From inside, they heard a slightly wheezy voice speak. “Come in.”
Lacey opened the door and motioned for the other women to follow her. “Arnost. How are you, my old friend? It’s been far too long.”
He lay on his bed, propped up against several pillows. “Lacey. Come in, dear. And who do you have with you? Are they who I think they are?”
Lacey introduced the three of them to him. “They’re all Seers, and the new Triad.”
He nodded. Slipping a bookmark into his novel, he set it aside and indicated they should all have a seat. Which was limited in the tiny room, but an extra bed jammed against the wall in the corner fit the three of them while Lacey sat on the end of his bed.
He met Lina’s gaze with emerald-green eyes the exact same stunning, brilliant shade of Bertholde’s, clear and strong despite his age. “You wish to talk with me about my sister.” He also appeared to be a man of few words. “Do they know of Sean and Colm?” he asked Lacey?
“Who?” Lina, Elain, and Mai asked in unison.
Lacey shook her head.
“Did she leave any specific instructions bidding you not to tell them?” he asked Lacey.
“No, but I didn’t feel it was my story to tell under the circumstances. There didn’t appear to be a pressing need to reveal it.”
“Wait, what?” Lina asked. “What’s going on? Who are Sean and Colm? What do they have to do with why we’re here?”
“They were Bertholde’s mates,” Arnost said.
Lina blinked in surprise. “Mates? She never mentioned any mates. And there isn’t any mention of them in the journals she left me.” She couldn’t get over his eyes. It was like looking at Bertholde. He even looked a lot like her, making Lina’s heart ache over the woman’s death. She’d barely known her in life. It was only after Bertholde’s death that Lina was able to get acquainted with her through the journals she’d left Lina.
He slowly nodded. “My sister was an intensely private person. She allowed very few to get close to her. Well, I should add that happened after her mates were killed. Before then, she was more open. I don’t believe she started journaling until years after she lost them.”
“How did they die?” Elain asked.
“Cockatrice. Over seven hundred years ago, very few things could kill a single dragon, much less twin dragon brothers, at the same time.”
“I didn’t know them,” Lacey added. “That all happened before I was born, and, of course, before I’d ever met Bertholde.”
Lina wasn’t sure if she felt numb or slightly ill. “She had twin dragon mates?” This was news to her.
“Sound familiar, child?” Arnost asked.
Lacey patted his leg. “Be nice,” she gently chastised him.
“I’m sorry,” he said, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. “At my age I sometimes tend to overlook social niceties. I am very, very tired.”
Mai nervously cleared her throat. “Have you seen anything about me?” she asked from where she sat between Lina and Elain.
“Another child Seer. Mere babes.” He sadly looked at Lacey. “Why do they have to inherit the heavy burden? Why have we not managed to wipe this scourge from the Earth before now?” He looked back to Mai. “Yes, I’ve seen much about you. You have much to do, many miles to walk on this earth.”
“What about my daughter?” she asked.
He cocked his head. “Ah, that’s right. You are a mother. Her future has not spoken to me yet. Do not let that concern you. It simply means I haven’t seen it, not that it indicates anything bad. Stay strong, child.”
“I guarantee you, we’re a lot stronger than we look,” Elain said. Lina glanced at her and spotted the hard set to her friend’s jaw. “And we’re going to take those jerks down for good.”
He let out a laugh. “You are a tough one, aren’t you? A fierce Alpha wolf.” He slowly nodded. “Very fierce. That will serve you and yours well for many, many ages to come.”
“Is that a hint?” Elain asked.
Lina tried to subtly motion to Elain to tone it down, but Elain wouldn’t have any of it. “No, screw this noise.” She stood. “No offense, but I’m sick and tired of this crap. Let’s get all this out in the open once and for all. If there’s anything you know that you think will be helpful to us, sir, then tell us. Because I’ll be the first to admit we’re flying blind. I’m sick and tired of waking up every morning wondering what fresh new level of hell I’m going to be tossed into before I even have lunch.”
A grin creased the ancient man’s face, crinkling the corners of his eyes. “Yes, you will live up to everything I’ve seen about you.”
“Not helpful, buddy. How about making with the actual details?”
“Look,” Lina said, hoping to derail her friend’s legitimate beef, “we’re here to listen. Please, start talking.”
“About Sean and Colm?” he asked.
“Sure, let’s start there,” Lina said, coaxing Elain into sitting down again.
“Very well. They had gone to help a village of humans. Children were being stolen. Sometimes, infants from cribs next to their parents’ beds. No one was quite sure what was going on, or who was behind it, although there were suspicions.”
He put his glasses back on. “My sister was practically beside herself. No matter what she tried, she could see nothing about the matter. She even called upon Baba Yaga for help. Nothing.”
“That’s not surprising,” Lina snarked.
Lacy shushed her.
Arnost continued. “Finally, after several nights of futility, they discovered someone in the act of sneaking into the village. But before he could grab any children, he realized the dragons were there and fled.
“They pursued him. The best anyone can figure, it was a trap. The cockatrice knew the dragons would help the villagers, knew they would lie in wait. Apparently, the man led them into a trap. By the time the villagers and other dragons followed to help…” He shrugged. “Sean and Colm were dead. The missing children were never found. It is presumed the cockatrice used them for their own dark magick.”
Lina shivered. “Poor Bertholde.”
“She did not take it well. She blamed herself for many, many years. I was not sure at first if she would even survive the loss of her mates. Eventually, however, she found the will to live again. To fight against the renewed menace from the cockatrice.” He nodded toward Lina. “She saw you, specifically. All three of you, but you first and most strongly. She saw how you would meet your mates and come forward to save countless lives.”
“Okay,” Lina wearily said, feeling heartsick over the fate of Bertholde’s mates. “That’s all interesting history, but it doesn’t give me a bit of helpful information. Like, were Lenny and Edgar in cahoots with anyone else besides Marston, and maybe their sister? Did anyone help them? How and why did they come after me? Edgar told Zack he’d been tracking us for a while through our lives. So how did he even know how and where to find me?”
“Oh, that’s quite simple to answer, child,” Arnost said. “I told the cockatrice brothers about you.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Lina stared at the old Seer, speechless.
Quite a feat for her, she knew.
It took her a minute to suck air into her lungs, and only after they’d started hurting from a lack of air.
“What?” she whispered.
Lacey looked horrified. “Arnost! What did you do?”
He shrugged. “It was how it had to be. They came to me years ago. No telling how many more innocents would have died had I not answered their questions. They thought they were deceiving me.”
He tapped his temple. “I had the gift of Sight. They had no idea I knew their true identities. They thought they had masqueraded effectively as dragons, wanting help to fulfill their prophecies.” He let out a laugh as he shook his head. “Pillocks. They even tried to pass themselves off as the brothers of the prophecy. I knew far better than that.”
Lina’s rage blazed cl
ose to the surface. “Edgar murdered my parents, you jerk. Zack almost died because of what Edgar did!” Lina realized that came out nearly as a shriek, but she no longer cared. “Brodey and I nearly died here in Yellowstone. Let’s not forget that Marston killed your sister, and probably Charles and Ellie Lyall, too.”
He slowly nodded. “She knew her time was up. I could see it as well, although I didn’t tell her such. When she talked of maybe not going to the Gathering, my visions simply changed to Marston hunting her down and killing her at her home. It would not have mattered. She saw the same kinds of things I did, just from a different perspective.” He shrugged.
Everything Lina had been through over the past couple of years could never have prepared her for this. She stared at the old man and struggled against the urge to wrap her hands around his throat and squeeze the life out of him.
Or blow him up.
Since he was still, technically, one of the flagyer’s Seers, she opted for talking. “How could you?” was all she hoarsely managed.
He trained his steady gaze on her. “Lina, you are so, so young. I mean that not as an insult, but as a truth. You will bid farewell to many friends and loved ones throughout the years, expected and not.”
“Well at least you know you’ve got many years,” Elain quietly snarked.
“Shh,” Lacey scolded.
Arnost only smiled at the interruption. “You will find lines are not readily drawn in the sand. Black and white are frequently shades of grey. By the embers dies the fire. And by the embers can it once again be reborn with a gentle breath. Fleeting, yet powerful.
“You will find throughout your life that sometimes you will have to make decisions for the greater good. They might not be the decisions you wish to make, but they will be weighed against what’s best for most, not all. You can never find an answer that works for all.”
“This sounds like another Baba Yaga fortune cookie talk,” Elain quipped.
Lacey frowned. “Shh!”
Elain stood again. “No, dammit, I’m not going to sit here and be shushed like a kid.” She turned on Arnost. “You never answered me before. What the hell is up with all you old farts thinking you can keep information from us, pointing us in whatever direction you want like puppets? Again, just tell us already and get it all out. What else haven’t you told us?”
“Only that which you do not need to know,” Arnost said.
Lacey remained silent.
Mai groaned and rubbed her forehead with her hand.
Elain jabbed a finger at him. “See? That’s the kind of bullshit we’re talking about. Lacey, come on, help me out. I thought you were on our side.”
The wolf Seer cast a glance at Arnost. “I am, dear. I’m as stunned by his admission as all of you.” Her brow furrowed. “I also don’t agree with what he did. Did Bertholde know what you did?” she asked him. “Did she know you told Edgar and Lenny about Lina? She never said anything to me about that.”
He shook his head. “She didn’t know. Well, let me amend that. I should say if she saw what I did, she never mentioned it to me. I am sure there are probably instances in her life where she also saw or did things and she never told me about them.” He arched an eyebrow at the old wolf. “As have you, Lacey, I’m quite sure.”
Lina thought Lacey might have reddened slightly in the face, but the old Seer pressed her lips tightly together and didn’t respond to his jab.
Elain plopped back down on the bed next to Mai. “I never asked for this job. None of us did. What if we just all say fuck it, go screw yourselves, and head for Bolivia? I have to tell you, Bolivia is looking like a damn good option to me at this point.”
“Amen,” Mai muttered.
“Didn’t end so well for Butch and Sundance,” Lina snarked.
“You could try,” he admitted, “but I guarantee you Baba Yaga would see to it your lives are miserable until you fulfill your duties.”
“Who the hell are you trying to kid?” Lina said. “She’s a vengeful old bat. She’s using us to get back at the cockatrice for killing the guy she loved. Not that I disagree with why she’s pissed off, I get it. Believe me, I do. But it’s not our fight.”
“It’s your fight as long as cockatrice exist. It is deeply entrenched in their ways. From infants, they are brought up with a hatred of all other shifters, and only the most passing of tolerance for humans.”
“Why?” the three younger women asked.
Lina picked it up. “No one can tell us why they’re like that. Did some cockatrice wake up ticked off one day way back when and say, ‘Hey, you know what? I’m gonna go fuck with other shifters.’ Or did someone just piss in his Cheerios and he never got over it?”
“Not exactly. Something is definitely different in their very nature. Since before ancient history, even before Baba Yaga’s memory, cockatrice were dark. Before there was Baba Yaga and her sisters, predating her Triad, all the other shifters banded against the cockatrice and swore to defeat them.” He looked at Elain. “Baba Yaga showed you that, did she not?”
“Yeah, but she didn’t—”
“Why?” Lina asked, on the verge of a scream. “Why the fuck is it happening?”
He sighed. “I don’t know if anyone knows that answer. I only know why in modern times they still seek to kill the rest of us.”
“You’re telling us,” Elain asked, “that these fuckers are still pissed off for getting stood up by the Seers?”
“It’s far more than that,” Arnost said. “Passed down from my elders far older then than I am now, the tale is that the cockatrice were trying to take over the Seers for their own means. The Seers as an independent race were dying out. They opted to join the other shifter Clans. Merge with them, rather than risk dying out completely or being taken over. They went to all the other shifters.”
“Except for the cockatrice,” Mai softly said. “Talk about an inferiority complex.”
“We know that,” Elain said. “We don’t know why they did that.”
He shrugged. “Does it really matter?”
“Fuckin’ A, it matters,” Lina said, barely able to hold on to her own anger. “Because we’re still dealing with it.”
He held his hands out, palm up. “That is the only answer I have for you.”
* * * *
“Explain to me again why we had to talk to him?” Elain grumbled. She led the three of them toward Old Faithful. Rather, she stormed off that way, and Lina and Mai hurried after her, trying to keep up.
“I’m sorry, Lina,” Mai said, “but I’m with Elain on this. Now I’m just pissed off. I feel like we’re being used as pawns in some sort of sadistic chess match.”
Lina caught up with Elain and grabbed her arm, halting her and turning her to face her and Mai. “Look, I don’t know the bigger picture. I’m as lost as the rest of you. Maybe we can talk to him later and get more information from him.”
Elain laughed. “That’s a riot. Take that comedy act on the road.” She pulled her arm free and continued storming toward the benches at the viewing area in front of the geyser.
“Elain, wait.” Lina and Mai hurried to catch up with her. “We’re on the same team, you know.”
She wheeled around on them. “My mom died because of all this bullshit. Because of Fucktardo Abernathy. The guys, their parents were murdered. I didn’t get to grow up with my dad. Pardon me if I’m beyond the point of giving a rat’s fuck about some two-legged cockroaches with inferiority complexes, okay?”
Mai grabbed her that time. “Elain,” she softly said, “please. We need you. You’re part of us.” She teared up. “I can’t do any of this without the two of you. I don’t just mean the Seer stuff. I mean BettLynn. Everything. You guys are my family.”
Elain immediately regretted her tone. Lina’s parents had been murdered, too. Mai nearly died. Who knew what other tragedies in their past had been engineered to bring them together to this point.
Elain threw an arm around Mai and opened her other to Lina. They
stepped together in a tight hug. “I’m sorry,” Elain muttered. “I just….I just feel so damn angry and frustrated right now. I know you guys do, too. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
As she stood there with the two women she truly thought of as sisters, she felt her anger slowly begin to dissolve, replaced by love and solidarity, their three lives merged in an unravellable way.
“I guess we’re stuck together through good and bad, aren’t we?” Elain asked.
“You got it, sister,” Lina said.
“Yep,” Mai agreed.
Elain took a deep breath and blew it out again before stepping back from the women. “Look, I need to take a walk, okay? I’ll come back in a little bit. I need some alone time to process things.”
Lina and Mai nodded. Elain turned and followed the boardwalk away from Old Faithful, toward the Old Faithful Inn and onward.
* * * *
They watched Elain walk off, hands jammed in the pockets of her jacket. Lina slipped her arm around Mai’s waist.
“Is she going to be okay?” Mai softly asked her.
Lina nodded. She knew Elain was dealing with a bunch of emotional shit at the moment. She’d put off having kids because of Callie’s curse, wanting to be able to help and afraid of what might happen. Lina hoped now that the situation there had been successfully handled that Elain might revisit the issue.
Unfortunately, what few visions she had regarding Elain were usually extremely fuzzy and focused more on others included in the same vision. The exception being the crystal clear vision she’d had that day in Yellowstone when she and Brodey escaped the fire.
The only thing she knew with certainty was that Elain had to walk her own journey, no matter how far it took her from the two of them, until she made it back to them. And only she could do it.
“Yeah,” Lina finally said. “I think so. She just needs time.”
“Don’t we all.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lacey wasn’t surprised when she returned to her cabin later that afternoon and found she had a familiar visitor awaiting her. “What is up those stylish sleeves of yours, my friend?” Lacey asked her.