Burning Bright (Ivy Granger)

by E.J. Stevens

  The air in the room changed and I heard a moan from the spell circle. The spell circle. Mab’s bones, Arachne had lost her concentration. The circle no longer held and Jinx was awake.

  No, no, no, this could not be happening.

  “What the…?” Jinx mumbled. Jinx groggily shook her head and sat up on the cot, eyes narrowing as she caught sight of Forneus. “You! You goddamned son of a…”

  Jinx lunged toward Forneus. Thankfully, she was half asleep and tangled in a blanket. But she looked determined to kill him all the same.

  That probably had something to do with the fact she’d been violated by a demon. It hadn’t been Forneus—wrong demon—but Jinx didn’t know that. I was working on finding the bastard who did this to her, and now I was here with Forneus. That was enough proof for Jinx.

  “Yes, yes, I’m a damned son of a demon whore,” he said. “You know how I love it when you talk dirty, darling, but now is not the best time. Sensitive ears and all that, and I do think you’re supposed to be safely ensconced inside that spell circle.”

  He waved his hand to encompass Kaye, Arachne, and me, but Jinx only had eyes for Forneus. It was as if the rest of us didn’t exist, which was very, very bad considering that Kaye was poised to kill us all and be done with it.

  “Kaye, Arachne, the spell circle,” I said. “It’s the only thing keeping Jinx alive!”

  Arachne trembled, barely staying upright, her eyes rimmed in red—no help there. The kid was too upset. I turned to Kaye, still managing to hold Sparky who, thank Mab, was still asleep in my lap. The witch’s tattoos writhed up and down her arms and neck, her magic ready to be unleashed.

  “Not yet,” she said her tone sharp.

  Her eyes flicked to Jinx and I followed her gaze. Jinx was reaching for an athame that was on the altar beside the edge of the spell circle. Kaye was going to let my friend have her revenge.

  “Jinx no!” I screamed. “The incubus marked you, not Forneus. He’s here to help!”

  But I was too late. Jinx’s eyes widened, my words sinking in at the same time as the blade.

  “Lucifer’s fiery prick, that hurts,” Forneus said. He looked down at the hilt protruding from his chest. “Is that a blessed ritual dagger?”

  He cast a questioning gaze around the kitchen, and I shrugged. How should I know? Knowing Kaye, it probably was. I was guessing from the look on his face that blessed daggers hurt, a lot.

  He turned back to Jinx who was now scrambling to extract herself from his lap. They’d tumbled to the floor in a bloody heap of blankets and tangled limbs.

  “We really must do something about that memory of yours,” he said.

  He raised a hand to cup Jinx’s face and she went rigid in his arms. Oh crap. Forneus was going to retrieve Jinx’s memory of their first kiss, now? Could this situation get any worse?

  “Ivy, what’s going on?” Jinx asked, her dark circled eyes meeting mine from across the room.

  “Forneus is here to help and…” I said, letting out a strangled groan. “And he obviously wants to give you back a memory…from the night we fought Puck.”

  “Will it help?” she asked.

  Oberon’s eyes, she looked tired.

  “If this is our last moment together, I would have you remember,” Forneus said, his hand still gently cupping the side of her face.

  I nodded and Jinx gently bit her lip, turning to lock eyes with Forneus.

  “Okay,” she said.

  Would she hate me for what I’d done? I thought I was protecting her by never telling her about that kiss she shared with Forneus. But now, I wasn’t so sure. Maybe if I hadn’t run interference with those two, they might be dating and she wouldn’t be in this mess now, fighting for her life.

  “Thank you,” Forneus said.

  I don’t know if he was thanking me or Jinx. It didn’t really matter. He slid an arm around Jinx’s waist as she shuddered, eyelids fluttering closed. When they opened again, I could tell that everything had changed.

  Her hands slid along his chest, his neck, and into his hair as she devoured him with her eyes. She may be human, but there was magic in that look and Forneus was a man bespelled. He gathered her into his arms, pulled himself to his knees, and stood.

  “May I enter your spell circle?” he asked, bowing his head to Kaye.

  As he broke their soulful gaze, Jinx turned to me and scowled. Her eyes narrowed and I knew what that look meant. When this was all over, we were having a talk. I wasn’t looking forward to that chat, not one bit. I just hope I didn’t end up with an athame to the chest.

  Kaye nodded to Forneus, her magic pulling back into her body. He laid Jinx gently on the cot that Arachne had set up for her and settled the blanket up around her shoulders. He kissed her forehead and stood. Her eyes fluttered closed, a smile on her lips.

  “Kaye?” I asked.

  The familiar tingling sensation of magic rippled across my nerve endings and I knew that the spell circle had been reinvoked. Unfortunately for Forneus, the spell singed his boot heels as he was just crossing the silver circle laid into the kitchen floor. He yelped and Kaye winked.

  At least some things never changed. Kaye was a prankster through and through. And she hadn’t killed any of us, yet. That was something to celebrate.

  Forneus staggered to the table and dropped into his chair.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Yes, so long as your witch friend doesn’t send me back to Hell,” he said. “My enemies would love to have another chance at me, especially in my injured state.”

  He grabbed the hilt of the athame, trying to pull the blade from his chest, and hissed. Kaye laughed and came forward in a rustle of skirts and tinkling bells. I let out a relieved sigh. If Kaye was letting us hear her coming, the danger had passed. For now.

  “Don’t be daft,” she said, pointing to Forneus’ chest. “You don’t want to touch that, demon. That’s an athame, blessed by the Goddess under a full moon. Allow me.”

  She reached down and yanked the blade from Forneus’ chest with a sucking, grating sound that made me wish I hadn’t eaten that sandwich. Judging from the sickly sheen of sweat on his face, Forneus was wishing the same thing. But he already looked better, now that the blade was out.

  Kaye carried the blade over to the stove and held it vertically over a large cauldron. Forneus’ blood dripped into the pot with a sizzle.

  “Do I even want to know what she is doing?” he asked.

  “No, probably not,” I said.

  Arachne shook her head and swallowed hard. Yeah, that couldn’t be good.

  “Now,” Kaye said, coming back to the table to loom over us. “Tell me what you’re all doing in my kitchen.”

  No, not good at all.

  Chapter 34

  We told Kaye all about the fire imps, which she took pretty well all things considered, and what we’d learned from The Green Lady. It was the part about Kaye’s pending death that I was getting hung up on.

  “We were thinking that we could pull a Romeo and Juliet…” I said.

  My heart raced and I started to sweat. God, this sounded so much better when Ceff had said it.

  “You want to fake my death?” she asked.

  I fidgeted with my gloves. What are the right words for telling the most powerful witch in the city that you don’t just want to fake her death—you need to kill her and, fingers crossed, bring her back to life?

  “Ah, sweet Goddess, dear,” she said. “You really do intend to kill me.”

  “Not…exactly,” I said. I cleared my throat, and studied the pattern of tattoos that traced their way along Kaye’s hairline, not able to meet her piercing gaze. Mab’s bones, why did this have to be so hard? “Not permanently, I mean.”

  “You wish to kill me truly, but not permanently?” she asked, eyebrows reaching up into her headscarf. Oh yeah, I was making a total mess of this. I shot Forneus a pleading look and he, thankfully, came to my rescue.

  “Mistress Kaye, it was our hop
e, Ivy’s hope, that in your great wisdom you may possess the knowledge of a potion that would kill you…temporarily,” he said. “In order to fulfill the faerie bargain, you must experience a true death, but there is no rule that says you cannot be revived, either my magical or physical means.”

  “Yeah, what he said,” I said. “I could get my hands on a cardiac defibrillator if, for example, you had a potion that stopped your heart.”

  I winced and looked down at the well-worn table. That sounded callous, even to my ears. I sucked at trying to negotiate killing someone. Though, if I ever got good at it, I’d really start to worry.

  Kaye tapped her chin with her wand, deep in thought. She’d pulled the wand from one of the many pockets of her voluminous skirt, and had a tendency to wave it around and punctuate her words by pointing it at us as we talked. She may not need the wand to cast a spell, but the threat was there all the same. Behave or get turned into a toad—got it.

  If only I didn’t have to ask for her death. Rock on one side, hard place on the other—story of my life.

  “If I agree to this lunacy,” she said, pointing her wand at me. “And that’s a big if, dear, then I would want to use the most effective means possible of revival. But fetching the item that I need will not be easy. It will require a hero’s journey.”

  That sounded about as fun as rolling around in a pixie nest, but I nodded.

  “What do you need me to do?” I asked.

  I wasn’t being overly presumptuous. These days, I was the hero in the room. Trials and tribulations, that was my life.

  Years ago, that person would have been Kaye. Someday, when she’s older and better trained, Arachne might even step up to the plate. Forneus? Not so much, though the jury was out on Sparky. I was still trying to get over the fact that the cutie was a Tezcatlipocan demon. Try saying that three times fast.

  “You must travel to Emain Ablach,” she said.

  A trip to the Otherworld? To Emain of the Apples? “Just peachy—apple-y, whatever.

  “Okaaay, that’s doable,” I said. “I’ve been to Mag Mell and back and survived.”

  “Once there, you must pass Manannán mac Lir, guardian of the sacred isle, and retrieve one of the apples from the silver tree that grows from the grave of his tragic love, Ailinn,” she said.

  “This Manannán guy, I take it he’s no marshmallow?” I asked.

  “No,” she said. “He is a powerful sea deity. “

  “Of course he is,” I said. I rubbed my face. “Fine, how do I get to Emain Ablach? Might as well get this party started. We need to converge on the carnival tonight, after it closes for business.”

  I didn’t want to have to wait another full day. Fire imps could do a lot of damage in that amount of time, and I didn’t know if Jinx and I had that long.

  Kaye narrowed her eyes at me and skewered me with a look.

  “Don’t be so hasty, Ivy,” she said. “There is more you must know.”

  That’s what I was afraid of. Hadn’t she ever heard that ignorance is bliss?

  “Manannán mac Lir wields Fragarach, The Answerer,” she said. “Fragarach can slice through any armor as if it was marzipan, and with the sword at your throat the sea god can force you to tell the truth.”

  Apparently, they didn’t call it The Answerer for nothing.

  “Great, sea deity guardian, magic sword, pluck an apple from some dead girl’s grave, got it,” I said. “Anything else?”

  “Manannán mac Lir has the ability to control the mists of Emain Ablach,” she said. “Do not believe all that the eyes see.”

  Yeah, that wasn’t cryptic or anything.

  “And how do I get to this Emain Ablach?” I asked.

  “The ways to the Otherworld are hidden,” she said. “You will need a guide to take you.”

  “You mean Torn, don’t you?” I asked.

  Kaye nodded and an evil grin spread across Forneus’ face. Torn had been flirting ruthlessly with Jinx lately. I’m sure that Forneus had a little payback planned. Too bad I had something else in mind for the demon.

  I lifted Sparky from my lap and sighed. It looked like I’d have to hit up my least favorite cat sidhe lord for a roundtrip ticket to the Otherworld. Oh, goody.

  Chapter 35

  I left Sparky with Forneus, who wasn’t too happy to be on babysitting duty. Forneus would much rather have come with me, but I reminded him that this wasn’t the time to get into a pissing contest with Torn. I needed the cat sidhe lord to get me safely to Emain Ablach, and back again. He couldn’t do that while dodging hellfire.

  Sparky hadn’t been happy about the arrangement either. The little guy was mewling and clinging to me until I gave him a new glitter pencil and told him to guard Forneus until I returned. I meant guard, as in protect Forneus, but I’m pretty sure from the direction he was pointing his pencil that Sparky thought that the demon attorney was his prisoner.

  I snorted and left the two on the corner of Water Street. Forneus was going to try to work reconnaissance while the witches brewed up spells and I went on a sightseeing trip to the Otherworld.

  But before I went apple picking, I needed to call in backup. I punched in the number to my burner cell and Ceff answered on the first ring.

  “Ivy?” he asked.

  “That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” I quipped.

  “Oberon’s balls, I was worried about you,” he said. “Thank Mab, you are hale and whole.”

  He sounded out of breath, and I winced at the relief in his voice. I probably should have checked in sooner, but I’d been busy.

  “I’m fine,” I said, stretching the truth a bit. “How goes the battle?”

  “The fires are now under control,” he said. “I have enlisted the help of my guards and sent word for reinforcements. The humans are fortunate. They would not have fared as well without our water magic.”

  Yeah, and they’d never know about it either. That was the faerie way, though usually their magic wasn’t being used to help the humans. I was proud of Ceff.

  “Casualties?” I asked.

  “No deaths, though many are being treated for smoke inhalation,” he said. “Flynis and her family are safe.”

  I let out the breath I’d been holding. The bean tighe were safe. I smiled.

  “Good,” I said. “You up for a road trip?”

  “Something tells me you do not mean a simple excursion where we ride in an automobile and argue over what radio station to listen to,” he said.

  “Um, no,” I said, with a snort. “Different kind of road trip. More like a hero’s journey in which I have to face down a sea deity and steal a magic apple.”

  “Sea deity?” he asked. “Yes, you will require my help on your quest. Where are you now?”

  I gave him my address and cooled my heels while I sent messages to Torn and Master Janus letting them know I’d located Kaye, and in Torn’s case I gave him a heads up that I’d be stopping by. I figured it was best to cultivate my assets, instead of my usual habit of being a thorn in their backsides. See, a girl can learn.

  I felt Ceff before I could see him, a strange new blossoming of my faerie powers that I had yet to understand. It was as if our auras recognized each other and became stronger when intermingled. Ceff’s presence buoyed me, and I felt a surge of much needed energy.

  A smile split my face, made even larger by the smell of coffee and the super-sized cups Ceff carried in each hand.

  “Is that smile for me or the coffee?” he asked.

  He drifted up, leaned against the wall beside me, and handed me the largest cup. I closed my eyes and took a swig of coffee and let the caffeine sing all the way down to my toes. A hot guy and a perfect cup of coffee, maybe this day wasn’t so bad after all.

  “Both,” I said, opening my eyes. “How’d you know I was so desperate for a coffee?”

  “You still haven’t fulfilled either bargain, to The Green Lady or Sir Gaius,” he said. “Which means you are likely beginning to feel the side effects.
Delaying a bargain will sap you of your strength, and your symptoms will only worsen over time.”

  “Then I guess we better get this trip over with,” I said.

  I tipped my head back and drained the cup of coffee, then tossed it in the nearest trash bin. The caffeine jolt wouldn’t last long, not with my half-fae metabolism, all the more reason to get our butts to the Otherworld, pronto.

  I filled Ceff in on the details of our upcoming journey as we hoofed it over to the alley where Torn held court. To say he was worried was an understatement, but he never shied away from my request for him to come with me. Jinx may be my best friend and staunchest defender, but Ceff had become an extension of myself, a projection of my mental armor, shielding me from the darkness and pain that was so much a part of my life. Jinx was my sword and Ceff my shield—and I swore to never lose either one.

  Too bad I had to keep putting their lives in danger.

  Fifteen minutes later, I entered Torn’s domain, Ceff’s silent, solid presence behind me. It looked just like your typical alley in the city, graffiti covered brick walls, overflowing trash bins, worn, overturned crates, and the obligatory cats, but people didn’t stagger into this alley unless the cat sidhe wanted them to.

  Humans experience a sense of dread when they venture too near this place, a foreboding that quickens their steps as they pass by. You have to be invited in or you’d never find this entrance to the alley—not unless the cat sidhe were looking for a new plaything.

  Thankfully, I was on the guest list—and not on the menu.

  Chapter 36

  That didn’t keep the bastard from toying with us.

  “Ah, princess, I’ve been expecting you,” Torn said, slinking up to me and draping an arm around my waist. “Just couldn’t stay away, eh? I do get that a lot. From what I hear, I’m like catnip. Want to roll around and find out?”

  With a flick of our wrists, Ceff had his trident aimed at Torn’s throat and I had one of my knives pressed against the most precious part of the sidhe lord’s anatomy.