Chapter 289: Under Arrest
I gaped at her, not knowing what to say, eyes scanning the faces of the other two Enforcers.
Settled on Pender Tremere. Who refused to look at me at all, a shadowed and guilty expression on his face.
Bastard. He'd betrayed us? After I rescued him when he was attacked by the Dumont brothers? My mother saved his worthless life, the jerk. And here he was, standing with another Enforcer, clearly of Dumont blood from her brilliant blue eyes and European features.
Now I wished I'd just let him die.
My demon roared her rage and surged forward, power glowing around me as my vision took on a tint of amber. "You have no right to be here, past family wards. Get out."
The female Enforcer sneered at me. "We are Enforcers of the High Council, girl. We can go wherever we want."
I was about to show her the door in the most violent way possible when Mom appeared from deeper in the house. "What is the meaning of this?" She was all coven leader, the family magic wrapping around her in a twisting column of energy, threaded with green, amber and white. "Coven rules dictate you request my presence. You are not permitted to simply show up and accost any witch."
"Under no circumstances are we giving you the chance to run," the woman snapped back. "Miriam Hayle, you are under arrest for crimes against the High Council and all witches."
I felt Quaid pass through the back door wards and come through the house toward me, but I couldn't split my focus. "This is ridiculous," I said. "If you have charges, you have to present them in writing. Not show up and strong arm the leader of a coven."
So much for the rules. Guess the new order didn't think it applied to them. The third Enforcer, a bulky guy with a grim face looking like he'd been in one too many fistfights, stepped forward and grabbed my mother's arm.
He. Touched. My. Mother.
Oh no he did not.
At the same moment my demon surged outward, her absolute rage taking over, but her magic was tackled by three sources: Shaylee's Sidhe power, Quaid's warm energy, and the fiery pressure of the full weight of Sassafras's recovered magic. I snarled at them all, but they refused to release me.
The Enforcer bully was so lucky.
Quaid's hands settled on my shoulders, the physical contact meshing our magic enough he was able to calm me down.
Not now. They'll kill you, Syd.
They'd try. But he was right. I fought my demon's need to show these intruders the error of their ways even as Pender stepped up to Mom and jerked the other Enforcer off of her.
"Our apologies, Hayle coven leader," he said, voice strained, body rigid under his black cloak. "This is going badly. And it's our fault." He turned and glared at the two others who glared right back. "But I'm afraid I must insist you come with us to face the charges against you."
I expected Mom to fight. I was sure she would. But she hadn't reacted, not since the big guy grabbed her. Her face remained a calm and arrogant mask of total control.
"I'd be happy to allow you to escort me," she said, voice as smooth and sticky sweet as hot butterscotch. "I'm certain this misunderstanding can be cleared up quickly."
Pender relaxed a little, bowing his head to her, but the female Enforcer wasn't letting Mom keep any kind of upper hand.
"Come. Now." She gestured at Mom, a band of deep blue power wrapping around my mother's wrists, holding her hands together in magical shackles. Pender grunted, turned as if to protest, but the woman just scowled at him before facing me. "You will be formally informed of the date and location of the traitor's trial." She brushed past me, going out of her way to bump my shoulder.
Quaid's firm grip saved her pathetic life.
The big Enforcer took hold of Mom again. Her eyes met mine the moment it happened, her energy reaching me, but weakly, a thin thread barely making it through.
Don't. I'll be fine, but you have to say calm. You're in charge. I love you.
The wall between us strengthened even as she passed me, the lilac scent of her filling my world for a moment. The power cuffs, had to be. For the first time in a long time, Mom's power was cut off from me and I felt her absence like a hole in my heart.
"Pender," I hissed at him when he followed. "What the hell?"
Someone was crying, pressed against my side. I absently hugged my little sister, only then aware she was there, as the man's eyes flickered to meet mine before jerking away. But not before I saw his guilt.
I was forced to stand there and do nothing, only able to watch as they magicked my mother away in a flash of blue light.
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