Queen of Avalon (Broken Throne Book 3) Read online

  “Maybe that’s what Kane is counting on,” Winnie said. “He wins every time the public outcry calls for more action to contain magic. We know that containment isn’t the problem. It’s the available supply of magic. Blaming chanters is only a scapegoat to cover the true problem. Kane knows what’s happening and wants to keep the remaining magic for himself.”

  “What’s he going to do with it once he gets it?” Danny asked. “Won’t it fail for him, too?”

  “Not in his lifetime,” Cait said. “If he somehow gathers the remaining magic for himself, he can live like a king while the rest of the country crumbles around him. He’ll be needed for even the simplest things — a tyrant’s rule from behind the scenes.”

  “That’s why we have to stop him,” Winnie said. “It’s why we must remain united. With the chanters unified against him, he can never take the magic from us without a fight.”

  “That’s why we should never have turned those older weapons over to the army,” Tris argued. “We’ll need them to fight the Director. It’s us or them, Winnie. We can’t do this by taking things halfway.”

  “I’m not saying we should go halfway. If I can teach some of you to do what I can with magic, we won’t need the other weapons and tools. We’ll have the power in our own hands.”

  Cait touched Winnie on the shoulder. “We’ve been over this before. You’ve tried to teach us. I can see how the flows respond to you, but I can’t make them do the same thing. It just doesn’t work.”

  “I don’t believe it can’t be done by others,” Winnie said, shaking her head. “I’m nothing special.”

  “I don’t think that’s true, and deep down, neither to you,” Cait replied. “You’ve been different ever since you destroyed the Harvester. You’re doing things that no one’s ever being able to do. Face it. You’re one of a kind.”

  Winnie didn’t answer. She didn’t want to believe it. Her plan hinged on them being able to either find others who could do what she did, or train some of the stronger chanters to do it. If each city had a group of such people, Winnie was sure that the drain could be stabilized. The key was finding another like herself.

  Winnie could grudgingly admit to being special, but not to being unique. She had to figure out what made her different. It wasn’t just her encounter with the Harvester. Cait and Tris had been strapped into that awful machine, too, and they’d never displayed such power.

  Only one other person could help her answer this particular question. She needed her mother. Elaine had to know something that would lead Winnie to others like her. Of course, that meant speaking to her mother, something she had avoided doing as much as possible since their estrangement over a year ago.

  Winnie bore much of the blame. She’d pushed back against her mother’s desire to protect her, to keep her safe, and that had driven a wedge between them. She still loved her mom and made sure the proceeds from their charm running were also used to provide for her mother’s long term medical care. Her rheumatoid arthritis was crippling, and her condition — an awful, chronic, progressive disease — worsened by the year, even with the best medications and care.

  She heard the others in the background, discussing their plans for a celebratory party with the whole crew once back in Baltimore. That was important for the team’s morale. They’d all worked hard to make sure the operation to bring Colten Sico into the fold came off without any problems.

  Elaine could help her work this out, and Winnie felt an unexplainable urgency. She turned to Danny. “Can you take me off in the old neighborhood after we drop off the others?”

  Danny glanced at Winnie. “I can, but why aren’t you joining the party?”

  “I have something I need to do. Don’t ask me why.”

  “You’re going to see your mother,” Danny said.

  “I said don’t ask.”

  “Never mind.”

  Winnie knew he was annoyed. They both had bad relationships with their families. Danny had burned his bridges, although Winnie knew his mom still tried to reach out to him from time to time. She hadn’t gone to the same lengths to cut ties, but Winnie and her mother were nowhere near as close as they’d been. This would be a difficult conversation.

  Danny dropped off his passengers, then drove to the Enclave in silence. He pulled up to Elaine’s apartment and looked at Winnie. “Do you want me to come up?”

  Winnie smiled. “No, thanks. I need to face this alone. Besides, you know my mom doesn’t approve of us. I’ll catch a bus or a cab.”

  “I’ll stay up. Just call me and I’ll come back and get you whenever you finish your chat.”

  Winnie leaned over and gave him a kiss. Then she got out and looked up at the building, spying the light in her mother’s apartment.

  She drew a deep breath and then headed inside.

  CHAPTER 5

  Elaine Durham took the kettle off the burner and poured herself a cup of herbal tea. She’d barely slept last night and was hoping the cup would soothe her mind before bed.

  She set the kettle back on the table, then looked out her kitchen window as a car pulled away from the curb.

  Elaine sat, sipping her tea, wondering what her daughter was doing that evening. Her thoughts often turned to Winnie. It troubled her soul that they no longer spoke. Winnie kept track of her, adding money into their joint account so Elaine could pay her bills. And she kept track of Winnie by talking to her friends’ parents. Tris and Cait talked to their mothers often, and those women shared what little they learned about Winnie’s activities. But still, she worried. Her daughter was involved with illegal activity, abusing Sable, and still seeing the Barber boy.

  She heard a key being inserted in her door’s lock and turned to see Winnie opening the door. Elaine gasped, struggling to stand and greet her daughter.

  “Mom, don’t get up. I can come to you.”

  Elaine gave up trying to stand and relaxed back into her chair. Winnie crossed the room, then came over and leaned in to her on the cheek. She stepped back, and for a moment, there was an awkward silence as Elaine struggled to come up with something light to strike a conversation.

  “Uh, there’s hot water on the stove. Get yourself some tea and join me.” Elaine patted the table.

  “That sounds nice.” Winnie got herself a mug from the cupboard and a teabag from the canister by the stove. She poured herself some of the hot water, then came to the table and sat, gripping the mug in both hands as she looked around the kitchen. After a moment, Winnie reached out and added a few spoonfuls of sugar into her tea, then stirred as she stared at the steaming liquid.

  “That’s a nice outfit,” Elaine noticed. “Is it new?”

  Winnie looked down at her brown leather jacket and the blouse underneath. She shrugged. “I’ve had it for a little while, but I guess you haven’t seen it before so, yeah, it’s new.” She looked around again then back at Elaine. “How have you been. Are you getting all your meds?”

  “Yes, I’m getting excellent care. Thank you for helping arrange for that. It’s very kind. I know you’re busy with your, uh, work and all.”

  “You’re my mom. Of course I’ll take care of you. I always have.”

  “And I appreciate that, Winnie. I just don’t know what you want me to say. It’s hard for a parent to let their child take care of them when they’ve spent their lives the other way around.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. I was just telling you that I’ll always be there to take care of whatever you need.”

  Elaine shook her head. “And what if I need something more than money? What then?”

  “I don’t know, Mom. After the last time I was here, I didn’t think you ever wanted to see me again. I wasn’t even sure if I should come here tonight.”

  “Winnie, I’m always happy to see you. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be safe and well. I’m only trying to protect you from things you can’t understand.”

  “I don’t need your protection anymore, Mom,” Winnie said, planting h
er head in her hands and rubbing her face. “I haven’t needed that for a long time.”

  “And yet you keep doing dangerous things that make me worry about you. I keep track of you and your friends. I know that you’re in even deeper than the last time we talked. How’s a mother supposed to feel when her daughter is some sort of wanna-be kingpin?”

  “I’m not a wanna-be anything, Mother. I’m trying to make it so that people like us can live without fear of persecution or death. Why can’t you understand that?”

  “I only understand that you’re dabbling in things you can’t control.” Elaine looked up at Winnie, searching her eyes before she continued. “Are you still getting high on Sable?”

  Winnie pushed back from the table and stood. “When are you going to understand that I know what I’m doing?”

  “So that’s a yes. Don’t you understand the danger? There are things you don’t know about yourself, that you can’t know.” She paused, searching for words that would convince her daughter without driving her farther away. “You can’t use Sable. It isn’t something you can control, and if you use too much you’ll become like your….”

  Elaine stopped; she’d said too much.

  “Too much like my what? My real father?”

  Elaine was shocked. Oh, my! Does Winnie know the truth?

  “It’s not like I still believe that Morgan’s my sister. There’s no way I could have the power I do without being a pure-blooded chanter.” She looked down at Elaine, hands on her hips. “So who was my father, really?”

  “Winnie—”

  “Tell me. I deserve to know.”

  “He was a fling, a person who isn’t in our lives. It’s over. He left before I knew I was pregnant. Then I met Morgan’s father and he was so kind. After we were together, I let him believe you were his.” Elaine looked down at her twisted, crippled hands. She started to say something else but Winnie interrupted.

  “You only tell me he was a fling and that he suddenly left. Do you even know his name?”

  “It’s not important what his name is. He isn’t in our lives and never will be. His life had too many complications, too many things that went wrong.”

  “So you won’t even tell me his name? Are you telling me he was an addict? That doesn’t make me one, too, you know.”

  “Don’t be a fool, Winnie. You know that Sable addiction is genetic. Yes. Is that what you want to know? Your father had a problem with Sable, too. It’s why he and I broke up, and why he left me. I wouldn’t put up with his problem.”

  “So that’s it for me, too. You’ll cut me off and push me away just like you did to him?” Winnie shouted, pacing around the kitchen. “Does he even know about me? Does he know he had a daughter?”

  Elaine nodded, searching for a way to de-escalate the situation. She didn’t want Winnie to become too inquisitive about her father, didn’t need to turn that rock over. The truth would kill her.

  “He might know, but that doesn’t matter,” Elaine struggled for words. “He … he’s never showed an interest in returning to take care of us, even if he did know. He’s not worth the worry. We have each other. I’ve always said that. It has to be enough….”

  “I can’t help but feel like you know more than you’re saying.” Winnie stopped pacing and fixed her mother with a stare. “What aren’t you telling me? Maybe I have siblings out there, others like me. I have to know.”

  “There are no other children, Winnie. I’m sure of that,” Elaine lied. Nils Kane didn’t officially have other children, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have another bastard out there somewhere. “Why are you so interested in finding out if there are others like you, Winnie?”

  Winnie sighed, then returned to the table and sat. She reached out and took Elaine’s twisted, gnarled hands. “I need to know because it might make the difference between living and dying for millions of people. No exaggeration. I know things about why the cities are failing. And I think I can help fix that, but I can’t be everywhere at once. If I can stop the failures from getting worse, I can diffuse the tension between middlings and chanters. Then everything will go back to the way it used to be.”

  Elaine gazed into her daughter’s eyes and saw Winnie’s determination. She really believed she could do something to reverse the devastation. She’d become powerful in ways that Elaine didn’t fully understand, but could she truly do the impossible?

  “I—I don’t know of anyone else like you, and I don’t know of any other brothers or sisters for you to try and find. I can’t imagine that your father ever had another child.”

  “You have to tell me his name. It’s important. The planet depends on it. I have to talk with him, find out if there are any others. Maybe he has power like mine.”

  She had to stop this line of questioning right away. Winnie couldn’t ever know the truth. Even if the knowledge of who he was didn’t tear her apart, Nils would probably use the information to hurt her.

  “I can’t tell you because he’s no longer around. I won’t tell you because knowing who he is won’t make anything better, no matter what you believe. I’m sorry, Winnie. I just can’t.”

  “You’re not sorry. You’re embarrassed. There’s a difference.” Winnie stood and took her mug to the sink. She turned back to meet her mother’s eyes. “If you won’t tell me this, I don’t think there’s anything else to say, ever.”

  Winnie turned and walked to the door. She pulled it open then looked at Elaine one last time.

  “I’ll lock up behind me so you don’t have to get up and do it yourself. Goodbye, Mom.”

  Elaine watched Winnie shut the door. She heard the lock tumble back into place as her daughter locked it. There was scraping, then the brass key slid under the door to rest on the floor a few inches inside the apartment.

  Tears welled in her eyes. She wondered if this was the last time she and Winnie would talk, or even see each other.

  Elaine sobbed until she was finally snoring.

  CHAPTER 6

  Chief Inspector Victor Holmes tightened his tie in the mirror. The rank insignia on his collar shined in the reflection. News of the latest promotion had come down from the Director’s office a few day before. The letter from the office of the DMC cited significant work in controlling the spread of illegal magic in the Baltimore region as the reason for the promotion to the city’s senior Red Leg office. It was ironic that he continued to rise in power even as he secretly helped Winnie Durham and the other Sable bosses working to counter Kane’s efforts to control all magic.

  The job came with his own luxury car and a significant pay increase. Morgan had been especially happy to hear about that last part. She wanted to move out of their apartment and get a house together. But given the current volatility, Victor didn’t think it was a good idea to make any major life decisions. Yet, Morgan was ever the optimist. And he wasn’t about to complain. He loved that about her.

  He walked out to the kitchen to see Morgan setting two plates of eggs and bacon on the table.

  “There you are,” she said as she sat. “I was just going to call you. Sit down and eat something, Chief Inspector.”

  Victor smiled and sat across from her. “It looks delicious. Thank you.”

  “Just don’t expect this every morning. We still need a fair division of chores, Chief Inspector or not.”

  Victor laughed. “Point taken. Really, though, thanks for this. It makes the promotion that much more special.”

  “I’m just excited that you’ll have access to even more information. Now we can really help Winnie. All of this intrigue excites me.”

  Victor considered her words. Morgan was proud of his support for her sister and the city’s chanters. It had taken him a while to see things the right way, but he, too, couldn’t help but feel the same sense of excitement. The ever-present scent of danger was almost narcotic.

  He and Morgan had discussed this at length, but he didn’t think she understood the true danger of their position. Being the Chief Inspecto
r made it harder to slip under Kane’s radar, not easier. He would be in the spotlight and other ambitious types would be gunning for any opportunity to trip him up and knock him down. If anyone discovered his work to support the dissidents and rebels, losing his job would be the least of his problems.

  There was also the little problem that he’d somehow been turned into a chanter himself, or at least into someone able to manipulate magic. While he couldn’t create charmed items on his own, Victor’s experimentation had led to the discovery that he could lift enchantments from other objects and turn them back into ordinary things.

  This power had surely come from his connection with the Fae crater, hidden in the northeastern corner of the city. Situated in the abandoned industrial park where Kane first built his Harvester to siphon magic from chanters, Victor had visited the crater many times on his own. Each time, he came away with a renewed sense of wonder, marveling at the clear blue skies above. There were no dust storms around the abandoned steel mill, though that truth was hidden from the view by some sort of magical glamor that deceived the eye. Even Victor couldn’t see it until he was inside.

  The crater was still his guilty little secret. He wanted to tell the others, but felt like it was supposed to stay buried. Victor would talk with the fairies and learn of their work to repair the broken land around them. When he asked about how they could repair something so utterly broken, they would laugh and tell him that it was their job. What else would they do? Victor couldn’t help but feel the significance of what was happening.

  “Hello?” Morgan said, interrupting his train of thought.

  “What?”

  “You were lost in thought, somewhere else entirely. There isn’t something you’re hiding from me, is there?”

  Victor wanted to tell her about the crater. Morgan deserved to know more than anyone, other than Winnie. “No, just thinking about work and everything that needs to get done. I’m also concerned about the Director’s scheduled meeting with all the city chiefs. He has something up his sleeve, but I don’t know what.”