Page 36 of A Touch of Brimstone

“There was a power struggle over who’d be responsible for policing the supernatural world. The witches were the most adamant about dealing with rule breakers.” Nailah’s hand swept across the room in a dismissive wave. “Perhaps they were right. But, because of their biases, they are often more lenient than they should be. Powerful people require powerful punishment.”

“They get it here.”

“I’ve seen worse confinements where you live. The best way to punish the powerful is to render them powerless for the rest of their lives. That is their personal hell.”

I questioned if she was intentionally veering the topic from Helena.

“What does this have to do with Helena?” This was information I desperately needed. Maybe it could help me deal with her. Best her in some way.

“Ah, yes. Initially, both Helena and Dominic guarded the Perils. As I said before, Helena handled the mildest of slights with extreme penalties, even where she had no jurisdiction. She involved herself in affairs that didn’t require her intervention or judgment. Crimes against other supernaturals were handled by the denizens involved. Helena and Dominic handled supernaturals who violated crimes against humanity. That’s what this is about. They shared a common goal, to stop the worst in the supernatural world and to ensure they remain hidden from humans.”

“Their father is Lord of the Underworld and they are the Prince and Princess—aren’t they the worst of your kind?”

Nailah’s lips pulled into a tightly puckered moue of disapproval. How was I wrong for coming to that conclusion? I was sure the requisite for ruling the Underworld wasn’t being a sweet cuddle bear. Helena and Dominic were born to this, but neither one seemed like victims of circumstance. I couldn’t forget how the members of the Conventicle looked at Dominic. Disdain, fear, and abhorrence. No esteem or veneration. Whatever existed between them was a reluctant alliance.

“Cruelty must be handled with cruelty. Dominic is capable of using fear as a tool of compliance.” Nailah gave me a bitter smile. “It is necessary. Diplomacy and patience are required as well. Dominic has mastered them, Helena hasn’t. It’s doubtful she can. Since Helena’s whims had been indulged for so long, it was difficult to rein her in. She killed Madeline’s grandmother for not giving her the Trapsen—an amulet that allowed passage into the Underworld. Dominic had acquired and destroyed all but that one. If he’d handled that situation, I have no doubt he would have managed it through bargaining, not brutality. Of the three, Dominic is more diplomatic.”

She was ascribing diplomacy in the same manner a person tries to determine who’s less dangerous: a black mamba, a lion, or a grizzly bear.

“Helena doesn’t… Well.” She sighed and gave me a weak smile. “She doesn’t believe in negotiation and has always responded to denials and rejections poorly. As a connoisseur of strife, violence, and havoc, she finds new and inventive ways to test her brother’s patience, which has been stretched to the point of breaking. I suspect it won’t hold for long.”

A wave of fear washed over me. Her retaliation could have been worse if Dominic hadn’t intervened. What would she have done to me?

Nailah relaxed as she exhaled deeply. “The coven’s retaliation was swift and severe.” A deep frown hardened her features. “I believe it was too swift, as if they had been waiting for a moment worthy of such retaliation. They performed a curse that restricted her magic and they refused to show Dominic or even their father how to reverse it.

“With the help of other witches, it took ten years for Dominic to discover a way to return her magic. But the curse was never completely removed. They found a workaround. And that help came with a compromise. Punishment of the supernaturals was no longer solely the domain of the Underworld. The Perils would handle only the worst of their kind. Pursuing violators has to be approved by the Conventicle. Although Dominic and Helena were the sole proprietors of regulating and determining sentencing, it is now up to the Conventicle. The problem is, that is still a good faith courtesy that Dominic extends.”

“Why is that?”

“Because he discovered another way to undo the curse that restricts his sister’s magic. And a counterspell to keep witches’ magic from ever affecting him. He can’t be cursed, nor can they use any of their magic against him.”

“Do they know that?”

She shook her head and smiled, bringing a finger to her lips. I mimed using a key to lock away the secret. It was hard to blindly trust anyone in this world, although something about Nailah seemed earnest and kind. But the bar was set pretty low. She hadn’t abducted me, tried to kill me, or compelled me into harming myself. Things had devolved so badly for me that basic common decency earned my trust.

“You’re able to see things that happened and the future, correct?” I asked reluctantly after several moments of internal debate.

She chuckled. “No. As with all magic, it has limits. I saw you, the markings. But I had no idea who you were. We had to find you. Some futures are shown to me, but like all things, it is susceptible to the butterfly effect.”

“Am I going to survive this?” I rushed out before I lost the courage to ask.

She responded with a weak smile.

“Please tell me.”

“There’s merit and comfort in having the future be a mystery.”

“There has to be some merit and comfort in knowing as well.”

She nodded and closed her eyes, then opened them to reveal her peculiar illuminated violet eyes, which bored into me with such severity it felt like she was pulling the details of my life from me and taking part of me with it. Her body shuddered slightly and then she slumped against the chair. Minutes burned away without her speaking.

“Will you tell me how you got involved?” she asked.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to retell the story, but I was sure Dominic had already discussed it with her. This was a distraction tactic. I gave her the unabridged version since Reginald’s involvement was already known.

Her lips pressed into a tight straight line. “I couldn’t see any of that,” she admitted, shifting her gaze to my marked finger. “You were unwittingly pulled in—a victim of circumstances.”

“And my curiosity,” I provided with a wry smile. How different things would have been if I had left the ring or the book. Or both.

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