The scent of primrose and thyme met my nose and I slumped forward. I loosened my grip on the stakes and locked my knees, trying not to slide to the floor. My legs had gone wobbly, and stars danced on the edge of my vision, but the Hunter’s face emerged from the smoke haze.
“Jenna?” I asked.
“If I’d been the Faerie Mistress, you’d be dead right now,” Jenna said. She shook her head and let go of my wrist. “You really need to reconsider my offer for weapons training.”
I let out a shaky laugh and brushed a piece of falling ash from my cheek. Jenna had a point. I caught a glimpse of my gloves and winced. I was lucky that my hands weren’t covered in third-degree burns. My leather gloves were a charred mess. Good thing Marvin had given me new ones for Christmas. I’d have to make sure and thank the kid.
“You may be right,” I said. “So where is Leanansídhe?”
Jenna pointed to the ground a few feet away. The faerie was sitting in the dirt, rocking the skeleton she held in her arms. A low moaning rose from her mouth and Leanansídhe began sobbing into the skeleton’s shoulder.
“Must hear him play again…such beautiful music,” she cried.
I almost felt bad for her. My eyes rose to the small bodies hanging from the spit above the blackened tree. The bodies were charred and covered in bite marks from where Leanansídhe had encouraged the redcaps to feed. Maybe she didn’t deserve my pity. I limped to a dainty, velvet armchair and pulled it over to the furnace.
“What do we do with her?” Jenna asked.
Jenna pulled her crossbow from her back and aimed it at the insane faerie. I shrugged. I didn’t have a lot of sympathy for Leanansídhe. She’d killed….for her own greed. But she was obviously unhinged. I thought back to the number of times I had come close to losing my own sanity.
Jenna began pulling the bow string back and I shook my head. I may not like the faerie witch, especially now that I was standing eye to eye with her roasted victims, but the woman was clearly insane.
“Wait,” I said, raising a smoking hand. “Let me call Kaye. She’ll know what to do.”
Jenna went back to guarding Leanansídhe and I struggled to dial The Emporium with scorched gloves. Kaye wasn’t thrilled at my suggestion to keep the faerie alive, but eventually, she caved in. She knew a Ghillie Dhu who ran a faerie rehab containment facility outside Boston. I was fuzzy on the details, but the important thing was Kaye agreed to make the necessary calls and get Leanansídhe into the facility before dawn. It may have been kinder to kill the faerie, but at least I wouldn’t be responsible for her death.
I’d do almost anything to protect my friends and keep the city safe, but I wasn’t comfortable with the role of executioner. And if I agreed to let Jenna kill Leanansídhe, that’s exactly what I’d be. It didn’t matter which of us pulled the trigger.
While talking to Kaye on speakerphone, I worked at removing the dead bodies from the metal spit. I had trudged back up the basement stairs and retrieved the first aid kit and towels from the hotel service corridor. I now had my gloved hands and arms wrapped in towels monogrammed with the BH of the Bishop Hotel. My entire body shook, but I swallowed my fear of nightmare visions and finished the job. Talking with Kaye helped to keep me distracted.
I used gauze from the first aid kit and more towels as shrouds, wrapping each of the burned bodies before setting them on one of the fancy couches that lined the walls. It was hard work, wrapping the faeries with my own clumsy, towel wrapped hands. But they deserved this token of respect. I would make sure that each of the bodies was returned to their people and laid to rest in the manner in which they would wish. It seemed like the least I could do.
I hadn’t been able to protect these faeries, but I swore that no more innocents, fae or human, would go unnoticed in my city. Not on my watch. And if I was going to be protecting the residents of Harborsmouth, I needed more training.
“Jenna, that offer for weapons training still stand?” I asked.
Jenna wasn’t cheap, but I could give myself training sessions for Christmas. Maybe Jinx would like lessons as well. She was getting feisty with her sharpened crosses and holy water grenades. Making ourselves kick ass for the New Year? Sounded like a resolution to me.
Of course, I’d still have to get Jinx a new pair of shoes. Either that or I’d be the first person she’d stake.
Epilogue
My hand twitched as the Felix the Cat clock ticked on the kitchen wall. I scowled at the time and grabbed my shawl from the granite counter, shaking my head. I had hoped that Ceff would be here to escort me to Kaye’s crappy solstice party, but he hadn’t shown. The kelpie and selkie negotiations must not be going well.
I stomped to the door, and flicked off the overhead lights. I stood in the glow of the city lights that filtered in through the loft windows and took a steadying breath. Jinx had gone on ahead with her date while I insisted on waiting for Ceff.
I should have gone with Jinx and Hans, but I felt like a third wheel and I still wasn’t thrilled about Jinx going on a date with the Hunter. Hans was trouble, but then again so was Jinx. I shook my head. At least she wasn’t going with Forneus. The demon had sent numerous requests to be her date, but Jinx had refused. At least attending the party on the arm of a skilled Hunter meant that Jinx wouldn’t be bothered by the demon tonight. I sighed and leaned against the cool metal of our apartment door.
I’d have to walk into Kaye’s party on my own.
I was used to being a loner, but walking into a nude dance party, rife with magic circles and group orgies, had me checking my body for weapons. The dress I’d worn, since I wasn’t going to tear off my clothes and run naked under the solstice moon, didn’t have as many places for stashing stakes and blades as I’d like. How did Jinx manage to hide all of those sharpened crosses in her skirts?
I snorted, remembering Jinx’s last attempt to stab Forneus. Jinx and I had started taking lessons with our Hunter friend Jenna and the training sessions had paid in spades. Too bad demons like the rough stuff. Jinx was never going to rid herself of Forneus now.
I tipped my head back and stared at the ceiling. Maybe I’d feel better after a walk under the stars. Starlight soothed my wisp half and the walk might calm my jangled nerves. If not, I could stop on the way for some liquid courage. The streets between our apartment and The Emporium were lined with bars and it was late on a Wednesday night. I might be able to duck in and out without anyone trying to touch me. And if they tried, I’d have an excuse to use some of the moves Jenna was teaching me.
I grinned, showing my teeth, and pulled the door open. Ceff stood startled on the top landing. His hand was lifted, as if to knock on the door. I gasped and stepped back, but the grin didn’t leave my face.
“You made it,” I said, looking him over.
Ceff looked dapper in a suit and tie, but if you looked past his faerie glamour he wasn’t wearing shoes. Apparently, kelpie kings prefer to go around barefoot, even in winter. I glanced up in time to see Ceff looking me over as well. I blushed, running a hand down the shimmering dress. I had planned on wearing pants and a turtleneck, but Jinx had insisted on the evening gown.
“You look stunning in that dress,” he said.
Ceff stepped inside, careful to keep his distance, and looked around the darkened room. He raised an eyebrow and I nodded.
“Jinx already left for the party,” I said. “I was just…”
“Working up your courage?” he asked.
We hadn’t been dating for very long, but Ceff knew me well. He was one of the few people I trusted enough to let my guard down with. I enjoyed being able to just be myself around Ceff. I smiled and gestured to the couch.
I sat at one end of the couch and turned on the table lamp. I knew that Ceff’s eyes could see well enough in the dark, and my night vision was rapidly improving as my wisp abilities matured, but the darkness seemed too intimate. I sighed, folding my gloved hands in my lap, and perched on the edge of the couch. Jinx was right. I had issues
.
“I have something for you,” Ceff said.
He pulled a small, beribboned box from his pocket and set it on the couch between us. My Christmas present? But it wasn’t Christmas yet.
I hesitated, hand shaking, as I leaned toward the package. Gifts made me nervous and the tiny box before me was no exception. But I didn’t want to hurt Ceff’s feelings. He looked so eager. I took a steadying breath and reached for the box.
I pulled the ribbon away and lifted the lid with the tips of my gloves. A seaweed covered item rested inside. Please say that wasn’t jewelry, or a hat. Jinx would laugh for a week if she saw me wearing seaweed. Ceff cleared his throat and smiled.
“This was a boon from the selkie queen, the payment for my recent services to aid in the negotiations with her people,” he said. Ceff’s voice trickled over me like water, but I forced myself to pay attention to his words. “It grants the recipient one night without visions. She claimed that it was crafted with powerful magic at the request of a clairvoyant. How it came under the selkie queen’s possession, I do not know.”
Wait, a night without visions? But that meant…
“I could touch you,” I said, a blush rising to burn my cheeks.
“Yes, but it is up to you how you wish to use it,” he said.
He was saying that I didn’t have to use the item to touch him, but Ceff looked pleased. I looked around the empty room. Jinx was at the party and would be dancing with Hans until dawn. I smiled a wicked grin, feeling giddy with excitement. Ceff had given me the best gift ever.
I reached for the magic seaweed and turned off the lamp.
CLUB NEXUS
Author’s Note
Club Nexus is comprised of four short stories—Iced, Dusted, Jinxed, and Demonized. I highly recommend reading these stories in order for the most powerful, and pleasurable, reading experience.
Introduction
Welcome to Club Nexus, a singular entertainment experience deep in the heart of Harborsmouth.
If you have discovered our exclusive club, then it’s likely you belong to our specialized clientele. We cater to the needs and desires of vampires, demons, faeries, both Seelie and Unseelie, and their human servants.
To ensure the privacy of our patrons, a glamour has been cast to ward our club from detection by non-paranormals. We also provide club security, both at the door and within our fine establishment.
Our well-trained security staff do more than keep out unwelcome human riffraff. Due to our unique location atop crisscrossing ley lines, Club Nexus has been declared neutral ground. As such, we at Club Nexus have strict rules of conduct. Bloodshed must be consensual or the guilty parties risk punishment—death, maiming, or banishment from our club—at our security staff’s discretion.
If you do hunger to satisfy unorthodox tastes and wish to walk the tightrope of our rules, you may be interested in the services of Mr. Goodfellow. Puck is a resourceful creature who will likely be able to provide what you desire—for a price.
We do hope you enjoy your visit to Club Nexus. Whether you are in need of a drink, a special someone, or a special someone to drink, we at Club Nexus are at your service.
ICED
I blew a stray lock of hair from my eyes while running a damp cloth over the bar. The raven black curl froze at the edge of my vision, ice crystals from my breath coating it like the dust of fractured diamonds. But within seconds the damp chunk of bangs thawed from the perpetual heat of the club.
The heat was one of the many things that I despised about bartending at Club Nexus. There were places within the club that were as cold as the Unseelie court I’d once called home—they had something here to please any fae in the upper echelons of power—but those areas were off limits to all but royalty and their trusted staff. Lowly club employees, such as myself, didn’t make it past the velvet rope.
Not that a silly rope barrier would have kept me from the sweet embrace of one of the Winter Court’s icy, private booths. No, the true deterrents were the heavily armed guards—a griffin with a razor sharp beak and a boggart with a particularly nasty disposition, even for one of my dark fae brethren. I sighed and pushed the lock of hair from my face, tucking it behind one of my pointy, blue ears.
I was proud of my pointy ears, slender figure, and unusual seven-foot height, for these things marked me as highborn fae. What I wasn’t so keen on was my current living situation. Once upon a time, I’d graced the halls of the Winter Court in finery spun from spider silk, my hair pinned up with late blooming roses, strands of ice crystals around my neck. Now I was bedecked in an unflattering uniform, and had to bear drunken pickup lines from lowly light fae while serving my enemies drinks and cleaning up their messes. Oh, how the mighty had fallen.
I’d been tricked into an unfavorable bargain that left me with no alternative but to work off my debt here at Club Nexus as little more than a slave.
The man who’d tricked me, a notorious Seelie fae named Puck, was little more than a pimp. He used a number of underhanded methods to hold sway over a variety of races: vamps, demons, humans, and fae. Puck ran girls through this club for sex, blood, and sport. I suppose I should count myself lucky that he’d been enamored by the idea of having an Unseelie bartender who could chill drinks with her very breath, but my position as a servant still rankled.
It was a predicament that should not have befallen one of the highborn. I gripped the dishrag tight, the dirty remains of spilled drinks dribbling down my wrist. I grimaced at the foul liquid and tossed the rag into a bucket of soapy water. Sulking wouldn’t free me from this foul job, but an ear in the right place just might.
I turned my attention to Puck, who had walked in moments before and now had his head tilted close to the ear of a vampire. They made an unlikely pair, the towheaded faerie with his smiling cherubic face and the fanged vampire coated in the dust of the grave. With the fangs of a vampire mere inches from his jugular one might worry for Puck’s safety, if you didn’t know who he really was.
No matter his appearance, Puck was no angel; his kind was worse than any demon. He was a trickster who thrived on chaos and the thrill of cheating others out of all they had, whether that meant parting them from their money, their blood, or their souls.
I moved toward the two on the pretense of feeding the small faerie who provided illumination from within a glass lantern further down the bar. I placed a scoop of honey inside a trough cut into the base of the lantern and listened.
“In the market for a short or tall ten pints?” Puck asked. “Had a new shipment of Ice in this week, so your drink can come feisty or sedate. Take your pick.”
My ears pricked at the mention of Ice—in the Winter Court we had over three thousand words for ice—but I realized that Puck was only discussing the drug he dealt to his special clientele. The drug was used to subdue humans, and was especially useful to vampires who wanted new blood slaves without the bother of convincing the mortals fairly. Not that seducing humans while using glamour to make themselves irresistible would be considered fair to most mortals, but it was a game we fae could understand. But the act of drugging their victims senseless seemed like cheating.
I wrinkled my nose and turned away. I disliked vampires and the street names for what Puck was selling. “Ten pints” was slang for humans, since that was the quantity of blood in an average adult and “Ice” was the black market drug that numbed the minds of its users. The discussion of Puck’s side business let me know that I’d learn nothing more of interest here. Puck was bargaining, not sharing damning secrets.
I needed to learn something I could use to gain my freedom, preferably a secret so dark that I could throw off my bonds and see the trickster bound into eternal suffering. Perhaps I’d find a way to make him my slave and let him lick my boots after a good wallow through yeti droppings. Information about drugs and blood slaves wasn’t enough; I required something truly damning.
Arms hanging at my sides, I moved back to my post and sagged against the bar. Caught u
p in my own self-pity, I nearly missed the appearance of a woman who seemed to manifest on the stool in front of me. I reached for one of the pressed leaves we used for coasters and slid it onto the bar.
“What can I get you?” I asked.
I kept my eyes averted, studiously examining my cuticles. I’d found that it was easier to serve drinks when I didn’t pay too much attention to the customers. You never know who might stroll through our doors. I would die of shame if one of my fellow highborn recognized me here in my servitude.
I waited for the woman’s reply, but there was no answer. With a heavy sigh I glanced up to see the face that lay in shadow beneath the hood of a cloak of deep blue like the night sky. The cloak was beautiful, but the woman embraced within its folds was more remarkable still.
Ebony eyes stared from a face of pale, crystalline skin with lips the color of bruised inkberries. I knew that a kiss from those lips was just as poisonous as the bitter fruit they resembled.
“My l-l-l,” I stuttered.
My liege, I’d meant to say, but the words were frozen on my tongue—literally. The woman seated before me was none other than Queen Mab, ruler of the Unseelie court. My queen had been absent these past hundred years and now here she was in Club Nexus, and she’d frozen my lips shut tight.
“Hush, my child,” Mab said. “I am not yet ready for my whereabouts to become common knowledge. Our people have grown weak in my absence and I require your services to restore our court to its former glory. Will you assist your queen?”