“Where would we go?” Rhiannon whispered.
But then, even as she spoke, the kitchen door slammed open and two of the Shadow Hunters broke through. At the same time, Lannan came racing through the front door, iron stakes in hand.
I was nearest the living room, and I reached out and grabbed one of the stakes from him as he passed by. He tossed the others to Kaylin, Peyton, and Rhiannon, keeping one for himself. Luna, looking horrified, grabbed up a flute, and my first thought was, You aren’t going to charm these savage beasts with music, but the sound that came out of her instrument was low and sultry and quickened my blood. I stared at her, realizing she was casting a charm over all of us—a fighting charm.
And then there was no more time to stare because one of the Shadow Hunters was staring me in the face. I swung, striking with the obsidian blade. The blade seemed to adjust my aim and I managed a clean swipe along the Shadow Hunter’s arm. He let out a shriek, unlike any I’d heard when attacking with my switchblade, and a sudden fountain of blood sprung up and began to bubble over onto the floor.
The knife made the wound worse than it normally would have. I glanced at the blade and felt a rush of joy, powerful and strong, as the pain from the Shadow Hunter raced through me and I leaned my head back and laughed, undulating a horrible yipping cry through the kitchen.
The Shadow Hunter took a long look at me as I glared at him, the power of death flushing my cheeks. I held the power to destroy in my hands. I held the power of the night and the dark and the shimmering blades that ripped out hearts and tore apart the chest. Another swipe and his arm was hanging from a thread and he went down, frothing at the mouth, shivering as the blood spilled across the floor in an orgasm of ripples.
I turned to the second Shadow Hunter, who had engaged Kaylin. He saw me swing in his direction and yelped, racing for the door. I leaped over the dying Indigo Fae and gave chase.
“Cicely!”
“Where are you going?”
The voices were faint, behind me, mere annoyances. I had my enemy within range, and nothing would stop me from destroying him. I gasped as the cold hit my lungs but flew down the steps, keeping up with the creature that raced on ahead of me. He would not escape—no one did. No one ever escaped Myst’s daughter when she chose her target.
Cicely—can you hear me? Cicely—slow down. Wait for the others!
But I didn’t want to listen. Ulean howled along beside me as the yard went by in a blur and I raced directly into the forest. My blade sang, demanding blood, and I had to feed her. She was thirsty and so was I.
And then I saw him coming toward me, a bigger member of Myst’s Court—one of her guards, no doubt. I let my body take over and instinct kicked in as I went sailing head over heels and landed nose-to-nose with him. I swept the blade across his chest before he could move, and he shrieked.
Laughing, I hoisted the iron spike in my other hand and leaned back. My blade was feeding; let it feed well, the spike would provide it with much blood. He tried to fight back, tried to wave me off, but I plunged the tip through his chest, ramming it into the bone, and blood spread across the snow like a crimson rose.
As he fell, I went down by his side and pressed my face to his wound, rubbing my cheeks in his blood. I dipped the blade into the hollow next to the spike and—as he still screamed, though much, much fainter—I let the blade feed in the steaming pool.
“Cicely!”
The voice was not Ulean’s, and harder to ignore.
“Cicely Waters, stand before your father!”
Wrath’s voice broke through where Ulean’s could not, and I slowly raised my head, my surroundings coming into focus. Oh fucking hell! I was over the border—but then again, they’d broken through the wards, so did it matter?
“Get your ass off the ground and finish him off like an honorable opponent. The Indigo Court may have no honor, but we do.” He reached out and snatched the blade from my hand. “That should make it easier.”
I forced myself to my feet, feeling the sticky mess on my face. My breath was sour with his blood—I’d been licking it up. Queasy, I turned back to my opponent and realized he was still alive, and suffering terribly. I grabbed the end of the stake and, feeling faint, shoved it through him, ending his life.
Without a word, I turned to my father and, shaking, allowed him to grab me around the waist. The next thing I knew, the yard was a blur again as we raced faster than even Chatter and Grieve could.
Back at the house, I saw Kaylin and Chatter fighting one of the Shadow Hunters. Another was trying to get near Rhiannon, but she was holding him off with a firestorm. Luna was treating a wound on Peyton’s arm that was bleeding profusely. Grieve was finishing off another one of the Vampiric Fae.
“We can’t hold the house,” I said roughly. “We can’t hold it. We’re vulnerable as long as we live here. Even if we take out this group, another will take its place. Until we can strike at the heart of their Court, we’ll just keep getting eroded away by insurgent attacks. There is great power here, but we have no ability to tap into it. Yet.”
“You’re right.” Lannan came up beside me. “You can’t hold it. Best to fall back, regroup, and strategize.”
“Where can we go? We can’t go to Peyton’s house—Anadey has linked herself to Geoffrey and Lainule.”
Lannan let out a long breath. “For now, you may come to my place. All of you. You cannot stay there—that would not be wise, but you may come.”
And then Rhiannon raced over to Luna and was shouting frantically to her. Luna nodded and ran into the house, as Rhia motioned to me.
“The house, the house is on fire. Do you have anything in there? Do you have your necklace and fan?”
I nodded. “Yes, I have them with me. But all your things—all of our memories—where’s the fire?”
Just then, Luna came out leading a string of cats, following behind her, as she played a tune, leading them like the piper. Rhia jogged over and, together with Chatter and Grieve, grabbed up all seven of them.
I pulled out my keys. We sprinted around front and I opened the back door to Favonis, and we piled the cats in there. Luna crawled in with them, playing to charm them into a lulling sleep.
Turning to Rhia I said, “Where’s the fire? I don’t see the fire.”
“I saw it—I know I saw it—”
As she gestured frantically, a sudden fireball appeared from the back and the roof lit up. The others raced around, Peyton and Kaylin and Wrath, and we watched as the flames engulfed the roof of the Veil House.
“Who set it on fire?”
“I did . . . ” Rhiannon whispered, looking pale and terrified. “It was an accident. I caught a low-hanging branch and it smoldered. I was focusing on the Shadow Hunter, trying to stop him before he could get to me and then . . . by the time the flames chased him back, the branch burst and sent a flame to the shingles. It caught, but I thought it might go out there . . . the snow was coming down so thick.”
“Magical fire burns hotter than regular fire.” I glanced around. Myst’s people hadn’t come into the front yard. They were probably too busy watching the fire from the borders of the wood.
“Call nine-one-one?” Peyton asked.
I took out my phone and tried, but when the operator picked up and I told her what house it was, she cut me off and the line went dead.
“Either Geoffrey or Myst cut off our access to help. We are truly alone.”
“Not so much. We have the Consortium—we can go to them. Bring in some of the powerful magic-born.” Rhiannon shook her head. “Formalize our Society and then call on them for backing. If we’re part of the Consortium, they’ll have to help us.”
I glanced at Rhiannon. “You might have something there. As of tonight, I form the Moon Spinners Society—and we who are here are the founders. Our initiation is by fire and ice—our powers of strength.”
We joined hands, all but Luna, whom we mentally included in our circle, and with Ulean at my back, we made our pledges.
By life and death . . .
By sacred trust . . .
I pledge my honor . . .
I pledge my love . . .
I pledge my power . . .
I pledge my heart . . .
I pledge my magic . . .
I pledge my Art.
As we each repeated the charm, the power grew, and I stepped forward. I was High Priestess of the Moon Spinners, and it was up to me to take the lead. I pulled out my fan and, cheeks stained with the blood of our enemy, I whispered, Hurricane Force, and sent the wind speeding toward the house.
The wind whipped the flames into a fury, acting like a bomb, and exploded them high into the night sky. If we couldn’t have the house, neither could Myst. She might try to harness the power of the land, but I had a feeling the ley lines ran far older than she, and my bets were they would refuse to be used by the Indigo Court. I hoped to hell I was right.
“Let all within earshot of slipstream and wind currents hear me: The Moon Spinners are coming for you, Myst. We will not rest until we grind you beneath our feet. And we are from all walks of life, and all paths, and all races. We will not bow before the Indigo Court. We will not rest until we’ve reclaimed and rebuilt our home. I, Cicely who was once Cherish, your daughter, lead the army.”
As my words echoed through the yard, carrying on the wind to all quarters, carrying on the slipstream, I turned back to the others. “Lannan, your offer is a welcome one, but you’re right—we can’t stay there. Kaylin, can you find us a place to hide for now?”
He nodded. “All are pledged by death and honor to keep our new digs secret. You know that, don’t you?” Looking specifically at Lannan, he waited for us. We each answered with a nod, even Lannan.
And so, as the Veil House roared in flames against the sky, we headed for our cars and passed off Vyne Street, a silent procession in the night. Wrath rode with me and Luna and the cats, who slept silently, engulfed in the depths of Luna’s charm.
“My dear, you do realize what you have done?” My father glanced at me as we crept down the snowy streets, our engines muffled by the thick layer of snow Myst was wreaking upon the area.
“Yes, I do. I’ve created a force. I’ve created a power. And we will go to the Consortium and demand backing. They may not like the fact that we are Fae and magic-born, Were and magic-born, Fae and Indigo Court, yummanii, and vampire, but they will have to accept us. They gave me the challenge and I have risen to it. But I still want to learn to control my blade.”
He shook his head. “The obsidian knife is a dangerous tool for one with Myst’s soul blood—it’s bad enough in the hands of one of her soldiers. Obsidian links with the energy of the Vampiric Fae; it’s symbiotic.”
“Then so much the better. I had no trouble killing off her warriors with it. Look at what the blade did for me—it turned me into a warrior—”
“No!” Wrath glowered. “It turned you into a killing machine. Look at your face—look at your hands. Think back to the joy in your heart over the devastation of your enemy. Though we must fight them, though we must destroy them, it is not our way to take great pleasure in the pain of others. Cambyra Fae are dark, yes; we walk on the edge of the Unseelie Court depending on our nature . . . but in my family, we do not align ourselves with monsters!”
I let out a slow cough, the memory of my sheer delight in the carnage tweaking me. “I know . . . but there may come a time, my father, when you will have to turn me loose against them. I may be the only weapon you have. And I will need every advantage I can garner. Put the blade away for now, if you will, but promise me you won’t destroy it.”
He sighed, then nodded. “I will do so. And in return, I will outfit you with a blade from my realm that will leave you joyful, but not a monster at heart. I have a silver dagger that I saved for you, when I knew Krystal was pregnant.”
That was the first time he’d ever said her name, and I glanced at him. “Did you like her?” Please, oh please, say you liked her. Please say you didn’t just fuck her because Lainule ordered you to.
As the streets glided by in a silent blur of snowflakes and flickering streetlights, Wrath let out a long sigh.
“She was a troubled young woman. I wanted to help, but it would have interfered with your future. I could have taken her to my realm, kept her among my consorts where she would have been happy—or at least, less troubled. But Lainule foresaw the future . . . she knew you would need the childhood you had in order to toughen you up. Your mother was . . . a sacrifice so that you might become the woman you are.”
Tears streaming down my face, I pressed my lips shut and followed Kaylin and Rhiannon. He was driving her car, with Peyton and Grieve and Chatter inside. As we wove through the night, a strange inky cloak seemed to surround both vehicles and I knew it was coming from Kaylin.
His night-veil is awake, and it can create shadows to cloak movement. No one can see the cars or feel our presence.
Thank you. And Ulean, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you earlier. I was caught up in the rush of the blade, in the power of the hunt.
I understand. But Cicely, there are long, dark days ahead. Don’t be so rash. Don’t be so quick to lead the brigade. A good leader learns when to hang back and let someone more experienced take over.
It was Kaylin’s idea for me to use the obsidian knife. Do you think he knew what would happen?
I don’t know . . . but Kaylin runs clean energy, even now with his night-veil demon awake.
A peal of bells rang twelve times as we turned into the industrial district right outside town and crept into a maze of a parking lot. Old junkers filled the lot and we parked near the edge of a huge warehouse and climbed out.
