"Are you trying to make me feel better or worse?"
She smiled briefly, realizing that - jokes aside - she really would be much more at ease doing this in a place where she had some measure of control.
And where Pete and Logan weren't around.
After all, Rónán was about to access all the memories of their dead foster mother after expressly promising them he wouldn't do anything of the kind. Better to do this away from the Doherty twins and before they got wind of it happening.
"How long before they can repair the
rifuto
circle, do you think, so we can get out of here?"
Rónán reached out and pulled her to him, slipping his arms around her waist and forcing her face so close to his, she could feel his warm breath on her lips.
Dear God, is he going to kiss me? Now?
As if he guessed the direction of her thoughts, he suddenly grinned at her. "I don't need a rift."
"Whoa!" she cried, as she realized what he intended. "Wait a min-"
She never got a chance to finish the sentence as Rónán's magic surged and he tightened his arms around her, and the beautiful guest suite in the Imperial Edo Palace in
Chucho
vanished to be replaced by the impossibly tall trees and eternal twilight of
Tír Na nÓg
on the other side of the world.
Teagan thought it odd that she wasn't more frightened.
She didn't remember much about coming through the rift. Just waking to find someone in her room, her sister Isleen screaming, and then the oblivion of the
Brionglóid Gorm
, the magical blue powder that induced instant unconsciousness.
Sometime later, she awoke in this magic-less realm with a pounding headache in a room that seemed to float high above a sea of light.
The room she was confined to seemed both strange and familiar at the same time. The bed was deliciously comfortable, with crisp white linen and a down-filled quilt so soft and fluffy it was like being wrapped in a cloud. There was a small table and chair, and another comfortable padded chair by the window, all of unfamiliar design and covered in unfamiliar fabrics. But that was where any familiarity stopped.
There was an odd box-like instrument with glowing numbers, whose function she could not fathom, on the side table. The light in this room came from small holes in the ceiling, which came on at the flick of a switch. There was also a small room near the perpetually locked door that contained the largest and most perfect mirror Teagan had ever laid eyes on, a deep bath with hot water anytime she wanted and a waterfall that came out of the ceiling above it. There was a strange device for relieving herself that flushed away her bodily wastes with drinking water.
Her captors were kind but uncommunicative. They gave her something for the headache and having assured themselves that she was unharmed and not fretting too much, they left her alone in this room that seemed to hover above a light ocean, telling her nothing about where she was or why they had brought her here.
The glass on the huge window was smooth and flawless. It was cool against her forehead as she looked down, trying to guess how far she was above ground. It was impossible to say, but the vista that lay before her was a sight to behold. There were so many other tall buildings. Below her, many of the lights moved in orderly ribbons weaving between the static lights, while others turned red, then orange then green, over and over in an endless cycle. Teagan couldn't image what was going on down there on the ground. She only knew one thing for certain - this was not her reality.
It was, in all likelihood, the realm without magic where Renkavana and Pete and Logan Doherty came from.
Her excitement at the prospect of seeing their world compensated more than adequately - at least for the time being - for the loss of her sister.
She turned at the sound of the door opening. This time it wasn't one of her silent captors come to bring her food or water. It was an attractive and disturbingly familiar woman dressed in a grey tweed jacket and a matching skirt that stopped - shockingly - just above her knees, revealing shapely legs encased in stockings so sheer they appeared to be painted on. She was wearing shoes with high heels that tapered to a narrow point, which looked impossible to walk on, and had her dark hair pulled into a sleek chignon. Teagan was sure she'd seen her before, but she couldn't remember where.
The woman closed the door behind her and leaned on it for a moment, studying Teagan with interest.
"Do I know you?"
Her visitor pushed off the door and walked into the room. She seemed amused. "So much for the famed Japanese grace and manners I've heard so much about. Are you always so forthright?"
"Only after being kidnapped."
The woman smiled. "My, aren't you a feisty little thing?" She took a seat on the edge of the bed and crossed her legs, content to keep some distance between them.
You don't know the half of it
,
lady
. Teagan decided it was about time to take charge of her fate. She stepped away from the window and squared her shoulders, drawing herself up to her full height. "I am
Kōgō Heika
Teagan, Empress of the Universe. You should address me as
Heika."
The woman smiled. "And you may call me Mother."
"You're not my mother."
"It is a title of respect,
Heika
, not a bid for your affection. Is there anything you need?"
"You could send me home."
"Other than that."
"Where's my sister?"
"Back in your realm."
"Is she unharmed?"
"I couldn't say," Mother said with a shrug. "Whoever exploded the rift on the other side, did it without any thought for the danger to the people in or around the rift when it collapsed. I lost quite a few good people in that explosion, either killed or trapped in your realm."
Teagan was shocked. "Someone exploded the rift? How is that possible?"
"I was rather hoping you might tell me. Even among Undivided, that sort of power is unheard of. I know it wasn't you or your sister, and as your father and uncle are long dead and there are no
Tuatha Dé Danann
in your realm any longer. So that leaves whoever it was who also killed my sister three years ago."
That was news to Teagan, and it explained why this woman looked so familiar. "Lady Delphine was your
sister
?"
Mother nodded. "My
eileféin
might be a better description, so if the purpose of killing Delphine was to bring her twin down with her - and the
Matrarchaí
along with her - then it was a foolish and ultimately futile plan."
So I'm definitely a prisoner of the
Matrarchaí
,
Teagan thought, less bothered by that prospect than she thought she ought to be. And they seemed to be attributing far more planning and forethought to a three-year-old incident that was, in the end, little more than a lucky accident, although it was doubtful Delphine would have considered it lucky, given the outcome.
"I don't think Renkavana meant to kill Delphine," Teagan said, as it occurred to her that this kidnapping might be an act of vengeance, rather than a strategic move in a much bigger game, which did not augur well for her future.
But she was still alive, so they obviously had a use for her. She just had to hope it didn't involve sending her back home a finger at a time in order to force Delphine's killer to surrender.
"Is that who killed her? Ren Kavanaugh?" The woman pronounced his name with a subtle change of inflection that Teagan found quite curious. It made him sound like a completely different person.
"I thought you knew ... oh, well, of course you didn't know. Nobody from the
Matrarchaí
has come through the rift since then."
"Do you know Ren well?"
"Well enough," Teagan said, realizing her knowledge of him might be leverage in whatever game the
Matrarchaí
was playing. She had something they wanted. Excellent.
And they certainly had something
Teagan
wanted. "I knew Delphine, too."
Mother nodded. "I know. My sister described you and Isleen to me. She said that of the two of you, Teagan was the one who showed the most promise."
Teagan stood a little straighter, preening under the unexpected praise. "Did she really?"
Mother smiled. "You seem surprised."
"Back home I'm considered the troublemaker."
"Are you?"
Teagan pondered the question for a moment. She was not prone to self-reflection, so she'd not really given the matter much thought, other than to rail against the unfairness of always being the one in trouble.
It hadn't been like that before Renkavana and Trása and Pete and Logan came along. Until then, her mother, Wakiko, had been their meek, compliant servant, not their sovereign. The world had trembled at the mention of her name before then - well, also Isleen's, but mostly hers, she liked to believe.
These days they smiled indulgently at her tantrums and treated her like a little girl. They deferred the important decisions to her mother. They sometimes didn't bother to ask Teagan's opinion at all.
Delphine had shared the
Comhroinn
with her and Isleen when they were seven years old and then locked down the secrets of their power until they were old enough to deal with the responsibility.
Teagan was thirteen now. She was old enough.
But Renkavana refused to let it happen. Worse, as he studied and learned the ways of the
ori mahou
and the
kuji-in,
he'd grown jealous of the Empresses' power - or so Teagan believed. He hadn't helped them discover their knowledge. He'd locked the information down even tighter, until it would take a magician of enormous power to break through the barrier.
Mother, Teagan realized, a sly smile creeping across her face, was one such magician. This was Delphine's
eileféin
. She was of the Undivided line. She could do anything Lady Delphine could do. Except, this world had no magic. Teagan couldn't feel any at all. So she probably couldn't do much of anything here.
Still, it wouldn't hurt to play along for a while and see what they had in mind for her. "I'm the one who still believes we are best aligned with the
Matrarchaí
," she said. "I'm the one who wanted the destiny Lady Delphine promised me."
Mother studied her, perhaps debating her sincerity. "And what of your sister?"
"She is weak-minded," Teagan said, the first time she'd ever dared voice such a thought out loud. It was oddly liberating to be able to articulate the unspeakable and not be held in contempt or suspicion for her views. "She's glad Renkavana locked away the information Lady Delphine shared with us."
"And you're not?"
"I want the power Lady Delphine promised."
Mother's smiled widened, but it was a knowing, satisfied sort of smile, rather than one of amusement. "Then we will have to see that you get it."
That cheered Teagan considerably, but there were still a few things she wanted cleared up. "This world has no magic," she said. "How did you open a rift from here into my realm?"
"This realm is not completely denuded," Mother assured her. "There is an Enchanted Sphere, a point where the remaining magic in a denuded realm seems to settle until it's completely obliterated - a circumstance I fear will come sooner rather than later in this realm."
"Is that why we're in a tower?"
Mother seemed amused by her question. "They call them skyscrapers here, but yes, a few floors above us is the Enchanted Sphere. The city below us is called Taipei."
The city's name meant nothing to Teagan, and she didn't really care. She had other questions that were far more important to her. "Are you going back for Isleen?"
"Did you want us to?"
Teagan didn't even have to think about it. "No."
"You won't be lonely without her?"
She shook her head. "I'm glad to be free of her."
"Aren't you worried about her fate?"
"Nothing will happen to my sister," Teagan said with complete certainty and more than a little contempt. "They are too squeamish in my realm to harm her, even knowing I am probably a prisoner of the
Matrarchaí
."
"That seems harsh, Teagan. Are you sure?"
Teagan nodded. "I'm sure."
Mother rose to her feet. "Is there anything else we can get you?" Apparently this interview was over.
"I want you to unlock Lady Delphine's memories in my mind."
Mother nodded. "All in good time,
cherie
. First, you have to do something for me."
"What do you want?"
"Everything you know about the man who killed my sister," Mother said in a quiet voice that chilled Teagan to her core. "When I come back you can tell me what you know, and if you're a really good girl I might even let you help me avenge her someday."
There was no special ceremony or spell involved in accessing the memories Ren had acquired when he inadvertently killed Delphine of the
Matrarchaí
. He'd been holding her memories back by sheer force of will. All he had to do, in theory, was let go and open his mind.
Easier said than done.
Although it irked Ren to admit it, Trása was right. If he was going to do this, then it had to be here, where he had some hope of drawing on the rich magic of this place to soothe his pain. He needed a balm for his scorched and tormented soul.
It
was
good to be back in this reality's version of
Tír Na nÓg
, his estrangement from Trása having kept him away these past few years.
And it was only here that Trása might have some hope of restraining him, if opening himself to Delphine's memories overwhelmed him again. He was afraid Delphine's desire to eradicate all
Youkai
from this realm might overtake him before he could wrestle it back from the forefront of his mind.
But he was reluctant to tell Trása how right she was ... she took far too much delight in being right. Not that he had the opportunity, because the moment they appeared in
Tír Na nÓg
they were swamped by scores of lesser
Youkai
clamoring for her attention.