Grave War

by Price, Kalayna

  “Okay, fine,” I said with a sigh. “I’m near Fairmount Street. I can meet you somewhere, but I am planning a meeting with the shadow court, so if you intend to interfere, this isn’t going to work. So, your word you’re not going to do anything drastic like drag me out of town for my own protection.”

  The line was quiet aside from traffic sounds for a moment. Then Tem said, “My oath. I won’t drag you off for your own protection.”

  Well, that had been easier than I’d anticipated.

  “Okay then, where should I pick you up?” Because I wasn’t sure how he was getting around right now, but I wasn’t about to abandon my car.

  “Boss, half the state is looking for you. You lie low. I’ll come to you. Pull off in an alley or something and give me the name of the side streets. I’m not far from Fairmount.”

  Ugh . . . another alley. But I couldn’t fault his logic. The further delay in reaching my father’s was less than ideal, though. Still, I did as he asked, finding a small tucked-away side street to park on. He disconnected as soon as I gave him the address, promising he was only about seven minutes out. At least it wouldn’t be a long delay.

  While I waited, I texted Caleb. I needed to warn him that the police might show up looking for me, but I didn’t want an electronic log of that message, so instead I texted telling him I was working on securing a temporary door into Faerie and asking him to spread the word. Nori would probably inform the independents, but I doubted she’d go out of her way to make sure as many as possible received the news and were ready when I had a time and location to share. Caleb had a lot of ties in the independent community, so hopefully he’d help fill in the gaps she missed.

  The shadow cat, who’d been content to sleep on my passenger seat while I’d been driving, now stood and paced across the dash of my car. She didn’t make a sound, but agitation radiated off her dark form. Because I’d stopped? Or had something else happened? Something on Dugan’s side? It would help if the prince had a cell phone, though I guess Faerie having cell towers would be required for that to be useful.

  “We’ll be on our way again any minute,” I reassured the cat.

  Her tail whipped through the air, accenting her pacing steps. When that didn’t garner the response she desired, she turned and leapt into my lap. Being a shadow, the cat had no true weight, so it was an odd sensation. I was aware of the cat, that she was touching me, but the sensation had no substance. It was an eerie feeling.

  The cat stared straight into my face with her featureless one. I frowned at her, unsure what she was trying to tell me. Then she turned, bunched in on herself, and jumped straight into the rearview mirror. Darkness bled over the mirror, and then Dugan appeared—or at least, part of his face appeared. It was mostly just a very extreme close-up of his eyes and the bridge of his nose. From the way the skin around his eyes moved, I guessed he was frowning.

  “What am I looking at?” he asked, his gaze darting around.

  “Interior of my car. I guess it was the easiest reflective surface your cat could find.”

  He made a noncommittal grunt, and then seemed to back up, more of his face becoming visible.

  “Did you locate the tree?” I asked as his face slowly came into focus.

  “Greetings to you as well, my lady,” he said and though I could see the smile on his face, there was a sharpness to his words.

  I winced. Yeah, that had been a little rude. I cast around in my brain for a suitable greeting. How formal was I supposed to be? I was tired, so I just went with a title I’d heard other fae use. “Hello, Prince of Shadows and Secrets.”

  Dugan frowned, which wasn’t the response I’d expected. “Now you are mocking me.”

  “I’m not! I—” I cut off abruptly because as Dugan continued moving back so that he was more properly framed in my rearview mirror, the odd oblong shape of the surface revealed the area around him as well. And Dugan wasn’t alone.

  “Falin!” I surged forward, as if I could jump to my feet in the front seat of the car. That, of course, didn’t work. Between the steering wheel and the seat belt, my own momentum slammed me back into the seat. Despite that fact, I was grinning like a loon. I’d spent half a day fearing he’d died until Dugan had told me he was only injured, but then I’d fretted about how badly hurt he might be. He stood tall and strong now, apparently whole. Of course, I’d seen him glamour over wounds that would kill a human, so how okay he actually was might be less clear than appearances.

  Falin smiled, a real smile that shone in every part of his face and made his brilliant eyes look impossibly blue, but all he said was “Alex.”

  My name as greeting, but also said with relief, and affection. I was still smiling and more than anything I wanted to reach through the mirror and wrap my arms around him. I needed to feel that he was okay. To find out if he was still injured under his glamour. To just reassure myself that he was real.

  Dugan cleared his throat, reminding me that this wasn’t a private conversation.

  “Yes. As you have observed, the Winter King has emerged, alive,” he said. “And to answer your earlier question, no, I have not located your sapling yet. Ryese . . . is surprisingly difficult to track down.”

  I wasn’t entirely surprised. Ryese’s personal magics seemed well suited toward hiding his activity, even from the court of secrets. A month ago, he’d orchestrated a series of murders and managed to conceal nearly all the details surrounding them.

  “Do you know if he is still hiding in the light court?” Or was he out here sending me spelled roses?

  “I do not know his precise location, but sources suggest he is still inside Faerie. Now you need to make your way to the pocket of Faerie in your father’s home,” Dugan said after a moment. “We need to talk in person.”

  I nodded. “That’s actually where I was headed. I’d like to discuss a door with you.” Because if I could work out the details now, that would give me more time to get the independents in place and get everyone safely evacuated.

  Falin’s gaze swept across the surface of the mirror. “You’re in your car, but you appear to be parked.”

  “Yeah, well. I had to stop and wait for my babysitter. Which we need to discuss.” Speaking of whom, the sound of a motorcycle approaching filled the small street I was parked on. I twisted in my seat.

  Tem pulled an enormous black Harley to a stop behind my car. The huge troll still looked large on the bike, but he looked a whole hell of a lot more comfortable astride it than I’d seen him look inside my car or Nori’s. I guessed it must have been his preferred mode of transportation, but I had to wonder where he’d snagged the bike from, as Nori said he’d split right after I had.

  His eyes met mine through the rear window of the car, and I sent him an abbreviated wave. The look of relief that washed over his face was intense, as if he’d truly believed his head would have rolled if he hadn’t found me. Yeah, we were going to have this conversation real soon.

  “No worries, the babysitter is here,” I said, turning back toward the mirror. “Though I’d appreciate it if you’d call that guy off,” I muttered before shifting my focus on Dugan because that was a conversation Falin and I could have later. There were more pressing issues. “About that door? I want to evacuate the fae in Nekros—and any who can make it from farther away, but I’m guessing we are on a time limit with the pocket of Faerie.”

  Falin frowned, his brows drawing together as he stepped in front of Dugan. “What?”

  I returned the frown. Did he disapprove of the door? “You have a different plan? Or do you mean the bodyguard thing? Because if you actually trust me to do this job, then show some trust in me to handle it.” Not that there was much job left. The Nekros FIB department had pretty much dissolved unless we found a way to fix the amaranthine tree.

  Falin had gone still. The kind of still a large stalking cat can go when it is listening for the sou
nds of prey. Or danger.

  “What are you talking about, Alex? What bodyguard?”

  “Tem? Big yellow troll?” I said, but from his expression, I already knew he didn’t know who I was talking about. I found myself whispering now, because Tem was right outside the car, already opening the door to the passenger side. “Said the king assigned him to watch over me on the job . . .”

  I didn’t need to see Falin’s cautious headshake; my hand was already moving toward the dagger in my boot. Dugan’s warning—“There is more than one king in Faerie”—was delivered a moment too late, Tem already sliding into the seat beside me.

  Tem’s eyes widened as they landed on the mirror and the not-reflections contained within. The moment his gaze landed on Falin, something hardened in his expression.

  “Damn it, boss. Now you’ve done it,” he yelled, tearing the mirror from the car and crushing it in one huge hand.

  I jerked my dagger free of my boot, my other hand flying for the door handle beside me. Unfortunately, I’d never taken the damn seat belt off. Panic flooded through me, and I lashed out with the dagger.

  Troll-hide was thick, nigh impenetrable, but my blade was enchanted to slice through anything. The point pierced his biceps, sinking deep, and too hot blood rushed over my fingers, burning my flesh where it touched me.

  Tem bellowed in rage, moving fast, too fast. He caught my arm in one huge hand. He was going to crush it. I was going to lose my entire arm. I had only a moment to attempt to wrench my wrist away, to struggle against the impossibly strong grip pinning me. Then I felt the cold sizzle of a spell against my skin. A ready-made charm that held the same sinisterly familiar notes I’d detected in the roses and fire charm.

  Then the spell ripped through me, and the world went black.

  Chapter 20

  The first thing I became aware of was the sound of dripping water.

  Pling.

  Pling.

  Pling.

  The sound echoed around my head, making the throbbing pain shatter any attempt at a coherent thought with every resounding drip. I didn’t want to open my eyes; my head hurt way too much without adding light to the situation. But my mouth felt like I’d been chewing on cotton, and my throat burned. If there was water, I needed some.

  The pain, the sound, and the need for water were my only concerns for a while, as I tried to rouse myself enough to deal with at least one of those issues. Then memories started surfacing.

  I’d seen Falin. He’d been alive and well enough to make it to the shadow court. He hadn’t sent Tem. And I’d told the troll where to find me.

  A new sensation cut through the others, panic flooding me again as I remembered the struggle in the car. I forced my eyes open, bracing myself for more pain.

  And found myself in darkness.

  I blinked.

  I could see absolutely nothing. I could still hear water dripping not far away, and I could feel gritty wet stone under me, but I couldn’t see a thing. My first instinct was to thrash and try to jump to my feet, but my body felt heavy, my limbs not responding properly. The spell Tem had knocked me out with—it had worked fast, and apparently was wearing off slow. I couldn’t feel my legs, let alone my feet; no way was I standing right now.

  But I couldn’t just lie in the dark and do nothing.

  I took a deep breath, wrinkling my nose at the musty scent of mold that permeated the air. Despite that, I forced down another deep breath, concentrating on the feel of my lungs filling, on my heart—while it was pounding, even it seemed sluggish given the situation. Next I worked on focusing on my arms. I couldn’t move them, but I could feel them, though it took me longer than it should have to realize they were bound behind my back. My fingers tingled, a growing feeling of pins and needles stabbing my arms and palms as the awareness in my limbs spread. The small pains were almost reassuring—they meant Tem hadn’t dismembered me. It took concentration at first, but I could move each finger, which also meant I wasn’t bound in iron. My legs didn’t seem to be bound at all. Either that was a pretty big oversight or my captors were very confident that I could not escape from whatever hole they had trapped me inside.

  Now that I could feel my body, the piercing pain that had been only in my head now spread everywhere. A deep body ache like I’d once suffered while fevered with the flu. Apparently every cell of my body was fighting off the residual effects of the spell, and it hurt like hell. I clenched my teeth together to prevent myself from whimpering. I had no idea if I was being observed, but it didn’t appear anyone knew I was awake yet, and I hoped to keep it that way until I was confident that I could get my feet under me at the very least.

  As I lay in the damp darkness, I slowly became aware of a different sensation, one a whole lot more welcome than the pain that was taking its sweet time to ebb. A familiar buzzing sensation, a tickle of magic easily ignored if I didn’t focus on it, hummed near the top of my boot. I knew that magic, and the almost alien awareness it contained. My enchanted dagger.

  But how could it be back in its sheath?

  The dagger had been in my hand—and Tem’s arm—when the spell had knocked me unconscious. I had serious doubts that the troll would have pulled the blade from his flesh and then carefully sheathed it in my boot. Which meant the enchanted blade must have found its own way there. Did that mean I was being held in Faerie? The dagger had never moved around the mortal realm on its own. But no, the air here didn’t feel like Faerie. There was no distant music, no contented feeling of being home, no soft hum of magic. Wherever I was currently smelled of mold and rotted meat, and I could definitely feel the chill of the grave coming off the tiny corpses sharing the room with me. Thankfully, nothing I felt was human, and all the animals were small: fish, squirrels, a raccoon or two, and rats. Lots of dead rats.

  I tried again to look around, to pierce the darkness in front of my eyes. Nothing. I wasn’t sure if the room I was in truly was pitch-black, or if my damaged vision only made it appear that way. If I had to guess, I’d bet I was being held underground. Maybe a storm drain or a sewer tunnel. Neither sounded like a good place to be lying with my face on the slimy stone, but I didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter.

  I considered opening my shields so that I could get a better look at my surroundings, but hesitated. Right now, I appeared to be alone, but that didn’t mean I was unwatched. The moment I opened my shields, the light show from my eyes would alert anyone paying attention that I was conscious. That would be unavoidable soon, but with each minute that passed, the effects of the spell dissipated. The fog in my head was clearing, as was the pain, and moving my hands was becoming easier. The tingling in my legs suggested they were not yet ready to hold my weight, so I gave it another minute, listening to the water dripping in the darkness, giving my body a chance to shake off the residual effects of the spell.

  “She should be awake by now,” a deep voice said, the words distant and echoing slightly, like they were coming from down a long hallway.

  “She blooded true, but she’s not full-blooded. Maybe the spell hit her harder than it would a real Sleagh Maith.” The answering voice was female, and sounded like it was coming closer.

  I cursed silently.

  Apparently I was out of time. I still couldn’t see anything, and couldn’t guess the size of the room. The air was still and stale, which made the darkness feel claustrophobic, but the echoes of the dripping water made me think the room I was in was fairly large. But was there anywhere to hide? I needed to see, damn it.

  I pried open my mental shields, imagining the living vines I used as a wall around my psyche slithering apart and allowing my slivers of magic to peer through. At the same time, I drew one leg up to my chest, rolling up to my knees. A chaotic mix of realities filled the darkness around me, illuminating it with color. I had enough time to notice tall shapes all around me, not far away, as I straightened. Then a jolt of pain and di
zziness crashed over me. It felt like a fist slamming into my skull, dragging out my magic, my energy, my very life.

  My shoulder collided with the wet stone as I collapsed, my cheek hitting a moment later, but I barely felt the impact, my consciousness slipping.

  When my eyes fluttered, the room was brighter, and not from me peering across planes this time—my shields had apparently slammed back into place by reflex. No, someone had turned on a pair of industrial floodlights suspended on a pole several yards away. I squeezed my eyes shut against the sudden brightness, forgetting for a moment I should have probably pretended to still be out cold.

  “Oh, so she is conscious,” the female voice said at the same time the male speaker said, “Welcome back to the waking world, boss.”

  Tem.

  I blinked, squinting into the light, searching. It took far too long for my bad eyes to adjust to the light. Every one of my crashing heartbeats seemed to take too long as I waited for an attack to land while I was helpless, bound and blind. But no blows landed. As shapes began to resolve, I realized no one was even near me and the room wasn’t half as bright as it had first seemed.

  I appeared to be in the center of the room, a good five feet of empty space surrounding me. But beyond that cleared space were huge rectangles erected all around me. What in the world . . . ?

  Mirrors, I realized, after staring at the one directly across from me for a long befuddled moment. At least a dozen mirrors, all facing inward, toward where I was lying. The mirror reflected back my bound form, but also the reflection of me as reflected by all the other mirrors so there were a hundred, maybe a thousand reflections of me bound and confused in the mirror’s surface. My head still felt like it was splitting—either from opening my shields while under the effect of the knockout spell or from bouncing off the stone when I’d subsequently collapsed, so I didn’t attempt to lift it to look around, not yet. Instead I let my gaze search, though even that much effort made the pain in my head throb harder.