by Jamie Davis
“Are you threatening me, girl?” The Fae man stood. He wore a long black overcoat over a dark brown business suit. He reached into his coat and slid a foot of bare steel from a sword sheathed beneath it.
Avery laid a hand on Quinn’s arm. “I think we all need to take a breath.” She turned to the bartender. “Miss, please tell the magistrate that the city’s Huntress clan leader is here to see her. I’m sure she’ll meet with us.”
The bartender nodded to the man in the corner. “That’s her chief clerk. All requests go through him.”
“Great,” Avery muttered. She cast a glance at Quinn. “Did you have to threaten him?”
Quinn shrugged. “I didn’t know.” She returned her gaze to the man, who was still standing, although he’d sheathed his blade. He had the smile of someone who knew he held the upper hand.
“Sir, I think we got off on the wrong foot. As my friend said, I am the Huntress, clan leader here in Baltimore. We have urgent business with Her Honor. Please advise the magistrate we are here.”
“I will not. Nothing you have to say is important enough to interrupt her duties.”
Quinn steeled herself to fight the guy if that was what it took. She had to speak to the woman who’d overseen her trial. She was the closest thing to a fair-minded Fae she’d ever met.
She opened her mouth to tell the man what she thought of his assessment of the importance of her mission, but she never got the chance to speak.
“Stop,” a woman shouted from the door at the end of the bar.
All eyes turned in that direction. An old Fae woman in a navy blue velvet robe stood there.
Quinn recognized her and bowed. “Your Honor. We have asked to speak with you on a private matter of some urgency.”
“So I hear,” the woman said. “My clerk is sometimes overzealous in the way he protects my time these days. He knows I do not have the energy I had a few centuries ago. Still, he should have come to me with your request, given your unique history with the court.”
The clerk’s eyes darkened at being admonished in front of mere humans.
The magistrate beckoned to Quinn and Avery. “Come with me. I will hear what you have to say.”
The clerk glared at Quinn. She returned it with a sickly sweet smile and followed the magistrate into the back room. Avery was right behind her.
The room behind the bar looked like an old-school legal office, with rows of books lining shelves on all four walls. Above them were rolls of what Quinn assumed were scrolls stacked to the ceiling. The magistrate walked behind the desk to a worn leather chair.
“Sit, please.”
Quinn and Avery sat in the two chairs facing the desk and glanced at each other, nervous now that they were here.
“Tell me what’s so urgent that you risked angering a man who belongs to one of the oldest Fae dynasties.”
Quinn swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “Your Honor, I remembered your fair and even-handed treatment during my recent trial.”
“I did nothing but follow the law.”
“I understand, and that is why we have come to you today. We believe two members of the Fae royal families have joined a plot to open a gate to the netherworld.”
If Quinn expected surprise to show on the woman’s face, she was disappointed. The magistrate didn’t even twitch.
“That’s a serious charge. How do you know such a thing to be true?”
“It is information my associate and I have put together over time.”
The magistrate nodded. “That doesn’t have the sound of convincing evidence. Still, you made the effort to see me. Tell me what you have discovered.”
Over the next twenty minutes, Quinn and Avery took turns laying out the entire plot as they understood it. Avery talked about her discovery of notes belonging to Gemma. She told how the notes discussed the plans to use Hunter-trained women to assist with ancient magic to remove the barriers between the worlds and open the gateway.
Quinn testified to her discovery of the Dark Fae plot while she was out with Gil and Terrence in western Maryland. She even mentioned the things she learned during her talks with Chessie, the ancient dragon in the bay.
When they both finished, the old woman nodded. She stared at her hands, clasped on the desk, for some time before she answered. The silence weighed heavily on Quinn, making her fidget in her chair.
Finally, the magistrate spoke. “Your accusations are serious. Do you have the names of the royals you lay them against?”
“I do, Your Honor,” Quinn said. “They are Princess Filippa and Princess Aurora. I do not know their house names.”
“I see.” Once again, the magistrate was silent for a time. When she spoke again, it was with sadness in her eyes. “You have laid out an interesting and compelling case against the two princesses and this human woman, Gemma Beckingsly. At another time, it might even be a firm case.”
She paused again and then sighed. “However, in this situation, since you accuse two who are not just members of the royal Fae lines, but princesses of their houses, I must decline to rule.”
Quinn couldn’t believe what the woman had said. “What do you mean, ‘decline?’ You said our case was strong.”
“I said it might be strong. It is the ones accused who cause a problem for your case. For those so highly placed in their families, we must have incontrovertible evidence.” She looked at Avery. “You mentioned notes and letters linking one of the princesses to Miss Beckingsly. Do you have them to submit as evidence?”
“Uh, no, Your Honor. I do not. They were destroyed in the fight to reach Baltimore with some precious cargo.”
“What about the other things you both have testified about? Do you have any proof beyond your own words and memories?”
Quinn’s jaw dropped. “Like what? Isn’t our testimony enough?”
“No, I’m afraid it is not.”
“So, you don’t believe us or any of this?”
The woman shook her head. “I did not say that. I fear every word you say is true, and that there is indeed significant danger on our doorstep. Unfortunately, your evidence is not strong enough for me to take direct action against their highnesses or their agents. I’m sorry.”
Quinn’s fury burned deep inside. “You refuse to do anything to help us?”
“I cannot, Huntress. You must find the solution yourself. That is the calling of the Hunters of old. They joined together to fight that which was outside the law. Now that ancient calling falls to you.”
Avery put a hand on Quinn’s arm before she said anything more. “Magistrate, ma’am, you’re aware that if we cannot stop them, this world as we know it will end and demon Fae will once more roam this land?”
“I am aware of the consequences. That does not mean I’m free to bend the law to make it fit the evidence. It is the evidence that must meet the standards of the law, not the other way around. For everything else, it falls to those such as you and the clan to stop what might happen.”
Quinn shifted her arm out from under Avery’s quieting hand and stood. “Come on, Avery. This was a complete waste of time. I thought we’d find justice. Instead, I find a reason to kill every suspected Dark Fae I see. At least that way, some of them will be bad guys.” Quinn glared at the magistrate as her hand shifted to reach for her Bowie.
Avery stepped in front of Quinn, meeting her eye to eye. “No. That’s not the answer. She’s been honest with us about what she can and cannot do. She is not our enemy. There may be others who deserve our blades, but not this woman.”
The old magistrate nodded but said nothing.
Quinn and Avery headed for the door.
As Quinn was about to pull it open, the magistrate said, “The test of tests is laid before you, Huntress. May you find strength in the members of your unique clan to see it through to the end.”
Quinn glanced back at the woman. “The blood from what is coming is on your hands.”
Sadness filled the old woman’s eyes. “That is my c
harge, girl. In the end, the blood is always on my hands. Be true to your calling. May you find the path that leads to the light.”
Quinn had had enough of the cryptic words for one day. She stormed into the bar, with Avery right behind her. They left without saying another word, walking straight to the door.
The Fae clerk talked on a cell phone in the corner, watching as they left. His following gaze didn’t escape Quinn’s attention.
Back in the car, Quinn pulled away from the curb and started cursing. “That woman as much as admitted the princesses were about to end the world, and she didn’t do a thing.”
“She did do something. She gave you permission to do whatever you need to do. You’ve got a pass to fight and kill two princesses if you want. That’s a huge deal, Quinn. She really was on our side.”
“Maybe, but did you see her clerk, Avery? When we left, he was talking to someone and watching us closely. That old biddy might be on our side. Her clerk wasn’t. I’m willing to bet he was talking to Gemma or one of the princesses, reporting on our failure to stop them.”
“You think he’s a Dark Fae?”
“I think it’s worth looking into who he is. Maybe Clark or Naomi can help us figure it out. He might lead us to the center of the plot here in Baltimore. Track them down through him, and we stop the entire thing before it starts.”
“You want to follow him? That could be dangerous to do alone, Quinn.”
“Yeah, ordinarily that would be true, but they’ve screwed up because they think they’re only facing me. There are two angry Huntresses in the city now. I think it’s time to show them what that means.”
Avery smiled. “Okay, I’m interested. What did you have in mind?”
“You’ll see. Let’s get back and talk to the others first, especially Taylor. There are some things we need before my plan will work.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“So that’s the plan,” Quinn said to the assembled clan members sitting in straight-backed chairs arranged in a circle inside the ceremonial chamber. “Avery and I go into VR together and track this guy back to Gemma and the two princesses.”
Taylor said, “Avery’s never been in the VR. I’m not sure I can put together a rig for you both soon enough.”
“Don’t let me down now, T. You put together a rig for a baby dragon in a day. I’m sure adding one for a person will be easier than that. You have all that spare VirSync gear. It’s time to use it.”
Taylor shook her head and stared at the ceiling as if she were counting something in her mind.
Miranda said, “It takes a lot of power to activate the magic in the VR system, Quinn. The dragon was a smaller creature, which made it easier. Two full-sized adults might be a problem even for Taylor. She’s become a powerful mage, but this might be too much for her to manage. You said it took one or two spellcasters and their magic per candidate when you both worked at VirSync. There might be a reason for that.”
“I need you two to figure it out. I need Avery there with me on this. If I get into the mess I think I will, it’s going to take both of us to fight off the demon-kinder and others Gemma has with her.”
Avery smiled. “We’ll show them what the two of us can do together. I’m looking forward to fighting side by side with you again.”
Naomi leaned back in her chair. “If you will take Avery, why not take me instead? I’m Hunter-trained, too.”
Taylor shook her head. “It won’t work for you, Naomi. You’re undead. The negative energy of your being would cancel out the additional life energy infusing the system. At best, you’d stay on the workshop table and not go anywhere. At worst, you’d end up dusted into your component atoms as soon as I cast the first spell.”
“Well, we can’t have that,” Quinn said. “Besides, I need you and Clark to be ready to come in as backup if we need it. We know they’re somewhere in the city, or at least close by. We’ll make our move at night and track the guy to the others. You and Clark can come to our location as soon as we know where we’re going.”
Naomi did a poor job hiding her disappointment, but she nodded to accept the assignment as part of the backup team.
Quinn nodded. “Then it’s settled. How soon can you figure out the details, T?”
Taylor and Miranda exchanged glances. Judging from the doubtful expression on the ghost’s face, she didn’t think much of Quinn’s idea. Taylor seemed more determined.
“If it’ll work at all, I’ll know as soon as I wire in the second rig for Avery.” She glanced at her phone, checking the time. “It will take me at least a day to get the new rig online. Check with me tomorrow afternoon. I should know more by then.”
Avery smiled. “Good. That’ll give Quinn and me a chance to figure out someone to watch the girls and help them get to bed on time. Miranda and Taylor will be tied up here. Clark and Naomi will be on the road tracking us.”
“What about Tadpole?” Naomi suggested.
“What about him?” Avery asked. “He gets along well enough with them, but you think he’s up to watching all six by himself?”
“Why not? He’s watching them now while we have this meeting.”
Clark said, “That’s different, Naomi. We’re just down the hall from them. We left them watching a movie projected on the wall in the training room. The movie’s doing the babysitting right now, not the orc.”
Naomi shook her head. “Have you seen him with them? They adore him, and he’s been very gentle and beyond careful with them. He’d never let them come to any harm. You know that.”
“I don’t know, Mom. Clark’s right. Social services would have a cow if they knew we were using a trained killer to babysit those kids.”
“Well,” Naomi said, “what about a blood-sucking vampire? Or a ghost? Or a werewolf? I mean, we don’t have a lot of options here. It’s not the optimal answer, but we should consider it.”
Quinn did. She thought about asking Juni or some of the other waitresses at O’Malley’s to help. That idea was shot down right away. They were too busy to spare anyone during the evening shift.
She leaned back in her seat and craned her neck so she could see down the hall to the training room. The flickering light of the projector was the only illumination coming down the corridor. It was quiet, which Quinn found strange. Usually, when they played with Tadpole, they ran around making a lot of noise, even when a show was playing.
She leaned forward again. “How long have they been back there watching the movie?”
Taylor said, “I set them up with a playlist and showed Brea how to click on the movies on a tablet to stream them to the projector. They’ve been there for about two hours, maybe longer.”
Naomi smiled. “See, not a peep. They’re fine.”
“I guess so,” Avery said. “What are they watching? Usually there’s laughter or something. I’ve learned that silence is not a good sign unless they’re asleep.”
Taylor shrugged. “I downloaded the top twenty kid shows from an online service. They’re all cartoons or shows that are appropriate, I assure you.”
“I’m not questioning that. I’m wondering if it’s a little too quiet.” Avery stood. “I’ll be right back.”
Quinn stood too. “We’re done here. I’ll come with you. Maybe they’re all asleep.”
Avery nodded, and they walked down the hall to the training room. The projector sat in the middle of the room on a cardboard box. The images on the screen were from an animated movie. It wasn’t one Quinn was familiar with.
Quinn didn’t study the screen for long. She was more concerned about the fact that the room was empty.
“Where are they?” Avery asked.
“I’m sure they’re fine.” Quinn looked around. “Listen. I hear voices.”
The murmur came from the other side of the stout armory door.
“What are they doing in the armory?” Avery wondered aloud.
“Let’s find out.”
When Quinn opened the door and looked inside, her jaw
dropped. A fully armored Tadpole stood at the far end of the room. He held the gold spear from the Crystal Well in his gauntleted grip. In front of him, arrayed in appropriately sized armor, stood all six girls. They also held various weapons. Brea held a staff topped by a long-bladed sword-spear. Kami hefted a tomahawk that looked more like a battle axe in her small two-handed grip. The others carried weapons of their own.
“What the hell is going on here?” Avery asked, not bothering to hide the anger in her tone. “Girls, put those weapons down now, and be careful while you do it. I don’t want to have to take any of you in for stitches. I know how sharp those things are.”
“Hi, Quinn,” Tadpole said, lifting the visor on his helmet. “We were just trying on the armor I found to fit the girls. You said to take care of them and make sure they were safe.”
Quinn rolled her eyes. “I meant you were supposed to protect them and make sure they did nothing dangerous. I didn’t want you to hand them every sort of sharp object in the armory and deck them out in metal shirts.”
None of the girls had put down the weapons. They all held them in grips that looked like they knew exactly how to use them.
One of the twins—Quinn thought it was Jordi—said, “We trained with weapons all the time at the estancia. We never had cool armor to wear, though. It’s heavy, but I can see how it would help in an actual fight.”
“That’s not the point,” Avery said. “If you’re going to handle dangerous things like this, we need to know about it first. Now, give the weapons back to Tadpole so he can put them away. Then you can help each other get out of the armor. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the six said in unison.
Tadpole’s shoulders slumped as he took off his helmet and set it on the floor. The girls handed their weapons to him one at a time.
Quinn went over to him as he returned the various blades, axes, and spears to their racks along the walls.
“Tadpole, what were you thinking? These things are for training warriors.”
“I didn’t know it was wrong, Quinn. I’m sorry. Is it because they’re so young? I don’t understand since I started training at three, and Kami is already six. I’ve seen them practice. They’re all very good; better than I was at their ages.”
