Page 25

CHAPTER 25

M aster Adolphus took us to the basement car park. On the way down the elevator, I said, “You should know. Jodi might have killed Roland Müller. He was with the Knights that accosted us. At the very least, he lost an arm.”

“He should keep his hands to himself,” she said.

He gave a single nod. Once the elevator doors opened, he said, “Kaitlyn, weave your shield and glamor yourself invisible. I’ll take care of Jodi and myself.”

He turned to Jodi and bent down so his face was only a few inches from hers.

“No flame. Do not kill anyone unless I expressly tell you to. Do you understand me?”

She nodded like a bobblehead doll, her eyes as wide as could be. He straightened and turned back to me.

“Be discreet. Unless you need to draw that sword, keep it sheathed. We’re going to try and make it home without a fight.”

“Are we taking Jodi with us?” I asked.

“Amelia and her parents are already at my house, as is Luka’s family.”

On the way to the Master’s house, we twice had to dodge into a Gasse while patrols of Knights passed us by. Our disguises held. Once, a man who was less than an arm’s length away from us looked right at us and didn’t even hesitate.

But when we reached the little Platz in front of the Master’s house, we found half a dozen Knights waiting there. More were in the Gasse, guarding the door to the house, and some stood on nearby rooftops.

The Master swore softly under his breath—the first true sign of consternation I had ever seen from him.

“Kaitlyn,” he said into my ear, “take Jodi and run for the front door. I’ll clear the way for you, and the wards will permit you entrance. Don’t let go of her.”

I took Jodi’s hand, and the Master said, “Go!”

Her legs were a lot shorter than mine, so I trotted across the open space, half-dragging her as she ran full speed.

I was almost on top of a Knight—who of course couldn’t see us—when a small white ball of energy flew past us and hit him. He disappeared, and I ran through the space he had occupied. Two more of those golf-ball-sized orbs hit two more of the Knights, and I realized that whatever the Master was throwing at them was vaporizing them.

I reached the door and pushed it open, hauling Jodi up beside me and shoving her through the opening. A Knight standing a few feet away saw the door open, and after a startled moment, he jumped toward me. My wakizashi speared him just below the ribs, and I backed through the door.

Almost immediately, the Master stepped through the opening and closed the door.

“That is seriously irritating,” he muttered. “I’ll have to speak to the archbishop.”

I considered the whole afternoon far past irritating, and immediately rushed to the bathroom before I peed on myself. I sat there, my hands shaking, gasping for breath. I had been trained to direct my adrenaline into constructive action and not let fear paralyze me. My training had held, but now that I was somewhere safe, I was free to feel the fear that had coursed through me ever since Roland and his buddies confronted us.

When I came out, I was a little surprised to note that the lights in the dining room were on. The reason immediately became obvious when I saw that the blinds were drawn. Normally, the windows allowed a view of the Platz, but with Knights posted all around, I understood that none of us wanted them watching us.

The Master disappeared upstairs to his quarters. Amelia came from the kitchen and approached Jodi and me.

“You girls need to help us get dinner ready,” she said. “Pull those tables together and set fifteen places. I don’t know if Luka or anyone else will show up, but it will be easier doing it in advance. Elena will help you.”

Elena was Luka and Rosita’s older daughter, a delicate-looking little girl of about ten. Jodi helped me move the tables, then Elena took over, telling us where to find things, how to lay them out, and supervising what we did. She was like a mini caricature of Frau Buckner, and I had to repeatedly suppress a laugh. Jodi just rolled her eyes.

I peeked into the kitchen and saw that the activity there was obviously centered around chopping things to dip into the multiple fondue pots they were preparing.

We had almost finished setting the table when Siobhan came down from upstairs.

“What have you been doing?” I asked. “Taking a nap?”

She stuck out her tongue at me. “Calling everyone who had reservations this week and telling them we’re closed. Believe me, not the most fun I’ve had this summer. I asked Frau Buckner if I could get you to help me, and she said your German isn’t good enough.”

After dinner, I was informed that Siobhan would be sharing my room that night. There were two normally unused bedrooms. Amelia and Jodi would take one, and Rosita and her daughters would take the other one. Luka had called and said he would spend the night at the Guild Hall.

“Do you mind?” Siobhan asked me.

“Do you snore? I hope you like cats.”

She laughed. “I guess I’m lucky. The kitchen staff are bedding down on those gym mats in the basement.”

“How are we stocked for food?” I asked.

“We’ll be fine for a couple of weeks. If you exclude perishables, I think we’re good until Christmas. Remember, Frau Buckner lived through the Depression and World War II. Have you ever looked in the storeroom down there?”

Shortly thereafter, Master Adolphus called me up to his room.

“Amelia and Jodi are flying out tomorrow,” he said. “Rosita and the girls are going with them, and I think you should go too.”

I was stunned.

“You think the situation here is that bad?” I asked. My head was swimming. Go back to Queen City? I felt the same kind of disorientation as I’d felt when they told me my parents were dead—a feeling that the world had been turned upside down.

He nodded. “Müller’s insurrection has spread to Bern and Lausanne. One of his allies has taken charge of the Bern city government, though the Federal government is still in place. The national army is protecting Federal government buildings and has moved troops to the outskirts of Zürich.”

“Has anything like this ever happened here before?”

He nodded. “The Sonderbund War in the eighteen-forties. Church forces in several Kantone rebelled against forming the confederation we have now. The Guild stood with the Federalist forces. The insurgency was defeated, but this time the rebellion is starting in Kantone that were opposed to the Sonderbund then.”

“So, this is just a Swiss thing?”

The Master shook his head. “The Church and the Knights have seized control of the Italian government, and the same thing is happening in southern Germany and Austria. Also in Mexico and South America. There have been incidents in North America, and Luka’s information is that thousands of Knights are being shipped to the United States. Although Müller is selling it as a movement to keep people safe from the supernaturals, this is a much larger push by the Church.”

“But you think the U.S. is safer?”

“Yes. The country is much larger, and the population of strigoi and lycans much smaller in relation to the humans. The Church is comparatively weaker. Master Elias assures me that the Compact is holding there.”

I didn’t know what to say or what to do. It was so unexpected. I was having a hard time grasping what was real. None of it felt real. Finally, I blurted out, “What if I don’t want to go?”

He leaned back in his chair, and his eyes seemed to be scanning my soul.

“I’ve worked so hard,” I said, my voice sounding desperate in my own ears. “I learned German, and math, and chemistry, and passed my entrance exams. And, and, my magic! I’ve learned more in the past two months than I did in two years in Queen City. Please? I have friends here—friends who are my own age.” My voice broke as I said, “I thought I was home.”

My eyes misted, and I felt a tear leak onto my cheek. Irritated, I brushed it away with my sleeve.

“I won’t force you to go,” he said. “If you change your mind later, it may be more difficult to get you out. But you’re a free woman, and you’ll always be welcome in my home.”

It was too much. The tears spilled over. It was a gift as great as when Master Elias took me off the streets in Queen City. Acceptance. A place where I fit. I couldn’t believe how relieved I felt.

In the middle of the night, I woke up and glanced over at Siobhan on the other side of the bed. She was sleeping on her side, and Sima was perched on her hip, also asleep.