Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey Page A

Carolyn?”
    “He
is
the ambassador’s son,” Carolyn protested, pouting
prettily, in a way that Alison approved. “And you
know
Mama has
been busy, and you
know
we’ve been hearing rumors in the hotel!
I thought I ought to find out at first hand!”
    “And
it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s tall, and blue-eyed, and
looks like—” Lauralee muttered, sullenly.
    “And
don’t allow jealousy to show, Lauralee,” Alison reproved absently.
“It gives one jowls. What did the young man tell you, Carolyn?”
    “That
the President will
certainly
enter the war next month!” Carolyn
said in triumph. “He’s going home to enlist! So are most of the
young men on the embassy staff!”
    Alison’s
lips tightened. This was no part of her plans. At the moment, the war was at a
stalemate—both sides were worn out and weary, and the conflict might well
drag on for years, which was very good news for the Earth Elementals that
she
favored, and for her plans concerning Reggie Fenyx. For the latter, she planned
more fear—her Elemental creatures making his life a never-ending round of
attacks of terror—until the one girl who could drive them away appeared
in his life. At which point, he would probably marry her on the spot. Or at
least be willing to.
    But
to complete the plan, she would need time. Time for the boy to heal physically
enough to be sent home on recovery leave. Time for Lord Alderscroft’s
introduction to bear fruit. Time for her spells to work, time for
Carolyn—or Lauralee—to be the answer to his prayers, time for him
to propose and for a proper society wedding. And then more time, for she did
not intend for him to survive the war, and he would have to recover from his
shellshock and go back to the Air Corps, and if the Yanks entered the
War—
    America
was full of brash young men who were perfectly willing to fling themselves into
combat. America was wealthy; within months she could turn her factories from
making frying pans into making cannon and machine-guns. And America had
immense, untapped resources on her own soil; she did
not
depend on
ships to bring those resources to the factories. If America entered the war, it
could be over within a year.
    Unless—
    She
couldn’t
stop
them. But she could add a new enemy to the
equation… one that should add to the attrition in the trenches, and slow
the number of troops coming over.
    “Carolyn,
dear, I believe that we ought to hold a little farewell dinner for all those
fine young men at the embassy,” she said, in a tone that made
Carolyn’s eyes narrow. “We ought to thank them for being
so
willing to serve. Invite them to a little supper tomorrow night.”
    Lauralee
also caught the scent of something in the air. “Mama—” she
began, then shook her head. “Come along, Carolyn. Let’s go write
invitations. I think there are six or seven of them, including the
ambassador’s son, Mama.”
    “When
you are finished writing the invitations, make the supper arrangements with the
Savoy chef,” Alison replied, already unpacking what she needed from her
trunk. “You should know what to do already.”
    “Yes,
Mama,” her daughters chorused, and Alison smiled with content.
Well-trained and obedient, everything a mother could ask for.
    By
the time that all the arrangements were complete, and the invitations sent to
the embassy by messenger, Alison was ready. Her implements—deceptively
simple ones—were set out on the thick silk cloth that she used as her
portable Working table. It already had the runes and circles of containment embroidered
into it, dyed with blood—hers, and others. She spread it out over the
table they used when they dined en-suite, summoned the girls, doused the
electric lights, and lit the candles she had unpacked.
    “This
may be one of the most underrated incantations in our arsenal, girls,”
she said, as the two of them moved closer to stand on either side of her.
“And yet, it requires surprisingly little power,