The Night Before Dead

by Kelly Meding

  “The only way to stop this is to kill Amalie,” Phineas said. “To kill the beast you lop off its head, you do not poke it with a stick and hope it goes away. Amalie holds much sway over the Fey Council. Eliminating her shifts the focus of the Fey from us to other things.”

  “Agreed.” I looked at Wyatt. “What do you think? Ready to go back to First Break?”

  Wyatt nodded. “I am. One last battle by your side.”

  Considering the last time we were at First Break, Wyatt got the shock of his life when he realized that Tovin planned to stick a Tainted into Wyatt once I died a second time, the irony kind of painted itself all over the place.

  “Great,” I said. “Now we just need to get—”

  “Marcus! Wait!” Kismet’s voice.

  The heavy footsteps clued me in to Marcus’s barrel down the corridor before I could turn around, and then I didn’t need to because he slammed into Wyatt like a wrecking ball. The two massive men tumbled to the ground, Marcus’s hands around Wyatt’s throat. His inner Felia drove his anger and need for vengeance against the Alpha of the Lupa who’d hurt the man he’d claimed as his own.

  Aurora shot Marcus in the back with a tranq. Marcus didn’t notice it at first, his entire focus on choking Wyatt. Phineas wrapped his arms around Marcus’s shoulders and yanked. The drug was enough to loosen Marcus’s grip, and Phineas managed to peel him off my Tainted boyfriend.

  “I’ll kill them with my bare hands,” Marcus roared, still stuck in Phin’s firm hold.

  “It wasn’t their fault,” I said. “It’s Amalie’s. She did this to Milo.”

  Marcus snarled at me, and that got Wyatt on his feet and in my personal space.

  “This needs to wait,” Phineas said. “Anger and vengeance is for this is a task for later. Once Amalie is dealt with and your husband is returned to us.”

  I blinked my way through that one, until I realized the Tainted was talking about the one we had on ice. Dueling personalities was confusing as hell.

  “Phin is right,” Astrid said. She and Rufus had emerged from Ops together to survey the scene. “Marcus, listen to Evangeline’s plan.”

  He did, and by the time I finished, Phineas had released him. Marcus was still shooting death glares at Wyatt, but he seemed on board. Wyatt, meanwhile, had shifted his focus from Marcus to Rufus.

  And Rufus was squirming in his wheelchair.

  The Tainted were emotion and instinct, and according to the elves, fed off of the negative emotions of humans. They liked to cause havoc and chaos. Knowing that made me all kinds of nervous all of the sudden.

  “Human,” Wyatt said, and I knew it was the Tainted taking control this time. “You reek of shame when presented with my host’s form. Why?”

  I looked at Kismet, whose eyes went wide with understanding. Astrid, bless her, was oblivious to the undercurrent and said, “Who cares? You three have a mission to prepare for. You can talk about your feelings later.”

  “Good plan,” I said. “Whatever Wyatt and Rufus have to work out, it’s between them, not the entire group of us. Shelve it.”

  Wyatt stared Rufus down for several long seconds, before visibly standing down.

  Another disaster averted. If Rufus admitted his secret while Wyatt was still holding the Tainted, Rufus would be dead in seconds. Wyatt wouldn’t be able to stop himself because of the Tainted’s influence, and he’d regret it for the rest of his life.

  “Excellent,” Astrid said. “Let’s get weapons.”

  Strapping on extra knives and a few guns had never felt so much like preparation for a kamikaze attack. As if a part of me had accepted the fact that we might not come back from First Break. No one could predict how the Fey would react to our invasion. Evacuation? All out war? Trolls shaking the entire little underground community apart and leaving us to our deaths?

  The Tainted were all given their choice of sharp objects. Wyatt and Marcus both chose machetes, and Phineas requested his own ancient Coni blade.

  Aurora, Astrid and Kismet followed us to the Sanctuary door. Isleen hadn’t locked it from our entry this morning. No one said goodbye or good luck. I don’t think anyone knew what to say. All we had left was hope and stubbornness.

  And luck.

  Verbalized or not, we really, really needed luck on our side this time.

  Power from the Break rippled through me. All three of the men with me seemed to calm a bit under its spell. Magic called to all of us. I placed them in a circle, Wyatt on my right and Marcus on my left. Wyatt and I described every detail we could remember about First Break so that everyone could imagine it in their heads while we teleported.

  “Hold hands, boys,” I said.

  Their skin was hotter than I expected, and a soft bolt of energy went from Wyatt to me as our taps merged. Nerves wormed through my stomach. I closed my eyes and drew on my emotional tap. Power flooded through me from the Break and from Wyatt, buzzing across my skin and setting it on fire. I collected everything I could, held it close, and then we broke apart.

  We fell into the Break.

  So much power. So much more than at any other time in my life—even during that thunderstorm. We whipped about, caught in its current, and I focused hard on First Break. On that waterfall and the pool of water below. To the sandy spot nearby. Our destination.

  The farther we went, moving through the earth itself, the less power I could hold onto. My grip became a fragile thing as my mortal body protested the sheer amount of magic I was channeling. I wasn’t built for this. I was losing it….

  Until a blast of power from all three Tainted sent us barreling toward the end. I felt the sand beneath my feet, and I let go. Wyatt eased my collapse, and I knew by the rush of flowing water and the floral scents invading my nose that we’d made it.

  Blood flowed down my upper lip, my body felt like jelly, and my head hurt like hell, but I was awake and aware.

  First Break looked the same. Thousands of exotic flowers growing in the rocky walls that stretched up for hundreds of feet into darkness. The waterfall that ended in a glassy black pool that didn’t ripple, despite the constant motion. The small city that had been dug out of the rock itself, with doors and windows and walkways zig-zagging up at least twelve stories. Basketball-sized spheres glowing with orange light. Gold and silver and gems decorating everything.

  Beautiful.

  And deadly.

  “That sure beat being vomited up by a troll,” Wyatt said.

  I almost laughed. “Sure did.”

  Our voices echoed in the seemingly empty cavern. But we weren’t alone. Someone had left the lights on.

  The ground beneath us rumbled, as if a train was speeding by in close proximity.

  Wyatt helped me stand, and all three men stood in a kind of triangle with Phineas at the point, and me protected behind them. Not that I needed them to protect me, but I was still a little shaky after transport so the support was nice.

  “Amalie,” Phineas said, his deep voice bouncing off the rock walls. “You have much to answer for, Sprite Queen.”

  “Have I now?” her disembodied voice replied. It floated from all directions, making pinpointing her location impossible. “You dare soil my home with your presence?”

  “You’ve brought this upon yourself. At least have the courage to face us.”

  She appeared from behind a door on the third level—not the door I remembered going into during our first visit to this place. Barely four feet tall, Amalie’s true form had sky blue skin, ruby red lips, and flaming red hair spiraled and decorated with crystals. Other crystals decorated her skin all over her sexless body. She carried no weapons that I could see.

  “I had thought to spare your life for your persistence and ingenuity, Evangeline,” Amalie said. “You bringing these creatures here has sealed your death.”

  Like I haven’t heard that one before.

  Keeping that thought to myself rose my self-preservation skill level to expert.

  “You seem nervous, Sprite,�
�� Marcus said. “What have you to say when faced with those you have condemned?”

  “You condemned yourself when you thought you were superior to us. When you put your desires above everyone else and made the human race your playthings. Your subjugates.”

  “Didn’t you do the same thing with the vampire race?” I asked. “They were your slaves and you made them dependant on the blood of humans.”

  Amalie’s slow blink was her only actual sign of surprise. “Your elf allies have been telling stories, I see.”

  “All kinds of stories. And they don’t exactly paint the Fey as the beacon of hope for humanity. The elves wanted to leave so humans could take their rightful place as rulers over this planet, and the rest of you got feisty. You banished the Tainted and you eradicated most of the elves, and now they all want a little payback. You’ve manipulated the Triads for the last ten years, you have caused numerous unnecessary deaths, and now we want a little payback, too.”

  Amalie made a sound like a whistle, only more musical. A buzzing cloud poured out of the doorways and windows on two of the top levels. It sparkled as it descended, and I recognized the cluster of faeries from before. Higher above them was another cloud, this made of little lights the size of fireflies—and thanks to a little lesson from Brevin, I also knew the pixies way up there had razor sharp teeth and painful bites.

  Nothing like being eaten to death my massive mosquitoes.

  From the bottom two levels came dozens of creatures I couldn’t name, a mixed bag like before. Some proportionate like Amalie, others not so much. Many with jewels, all with oddly colored skin. They formed ranks in front of Amalie, protecting her from us with their own bodies. No physical weapons, but they lived at the source of all magic, so I wasn’t underestimating anybody.

  “We have no quarrel with you,” Phineas said to the group at large. “We have quarrel with the sprite you protect. Only one life has to be taken this day.”

  “I agree,” Amalie said. “Kill the human Evangeline Stone, and you three may remain in this world to live as you like. I will even see that your missing kin is freed and returned to you.”

  Uh oh.

  The fact that neither of my three allies spoke up immediately told me how strongly the Tainted were in control. Being this close to the source of all magic, to the portal back to their original world, had to be messing with the control that Wyatt, Phineas and Marcus had over their demons.

  “We have already given our word to another,” Wyatt said. “We must see that bargain through before a new one can be made.”

  I would never, in this world or the next, tell Wyatt how relieved I was to hear him say that.

  Amalie’s eyes twitched. Bitch wasn’t used to being told no. Maybe we’d luck out and she was bluffing. I mean, the magic critters in front of us didn’t look like they’d put up much of a fight, no matter how ferociously the dwarves had attacked.

  “Wait,” Phineas said.

  My heart flipped. Phin was smart and super-observant. He also wasn’t a traitor, demon or not.

  Please have a plan.

  He took three steps forward, away from our cluster, and at the front line of Amalie’s guardians. They didn’t move, and they didn’t attack.

  “Your elder has spoken for you, Elash,” Amalie said. “What more is there to say?”

  Okay, the fact that Amalie knew the Tainted by name was uber-creepy.

  “Perhaps he speaks for Elash, but he does not speak for my host,” Phineas replied. “He does not speak for the Coni whose race was destroyed by human hands.”

  “You call this human your ally and friend, Coni. Why would you turn against her at this late hour?”

  “To end the bloodshed. She is one woman out of millions. Her life is an acceptable trade if it restores order to our world.”

  Wyatt growled deep in his throat, the threat waking up his inner Lupa. I grabbed his wrist and squeezed, silently begging him to stay still and trust Phineas. Phineas wouldn’t give me up. He wouldn’t.

  Amalie studied him a moment. “And what would you trade her life for? What do you ask of me in return?”

  “What the elves asked for so many millennia ago—a complete withdrawal from the world of humankind. Allow them to evolve without interference. Without whispering in the ears of politicians and world leaders. Without manipulating them into hunting other living creatures because you desire it.”

  “You ask much for the life of one human.”

  “One human who has, for months, defied your expectations and ruined your carefully laid plans at every turn. A thorn in your side who has brought three Tainted, your greatest enemy, into the heart of your home. You wish her head and you lack the ability to do it yourself.” Phineas glanced around the buzzing cavern. “And my instincts tell me your underlings lack that ability, as well.”

  “You assume much, Coni.”

  “And yet you deny nothing. Our presence here unnerves you, Sprite Queen. We can slaughter you and your people in minutes, and you cannot stop us.”

  I worked hard to stop a smile. Phineas was totally calling her bluff.

  For the first time ever, Amalie was nervous and uncertain. Sprites didn’t improvise well or quickly. They planned long because they lived long. She didn’t expect us to show up in First Break, and now we held all the cards.

  “I think it’s a fair bargain,” Marcus said. “The human female for your withdrawal from our lives.”

  Wyatt growled again and took a long step backward, which made me retreat, too. Part of him was probably acting, but the rest of him was instinctively reacting to a threat against his mate. “I won’t let you kill her,” he said. “She’s mine.”

  “Forget the human, father. We can remain here, in this world.”

  “That is not the bargain we made. We must honor what we told the elves.”

  “No. No, Isash and I agree on this,” Phineas said. “She dies.” He stepped forward again, and this time the line of fair folk parted so they didn’t get stepped on. His massive form worked its way through them to stand an arm’s reach from Amalie.

  She stared up at him, outwardly un-intimidated. Her brain had to be whirring, though, wondering what to do next.

  “Do we have a bargain, you and I?” Phineas asked. “Your fair folk leave us to our own futures, without interference, and she dies.”

  Amalie did that slow-blink thing. “Agreed. Myself and my people will abide by this agreement.”

  “Excellent.”

  Phineas grabbed Amalie by the throat with his left hand and rose into the sky in a rush of air from his massive wings. The ancient blade flashed in his right hand an instant before he buried it in her skull. Gold blood dripped like glitter onto the other fair folk, who gaped at the move none of them saw coming.

  He dropped the body into their midst. “Amalie’s mistake,” he said, “was in not clarifying which ‘she’ was to die. Blood has been spilled. You will honor the agreement, or you will be hunted.”

  The buzzing cloud of pixies and faeries disappeared, as did the fey on the ground. All retreated to the stone city, until only Amalie’s corpse remained in the sandy courtyard. I stared at her, unable to believe she was truly dead. That maybe so much of the turmoil from the last ten years was finally coming to an end.

  Yeah, right, tell that to the city full of people reporting Halfie and goblin attacks all over the place.

  We had cleaning up to do, but this chapter was finally fucking over.

  Go team.

  “Nice bluff there, Phin,” I said.

  The glare I got in return did not instill me with confidence. “Do not thank me yet, human. We battled, your friend and I.”

  Oh great, Edash was winning. “Well, I think we all made out pretty okay. You kept your bargain with Brevin, and we’ll keep ours with you. You get your kin back.”

  “And then we go.”

  “As agreed.”

  The three Tainted shared a look I didn’t like, but no one contradicted me.

 
“What now?” Wyatt asked.

  “Now we go home,” I said. “All of us.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  After dispatching Amalie, I spent the next little while accidentally unconscious. Apparently teleporting across the city and through solid earth twice in an hour took a pretty terrible toll on one’s body, and I passed out the instant we reappeared in the Sanctuary. I was impressed I hadn’t lost power halfway and teleported us into the middle of Mercy’s Lot, so a power nap was a win in my book.

  I woke up on a cot in one of the infirmary’s curtained exam rooms. The IV surprised me but I was probably dehydrated. My bladder confirmed that the bag was almost empty, so I tugged the needle out of my arm.

  “Hello?” I called out as I sat up. My body still ached a bit in the joints, but I didn’t fall over or get dizzy.

  Footsteps shuffled toward my curtain. Kismet pulled it back, her eyes red and puffy, and my heart shot into my throat.

  “Is it Milo?” I asked.

  “It’s a lot of things,” she replied. “Milo’s still fighting the virus. He’s hanging on.”

  “How about our guys? Shit, how long have I been out?”

  “Two hours.”

  “Damn.” Damn. “Did they sent the Tainted back?”

  She nodded. “According to Brevin, removing the Tainted went as he expected. All four were sent back across the Break.”

  Thank Christ. “And what about Wyatt? Phin? Marcus? How are they?”

  “They’re in rooms receiving medical attention.”

  I lurched to my feet, pleased I managed to stay on them and not face-plant. “What does that mean? How are they? Are they injured?”

  “Yes, they are. Their transformations were both magical and physical. Severe muscle strains, bruising, some stress fractures. They are all massively dehydrated and suffering from major exhaustion.”

  “It’s all recoverable stuff, though, right?”

  “According to Dr. Vansis, yes. Marcus and Phineas have both been briefly conscious.”

  My heart slammed into my ribs. “But Wyatt hasn’t?”