Chapter 4 Free Fall The Society Book 2

Chapter 4

In the kitchen, Irina and Nick settled at the large wooden table while Ivy filled the kettle and put it on one of the burners.

"I'm sorry your arrival was a little less pleasant than it should have been, " Ivy started.

She glanced towards the cookie jar, but knew it was empty. On the counter she saw a few of the scones left over from breakfast. There were fewer than when she left for Jerome's, but a couple still remained. She placed the remaining ones on a plate and set them down on the table for Irina and Nick, adding three extra plates for each of them, even though she doubted she would eat. Nick picked one up immediately and Irina chuckled. Ivy wasn't quite certain which of them the older woman was laughing at.

"The two natured are always volatile, " Irina said, reaching for one of the scones. "I suppose with so much unsettled it is doubly so at this time. We should have called before our arrival, but in truth I had not counted on your absence. It was an oversite."

"I had an errand to run, " Ivy told her.

She pulled three of her cups and saucers from the cabinet. As the men preferred less breakable items, only she, Rose and Melisa used them routinely. Since the heavy ceramic mugs the shifters favored already had plenty of chips, several destroyed completely, she understood and appreciated their caution with the china. To the cups and saucers she added the teapot and the box of loose tea Irina preferred. She left the strainers in the drawer, knowing Irina liked the leaves loose so she could read the tea leaves.

"Two natured, " Ivy repeated as she sat down at the table with her guests while they waited for the water to boil. While she told the pair about her being a mage, she never mentioned any of the other clans. Theoretically, Irina shouldn't know about Shifters.

"The men, lykos... wolf, if I am not mistaken, although it has been a long time. I wasn't certain what sort when you brought them to our home, but knew you well enough to trust you with their behavior."

"You know about Shifters, " Ivy asked. Nick snorted and shook his head.

"Figuring out what she knows and doesn't know is a game you can't win, " Nick told her allowing a small smile to slip to his lips. Away from the eyes of the crowd, Nick was much more comfortable.

Irina frowned at him and then chuckled nodding her head. "It is good you learned this." She told him. She patted his arm affectionately. The kettle began to whistle and Ivy retrieved it. Irina measured the tea leaves into the tea pot and Ivy poured the water over them, letting it steep.

"Your grandfather was lykos, " Irina said as they waited. Ivy blinked, for a second thinking Irina was talking to her. She opened her mouth to ask how Irina knew that secret, but shut it with a snap when Irina looked to Nick.

"He was?" Nick asked, frown lines creasing his forehead. "You never said anything."

Irina shrugged. "What good was it to know? Before you met the magissa, you would have thought me a mad old woman and not listened. After, " Irina waved her hands in the air. "Well, she might have decided not to help us."

"Ivy helped because she was my friend, " Nick said. He looked to Ivy who nodded.

"I did, " she confirmed. "And I'm not a witch." She told Irina more out of habit than anything else.

"And more open minded than many of your clan, " Irina said with a nod. "But again, what did it matter?"

"You could have applied to the packs for protection, " Ivy said.

"Packs? What packs? My husband and sons were gone before my daughter and I left Delphi. There was no pack."

"Daughters are rare with Shifters, special. Any pack you applied to would have protected you, " Russell said from the doorway. They all jumped, not having heard him approach. Irina muttered something in Greek that Ivy thought was probably profane.

"I forgot how quiet they could be, " Irina added in English, shaking her head. She waved irritably at the teapot. "It's steeped long enough. Best bring a cup for yourself lykos, if you plan to stay."

Russell moved to the sideboard and picked up a plain white ceramic mug. A few weeks prior Eric brought a box over from a restaurant supply store. He moved with silent grace and Irina shook her head as Ivy poured the tea.

"You could at least have the courtesy to stomp a little, " Irina told him as he settled. Russell smiled.

"I'll try to remember next time."

"You do that." She told him taking a sip of her tea as Ivy filled Russell's mug.

"Nonna, " Nick said shaking her head.

"Fine, " she huffed. "We did not just come for the pleasant company. We came because there was news."

"How did you even know where to find us?" Russell asked, taking a small sip of his hot tea. Ivy, Irena and Nick all smiled. "What?"

"The Shadow Council transferred title of the property into my name, " Ivy told him. "A title search would have been easy."

Russell looked to Nick who shrugged. "It's actually public information and there was no attempt to hide it."

"Oh, " Russell said.

"We came in person because my Nicky does not trust the phone, " Irina continued when it was clear Russell had nothing else to add.

"I did more research for you on David Lindgren and James Smithson, " Nick told them, grimacing at the obviousness of the fake name. In Nick's book, if you were going to hide something, do it well or not at all.

David was a feline shifter who broke into Ivy's apartment with ill intent. It was thought that he was responsible for several other attacks on strong mages. Ivy's saving grace that day was the fact that David expected her to be alone instead of with Russell. Keeping two fighting shifters from bringing her neighbors and the police to her apartment took nearly every ounce of energy in her body, but in the end she was able to keep things under wraps until the cavalry arrived.

James Smithson was the man who hired both David and someone calling himself Walter Garrett to visit her the following day, picking up where David failed and using a gun instead of claws and fangs. He was also sent to steal any magical item in her apartment as well as the list of her siblings' locations. No doubt someone else was sent to pay them each a visit, but by then the others were safe and guarded. In the image they managed to find for James Smithson, it was clear he was some sort of Fae masquerading as a human. Cameras tended to dislike the illusion of humanity and always left a signature blurring behind in photographs even if the Fae's illusion was good enough to fool the eyes of those around.

Ivy still had nightmares about both attacks. "I thought you found all you could, " Ivy replied pushing her fears away.

"I followed the money, " Nick told her.

"I thought Smithson was the money man, " Russell said frowning.

"He took the money from a corporate account, " Nick said.

"I was attacked by a corporation?" Ivy said.

"Maybe they don't like your burn cream, " Russell said. Ivy frowned at him. "Or possibly your tracker removal system, " he added, clearly unrepentant.

"It was a dummy corporation, " Nick continued, ignoring Russell. "Owned by a shell company."

"Conchs 'R Us, " Russell added, clearly unable to help himself.

"Ignore him, " Ivy told Nick rolling her eyes.

"Anyway, there were a lot of layers. Someone went to a lot of trouble to hide this Ivy. I'm not even sure Smithson knew who he was working for. I had to dig deep to peel back some of those layers."

"Like an onion, without all the crying, " Russell said. Ivy looked and him and saw he was slightly glassy eyed. Then, he giggled.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, frowning.

"I like onions, " he replied. "Especially the crispy kind like you put on that chicken casserole. Ohhhhh, can we have the chicken casserole thing? I promise to share."

"Yeah, " Ivy said slowly. "I can make that for you." She looked to Irina and Nick.

"Oh no, " Irena said frowning into her cup of tea. "Is this the tea I gave you?"

"Yeah, " Ivy said growing concerned with Russell's behavior. "I keep it for when you visit. Was there something in it?"

"Whatever it is, I like it, " Russell said, he drained his cup before Ivy could get it away from him.

"Nothing harmful, " Irina told her. Ivy tried to take Russell's cup, but he held it above his head where she couldn't reach it.

"Ha, ha, " he said giggling. "Too short."

"It's a combination of herbs mixed with the black tea designed to open up the third eye. It just sometimes tends to make the two natured a bit...silly, " Irina finished as Russell stood up and waved his empty mug in the air.

"I'm a little teapot short and stout, " Russell began to sing.

"It will wear off, " Irina promised. "Maybe water will help?"

Ivy nodded and went to the cabinet. She took out a glass and filled it with tap water. "Why don't you drink this, " she said handing it to Russell. He put the glass on the table and then placed his empty mug next to it. He continued to sing the little teapot song in a very loud, and very off key voice. The swinging door to the kitchen opened and Eric leaned in. Whatever he was going to say died on his lips as he saw his brother.

"Is he drunk?" Eric asked coming fully into the room. "How did you manage that so fast? Given our metabolism it takes forever to get even tipsy and even then it doesn't last very long."

"I am not drunk, " Russell told his brother with exaggerated dignity. "I was having tea."

"The herbs didn't agree with him, " Ivy said.

"It should wear off soon, " Irina told him and then turned back to Russell. "Why don't you drink some water? It'll be good for you."

"I don't want water, I want to run, " Russell said. His form blurred and he dropped to the ground, the sound of cloth tearing, bones and muscles popping and crunching loudly as Russell changed form. Ivy saw many shifters, including Russell, change before, but never had she seen it happen so fast. One second he was a man, albeit a goofy one, the next a wolf shaking off the ragged remains of his clothing and loping towards the back door.

"I'll stay with him, " Eric told her tugging off his own clothing quickly and changing his own form. A second later he was racing after his brother.

"That was...odd, " Nick said. "It's not like that stop motion hair growth thing in the movies. I don't know why I thought it would be. I guess I never really thought about it."

"Life around here is certainly never dull, " Ivy said. She looked towards the still swinging door, but knew she would be of no help. If she could catch Russell, she could contain him, although she doubted she could do so long enough for the effect of the tea to wear off. With her two puny human legs she doubted she could even catch Russell unless he wanted to be caught. "Eric should be able to keep him safe, " she said.

"The effects of one mug should wear off soon, shifters metabolize things quite quickly." Irina assured her. "It has been a while, but I think with what he drank no more than half an hour before it is out of his system."

"Right, " Ivy said. She pushed her teacup away, in no mood for it any more. Irina continued to sip hers as though determined to prove it wasn't actually dangerous. "Right, " she repeated. "So did you manage to find anything underneath all of those layers?" she asked Nick, figuring she might as well hear all his news since there was nothing she could do for Russell.

"I did, " Nick said, shaking off the sight of his first Shifter change and opening the folder he brought with him. "This is the company logo, " he said placing an image in front of Ivy. She looked down. The image was a maroon and gold shield, the shield divided into four parts and the maroon and gold alternating like a checkerboard, albeit one with only four spaces. There were no other heraldic symbols on the shield; it was just the maroon and gold with two words written across the center.

"Unita Fratres, " Ivy read. She dug into the back of her mind for her high school Latin. "United Brothers or Brothers Unite, " she translated. "That sounds more like a call to arms than anything else."

Nick slid another image across the table. "The company name is listed as UniFra. This is their board of directors from their company's annual report."

Ivy looked at the image. It was a rather generic looking group of white males between the ages of thirty and sixty years of age. She didn't recognize any of them and none of them had the strange blurring that always occurred when any of the Fae appeared in a photograph.

"I don't know any of them, " she said. She felt almost cheated. Surely if someone felt strongly enough about her to try killing her and her family then she should at least recognize them.

"The one in the center is named Ron Corwin, " Nick told her. "He is the CEO."

"Who would have thought my nemesis would be named Ron, " Ivy said looking at the image. Ron appeared to be in his mid to late forties with a receding hairline and a pronounced overbite.

"Maybe his nickname is 'The Terror' or maybe 'The Unholy', " Nick suggested. "Possibly even 'The Unholy Terror.' You know, for when he is not being CEO."

"That would make me feel better, " Ivy said with a smile. "Although I do wish his name sounded familiar even if his face isn't."

"It was the rings that got Nonna's attention, " Nick said. Ivy glanced over to Irina. The normally smiling woman looked grim. She nodded tersely and Ivy looked back to the photograph.

Each of the men had their hands clasped in front of them for the photo, no doubt an attempt to instill a sense of uniformity. As each of them was wearing almost the exact same suit and tie, Ivy though the posturing was a little redundant. They looked like they were stamped out of the same factory mold, same black suit, white shirt, black tie and black wing tips. While she hoped that up close and in person there was some variation in the details, nothing was evident in the photo. They looked identical, right down to the signet rings they each wore on the ring finger of their right hands.

"The rings all look the same, but I can't see any details, " she told them. "It's too small."

"Nonna was curious if they were all wearing the same ring, so I zoomed in and blew it up." Nick slid over a third picture and Ivy felt her breath whoosh out of her as though she was punched. She may not recognize Ron Corwin or any member of the board but she recognized the logo from one of her uncle's books. She looked up at Irina. The older woman nodded in confirmation.

"The Brotherhood, " Ivy said, dropping her voice to a whisper. "I thought they were...exterminated, " Ivy said, unsure what other word to use.

"Apparently not, " Irina replied. "Either some survived and hid until they could grow strong again or a new group has taken up their banner. Either way, it does not bode well for anyone."