by Shona Husk
Caspian put his cup down and looked at her. “So I’m the sacrifice.”
“You’re mortal. Get used to it,” Dylis snapped. She could be mouthy, but she never usually cracked. Whatever was happening was putting her under pressure too. But it still wasn’t a good enough reason for him to give up and die.
“I don’t want to die today, or next week. Or whenever the Hunter of Annwyn comes to exact payment for dealing with Shea.” He wrapped his hands around his coffee cup, but the heat didn’t warm him. His blood was running cold with adrenaline and more than a little fear.
“If you find the Window for your father, I’m sure he’d let you off with just a warning.” She smiled, that peculiar cold grin that only a fairy could manage. Too many teeth and with a glint in the eye usually only seen by people about to be devoured by something wild and untamed.
The coffee turned tasteless in his mouth. She wanted him to deal to be free of him and get back to her life at Court. Sneaky. He glanced out the window, but there was still the problem of the mirrors. Maybe he could talk to Shea without cutting a deal.
Unfortunately the sky was clear of flying pigs.
“Were you talking to someone?”
Caspian’s head snapped up at the sound of Lydia’s voice. She’d put on the pajamas that she’d never managed to get into last night. The hot pink and black spots weren’t what he’d have expected her to wear. He didn’t know what to expect anymore. And he didn’t know what to say.
“This just got worse,” Dylis muttered.
He resisted the urge to glance at Dylis. How many seconds until Lydia realized it was far too bright in the kitchen and that her yard was full of mirrors? How many heartbeats until she demanded answers he wasn’t ready to give and that she wouldn’t believe?
Her gaze flickered from to the window. “What’s going on?” She frowned and took a couple of paces forward. “Are they… How…” She turned to look at him and he wished he could shrink and vanish like Dylis did. “There are mirrors outside.”
“I know.”
She looked outside again as if to be sure that was what she was seeing. Then she opened the back door and stood in the doorway. The morning sun caught in the reflective surfaces and threw the light back at her so she was surrounded by a white glow.
Shea had planned that well. Angled them all to catch the sunrise.
“Shit.” She lifted her hand to shield her eyes. “How did this happen?” Lydia turned to face him, her eyes narrowing. “You know. Who were you talking to? What’s going on?”
Caspian swallowed. He should have told her about fairies last night. Told her the truth about the weird bumps and the ghost in the house. Now it was going to be much, much worse. He glanced at Dylis then back at Lydia. Saying nothing wouldn’t help either and he’d miss an opportunity to tell her the truth. He’d never told anyone the whole truth—the idea hurt. She’d laugh, or call him crazy, kick him out… all things he’d expected to happen last night, but none had eventuated.
Last night she’d accepted him as he was. He’d had hope that one day he’d be able to tell her everything and not have her look at him with fear or horror. Now that was gone. It took a moment for him to realize that he cared about what she thought, that he didn’t want this to be just one night or even a few days. He wanted more. He’d already told her more about himself than anyone else knew. And because of that she could crush him. Although if he made a deal with Shea, he wouldn’t have to suffer a broken heart for long, as he’d be dead.
“You know how I said I’m afraid of fairies?”
Lydia raised one eyebrow and crossed her arms. She and Dylis would get on great. Both of them watching him, neither of them looking impressed. If only they could see each other.
“They are around us, but most people can’t see them.”
“Uh-huh, but you can.”
“I’m psychometric because I’m half-fairy. My biological father, the dangerous man, he is the fairy I’ve never met.”
She pressed her lips together, disbelief hardening her features. He was losing her already, but he had to press on.
“The mirrors were put there by a fairy that wants me to help him find a…” Why stop at fairies? He might as well start talking magic. “A magic mirror.”
Lydia glanced outside then back at him. She shook her head. “Fairies aren’t real. I don’t know how you got the mirrors here or why, but it wasn’t fairies.”
She was really watching him now, as if he was a dangerous psychopath who’d let go of reality. He knew that was how it sounded, but the look in her eyes was why he’d never told anyone. Disbelief and a whole lot of distrust. He tried to ignore the ache that threatened to tear open his heart. Maybe he wasn’t ready for this. Yet he remembered how it had been last night. How she’d believed him about the psychometry. He had to give her a chance to believe in fairies. He needed that chance.
He took a breath and tried logic. “Why would I fill your garden with mirrors?”
“I don’t know.”
“How would I when I was in bed with you?”
“I don’t know.” He could see the doubt begin to take hold as her gaze flicked between him and the window.
“All those odd bumps and crashes last night? They were banished fairies, Greys we call them, looking to cause trouble because I have refused to help the other one find the mirror he wants.”
“Right.” She nodded, but the desire that had filled her eyes last night was totally gone. She’d slept with him and was now regretting every second of the time they’d been intimate, while he was holding onto those same moments as if they were the only lifeline he had.
He only had one thing he could do and Dylis would make him pay for it later. “Dylis, show yourself please.”
“No. This is your problem.”
“It’s yours as well. I’m not moving. I’m not doing anything until you show yourself.” And to Lydia it looked as if he was talking to himself. This was getting better and better.
“Okay, I think you should go. I’ll give you a head start before I call the police about the mirrors.” Lydia edged around the kitchen as far from him as she could get.
He didn’t move. “Dylis. I swear if you do not do this for me I will do everything in my power to ensure you suffer for the rest of your very long life.” His words vibrated with power he’d never felt before. He’d tapped into a magic that he hadn’t known he possessed. He knew a fairy’s word had power, but the desperation he was feeling must have given his words enough weight for his fairy blood to shine. Great. He’d spent years suppressing it, only to have it surface now.
“Damn you.” She shimmered for a moment but nothing else changed to his eye.
Lydia gasped. Her hand covered her mouth as she pressed herself against a wall. Her gaze was on the ten-inch woman standing on her kitchen counter.
Dylis gave a bow that bordered on surly. “I’m Caspian’s guardian, fairy godmother, or angel on his shoulder—whatever you like to think of me as.”
Lydia closed her eyes, and after a couple of seconds she opened them. “You’re still there.”
“I’ve been here all night, keeping the imps away from you two,” Dylis snapped. “This was not a good idea.” She pointed her finger at Caspian.
Dylis wasn’t going to forgive him for a while. Generally fairies weren’t supposed to reveal themselves unless they were blending into human society. Dylis couldn’t do that as she was supposed to be his guardian in secret. No one was supposed to know he was important enough to have a guardian. Now Lydia did, even if she didn’t understand what he was telling her.
“You were talking to her?” Lydia took a step forward.
“She woke me to tell me about the mirrors in the hope that I could reason with the Grey that put them there and get rid of them before you got up.” He really needed a second cup of coffee for this conversation.
“But I got up too early. You weren’t going to tell me.” Her gaze lifted from Dylis to him, her dark eyes ful
l of suspicion instead of heat and longing.
“I thought about telling you I was fairy last night, but it’s not easy to say and even harder to hear. If not for Dylis, would you have believed me?”
She bit her lower lip, her gaze sliding around the kitchen as if she were looking for more fairies.
“There’s no one else here at the moment.” He hoped that sounded reassuring.
“But last night…” Her eyes widened as she began putting together what she’d heard last night and what he’d just told her about there being Greys in the house.
“There were two imps and a boggart making trouble. Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Dylis tapped her sword. “They weren’t here to hurt you.”
“They were here because of you.” Lydia looked at him, still wary.
“Yes. The Grey is trying to force me to find a powerful mirror for him.”
“With your psychometry.” She paused. “So why not just find it and be done with it?”
That was why it was best that humans didn’t know about fairies. They’d make deals without understanding the consequences. If Shea turned up, he’d trick Lydia out of her soul and then use it as a bargaining tool—it’s what he’d do if he were in Shea’s place. And he knew in that moment he’d do whatever Shea asked to keep her safe.
He had to make the deal to protect Lydia from Shea and his band of Greys, even if Lydia wasn’t sure about accepting the fact that he was half-fairy. She didn’t deserve to be drawn into his drama any more than she already was.
“I’m going to.”
“Caspian, be careful.” Dylis actually looked like she cared.
“Wait.” Lydia put her hand on his arm. “These Greys are bad news?”
“They are dangerous and will do anything to get back to Annwyn… back home.” He knew it was too much strange information, but at least she knew who he was.
“Is this your home?”
“I’m mortal. I was born here.” And he hoped to die here when he was old, but the odds of that happening were reducing. “But I am half-fairy so bound by their laws. Making deals with a Grey carries a penalty.”
Her grip tightened a fraction. “Then don’t do it.”
“He has to. Shea won’t stop until he does. It is better he makes it on his terms than being backed farther into a corner.” Dylis gave Lydia a look that indicated that she thought Lydia was a complication.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.” Maybe the deal he made wouldn’t be that bad. Maybe his father wouldn’t kill him for treason. Maybe Lydia would still want him to stay over after this.
He leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek. She didn’t pull away, but she didn’t turn her head and place her lips against his either. Lydia released his arm and he walked over to the back door.
“Dylis, protect Lydia. Please.” He didn’t wait for an answer before he stepped onto the verandah.
The light was less bright now that the sun had moved, but it made the scene more chilling. It wasn’t just mirrors. The garden had been torn up. Pavers and grass had been upturned. Plants had been ripped from the ground and were scattered around. He walked down the stairs—even if he got rid of the mirrors there was still damage that needed fixing. And this was just the backyard.
He took a couple more paces and entered the forest of mirrors. His hand brushed the edges as he walked. Most were mundane. People checking hair, a house getting painted, children playing. His hand jerked back as blood splattered and someone died.
“Was that it?” Shea said from behind Caspian.
“No. The mirror witnessed a murder. A recent one.” And there was no one he could tell about it. Sometimes his gift sucked like that.
This time he noticed a half-dozen smaller banished fairies loitering like a gang waiting to be told to start something. Shea’s little band of helpers. What had he promised them in return?
He ignored them and took a deep breath, then kept going, letting the images wash over him instead of taking over. He got fleeting glimpses of a hundred different lives. They spun around and made him dizzy. He wasn’t used to filtering this much information at a time. Usually it was a couple of items, and spending time with each. He stopped and shivered, momentarily disoriented, and he still had the front yard to go. His stomach clenched on the coffee. He should’ve eaten breakfast. He needed to ground himself back in the mortal world instead of the past.
“Well?” Shea demanded like a passive-aggressive shadow that wouldn’t let up.
“None of these.” Caspian pushed the words through gritted teeth. He was cold, like he was standing in iced water. “Return them.”
Shea didn’t move. He looked shorter in the morning light and less ethereal. The magic was costing him. Caspian bit back the smile. Burn through it and shrink so you’re nothing more than an ugly, little, powerless troll. As soon as he thought it Caspian realized Shea probably had help gathering all the mirrors. He was a lord not used to doing anything for himself.
“I won’t do more if you don’t return them.”
“You agree to help?”
“I agree to nothing.” The sun on his back helped warm Caspian while looking at Shea froze whatever hope he had of pulling this off. Even if he touched all of the ones Shea had brought, there’d be more tomorrow and the next day and the next. Until he had the Counter-Window, then the location of the Window would be revealed.
Could he hold out and still protect Lydia? He knew the answer and didn’t like it. The longer he waited, the less advantage he had. But he wasn’t ready.
He walked on; again he trailed his fingers over the mirrors, but this time he tried to focus on the grass and dirt beneath his bare feet and the breeze on his skin, the simple things that would keep him in the present. When he’d finished all the ones in the backyard, he shook his head and began to walk around the house to where more mirrors waited in the front yard.
Shea snarled and stalked after him. “You seem to like blondes. It would be a shame if something were to happen to her; she is so mortal.”
Caspian turned slowly. “Leave her alone. She isn’t part of this.”
“But she is. The time you spend with her is time not spent finding the Window. And I have just begun to realize how many mirrors there are in the world now. Last time I spent any time in the mortal world they were a novelty of the rich. Now everyone has them.”
“I’m not here for Lydia. I’m here for a job. This is my livelihood,” Caspian said.
“That is not my concern. There are bigger things at stake than your livelihood. Or life.”
“My job is important to me.” And so was his life and Lydia. He was going to have to deal to stop the hostilities and stop Shea from ruining his life. No matter where he went Shea would follow. He didn’t want the Greys making more trouble for Lydia.
“Help me and I’ll leave her alone,” Shea said.
Caspian shook his head. He didn’t want to be in a deal that said he was helping a Grey. The wording of a deal was everything. If he botched even one word, he wouldn’t live too long to regret it. It had to sound like he wanted to help, but without promising to hand the mirror over… and even then he was counting on Shea not adding clause after clause and binding him up so tight he had no wriggle room.
He found the words he wanted then spoke clearly and slowly so there could be no mistake. “I will find the Window.” Give the Grey what he wanted first. “In exchange call off your Greys and cease the petty pestering.”
Shea blinked, his pale eyes assessing. “I will stop harassing as long as you are helping. You will check every mirror I bring to you.”
“You will return them to where you found them—except the Window, should I find it.” Caspian waited for Shea to tighten the terms.
“You swear not to lie?”
That was a bit vague; he might need to lie to Shea at some point… actually, he could see himself definitely lying to Shea. An honesty clause was a bad idea. “I will tell you if I find a fairy-made mirror.”
&n
bsp; His heart was beating a little too fast. He wanted this over. Already the deal was getting more complex than he wanted.
Shea grinned, cold and victorious. “If you fail to find the Window, Lydia’s soul is mine.”
There wasn’t a chance in hell he was agreeing to that. “I have a year and a day to find the mirror. Then you get my soul.” Assuming of course he lived that long.
“No. One turn of the moon. Then your soul is mine.”
One month. Was that long enough? He hoped Dylis was as close as she claimed to getting the Counter-Window. That was a clever clause. Even if he failed to find the Window, Shea could use his soul to bribe his way back to Annwyn—assuming his father the Prince cared enough to let that happen. That was a gamble they were both taking.
“I accept.”
“A bargain is struck.” Shea inclined his head.
For a moment Caspian didn’t move. That was it.
There was no peal of thunder or flash of lightning. Just the cold surety that he’d made a deal with a banished fairy. If that didn’t get the attention of the Court, nothing he did would. He knew in his near future he would be called upon to attend. At least the deal had been reasonably favorable, while there was a time limit he hadn’t actually offered to hand the Window over to Shea once found. Before he could sigh with relief while in view of Shea, he turned and walked toward the house.
Chapter 12
Caspian appeared to be talking to someone out in the yard, but Lydia couldn’t see the other person or hear the conversation. This was just too weird. If not for the fairy peeking out of the window with her, she would have discounted everything Caspian had said. She almost had. That awful feeling that she’d slept with a stranger, a man she didn’t really know, and that he was delusional had filled her with dread.
That he was actually half-fairy and could see things she didn’t wasn’t much better. It was too far-fetched. And yet how else did she explain the mirrors, and the noises… even Caspian’s psychometry?
She glanced at Dylis, wanting to reach out and touch her to make sure she was there and not some kind of shared hallucination.
