by Karlik, Mary
“Can you beat him?”
Ian’s question stopped her before she reached the door. She human-sized and looked at the large plate-glass window in the front. “No. I can’t.”
The man stood on the other side of the glass with a cold stare trained on her. He held his walking stick like a scepter and the globe on the end glowed red.
A shiver slid down her spine as if icy fingers trailed across her skin. “Is that Connor Davis?”
Buzzard nodded. “Aye. A vile human.”
“There’s something about him that’s almost familiar—and he is no human.” She shivered again and the cràdh whispered the words she spoke aloud. “He has my sister and I can’t beat him. His magic is too strong—too fast.”
Ian shook his head. “You can’t beat him yet. The more we know about our enemy, the stronger we become. We just need to take a wee step back and make a plan.”
Buzzard nodded. “He’s right, fairy. It’s not over. Now, how about that drink?”
Layla clamped her jaw shut and popped her wings wide before folding them over her shoulders. “Aye. Let’s get out of here.”
Jack met them in the close and fell into step next to Ian. “Theo’s on his way back to the pub. He lost the troll. He said he’d explain it when he got there. I don’t know what happened, but he sounded shaken.”
Layla forced her legs not to wobble as they made their way back to the pub. But it wasn’t just Davis or his magic that caused chills to ripple up and down her spine. It was what was in the shop.
When they reached the pub, she practically fell onto the seat. “Those globes.”
Buzzard sat next to her. “The ones with the fairy dolls?”
“They aren’t dolls.” Layla didn’t try to stop her wings from unfurling. Jack and Ian stood in front of her like a human curtain.
Buzzard spoke through the side of his mouth. “Mind your wings.”
She folded them as Ian dropped on the other side of her and Jack sat opposite.
Buzzard flopped back on the seat. “If they aren’t dolls, then…”
“Aye. Those are real fairies trapped in the globes.”
Jack leaned forward. “But why? What does he do with them?”
“I can’t say.” Layla blew out a long breath. “He had me. I was as frozen as those poor fey stuck in the globes. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move.” She spun a cardboard beer mat. “If the connection hadn’t been broken I’m not sure how much longer I would have lasted.”
Buzzard pulled his mobile from his pocket. “Ian broke the connection when he went for the man’s throat.”
“If the counter hadn’t been in the way, I might have finished him.” Ian raised his eyes to the waiter and tipped his chin. “Let’s order.”
Buzzard handed Layla his mobile. “I managed pictures of the globes.” He showed her how to manipulate the screen to make the images bigger.
She searched through the pictures. The globes held fey from every clan, all arranged in awkward positions. Some were stretched on tiptoe while others’ wings were opened beyond their natural span. Her chest ached with sorrow as she viewed fairy after fairy suspended in those tortured poses. She handed the device back to him. “I don’t know a single one of them.”
Ian raised his brows. “Which means Esme was not among them. I’m sorry.”
The drinks arrived at the same time Theo did. Jack was right—he was fair shook up.
He sat next to Jack and across from Layla. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I kept my distance enough that I’m sure he didn’t see me. We were just off the Mile and I figured he was heading to a flat. Then the whole world went topsy-turvy.”
Ian set down his beer. “How do you mean?”
Theo gulped from the whisky Buzzard shoved in front of him. “Everything moved counterclockwise. I mean everything. From the street to the clouds in the sky—it shifted.”
Layla clapped her hands. “That’s a portal. The troll must have opened the way to my world.”
Theo pushed his hair behind his ears. “Maybe, but it wasn’t intentional. It knocked us both off balance. I saw your world. Just for a second, a forest appeared, but it was like it was behind a veil.”
Layla’s wing tips fluttered on her shoulders. “I had the same experience before I came to this world. Only from my side, I saw this city.”
Theo wiped his brow with a napkin. “It frightened the troll too. As soon as it was over, the wee man scrambled to his feet and took off.” He turned to Ian. “I’m sorry—I lost him after that.”
Ian sipped his drink. “Can you take us to the place where the thing happened?”
“Aye. I lost him under the arch of Southbridge.” Theo spoke to Layla. “Would you be able to make it happen again?”
“No. I don’t know what causes it. When the horseman opened the portal, I felt the same turn, but it was different. Controlled.”
Ian drained his glass and set it on the table with a clunk. “Finish up, lads. I want to check out the place where this world shift happened.”
They paid and Theo led them to the spot.
Layla stopped beneath the bridge and turned in a circle, trying to sense, trying to see...
Ian stood against the bridge abutment that stretched up to form an arch. “Do you feel anything?”
“Not really.” She drew in a deep breath. “But... I can smell pine from the forest.” She looked at Theo. “And you’re sure this was where my world appeared?”
“Aye. And when the troll ran off, he ran south toward the university.”
Jack called from where he stood close to Ian. “Look. A pine cone.” He bent to pick it up, but as soon as his fingers grazed the thing, it sizzled.
Layla ran to him. “Are you okay?”
“Aye.”
She knelt and gingerly reached out toward it. It gave a last dying fizzle before settling into an ordinary pinecone. She picked it up. “It’s from the Dark Forest in my world.” She looked at Theo again. “You said the world shift scared the troll.”
“Aye. He screamed like a wee girl and ran like a rabbit.”
Ian poked his hands into his pockets. “Does this help, Layla?”
She turned the cone over in her hand. “I’m not sure what happened here. But I don’t think it’s connected to the portal. This seems chaotic and random.” She inspected the air for a shimmy that might indicate a glamour.
Buzzard turned as if he were looking too. “What do you think happened?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think this is the result of the portal opening on command, or even of a spell. It’s like the forces of nature caused it.”
Ian neared her. “So you think nature is creating these brief openings between our worlds?”
She dragged her free hand through her curls. “I don’t know. Passage between our worlds used to be controlled by portals, but they were always open. After the fairy massacre they were sealed. There has always been a wall between the magical and human world. Could something be causing that wall to break down?”
Ian reached for the pine cone. “May I?” He slipped it from her fingers.
They barely touched, but again there were sparks or sizzles or fizzles or something. Why had Ian affected her this way? She’d felt nothing when Buzzard had touched her.
Ian smelled the pine cone and turned it over in his hands. “What would happen if the walls fell? Could a forest suddenly appear in the city?”
“I don’t know. But creatures could surely enter this world. It would be dangerous for humans and magicals.”
“Let’s hope your theory is wrong.” Ian handed the pine cone back to Layla. “Theo, see if you can find any reports resembling your experience tonight. Meanwhile, let’s focus on Connor Davis and the fairies.”
Theo nodded. “Aye. I’ll do a search tomorrow. If it’s okay, I’d like to see if CCTV captured this weird incident.”
“Good thinking.” Ian yawned. “We’re all tired. Let’s head to the van. I
want to get an early start. Be at my flat by five.”
Theo turned to his boss. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to walk. I need to clear my head a bit and I’d like to check out a thing or two.”
Ian nodded. “Keep your eyes open.”
Theo crossed the street and Layla called after him, “Be careful. There are forces not of this world out there.”
Jack caught up with Theo. “I could use a walk. I’ll go with you.”
Ian climbed into the back of the van behind Layla and slid the door closed.
“All set?” Buzzard’s voice sounded from the other side of the wall dividing the cab from the box.
“Aye.” Ian sat on the floor and leaned against the wall opposite the bench seat. He liked to ride in the back. It was quiet and gave him time to think and plan. And if they were going to go after the fairies in the morning, he needed to plan.
Layla sat on the bench, slumped against the wall, and stared at her feet with vacant eyes. Ian knew the look—had been there. She was exhausted and on the verge of burnout.
“Lie down on the bench. It’ll help.”
She stretched out along the bench and barely mumbled, “Thanks,” before her eyes closed.
He needed to drag his attention back to tomorrow’s plan, but it was the first time he’d really looked at the fairy and his gut twisted just a bit.
Her wings fascinated him. Beautiful and delicate, yet strong enough to lift her from the ground.
He dragged his fingertips down his face. She had wings, she was not human, and he should not have the kind of thoughts that were starting to enter his brain. When he helped her from the shop, he’d felt something different. It was like the last really grand hug he remembered from his mum or maybe the first full-body hug he’d shared with a girl—all warmth, with a tinge of sorrow.
He dropped his hands and shook his head. His mum had been gone since he was sixteen and his first girlfriend had kicked him in the bollocks after that hug.
He redirected his thoughts to the case, to Miranda. The American girl was a friend and housemate, but she’d always been a little unpredictable. Was she mixed up with the fairy kidnappings or had she simply taken off? No. She might have left most of her things, but she wouldn’t have left the multicolored peasant blouse. It had been a gift from her mum—a mum she hadn’t seen in years.
But she’d been a mess the last time he’d seen her and desperate enough to do anything for another hit of magic. He was sure she was being held by Davis. Or working for him. Or dead.
And then there were the fairies. It was an impossible battle. He wouldn’t let Layla fight it alone, but—magic. How could a mere human fight against magic?
Chapter Eleven
As exhausted as Layla was, sleep came in a series of spurts tied together with anxiety about the day ahead and self-criticism over the day behind. She finally fell into a deep sleep in the wee hours of the morning. But fraught with crushing fear and aching sadness, it was anything but restful. And for the second morning in a row, she awoke with a pounding pulse as her mind released the nightmare images that had tortured her.
It was early, but she wouldn’t visit those dreams again. She rose and dressed in her own clothes with her weapons settled around her body.
By the time Ian and the others gathered in the den, she was coiled and ready to spring. Enough watching, learning, and planning—it was time to make things happen. It was time to rescue those fairies.
Buzzard took in her dress and shook his head. “What happened to blending in?”
Her muscles tensed and aggravation twisted a little tighter in her gut. “Two nights and two days have passed. I don’t mean to let another one go without saving my sister. It’s time to do battle.”
Buzzard folded his arms across his chest and said to Ian, “How far do you think we’ll get with her dressed like a medieval warrior?”
Jack answered, “Relax, man. She looks like a street performer. People see what they want to see.”
Ian nodded. “He’s right. Besides, it’s five in the morning. Who’s going to be out to stop her? I don’t know what we’re up against. We may need her skills.”
“Your call, boss.” Buzzard’s stance relaxed, but the set of his face told Layla he didn’t like it. It didn’t matter to her if he or anybody else approved. She would not go out again without her weapons.
Layla couldn’t keep her wings still while she listened to Ian review the plan as they traveled to the car park. By the time they scrambled from the van and followed Theo to the entrance of Burnet’s Close, her nerves were beyond raw.
She hesitated before entering the close and regarded the sky. It blazed deep orange as the sun tipped its rays over the buildings.
Ian followed her gaze. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
She turned away. “It’s a bad sign.”
Theo looked over his shoulder at her. “Red sky in the morning, Shepard take warning. It just means there’s likely to be rain. This is Scotland, after all.”
“Rain I can live with.” A chill passed through her as lingering memories of the nightmare shadowed her confidence. That same red sky had painted her dream last night. The one in which Fauth returned. The one in which he waited for her with murder in his eyes and blood dripping from his jaws.
She shook the feeling away. It was surely the cràdh feeding on her anxiety. After all, she was endangering four human lives to save her people. She raised her eyes to the sky again and told herself that Theo was right. It just meant they were in for some rain.
They made their way to the Royal Mile, across the lane, and through another close before stopping in front of the iron bars covering the entrance to the path below the city. The bars were secured by a heavy chain and padlock.
Theo held up a key. “We, erm, acquired this last night. Once we’re in, we’ll intercept the tourist path for a wee way. We’ll come to a door leading to a tunnel that will take us away from the tourist path. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to nick that key.” He looked at Layla. “Does your magic include opening locks?”
Layla wasn’t sure what exactly she could or couldn’t do, but surely if she could shoot a stream of magic from her hands, a lock wouldn’t stop her. “I think so. But when I was in the tunnel, I didn’t go through a door.”
Theo stuck the key in the slot opening the lock. “Aye. But I know a short cut—if we can get through the door.”
Ian wrenched the gate open and they stepped into the blackness of the tunnel.
The team switched on their torches, lighting the path ahead. Layla fumbled a bit with hers before finding the button, but once she got it, she almost squealed. “This is loads easier than conjuring light.”
Jack held his light in front of his face. “You can do that?”
“Aye.”
But before she conjured a fire ball, Ian clapped a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Come on. We don’t have time for tricks.”
As they wound their way down the steep incline, the air was musty but fortunately absent the stench of human decay that Layla had experienced before.
At an intersection of two paths, Theo held up a hand to halt the group. “This is where it intersects with the Mary King’s Close tour. It’s too early for the tours to have begun, but keep it in mind for our return.”
A short way down the next passage, Theo stopped at a steel door. He pulled on the handle, but it didn’t budge. “Just as I expected, it’s locked.” He stepped back and ushered Layla toward the door with a sweep of his arm. “You’re up.”
She placed her hand over the keyhole. In her mind, she pictured her magic entering the keyhole and clicking the tumblers into place as if a key had been inserted. A few seconds passed before she felt movement. When she did, she tipped a wee surge of power into the lock. It opened with a pop that scorched her hand. She jerked her stinging palm away and rubbed it on her dress as she watched wisps of smoke drift from what was left of the melted keyhole. “Not what I intended, but we’re in.”
Ian swung the door open, and as soon as they stepped into the passage, they were choked by a putrid smell of decay ten times worse than what Layla had experienced the day before.
Buzzard was the first to run from the tunnel and heave.
The rest followed. Ian bent over with his hands on his knees, sucking in fresh air. He raised his brows at Theo. “You played in there as a kid?”
Theo shook his head. “I was lost in there for two days. It never smelled like that.”
Layla said, “It’s a ward. I think I can undo the spell.” She held her breath, stepped back through the door, and tried the spell she’d used on the glamour. A blue flash lit the tunnel, but the ward held. She tried other spells that she had learned while helping her sister study, but the ward held through them all.
She was about to suggest they take the long way around when a thought struck her. Maybe she was trying too hard. Maybe the best way to undo the ward was the easiest. She stood in the center of the passage and twirled her finger above her head. “Aileadh glan.” Fresh air. Indigo sparkles swirled in the air, forming a funnel that sucked the ward to its center.
When the air tainted by the ward was enclosed in the funnel, Layla compressed it into a cube no larger than a centimeter.
She stepped from the doorway and handed the cube to Ian. “This is the ward. It could come in handy. If you need it, break it open.”
He held it on the flat of his hand. “What if it opens accidentally?”
She winked. “Don’t be too rough with it.”
He dropped it in his shirt pocket and motioned to Theo. “Lead the way.”
Layla followed Theo back into the tunnel and resisted the urge to bang her forehead against the stone. She shouldn’t have winked at Ian. He was a human. What was she thinking? She was thinking she was feeling pretty cheeky over her success in solving the ward problem. But they had a way to go before they reached the fey, to say nothing of executing the rescue.
She shut the embarrassment of the wink out of her mind and dropped into line, Theo in front of her and Ian and the rest behind.
