She unclenched her teeth.
He beat her to the punch. “What makes you think that sending a party of twenty armed soldiers and some witches would predispose these settlements to trust us? A lot of these people are paranoid separatists. They’ll see us as a threat.”
“We have to try,” she said. “They killed the children, Hugh.”
“Fine,” he said, his face still dark. “But one at a time.”
That was all she would get. She could argue more, but he was putting the welfare of their people first. Elara couldn’t really blame him for being cautious. “Thank you,” she made herself say.
“You’re welcome.”
Silence fell. She relaxed a little. The rest of the items on the agenda were routine.
Dugas cleared his throat. “As I started to say, Rufus Fortner is coming here this Friday.”
“The head of the Lexington Red Guard,” Elara said.
“I remember,” Hugh said. “He was at our wedding.”
“He’s looking for a supplier of RMD. The remedy,” Savannah said.
The remedy was an all-purpose anti-magic contamination salve the same way Neosporin was an all-purpose antibiotic ointment. It was particularly useful in sterilizing wounds inflicted by vampires. The Vampirus Immortuus pathogen was weak at the start of infection and could be killed with rubbing alcohol, if it came to it, but the remedy was the established and proven sterilizing agent.
“How big is the order?” Hugh asked.
“We stand to make over a hundred grand in the first year,” Dugas said. “Likely two, three times more, if they like the product and place additional orders.”
“What do we know about this guy?” Hugh asked.
“He’s a good old boy,” Lamar said. “Neo-Viking. ‘Work hard, play hard, beer me wench, if it breathes I can kill it’ type.”
“He’s coming to hang out with you,” Elara told him. “He was terribly impressed with the fight at the reception and he’s starstruck, because you have a reputation. He wants to get drunk with the Preceptor of the Iron Dogs and swap war stories.”
Hugh shrugged. “Okay, we’ll ham it up for him. We’ll need a feast and a barrel of beer.”
She blinked. “A barrel? We don’t really brew beer in barrels. We do it in big drums.”
“That’s fine, we’ll pour it in a big wooden barrel. I saw it in an old movie once,” Hugh said. “Trust me, it never fails.”
She waved at him. “However you want to do it. We need this guy. We’ve been wooing him and the Mercenary Guild in Lexington and Louisville for over a year and they wouldn’t give us the time of day until you showed up. It’s not just his order.”
Hugh nodded. “He’s a foot in the door. If we can get him, we’ll get the rest.”
She smiled. That was one thing she never had to worry about. Hugh was a massive pain, but when he saw an opportunity, he grabbed it.
Dugas checked his notes. “Last thing. The first escort from the Pack arrives tomorrow to pick up the two shapeshifter families. We don’t anticipate any problems, but just in case…”
The knife stopped in Hugh’s hand. “What pack?”
“The Pack,” she said. “Atlanta’s Pack. The Free People of the Code.”
His people sat up straighter. Stoyan’s face turned unreadable like a wall.
“Run that by me again,” Hugh said, his voice deceptively calm.
What the hell was wrong with him? “Kentucky passed a law banning the formation of packs in its municipalities,” Elara said. “We have a standing agreement with the Atlanta Pack. Any shapeshifter who wants to relocate to Pack territory can come here. We house them and feed them, until the Pack sends an escort to pick them up. They reimburse us for expenses and pay a nice fee on top of it.”
“No,” he said.
“Why not? It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. Is it because they are shapeshifters? Because you have shapeshifters in your ranks.”
“I don’t have a problem with shapeshifters. I have a problem with that particular Pack. I know Lennart. I know how he operates. We’re not doing this.”
“Curran Lennart is no longer in charge of the Atlanta Pack,” Savannah said.
Hugh looked at her, then turned to Lamar. “You didn’t think to mention it?”
“It didn’t come up,” Lamar said apologetically. “He retired to start a family.”
Hugh stared at him for a second longer, then laughed, a bitter cold sound. “The moron left it all for her. You can’t make this shit up. Who’s in charge now?”
“James Shrapshire,” Lamar said.
Elara had to grab this opening. “See? It’s no longer Lennart’s pack.”
“Is Lennart dead?” Hugh asked.
“No,” Dugas said.
“Then it’s still his Pack.” Hugh leaned forward. “Lennart is a First. His ancestors made a deal for their power with animal gods that roamed the planet when humans ran around in animal skins and hid from lightning in caves. It doesn’t matter who’s in charge of the Pack. When he roars, every shapeshifter will follow him, and we won’t be doing business with him. This matter is closed.”
That was just about enough. “No, it’s not. The Pack is one of our biggest clients. They are churning panacea out, which—“
“I know what the damn panacea does,” he snarled.
“—significantly reduces occurrences of spontaneous loupism in shapeshifter newborns and teenagers,” she kept going. “It doesn’t stay potent for long and they need large quantities of herbs, some of which only grow in the woods here. They pay excellent rates.”
“I don’t care.”
“You should care, because Pack money is feeding and housing your Dogs.”
“Do you not understand me? I won’t work with Lennart. Elara, are you stupid or hard of hearing?”
“I must be stupid, because I married an idiot who stomps around and throws tantrums like a spoiled child! What the hell did this Curran do to you? Killed your master, stole your girl, burned down your castle? What?”
Hugh leaned back, his eyes blazing. Oooh, she touched a nerve. Direct hit.
She turned to Stoyan. “Let me guess, it was the girl.”
“And the castle,” Felix said quietly.
“Is this why you want the moat, Hugh? So Curran won’t burn this castle down?” She knew the moment she said it that she’d pushed him too far.
Hugh leaned back in the chair, a long-suffering look on his face. “You know what your problem is?” he asked, his voice bored.
“Please tell me.”
“You should get laid.”
Elara stared at him.
“It will keep you docile and reasonable. For the sake of all of us, find someone to fuck you, so you can resolve things like an adult, because I’m sick and tired of your hysterics.”
Oh. Oh, wow.
Nobody moved. Nobody even breathed.
“Cute. This agreement predates our marriage,” Elara said into the sudden silence, pronouncing each word clearly. “According to the contract you signed, it is exempt from your input. I don’t need your permission. This exchange will go forward. And you will remember that you are a married adult responsible for the welfare of four thousand people. You’ll reach deep down, find a pair of big-boy pants, and put them on. If I can pretend not to cringe every time you touch me in public, you can pretend to be civil. Bury that hatchet, and if you can’t, hide in your room while they’re here.”
The rage in his eyes was almost too much.
“You signed on the dotted line,” Elara told him. “Are you a man of your word or are you not, Preceptor?”
Hugh rose from his chair, turned, and left. His people filed out behind him.
She slumped against the table. “Well, that went well.”
“We should poison him,” Savannah said.
“Why do you always want to poison people?” Dugas asked her.
“I don’t want to poison people. I want to poison d’Ambray.”
“He’ll come around,” Elara said. “He’s under a lot of pressure, because of that palisade. He’s trying to figure out how to keep us safe from an enemy he doesn’t understand and it’s eating at him.”
All three of them looked at her.
“It’s eating at me too,” she said. “Let’s reinforce our wards.”
“We already did.”
“Let’s do it again.”
Savannah nodded, and she and Dugas left.
Elara turned to Johanna. “Any luck?”
“The warrior is human,” the blond-headed witch signed.
“Are you sure?”
“Ninety percent. I have done everything I can, but the imprint was very weak. But human is the only thing that makes sense.”
It would be so much easier if the armored man was a creature. One could key a ward to bar a creature. One could research and exploit its weaknesses. But a human… That was so much worse. The castle and the town were full of magically powerful humans. She couldn’t ward everyone in.
Elara sighed. The irony of Hugh’s lovely insult was that he was right. She needed to get laid. She could’ve used the release and the comfort.
“Give me some dirt,” she signed.
Johanna put a small test tube into her hand.
“I will go play with it. Maybe I can see something.”
When it came to research, Savannah was better educated than her, and Johanna was more talented. But Elara had to try.
Elara took her test tube and left the room.
Hugh was a stubborn asshole. The problem with stubborn assholes is that once they made up their mind, they followed through, logic and rational thinking be damned. She couldn’t leave it as it was. She had to talk to him about it. If she didn’t, he could snap and attack the Pack delegation tomorrow and ruin a carefully constructed deal that she spent months working on.
Elara conquered the first flight of stairs, when she heard light steps running down. A moment later Stoyan rounded the landing.
He saw her and halted. “Ma’am.”
“Is he upstairs?” she asked.
“No.”
“Where is he?”
Stoyan opened his mouth.
“Stoyan,” she warned. “Where is he?”
“He stepped out.”
“In which direction?”
“He needs… space,” Stoyan said.
What he needed was a solid wallop on his head and a personality transplant.
Johanna emerged from the hallway and waved at them. “Hello.”
Stoyan’s gaze snagged on her for half a second too long. Well. That was interesting.
“Stoyan, where is he going? I’m going to find out anyway. Your Preceptor won’t escape, but you would save me a couple of minutes.”
“He’s going to Radion’s smithy,” Stoyan said.
“Thank you.”
She put the tube into the pocket of her dress and ran down the stairs.
Elara strode out of the gates. The town sat behind Baile castle, hugging the lake shore in a ragged crescent. Radion’s smithy was on the eastern edge of it. A path stretched before her. Hugh had two choices. He could turn right at the fork of the path, circle the castle, and take Sage Street down and east, which would put his course past the shops and houses. Or he could stay straight and walk through the Herbals, a carefully managed stretch of woods hugging the north side of the town and used for the cultivation of herbs.
Where would a violent man in a foul mood go? It was a no-brainer.
She blurred, stepping fast down the path through the woods. One, two, three, four…
Hugh walked on the cobbled path. He was out of uniform. His jeans were scuffed and worn, just like his black boots. His broad shoulders stretched the fabric of a white T-shirt, which hung loose around his waist. Cedric, the big dog he’d healed, ran along his side, tongue lolling. From this angle, Hugh almost looked like a normal guy out for a stroll with his adoring pooch.
It was so strange, Elara thought. By all rights, Hugh d’Ambray was a despicable human being, but for some reason dogs instantly liked him. Horses too. Bucky was practically overcome with joy every morning when Hugh came to brush him and pick his hooves.
She supposed some women liked him too.
Cedric looked at her over his shoulder. She hurried to catch up, making no effort to move quietly. Cedric trotted over to her. She petted him.
“You’re insane if you think he will make good war dogs. His puppies will be just like him, goofballs.”
Hugh ignored her.
Elara walked next to him. Tall trees spread their canopy above them, just far enough apart to let some isolated rays of sun through. The brush at their roots was gone. Instead carefully planted patches of herbs colored the ground on both sides of the path. The plants were both native and introduced: sage, mugwort, plantain, ginseng, goldenseal, black cohosh, and more. Being here soothed raw nerves, and she often walked this path. More often since Hugh arrived. She needed a lot of soothing these days.
“How can I get rid of you?” Hugh asked.
“Divorce me.”
“As soon as I can,” he swore.
Elara let him have a minute of silence. “Tell me.”
He gave her a brooding look.
“Tell me about Lennart and why you hate him.”
Exasperation stretched his face. He looked up, as if searching for the heavens.
“Our marriage is a sham. Our alliance isn’t,” she said. “We need each other. When people look at you, they see a murdering butcher who betrayed his allies. When they look at me, they see an abomination who leads a cult and feeds on human sacrifice. But now we’re married and suddenly they see us as newlyweds. They assume that there must be something I see in you, some redeeming quality that made me love you and marry you. When they look at me, they see a wife. Surely, I couldn’t be that abominable.”
“Or I wouldn’t have married you,” he finished.
“Yes. Doors that were previously closed are beginning to open. The Red Guard guy is coming after ignoring us for months. The county sheriffs think that we are a lovely couple. Explain the problem with the Pack, so I’ll understand.”
“No.”
“I’m not asking for your thoughts and secrets. Just for facts. I’ll learn them anyway. Normally I’d pounce on a chance to explore your weaknesses, but right now I just want the Pack thing to go smoothly. I worked too damn hard for it. A three month-long bidding war, four trips to the Pack to woo them, almost ten thousand in extra herbs planted.”
“Did you go yourself to woo the Pack?”
She laughed. “Because I am so sweet and charming?”
He gave her a dark look. “Your people are eating out of your hand.”
“They are my people and I love them. They’ve proved their loyalty beyond anything I had a right to ask. There is no limit to how low I will sink to keep them safe.”
“Interesting choice of words.”
She faced him. “Accurate. I will do anything for them.”
“Good.” His smile was like the flash of a knife. “I’ll use it against you later.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m so scared. I’ll have to go and find someone to sex me up right away just to keep my composure. Tell me, how did all this start?”
He didn’t answer. She strolled next to him.
“Roland found out he had a daughter,” Hugh said.
“I know the story,” she said. “The immortal wizard woke up after hibernating through the centuries of technology just before the Shift. He set about rebuilding his empire from the ruins of our modern world. He gathered necromancers and made them into the People. He hired an army and set a warlord to lead them. And he swore off having children, not sure why.”
“They always turn on him,” Hugh said.
Just like you? Maybe he had turned on Roland. Maybe not. There was something wistful in the way he said Roland’s name.
“He fell in love in spite of himself,” Elara continued. “And
he had a daughter, but his wife ran away.”
“He tried to kill the child in the womb,” Hugh said.
She stopped and glanced at him. “What?”
“It didn’t work. Daniels is hard to kill.”
Elara recovered. “And then her mother took her and ran away with Roland’s Warlord.”
“He raised me,” Hugh said.
“The Warlord?”
“Yes. His name was Voron. He’d trained me since they found me in France. Then Kalina, Daniels’s mother, decided she needed his help, and it was all over. One day he was simply gone. That was her power. If she wanted to, she could make you love her.”
So his surrogate father had abandoned him to be with his boss’s wife and their child. That had to hurt.
“It didn’t last,” Hugh said. “Roland tracked them down eventually and killed Kalina. Voron escaped with the child. I thought Voron would come back, after her magic wore off, but he never did.”
“After Voron left, what happened to you?”
“I became the Warlord. Later Roland found out that his daughter survived.”
“How?”
Hugh shrugged. “She started using her magic. Daniels isn’t a subtle type. I could’ve brought her to him, but he wanted her to come to him, voluntarily, which was a lot more complicated. By that point, she had decided that Curran Lennart was her one and only. As long as they were together, inside the Pack’s Keep, I wouldn’t have made any progress. I had to get them to turn on each other.”
He was describing it matter-of-fact, in a detached voice.
“You lured them out of the Keep?” she guessed.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Panacea. I wanted a lot of distance, so I went to Europe, to the Black Sea. I had a castle there, a quiet base for Middle Eastern operations. There are a lot of potent old powers in Arabia. Best to stay out of their way, on the outskirts.”
“Did Lennart and Daniels come?”
Hugh nodded.
“What was it like meeting her?” Elara asked. “What was Daniels like?”
“You wanted just the facts, remember?”
“Did she like your proposal?”
“No. We danced around for a while. Sparred once.”