The sky shimmered, a thin veil of sparkling lights flitting around me, and enchanted, I reached out, trying to capture the twinkles in my hands.
A low growl startled me. To my left, Delilah, in her panther form, bounded by, chasing a translucent figure with wings. Tiny, it was barely a foot tall. Oh hell! Some semblance of coherency broke through. I knew what that creature was! A pixie. A freaking pixie.
We were friends with a pixie, but the majority of them were annoying pests and worse. They liked to lead people astray, and they had it in for Witches like myself. And this one was darting around, sprinkling dust right and left.
No wonder I wanted to dance. But then, reason escaped me as, once again, the music lured me in. I whirled, holding my arms out, and the energy I had drawn down from the Moon Mother suddenly cut loose in a volley of bolts as I became a spinning wheel of silver fire, sparks flying from my fingers.
Delilah snarled and lumbered out of reach. I heard Nerissa curse as I hit her with one of the mini-bolts. I wanted to stop, but my feet kept moving, I kept twirling, and the sparks kept flying.
“Stop me! Somebody stop me! Pixie dust!” I managed to shout between the violent fits of laughter that were erupting from my core. I had no clue what was so funny, but I couldn’t stop that either.
By now, it occurred to me that if I had to be shooting out sparks, why not move to where they’d do some good? I tried to catch sight of the yeti in my dizzying spin and realized that if I moved in a northwestern direction, I’d end up near the creature, who was now fully engaged with Smoky and the boys.
As I danced closer, still spinning like a crazed top, Smoky let out a shout, and then Trillian. The next thing I knew, the smell of burning fur filled my nostrils, and with each spin, I found myself facing one very pissed off and scorched yeti.
One circle around and I caught sight of him gazing at me with those glowing, angry, topaz eyes. A second circle, and a big fuzzy white arm came flying out. The third and I staggered to the ground as his big ole’ fist met my crazed body.
I landed on the frozen driveway. Apparently the temperature had dropped enough for frost to form. The fucking dirt was hard and cold. But even getting smacked by Mr. Abominable Snowman couldn’t shake the pixie dust off me, because I began to struggle to my feet, still needing to dance. The next moment, Smoky had grabbed me under his arm, dragging me behind him as we raced through the yard toward the studio that had originally been a shed.
The minute we hit the door, he swept me up and barreled into the bathroom where he shoved me—clothes and all—into the shower. One more second and he’d turned it on full blast. The water was cold, and shocked me into silence. As the spray warmed up, it began to wash off the pixie dust and my foggy thoughts began to lift. My body was still jazzed higher than a kite by all the energy I’d drawn in, but at least I didn’t feel the need to go gallivanting in a crazed polka around the room. I stood there, mutely under pounding water. Yeah, this outfit was a goner.
After a moment, Smoky turned off the spray. “Pixie dust gone?”
I searched for the dazed feelings brought on by the dust, but the only thing I felt was wired and bedraggled. After a moment, I nodded.
“Yeah, I think so. I’m pissed, but I’m thinking clearly and I don’t feel quite so possessed to go frolicking with Mr. Yeti. The yeti! Where the hell did it come from, and more importantly, what are we going to do about it?”
“I don’t know. When I saw it attack you, all I could think about was to get you out of the way. You were in no shape to protect yourself.” He held out a towel. I stripped and, leaving my wet clothes in the shower stall, I stepped out and wrapped the thick terrycloth around me. The soft cloth against my skin felt good, and I suddenly realized that I was rapidly growing tired—another side effect of too much pixie dust.
“I need to find something to wear and then we have to get the hell back to the house. The fact that pixies are having a field day in our yard is bad enough, but a yeti bounding out of our front door? More than a little scary.” A sudden thought hit me. “Maggie! We have to make sure Maggie is okay!” Pushing past him, I rushed out of the bathroom.
“You can’t go racing out there in a bathrobe.” Smoky motioned toward Rozurial’s room. “Grab something from the incubus’s closet and I’ll go check on Maggie.” And he was out the door before I could touch the knob.
Wanting to run after him, but realizing that dashing naked through the storm wasn’t exactly the brightest idea, I hurried into Roz’s room and tossed my way through his dresser. I found a tunic that fit over my Double-D’s, and a pair of pajama bottoms. Tying them firmly, I realized I’d have to go barefoot. My shoes were ruined and I couldn’t wear any of Roz’s boots—they were far too big. Sopping hair and all, I headed out of the studio, back toward the house, my feet freezing. The frozen soil and frosty grass made for a slippery mix, and I struggled to keep my footing as I raced back toward the house.
All hell had broken loose. Trillian and Morio were still fighting the yeti and from what I could see, the damned thing seemed tougher than a dubba-troll. But that was only the half of it. Glimmers flickered from all over the yard—and every glimmer seemed to have some sort of creature attached to it.
The pixie was still flying around like a crazed maniac, and to my dismay, I spotted a couple more nearby. Hell. They were bad news, in general. Mistletoe was the exception to the rule and that’s only because he was our friend.
Beneath a huckleberry bush near my herb garden, I could see some sort of frosty hedgehog-like creature. Not certain what it was, I decided I had better get dressed before investigating.
Trampled shopping bags were scattered all over the yard, and I scanned the area, trying to locate everyone. I finally spotted Nerissa, in her werepuma form, and Delilah, who was still in panther form. They’d treed something, and both big cats were standing up against the trunk staring at whatever it was they’d managed to trap in the branches.
Menolly was up on top of the roof. She was after—what the hell? It looked like some sort of gremlin. She was climbing along the shingles, but the creature scampered over the tiles as if it were running on flat ground.
Rozurial was nowhere in sight, and Iris and Chase had taken off for Iris’s house. Vanzir was struggling with a figure beneath a cedar. They were rolling around on the ground, locked in a wrestling match, and I heard Vanzir utter a string of curses. Shade was chasing another glimmer around toward the backyard.
Motherfucking son of a bitch, what the hell was going on?
Just then, one of the Fae guards who patrolled our land ran over to my side, panting. “Camille—we’re overrun. Four of the men are out back fighting a group of barbegazi. And two of the men are chasing a couple of ice wolves.”
“Barbegazi? Ice wolves? What the hell are they?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but then again, there was a lot I’d learned the hard way that I wished I didn’t have to know about.
“Barbegazi are creatures from the Northlands—very much like dwarves only smaller and, in a way, hardier. Usually they’re kindly natured but this batch appears to be a particularly surly lot. As for the ice wolves—they are also known as amaroks, at least to one Earthside tribal group. They’re wolf demons, dangerous and hungry for human flesh.” The guard glanced around, shaking his head. “I don’t know what happened, or where all of these creatures came from. The wards suddenly went off and we were swarming with them.”
“The rogue portal out back? Could they have come through there?” I motioned toward the porch steps, which were surprisingly clear. “I need to get dressed and get back out here.”
He followed me up the stairs. “No, the portal hasn’t been active at all. I—”
As we entered the house, he fell silent. First of all, the foyer was filled with snow. White, cold, sticky, wet snow. And it was snowing up a storm. Inside the house. Second, a loud humming emanated from the liv
ing room.
“Well . . . this is new.” I stared at the snow on the floor, all twelve to fourteen inches of it. My feet were beginning to freeze.
“Wait here, Lady Camille.” The guard plowed his way into the living room, then within moments returned. “There’s a portal in your living room. The snow’s coming through there. Ten to one, that’s where all of these creatures came from, too.”
A portal? In the living room?
“Okay, then, well. I don’t know what to say to that. But, come with me. I need to change and I don’t know what else might be rampaging through the house. I’d rather not be surprised while I’m getting dressed.” I darted through the snow, wincing as the sting of the frozen water hit my feet. The guard—whose name was Dez—followed me, sword out and ready.
The living room was, indeed, filled with snow, and it was beginning to drift up the walls, and out into the foyer and the parlor. The room was also decked out in the most garish holiday décor I had ever seen. In one corner stood a ten-foot-tall tree, blazing with neon flashing blue and green lights that made my eyes hurt. The lights ran the length of the room, following the ceiling around to form a terrifyingly bright border. Huge acrylic ornaments bedecked the tree, catching and reflecting the lights like crazed prisms.
“What the fuck . . . it looks like Crack Santa and his methed-out elves descended on our living room.”
“I don’t know, Lady Camille—I thought perhaps you decorated before you left for your shopping trip.”
“Oh, hell no. This mess? I have better taste than that. And you know Iris . . . yeah . . .”
The thought of Iris allowing such a gaudy show in our living room almost made me laugh. Thoroughly confused, I turned to the portal, which was shimmering in the opposite corner near the window. It was swirling with icy blue sparkles. I had no clue to where it led, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to dive through to find out.
“Okay, upstairs, to my rooms.”
As we headed up to the second story, the chill followed. It was still snowing when we reached my suite of rooms and by the time we reached my bedroom, I could see my breath and my toes were numb.
Dez made a quick survey around the room and ascertained that nothing was amok—or at least, nothing was running amok.
I stripped down as he kept watch. The Fae—including half-Fae like myself—generally weren’t modest or embarrassed by nudity, and he stood by the door, guarding me, without so much as blinking an eye.
Slipping into my ready-to-rumble cat suit that I wore when I knew we had a fight on our hands, I zipped it up and slid on a pair of kitten heel granny boots. Then, slinging a belt around my hips, I fastened on the sheath containing my silver dagger.
After dressing, I made certain my unicorn horn was still safely hidden away in the secret compartment in my closet. For what we seemed to be facing, I didn’t think we’d need to use it. I wasn’t about to deplete its power this far from the new moon unless it was absolutely necessary.
Once I was finished, I slipped a capelet over my shoulders for extra warmth and quickly mopped the streaked makeup off my face. My eyeliner and mascara had survived—they were waterproof—but everything else was a lost cause. Less than ten minutes after we hit my bedroom, I was finished and ready to rock.
“Okay, back down to the first floor.”
But as we reached the landing, I paused. Someone was coming up the steps. I pulled out my dagger as Dez held his sword at the ready.
As the sound of footsteps rounded the turn, I held my breath, but then let it out in one big exhale as I saw it was Smoky, looking grim.
“Maggie’s all right,” he said before I could ask. “I left her hidden down in Menolly’s lair with Hanna to watch her. But that portal in the living room? I know where it goes. I hopped through to find out what the hell was going on.”
“Where does it lead? And can you close it?” We followed him as he turned, heading back down the stairs.
Smoky shook his head, glancing over his shoulder. “No, I can’t close it. The gate was opened by powerful magic, and I can’t do anything about it. But as I said, I crossed over to see where it led. I’m not sure who the hell did this, but the portal? It leads into the Northlands, as far as I can tell.”
My heart began to beat faster. The Northlands could be reached via Otherworld, and through perilous routes up in the higher reaches over here, Earthside. I had a lot of bad associations with the lands at the top of the world. And there were a lot of harsh, volatile creatures who made their homes there, including dragons like Smoky’s father, who had imprisoned and tortured me.
“So the question is, who opened this portal, and why?”
“Right now, I think the more important question is: just what all has come through so far? And what else can we expect before we manage to close it down?” Smoky’s grim smile deepened. “Let’s get back outside, woman. We need to do something to stop that yeti from trampling the yard.”
I turned to the guard. “Dez, stay here, please, and guard the portal. Don’t put your life in danger, but if something else comes through, try to stop it if you can. And if you can’t, get the hell outside so we know what we’re facing next.”
With that, Smoky and I headed back outside, into the fray.
New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn writes urban fantasy for Berkley: both the Otherworld series and the Indigo Court series, and will soon be writing a spinoff of Otherworld called the Fly By Night series. In the past, she wrote mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime and nonfiction metaphysical books. She is the 2011 Career Achievement Award Winner in Urban Fantasy, given by RT Magazine.
Yasmine has been in the Craft for over thirty-three years, is a shamanic witch, and describes her life as a blend of teacups and tattoos. She lives in Kirkland, Washington, with her husband, Samwise, and their cats. Yasmine can be reached via her website at galenorn.com and on Twitter at twitter.com/yasminegalenorn.
Night's End Page 32
