The man looked up, shocked at first by the sound of another voice. “Who…?” He glanced at Saga on the table and understood exactly who Avery was. “How the hell did you get in here?”
“By the authority of the Winter Council.”
His eyes focused on the shadows that churned around Avery’s hand and his teeth ground together. “Well, this is unexpected indeed. I was under the impression Saoirse had kept her granddaughter out of this world.”
Avery drew all the power she could muster into her voice. “Step away from her. Now.” It was a desperate attempt but worth the chance it might at least cause him to hesitate.
He stared at her. “Are you here to arrest me?” He mocked.
“I’m here tostopyou, Osian,” said Avery. “As far as I’m concerned, the method is up for debate.”
A disbelieving chuff escaped him. “You are not the first attack dog they’ve set on us over the years.” He turned abruptly and thrust out his hand, bringing it sharply back toward him in a beckoning gesture. “Dewch.”63
The sound of metal screeching across stone was the only warning Averygot before one of the great file cabinets slammed into her, knocking her down to the cold floor. Very cold. There were remnants of frost between the stones.
She barely rolled out of the way in time for it to fall onto the floor, the sound creating a deafening echo. “There are others on their way!” she called out, pushing herself to her feet.
The sound of slow approaching footsteps. “Then you’ll need to play the gentleman and die quickly so I can get on with it.Dewch.”
Another file cabinet knocked into her, this time falling on top of her, pinning her against the floor. The world wavered. She felt sick. She could not pass out. If she lost consciousness now, Saga was as good as dead. “Please, Osian, don’t do this.” She tried to focus on the shadows, gathering them to her again.
“When my Mari got sick, I went to yourcouncil.” Osian Goff spat the word. “I begged them for help. Human medicine was ill-equipped to cure her, butourhealers… They could have done something.”
Avery tried to move her arms. If she could gather sufficient umbra, she might be able to push the cabinet up enough to crawl out.
“But do you know what they said to me? They told me we can’t interfere with humanity—told meIhad interfered enough—that my mere existence was proof of that. They told me that one less human knowing about our world—forgive me,theirworld—was for the greater good. They drove me to this. If they had helped me then I would never have found Campbell. He failed Mari, but then again so did I. I’ll be damned before both of us fail Eira too.”
“I know how you feel,” Avery gasped as the shadow relieved some of the weight from her.
“You knownothing.”
“My mother was human,” she rasped, shifting enough to get one palm against the floor beneath her shoulder. “I’m a changeling too.”
“And yet you work for the council?” The disgust was apparent in his voice as the footsteps stopped next to her head. “You deserve to die.”
63Welsh: “Come.”
It is important to remember that most magic is about intention rather than specific incantations, and as such, commanding objects to move may be done through a variety of languages and is in fact not a specifically Welsh talent.
Chapter 26
Saga
What sounded like a distant explosion roused her—or perhaps it was an earthquake. Then a dull pain began in the back of her head—it also seemed far away, but as the ringing in her ears grew louder, the throbbing increased.
Saga turned her head to the side, trying to remove pressure from the intense pulsing sensation. She nearly choked, inhaling something that initially smelled earthy and mild, but as her senses focused, it soured—like bitter sage. Then she became aware of the rather intense heat that felt not far above her head, and she tried to crane her neck to look. She could make out the edges of what she might have guessed was a cauldron, but that was it. Her vision still unfocused, she blinked, trying to will herself back into the present.
“If someone like me didn’t step in, it would have been someone like the people who turned you away.”
That was Avery’s voice. Saga shifted, trying to sit up, but something held her down. She tried to raise her hand to rub her eyes but that too felt restrained. She blinked rapidly, and as her vision struggled to focus she could make out the vague outline of thick straps across her body.
“And how are you any better, Hemlock? You come here with delusions that you have any idea what I have been through, set to carry outtheirmission.” That was Bowen.
“You’re responsible for the deaths of three people. Even you must realize this isn’t about us against them.” Avery’s voice sounded strained. Was she also bound? Saga tried to wiggle free.
