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We’d been keeping an eye on Martin for him, as much as we didn’t like the thought. We kept him out back, in a shed. I wondered just how much Wilbur understood that Martin—the Martin he knew—was long gone and that the ghoul left in his place had very little to do with his brother.
“Are you sure you want to do this? Wilbur’s not exactly pleasant company. ” I held Marion’s gaze, and she smiled softly.
“You forget. I brought up three children. I serve people for a living. I need to be nurturing someone. Wilbur may be a pill, but I think we can manage him just fine. ” She leaned back. “I’m antsy. I’m used to running a café. ”
“What does Douglas say about it?” I somehow couldn’t imagine her husband enjoying the thought of putting up with Wilbur and Martin on a full-time basis, even if it was just for a month or so.
“Douglas and I talked it over. He understands. ” She gave me a feral little smile, reminding me again of why coyote shifters were given a careful berth. Even those not part of the Koyanni tribe could be highly dangerous. Maybe they would get on with Wilbur.
I glanced at the clock. “I need to meet Ivana at the end of the driveway in a few minutes. I suppose Iris told you all what I’m doing. ”
“Yeah, she did. ” Delilah walked over to the window and pushed back the curtains. The will-o’-the-wisps were thick on the front porch. “We have to do something. Camille and Smoky aren’t back yet, and we have no idea if Aeval will even agree to help. Do what you have to. ”
“So you’ll back me up?” Delilah was the last person I’d expected to take my side, besides Iris.
She nodded, still staring out the window. “Chase is weak. The bhouts have invaded Seattle. Lindsey called again tonight—several of her coven mates have taken ill; they’re very weak. One guess as to what’s going on there. And we’ve got a fucking demon general out there who likes to play with ghosts. I’d strike a bargain with the devil herself if she could help us. ”
I nodded. “Everybody, stay inside. If anybody is going to make a deal with Ivana, let it be me. I’ve dealt with her before. And better one of us be beholden to her than all. ” As I headed toward the door, I turned back. “Nerissa, you’re staying here tonight. I don’t care how much you like your condo. It’s just too dangerous. ” And without waiting for her answer, I headed out the door.
Ivana was waiting at the gate when I dragged the suckling pig down the drive. I swatted the will-o’-the-wisps away like flies. They couldn’t do much to me, but they were annoying, like fat fireflies on crack.
I didn’t like judging on looks, but Ivana really was hideous, phasing in and out, shifting form as she stabilized. Her face was wide near the eyes, narrowing to a sharp point at the chin. Her nose was tiny and snubbed, and her face was nearly flat, except for the gnarls that covered her skin—burls of skin and flesh that dotted her face. When she smiled, it was worse—needlepoint teeth gleamed through thin lips, and she looked quite capable of eating plenty of bright flesh, as she called it. Though she dressed like a bag lady, her clothes belied her stature and power, and I stopped a respectful distance from her.
“Ah, young vampyr…so, Dead Girl, do you have my suckling oinker? My tasty treat for an evening’s snack?” She smacked her lips and I shivered, revolted by the gleam in her eyes. Even when I was in my most predatory state, I didn’t think I had that much bloodlust in me.
“I have it. ” I dropped the bag on the ground and pointed to it. “So, can you remove all of these will-o’-the-wisps from the land?”
She craned her neck to peek up the drive. “Aye, there’s a fair lot of them but I can. ”
“Then a deal is struck. ” I held out my hand, dreading her touch. She clasped my fingers, and the tingle that raced through me was like a pure jolt of fresh blood. I gasped, shaking my head. “What was that?”
Ivana regarded me with a sly look. “I can make you feel, Dead Girl. I can make you believe you’re alive again. If you ever want more, just come to my door and ask. ” And with a heady laughter, she peeked in the sack. “Suckling, yes…an oinker for the Maiden of Karask. ” Then, all business, she added, “Back off, meat on the hoof. Let me do my work. Indoors with you. This will not be a pretty battle. ”
I nodded and jogged up the path. I wasn’t worried that she’d just take the pig and go. When the Elder Fae struck deals, they kept their end of the bargain.
As I swatted another swarm of the will-o’-the-wisps away, I heard a shriek—long and mournful—and looked back to see lights exploding as Ivana began to walk forward, her hand out as she poked the will-o’-the-wisps with her fingers and they dove into her staff with mournful wails.
I slammed the door behind me and hurried to the living room, where Delilah and Morio were pressed up to the windows, watching. Shade and Shamas were sitting next to Chase, who was bundled in an afghan. He weakly raised one hand. Iris and Hanna had taken the tea trays into the kitchen and were washing up, with Marion helping them. Trillian was reading a book; Vanzir and Roz were playing video games. Bruce was playing with Maggie and talking to Douglas. Nerissa was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’d Nessa go?” I didn’t often use my pet name for her in public, but it just slipped out.
“She’s in the parlor, sorting through the clothes she bought. I saw the gown she picked out,” Delilah added. “It’s so pretty. ”
I knew I should go in, should see what she’d found, but there was just too much going on to look at clothes. People were being hurt, we had a full-fledged invasion of the spooktacular kind, and I couldn’t drag my attention away to weddings and vows and celebrations.
I was about to ask if anybody needed anything from the kitchen when the air shimmered and Smoky appeared, Camille under his arm. They stepped out of the Ionyc Seas, Camille looking tired and spent.
Travel through the etheric seas wearied most living creatures except for dragons and those naturally acclimated to the in-between spaces of the world. But even as they appeared, there was another shimmer and I backed away, startled as a tall woman dressed in black and purple appeared. She was luminous, with hair as black as gleaming coal, and silvery eyes.
As Aeval turned to view the lot of us, she let out a soft laughter. “And so, we seem to have a problem with will-o’-the-wisps, do we?”
Aeval—the Queen of Night and Shadow—was one of the three Fae Queens ruling over the sovereign Fae nation, and Camille’s Mistress.
“What is this?” She turned toward me. “I smell the blood of Elder Fae. ”
“About that. Um…the Maiden of Karask is here. She’s outside, swallowing up the will-o’-the-wisps. ” I wasn’t afraid of much, but the Triple Threat happened to be three of the few exceptions.
Aeval stared at me with glittering eyes. “You foolish girl. Do you know what you’ve done?”
Just then, the door crashed open and Ivana was in the room. She stared at Aeval. “I thought I smelled the stench of the Night. Well met, Aeval. Well met. The last we clashed, I swore I’d kill you the next time we crossed paths. After I finish with my oath-bound task, I trust you’ll meet the match?”
But Ivana had forgotten to close the door, and the next moment, the will-o’-the-wisps came pouring through, filling the house. Chase and Marion screamed, and so did Iris, as we were invaded by the Corpse Candles.
Chapter 14
“Crap!” I scrambled over to Chase as the will-o’-the-wisps poured into the room. Iris, Hanna, and Marion were shouting from the kitchen, and Camille and Morio bolted their way, slamming the front door as they ran. Everybody was moving at once.
A flutter of wings and the whisper of siren songs, and Chase was up, unsteady on his feet, and moving toward a large cluster of the creatures. I tackled him, taking him to the ground. As we landed, I heard him groan. Great, I’d broken him, but it had kept him from heading into their midst. I just prayed that whatever I’d hurt wasn’t anything major.
Bruce was shoving through the clamor, trying to get to the kitchen. He darted through the mayhem, his size a plus in this instance, and I watched him go as I sat on Chase, trying to figure out what the fuck to do.
Delilah snarled from the corner. She’d transformed into her panther self and was snapping at the lights. She wasn’t getting very far, but I had to give it to her—my sister had grown a pair.
The next thing I knew, Ivana was hovering over me, popping will-o’-the-wisps right and left. Aeval was in the corner weaving some sort of spell that seemed to be causing havoc with the Corpse Candles near her. As I watched, a fork of lightning rippled out from her fingers, catching hold of one of the globes. It exploded in a puff of smoke as several lightning strikes emerged, finding their way to other will-o’-the-wisps, and like chain lightning, explosions rattled through the room. A wave of shrieks echoed as the will-o’-the-wisps vanished.
Ivana, not to be outdone, struck again and again, and between the Elder Fae and the Fae Queen, they began to clear the house. The pair, ignoring each other, exited the house, and we watched from the window as they dispatched the invasion.
“Chase, are you okay?” I helped him up, glancing around in case any of the globes had been hiding, but they all seemed to be gone.
“I think I sprained my thumb. My left one. ” He held out his hand and I grimaced as I watched the flesh swell and turn a lovely shade of black.
“Sorry, dude. Morio, can you take him to find Sharah? She can splint it. We’ve got plenty of medical supplies. ”
As Morio led Chase away, I worried about what would happen after Ivana and Aeval finished their mutual destruction of the will-o’-the-wisps, but before I could go out and check on them—taking care not to get in the middle of their obvious spat—Vanzir stopped me.
“Let them hash it out. Don’t get in the middle. ”
Thinking about the way they’d greeted one another, I decided to take his advice. “You’re probably right. ” I brushed a thin layer of dust off his shoulders, then realized it was covering everything in the room. It seemed the will-o’-the-wisps left something in the way of remains, after all.
“Great, just what I needed. Faerie dust. ”
Just then Camille herded Iris, Hanna, Douglas, and Marion in. They looked no worse for the wear.
She motioned to me. “Come on, Delilah…Menolly. We’d better get out there and prevent the pair from killing each other. ” As we headed for the door, she hissed at me. “What the fuck were you thinking? You knew I was going after Aeval. Don’t you remember the tales Father used to tell us about the feuds between the Fae Lords and the Elder Fae?”
“Apparently not. ” And truth was, I hadn’t. But now that she mentioned it, a vague memory of the stories—and horrific tales they were—filtered back. Enough so that I bolted for the door. “Let’s go!”
As we headed onto the lawn, the clouds broke and the moon bathed the yard in her light. Camille paused, looking up at the silver crescent, soaking in the energy. I tapped her on the shoulder, and she nodded and took off again, following Delilah and me into the backyard, where Iris’s trailer sat stark against the darkness.
Aeval and Ivana were standing there, and the yard was empty of will-o’-the-wisps. They were staring at each other, hostility oozing off them like the smell of rotten eggs.
“So, you have truck with the Elder Fae?” Aeval turned to Camille, her voice accusing. I had the feeling my sister was going to be in serious trouble for my decision, so I stepped up.
“No. Not Camille. This was all my decision. We needed help and I went to the only place I could think of. ” I glanced at Ivana. “Both of you, we owe you a de—” I stopped. I could not use the word debt around either one of them. So not a good idea. Even the word owe was a mistake. “We thank you both for your help. ”
Ivana laughed. “Dead Girl, you know your lore but not as much as you should. ” She turned to Aeval. “And so, the Night and the Morning have set up their courts again and now gird themselves with the mantle of Dusk. To what season will she rule? Neither Summer nor Winter—those are in the keep of you and Titania. But the other…She is not truly Fae. Not full-blood. You make a grave mistake and you know it. ”
Aeval regarded Ivana closely. “We are returned, yes. The Fae Queens rise again and we will surpass our former glory. We build an empire. The Dusk…she serves a purpose, for now. And so we are the Court of the Three Queens. And Camille studies with us, bridging Otherworld back to Earthside. ” She turned to my sister. “You are the hope of the future, in our Courts. ”
The Elder Fae let out a long sigh. “There is no hope for the future. The old days are long past. The humans and mortals have razed our groves, have ceased to pay us homage. They no longer fear us. ”
With a laugh, Aeval shook her head. “They would fear you, Maiden of Karask, if they knew you truly existed. The day will come when they will know our power once again. But a great shadow looms, and first we must dispatch the danger. I shall not kill you this day, Elder Fae. Instead, I tell you this: Go to your brethren and warn them to gird themselves for war. For war is coming, and whether it be in this world or in Otherworld, if we choose to face the future, we must all battle against the darkness that would shroud it in fire. ”
Ivana regarded her silently, and I had a feeling that the two powers were speaking in silence.
After a moment, Ivana inclined her head. “Let our personal battle be at a truce for now. ” She turned to me. “Dead Girl, there is much you have kept from me. Though I will never forgive you for depriving me of my bright flesh, I am here, at your service, for deals when you need them. If your ghosties keep you awake in the night, you know my number. ”