“You fool! This is not about who controls Bealtaine, and you know it.”
“Well, that may be so, but that’s how the Grey Council and the Talons see this debacle, and they blame you. The last straw was when you allowed Zacharias’s warehouse, with a year’s supply of our product, to go up in flames. It will take months to recover.”
The female Troll touched Constantine’s arm and motioned with her eyes in Morgan’s direction by the window.
Constantine patted the Troll’s hand. “Yes, my lovely, now is the perfect time for you to speak with Morgan.” He glanced at the time on his cell phone. “I must leave soon. Your war didn’t leave us many options to escape the island. Female Wizards control the seas, and Air Wizards control the skies. Until a short while ago, I anticipated a dangerous journey off the island, whichever way I chose. I’ll give you a piece of advice for old times’ sake. The Talons and the Grey Council are about results, not promises. For example, if you could deliver the head of one of their leaders, they might reconsider.”
Vlad shivered as though someone had walked over his grave. “You used the word ‘reconsider.’ What aren’t you telling me?”
Constantine examined the fingernails on his right hand, then heaved a sigh. “Why, that there has been a contract issued for you dead or alive. Quite a tidy sum. Now, I’ve said what I cameto say. Consider yourself warned. I’d like to say that I will see you soon, but…well, I probably won’t.” He turned to go.
Vlad blocked his path. “I can offer the leadership Morgan’s head.” Vlad motioned toward the window—and then his heart nearly stopped beating. “She’s gone! And so is that Troll of yours! What did you do?” He reached for Constantine, but two of the security guards intervened, restraining Vlad.
Constantine chuckled. “When I suspected you’d succeeded in tricking Morgan, I made a deal with the Air Wizards. I deliver Morgan, and they allow my plane to leave the island. They were reluctant, until I offered to sweeten the deal.” Constantine motioned to his security guards. “Tie him up.”
Vlad backed toward the picture of Deborah on his desk. “I’ll kill you,” he ground out between his teeth. Constantine must have known Vlad wouldn’t leave quietly. What was he up to?
The security guards moved slowly toward him as one of them drew out a coiled rope that had been hooked at his belt.
“Fool. I will stop your hearts with a thought.”
“I doubt that, seriously, old friend.” Constantine smiled slowly, as he returned the screw cap to the Scotch bottle. “I could have given you a fatal dose of Oculist poison, but the Air Wizards want you alive.”
Behind his back, Vlad slid the photo of Deborah aside and felt for the latch of the hidden door. “I’m surprised you haven’t learned this lesson. Those who betray are often betrayed themselves. Or, as a woman I once loved said, ‘What goes around comes around.’”
Constantine frowned and flicked his hand toward his security guards. “What are you waiting for? Tie him up.”
Vlad lifted the latch, and a door slid open in the floor. Before Constantine and the security guards could react, Vlad jumped.
****
Along the shoreline, a safe distance from Vlad’s mansion and from the fighting, Morgan bent over and threw up. “What was in that drink you gave me to neutralize the poison?”
The female Troll laughed. “A little of this and a lot of that. It was originally created to help when a person drank too much, but it also helps to empty the contents of a stomach in case of poison.”
“Well, it worked. Thank you. I think. I feel like I’ve been hit head-on by a tsunami. I should probably know your name.”
“I’m Willow, and I have information for where they have imprisoned your sister Wizards who remained on the island. They are being kept in an underground bunker.”
Morgan squeezed Willow’s hand gently. “I love that you read my mind and I thank you for the information. The Trolls will be overjoyed to welcome you home.”
“I cannot stay. Constantine expects my return, and my work is not over. Blowing up Zacharias’s warehouse is not the end. I overheard Constantine tell Vlad that although a large amount of Oculist stones were destroyed in the explosion, they plan to continue. Which means they must have other warehouses. We must find their supplier. Tell my mother, Cassandra, that I am thankful for this opportunity to help our people.”
“You’re Cassandra’s daughter?” Morgan smiled, recognizing the resemblance around the eyes and in the way Willow tilted her head. “That is so wonderful, and I have so many questions.”
“In time,” Willow said, kissing Morgan as she bid her farewell. “In time.”
She then hurried along the shore toward the airstrip and Constantine’s plane in a blur of speed. She must have Fae blood to move that fast, Morgan decided. Willow, like so many in the magical community, was not a pure-blood but mixed. Morgan considered the revelation a good thing, and that would hopefully lead to better understanding.
Morgan lifted her head toward the downpour that had begun as they talked. She raised her arms and welcomed its embrace. The rain caressed her, strengthened her, and whispered against her skin, each drop a kiss.Too long, they said.You’ve been gone too long.
A bolt of lightning, silver with flecks of gold, creased the sky. Rain reflected its light. Sheets of spun silver unfolded from the sky like yards of polished chainmail. As though in slow motion, Morgan returned her gaze to the men fighting on the far side of the coastline. Her powers were restored. It was time to join the battle and locate the female Wizards who had stayed behind on the island.
Chapter Forty-Five
The island was on fire and the landing strip a mass of bombed-out craters. One plane had taken off, too far away for Rowan to note its markings. By the look and size, he speculated it might belong to a member of the Talons or the Grey Council. That the Air Wizards allowed it passage could mean several things, anything from their considering the occupants of the plane allies of the female Wizards to a purpose known only to themselves.
A puzzle without all the pieces, and one he would have to reconstruct. People were taking sides, and it was imperative to learn the friendlies from the enemies.
