With the help of the knowledge imparted by the glaistig, we had identified the major problems to taking down the each uisge. The first obstacle was being able to differentiate between one piece of seaweed amidst hundreds. Kaye had found the solution to this with her magic.
Using the channeled power of the huge magic circle, Kaye cast a spell that made the each uisges’ magic seaweed glow. Runners were already dispatching messages to the city vampires, the carnival fae, and Hunters already out in the field.
Score one for the home team.
Kaye had laughed at my suggestion to use pookas to aid us in stealing the magic seaweed. But it was a throaty laugh filled with hope. If we were guys, and I wasn’t touch-phobic, we probably would have chest bumped. Instead, we settled for an exchange of happy smiles.
After borrowing clipboard girl’s phone, I placed calls to Jinx and Hob. Both were holding down their respective forts and relieved to hear that Kaye and I were safe. I asked them to stay put and told them about the glowing seaweed. If the each uisge made it that far into the city, knowing how to disarm them would be their only chance at survival.
I returned the phone to its owner and checked my pocket for Mrs. Hasting’s spare house key. The warm metal was there, my ticket into the klepto faeries’ lair. With one last look at Kaye, wrapped in blue and purple magic, I pushed out through the barrier and into the night.
The air was filled with screams.
War cries mingled with the pained shrieks of the dying as the sounds of battle echoed across the bay. I covered my ears, but continued to look out across the harbor as I began my run along the waterfront.
Ink black water churned beneath the night sky as each uisge and merrow continued to fight. Here and there, each uisge glowed where Kaye’s magic targeted every special piece of seaweed. But the battle was far from over, and too many had already lost their lives. Lapping waves were already carrying the bodies of the dead to the shore. It was a relief to turn up Wharf Street and leave the sights and sounds of battle behind.
Chapter 24
After I had run three blocks from the waterfront, I started seeing signs of human life again. A curtain twitch here, a face in the window there, but the streets remained empty. With no pedestrian or vehicular traffic to avoid, I made good time.
When I arrived at Mrs. Hasting’s house, the windows were dark. She would be at her sister’s now, possibly hearing reports of a hurricane on the news and feeling thankful that she had left the city. I stole a look inside, just to be sure. Nobody was home, except the pookas.
I slid the key in the lock, turned the knob, and quietly slipped inside. My eyes adjusted easily to the dim light. Jinx was always lecturing me to eat my veggies, and saying how carrots will help my night vision. I was becoming a health food convert. My night vision had never been poor, but it was improving rapidly lately. It had to be the carrots.
This time though, I wished that my vision hadn’t improved, since, speaking of carrots, hundreds of small bodies were humping like bunnies. Pookas filled the room, engaging in every eye-gouging form of debauchery. There were copulating pookas swinging from the curtains, dancing on the coffee table, and hanging from light fixtures. There was also an orgy taking place on the doily covered sofa. The pookas were obviously enjoying themselves. Apparently, stealing wasn’t their only favored form of pastime.
Pookas are small faeries that stand at about two feet tall, from bare foot to pointy hat, but the ones in Mrs. Hasting’s living room weren’t just standing there waiting to be measured. And many had foregone the traditional pointy hat for one that resembled a rubber nipple. Who knew that glow-in-the-dark condoms could make such colorful party hats?
At least their affinity for glowing things was confirmed. Now I just had to convince them to abandon their orgy for a night of seaweed stealing.
I sighed and rubbed my face. I cleared my throat loudly, but the tiny faeries hadn’t noticed my arrival. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my secret weapon. I was going to need it.
Before leaving the encampment, Kaye had asked one of the Hunters to retrieve one of the glowing pieces of seaweed. The red haired sentinel had been more than happy to oblige. She had returned quickly with one.
After showing the seaweed to the Hunters at the camp, so that they would know what to target in the upcoming fight, Kaye placed it inside a clear Ziploc bag and handed it over to me. I had protested—even wearing gloves and with the seaweed sealed in its container, I didn’t want to handle something that had belonged to an each uisge. With a wink, that made her resemble the feisty Kaye that I was used to, she remarked that I’d need something to entice the pookas with. I couldn’t really argue with that.
Now I was glad to have the pooka bait. I pulled the sealed bag from my pocket, gingerly holding the corner of the bag with gloved fingers. My skin crawled, as if trying to run away from the magic seaweed. I felt dirty, just being in the presence of the thing.
The green eldritch glow of Kaye’s magic shone brightly in the dark room, casting eerie silhouettes of gyrating pookas on the floral wallpaper. They didn’t continue their amorous dance for long. Slowly, at least to one who has to suffer with the image, each pooka stopped what he or she was doing and turned to stand with rapt faces beneath the glow of seaweed in my hand. Most stood with wide eyes and small hands involuntarily grasping at the air.
I finally had their attention.
“Do you like the glowing thing?” I asked. “There are lots more down in the bay. If you help us steal the glowing seaweed, we will give you an entire pooka house that glows.”
That was too much for their tiny minds. They all started talking at once, their excited high-pitched voices sounding like a field of cicadas on a hot summer day.
The pooka house was an afterthought. There was an old tree house behind my parents’ home just outside of the city. No one used it anymore, not since I was a child there playing hide and seek with fireflies. I was sure that Kaye would cast her spell one more time to make the interior of the tree house glow. If not, I’d buy glow-in-the-dark paint. The pookas would be happy with their reward, and Mrs. Hastings would have her home and her sanity back.
I put the bag of seaweed back in my pocket. Covering my ears, I waited. The voices died down to a low thrum and a little man, wearing a loin cloth that suspiciously resembled one of Mrs. Hasting’s crocheted doilies and a glowing red condom for a hat, stepped forward. He narrowed his eyes and looked me over from head to toe.
“Why should we bargain with one of The Bigs?” he asked.
His voice had a funny nasal quality, but he spoke perfect English. That was a relief. I assumed that by The Bigs, he meant humans.
“Well, stealing the seaweed would be fun, right?” I asked.
Every pooka, except the leader who had spoken, was nodding their head.
“Maybe,” he said, crossing arms over his bare chest.
“And the reward is really awesome,” I said. “Every pooka will be envious of your pack’s glowing home.”
All of the pookas nodded their heads faster while grinning from ear to ear.
“But you are right,” I said. “There is a catch.”
The pookas sighed sadly. The little man spat and shook his fist at me.
“I knew one of The Bigs wouldn’t play fair,” he said. “What is this catch?”
“You will have to steal the glowing seaweed from vicious each uisge,” I said.
One by one, every pooka smiled a shark-like grin. Tiny hands fist pumped the air, slapped backs, or rubbed together in glee. Even their curmudgeonly leader was pleased.
“Well, we could use a new house,” he said, looking around the old woman’s home. “This one here is boring. I suppose we could help.”
“Then it’s a deal?” I asked.
“Deal,” he said. “We do love a challenge.”
That was what I had been counting on. Pookas are like little part ninja, part cat burglar, adrenaline junkies. They thrive on the thrill of an impossible
heist. By waiting to mention the danger involved, I had left the best for last.
Chapter 25
The waterfront was chaos.
Each uisge had begun assailing the boardwalk and pier when I arrived. They had finally broken through the ranks of merrow in the bay and were climbing rapidly out of the water like spiders intent on a particularly juicy fly. The each uisge were so frenzied from battle, and the promise of more bloodletting, that they didn’t seem to notice that their magic pieces of seaweed had begun to glow.
Perhaps they didn’t care, yet. In the water, once they had taken control of the kelpie king, the each uisge were the top predator. It would probably take something really impressive to make the each uisge balk. So far, only a handful of each uisge had learned the dangers of the magic glow. Too bad those individuals were unable to tell their friends. The each uisge were in for a nasty surprise.
Kaye, and her circle of magic users, continued to throw magic at the waterfront. Tendrils of power lashed out at the each uisge, continuing to mark the location of every piece of magic seaweed. Each monster’s Achilles heel was lit up with a ball of green light, an easy target against the night sky and the ink black water of the bay.
Pookas were zipping back and forth carrying glowing pieces of seaweed. Some were shapeshifted into birds or river rats while others flit about naked except for a glow-in-the-dark condom on their head, but every single one managed to steal a piece of seaweed and bring it to the Hunters. As soon as a Pooka reached the shore, they’d drop the seaweed at the feet of the nearest hunter and race back for more.
Hunters grabbed up the seaweed to hang glowing from pockets, belts, and bandoliers. So long as the seaweed remained in their possession, the each uisge owner could not continue to fight. The immobilized each uisge were considered prisoners of war, to be dealt with later. Hunters strode past them to fight the each uisge who continued to flood the waterfront.
Kaye, and the casting circle, had magically forced human civilians away from the bay, to within three blocks of the waterfront. The Hunters were charged with keeping the each uisge contained within that area. A human encounter with an each uisge was something that none of us wanted. But even the mighty Hunters couldn’t stop every one of the beasts.
Vampires raced like living shadows to hunt down any each uisge that crossed the line into the city. As yet, no each uisge had made it past the vamps to reach higher ground.
We were winning.
The battle could have gone easier if it wasn’t for Ceffyl Dŵr. Many of the merrow had been defeated, lost beneath the waves, because they would not fight their friend. With no glowing seaweed to steal, the pookas soon lost interest and left him alone. The kelpie king continued to fight against us, still under the each uisges’ control. The sight of his tortured face as he tore another merrow in two, would haunt me forever.
The kelpies, represented by their demon attorney, were my clients. They had asked that I find Ceffyl Dŵr’s bridle. It was this case and the information from the kelpies that had alerted us all to the danger of an each uisge invasion. I owed my client the return of their missing item. Casting a glance at the anguished kelpie king, I knew that I didn’t want to see him struck down by Hunters. Right now, he was holding off the remaining merrow, keeping them from nipping at the each uisges’ heels, but it wouldn’t be long before he left the water and joined the attack on the waterfront. The Hunters may have sympathy for the king’s situation, but that wouldn’t stop them from killing him. It wouldn’t even slow them down.
I had to do something.
On my next run to the casting circle, I asked Kaye if she could cast a spell on Ceffyl Dŵr’s bridle similar to the glowing spell used on the each uisge seaweed. Unfortunately, unlike the magic seaweed, kelpie bridles are unique to the individual kelpie. Kaye had no means of tuning her spell to the kelpie king.
“Wait,” I said. I slid a small wrapped bundle out of my pocket. “Would this help?”
It was the piece of bridle that I had used my psychometry gift on just a few days before. I had held it in safekeeping, not knowing where else to stash it, but hadn’t given it much thought other than, “do not touch ever again.” I carefully pulled back the fabric to display the piece of leather decorated with archaic runes and a silver vine pattern.
“By my wand, girl,” Kaye said. “So much has happened, I completely forgot about this little gem.”
Kaye leaned forward and lifted the scrap of bridle to twinkle in the reflected magic of the casting circle.
“Can you cast a targeting spell on the bridle with this?” I asked. I held my breath, afraid her answer might still be negative.
“Yes, certainly,” she said. “I’ll add a pinch of betony flowers to make the bridle glow purple. That way you can tell the difference between the each uisge seaweed and the bridle. Just give us a moment for the ritual…” She was already scratching marks into the ground at the center of the circle, lost in her own thoughts.
When she returned, her face was pulled taught and she held a hand across her stomach as if she was ill, but she wore a pleased smile.
“It is done,” she said. “I hope the bridle is nearby. We have done our best, dear. Now it is up to you.”
I thanked my friend and ran off toward the water’s edge. My heart swelled with the hope of rescuing the kelpie king from his enslavement.
I shifted from foot to foot looking out over the water for the only pooka with frown lines. The next time the pooka leader came near, I caught his attention and gestured him forward.
“Oh no,” he said. He came to rest on top of a city trashcan, hands fisted on his hips. “We’re holding up our end of the bargain. You can’t withdraw the glowing house now.” He made to leave and I held up a hand.
“Wait, no!” I said. “Please, I’m not trying to cheat you. I have a second bargain to make.”
“Keep talking,” he said. He tried to look bored, but I didn’t miss the eager gleam in his eye. This was so much more fun than hanging out at an old woman’s house.
“If you can find a kelpie bridle, steal it, and bring it to me, I’ll give you a large jar of honey,” I said. I just hoped pookas liked their sweets as much as Marvin did. I felt a pang of worry at the thought of the troll orphan and hoped that Hob was keeping him safe. “An each uisge probably has the bridle.”
“Pickpocket an each uisge?” he asked.
“Yes and the bridle will be glowing purple,” I said.
“And you will give us a jar of honey?” he asked. “Will it be organic honey?”
This pooka drove a hard bargain.
“Okay, organic honey,” I said. “Do we have a bargain?”
“Lady, for honey I would even kiss one of The Bigs,” he said. With a wink, he was gone.
*****
I went back to running messages, but kept an eye out for the pooka leader, and anything purple. I was looking over my shoulder, wondering if the each uisge had thought to keep the bridle secreted far away, when I struck my knee on something the size of a softball.
“Watch where you are going, Big Ivy,” a voice chirped.
Gaping down at my feet, I saw the pooka leader rubbing a growing red bump on his forehead. A leather bridle, embroidered in silver and glowing purple, lay in his other hand.
Behind him stood my client, Ceffyl Dŵr.
The kelpie king had changed forms throughout the battle, at the each uisges’ whim, but was now in the form of a water horse, with fin-shaped ears and a dappled gray coat. His beautiful coat was crisscrossed with a latticework of scars and oozing wounds. I pulled my gaze away from his injuries and into dark green eyes.
Release me, release me, release me…
His plea echoed over and over in my mind. I took a step back, surprised at the anguished voice in my head.
“Here you are,” the pooka said. He handed me the bridle, which I held tightly in one gloved hand. I was afraid to be touching any part of the bridle again, after the visions the small piece of leather had induce
d, but part of me was more afraid of losing the precious item so soon after it was found. “You can leave the jar of honey in my new house.”
With a tip of his glow-in-the-dark condom hat, he was gone—leaving me to face a tormented kelpie king.
“Don’t worry,” I said.
I kept my voice low, hands out at my sides, hoping not to startle him. He didn’t move a muscle, but his eyes followed the glowing bridle in my hand. Foolish me. Of course he couldn’t move. I held his bridle, which meant that he was now enslaved, to me. Oberon’s eyes. My gut twisted and I fought not to throw up.
“I am going to put your bridle back on,” I said. “I am giving it back to you.”
Release me, release me, release me…
I moved forward, coming to stand within a few inches of the great kelpie king. I raised the bridle, but realized belatedly that I was too short to slip it over his head. Could I just hand it to him? While in horse form, he didn’t have hands to put the bridle into and I was uncomfortable with shoving it into his mouth. They may not have the twisted appetites of the each uisge, but kelpies have been known to eat humans. No, I wouldn’t be putting my hands into that mouth, no matter how much I wanted to rid myself of the bridle.
I would have to get him to kneel down, so I could reach above his head. Mab’s bones. I was going to order a faerie king to kneel before me. I gulped down hot air and felt a tear slide down my cheek.
“I am so sorry,” I said. I had to bite my lip before I could continue. “I need you to kneel down, so I can return your bridle.”
In one smooth motion, the water horse bent its legs and knelt before me, but his sides quivered and nostrils flared. Without delay, I reached up with shaking hands and placed the bridle over his head. I don’t know if I did it right, for all I know it could have been on backward or upside down, but the muscles in the king’s neck seemed to ease.
With a sigh, the horse laid its head on the ground. It looked like he was settling down to go to sleep—until he started changing. Muscles rippled and contorted beneath the skin, and limbs moved to accommodate a human form, as he shapeshifted. Within seconds, Ceffyl Dŵr was crouching on the ground in the shape of a man—a very naked man.