Chapter 704: Dumont Interference
I could tell from the look on Mom's face she wasn't so happy to see me. But when she realized Quaid was with me, her tension rose to a whole new level. So high, she practically shoved her aides out of the room before slamming up a shield around us and drawing a deep breath.
"I'm ready," she said through gritted teeth. "Hit me."
Quaid did most of the talking. I was grateful, considering my traitor throat closed over, misery eating at my insides to the point I doubted I could fit two coherent words together. Sass said he and Gram instilled this sense of loyalty in me when I was a baby.
Now I wished they'd just minded their own damned business.
Mom sank into a chair, her anger gone as she passed a hand before her eyes while Quaid wrapped up. Far more succinctly than I could have. Her blue gaze traveled from him to me and back again while she nodded.
"I've been watching young Mia," Mom said. "And I suspected she might try something like this."
Nice of her to tell me.
You're really surprised? My vampire sighed. Oh, Syd.
Grunt.
Mom swept to her feet again, hands reaching for us. "I don't want this incident to flavor the conclave," she said. "Quaid, you are now assigned to Sydlynn. The pair of you will keep an eye on Mia and make sure she's contained until this weekend is over."
"Do you think that's a good idea, Council Leader?" Quaid shook his head. "I don't mean to question you but... maybe she should be taken into custody." He glanced at me. "Quietly."
What? I could do quietly.
My alter egos all snorted in chorus.
Jerks.
Maybe it would have worked out after all. Perhaps containing Mia would have solved the problem.
We didn't get the chance to find out.
As Mom opened her mouth to respond to Quaid's suggestion, the flap to her office lifted and Andre stepped through. Accompanied by his sons.
And Mom's nasty little secretary, Maurice.
The turncoat little creep.
The worst part? The same two Enforcers from earlier dragged Mia through behind them, pushing her to her knees on the hard ground.
Mom's shields solidified, no longer just blocking sound, but trapping all of us in the room with her.
"Council Leader," Andre said in his icky voice. Not even a very cool French accent could make him sound good. "I've uncovered a plot against my family." His blue eyes settled on me. "By the Hayle coven."
He just had to try to push his limits, didn't he? Andre Dumont was about to see what his insides looked like splattered on the pretty white walls of Mom's tent.
"Your proof, Coven Leader?" Icicles dripped from my mother's words.
Andre had the sense to back off a pace, but he had no trouble pointing the finger at Mia.
"Mia Tinder," he sounded like speaking her name gave him pain, "plots to steal the Dumont family magic from its rightful place." He then jabbed his little digit at me. "And use the Hayle leader to do it."
"I can assure you right here, right now," I snarled, pushing back with a spike of power to his stomach, hitting him so hard he grunted, "if I wanted your ass dead, you'd be dead, Dumont."
Mom's mental sigh reined me in.
Temporarily.
"We will get to the truth of this," Mom said. And turned the Council's power on Mia.
Why did the former Dumont leader suddenly focus on me? All the hate and rage Shenka told me about radiated from Mia's trembling body, aimed with sharp precision at yours truly. As Mom drew out Mia's thin remaining magic, she clawed the air between us.
I appeared, from her point of view, in a projection hanging over us all. I heard the conversation again, my denial. Mia's argument. When it was over, when her memory watched me leave the room, Mom released Mia's magic.
"It is clear," Mom said, "Sydlynn had nothing to do with Mia's plan. In fact, she was here reporting it." She nodded to Quaid. "With the assistance of Enforcer Trainee Tinder."
Jean Marc looked like he wanted to argue. I wished he'd open his damned mouth so I could shove something large and jagged in it.
No such luck.
"Very well," Andre said, "I will accept the fact the Hayle leader was not planning to attack my family." How very generous of him. "But I demand satisfaction against Mia Tinder."
Not a blessed thing anyone could do about it now. Not me, not Quaid. Not my mother. Faced with Mia's clear guilt, we were trapped into what I'd hoped to avoid.
What Mom wanted to avoid.
She sighed deeply, nodded. "Agreed," she said. "Mia Tinder, you are hereby under arrest and will be tried for the crime of conspiring against another coven leader."
Mia's howl of fury bounced back from Mom's shields. She lunged to her feet, toward me. I reacted instantly, my power throwing her back, but she never intended to hurt me, I don't think.
She just needed room to act.
And my power toss gave her that room. The two Enforcers took the brunt of the impact as she flew backward, the three of them bouncing from Mom's wards. Both Enforcers fell to their knees, but Mia was saved the worst of the recoil thanks to the protection of their bodies.
Had enough time to pull something dark but sparkling from her pocket before any of us could act.
"He said this would happen," Mia said. "And now I know who to trust."
A gaping black hole opened at her feet as her sorcery-damn it, how did I not know?- poured through the crystal in her hand, the emptiness of it butting against mine as she released it at last for me to feel. Quaid's power lashed at his sister, Mom's coming to bear, but they had nothing, their magic only feeding her as she dove for the darkness.
My own power lunged, caught the edge of the black hole, too late.
It snapped shut behind her.
Mia was gone.
Andre Dumont looked terrified suddenly, pale and shaking as he stared at the place she'd been.
I cursed myself for not paying closer attention, for missing the fact Mia had sorcery, but I couldn't help but toss him a dig, just for old hate's sake.
"Guess you didn't see that one coming," I said with a nasty grin. "You sleep alone, Andre?" He gaped at me, still in shock at his own miscalculation. "Want to bet she'll be coming for you some night?" I laughed, unable to help myself. "Have fun with that, won't you?"
Mom's magic snapped across mine. "I have no choice but to declare Mia Tinder a fugitive from witch law." She released the shielding around her office. "We will do everything we can to capture and contain her until such time as she can be tried for her crimes."
Andre scuttled from the room, his evil sons a whole lot less sure of themselves.
My tremulous giggles wanted to come back, fed by my fury with myself. How did I miss it after all this time?
Because the one who owns her taught her to hide it from us, my vampire sent.
Belaisle.
One more infraction to add to his tally.
Quaid's anger reached out, but I knew the moment I touched his hand it wasn't aimed at me.
"She made her choice," he said. "She could have come to me." A sharp comment rose in my mind, about just how available he'd been lately, but I pushed it down. "Instead, she chose the enemy." His dark eyes held me in a trap of molten temper.
I reached up, touched his cheek, my heart swelling open, my own anger fading in the face of his rigid fury.
"Quaid," I whispered.
"Quaid," she said.
I turned to see Payten at the door, eyes traveling over the two of us, lips in a thin line.
He stiffened, pulled away from me.
"Leader is looking for you," she said. Bowed to Mom. "Council Leader, Enforcer Leader Tremere is on his way."
I let Quaid go, hating he didn't look back.
And that Payten did.
Nice of me to leave Mom to mop up the mess, wasn't it? But I'd had enough, couldn't take any more. Shoulders slumped, heart heavy, I drifted my way back toward my pavilion, wishing this whole damned conclave was over already so I could hide under the covers of my bed and never come out.
A warm hand took mine, empty power nudging me as Piers slid in beside me, matching my slow gait.
He didn't speak, just escorted me to the front of my tent. When I stopped, turned to face him, he kissed me. But not the hot, hungry kiss I was used to. Instead, his lips moved slowly over mine, nose stroking my cheek, fingers light in my hair, sliding over my neck.
The tingle was there, but subtle, kind and caring, and for a moment a lump rose in my throat.
"Syd," he whispered over my mouth. "I know where your heart lies." His gray eyes were soft, full of compassion. "And I know you're out of time." Nice of him to remind me. "And while I realize you may not have taken me seriously in the past, I'm asking you now." His hands slid down and grasped mine, lifting them to press my open palms against his chest. "Choose me as your mate. I swear you'll never regret it."
He didn't wait for my response, just kissed me softly one more time before turning and leaving me there. Vulnerable, damn him. Wondering.
Quaid picked duty over the magic binding us together, the love I knew would never die. Liam was honorable, if too kind, according to those who thought they had a say.
And while I knew I didn't love him, not like I loved Quaid, nor even as I loved Liam, I adored Piers.
Was his the strength I needed? Was love just a liability?
Sadder now than I'd been before, I turned and went inside the pavilion, knowing I wouldn't sleep a wink.
***
