Perpetual Prey Read online

  “Did I mention names?”

  “No. You also did not mention a mate.”

  She smiled slightly at his intuitive answer for her next question. “I see. Well, I feel like I have had children if that makes sense.”

  “You have had dozens if not hundreds that you have cared for over the years. Some human, some extranatural.”

  She shrugged. “A child is a child, whether with fingers or talons, teeth or fangs. They all need help to become responsible and caring adults.”

  “And you have taken them all in when they needed it.”

  Elsinor sighed. “As would anyone with a heart.”

  “You go above and beyond. Just look at your holdings. You don’t just have businesses, you have training centres for family counsellors, charities that find homes for the ones who age out of the system, and a widespread grasp of what it takes to create a solid citizen anywhere in the world.”

  “I am guessing that looking forward has been my greatest skill since the past has always been so shuttered to me.”

  He gave her a smile that showed a bit of fang. “A lovely way of putting it. Your lack of past does not impede your future.”

  “I hope so, but this round, my future has a different goal. I need to strike out and end this cycle. That is going to get bloody, and I need to be ready for it.”

  “I and those here are at your disposal to regain what you have lost and to gain what you need.”

  She stood up, moved over, and sat in his lap. “I am going to start combat work soon. How good are your full body rubs?”

  He ran a hand up and down her thigh. “I think I need some practice.”

  She grinned. “Excellent. I look forward to it.”

  He sighed happily. “So do I.”

  Chapter Six

  It took her six weeks of daily training and combat practice before she was willing to take the first step, making a phone call.

  “Hello, is this Chancellor Depford-Smythe?” Elsinor fought the urge to bite her thumbnail.

  “It is.” There was a pause. “Elsinor?”

  “You know me?”

  There was another pause. “Ah, it is that time. How long has it been?”

  “Less than three months. Is it possible for me to come and have a conversation with you?”

  “Oh. Sure. When were you thinking of coming by?”

  Elsinor looked through the window of the chancellor’s cottage and saw what seemed to be her old acquaintance through the window. “Now would be good. I am right outside.”

  The startled face of the mage turned into a wry smile. “Come on in.”

  Elsinor disconnected the call and looked to Jericho. “I think I will be fine. You can come in if you like.”

  Jeri held up the brochure they had picked up at the admissions office. “I will just thumb through this for a while. These courses look amazing. I might audit a few if we are going to stay on this side of the continent.”

  Elsinor smiled as she left the car and grabbed the box from the back seat. “We are here for a few days at the very least. You can see if anything interesting is going on. Oh, and these are mages, so maybe a glamour is in order?”

  Jeri chuckled and her normally vivid features blurred into something fitting a debutant. “How is that?”

  “Lovely, but you are lovely with any face that you wear.” Elsinor inclined her head. “I will call you when I have completed my chat.”

  “Take your time, Mom. I can amuse myself around here for weeks if need be.”

  “I sincerely hope that it won’t take that long.”

  “You are with a friend who isn’t within our particular circle. Enjoy it. You have been close with the Depfords for centuries. Your association goes back before you met me.”

  “Well, it has been a while. Have fun but don’t scare the locals.”

  Jeri’s laughter came through the open windows of the vehicle as it drove away, leaving Elsinor with the boxes tied with string and her crossbody bag holding her wallet and phone. With her shoulders back, she walked up to her friend’s home, and the door opened in invitation.

  Mirrin stared at her, shaking her head. “It is amazing, Aunty. You look just like you do in the old tomes.”

  Elsinor nibbled at one of the pastries she had brought. “That is probably because only my eyes change. I guess it is due to that being the only stolen organs that are externally visible.”

  Mirrin shuddered. “I know about it, you have told me about it before, but it is still exceptionally creepy.”

  Elsinor grinned. “I know. Imagine how it feels growing them back. Blueberries?”

  Mirrin shuddered and made a face. “Gross.” She reached in and took a strawberry tart.

  “Have I always been Aunty?” Elsinor wanted to know.

  “For centuries. The Depfords kept a series of books of your knowledge and story. It is required reading when we are teens. I was just digging out my copies to give to Imara, so your timing is excellent.”

  “Ah, yes. You have a daughter. Congratulations.”

  “And seven sons and only a few of them are not speaking to me.” Mirrin took her tart and went to her desk, sorting through tomes until she had three heavy books in her arms and the tart carefully held in her teeth.

  She handed the books to Elsinor. “You can read them over. You apparently always do.”

  Elsinor took the books with a bit of an awed feeling. “Thank you. I didn’t...”

  “No, you don’t know about them. You never do. I have some paperwork to catch up on; the administration duties are endless, so I will be over at my desk while you read. Let me know if you have any questions, I have committed the tomes to memory.”

  Just like that, Elsinor was left alone with what appeared to be several hundred years of her history with the Depford family. She looked around. She was also missing one of the pastry boxes.

  Grinning, she chose the oldest of the books and creaked it open.

  It began simply enough.

  We were drowning. The horses foundered, and our cart tipped in the river. Our skirts pulled us under, and the water was so cold.

  There was a sharp whistle, and we were lifted with magic, including our cart. She pulled us through the air and set us down on her side of the bank, the rain beating all around her but not touching the midnight hair.

  Elsinor paused. “I can do magic?”

  Mirrin smiled. “It appears at puberty, so when all of you is a teenager, you will regain your magic. Keep reading.”

  Elsinor blinked. “You are joking.”

  “I am not. You will be hugely powerful but not until a dozen years have passed. Keep reading.”

  Elsinor read the entire account of her meeting Liliana and her three daughters, fleeing from the overlord who was trying to either claim her or kill her, depending on his mood.

  The dark-haired woman took them, and their cart to a small cottage in the woods where a cheery fire waited for them, and a bath was drawn with warm water. The mother bathed her daughters to warm them, and when everyone had been cleaned of the river water and was sitting wrapped up with their clothing drying near the fire, cups of hot tea were placed in their hands.

  The dark woman introduced herself as Elsinor and offered to lead Liliana to a safe place, or she could deal with the overlord. It was up to the mother of the three daughters.

  Elsinor looked over at Mirrin and nodded. The mother ran, taking her children as far and as fast as Elsinor was willing to take them. They settled into a small village where Elsinor’s wealth helped them find a place in their local society. By the time their guardian disappeared, they had learned much of the magic that she wielded and were secure in the affections of those around them.

  She had warned them that she would disappear and that if they saw her again, she would not be herself. When she did appear again, they knew that while the mind had changed, the kind and open soul remained the same as it had been.

&nbs
p; Elsinor paused. This was the first time that she understood her connection to some of the knowledge she possessed. Her very essence carried the keys to the information, if not the data itself.

  She flicked through the pages and saw images of herself in ink, charcoal, pastels, and even an illumination cropped out of a manuscript on magic. Each depiction had a different colour of eyes.

  The stories ranged from the fantastic to the banal. In each story, she was depicted as either the wise and respected woman, or the newly recovered woman who was seeking clues of her previous life. The Depfords kept that record for her, as best they could.

  She set the first three hundred years of their association aside and started on the next tome. She sipped some of the tea that appeared at her side, but when she looked, Mirrin was at her desk and working with a scowl.

  Based on the moments in history that were flagged, Elsinor had been associating with the family for nearly a thousand years.

  She smiled when Algethan was mentioned with a bit of consternation. Apparently, Elsinor was on one of the ships to the new continent ahead of the Inquisition, and the Depfords were there as well. Al was with her on the voyage, but he flew off with her long before they made landfall.

  When she went through the final book, she found the late portion of the nineteenth century and the first viewing of Jericho.

  Both she and the infant were recorded as being new to the world when they were first seen, but Elsinor soon regained her wits, and the baby was a joy to behold. So, Jericho was just around one hundred and ten years old. She had been born after Elsinor had risen from an attack, but she said in hospital that she had seen the recovery once prior to the current situation. That meant that her child, or niece, was over one hundred and ten years old.

  Elsinor smiled. Jericho didn’t look a day over nineteen.

  Algethan didn’t reappear for a decade. She had told the Depford elders about their reunion, and her initial distrust of him until he presented her with her favourite food that she didn’t know she liked. Her weakness was cream buns, and it just happened to be the only confection that Al had ever bothered to learn.

  She grinned as the paper continued to get smoother and the entries more recent. She chuckled as she appeared in photos at family weddings, graduations, and other ceremonies over the century since photography was common.

  Elsinor finally closed the book and looked at Mirrin. “I was at your wedding.”

  Mirrin looked up with a grin. “You were. You weren’t impressed with my husband or the situation, though.”

  “How did that turn out?”

  “Oh, you know, I married to improve my family’s financial situation in exchange for our superior bloodline to be mixed with his, and I had eight children in ridiculously short order. As soon as the last set of twins was born, I was out. Most of the boys understand, and Imara is remarkably forgiving.”

  “You had an eighth? I thought you were going for the seventh of seven.”

  “I was. That was my daughter. Her twin is the seventh son of a seventh son. You know my family always leaned toward the females for the inheritance of power.”

  Elsinor folded her hands on the books. “So, how is she? I am assuming that she was sent to live with distant relatives.”

  “She was. She is very grounded and remarkably determined. She also has an affinity for the dead. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

  El blinked. “No, but I can check if I find any information about my comings and goings later.”

  Mirrin shook her head. “Never mind. She has come through and graduated with astonishing speed. The classes she chose were exactly the ones she needed to blow through school to get her degree. She just opened up a spectral consulting business in Redbird City.”

  “Really? It seems I am in need of precisely such consulting.”

  Mirrin smiled slyly. “You don’t say. Would you like me to set up an introduction, Aunty?”

  “If you wouldn’t mind. I am heading to Redbird after this, so it would be lovely to meet her there.”

  Mirrin reached for her phone. “Just so you are aware, I am also dating her familiar. You may recognize him, Eadric the Hellborn.”

  She had just read about that. “He led an uprising, and he has been bound to serve the families of those he murdered to stop the spread of demon influence.”

  Mirrin had a blush on her cheeks. “He’s a great cat and an amazing dancer.”

  Elsinor was going to ask how it worked, dating a cat, but the call connected and Mirrin was asking her daughter if she had time for a client that evening.

  Imara’s voice came through. “Send her over. When do you think she will get here?”

  Elsinor checked the time on a display, and she inclined her head. “The way Jericho drives, we will be there in half an hour.”

  “It’s an hour drive.”

  “I stand by my statement.” She grinned. “I look forward to meeting your daughter.”

  “She will be there in thirty minutes. Tell Mr. E I am looking forward to our date on Friday.”

  Imara muttered something that Elsinor couldn’t hear, but Mirrin barked a laugh.

  “See you soon, sweetie. Thanks. Bye.”

  Mirrin smiled at her guest. “She is in all night, and if she needs to step out, she will leave a friend or a note behind to let you know where to find her. This is her card.”

  Mirrin took a card off a stack on one side of her desk. She had more of her daughter’s cards than she did of her own. It was sweet.

  Elsinor got up and took the card. When Mirrin rose, she hugged her. “Take care, and I will see you soon, little beet.”

  Mirrin leaned back and stared at her. “How did you know that name?”

  Elsinor smiled. “I have no idea. I am hoping to get to the bottom of that as well.”

  She left her friend and was not surprised when Jericho pulled up with a smile and a car full of food. “Start eating. Where are we headed?”

  “Redbird City.”

  Jeri grinned. “Let’s see if I can beat my best time. Buckle up.”

  Elsinor got in and did as she was told. While she had a valid driver’s license, she hadn’t actually bothered learning yet. It might be like everything else, and she had a muscle memory to go with her previous skill set, but she didn’t want to test it quite yet. Besides, Jericho loved driving. There was no sense in depriving her of her enjoyment.

  With a smooth shifting of gears, they were off.

  * * * *

  Mirrin exhaled slowly. The power that she remembered hadn’t quite appeared yet, but there was a heat to the energy signature surrounding Elsinor that didn’t normally manifest until two decades into her new life.

  She watched them drive off and felt a guilty sense of relief. Having a goddess in the room at close quarters was difficult enough, but knowing that what she was feeling was only a fraction of the power that would come meant that this time around, Elsinor was going to take some steps that she had avoided before. This might be the time that she got her life under her own control.

  Mirrin was a little nervous about what a fully conscious and powered-up Elsinor would be, but the goddess of education and mercy, guardian of the written word, creator of enchantments, and path of humanity was an impressive start. Mirrin was also relieved that she had hidden the religious text that marked her Aunty as the deity in command of an army of millions of women around the world. That would be a little much for the first meeting, and they never showed her that book until she was fifteen years or more into her new life.

  Tonight, Mirrin would make calls, and the altars would be lit with women hoping and praying that Elsinor was able to come into her own once again. The phone tree would be activated.

  Chapter Seven

  The spectral consulting office was delightfully well-worn. The exterior was brick that had seen at least a century, but the interior was polished floors and gleaming bookshelves.

 
The bell over the door chimed brightly as Elsinor let herself in. The wards around the building were snug, but since she didn’t have ill intent, it was easy to push through the slight resistance.

  Mirrin’s daughter walked out with a smile. “Hello, how may I help you?”

  “I am Elsinor Mathers. Your mother called about me?”

  The woman blushed. “Right. Sorry. When Mom said a family friend, I was thinking that you would be older.”

  A dapper man with dark hair and smiling dark gold eyes walked out. “She is older, Master Imara. Infinitely older, but I would recognize her anywhere. Lady Elsinor, it is an honour to see you once again.”

  The man went to one knee in front of her, and she extended her hand to him. “You can rise, Eadric the Hellborn. No one uses that greeting anymore.”

  He smiled up at her. “You recognize me.”

  “Indeed. You had better be polite to my dear Mirrin, or you will hear about it.”

  His cheeks coloured, and he shifted into an elegant black cat with the same eyes. He meowed at Imara, and she stared at him for a moment before laughing.

  “He swears he will be good. Have you met him before? Maybe as another familiar?”

  “Oh, no. I met him when he was flesh and not spirit. He was an angry young man who despised corruption. Since he would not be deterred from his path, I assisted him with the location of certain spells that would assist him with his goals. They were fairly effective.”

  The meow was assertive this time.

  Elsinor grinned. “He does not want to speak to me directly?”

  Imara reached out and scratched his ears. “He is more comfortable if you do not judge him as a human right now. Now, what can I do for you?”

  Elsinor explained her situation, and then, she reached to the back of her neck, pulling out the thick knot of strands that protected the stone. “I woke up, and I had a fey lock this into my hair. Nothing gets it out but my own hands.”