Liliths shadow omnibus v.., p.38
Lilith's Shadow Omnibus: Volume 2, page 38
“I know,” Warden replied belatedly, shaking herself as she did so, then apologized. “Sorry, I’m just… tired. It was a long flight.”
“Don’t I know it. Now, I suppose I should call her, and—” Morgan began, reaching for the phone in its case, but at the same time the door to the house opened and a woman burst out.
The woman wasn’t very tall, standing barely five and a half feet tall, at a guess, and she wore her brown hair in a bob, while her eyes shone a bright brown. She was quite pretty, with a broad grin that showed slightly uneven teeth, and her skin was tanned from a good deal of time outside. While Warden could vaguely associate the woman in brown trousers and a beige shirt with the heroine whose picture she’d studied in the airport, the two were incredibly different… even if she didn’t seem to have aged a day over the past decade.
“Rachel, you’re here! You look knackered, and so does your friend!” Madison Fisher exclaimed, clicking her tongue as she continued briskly, opening the gate for them. “Come in already! I’ve heard about what happened over the weekend, and I want to hear all about it from you. It sounds like a disaster, and almost makes me wish I was active again.”
“That is something you’d say,” Morgan replied, smiling wryly as she stepped in and gave Madison a hug. “It’s wonderful to see you. Thank you for agreeing to help, especially since I couldn’t be specific over the phone.”
“Feck that,” Madison replied bluntly, pushing Morgan away to look her in the eyes. “Mind control is nothing to screw around with. If you didn’t contact me, I’d have a go at you. And this is your friend. Should I call you Gina or Warden?”
“Um, Gina is fine,” Warden replied, blinking back at Madison in confusion. “I suspect you’re going to get to know me better than I necessarily like, considering what a mess things are up here.”
She indicated her head as she spoke, and Madison grinned, gesturing for her to come through the gate. Warden did so, pulling her luggage with her, then stopped abruptly as the world seemed to change enormously.
The houses and streets didn’t change, nor did any of the handful of other people outside, but the sky and clouds… instead of the evening sky she was used to, it was like enormous streamers of the aurora borealis had come to visit, with a slowly spinning, vivid artist’s depiction of the galactic disk in the background, and a full starfield beyond that. Warden looked up, gawking a little.
“Yes, that’s the price of mental help. I don’t always like doing it, but it has to be done.” Madison said, closing the gate and glancing up with a grin. “Like my sky? It took a massive amount of work, but what use is illusion magic if you never use it?”
“I… can see that. If you don’t mind, I may want to paint that,” Warden replied, shaking off her shock. She hadn’t expected an illusion of that scale, and glared at Morgan, who just grinned in response.
“Brilliant! I’m no artist when it comes to making things that last, just in spellwork, so I might want a copy for myself,” Madison replied enthusiastically. “Come in! Let’s hear what happened to you.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Morgan said, and Warden followed as the woman led the way into the house.
Chapter 50
Wednesday, August 20th, 2031
Iver, England
“Now, I’ve cleared a pair of rooms on the first floor for the two of you. They might be a bit cramped, but they should serve nicely. I find that dealing with mental changes makes you cranky, and privacy is good,” Madison explained briskly, opening the door to reveal a small, well-appointed family room. One which was rather crowded, Warden thought. “Wouldn’t want you to snap at each other too much!”
“I’d rather not snap at all, if it’s all the same to you,” Warden replied, looking around curiously.
Numerous paintings and knickknacks adorned the walls and tables around the room, two china cabinets, a television, and a sofa, but what really drew her attention was the cabinet which wasn’t filled with china. Instead, it was covered in a variety of pictures, several of which depicted Madison in the dark dress and goth-like makeup she’d favored when she was an active heroine, while others showed her graduating from college, though Warden wasn’t quite certain of that. Also in the cabinet, prominently displayed, was an ancient-looking wooden wand with tarnished silver scrollwork along the tip, the same outfit that she’d worn as Morgan Le Fay, and several pieces of jewelry. Those Warden recognized, but she didn’t recognize several other items, like the scorched metal gauntlet in the left side of the case which radiated faint magic, or the cracked crystal ball on the right.
Madison followed Warden’s gaze and smiled as she asked, “Oh, you like my display? I’ve got a wee bit of history behind me, though Rachel looks to be trying to beat me! If she does, I’ll have to have a go at her.”
Morgan winced, looking at her pleadingly. “Please don’t? I’d rather keep my skin, if you please.”
Warden couldn’t help a smile as Madison cackled in response, almost sounding like a villain as she gently punched Morgan in the shoulder.
“Then you shouldn’t have gotten mixed up in all this! Being a heroine is bloody dangerous, and you’ve put yourself right in the middle of it,” Madison told her, grinning the entire time. “If you don’t want that, retire. That’s what I did!”
“A fair point,” Warden said, dragging her gaze away from the display as she continued. “That said, I am tired. Is there any chance we could see the rooms?”
Madison nodded agreeably, starting down the narrow hall, then turned to climb the stairs, speaking as she moved. “The rooms should be mostly empty, though I might have missed some bits and bobs. If they’re in the way, tell me, and I’ll get them out of your hair. Here we are! Choose whichever you want.”
The woman stopped next to a pair of doors at the top of the stairs, then pointed at the next door down on the right as she added, “A washroom is right there.”
Morgan peeked into one room, and Warden eased forward to look into the other, her eyebrows rising a little. It was quite different than she’d expected, with a few ornately carved pillars in the corners of the room, while a twin bed was against the nearby wall. There also were a couple of side tables, a wardrobe, and a dresser. Put together, the room was crowded, but the rug on the floor and light from the windows made it feel larger than she’d expected.
“I think this will do very well for me. Thank you, Madison,” Warden told her, smiling slightly.
“You’re welcome, but don’t call me that! Call me Maddy,” the woman replied, smiling and patting Gina on the shoulder. “Now, why don’t you two get settled, and I’ll get dinner out? Rachel never eats well on those flights, so I made sure to have one of her favorites ready.”
Warden’s eyebrows rose, especially as Morgan blushed, and she asked, “Oh?”
“Steak pie,” Morgan said, looking a little embarrassed. “You shouldn’t have, Maddy.”
“I wanted to,” the woman retorted, turning away and heading down the stairs. “If you take too long, I’ll start without you!”
Morgan let out a sigh, and Gina chuckled, resisting the urge to smile as she mentally forced herself to focus on being just Gina. That would be strange, she thought… but they were in England, and they had rules about foreign heroes. She and Rachel would get in trouble if they jumped into fights without going through proper procedures, and that wasn’t why they were here.
“She’s interesting,” Gina said, looking at Rachel, who nodded in response, a wry smile on her face.
“She’s definitely that,” Rachel agreed, stepping into the opposite room, which looked similar to the one Gina was in, though it had somewhat different furnishings. Part of Gina wondered if Madison kept the rooms furnished the way they were for visitors like them. She’d heard of a few people visiting her for similar purposes before, after all. “I like her, though. Maddy is… refreshing. And very supportive.”
Gina nodded, rolling her suitcase into the room and she sighed softly. It was quite a change from the large room that they’d spent so much time designing with Lilith, and her things… so many of them were in storage for the time being. Not that they’d told Lilith what they’d done with them, but it was best not to leave things in the manor if everything went poorly. She hesitated, then shrugged, closing the door as she said, “I’m going to change quickly. The suit isn’t appropriate, if we’re not going to be working.”
“Not a bad idea. I’ll do the same.” Rachel agreed, and the creak of the other door indicated that she’d closed the door as well.
Gina quickly unpacked, which didn’t take long. Oh, there were a few surprises as she did so, mostly when opening drawers. She found a spool of thread in one, and what looked to her like a magical charm of some type in the wardrobe, a jade carving of a cat with one paw raised. It was odd, but she just set each of them on the end table and made a note to worry about them later as she went about unpacking her clothing. The rest of her things could wait.
Getting out of her suit was a bit of a relief, in many ways. Even if it was newly made, it was a little too tight in a couple of places, and Gina simply wasn’t used to wearing the form-fitting garment anymore. It didn’t take long to slip into another outfit, this one a simple long-sleeved shirt and jeans, and Gina let out a sigh as she paused, staring at the wall. It was going to take some time to get used to being here… and despite everything, she found the idea of letting Madison into her mind disturbing. She didn’t feel any different, which was entirely the problem with this sort of thing. You rarely felt like you needed help.
“Gina? You done in there?” Rachel asked, interrupting Gina’s moment of self-reflection.
“Oh, of course. Give me a moment,” Gina said, tossing her suit on the bed, then opened the door.
Rachel looked good, Gina thought, pausing to study her friend and lover. She’d put on a purple shirt and pair of slacks, and if it weren’t for the faint circles under her eyes, one would never have known she was stressed. On the other hand, the moment that Gina emerged, Rachel gave her a tired smile and stepped forward, pulling Gina into a tight hug.
“I’m so worried,” Rachel murmured, her voice almost inaudible, despite how close she was. “What if this doesn’t work? If she can’t help us, what are we going to—”
“Shh. Don’t borrow trouble, Rach,” Gina interrupted, smiling as she returned the hug… only to have Rachel hit her gently as she pulled away.
“Don’t call me that!” Rachel said, glowering at her in annoyance. “Can’t you see I’m trying to be serious?”
“Of course. But we don’t know whether it can be fixed or not yet. We’ll find out soon, and you said it yourself, if anyone can help us, it’s Madison,” Gina replied, grinning in triumph. At least she’d managed to drag Rachel out of her funk, if only briefly. “Speaking of which, we do need to tell her what happened.”
“True, true… and we’ve put that off long enough,” Rachel agreed, taking a deep breath, then nodded firmly. “Right. Let’s go downstairs.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Gina teased, and barely dodged before Rachel could hit her. It was a bit difficult in the narrow hallway, but she’d had enough practice that she managed.
“Stop it!” Rachel scolded, scowling, but Gina could tell that her heart wasn’t into it, and simply grinned in return.
Rachel glowered at the lack of response, then murmured. “I don’t know why I put up with you.”
“I don’t, either,” Gina agreed cheerfully, following her down the stairs.
Rachel led the way into a small dining room, one which had an open doorway into a compact kitchen, where Madison was pulling out some food, which smelled quite good to Gina, and her eyebrows rose at the sight of six small pie tins, about the size of an individual pot pie. The table was set with simple dishes, and Gina hesitated for a moment, looking at Rachel.
“Should we sit, Maddy?” Rachel asked.
“Oh, go right ahead! I’ll have all of this out in a bit!” the retired heroine replied cheerfully. “Take whichever seat you want!”
“Thank you,” Gina replied, and shrugged, taking the nearest of the wooden chairs. The odd thing about the house to her was how it was a mixture of old and new elements, and she couldn’t quite decide which some of the items were.
“You’re quite welcome!” Madison replied, even as Rachel took a seat to her left. That let both of them see Madison easily, as she placed three of the pies on a tray, then added a bowl of what looked like mashed potatoes and a salad to the tray. “Now, why don’t you tell me just what happened to you?”
“We can do that,” Rachel said, hesitating as she looked at Gina. “Where to begin?”
“Why don’t we just give the super-short version, and she can ask questions?” Gina suggested, settling into her chair as best she could.
“Fair point,” Rachel agreed, inhaling deeply, then spoke again. “When we captured Shadowmind a year and a half ago, somehow she managed to plant a link into our minds and to force us to forget to cleanse ourselves afterward. As far as we can tell, she might have manipulated us into meeting Lilith, as well as our emotions where she’s concerned. We can’t tell for sure, since her power is all over our emotions regarding Lilith, as well as other portions of our minds. We figured out something was wrong when our emotions where Lilith was concerned abruptly faded over the weekend, and her power was fresh.”
“You figured it out. Either she did a better job on me, or I’m just not observant enough,” Gina interjected, frowning slightly. “I spotted it when you pointed it out, but it wasn’t easy. My thoughts kept trying to slide off the changes.”
Rachel inclined her head, acknowledging the point, but continued. “Anyway, that coupled with the changes that were made to Gina when she was captured by Blue Impulse had me really worried. How much could she have done to us? What choices were ours, and what isn’t? Is anything I’ve done my own choice over the past couple of years? I just—”
“Gobshite,” Madison interrupted, picking up the tray and bringing it into the room. “Care for tea? Or maybe a beer?”
“Ah, what?” Gina asked, blinking at the woman in confusion.
“Gobshite. In other words, Rachel is being an overly dramatic idiot. You’d expect better from someone who teaches metaphysics, but panic makes a fool of everyone,” Madison explained as she smiled at Gina, setting the bowls of potatoes and salad in the middle of the table. “Now, would you like water, tea, or a beer with dinner?”
“Ah… water, I think. I’m tired enough that I don’t think alcohol will agree with me,” Gina said, looking at Madison in confusion, then at Rachel.
“Why am I being an idiot?” Rachel asked, frowning. “I thought it was a legitimate concern. And I’ll take water as well.”
“You’re forgetting the consequences of mind control on that level,” Madison replied, placing a pie on each of the plates with a bit of levitation. Then she took each of their cups and went into the kitchen, her voice rising as she did so. “If someone was making all your decisions for you, or making so bloody many changes, you’d end up a passive doll the moment you cut them off. You did cut her off?”
“Of course!” Gina said quickly, flushing a little at the implication. “I didn’t want Shadowmind having any more access to my head than I had to.”
In the other room they could hear the pouring of water as Madison spoke, satisfaction in her voice. “Good. Shadowmind is a fucking cunt.”
Gina choked at that, and Rachel’s eyes went a little wide. Madison came into the room a moment later, holding the tray with the glasses, one of them filled with tea, and looked between them before laughing softly.
“Right, Americans. I stand by it, though. She is,” Madison said, a hint of steel in her gaze as she set down the glasses. “Did Lilith know?”
“I’m pretty sure she didn’t have a clue.” Rachel began, then paused and sighed, shaking her head. “Damn it. I meant to email her once we landed, but I forgot, again. This is getting really, really old.”
Gina grimaced, even as Rachel pulled out her phone. Rachel had a point, as she hadn’t even thought about emailing Lilith. She’d sent a text to her father, and she knew that Rachel had let her parents know that they’d landed safely, but that was all. Neither of them had let Lilith know, which was definitely an oversight. It made Gina grimly certain that keeping in contact with her wouldn’t be easy.
“Ah, shit,” Rachel whispered, staring at her phone, and a feeling of dread washed over Gina. Madison sat up straighter as well, frowning at her.
“What is it? Did something happen to your sister or parents?” Gina asked, frowning as she considered other possibilities. While it was possible that something had happened to Lilith, it didn’t strike her as likely. Not with the Sentinels keeping an eye on her.
“No, that’s not it at all. I… well, check your email. You got copied on it,” Rachel said grimly, taking a deep breath, then offered her phone to Madison, continuing softly. “We’ve got confirmation, Maddy.”
Gina took in the strained look on Rachel’s face as Madison took the phone curiously, inhaled slowly, then pulled out her own phone. The notification light was blinking, and when she lit the screen, she saw that she had several emails and a response from her father. But her eyes settled on the one from Lilith, which only had the subject line. A line stating ‘You’re Right’.
She hesitated, then unlocked it, almost afraid to see what it said. Gina was tempted to check the other messages first, but she forced the impulse down, and instead read the email, and as she did so, it was almost like a gut punch.
Dear Gina and Rachel,
I’m sorry about everything. I’m sorry that I doubted you, and that I felt abandoned when you left. I simply didn’t understand why you were doing what you were. It’s part of why I didn’t tell you that I had a meeting with Amber today. Now that it is past, I understand at last, and I apologize for doubting you.
