Becky stared at the werewolf for a long moment, blinking as she tried to reason her way out of that logic. Knowing that Shlee’s Aunt was once a Daughter of Respite gave weight to her arguments in Eldon’s mind.
“Are you sure that the Knights aren’t the ones who did the brainwashing?” Eldon piped up, stepping next to his girlfriend. “That makes a lot more sense, doesn’t it? I mean, it doesn’t add up that my dad could have made a magically immune Daughter of Respite forget how much she hates magic. In fact, I’ve seen the way you used to look at him. The love you held not only for him but for his kids as well. You taught us magic. You helped raise us. I can’t believe that an agent of them could ever behave like that. And why keep the child? I mean—”
“That’s enough,” Lyden cut him off, just as he started building up steam. “My wife is dead. This woman isn’t the Becky that I miss so dearly. She is nothing more than some trick or illusion. I’ll not give them the satisfaction of breaking my standards for the memory of my wife.”
Eldon opened his mouth to argue but shut it as Lyden’s glare intensified.
Silence fell as they regarded one another. Eldon didn’t understand what was wrong with his father. Why wasn’t he trying to convince Becky of the truth? To remind her of who she truly is?
“I’ll be happy to see your heads rolling across the ground tomorrow,” Becky cut in, a sadistic giggle sounded from the once-caring woman. “That was the other reason for me to suffer your presence. Tomorrow at noon, you three will be executed.”
“What about Brock and Brooke?” Eldon asked, his heart sinking.
“The mermaid is a beautiful woman, despite what she is,” Becky grimaced and shook her head. “She’s being kept alive to service some of the Knight’s baser needs. As for the changeling, its ability to switch genders has our scientist’s curiosity piqued. Experiments will begin after they witness your deaths.”
She turned to go, but Eldon asked one last question. “Why isn’t my ability to change going to be studied?”
“Do you want to be tortured?” Shlee elbowed him. “Because that’s how you get tortured.”
Becky paused for a moment but didn’t speak before she walked into the darkness.
“You two almost ruined that,” Lyden said, right behind them.
Eldon spun on his father, sudden anger, and a need to lash out overwhelming him. “We almost had her convinced! Why did you stop me?”
“You’re wrong,” Lyden said, his voice calm and even. “All you were doing was reinforcing her beliefs.”
Eldon opened his mouth to argue, but Shlee placed a hand against his chest and shook her head. “He’s right. I could smell her growing more stubborn as we talked. There’s no convincing her with words.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Eldon ground his teeth in frustration. “None of what she claimed makes sense. Surely she has to see that!”
“There’s this phenomenon that happens to people who are obsessed with conspiracies,” Lyden said. “The more evidence you present to them to prove them wrong, the deeper they believe in the stupidity they have in their heads. Whatever magic the Knights used to brainwash her doubles down on that. I’ve seen it before with some of their victims after they were liberated. It’s also how the Daughters of Respite keep their members from learning the truth of what they are. The Knights expect people to try and convince them of the truth, and so their spells are woven to reinforce the delusions instead of dispelling them. They’re so successful that they don’t even need to keep the spells active once completed.”
“I don’t understand how you can stay so calm, then, Dad?” Eldon pressed as tears of frustration threatened to leak from his eyes. Brainwashing so thorough that the truth makes it stronger? How much more evil can the damned PK’s be?
“He’s not calm,” Shlee said next to him, folding him in her arms and offering the comfort he wanted to reject but couldn’t. “He’s furious, but he hides it well.”
Eldon knew she must be using her nose to read his father. Would he ever have that kind of control over his emotions?
“There is more going on than I can explain right now,” Lyden told them with a significant look at the ceiling. No doubt, every word they said was being recorded. On the one hand, Eldon felt comforted that his father had some sort of plan. On the other, it drove him nuts that he couldn’t know what the plan was. His inability to shift forms meant that if any fighting were required, he would have to do it in this body. It likely meant that Shlee was in the same boat. And while Megan could fight, he remembered that cut she’d received in the crash and noted how silent she was staying now.
He pulled Shlee tight against his body as he tried to figure out what he could do, and contingency plans, just in case. It was an exercise in futility, though, as he had no idea what to expect. He almost wished he could fall back to sleep, but his body denied him, despite the comfort of holding Shlee.
Then he realized that Oberon was never mentioned during the exchange, nor was Mei. Where were the vulgar little faery and his half-dragon sister?
* * * *
Damn those sneaky, mother-fucking, pig-sucking, whoresons! Oberon cursed as he hid in a dim corner while a group of three white-clad cake-sniffers walked by underneath him. He’d promised the person he loved to watch what he said out loud, but that didn’t stop him from using his extensive vocabulary in his head. What is that stuffy old man’s problem with colorful language, anyway?
He was invisible and could fly right down the center without being seen, but he sensed enough wards set up to be on the cautious side.
“I still can’t believe we finally caught that bastard,” one of the Knight’s spoke to his buddies. “All these years… It won’t make up for the massacre he caused twenty years ago, but it’ll be something, at least.”
“You weren’t even there, Scion Brody,” said another in a gruff voice. He was the oldest of the three and walked with a slight limp. He had a slight accent that brought back memories of Oberon’s time in England and Ireland before the Pillars created the other world. “You were at the birth of your boy, Bobby.”
“He still dating that hot redhead?” Asked the third man. “Damn, what I wouldn’t give to get a piece of that fine ass. Of course, that redhead that came in with the betrayer was nice too, even if her face was all messed up. She had an ass on her that—”
“Keep your cock in your pants where it belongs, Scion Cordova,” said the European man. “We’ve got more important things to worry about than where you’ll get your next fuck.”
“Yes, Consul Mulhan,” Cordova responded with military alacrity.
“The two of you were assigned to me to record the execution tomorrow…” their voices trailed off as they moved away from Oberon’s hiding place.
The small faery shook with rage at the thought of them hurting his beloved. It took all of his control not to curse the three and leave them looking on the outside as ugly as they are on the inside. He needed to find his betrothed and get them out of here. He could sense that Brock was the one in charge of their body at the moment, but too much magic floated around the area to know much more than a general direction.