me some searching time. I’d need to ask Winona and Sage how to do their head portal trick that allowed them to seek out an individual in the coven too. I had an idea of how, but I also didn’t want to portal inside a person by accident. Grandmother had said I should only use that against someone I wanted to kill in a glorious, gory fashion.

I’d keep it on the back burner.

Barrow left ahead of me, and I followed at a slower pace, slitting my finger under the seal to open the message.

I read the contents and released a breath.

In the advisory chamber not long after, I sat at my authority and waited until Wild and Delta arrived and got themselves seated.

“Could I please get an update on our communication with other covens so far,” I said.

Barrow, Winona, and Opal were on that job.

Winona answered, “There remain seven covens who have openly declared their support of our coven against the demons. We are in discussion with three other covens who seem half-willing, but are concerned of giving the wrong impression.”

Opal added, “Which means they don’t want to incur the wrath of the original coven.”

She summoned a piece of parchment and slid it across the table to me.

I ran my eyes over the names of the seven covens and associated leaders. “Rguc.”

“She predicts great things of you,” Barrow explained in a vague voice. He was thinking about the letter I’d received.

I tapped on another name. “Nightlock. She was the old high esteemed. The outspoken one?”

Winona smiled. “She’s known for speaking her mind. I gather she rather likes that quality in you too. She certainly isn’t cowed by the original coven.”

I recognized two of the other names. One of the men, Bartemus, was my biggest fan during the three-hundred-year fight in Caves. I was glad for his offer of help. “What do they offer as support?”

“Four of them offer weapons and charms only,” Barrow stated. “The others offer any willing magus, along with weapons and charms. All offer knowledge.”

Huxley put in, “My team of grimoires are nearly through cataloguing the information we hold on the subject of demons. Next week, we’ll approach the other covens and add any further information they hold to our knowledge bank.”

They were that far already? That explained the dark rings around his eyes. “Please ensure your team is taking care of themselves too,” I remarked.

Varden and Wild chuckled. As did Barrow.

Huxley cocked a brow. “I’ve told a group of voracious readers that their job for the foreseeable future is reading. That they have no commitments other than this. They don’t want to sleep. They’ve been unleashed.”

If someone told me all I had to do was read? The thought of curling up in bed for a few days with a pile of books wasn’t off-putting in the slightest, and I was nowhere near the level of grimoire power his team possessed. “I see.”

“We’ll need somewhere to store the charms and weapons,” Opal said.

I’d already considered that last night while working with my quipu. “Please convert the Vero and Fertim charm and weapon storerooms to coven storerooms. Lay the weapons and charms out the same—everyone is familiar with those systems—but remove all protections except a simple barrier that a novice can break. I want everyone able to access them.” With how the Caves gameboard had been laid out, there was a weapon and charm storeroom in every wing of the caves.

Opal murmured, “Consider it done.”

I held up the letter in my hand. “I received this today.”

All eyes shifted to the letter.

“The level of coven support we’ve received doesn’t inspire much confidence,” I said. “Ninety-seven covens, and only seven who will stand against the disapproval of the strongest coven to back us. Three covens that offer their magus—and only the willing magus from their midst at that. Weapons and charms are great, but only if we have the numbers to wield them.”

“We’ve asked for a list of magus and their power level from the three covens who have offered that level of support,” Winona said.

Good. “The more information we have the better.”

“You’re putting all this information into your quipu?” Delta asked.

I nodded. “I hope to use the quipu against the demons in the same way I used it in Caves. I don’t need the quipu to see that we need more power on our side.” I lowered the letter to the table. “The demon king would be an idiot to send a force of the same size. I believe his prior scouting missions—those where my grandfather, uncle, and Varden were attacked—had led him to think magus would be easily taken. He won’t make that mistake again. He’ll send a larger and more powerful force. We know very little of demon warfare—most of it we’ve gained from my one-on-one battle with the woman leading their army against us. We need help.”

“Is there a way to diminish the original coven’s hold over the other covens to convince more to our side?” Ruby asked.

I tilted my head. “Perhaps. I’m open to any ideas. We shouldn’t accept their meddling in this, nor their paltry show of upholding their contractual alliance with our coven. Their actions could result in the deaths of our friends and family. Are there any ideas in that direction as of this time?”

No one spoke.

“Something to consider, however.” I glanced across the stone table. “Wild, you may have more insight into the tactics they use against other covens.”

His reply was dry. “I do know a thing or two about that, yes, and their hold won’t be easily shaken. They’ve had nearly one thousand years in the position of power. Their tree is well rooted.”

I’d fathomed as much. “That’s not where our time is best spent then. We need support now, not in ten or twenty years.” I patted the letter lying flat on the table. “Prior to the council ending, they’d received multiple letters from other supernatural species. The council chose not to open communication with those supernaturals.”

Most eyes riveted to the letter under my palm again.

Confession time.“I delivered a small warning to the other supernaturals about a threat of demons that I believed they should have knowledge of. I’d planned to give them the warning in full at a later date, so they might protect themselves and their people. Unfortunately, before that happened, they sent a message to the coven that resulted in a tracker being clasped around my ankle. I was unable to complete the warning.” I wouldn’t mention the letter the others sent in my stead.

Varden replied, “You sent them another message.”

“I did. Two days ago, through their human representative at the bar. In that letter, I invited them to this coven for discussion of possible alliance.”

Winona’s eyes rounded. I’d never seen such a reaction from her.

Barrow appeared defeated. He’d had more warning than the others and had likely guessed where this was going.

“What?” Delta gasped. “Vampires and werewolves here in the coven? That hasn’t been done in… in….”

“Ever?” Wild supplied. “We’ve never been attacked by demons either.”

She wasn’t the only one shocked or spluttering, but Varden appeared positively gleeful at the idea of a few fangs and wolfies around. Huxley was excited, likely at the prospect of putting all his supernatural knowledge into practice. Wild felt determined and slightly amused. Ruby looked much like Winona, while Opal was white-lipped. I could guess that she’d been steadfastly against communication with other supernaturals.

Delta returned fire at Wild. “So we invite them here and give them a map to defeating us? If they sense our weakness against the fight with the demon, they could simply wait for the demons to beat us, then claim our territory for themselves.”

“Remember they extended the idea of alliance first,” I said. “And we could as easily be setting a trap to slaughter the leaders of the other races. An alliance must start with some risk. On both sides.”

Opal’s nostrils flared. “There’s a good reason other supernaturals have never been here.”

“Why is that, Opal?” Varden asked in his mild voice.

“Because a coven doesn’t need outsiders to survive,” she lashed back. “They have no respect for the Mother. They have no reverence in them. No celebration of life. No?—”

Varden’s lips quirked. “You have never met them, Opal. How do you know so much about them?”

“Vampires are the creatures of death. I know what my ancestors told me.”

“And had they met Vissimo and Luthers for more than five minutes?” he asked her.

She narrowed her gaze. “A coven doesn’t need the help of outsiders.”

Humans did a similar thing—passed down racism like it was a family heirloom to guard and protect. Such a mentality worked best in small communities with limited outside exposure—like a coven. These ideals held little basis in logic and fact. And as a result, logic and fact weren’t effective in convincing these people that they sounded like idiots.

“Are there any other ideas on how to gather a large amount of support in a short time?” I asked, not directing my question at Opal in particular.

Silence.

A shame. I wouldn’t mind another avenue to pursue. Not that I’d give up on this one. “I’m all ears if anyone should think of something. Until that time, this is an opportunity we won’t turn from despite the way things have always been done. We proceed with caution. The alliance may not be for us. This alliance may also be the only thing that saves our coven and prevents unnecessary loss of life.” I glanced at Opal. “Your grandchildren included. This will be uncomfortable for some coven members—you won’t be alone in that. We’re backed into a corner, Opal. You don’t need to like it, but I do ask that you open yourself to the possibility it may be the difference between life and death. If you believe Vissimo to be the creatures of death, then who better to kill the demon king?”

Opal was white-lipped again, but she dipped her head.

Winona, having gained her composure, asked, “They’ve already replied?”

“Faster than expected. The human in the bar is the sister of the Deception Valley leader.”

Wild felt my pang of hurt at the mention of a sister. He sent a sorrowful acknowledgment back down the line.

I read the letter aloud,

High Esteemed Tempest Corentine of the Buried Knolls Coven,

We are pleased to accept your invitation at a time and date of your choosing. We look forward to hearing your warning in full at this meeting.

I read the four names listed at the end.

“The vampire princess and crown prince,” Ruby said. “Why not the king and queen, assuming they have those?”

“No idea.” I lifted a shoulder. “But a fairy in Frankton Gorge told me the princess and crown prince were better to deal with.”

I could see that the mention of fairies was too much for Opal today. I should stick with Luthers and Vissimo.

“Andie and Sasha,” Barrow echoed. “Which one is which?”

“Andie is the sister of the human I spoke with. Sascha is the pack alpha. He and Andie, and Basilia and Kyros, are mated, I believe. The human, Rhona, seemed very certain that one wouldn’t come here without the other.”

“Mated,” Delta said. “That means they’re stronger and have more powers.”

If they were anything like me and Wild, then yes.

I leaned back on the hard authority. Must get a cushion for the fucking chair. “I’d like to invite them here in three days’ time. They will be offered the option of staying overnight. The Buried Knolls is out of the way, and they do not possess the kind of magic we do to easily return home.”

“The coven will be in an uproar,” Barrow said warily. “They’ve already had to deal with so much. Perhaps this should occur at a later date?”

Varden shook his head. “We can’t delay. Demons could attack again tomorrow.”

“I agree with Varden. I’d hold the meeting tomorrow if I thought I could get them a reply and enough time to get here. With that said, I see your point, Barrow. This coven has had exposure to one type of supernatural in centuries—and the demons were anything but friendly. I’m about to invite two other races, and I wish to be transparent with what’s going on instead of sneaking the leaders in and out. What are the ideas on how best to present this to the coven?”

There was almost a collective exhale by all of us—a derisive one from Opal.

Maybe I shouldn’t worry about being leader for too long.

I may not be leading this coven tomorrow.