Master Mages Marriage

As a trainee under Madame Rose, Elya had very little access to the inner workings of the Black Hand"s Konstanz coven. The battle and demands on her time meant Elya hadn"t spent much time learning from the imposing brothel owner. Too embarra.s.sed to approach her future mother-in-law with her fears, Elya sent Alexis to gather information on the Black Hand"s activity so she wouldn"t have to rely on the covens explanation. Ironically, it was Madame Rose"s lecture on utilising multiple information sources which instilled Elya with a healthy suspicion of all the intelligence she received.

Unfortunately, Madame Rose had disappeared on some a.s.signment in the Baroness" name and Elya became frantic when she visited the Rose Building. Rose had taken her deputies along on her task, which meant Elya was unable to determine what Rose"s orders regarding the gangs actually were. The remaining agents claimed her orders were to slip their agents into the upper echelons of the gangs. But they were pa.s.sed down through too many levels, making tracing their origin impossible. However, it was a reasonable response. Taking direct actions went against the basic principles of the Black Hand. They preferred to nudge people into making the moves they desired and a means to influence the gangs behaviour rather than take full control seemed to be something Rose, and by extension the Baroness, would jump at the chance to establish.

Alexis was unable to dig up anything new, and stumped, Elya returned to the mansion in search of Eva Morales, swallowing her pride to beg for a.s.sistance. She"d barged into the garden, anxious for answers but the Baroness had taken one look at her harried expression and refused to talk until Elya regained her calm. Suppressing her anxiety, Elya unclipped her sword and slumped into a chair, lifting a cup of tea delicately in a mailed fist. Which was how Elya ended up sipping from porcelain and flattering Eva"s fan. It was emblazoned with a striking purple snowflake that seemed to be moving independently of the fan itself. A fantastic design which had the hallmarks of Nikolai"s interference.

The man loved to show off.

"Much better dear." Eva"s eyes twinkled in amus.e.m.e.nt. "It"s important to maintain your demeanour no matter the situation. Especially for those in our profession."

"Speaking of profession, what is the Black Hand doing?"

"What do you mean dear?"

"Please don"t toss my concerns aside. Why are you taking control of the gangs?" There was no other way to describe her actions. Essentially her son would be in charge of the town in the light of day and she would control its seedy underbelly. Morales whims would dictate every aspect of Konstanz. Not that she was concerned for the degree of power being consolidated within the House. After all in a few months that power would benefit her as well. While the war taught her to be flexible with a Knights honour code, especially in the face of screaming horrors or generally deceitful people, being in charge of a criminal enterprise went against everything she stood for.

At least the Black Hand acted as power brokers, following their own strange code.

They dealt in information, not violence.

A minor difference, but for now it was enough to placate her conscience.

"It would be foolish not to take an opportunity once presented. The gangs are notoriously difficult to infiltrate. Most criminals are either inducted at a young age or have a significant history. "Professionals" rarely mesh well. They"re too highly trained, but with the power vacuum after your and Niki"s… antics… I"d rather take charge than let someone with more sinister motives cause me far more trouble in the future."

"What about the Stardust?"

"That"s come as a surprise." She waved away Elya"s doubtful gaze. "We knew they were trafficking Stardust but the amount"s unfathomable. Small amounts are difficult to deal with and we had more pressing matters. Now that we know, I"m hoping to use our influence over the gangs to close the gaps and tighten cripple the drug trade routes."

Elya scrutinised Eva"s every move, the controlled snap of her fan, her measured gestures when she poured tea, the way she settled her shawl. Some would call it elegance, but now Elya saw the artificial nature of it all. People didn"t move like that. She"d seen the same movements among Black Hand agents, rigorously trained until their every twitch served a purpose. Strangely, it reduced Elya"s fear of the woman.

She"d never flinched in the face of danger.

Only in the face of an in-law.

s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up some courage she stared Eva down, leaning forward and placing her sword on the table.

"If you are to be my Mother, we need to speak freely." She raised a finger to stop Eva from interrupting, taking a moment to emphasise her point. It was a simple trick she"d seen Nikolai use to great effect. Curling the finger, she scratched her scar, tracking the flickering of Eva"s eyes. "Why are you in charge of the Black Hand?"

All of a sudden, the Baroness" expression froze, the a.s.sumed elegance melting away to reveal deep, calculating eyes and a dark smirk curled her lips. The danger emanating from the woman spiked and Elya almost pulled her sword from its sheath, but managed to retain control.

An instinctual reaction.

"Good girl. Thought you"d spend your time bowing to my every whim. Almost regretted arranging this marriage." Eva slammed the fan closed on the table and leaned forward, ignoring the clattering porcelain and spilled tea. "I need someone strong."

"For what?" Elya whispered, stunned by the shift in the woman"s behaviour, almost like she was caged with a predator.

"Artem and Nikolai have a personal vendetta against the Black Hand. A vendetta they hide deep under the surface to avoid the organisations attention." The twisted grin turned into a sad smile and Eva sighed, tidying the cups and pouring more tea. The artificial elegance was gone, now replaced by lithe movements like she was a trained dancer. Or a trained a.s.sa.s.sin. "You must have heard the supposed stories of my meeting with Artem."

"He saved you from bandits." Elya recounted lamely when the Baroness paused expectantly.

"Yes. Something like that." Eva chuckled, eyes shining at her memories. "Actually, I was the bandit. Pick up your jaw dear, it"s not quite so sinister. I was a White Crow at the time, tasked to hunt down some merchants overstepping their bounds and taking the Hand"s business."

Elya nodded dumbly. She"d thought the Baroness was only in charge of the coven. Madame Rose had implied as much. White Crows were low level agents in the Black Hand, experienced enough to handle tasks on their own but still new to the organisation. Elya herself was inducted as a Fledgling Dove, a rookie administrative rank according to Rose.

"I"d just finished roughing up one of my targets when Artem came charging out of the nearby forest. To this day he still refuses to explain what he was doing there alone but whatever it was, he managed to catch me."

"You didn"t resist?"

"Oh I resisted, he had to drive a spear through me to get me to stop." Grinning, Eva loosened her shawl and pulled her dress aside a little, showing a faint knotted scar across her shoulder. Elya hissed at the sight, such an injury should have been crippling. "It looks worse than it was. Add in Nikolai"s treatment and there"s almost no after-effects. You should see his leg. I managed to get in a few blows myself."

"You married the man after stabbing each other?" Elya asked, incredulous at the story.

"Of course, we were at each other"s throats from the start. I tried all sorts of things to escape, from seduction to poisoning. I still remember the three days Artem dragged me along while running to the bathroom every hour or so."

"Quite a courtship." Elya said drily.

"In a way it"s better than putting on a facade and lying out of your teeth." Eva fanned herself, the sharp dangerous sense dissipating. Relaxed and casually drinking tea she appeared human and Elya felt she was finally seeing her mother-in-law"s true nature.

"Maybe mother. I still think it would be better not to leave injuries on each other." Elya rubbed her own scar. The thing still bugged her. Coupled with the missing tooth she felt quite battered. She wasn"t a prissy little n.o.ble fearing any blemish, but any mark on her made her feel inadequate in front of Nikolai.

"A good marriage means you have to accept your partner for who they are." Eva flicked her finger against the cup, listening to the ringing for a moment, lost in thought. "Well, back to the story. Rather than bore you with all the details, there were a few misunderstandings with the Hand and we were hunted for a while and eventually "faked" my death in a fight along some nameless trail in the old Morales lands. We even managed to take down most of the local coven. The Hand is good, but the Morales are excellent soldiers and Artem was their best. Well, except Nikolai, the Morales are excellent soldiers." She added with a smirk. "I took a new name and showed up as a merchants daughter being courted by Artem after being saved."

"The Black Hand found you somehow?"

Eva flicked the cup again and sighed. "They never lost track of me. The Hand is far more dangerous than people realise. Betrayal matters little to them. They care for results and power. A Black Raven itself slid into my chambers one night." They both shivered. Black Ravens were the greatest agents in the employ of the Hand. Depending on who you asked, they were either equivalent to or more powerful than the Hand"s of the Emperor. Never less. "I was given an option, lose my unborn child or officially rejoin the Hand."

The cup in Eva"s hand shattered, shards digging into her flesh. Elya came to her side and quickly wrapped the injury in a handkerchief, making sure no porcelain remained in her flesh.

"Not much of an option. I may have been trained by the Hand, but my time with Artem… softened me." Eva continued, her voice flat and emotionless. "I agreed, and they placed me in charge of the small coven on the Morales estate. Things moved along smoothly, it was far enough away from Court that little was demanded of me but when Nikolai started showing magical talent, the Hand took a greater interest in my affairs. Nothing onerous, just checks on his growth. Master Etanani dragged him off for his apprenticeship and the Hand became silent. They avoid tangling with competent Master Mages. Luckily, even the vaunted Seers of the Black Hand"s Council couldn"t have foreseen Nikolai"s meteoric rise and before they could make a move to manipulate him through me…"

"Galicia." Elya breathed, bits and pieces of information fitting together.

"Yes. The Ancient Spell formation he refuses to talk about. Galicia changed everything." Eva patted Elya"s hand and took another cup to take some fresh tea. Cold tea now. "The Savant itself gave the order to a.s.sist him and I was inundated with all sorts of reconciliatory messages. When Niki came to Konstanz after the war, it seemed reasonable to utilise every resource I had available to help him. The enemies he"s acc.u.mulated would cripple a lesser man."

Elya squeezed her mother-in-law"s shoulder, feeling a twinge inside at the constant danger Nikolai was in. She knew it wasn"t the Houses which concerned Eva.

"Why not tell them? If the Hand doesn"t want to move against him, it would shift his attention back to the actual threats behind the Stardust and a.s.sa.s.sination. Even in my short time here, I"ve seen Nikolai fixated on the Rose Building and the Hand"s activities to a fault."

"I considered it dear. Unfortunately, Artem is a stubborn, honourable man. He"d launch a crusade against the Hand, taking out as much of the organisation as he could, eventually provoking a ma.s.sive response." Eva opened her fan and gazed at the fluttering snowflake. "Niki… Niki would wage war."

"He"s not insane." Indignant, Elya defended her fiancée.

"Neither is the Hand. Nor are they pleasant. Their conciliatory messages and promotions were simply a means to remove the "forced" nature of my position." Eva stressed the word forced and Elya"s heart lurched.

"He"d consider it compelled servitude." Elya"s mind spun at the implications. What a terrible thing to have to hide because your dangerously powerful son would be unable to control himself.

"Yes." Eva hung her head. Voice barely a whisper. "I love my boy dearly Elya. But he"s a True Imperial, and the Blood runs stronger in him than most. Whispers from my contacts in the Hand tell me the Savant is absolutely terrified of Nikolai."

"Still, I"m sure he could protect you and himself."

"It"s not us I"m worried about. While my boy has many enemies, he also has many steadfast allies. Half the Empire would fall in on his side in any conflict, let alone the Children of the Great Dragon. The continent would be plunged into war." Eva looked up and fixed Elya with a deep stare, pain and sadness shining from her very depths. "I"m not a good person but I cannot have so many deaths on my conscience. Especially when Niki and Artem could be among them."

"I understand." Elya a.s.sured her that she wouldn"t tell anyone her secrets. "Why tell me though?"

"Because it"s a burden and I long for someone to share it with? Because you"re close to my son and can act as a bridge between us? To make you complicit and bind you to the House? To give you the knowledge you need to succeed me?" Eva swallowed a gulp of cold tea and grimaced. "Take your pick. You"ll learn there"s never really a single reason for any action."

Elya removed her gloves, tossing them onto the table and sliding her sword aside. Pulling her chair to the Baroness"s side Elya took out several papers she"d taken from Nikolai"s office.

"I"m not happy with this deal with the Black Hand, but I can understand your reasons." She clarified, heaving a deep breath at the complex situation. So many secrets and factions were pulling at them all. "Still, since we have access to their abilities, let me tell you my idea to dig up information as quickly as possible. We have two avenues, first the traitors in the guard and second the actual Stardust suppliers…"

Eva leaned in and they planned the disposition of Hand agents and Knights to gather intelligence.

Such an unlikely alliance probably hadn"t been formed since the Reclamation.