And then I slept like the dead.
By the time I woke, it was nearing noon. I was in my old bed, and Peyton was sitting near me. She was knitting something—I couldn’t tell what it was, but I hadn’t even known Peyton could work a needle.
I struggled to sit up, and squinted. The snow was holding off but, as usual, the skies were overcast. Stretching, I sniffed my armpit and grimaced. I needed a shower. Bad. Though my clothes had been removed and I was in a long nightgown, the fact was I smelled like I’d been in a bar fight. The combination of the fighting, the blood, and the herbs in the tincture did not for a pleasant combination make.
“Shower?” Peyton smiled, holding out a towel and some bath gel. “The bathroom’s empty. Go to it.”
I slid out from beneath the covers, the cold floor no longer bothering my feet. I smiled softly. For so many years I’d hated waking up because of cold tile or cold hardwood. Now, I’d never mind it again. One of many blessings in disguise.
“Peyton . . . how are you doing? Your mother . . . Rex . . .” Both of her parents had been killed by the rogue vampire Geoffrey. In the intervening weeks, I hadn’t had a chance to ask her how she was coping.
Her doe-eyed gaze was solemn, but she seemed to be holding the tears at bay. “I’m managing. Some days are harder than others. I’ve contacted my father’s Pride, and when this is over . . . when Myst is found and defeated, I’ll visit them to take my vision quest. Then I’ll return here and run my investigations agency. I’m going to be okay, Cicely. I’ll be all right.”
I wanted to say something to help, but at this point, only time would heal. She knew how I felt. I’d been with her both when Rex, and then Anadey, died. “What about the diner?”
“Up for sale. Asking a song and a prayer. Half of what it’s valued at, but it’s worth it to me. I hated working there, and Mother . . . I’ve still got so many conflicting emotions surrounding her death. She tried to kill you, Cicely. She tried to have my father killed. Even though she protected me at the end, it’s rather difficult to have much sympathy at this point. I’d rather just let her go quietly. Forget my life with her and make a new one.”
I nodded. I knew exactly what she meant. When I’d found Krystal dead in an alley, I’d pilfered her pockets, closed her eyes, and turned my back on the past as I walked away from her body. After calling the cops—anonymously—I’d taken off and had never seen her again. I didn’t even know what they’d done with her remains. Now, a pang raced through me. Did the mortuary still have her ashes? If so, I could claim them. Lay her to rest in the woods where we staked Heather, so the two sisters could be together again.
You know they aren’t around, Cicely. Their spirits have moved on.
I know, Ulean, but the poetry of it . . . Sometimes the gesture is more important than the meaning behind it. I don’t know if I’m explaining that right, but sometimes . . .
I know what you mean. Let it rest, girl. Take your shower. There is much to do today, and just because you now know how to destroy Myst, doesn’t mean that it’s going to be a walk in the park.
I nodded; then, feeling I needed to say something to Peyton, I opened my mouth. But by then she was back to her knitting and looking quietly content, so I picked up my towel and cinnamon-scented bath gel, and headed in to take a long shower.
As I lathered up, I ran over what I remembered about the night before. The images from my journey were clearer now. A good night’s sleep had provided enough distance to give me insight to everything I’d seen.
The Barrow in which I’d seen Myst hide her heartstone? I knew the lay of the land around it. I vaguely remembered seeing an area deep in the Golden Wood that resembled it. Had Myst created the Barrow centuries ago? Thousands of years ago? Even if she’d deserted it, chances were I could find it again. And if I did . . . could I possibly find the entrance to where she had taken her heartstone?
I scrubbed my body thoroughly as I thought over everything that had happened. Violet—she’d been important to meet, and while I still wasn’t sure why, I felt whole now. Meeting that part of myself seemed to have given me back some joy robbed from me during my childhood in this life. Violet hadn’t been unhappy. She merely realized she was in the wrong time period, and so she had found a way to leave it.
By the time I finished lathering and rinsing my hair, I was deep in thought, trying to sort out where and when I had seen the area surrounding Myst’s Barrow. It was definitely deep in the Golden Wood, long before there had been a New Forest to border it. Long before there had been a Seattle . . . or a United States of America to mark borders and territories.
I knew it was farther back into the wood than the Twin Hollies. So deep that we never routinely passed by it. And then . . . then, a memory tugged at me. I knew where it was. One day, a long time ago when Rhia and I were five and just starting to know Grieve and Chatter, we’d gone for a walk and gotten lost in the woods. We kept going, certain we’d be able to find our way out again.
The drowsy bees had bumbled by, a deer had brought her fawn out for us to see, and she had stopped, allowing us to pet the young doe. We were totally unaware of how rare a gift she’d given us. At one point, we lay down and took a nap around noon, in the shade of a giant cedar. An hour or so later, we were worried—home seemed so far away, and we’d gotten turned around, no longer sure of where we were. So we kept walking.
By early evening, we came to a stream and followed it, and then . . . A flash of memory showed me a mound in the earth nearby. We were headed toward it, pulled toward it, but the next thing I could remember, we were back at the edge of the Golden Wood. Dazed, but none the worse for wear, we raced out across the yard, safe into the house.
“I had totally forgotten that memory,” I whispered to myself. “The Barrow—that had to be Myst’s Barrow. We were far too deep in the woods for it to be the Marburry Barrow, or even the Eldburry. And we didn’t make it through any portal. There was no shift there that I can remember.”
Focused, I hopped out of the shower and quickly slipped into clean underwear, jeans, and a pre-laced corset that Druise had sent from home. This one had a zipper and I quickly zipped it up and then slid on a pair of ankle boots. Sturdy, they had a platform heel that I could run in. I pulled the brush through my hair, sleeking it back, not worrying about drying it, and plopped my crown on my head, then—sans makeup—ran downstairs.
“I remember! I know where her Barrow was!” I skidded to a halt in the kitchen, staring at the group of solemn faces sitting around the table. “What’s going on? What’s happening?”
Ysandra put a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me and poured me some coffee. “The Shadow Hunters hit again, though this time they left the police station alone. But they’ve attacked over in Snoqualmie. They are branching out, and there seem to be far more of them now. Myst has called in all her reserves.”
“What about defense? The police? The National Guard?” Even as I spoke, I knew that the National Guard would be of no earthly use against them. The Shadow Hunters could be killed by bullets, yes, but they were deadly foes, and crafty, and they were adept at culling their victims without being seen.
She shook her head. “You know as well as I do that the police don’t know what to do, and I gather they were talking about calling in the military, but you see . . . a blizzard has sprung up near there. And I do mean a blizzard. The storm is moving in quickly, spreading over the entire northwest. No helicopters can fly in it, or planes. Driving is hazardous at best. We’ll soon be in whiteout conditions as it spreads. Myst has started her march, and if she can hold the weather steady, she has a good chance of gaining a stronghold before anybody can do anything.”
Nature could still put a stop to even the most devilish of mankind’s machinations. Blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes—not much of our weaponry could do anything against the natural forces of the world, and it seemed that the more we tried to control it, t
he more the world fought back. This time, there just happened to be a mad queen at the helm.
“Have you contacted the Consortium? Have they gotten off their asses about this matter?” I was growing very weary of the noninterference policy the magical group was taking.
“We do have the warriors they sent—the Elite Unit. I was in charge of one just like this, you remember, not long ago. But they are few, and the enemy is strong. I called the council again this morning, but the phone lines are down. The storm is close enough to be driving static between us and the outer world. I expect the winds and snow to pick up within the next couple of hours.” Ysandra stirred a spoonful of sugar into her coffee, frowning.
I dug into my breakfast, needing the fuel. Between the fighting and the journey I’d taken last night, I was famished. “Regina and Lannan are asleep, of course. Did they contact you last night after I passed out? Do we have any news from them that I should know about?”
Rhiannon cupped her hot tea, and the longer she held the sides of her mug, the more it steamed. I laughed when I noticed it. “You can warm up your food no problem now.”
She snorted. “Yeah, but you should see me with ice cream—not quite the effect I want.” With a laugh, she raised her mug in salute.
I grinned at her. “Well, you ever need me to freeze it again, just call.” Sometimes it took a joke, however feeble it might be, to lighten the mood.
After that, she leaned back, her eyes crinkling. “Lannan sent word this morning, before dawn. They’ve got one of their strongest day-runners on the switchboard. If anything comes down, anything, call her—her name is Dakota—and she’ll get the information to them as soon as possible. She also has the authority to dispatch day-runners to us, should we need them for anything.”
“We’d better send her the info on what’s going on near Snoqualmie, if you haven’t already done so.” I paused, then looked up. “I suppose you’re waiting for me to ask ‘What’s our next move?’ but the truth is I know what we have to do. We’re taking the offense. We have to find that Barrow, see if we can unearth Myst’s heartstone, and then destroy it. Even though I think I know where it is, this is going to be a rocky journey. We can traverse the wood, no problem, but if she has any clue we’re on her trail, then you can bet we’ll be facing a gamut of her monsters. And this time, it might not be just her Shadow Hunters.”
And then something from the mayhem and chaos of the night before broke into my thoughts. Ulean, you were following the energy signature of the person I thought might be my spy! Did you find anything?
Ulean swept around me. I think I know who it is, but I can’t prove it. And I hesitate to accuse without proof.
Who, then? Who do you suspect? I promise I won’t haul ass over there and slit her throat without any proof. I knew what it was like to be falsely suspected of something—I couldn’t just kill and ask questions later. Not in this case.
Well, then. Zoey. Luna’s sister. Luna has no comprehension this might be the case. I followed the signature back and found evidence that it might be her.
Zoey! It couldn’t be! But Zoey is one of the Akazzani, and she returned home after helping us.
Did she, Cicely? We all thought so, but now I believe her to be still lurking in the area. Ask Luna if she’s heard from her sister since Zoey left. Don’t tell her why, but ask.
My blood ran cold. Zoey was from a group of those who watched over history—a secret society. She had magical powers—in a sense, she was a witch, but not like Rhiannon or me. Zoey had helped free Grieve from Myst’s control using a magical ritual. While she could not break the spell binding his blood to the Indigo Court, she’d reached out, touched Myst’s energy, and unwound it from Grieve’s. Oh hell . . . she’d touched Myst’s energy. Had something happened during the ritual that we didn’t know about? Something that connected Zoey to Myst? We’d invited her to stay on, but she went back to the small island on which the great halls of the Akazzani stood. Or so we’d thought.
I looked up from my eggs and bacon. “Luna, I know you’d rather not talk to me, but I have a question for you and I really need a clear answer.”
Luna bit her lip. “No, I’d rather not talk to you. But until this is over, until we win, I’m willing to stop qualifying every sentence or question.”
Nodding, I dreaded asking what I was about to ask. “I was just wondering, have you heard from Zoey lately?”
Her head jerked up, and she frowned. “Odd you should ask. The answer is no. In fact, I got a strange call from my family this morning. The Akazzani contacted Mother a few days ago to ask where Zoey was. It seems . . .” She let out a long sigh. “It seems she hasn’t been heard from for a few weeks. In fact, the word is that she never returned after leaving here. I didn’t tell Mother about her visit here, of course, or what we were doing. But the timing matches up.”
And then I knew it was true. Zoey had somehow latched on to Myst during the ceremony, and Myst had won her over. That was the only answer. But if there was a spy in my Court that must mean . . . that Zoey was hiding in the Court of Snow and Ice.
I grabbed Grieve’s hand. “I have to talk to you. Now.” Nodding to Check and Fearless, I added, “You too, both of you. Come outside with me.”
Once we were out in the backyard, I quickly briefed them on what Ulean had told me. “Don’t you see? With what Luna said, it has to be Zoey. She must be hiding in the Court of Snow and Ice. I’m sure she could figure out how to blend in.”
“But why? What happened? She was so adamant about returning to the Akazzani.” Grieve frowned.
“Something had to have happened during the ritual—something she didn’t let on about. While Kaylin and Luna held Grieve’s feet and head, somehow Zoey got swept into the energy of the Indigo Court. At least, that’s my best guess.”
Who knew what really had happened? And unless we found Zoey—and even then, only if she told us—we’d probably go to our graves without knowing.
“So she’s jealous of you?” Grieve cocked his head. “Why?”
“I have no idea. Maybe it has to do with you, or my place as Fae Queen, or what. But there is danger there. She works for Myst now. Ulean couldn’t be sure, but this rings a bell deep within me, and I’m going to trust my intuition. If we find her, we’ll have to question her as quickly as possible. I won’t have her harmed on sight—because we don’t know for sure, but it’s looking more and more like we’ve found our spy.”
Check glanced over to Fearless. “We must dispatch someone to the Eldburry Barrow. Have them begin searching for her. If she’s hidden out, chances are she’s keeping below deck. Probably with the scullery staff or other menial workers. That would be the last place to look, given the high profile of the nobility.”
Fearless nodded. “Your Majesty, you cannot return to the Barrow till we find her. There’s too much danger.”
I wanted to go home, but with all that was happening, chances were I wouldn’t see my own bed again till we were done with Myst. As we stood there, the snow began to flake down and the sky clouded over. I glanced at the horizon. Silver-gray clouds banked up, so thick it was hard to see anything else. No scrap of sky peeked through, and the snow that was just beginning felt a precursor to a much larger storm.
“We’re headed into the thick of things. The blizzard is approaching. Any travel is bound to be dangerous, and the Shadow Hunters will be out thick as thieves. We need to contact Dakota and ask her to issue radio and television pleas for people to lock themselves in their houses and not come out.” I turned to go inside. “Oh, and until we know what’s going on with Zoey? Not a word to Luna. I’ve already turned her world upside down once. I don’t need to do it again, until we’re certain of the facts.”
They nodded, and we turned to head back inside, but a flutter of wings stopped me. I whirled around to see my grandfather land on a nearby bush. The heavy layer of snow cascaded to the ground as the
bush shook from his impact. The great horned owl was beautiful in the lazy fall of the snow, but the flurry was strengthening, and it was becoming harder to see more than a few yards in front of us. A haze of white was beginning to blow up as the winds gusted by. I thought about using my powers to try to calm them, but I did better raising the winds, and the last thing we needed right now was a gale.
The owl shimmered, changing form into Hunter, my grandfather, who then rose to his feet to stand atop the four-foot drift that blanketed the outer yard.
“Cicely, I promised you that I’d bring word when I knew where Myst is headquartered. I’m not sure, my girl. I wish we could have more answers for you.” He strode over to me.
“What about deep in the Golden Wood? In a long-unused Barrow?”
“I know what you’re talking about. No, she is not there now, but she may be close—her energy is around the area, and we examined that neck of the woods in-depth.” He gazed into my eyes. “How do you know of it?”
I let out a long sigh. The story was too convoluted for a quick explanation, so I simply said, “I revisited the time in which I was her daughter. I saw the Barrow, and I saw her hide a heartstone deep within its heart. We must journey there. I have to destroy her heartstone before she realizes that we know about it.”
“The blizzard is hitting, Cicely. It’s going to be dangerous.”
“Maybe so, but if we go now, she won’t be expecting it. She’s narcissistic, she’s going to be focused on the havoc she’s causing over in Snoqualmie. We have the time right now to get there. Yes, even for us it will be dangerous, but I think we should take advantage of this window.” I looked over to the Golden Wood. It was hard to even see the border of it now through the whirl of snow, but the dark silhouettes of the trees were a blur against the white.
Hunter surprised the hell out of me. He stepped forward. “I will go with you, then. If my granddaughter does not fear the blizzard, then I will follow. You are the Queen of Snow and Ice. I am part of your realm, as was my son, before he fell in love with the Summer.”