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As she proceeded to try to persuade Peyton to take whatever was in the bottle, Luna motioned me off to one side.
When we were away from the area, she turned to me and, in low whispers, said, “If they won’t help us, I might be able to do the job. You need a seer. While I’m not a natural-born clairvoyant, I do have a spell that might work. It requires a great deal of energy and runs to shadow magic, but I’d be willing to do it. We have to get Rhiannon back.”
I gazed at her, gauging her expression. “You’re afraid,” I finally said. “Whatever this spell is, it will work, but you’re afraid of it. Why?”
Luna rubbed the back of her neck, but all she would say was, “The price is high. But it’s a price I would be willing to pay.”
I tried to get more information out of her, but she clammed up. A noise at the back of the stage signaled the Council’s return.
They motioned for us to reconvene, and we took our seats again. After a moment, Ysandra stood and we followed suit, remaining on our feet.
The Reverend Mother cleared her throat. “In the matter of the Petros appeal for help, the Council has deemed this: We will lay the spell of Greater Protection on the house and woodland in which the members of the Moon Spinners reside. In the matter of providing a seer, we decline.”
I started to say something, but Ysandra grabbed my arm, warning me with a shake of her head to shut my mouth. She turned back to the Council.
“In the matter of the Moon Spinners’ eligibility for membership now that two of the members are royalty of a sovereign nation, we will address that after this situation is resolved. This meeting is adjourned.”
As the Reverend Mother stood and headed back the way she’d come, followed by the others, I wanted to jump on the stage, to drag her back and hammer home why we needed the seer. But Ysandra held me back, her nails digging through my turtleneck, into my arm.
After the auditorium was empty, she let out a long breath.
“Never, ever contradict the Council. They can be deadly foes, and they have long memories.” She frowned. “I’ll do what I can to find a seer on the side, someone who can divine the whereabouts of Rhiannon and Geoffrey and Leo.”
I waited for a moment but was surprised when Luna didn’t speak up about her spell. After a moment’s hesitation, I simply gave Ysandra a gracious smile.>Another soft pause, then, “I’ll pick you up in fifteen minutes. Be waiting for me, the three of you. And, Cicely, I need not tell you this is dangerous news, not only for your cousin’s health but for New Forest, for the Golden Wood, and for you.” She hung up without another word.
I turned to Regina. “Ysandra’s picking us up. Will you walk us out?” I didn’t want to be alone, even though I knew my guards would be there. I didn’t want to stand out there in the night, without someone watching over us.
Regina nodded. Lannan said nothing, but he threw on a trench coat and then turned to stare at me before sweeping out of the room, his hair golden against the black of the material.
Regina waited with us until Ysandra’s car pulled up. Luna was somber; Peyton was shell-shocked. Nobody said much of anything. As the silent snow swirled down to our feet, I wanted nothing more than for my father to show up. Even in the short time I’d known him, he had come to represent security to me, and now, once again, all of that had been stripped away.
Check took a step closer to me, leaning down. “Your Highness, is there anything I can do?”
“Learn how to ride in a car,” I said, a little churlish. Then, biting my tongue when he looked crestfallen, I let out a sigh. “I’m sorry. It would help, but I didn’t mean it to come out so…nasty. I’m just…”
“Never explain yourself, Your Highness,” was his reply.
I smiled at him then, but the smile didn’t last. I couldn’t sustain it. When we’d routed Myst, everything seemed like it was on the right track. Now everything was shot to hell again and sliding downhill fast.
Ysandra pulled up, and as Check bustled Peyton and Luna into the backseat, I leaned into the front. “Where are we going? My guards need to know.”
With a glance beyond my shoulder, she handed me a piece of paper. I glanced at it. The address was written down, but the writing was glittering and I had the feeling that it was magical, to be invisible to prying eyes not approved for such communication. I handed it over to Check, who read it, then gave a quick nod to Ysandra. The moment I was in the passenger seat, buckled up, the guards took off in a blur to meet us at our destination.
Ysandra eased out of the parking loop, stopping for a moment outside the gates for me to contact Ulean. Then we headed onto the snowy streets. She looked like she wanted to say something, but with a glance in the rearview mirror at Peyton, she shut her mouth and kept silent.
The rumbling of the engine against the muffled night was the only sound as we eased along the ice-slicked roads. I watched the street signs go by, one by one, wondering where we were going. The address hadn’t been familiar to me, but Check seemed to have recognized it.
After a time and a maze of turns, Ysandra edged into a parking lot next to a small building on the outskirts of town. A single light illuminated the front door, and there seemed to be no guards—in fact, no sign of any life around it.
“Where are we? Is Ulean here?” I was reluctant to get out of the car till Check showed up, but Ysandra removed the keys from the ignition and opened her door.
I am here, Cicely. The barriers did not stop me.
“At an area far safer than just about any you’ve ever been to. Don’t fuss. Your Elemental is here, your guards are here, and so are guards from the Consortium.”
“Where?” But she’d already gotten out of the car and was busy helping Peyton out. I decided that if Ysandra felt safe, we probably were, and cautiously opened the door. The moment I set foot into the empty parking lot and stepped out of the car, the entire landscape shifted and changed. I could see more than a dozen cars now, near ours, and not only my own guards but at least eight members of the Consortium’s elite task force, as they were called. They were really units of magical warriors, specially trained for combat situations. Highly skilled magicians, witches and sorcerers, they could stand up to the strongest of enemies.
Breathing easier, I looked around and the barriers of the illusion became clear. The lot and building were surrounded by a force field.
