Karen Chance - Embrace the Night

Pritkin waved it away. "I spoke with the doctor who attended you earlier. I knew you were well. Did you destroy it?"

"Yes."

"All of it?"

I sighed. "No, I left out the important bits. Yes, all of it! There wasn't so much as a cinder left after Jesse torched it. Relax. It's over."

"It will never be over. Another Pythia could go back, find it again—"

I burst out laughing, but quit because it hurt. "Yeah, because it was so damn easy."

"It could happen," he said stubbornly.

"And all I can say is, good luck to her. She'll need it." I looked at him more seriously. "I'd like to ask a question—and get an honest answer. For a change."

"You want to know why I kept you in the dark."

"That would be the one. Why not just tell me what was going on?"

He looked at me in disbelief. "What reason did I have to assume that you would choose the Circle's side over Apollo's? He could give you everything: security, the knowledge you need about your power, wealth…whereas the Circle—"

"Has been trying its best to kill me." I took a moment to absorb that. I didn't like to admit it, but I kind of saw his point. With so much at stake, even if he'd wanted to tell me, he couldn't have risked it. I wasn't sure I'd have risked it.

"They were afraid of what an untrained Pythia might do," he continued, "given what Myra already had done. She was brought up knowing how dangerous that creature was, being warned against him, yet she still fell in line with his plans. As many others have done."

"It does explain a lot," I agreed. "I've been wondering why Tony, who pretty much defines ‘paranoid, would join a risky rebellion. But I guess he didn't think it would be much of a risk with a god on his side."

"Which was what the Circle assumed you would think. And once their attempts to remove you failed, they were even more certain that you would side against them as soon as you realized that you had such an ally." He looked at me curiously. "In truth, I am not entirely sure why you did not."

I shot him a look. "I've read the old legends, part of them anyway. Enough to guess what things would be like with his group here again."

"Is that all?" Pritkin looked skeptical. "Because you would have been his favorite, a pampered pet, a—"

"Slave," I finished flatly. "I would have been his slave." I'd already had one master, and that had been more than enough. "I said that no one would ever control me again like Tony did. I meant it."

Pritkin's jaw tightened. "That kind of power would be very attractive to many. Regardless of the price they had to pay for it."

"I'm sorry about Nick," I said, knowing what he had to be thinking.

He didn't flinch, but his eyes were shadowed. "It was necessary," he said tersely. "He'd seen the spell; he could have told others."

"He would have told others. He spent half an hour telling me all about what's wrong with the Circle, how it's a big bureaucratic mess that just needs a firm hand to straighten out. His hand, I assume."

"He was feeling you out, trying to discover if you would support his position."

"Yeah. He didn't seem too happy when I laughed at him."

Pritkin regarded me for a long moment. "You are an unusual person…Lady Cassandra."

I blinked, sure for a moment that I'd heard wrong. "What did you call me?"

"You have chosen a new reign title, I believe."

"Yeah. But since when do you use it?"

"Since you've earned it."

"Along with a lot of enemies." My list of problems now included a pissed-off demon lord, the Dark Fey king—who was still waiting impatiently for the Codex—and an angry god. To keep the last of those from turning mankind back into his playthings, I had to protect the Silver Circle from annihilation, even though they were facing a war with his allies and still wanted me dead themselves. And, oh, yeah, I was in the last place I'd wanted to be, allied with the Senate in the thick of the fight.

"A hazard of office." Pritkin shrugged. "There were many who did not care for Lady Phemonoe."

Yeah, like the ones who had killed her. "She once told me that I'd be the very best of us, or the very worst," I admitted. "I didn't know what that meant for a long time. I think I do now. Either my reign will see the office finally under the control of the Pythia, instead of the Circle or some ancient being, or it will see me, and everyone else, become slaves to that creature."

"That won't happen."

I almost pointed out that it very nearly had happened, but I didn't feel like getting into a fight. "Which kind of brings us to something else I wanted to ask you," I said instead. "The Circle maintains the ouroboros spell now, right?"

"Yes. Power is drawn from the Circle collectively, as no one mage could possibly sustain such a thing alone."

That was what I'd been afraid of. "Okay, so exactly how many ‘blows' can the Circle take before they can't keep up the spell anymore?"

"I don't know."

"Guess."

"I can't. All I can tell you is that when the spell was laid, the Circle was considerably smaller than it is now. Presumably we have some leeway before a crisis point is reached. But as the war heats up, there will be casualties. And every loss will become progressively more dangerous."

"Because it could be the one that lets the old gods return."

"They're not gods! They're strong, but primarily because their magic is so different from ours that it is difficult to counter. And there is certainly nothing godlike about their attitudes! Petty, arrogant, cruel beings without a shred of—"

"My point," I said, raising my voice, "is that if the Circle weakens too far, the spell snaps. So how do we keep that from happening? It's a little hard to save the lives of a bunch of people who are still trying to kill me!"

Pritkin ran a hand through his hair agitatedly. "I am well aware of that! We will have to manage some kind of rapprochement. If we continue to fight amongst ourselves, our enemies will have a definite advantage."

"And even if we win the war, if the Circle is weakened enough that the spell shatters—"

"Then we've lost anyway." Pritkin finished for me grimly.

"How would you suggest we begin? The Circle hates me."

"I don't know. With its current leadership…I don't know," he repeated. "It will not be easy. But above all else, you have to show them that you are not a puppet of the vampires. That isn't the case, I know," he said, forestalling my protest, "but that is how it appears. You live here, surrounded by them; you wear Mircea's mark; you are bound to him by the geis—"

"About that last one—I assume you are going to help me break it?"

There was a commotion outside, then the door burst open and Casanova ran in. He batted away Sal's hands. "Let go of me, woman!"

"What else have I been doing?" Pritkin asked incredulously. "What more would you have me do?"

Casanova looked at me. "Feeling better, are we?" It didn't sound concerned. It sounded pissed.

"Not particularly, no." I looked at Pritkin. "Cast the spell, of course."

"Good," Casanova snapped. "Because, thanks to you, neither am I!"

"What spell?" Pritkin asked, looking confused.

"The one to remove the geis!" I said impatiently. "I had to destroy the Codex, remember? I don't have it. But you do, so it doesn't matter."

"Are you paying attention?" Casanova demanded.

"Maybe when you stop insulting me, I'll think about it," I told him.

"Because Françoise won't do anything about those women, and the pixie won't do anything for anyone until she gets some rune she keeps raving about, and somebody has to!"

"What women?"

"We already tried that," Pritkin said, starting to look worried.

"The Graeae!" Casanova said, throwing up his hands. "They helped Françoise get the kids out—I personally think they just like killing demons, or anything else that stands still long enough—and now she won't even attempt to trap them. And they're currently all three downstairs! Together! If you hurry—"