Chapter 197: Strategies Of War
As predicted, Mom went ballistic the moment I walked through the kitchen door.
"You were specifically told to stay away from that hotel and that woman!" Mom trembled so much she had to clutch her hands together to keep them from shaking. It just transferred the extra vibration to the rest of her body. "Sydlynn Thaddea Hayle-what were you thinking?"
Gram sat at the table, grinning at me. I kept expecting her to speak up, but she didn't say a word.
So much for having my back.
"It was go see her now on my terms or run into her at a time I wasn't prepared." I used my best logical, thought-this-through voice. It worked in the fact Mom didn't explode.
Good sign.
"You know better than to take these matters into your own hands." Mom's face flushed dark red. "And with your temper and lack of control... Syd, you could have made things much worse."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Her blame game was contagious, as usual. "Just so you know, I happened to hold my own, thanks. Your super scary witch lady isn't as clever as you both give her credit for."
Mom's trembling eased. "What did she want?"
"Finally, asking questions instead of raving at me like a lunatic." Oops. Went a little too far with that one. Mom's temper flared.
"You will show me respect, young lady," she yelled. It was actually kind of funny. I'm not sure what in particular about it made me giggle, but there was nothing threatening about her all of a sudden. She reminded me of Meira throwing a temper tantrum.
Also a bad idea, the whole laughing thing. I had terrible timing, it turned out. But before Mom could turn me into something requiring a terrarium and a steady diet of flies, Gram spoke up.
"Oh Miriam, hush." Mom spun on her, lips flapping, but no words coming out. "Syd didn't want to go. She was a good girl, obeyed you just as you asked."
"Mother." Mom's tone dropped to ice cubes in January. "What have you done?"
Gram rolled her eyes and patted the seat next to her. "Sit," she said. "Syd and I have some things to tell you."
Mom did, though she perched on the edge of her chair as if she would spontaneously combust at any moment. As calmly as I could, I told her what happened, while Gram just watched. Mom grew paler and paler as I spoke. I kept glancing at Gram, expecting her to join the conversation, but she instead sat back and calmly spun a ball of blue fire in her fingers like it was a toy.
Her 'we' had gone out the window.
By the time I finished, Mom had calmed somewhat, but two points of pink remained in her cheeks, and her fury was still clear in her eyes.
"The two of you are a menace," she muttered.
Gram laughed. "At least Odette's first salvo has been uncovered," she said. "Offering young Quaid up as bait while trying to thrall Sydlynn was a resounding failure."
"It's not the initial attempts I'm worried about," Mom snapped. "You know this was just a test." I was right. I really wished I hadn't been. So Odette's cleverness hadn't been fully explored yet. I still had my doubts she could trick me into anything.
"You don't give your daughter enough credit." Gram's eyes met mine. "She picked up on the old crone's tricks like she'd been born to manipulating people and turned the tables right back."
Um, was that a compliment? If so, it was backhanded. I wasn't sure being considered a great liar was a good thing.
"You're to stay out of this, Mother." Mom's voice rippled with anger. "I don't trust your motives."
Gram scowled. "Don't question me," she snapped. "You know I only have the best interests of the coven at heart."
"Do you really?" Mom turned away. "I wonder. You seem very single minded these days, especially once you discovered Odette was coming here."
"I owe her," Gram snarled. "You want me to sit back and do nothing?"
"I want you to be more responsible and not drag my daughter, your granddaughter, into unnecessary danger just to satisfy your need for revenge."
I'd been thinking kind of the same thing, not in so many words. But it was pretty clear to me Gram had her own agenda.
Or did she?
"I have always only ever thought of this family," Gram said, so much emotion in her voice it was hard to decipher what the mix was made of. "I clawed myself out of insanity to save you, to warn you, at great personal risk and cost. I gave up my life, my mind, to save you all." It was Gram's turn to tremble. "Don't you ever, daughter of mine or not, tell me I'm selfish when it comes to this coven."
Mom blushed deep red. "Mother, I-"
Gram sat back, the ball of blue light flashing out of existence. "I've given up more for this family than anyone should have been asked." She hugged herself, rocking slightly.
I stood up on impulse, went to her side. She was so frail and thin in my arms when I bent and hugged her. Now that she was mostly sane again, and even when she'd been nuts, she'd always seemed so huge to me. But I forgot how small and old she really was.
She fought me at first, finally hugging me back when I refused to let her go.
"I love you, Gram," I said.
Her breath caught. I pulled back, met her eyes. Hers were full of tears.
"I've always loved you, my very dear," she said. "My soul twin, you are, you know it, don't you?"
I nodded, not sure what she meant really, but knowing we would always be connected at the deepest level.
Mom sighed softly. "Mother," she said, "I'm sorry."
Gram reached out and squeezed her hand. "I know. Believe me, I would never put any of you in danger. But this is important, Miriam. We can't shelter anyone any longer." Gram let me go. "If I learned nothing from my past, it's that standing and facing problems is always the best recourse."
"That being said," I looked back and forth between them, "I'd say it's time to get rid of our unwanted guests."
Mom's lips curled into an angry smile. "Agreed."
But Gram shook her head. "Not yet," she said. "Not quite."
Mom opened her mouth to argue, but Gram held up one hand to silence her. "Miriam, the Dumont family will not simply go away. Odette has an agenda. We know her goal is to destroy our coven. And that she plans to prod us like a sleeping bear until she manages to rouse us to fight her. But like us, she knows she must somehow make us act first."
"It's not like the High Council is paying attention anyway," I said, remembering how many times we'd needed their help and had been ignored again and again.
"I'm not so sure you're right," Gram said softly. "I have a feeling they are watching us very carefully indeed."
Mom nodded slowly. "Very well," she said. "We'll wait this out, gather evidence against them. But Mother, we can't play this game forever. I will eventually have to insist they leave. And I'm not certain I can do that without starting something."
Gram grinned. "Don't worry," she said, "I'm much more ornery than Odette. I'll find a way to prod her right back. And make her act out first."
Why did that make me nervous?
***
