The morning was barely begun when Rosa made her way to the Gallery and upstairs to the studio. A trail of others concerned about Gregori’s presence in Alanna’s world converged in her studio shortly thereafter. First there was Beth. Then Goran, Zelda, and Aden. It was practically a party.
“If I’d known you were all coming, I’d have prepared a feast,” sarcasm dripped from Gregori’s tongue.
“Go right ahead,” Zelda encouraged. “I’m hungry.”
“I get the distinct feeling,” he stood next to Alanna’s sculpture, “none of you are here to help me celebrate my freedom.”
“We’re here to ensure Alanna is safe. Where is she?” Beth walked towards the bedroom door, which he’d pulled closed to give Alanna privacy and prevent her from being disturbed, even though his spell would ensure she would not wake for some time.
“She’s asleep.” Gregori said. “I’m about to go hunting and Rosa is going to look after the Gallery for the day.”
Rosa frowned and glanced towards Aden as if he might know the answer. “What exactly are you looking for?”
Zelda butted in. “I for one have no interest in what you’re hunting. I just want to know Alanna is safe.” She twisted the bedroom door handle and the door swung open.
Everyone crowded behind her to look in. Beth laughed softly. “It’s Sleeping Beauty.”
“Where’s her prince?” Goran joked.
“I’m up for it,” Gregori grinned. “She’s definitely a beauty.”
They observed the soft rise and fall of Alanna’s chest. All but Beth could see the sleep enchantment floating about her. Gregori put a finger to his lips and signaled for Zelda to close the door although he liked the analogy of Sleeping Beauty. He also liked the idea of wakening her with a kiss.
“She was up all night,” he explained before being bombarded with questions on why he’d cast a spell to make her sleep. He signaled to the sculpture. “Working on that.”
They all looked towards the large piece of stone. Beth clapped her hands, pleased beyond words.
“She’s sculpting again,” Rosa smiled. “That’s wonderful news.”
“Who do you suppose it’s going to be,” Beth circled the plinth. “It’s definitely a bust, but the features are not defined enough for me to fathom who it might be.”
Zelda, though, had guessed. Gregori witnessed the recognition flare in her eyes. He took a more discerning look at the stone but couldn’t glean anything other than it was a male.
“I don’t know why you had to use an enchantment on her.” Rosa wasn’t so easily diverted. “She often works through the night.”
“My arrival yesterday, the fact she worked through the night and was so exhausted this morning prompted me to craft the spell. She’s going to be incensed when she wakes, but at least her aura and energy will be refreshed.”
Gregori was irked they didn’t trust him. “I hope you’re not all planning to appear every morning en masse to ensure I’ve not done anything dastardly to Alanna.” He was highly affronted and more than a little exasperated. “I can be trusted.”
Zelda zapped eyes of distrust at him. “I don’t trust warlocks.”
“Well, I don’t trust sorceresses!”
“Warlocks’ Oath,” Aden protested. “Calm down everyone. Alanna is safe. You can all go home. Rosa will warn us if Alanna needs help.” He spoke to Gregori. “I can help you hunt. As can Goran.”
Zelda’s lips tightened into a thin line. Beth and Alanna were intrigued.
“Everyone knows what Gregori is hunting except us,” Beth stated.
Rosa queried Aden. “What aren’t you telling us?”
Aden indicated Zelda. “Ask her.”
In unison, Rosa and Beth turned to Zelda and chimed, “Well?
If looks could kill, then Zelda’s furious glance his way would have done the trick. “It is not for you to know. Not yet.”
“Aden,” Rosa fixed her eyes on her husband. “Are you keeping secrets from me?”
“It’s not my secret to reveal.” His voice filled with genuine regret. “I would tell you if I could.”
Gregori interjected before the conversation grew ugly. “Rosa. Aden will explain when I give him permission to. Not before. Go all of you. I have work to do. Aden, continue your search in the magical world. Goran, search Raven’s Creek and ensure everyone’s safety here, I will hunt elsewhere.”
What he deliberately neglected to reveal was he already knew where to hunt. With a wave of his hand he disappeared, leaving everyone standing in the studio, objections still forming on their lips.
• • •
Before following Gregori’s instructions, Goran, Aden, and Zelda met at Lavender Cottage. Goran strode backwards and forwards across the polished floorboards of the lounge. Zelda sat primly in a chair, her hands crossed and resting in her lap, her lips pursed so tight you’d think she’d sucked a lemon.
“We must tell them,” Goran insisted.
“We must not.”
“They need to be able to protect themselves from Gregori.”
“He didn’t do it.”
Aden emerged from the shadows. “Why? What do you know that we don’t?”
Zelda spared him the briefest of glances. “I know nothing more than you. I simply believe Gregori is innocent of the crime he is accused of.”
Goran looked to Aden, a brief silent communication between them. The old woman was not telling them everything. Goran dared her to lie to him. “You’re so sure about this.”
But the sorceress was crafty. She knew how to evade difficult questions. “It goes against everything I know about his character.”
Aden nodded. “Still. I can’t keep it from Rosa. She may be new to Marylebone but she will find out somehow and then there will be real trouble. I’m barely bound to her a few weeks. This is going to cause a rift between us if we leave it much longer. As it stands, it’s not going to be pleasant.”
“Tell her,” Goran suggested. “She’s more resilient than you give her credit for.”
Aden wasn’t so sure. “She carried the responsibility of her family for far too long. This is something that must be shared by all three sisters. At the same time.”
“No.” Zelda said. “Now is not the time.”
“How do you know what time is right?”
“Give us a really good reason why not,” Goran added. “I agree with Aden. Secrets only breed misunderstandings and grief!”
“I will not have them hurt,” Zelda shot from her chair so fast both men immediately created bubbles of protection about themselves. She might appear old, but she was the chosen leader of all the magic realms across earth. She didn’t get there by accident. They were right to be wary of her.
“You’re too close to them,” Aden insisted. “You’re not thinking this through logically.”
The old woman turned on them, a fierceness to her stance that had them both immediately crafting additional protection spells.
“Alice was my best friend. She might have been mortal, but our friendship was a true connection. I never had a friendship such as the one I had with her. Now I have that same connection with her children. I won’t lose them too.”
Goran smirked. He’d got under the old crone’s skin. Aden blinked but said nothing, which told him he was bamboozled by her admission. Aden’s tone gentled and he relaxed his guard. “They need to know the truth. Wouldn’t it be better coming from you than from one of us? Surely it would be better for the sisters to hear the truth from you than from Gregori.”
Zelda put up a hand. “Stop. Granted, my heart rules my actions with these girls, but I’m also Wizardess of Winterbourne, Prime Wizardess of the Supreme Council of Magical Beings. If I say now is not the right time, then take heed.”
Both warlocks once again looked to each other. “So you do know something,” Goran spoke first.
Zelda shrugged. “I know lots of things. I don’t have to tell you everything. The truth will come out and when it does, it won’t be from you, Aden or me.”
Goran was well and truly convinced Zelda was hiding something. “Does Anton know there’s more to this story you’re not telling?”
Zelda palmed her skirt and then her fingers drummed on the material, as if she was considering what to say next. Finally, she lifted her head and fixed her gaze on both of them. “He has his secrets. I have mine. Right now, the most important thing is to get that replica dragon into the courtyard as soon as possible.” She looked to Aden. “Are you nearly finished?”
“All done, save a couple more spells to duplicate the ones surrounding it before Gregori broke free. Rosa is working on those in the Gallery right now.”
Zelda smiled her satisfaction. “In that case, my work here is done.” She stood, raised both arms and disappeared in a mini whirlwind before they could ask her anything else.
Goran turned to Aden. “You’re right. She’s sneaky and she’s definitely hiding something.”