"Then you know--"
"It's time to leave. Stay longer in my domain and the years will fly by outside. For now, you leave but a moment after you entered."
As we turned to go, she called out, "Kaylin--the Court of Dreams is but a step away from my own domain. Watch closely. Your demon is about to awake."
Kaylin jerked around, but Lainule's guards thrust us back through the portal and we were standing in the middle of the snow again, thick flakes now pouring from the sky. I glanced at my watch. We'd been gone all of five minutes.
"Come on. Let's gather Rhiannon from Anadey's, and then . . . then let's go hunting. We're about to become soldiers in this three-sided war, although I'm not sure just whose side we're on."
Kaylin remained silent, looking pensive, but Leo snorted. "I think we make up the fourth side, Cicely. Haven't you figured out yet that we've got our own little army right here? Let's get a move on, because if the Indigo Court is really being hit in the gut with whatever poison or virus that was sent back through you, now's the time to dive in and see what damage we can do."
We headed back to Favonis. To war. To battle. To rescue Peyton. And hopefully . . . to survive.
Chapter 23
When we showed up, Anadey and Rhiannon were just finishing a few energy-control exercises. We waited until they were done, then went over what had happened with Lainule and Grieve, and what we were planning.
"I'm so glad Lainule is alive, but that she's dealing with the vampires is unsettling. The Fae and the vampires tend to distrust and dislike one another. She must be in desperate straits if she's turning to them for help."
"Her people were massacred. She's holding court just off a parking lot by the lake. I think that qualifies as desperate," I said.
Anadey motioned for us to wait. "Let me see if I have anything that might help you. I'd go with you but I'm older and stiffer and I'd slow you down and that's the last thing you need going into this."
I nodded. While I had my doubts she'd slow us down that much, now was not the time to find out. "Tell you what you can do to help: If we succeed, we're going to need the house to be so protected that even a fly can't get through the shields. While we're out hunting for Peyton, can you do something to shore up our warding? Because what we're about to undertake is tantamount to waging war on the Indigo Court. I guarantee, they'll be out for revenge."
Especially if we manage to steal away Grieve and Chatter, I thought.
"I can do that." Anadey examined the fan Lainule had given me. She shivered as she touched it. "This is heavy, old magic, Cicely. Not the kind you just hand out on a whim. Keep this safe and don't lose it."
She speaks the truth. You have been gifted generously from the Queen of Rivers and Rushes. Don't underestimate what that means. Ulean blew through my hair and I could sense a tingling in her words, which always indicated she knew more than she was saying.
What do you know about all of this? I had no idea you belonged to Lainule before Grieve bonded the two of us together.
That is for the Queen to tell you. Not my place. But I will be with you today, and I will help you learn to use your fan to greatest advantage.
Anadey poked around in her stash and came up with several items. One, a small bottle filled with a red liquid, she handed to Rhiannon. "You know how to pull your flame back in, so now you should be able to use this. The potion will magnify your fire, but I have only one dose so drink it at the moment of your last resort."
To Leo and Kaylin, she offered small jars, also filled with liquid. "Iron water. It won't bother those with half-blood of the Fae, but I guarantee this will burn and scar its way through a full-blood, even of the Indigo Court."
Turning back to me, she let out a long sigh. "You are one of the Owl People, and you can harness the wind with your fan . . . I'm not sure what I can give you that's stronger than what you already have. But I have one thing . . . it belonged to my mother and I found it in her personal ritual gear."
She held out a silver torque. It was wound silver, and the ends came together in the front in the shape of two flowers. "Those are belladonna flowers--deadly nightshade. Somehow, it seems to fit you. Marta never wore it, but she kept saying that one day it would find a home."
I took it, and it radiated magic in my fingers, though a subtle, slow, deep energy that ran in the currents of the ley lines and the high mountains of the earth. The tattoo on my left breast suddenly tingled and I looked at the wound silver torque. Belladonna flowers . . . deadly nightshade like the ones in my tattoo. There was a connection, though I didn't know what.
Glancing up, I met her eyes. Anadey gave me a weary smile, one that said she knew just what we were facing and was holding out as much hope as she could.
"We'll do everything we can to bring Peyton home," I said. "But say a few prayers for us, because we'll need it."
"I will . . . I'll start weaving my spells of protection the minute you leave here." She motioned for us to follow her into a spare bedroom. There, in the center of the room, was a loom. "I weave my magic into threads and cords. I'll work on one for your land--a long thin cord to be buried deep around the perimeter. I don't know how long it will take me to get it done, but I'll start it now."
She took her place at the loom and, as we silently filed out of the room, she said without turning her head, "Bring my baby home. If you can. You're the only hope she has."
"Dress in black and white. We've got snow and dark trees out there," I said, sorting out what we could take with us. We were facing at least a two-hour march through the woods to the Barrow, if last time was any indication.
We gathered in the living room, gearing up for our search-and-rescue mission. Dressed in the thickest jeans I had and a black turtleneck, I slid on a pair of wide-heeled Doc Martin boots, and then fastened the wrist brace on my right arm that held my switchblade like a pro.
I slipped the torque around my neck and felt a deep humming race from the tattoo on my breast to spread throughout the rest of my body. Whatever the torque did was connected with my Fae heritage, I'd decided.
The stiletto athame went in my boot sheath, and I buckled on a thigh strap and slid another pair of knives--double-bladed and balanced for throwing--into the holders. Blades were the one weapon I'd learned how to use while living on the streets with my mother. Uncle Brody used to tell me: A good blade is better than a good husband; you can rely on it more.
The others had changed into denim and leather, too. Even Rhiannon. She, Kaylin, and I made sure our hair was braided back, hard to grab. Rhia brought out her makeup and we used the white eyeliner pencil and the mascara to smudge camouflage stripes across our faces.
Kaylin held up a pair of daggers, whirling them around like the master he was, then slid them neatly into the matching sheaths hanging from his belt. He added a set of polished black nunchakus and several small shurikens.
Not to be outdone, Leo held up a short staff, lithely twirling it around, reminding me of a modern, more handsome Friar Tuck. Even Rhiannon had a weapon, though when I saw what she was carrying, I took a step away from her. She had fixed up a couple of Molotov cocktails and was stowing them in a green grocery bag.
Joy, oh joyous flamefest.
At least she's claiming her power, Ulean whispered in my ear.
Yes, she is at that.
"So, let's go over this one more time. Our goals in this order: Get in there and get out alive. Rescue Peyton. Bring Grieve and Chatter out. If possible, kill Myst. That's a long shot but I thought I'd throw that in there, just for good measure." My wolf hadn't spoken all day and I was worried that Grieve might be too sick for us to find him, but a quiet voice inside whispered he was probably sleeping, since the light hurt him now.
"We ready?" I looked at them, waiting.
"As we'll ever be." Rhiannon nodded grimly. "And if you should see Heather . . ." Her voice trailed off, then she cleared her throat. "If you should see Heather, stake her if you can." She held up four wooden stakes, then handed one to each of us.
I caught her gaze. "Are you sure?"
She didn't even flinch. "I'm sure."
"Okay, then . . . let's do this."
And we were off, out the door, into the storm that had finally broken.
Two hours of travel meant that we'd reach the Marburry Barrow around three in the afternoon. Still daylight enough to take advantage of the plague Lainule had unleashed on the Indigo Court. As we silently crossed the yard toward the ravine, the wind snapped at our heels and the snow swirled in a mad dance around our faces. The hike into the ravine would be harder this time; the storm was barely getting started.
We don't have storms or snow like this often.
Ulean whistled past. Myst rules the winter. She is of the Unseelie and still carries the cold weather magic in her veins, Vampiric Fae or not. She brings it with her and I'm afraid winter for this town will be hard and long this year, as long as she is rising in power.
Were you with Lainule for a long time?
Yes. Ulean's answer was faint, as if she were looking over her shoulder as she spoke to me. Lainule and I go back a long, long, long way.
Back to when Grieve and I were together before?
A very short yes, and she fell silent and I got the distinct feeling she had no interest in pursuing that thread of conversation.
The path was covered over and, while still visible through the trees, was difficult to navigate. The rocks and branches littering the trail were covered and it would be entirely too easy to twist an ankle or trip and fall here. I focused on leading the way, cautiously testing my footing every time I came to a suspicious lump under the blanket of white.
The forest was silent, the silence of sick rooms and hospitals, of muffled cotton, of a world lost in the frozen white. We picked our way along the trail as the snow fell thick and heavy. Wet, it would pack in and freeze tonight and I thought about what Ulean had said. Myst had the power of winter at her fingertips, and she'd nestled in for a long night's journey in New Forest. If her people now could only come out to play at night, and with the true vampires walking the night, it crossed my mind that maybe we should change our sleep schedules so we weren't so vulnerable during the darkness.
Thirty minutes in--we were going slower because of the weather--and we came to the ravine. I wanted to take a different route down--they might be watching us--but we didn't have the time to check out how safe the descent would be off path. Taking a deep breath, I plunged down, one step at a time, using a deadfall branch to test the way. With the bracken and vine hidden beneath the snowpack, it was doubly dangerous.
I thought I was avoiding all the traps, but without warning, caught my toe underneath a blackberry sucker and went sprawling face-first to roll about ten feet down the ravine before managing to slam into a tree.
"Are you okay?" Kaylin scrambled down the hill, kneeling beside me.
"Fuck." Wincing, I pushed myself to a sitting position. "That smarted. The snow kept me from getting too torn up by the brambles." As he pulled me to my feet, I checked to make sure nothing was broken and dusted off my jeans.
"Warning--incoming!" Leo's voice ripped through the air.
I jerked around, looking back up the hill to see one of the Indigo Fae slipping out from behind a tree. The look on the man's face was tortured, and his eyes--mad. He lunged for Rhiannon, grabbing her around the waist from behind and forcing her head to the side. He bared his teeth and dove for her neck. She screamed as Leo grabbed for the Fae. The man swung wide, backhanding Leo into the snow as if he were a dust speck. Fuck, he's strong!
I scrambled up the ravine, but Kaylin was ahead of me. He had whipped out his daggers and with silent, deadly accuracy, sent both spiraling through the air to plunge into the side of Rhiannon's attacker.
The Shadow Hunter let go of Rhia and whirled around, crazed and bleeding. He let out a low hiss and lurched to the left, the daggers still embedded in his side. As he swung around, moving twice as fast as Kaylin was, even with blood gushing out of his side, he held up one hand and Kaylin dropped to his knees, a dazed look on his face. Damn it, he was using magic.
The bleeding man turned his face to me, his mouth open in a hideous stretch, his fangs glistening next to the razor-sharp teeth. He began to morph, his body twisting as he changed form into a hideous, twisted doglike creature. The next moment, he leapt, lunging for Kaylin's throat.
Without a second thought, I swept the fan twice at him, whispering, "Gale force." And a huge gust of wind hurtled toward the creature, knocking him over and knocking me on my butt in the backlash.
Leo grabbed his walking staff and cracked the creature over the skull while Rhiannon thrust out her hands and whispered something.
A short burst of flame seared the monstrosity's skin and he screamed, disrupting his shift. Within seconds, he was back to normal--or at least, I supposed it was normal; maybe it wasn't--and groaning as he rolled on the ground, trying to douse the flames.
Kaylin, shaken out of his trance, leapt up and, using two of his shurikens, threw them to land directly in the throat of the Indigo Court Fae. With one last shudder, the Shadow Hunter lay still.
I crept up beside him, staring down at the unblinking man. He was handsome, strangely compelling even in death, with rigid cheekbones and glassy eyes, in which the stars had gone out.
"Christ, that took work," Kaylin said, retrieving his daggers. He wiped them in the snow, then dried them on the bottom of his shirt. "And he was hurting. Did you see his expression?"
"He looked crazed--and yes, in pain." I stared at him. I'd never killed anybody before. Or helped kill anybody before. It was an odd sensation. I searched for guilt, but felt none. He'd been out to kill us and he wouldn't have hesitated to tear us apart. "I wonder if his shape-shifting . . . is that how they feed?" I was thinking about Grieve. Did he shift into that form now, too?
