Bitter Brambles (The Ivy Institute #2)

Chapter 20

KAGE

I feel the shift in the air the moment I walk into Ziv’s room. The dread hanging over the space has lifted, leaving only a slow burning rage in its place.

“Did you talk to her?” I question, already knowing the answer.

“Yes.” His monosyllabic response gives nothing away.

“Am I going to need to beat it out of you, fallen? What happened?”

“She… forgave me.” He seems surprised by his reply. I don’t know if it’s her mercy that shocked him, or the fact that he answered me at all.

“Of course she did. She’s too fucking kind for her own good. I’m more concerned about what else you might have learned, like something that would mean we could get her back,” I prompt the selfish bastard.

“Her abilities are developing.”

“Abilities?” I drop onto the floor cushions. Every once in a while, I swear I can still smell a whiff of Briar’s scent on them, though it’s probably in my imagination. My deep inhale is more from a desperate habit than anything else.

“Yes. She is developing the ability to harness powers that are used against her like the other void.”

“No shit.” My utterance is filled with awe. Briar was adamant that she didn’t possess any power, let alone one so formidable. If that’s true, then no one would be able to hurt her, so why does Ziv seem so uneasy? “What aren’t you telling me?”

“It puts an even larger target on her back. She will be seen as a prize in the Undertaking. Syrinx was responsible for killing the last void, and look what it got her.” He lifts a hand and motions to the walls around him.

“Didn’t you tell me that the last one went nuts and drained half the school, including the headmaster?”

“Yes, and how often does history repeat?”

I snort. “Are you saying you think Briar will massacre an institute while on a power trip?”

“No, but many others might think that and try to get rid of her before she can become too much of a threat. Why didn’t my contact at Frostburn tell me about this? He had to know.”

I’m being obstinate and defensive when I shrug and say, “Have you asked him? Maybe he was too worried about you taking back the one chance they have at winning the games.”

“I plan to ask him in person.”

That gets my attention, and I sit up. “You’re going there?”

Ziv shakes his head. “No. Going there would only draw more attention to her and give the gods a reason to punish us. I’m going to bring him to me.”

“I want to be there,” I insist as I stand as if he might try to leave right now.

“I can’t get you past the wards without raising alarms.”

“That’s bullshit!” I rage indignantly.

“I know, but it’s also reality.” Ziv is calm, and it pisses me off even more.

“Fuck the wards,” I argue, even though I know I’m fighting a losing battle. “Tell Syrinx to turn the other way and keep her mouth shut.”

“We can’t trust her.”

“I know we can’t trust her, but you can threaten her. Tell her if anyone finds out, you’ll put her in your little hole and torture her for eternity. It isn’t like you don’t have the free space.” I throw the fact that he killed Briar’s father too easily in his face just to piss him off.

“If anything happens to her, I will be the first one they come for. We are trying to get out from under the gods’ thumbs, not give them more reasons to want us dead.”

“They don’t care about her!”

“Maybe not, but someone is watching out for her, and they do care about the Undertaking.”

“It’s a fucking game. They can’t be that bored.” If wringing his neck would make him yield, I would do it. It wouldn’t even kill him since I never go anywhere without protection covering my skin anymore.

“Do you really think it’s as simple as a game, demon?” The big bastard glares at me with those swirling eyes, and I want nothing more than to gouge out the reminder of what he was. Not that long ago, he was just like them—still is.

“Why don’t you tell me since you’re one of them?”

“Was,” he corrects in a low voice I’m too pissed to take heed of. “They may have started out as entertainment, but over time, the gods realized they served a vital purpose. Want to know what’s almost as good as worship? Fear. The Undertaking serves both purposes. If the masses aren’t praying to the gods in hopes of surviving the games, then they are living in fear of perishing in them. They won’t give up the attention, because if they did, they could become as anemic as the djinn, relegated to folktales about wish granting deities that live in bottles who answer to a master. There is nothing they wouldn’t do to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“I can’t believe I never once thought about how sick this is until her. We all just stand in line like it’s some fucking honor to be set up for slaughter. Our lives hinge on whether or not we get selected and survive these fucking games and for what? So the gods can stay powerful!”

“They are banking on the fact that it’s an accepted tradition, and when they hear murmurs of rebellion, we squash it.”

“We?” It doesn’t slip my attention that he included himself in their group.

“Yes, we. I’ve killed my fair share of dissenters, so believe me when I tell you it’s nothing to them. They would wipe out an entire institute to prove a point. Just imagine what they would do if they really thought their godhood was challenged. The only thing worse for them would be death, or to become like me.”

I feel my lip curl in disgust, but there’s no point in arguing or denying him, because I agree with everything he’s saying. I also know the lengths people are willing to go to so they can protect what’s important to them. That’s why I’m here in the fallen’s room in the first place. “At some point, you’ll be stuck sitting on your ass, useless, and I will get to watch you squirm.”

Ziv turns his head slowly to acknowledge me, his voice droll when he says, “You think that will be some new fucking experience for me? You think I don’t know exactly how useless I am right now?”

“No, I’m certain you don’t know because if you did, you already would have leveled this place and everyone in it, but you will know, fallen, mark my words. Someday, you’ll think back on this moment and know exactly what it feels like.” I leave before our interaction devolves into something worse.

With nothing but dead time on my hands, I shift into my shadow form and seek out Syrinx. Following her is the only thing that has given me a measure of worth lately. I only left her to come see Ziv because I wanted an update on my creature and the headmistress was still in her office where I can’t go without risking detection.

The halls of the Ivy are empty, which I’ve come to expect recently. With the selection growing closer, the novices are being pushed to the brink of exhaustion. There’s no time for socialization or energy for reveling in petty gossip. It’s all about giving your best so you can be considered for glory… or death. However, it does make finding my way to Syrinx’s office relatively easy.

I stay clear of her vampire underling after confirming the headmistress is indeed still in her office. Her senses are keener than most, even while I’m in this form. I’m certain the vamp spotted me one day last week and has been on guard ever since, or maybe I’m paranoid. Either way, I hunker down in a corner, allowing my essence to pool near the floor in the natural shadows created by the waxing moon.

With nothing but time on my hands, I replay the conversation in Ziv’s room over and over, but nothing changes—not the outcome or my general disgust with the situation. I rack my brain for a solution to leaving the school undetected, but I haven’t tested the wards. There was no desire to before Briar, and after, I couldn’t risk tipping our hand, or at least that’s what Ziv said.

I’m not as convinced we’re being watched like he is. Oaktar hasn’t returned, nor have any other gods for that matter, yet we still cower in fear from the notion that they may.

Hushed voices emanating from the hall interrupt my circling thoughts. Recognition comes quickly. Though it kills me to admit this since I would like nothing more than to see the banshee tortured for her involvement in Briar’s disappearance, her voice is captivating. While I’ve never met another banshee, I’m certain it’s part of her ability—I won’t accept any other possibility.

“Had I known the trouble she would cause, I never would have allowed her to step foot out of that town or anywhere near this institute. I should have had her killed the very night she was found.” I don’t need confirmation to know she’s talking about Briar, but I do wonder what I’ve already missed. Instant rage makes it hard to maintain my shadow form. I would love nothing more than to shift and kill her with a single touch, but I need to know more. This is the first time I’ve heard anything of importance in the weeks I’ve been trailing her.

“I wish you would have spoken to me before sending her to Foley. We could have handled this here.” The male voice is unfamiliar, and I can’t see either of them without risking revealing my concealed position.

“Not likely. We tried, remember?” Syrinx seethes, and the familiarity in her tone suggests she’s speaking to someone she knows well. “And after you tried to kill her, there was no way he was going to let her out of his sight.”

“Strange that you don’t remember your role in it,” comes his glib reply. Unless Briar survived some other attempt on her life I’m unaware of, I can only assume they are talking about the incident in the arena, but my memory of the event has grown foggy. The way Ziv explained it, my mind isn’t capable of seeing his true form. It would be like asking a spider to take in the entirety of the pantheon—impossible.

“I would hardly call my acknowledgement of what you were planning involvement, and I don’t need to ask your permission for anything, least of all doing what I needed to do to get rid of her. She was never supposed to make it out of the cell after she arrived at Frostburn.”

“Well, she did.”

“Why are you here?” Syrinx demands hastily, though her voice stays deceptively calm.

“Because you need me here whether you want to acknowledge that or not. The selection is only weeks away, and if the rumblings I’ve heard are true, the girl is more dangerous than ever.”

“The only thing that ever made her dangerous were her associations,” Syrinx sneers with disdain.

“While I wouldn’t agree, I will concede they are what makes her most dangerous. What do you think your little pet is going to do when he finds out you are the reason she was sent away and, worse yet, tipped off the gods that she even existed?”

“He won’t ever find out because that’s not what happened.” Her voice is still composed, as if she’s doing everything she can to remain calm, but there’s still a bite to each of her words, like she’s gritting her teeth. The pet he’s referring to could only be Ziv. I get a little satisfaction in knowing how pissed off he’s going to be when he hears that’s how he was referred to and that I’m going to be the one to deliver the news to him.

The male chuckles. “You have a very selective memory.”

“No, I have plausible deniability and contingencies. I can’t be held responsible for what the gods do with information I’m obligated to give them.”

“You can be when he realizes it’s you who gave them the information about the female being his mate and planting the seeds to get rid of her, which is why I’m here to warn you.”

“I don’t need you to warn me about anything,” she scoffs, clearly insulted.

“I think you’ll feel differently when you hear what I have to say.”

There’s a pause where I start to worry that they left the hall and I’m going to have to try to follow them, but just before I ease out of the shadowy corner, Syrinx asks, “And what will this information cost me?”

“I’m sure we can work something out,” the male croons in what I can only assume he thinks is a seductive tone. Could he really care enough about the banshee to want to protect her? I can’t see anyone caring for her, but then again, I would love to see her dead at my feet, so I might be biased.

“Who else knows you’re here?” Syrinx sounds resigned, as if she knew conceding to him would be the eventual outcome, and she’s tired of pretending anything else.

“Only your assistant, and I trust the vampire knows to keep her mouth shut.”

“If she didn’t, she would already be dead.” Syrinx’s wooden tone grows softer, and I realize they are retreating. I need to see the male she’s speaking to. Maybe Ziv will know who he is since he seems to know the fallen.

I creep from the shadows, pissed at myself for not looking sooner while they were distracted. I get a glimpse of a male in a long cloak that skims the floor. It’s hard to make out much other than his height and the breadth of his shoulders, but I note the fact that he’s taller than the banshee by a couple inches and rather lean. They turn the corner, and Syrinx blocks most of my view of the newcomer.

I make my way down the hall, only to discover they are gone, and I have no idea where to. I’m not very familiar with this wing since I only recently started visiting it. Getting this close to Syrinx’s office to explore before Briar seemed too risky, but now the lapse seems foolish.

I’m torn for several heartbeats. I could go to her room to see if they ever exit, which I doubt since it didn’t seem like the headmistress wanted anyone to know she was meeting with the male, or I could take what little I learned to Ziv to see if he can make heads or tails of it. If I tell him now, maybe he will be able to find Syrinx and see who she’s with for himself.

Decision made, I stay in my shadow form and move as quickly as I can back to the fallen’s room, only to slip under the crack of the door and find the room empty. Damn it, the fucker has been holed up in here for days, and now he’s gone?

There’s only one other place I know he goes. He’s found me there several times, so hopefully it’s my turn to find him sulking now.