The Upper West Side
Meanwhile
Rather than try to deal with a doorman who wouldn’t be inclined to take someone babbling about an emergency seriously at this time of night without calling the police, Emily called the sisters from the sidewalk outside their building. Amelia sounded surprisingly alert when she answered, and Emily didn’t waste time on pleasantries before saying, “In case you had any doubts about Josephine being bad news, she just kidnapped Sophie. Do you think you could stir yourself to move against her and help, or would that be violating your oath?”
“What’s all this?” Amelia snapped.
“Josephine just ambushed Sophie outside my place and seems to have taken her away. What are you going to do about it?”
“Where are you?”
“In front of your building.”
“I’ll have the doorman send you up.” Amelia ended the call before Emily could answer. Emily stared at her phone for a second, then shrugged and headed into the lobby.
“You must be Miss Drake,” the doorman said. “Go on up. You’re expected.” His tone suggested that this was all highly irregular and was probably the fault of an impudent young person such as herself.
She was surprised to find that both Amelia and Athena were up and fully dressed, and they didn’t look like they’d hastily thrown on clothes. Funny, she hadn’t ever pictured them as night owls. Then again, they apparently went to midnight markets fairly regularly.
Amelia barely let her enter the living room before she said, “Now, what’s this about Sophie being kidnapped?”
Emily forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down rather than shouting. “Michael heard Sophie call out for help, then saw them walking away. Eamon also confirmed that something’s up. He thinks Josephine might be headed for the market with Sophie. Maybe she wants to use her as a hostage or a trade or an example, or something.”
Both sisters’ faces looked skeptical. “Are you sure Sophie didn’t go willingly?” Athena asked, wringing her hands.
“After crying out for help? And have you met Sophie? Look, I don’t know how the politics work, but I would hope that helping a friend takes priority over some oath you’ve sworn that allies you with someone you don’t much like, and while we’re discussing this, Sophie is out there with a woman who seems to have some power over her, and there’s no telling what she has planned. If it helps, think of it as rescuing Josephine, because she’s probably going to end up in big trouble with Sophie.”
“But what would she want with Sophie?” Athena asked. “Who would be there to see her at a fairy market? That’s not going to solidify Josephine’s position.”
“Nothing Josephine has done so far has made a lot of sense to me,” Emily said. “Maybe her agenda isn’t what we think it is. Or maybe she’s going to use Sophie as bait. Or a hostage. Or a trade. If she wants a war with the Realm, taking Sophie would be a pretty good way to start it.”
“Why would she want a war?” Athena asked.
“It would be an excuse to take power. Isn’t starting a war pretty much inevitable when you get a wannabe dictator?” Emily wasn’t entirely sure if that was true, but her vague memories of history classes and her roles in historical plays suggested it was the case. Wars and dictators tended to go together.
“But we aren’t that hierarchical,” Amelia said.
“Yet,” Emily snapped in response. In desperation, she added, “You can help me now, or I can find a way of letting all your enchantress friends know about your adventures in the Realm. You know if Sophie gets outed, that’ll affect you, too. I can make it happen, and I will. My sister needs backup.”
Emily thought for a moment that they’d argue, but they looked at each other, and Amelia said, “I’ll get our coats. Athena, we’ll need some supplies.” As she moved past Emily, she shot her an icy glare and said, “I hope you’re right about the situation. That kind of threat isn’t one to be made lightly.”