Tony cancelled the phone call when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
Walden and Evey had locked themselves up in their bedroom last night, and Tony had decided to keep himself busy in his workshop after briefly catching up on recent events with Ted. The Wolf had appeared somewhat evasive, but Tony hadn't pressed him. If it was bad news, he'd rather hear it from Evey anyway.
Before he'd settled on a project, though, he'd given Morgana a call, to let her know that he'd returned and that he could swing by her apartment whenever she was free. She hadn't picked up; the call had gone straight to voicemail. So had Tony's next five calls.
He wasn't worried; Morgana had been fairly available last summer, but that was the period that Walden defined as "quiet". Early spring was always the worst season for a Warden: that was when many magical creatures came out of hibernation and started looking for mates. Especially trolls.
Now Tony was in the living room, reading the Muggle newspapers he'd missed while they were in Middle-earth - the Daily Prophet was controlled by Voldemort, so they'd cancelled their subscription. So far, nothing interesting had caught his eye.
"Hey," Evey said when she entered the room. Tony looked up, smiling, but Evey was eyeing his phone and biting her lip. Her hair was still a mess, but at least it was clean. Her lips were redder than usual, probably from too much kissing, which was not something he wanted to think about right then. "Did you…um, were you calling…" Now she was wringing her hands and shuffling her feet in obvious agitation.
"I was trying to reach Mo, but I guess she's at work." He shrugged to emphasise how little it mattered to him whether his girlfriend cared about his well-being or not. It was not like they hadn't seen each other in five months or anything like that.
Evey sighed heavily, then sat down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "We need to talk."
"I'm not going to like this, am I?" he asked resignedly.
Evey shook her head. "No, I daresay you won't." She cleared her throat. "A week or so after you left, I was already pretty much spiralling into madness…according to Ted, anyway. I was so worried about you, I completely forgot that there were other people alive out there in the world. Then one day a Patronus in the shape of a mole appeared in the kitchen. It was Morgana, enquiring about you. I had no idea what you'd told her about what you were doing and where you were going, so I sent back a Patronus message explaining that I'd had no contact with you, but that I was certain you'd be back in a few days." She scoffed. "I was the opposite of certain, but what was I supposed to tell her? That you were being detained by Elves, or perhaps dead?"
"No…?" Tony said hesitantly, not knowing if the question was rhetorical or not.
"That's what I thought," Evey said absent-mindedly. "Anyway, I sent the message, and then I went right back to worrying and moping around…as Alice would put it. I forgot about Morgana, even about the war and Harry. I was seriously mad at Walden for refusing to tell me exactly where the portal was…"
In hindsight, that had been a good idea on Walden's part. Neither of them could have expected to be gone for so long, but if Evey had decided to go look for them regardless of consequences, the portal might have obliterated her.
"I didn't know what to do. I tried to find clues in the books Walden had left on the desk in the library, but there's no mention of the portal at all. Ted would have happily jumped through it for me, but we were stuck here." She exhaled slowly. "But I digress. A month or so after she sent her Patronus, Morgana paid us a visit."
"Here?" Tony asked in surprise. He'd insisted that she was not allowed to visit under any circumstances. It wasn't that he didn't trust Morgana; it was for her own safety. She could have run into a Death Eater or, Merlin forbid, into Greyback.
Evey nodded. "I was lying half-dead on the bed, depressed as hell, when Ted knocked on the door, saying we had company. At first I assumed he meant Scabior, but then he described Morgana. I have to admit, I felt really guilty. I had entirely forgotten about her, and I never bothered to…well, I had no news to give her, but…I don't know. Anyway, I felt bad, so I joined her at the front gate and removed the wards to let her in."
So Morgana had made it safely into the estate. Then why was Evey looking so perturbed? Merlin, he had a bad feeling about this.
"She looked like she'd been crying, so I made us some tea and I awkwardly explained that I had no idea where you were or when you would return. Although by then I'd already decided that you were dead and that I would be next," she went on conversationally. "I tried to comfort her as best I could, but you know me: that's not exactly my strong suit." That was a euphemism. "I assured her that you were not avoiding her, that you were really gone, but she still seemed quite upset. As though it were somehow her fault that you'd disappeared. I felt horrible, and I was about to offer her a room to spend a few nights here, so she wouldn't be alone, but then Caraid came into the living room and told me that there was something that required my attention in the kitchen."
Evey shifted uncomfortably on the couch. Apparently, they were reaching the part of the story that she was least looking forward to telling him. "Ted was waiting there with Alice. They told me that they'd been listening in, which I'd expected, but Ted said that Morgana smelled…um, how did he put it?" She thought it over for a moment. "Phony. Yeah. Like she was…pretending to be sad or something. I said he was being ridiculous, but Alice agreed with him. So I said fine, I'll tell her to leave, but they had other plans." She carefully averted her gaze. "Alice wanted me to put Veritaserum in Morgana's tea. She wanted to find out why she was really here."
By then, Tony had already accepted one of two things: either Morgana was dead, or she was alive but their relationship was dead. He steeled himself for the big revelation.
"I debated for a moment, telling them that they were being paranoid," Evey went on, "but they were two against one, so I didn't have much choice in the end. I hid the vial in my sleeve, and while Morgana was crying – or faking it – I spiked her tea." Her cheeks bloomed a bright crimson, like she'd committed an abominable crime. Well, technically it could be considered a crime, Tony supposed, but it wasn't like she'd poisoned Morgana and killed her. Hopefully. Could people be allergic to Veritaserum?
"I kept on talking," Evey continued, "and I began asking a few questions. I couldn't think of a reason why Morgana was playacting, so it was fairly awkward. In my mind, she couldn't possibly be working for You-Know-Who, so I mentioned Greyback and his Snatchers instead."
Snatchers? Tony frowned, but Evey didn't notice. She kept on talking obliviously, as if she wanted to get it all off her chest in a hurry.
"But I'm about as subtle as I am comforting, so Morgana quickly realised that something was off. And that's when I understood that Ted and Alice were right." She took a deep breath. "The moment she realised what I was doing, Morgana stopped crying. Her face turned stony, and there was a creepy glimmer in her eyes. That lasted for about two seconds, and then she threw herself at me."
Bloody hell. He'd expected something bad, but this… Morgana had attacked Evey? Why? Gods, he hoped it wasn't out of jealousy. Had Morgana somehow figured out that Tony was in love with Evey? Was she trying to get rid of a potential rival?
Evey chuckled nervously. "I mean, she didn't even bother with her wand, which was right beside her. She just…reached out for my throat, trying to strangle me, and I was so shocked by that unexpected development that I let her do it. It couldn't have lasted more than five seconds, though, because before I even realised that I couldn't breathe, Alice had launched herself at Morgana, and Ted was helping me up."
"I'm so sorry," Tony murmured. "I just…I'm confused. Why would she do that?"
Evey smiled thinly. "We were all wondering the same thing. I was afraid that Alice would kill Morgana on the spot, but thankfully she merely restrained her. We tied her up, and then Alice poured the rest of the Veritaserum in Morgana's cup of tea and force-fed it to her. I asked her if she was working for You-Know-Who, no matter how laughable it may seem – considering the situation, I wasn't about to disregard the possibility – but she said no. When I asked about Greyback, she replied that she'd never even met him. Then Alice took over the interrogation and asked the right question: 'Who sent you?'" Evey furtively glanced at Tony.
For some unfathomable reason, the first answer that came to him was that Jeanne had, somehow, at some point, hired Morgana to keep an eye on him, and perhaps even commanded her to get rid of Evey, the monstrous hybrid, if she ever got the chance. Even dead, his maker was making his life a living hell.
Well, he wasn't completely wrong. The person responsible was indeed an Ancient.
"The Lady Catalina, she told us," Evey continued. "You should have seen her face when she said her name. It was like she was in a trance, like she'd downed a cauldron-full of Amortentia. Alice hissed like a cat at the name, of course, and she slapped Morgana so hard that I was afraid her neck would snap. She accused her of lying, but I gently pointed out the Veritaserum. At first Alice insisted that she must have messed up the recipe, but Ted argued that there was no way Morgana, a mere human witch, would know Catalina's name if she'd never met her."
The Knut dropped in Tony's mind then. The bite marks on Morgana's neck that he didn't remember giving her, her almost-supernatural stamina and strength…
"She was a thrall," he whispered. "Merlin, she was Cat's blood slave all along." He shuddered at the thought. Thralls were usually more than a source of nourishment – their owner liked to keep them around to satisfy their sexual needs as well.
It was impossible for him to vomit, but he felt nauseous all the same.
"Yeah," Evey said, nibbling at her lip. It was bleeding, but she paid it no attention. The skin healed itself almost as soon as her teeth attacked it. "Catalina…hired her soon after I was introduced to the…family. Morgana bided her time as the temporary Warden until we finally left the estate for Dumbledore's funeral." She patted his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Tony. I don't know what to say."
"Well, there's nothing to say, and there's nothing for you to be sorry about. If anything, I should be the one who apologises. I mean, my girlfriend tried to kill you…" Now he felt dizzy. Merlin, the very idea… If not for Ted and Alice, Tony would have been partly responsible for Evey's death. How could he have been so blind, so bloody stupid? Of course Morgana wasn't interested in him. She was using him to get to Evey. They'd dismissed any mistrust they might have toward her because of her history with Voldemort, but it had never occurred to him that she might be someone else's pawn…
"It's not your fault, Tony," Evey said quickly. "It's nobody's fault, really. Who could have predicted something like that? But gods, Alice was furious when we finally convinced her that Morgana wasn't lying. I was more terrified of her than of Morgana. Even Ted was careful around her."
"What happened afterwards? What did you…do to her?"
"Oh, nothing. I mean, we were all pretty shaken, but it was clear that Morgana was under Catalina's spell. She wasn't entirely aware of her actions, at least I hope she wasn't. Not that it matters. Anyway. We debated for a long time, trying to decide what to do with her, but eventually Alice said that the Bloodmother should be the judge. We had to contact her in any case, to denounce Catalina. We arranged a meeting, just the four of us, plus Morgana, and the Mother…" Evey laughed unsteadily. "I thought Alice was terrifying, but you should have seen her…" She shivered ostensibly. "I thought she was going to explode with rage, I swear."
No wonder. Things just kept piling up, didn't they? First they'd lost Jeanne, then the Mother had been forced to request the assistance of the Wolves' leader, whom she loathed, and now she'd found out that one of her children had gone behind her back to hire an assassin to murder a member of their "family".
"The Mother made us bring the cage to the place where she's currently residing," Evey continued. "She's just outside of Edinburgh, in a cute little cottage. We moved the cage to the old barn, and then the Mother summoned Catalina. She asked us to leave while she 'sorted things out' with her. It took about an hour, and afterward she commanded Alice and Ted to place Catalina under arrest and to lock her up in the cage. Then she summoned Cleopatra and Elizabeth, because apparently they were all in on it, and they had their own would-be-assassin thralls. They suffered the same fate."
"So…they're all in the cage? My cage? The four of them, and their thralls?" He'd made it large enough that it could hold a transformed Wolf, but still, it wasn't that big.
"No, only the Ancients. They've been sentenced to an indefinite stay in the barn." Evey sounded satisfied with that decision. "Morgana and the other two thralls were sent to St Mungo for vampire detox, but we're not sure if they'll recover. The Mother said that thralls who have tasted Ancient blood never come back from it. When they're forced to quit cold turkey, they usually refuse to eat or drink anything and eventually starve or die of dehydration." She shot Tony an apologetic look. "But I'm sure that the Healers know what they're doing," she added lamely.
In truth, Tony couldn't care less about Morgana's hypothetical recovery. He didn't want to ever see her again. If he did, he wasn't sure what he would do. She'd tried to kill his Evey; he could never forgive her for that, no matter her extenuating circumstances.
"Anything else I should know about?" he asked derisively. "Did anyone else betray us lately?"
There was a pause. "No, nothing else in the betrayal department," Evey said slowly. She blushed unexpectedly. "Although, um… Well, I met Malkoran," she mumbled. "But don't tell Walden about it."
Malkoran, the infamous Alpha? "Why can't I tell Walden about it? And when did you-"
"He's very good-looking," Evey blurted out. "Walden is going to hate him on sight, you can be sure of it."
Tony narrowed his eyes. "You didn't… V, you didn't cheat on Walden, did you?"
"Are you out of your mind? I would never do that!" she exclaimed indignantly. "In any case," she went on in a barely audible whisper, "it wouldn't have been cheating. I thought Walden was dead."
Huh. "Then why must we keep it a secret?" And why the hell was she telling him about it?
"Because it's not worth mentioning! Honestly. I just thought…" She shook her head. "Ted was making a fuss about it, playing matchmakers, and even Alice joined in the fun…and then Gorgo and Imhotep… I just wanted to be clear that nothing happened and I nipped it in the bud. Besides, Mal's obviously in love with the Bloodmother, so there's that."
Mal? Evey's blush intensified. Had she considered dating Malkoran? Tony wouldn't expect Evey to remain faithful to Walden after he met his true death (or if she thought him dead), but still…they'd only been gone for five months. It wasn't that long. There should be a mourning period of at least a year, shouldn't there?
Or a decade.
And besides…well, if Walden was really going to die before both Tony and Evey, Tony wanted to be the one she considered dating next, not some random hunk who was older than the invention of writing.
"Alright, I promise I won't tell Walden," he said. Merlin, that was a lot of secrets to keep from his brother. Evey's possible immortality, Hades's visit, and now Malkoran's…good-looking-ness. Not to mention Tony's unrequited love for Evey, which had not magically evaporated in the five days since he'd last seen her. And the Morgana incident was not going to help in that regard.
Ugh. He should have stayed in Middle-earth.
"You can't trust an enchanted piece of parchment to deliver the message," Ted insisted. "It should be delivered in person."
"There is no fucking way I'm sending Tony or Walden back just to make sure that the Elves get the message, Ted," Evey growled. She'd been picking at a blueberry scone for twenty minutes, but now she discarded it entirely. Apparently, her appetite had no returned with her husband.
"Of course not, silly. I'll go."
She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "We've talked about this. You can't-"
Ted waved away her protest. "The portal won't harm me," he said confidently. He went on quickly when Evey opened her mouth to argue. "Look, doll, it's been nice staying here, but I am bored out of my mind," he confessed. "I wouldn't consider leaving when you were all sad and depressed and smelly and slowly wasting away," – Evey glared at him – "but your family's home now. We've dealt with one very serious threat, and Tony knows how to build another cage to hold Greyback. We have no idea what to do to help the Chosen One, and I'm the least likely to come up with something useful in any case. You don't need me. I, however, badly need a vacation. Please let me do this."
It was the second day since Tony and Walden had miraculously returned from Middle-earth, bearing very mitigated news. The Elves had promised to give them an answer within a fortnight, but whatever they decided, Earth wouldn't receive their answer for a year or longer, thanks to the time gap between the two worlds. By then, for better or for worse, the war would most likely be over. Which was why Ted had emitted the idea of warning the Elves not only that their aid was no longer required, but also that there was a serious problem with their portal. For all Walden and Tony had heard during their brief stay on the other side, the Elves were not aware of the time warp. In their minds, Tolkien had betrayed them just a year ago, when in fact two generations of humans had gone by since it had happened and Tolkien was now dead besides.
Evey sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I've probably been…quite aggravating and difficult to live with these past five months."
Well, not so much difficult as lifeless, in truth. When she was her normal self, Evey was quite chatty and fun, always willing to go on an adventure and try something new, but she'd been a dull ghost for at least four months. Before that, she'd been like a near-hysterical, sleepless zombie on crack. So yeah, it'd been far from enjoyable, but Ted felt responsible for her. After all, Walden had left him personally in charge of keeping an eye on her. The man would have tried to kill him if anything had happened to Evey.
"You're free to do whatever you want, of course," Evey went on in a reasonable tone. "I'm not your keeper. I'm just…worried."
"You worry too much, kiddo. It's bad for your health. Look, how about this? The moment I land on the other side, I'll send a piece of paper the other way to let you know I made it safely across, alright? Tony will accompany me to the portal, so he can retrieve the message. I'll keep you posted if anything important happens. And I'll return as soon as I can." Well…if Middle-earth was as Tony had described it, he might stay a bit longer, in truth… But he would definitely tell Evey about it if he decided to extend his vacation.
Evey nodded uncertainly. "I guess…I mean, if you really want to go that badly…" She exhaled sharply. "Fine. But if I don't receive that piece of paper right away, I'll send Alice after you, and believe me, you won't like that."
Ted doubted that the Ancient woman would agree to go look for him, but he decided to humour the girl. He gave her his brightest grin. "You've got yourself a deal, milady."