de Gas-connes. Michel took Madame Sange and a sizable security team to extract him.”
“Michel…left? ” Izzy asked, her eyes widening. Abandoned her, her mother and Jean-Marc after a direct assault?
Louise’s expression was shuttered. Izzy couldn’t read her tone of voice, either, as she said, “It was a hard decision, madame. Michel wanted to survey the situation firsthand. If we can prove that the Malchances engineered the attack and the kidnapping, the Grand Covenate will have no choice but to punish them.”
Izzy didn’t know what to make of that. She had been going on the assumption that most members of the Bouvard family distrusted the Grand Covenate, the governing body of all the Gifted families, clans and tribes. She knew that the last time the Grand Covenate had intervened, Jean-Marc, who was a member of the House of the Shadows, was selected to act as the regent of the House of the Flames. The choice of an outsider from a different family caused a great deal of resentment. The fact that Michel hadn’t contacted the Grand Covenate immediately after the attack bolstered her opinion that he would prefer not to deal with them at all.
She asked, “How many people know what happened to me? That I’ve been unconscious?”
“Very few. Michel ordered strict need-to-know,” Louise informed her. She added, before Izzy could ask, “Your mother’s condition is unchanged. The regent is out of surgery and the doctor is cautiously optimistic.”
Izzy reeled with relief. Oh, thank you, Patroness. Oh, my dear God, thank you.
“Is the regent conscious?” Izzy asked. She needed to see him, to touch him, to be sure that it was true. She needed to hear his voice. See those dark eyes flecked with gold.
“No, and we’re keeping that under wraps as well,” Louise told her. “We’ve got our best guarding him and your mother both.” She lifted her chin. “I’ve been assigned to you.”
“Good,” Izzy said. “Thank you.” She spied the nightstand beside the bed and, on impulse, slid open the top drawer. Her gris-gris lay coiled inside. Pleased, she draped it over her shoulders. She could feel its enfolding warmth. She decided to take it to Jean-Marc.
Izzy glanced at a large ebony clock on the mantel. It was exactly twelve.
She pointed to the clock. “Is that noon or midnight?”
“Midnight,” Louise told her.
Izzy was shocked. She’d been out for an entire day.
She rubbed her forehead as pain blossomed behind her eyes. Then a sudden, sharp image hit her—cattails and cypress trees, the bayou—she saw it all. Remembered it all.
“Madame?” Louise said, instantly on alert.
The pain intensified. Izzy rasped out, “Alain de Devereaux isn’t in a building. He’s in the bayou. You need to let Michel know. He’s searching in the wrong place.”
Louise scrutinized Izzy, cocking her head. “Meaning no disrespect, madame, but D’Artagnon assisted with the reading. He’s the best we have.”
“Have him recheck,” Izzy said.
Louise shook her head. “The remains were destroyed during the first reading.”
“I know he’s not there,” Izzy insisted. “You have to contact Michel immediately.”
Louise shook her head. “His team is on silent running. So are the other search parties. They’re so heavily warded we can’t even contact them telepathically.”
“Then you have to go to Michel,” Izzy said. She rethought. That would waste time. “I need to accompany a team into the bayou. I’m the one who can lead them to him.”
Louise demurred. “Please, don’t even think of that. Michel gave strict orders that you were to rest.”
“Michel’s not here. He doesn’t know what I know. No one does.” Izzy threw her legs over the side of the bed and got to her feet.
Izzy said, “I’m in command here. We need to rescue Alain de Devereaux now .”
Izzy could practically see the wheels turning in the agent’s brain. She raised her hand to brush errant tendrils of hair from her forehead, feeling more warmth against her skin as her headache lessened. Her palm was glowing; white heat pulsated in the center of her flame-shaped scar. On impulse, she showed it to Louise.
“Remember, I carry the sign of the House of the Flames,” she said. She touched the ring. “And Michel himself handed over the ring. I need to make my orders stick, or there’s no point.”
Louise appeared to be thinking this over. Ice-water fingers crept down Izzy’s backbone as she wondered if she and Louise were facing off. If she was about to find out what her true status was after all.
Louise made her decision, squaring her shoulders and setting her jaw, saying stiffly, “As you wish, ma Guardienne . I’ll go with you.”
I am not the guardienne yet, Izzy wanted to say. But this most definitely was not the time to remind the agent of that.
She said, “Good. First I’ll go see Jean—”
Go now , said the voice. Or it will be too late .
She paused. Every part of her wanted to check on Jean-Marc first. But she knew she had to listen to the voice.
“What, madame?” Louise asked.
“Never mind. Where’s my gun?”
Louise hesitated, then reached inside her jacket and lifted Izzy’s Medusa out of her own holster.
“I took possession when you lost consciousness,” she said. “You have five .9 mm cartridges left. I’ll get you some more ammo.”
“Thank you,” Izzy said. “Now, we need a plan to rescue Alain without causing more havoc here in the mansion.”
“D’accord, ” Louise said. “Let’s work one out.”
It was a good one, given the short notice. One thing about growing up in the NYPD was that you learned that operations were far messier and more ad hoc than they were characterized in TV and the movies. Improvisation and crossed fingers comprised about fifty percent of a cop’s bag of tricks. So they had to leave a lot of holes that they would fill in as their mission got underway. It was the nature of the beast, and Izzy was good with that.
“Okay. Let’s go with what we have,” Izzy told her.
Louise half opened the door and peered out. “The Femmes Blanches are milling around out there.”
Izzy walked to the door and opened it. Veiled faces turned in her direction. Annette, who had been sitting in an ivory brocade chair beside a white marble statue of Jehanne, rose to her feet.
“Thank you for seeing to me,” Izzy told them. “I’m very grateful to you, and I’m all better now. Please resume your normal routine.”
Annette frowned. “You are our normal routine.”
