I shrugged. "Who knows? Probably hundreds of years. Lethesanar is an opium addict; we knew that growing up."
"We should untie Wisteria," Delilah said. She had hopped onto the counter, and her long legs dangled over the edge.
"Huh? Why the hell would we do that? That bitch is dangerous." I stared at her, wondering where she'd left her brain.
"She's been tied up for several hours now. She has to be getting cramps."
Ever the compassionate heart, my sister. I sighed. Even though she meant well, it was too dangerous. "Delilah, hon, think for a moment. Wisteria tried to kill us. She's in league with the demons. She hates us. And you want us to untie her? Remember what she did to Chase."
"I'm with Camille on this one, Delilah." Chase didn't look happy about agreeing with me, either. "We can't chance it. With everything that's going down, we run a big risk if we let her loose—even for a few minutes."
Delilah glanced over at Menolly, who only had to shake her head to voice her opinion. "I understand that, but it just seems cruel, keeping her tied up without a break. Can we at least ask her if she wants some water?"
I pressed my lips together, not wanting to play the bad cop. Chase glanced at me, and I saw that he wasn't willing to, either.
Menolly swatted at a gnat. "She's no princess, Kitten. She's a bloodthirsty wood sprite who's lost her marbles," she said. "She'd as soon rip off your head as look at you."
Delilah stared at her with that wide-eyed ingenue look she had. Finally, Menolly shrugged. "Whatever, but don't blame me when something goes bad. Come on, I'll help you. We'll offer her some water, and if she moves a muscle, I'll break her neck."
"I'm not sure if I feel better or not," Delilah muttered as they rose and headed into the parlor.
Iris was at the sink, standing on a stool to wash dishes. I started to tell her not to bother, then stopped. House sprites reveled in helping those they cared for. It was part of their nature, just as being a lug had been part of Jocko's, or being sarcastic was part of Trillian's.
She turned around and, wiping her hands on a dishcloth, asked, "What should I do while you're fighting this demon?"
"Hide with Maggie and Tom. You'll have to protect both of them. We'll secure you safely, though." I played with the last of my sandwich, thinking about our predicament. If our father could have crossed over to help, I would have felt so much safer, but that wasn't going to happen.
Wondering if Trillian's part in matters—whatever that might be—had been discovered by the Queen, I tried to figure out how we might go home after Tom was secured within the Elfin city's walls. If we returned to Y'Elestrial, the OIA would require us to fight against Tanaquar. And frankly, when I admitted my true feelings to myself, I was hoping Tanaquar would win.
The Queen's younger sister was brilliant and strong, and while she, too, had her cruel side—as did most of the Sidhe—she possessed a sense of justice that made me trust in her judgment far more than that of the opium-dazed Lethesanar. But we weren't home right now, not yet. We had to focus on the impending battle.
I shook myself out of my reverie and stood up. "Chase, you and Morio leave the kitchen, please. I'm going to hide Iris, Tom, and Maggie. Then I'll cast a location spell to find Bad Ass Luke."
"I've got to head out to talk to Grandmother Coyote anyway," Morio said, giving me a quick kiss. "Stay safe till I get back." He dashed out the door. As I watched through the kitchen window, he was there one second, and the next a sleek red fox was darting into the woods.
Chase left the room, and I gently walked over to Tom. "Take Maggie, would you?" I whispered to Iris. She obliged as Tom looked up at me from the rocking chair with the sweetest smile I'd seen in a long time.
"You've sure been nice to me, miss. Can I do anything to help you?" That endeared him to me even more. I was beginning to see why Titania had kept him around.
"Trust me, Tom, you're helping us even if you don't know it. Now I want you to lean back and close your eyes. It's time for a nap." I ran through the spell, hoping to hell I'd get it right. When he complied, I placed one hand on his forehead, and the other on his shoulder. "Hear but forget. Follow but sleep, Mother Moon."
The words drifted on the air for a moment, then settled down over him like a shroud, embracing his body. No mix-ups this time. Within seconds, Tom was breathing softly. I leaned down to whisper in his ear.
"Come with me, and watch your step, Tom."
He stood. I took his hand and led him over to the secret entrance, which Iris had opened. She held Maggie firmly in one arm, waiting for me to lead Tom down the steps, then fell in behind me. We reached Menolly's sitting room, and I helped Tom sit down in the upholstered recliner. Iris covered him with an afghan.
"He'll sleep for several hours," I said. "Whatever you do, don't bring him upstairs until we return. If something goes wrong and you suspect danger, take his necklace and Maggie and hide yourself as best as possible. If we don't return, go to Grandmother Coyote, and take the necklace through the portal to the Elfin Queen." I gave her and the now-snoring gargoyle cub a hug, then returned to the kitchen, shutting the bookcase door behind me.
Before I could reach the living room, Menolly came charging into the kitchen, cursing a blue streak. She was pissed, that much was obvious. Her eyes were glowing red, and her fangs were out.
"Uh-oh, what happened?"
"Wisteria decided to try and play vampire," Menolly said, glaring over her shoulder.
Delilah entered the kitchen more slowly. One hand was on her neck, and I saw a trickle of blood streaming between her fingers.
"What in the seven stars happened to you?" I rushed over and yanked her hand away from the wound. Menolly was right. Wisteria had obviously planted her lips on my sister's neck, but it wasn't exactly a love bite. Blood seeped from the wound, and a strange green pus was already oozing out of the jagged edges.
"Cabbage-breath wanted a drink of water, all right. Then she attacked Delilah, who was holding the cup." Menolly huffed herself into a chair, crossing her legs with a graceful kick.
"Is she still alive?" Having seen my sister in action, I wasn't holding out much hope, but Menolly surprised me.
"Yes, I left our precious hostage alive. She's not getting free without help, though," she said, a wicked grin playing on her face. "I know how to bind knots, and believe me, she'll feel every muscle in her body for days."
Delilah gave in to my fussing and let me wash and dress the wound. It looked nasty, but I sprinkled an all-inclusive antibacterial powder on it that we'd been given by the healers back in Otherworld and covered it with gauze.
"I could say I told you so," I muttered. "When will you learn to listen to me?"
"Eh, shut up," Delilah said, a smile playing on the corners of her lips. "Don't worry, I'm over feeling sorry for her," she added. "I can't believe she tried to tear a chunk out of my neck."
"You sound surprised."
"I just thought… I never thought…" Delilah's gaze flashed down at me, and I knew what was bothering her.
"Honey, you may play fair, but Wisteria's our enemy. Never forget that," I said, carefully taping the edges of the gauze. "These demons are out for blood. They're out to take over this world, and our world, and they aren't going to make nice-nice and leave women and children alive. We can't allow them to succeed."
Her lips quivered. My softhearted sister, who always wanted to believe the best, to focus on the positive, to eliminate the negative by pretending it wasn't there, was beginning to understand the seamy underside of war. A harsh lesson, but one she needed to learn.
"I guess you're right," she said. "But I just can't imagine how one of our own would go in league with them. Doesn't Wisteria understand that the demons will kill her? I tried to tell her that, and she laughed in my face."
"Before she bit you in the neck?" I put away the gauze and antibiotic powder and washed my hands. "Listen to me. People—humans and Faerie and Sidhe included—hear what they want to hear and believe what they want to believe. It's the nature of life. Now, we need to stash Wisteria somewhere before I cast the location spell to pinpoint Luke's whereabouts. Any ideas would be muchly appreciated."
"I don't think we should put her outside. If Luke shows up, he'll set her free, and then we'll be dealing with two whack-jobs." Menolly glanced around, frowning. "What about the broom closet? You could lock her in there with one of your magic locks."
"Uh-huh. Like that's ever worked for me." My mentor's attempts to teach me how to cast magic locks had been one big waste of time for us both. To date, I'd managed to get it right exactly three times out of a hundred serious tries. "I can give it a shot, but I don't guarantee results."
"That's comforting. Oh hell, there's a chance, and it won't take much time to find out if you can make it work." She stood up. "I'll volunteer to carry the monster in here if you'll give it a shot."
I shook my head. "Menolly, you either have a lot of confidence in me, or you think you're strong enough to withstand anything I can throw at you. Okay, go get her, and I'll try. I promise you nothing, however."
As she carried the bound-and-gagged Wisteria into the kitchen, Delilah scowled but happily opened the closet door. Menolly tossed Wisteria inside, none too gently. She was about to slam the closet shut when a knock on the kitchen door stopped her.
Chase and Delilah drew their guns. Menolly paused, waiting, as I edged my way to the porch and peered through the curtains. It was Morio. I cautiously opened the door, and he hustled inside, stopping with a puzzled look when he saw the open closet, the pissed-off floraed, and Delilah's bandaged neck.
"What happened?"
"Wisteria decided to try her hand at sucking blood. We're locking her in the closet, and you're just in time to join us. After that, I'll cast the location spell to find Bad Ass Luke." I shut the door and locked it tightly. "Did you talk to Grandmother Coyote? What did she say?"
"I'm fast in my fox form," Morio said. "And yes, I found her. She's willing to let us use the portal. I assume one of you knows the mechanics of transfer?"
Menolly raised her hand. "I do. I learned at the Wayfarer. Speaking of which, I can probably kiss my job goodbye when the OIA finds out I didn't show up tonight."
"I doubt it, considering…" I stopped, noticing that Wisteria had perked up. "Shush. Our spy is listening."
With that, Menolly slammed the closet door and stood back. "Fire at will."
"Thank you, Madame Vamp." I couldn't believe I was going to try this again. I'd all but given up on ever mastering it. "As I said, I usually get this wrong, so I suggest all of you take cover to avoid getting hit by a backlash if this thing blows up in my face."
When everyone had retreated to the living room, I focused on summoning the magic that froze situations, that locked doors and barred gates and sealed secrets. It flowed through me clear at first, running thick in my veins. My father was a master of this spell—it was an innate ability with him, and I'd inherited the power, but with a pathetic twist.
I tried to bring my attention away from the possibility of failure, to concentrate on success, but once again, there was a familiar jog, as if the energy reached a certain point and then stalled out. The next thing I knew, the force that came rushing from my hands enveloped the closet door and the hinges exploded, a shard of shrapnel catching me in the arm.
"Damn it to high hell!" My arm burned like a mother-sucker. I clasped the forearm, where a two-inch shard of metal had lodged itself in my flesh. The door, freed from hinges or any other locking mechanism, teetered and fell toward me, and I barely managed to jump out of the way before it landed on the floor with a resounding thud. And that took care of any hopes of magically entrapping Wisteria in the closet.
The others rushed in. When he saw the blood, Morio grabbed my arm and inspected it. He motioned for me to sit at the table, and Delilah promptly fetched the same supplies I'd just finished using on her.
"You just couldn't stand the fact that I'm wearing such a haute couture bandage, could you?" she teased.
I snorted. "Oh yes, it's all the rage at Court and Crown this year. I heard the Queen will be sporting one just like it when Tanaquar gets done with her." I sighed, depressed. "My magic's been working pretty good the past couple of days. I'm getting good at blasting people, but I guess it couldn't last forever."
Menolly yanked Wisteria out of the closet. The floraed had a triumphant gleam in her eye, and I wanted to smack her a good one but refrained.
"I'll take our visitor here into the storage room," Menolly said. "There aren't any windows, and we'll just lock the door with a key and hope for the best." She trudged away, carrying the woman over her shoulder like she might carry a baseball bat.
"Good idea," I muttered. "I just hope my sudden flop doesn't presage the same failure in locating Mr. Bad Ass."
Morio held up a wicked looking pair of tweezers. "Inhale, then exhale sharply while I pull this thing out of your arm."
I obeyed, screeching as he ripped the barb of metal out of my flesh. "You could have been a little more gentle," I said, but he shook his head.
"It would have hurt more that way. This is going to sting when I clean it, but we have to make sure there aren't any metal shavings in there."
