Knight's Curse

by Karen Duvall

  Toby sidled up beside her and jerked a nod, his smile quick and twitchy. That was okay. Meeting new people wasn’t my thing, either.

  The pair were definitely fey. They stood a little more than three feet tall, their bodies slim and well proportioned, and so unlike the stout dwarves with oversize heads that I’d seen in some Fatherhouses. Toby and Myra made an attractive couple. Her blue hair harmonized with her pet’s fur, and she wore it in two braided spirals, one above each pointed ear. Myra’s pale green tunic looked crisply pressed, and her white-haired husband wore a tan canvas vest with matching slacks. This was apparently date night, and Elmo’s must be the main event. I wondered what other entertainments Denver had to offer a fey couple and their furry friend.

  “I’d like you to meet Chalice,” Aydin said, tilting his head toward me. “She’s new in town, and I’m showing her around.”

  Myra and Tony shared a look that made me suspect they already knew who I was. I refrained from rolling my eyes.

  While we’d been introducing ourselves, the little Jakkaryl had quietly moved from Aydin’s arm to mine. I hadn’t even noticed. She was light as lint, and that was impossible from the looks of her. I’d expect her to weigh a couple pounds, at least. My eyes opened wide as our gazes met. We both blinked, and she pealed out a string of giggles that sounded like a laughing baby. Eerie, but it made me laugh.

  What had been a feline face was now closer to that of a ferret. The body had elongated and her toenails curled into hollow pink disks. She was pure magic. And I liked her. Very much.

  “We won’t disturb you any longer,” Myra said, grabbing Ling Ling gently by the scruff of her neck. She looked like a kitten now. “Come, Lingy. I’ll get you a sweet.”

  The animal continued to giggle softly as her owners carried her away.

  I heaved a sigh. “Wow. I want one of those.”

  “She’s adorable, all right.” Aydin’s gaze followed the little family to a table they’d chosen close to the veil. “She’s proof positive that magic isn’t all bad.”

  I lifted one shoulder in a half shrug, not ready to be too agreeable. A lifetime of caution couldn’t be tossed away in a single night. My past had shown me that magic was cruel and dark, existing only to fulfill selfish desires and to harm others. I was happy to know this wasn’t so, but I still needed time to adjust.

  Now that the excitement was over, Aydin appeared suddenly weary, dark rings of fatigue settling around his glazed eyes. He didn’t look well. “I think we should adjourn class for tonight. You have a lot to absorb.”

  “Are you okay?”

  He wiped a sleeve across his sweaty forehead. His eyes appeared feverish, and the look in them was surprisingly hungry. “I will be. What time is it?”

  I shrugged. I didn’t wear a watch. A quick glance around the room found a furred wrist bearing a timepiece similar to a watch but twice the size. Probably so that he could see the numbers through all that fur. All that unwashed fur. He smelled like a wet dog. “Uh, excuse me?” I approached his table. “Do you have the time?”

  “For which side of the veil?” he asked, his feral eyes roaming over me from head to toe. “Never mind. This side, of course.” His human face lowered to read his watch, and he used a claw to flip up something like a lid. “Four-thirty.”

  Hearing that, Aydin stood quickly and began rubbing his arms. “Well, shit. How time flies. Hey, I gotta run.”

  “Are you sick?” I asked.

  “No more sick than you.”

  His answer confused me at first, then surprise took its place. Did he mean what I thought he meant? “You’re bonded.”

  He jerked a nod and turned his head, flipping up his hair so that I could see the tattoo on the back of his neck. It was in the design of a flying gargoyle. Just like mine. “And my seventy-two hours are about up. Shojin is expecting me.”

  Oh, my God. Shojin must be his gargoyle. If he didn’t get to him in time, he’d become something as horrible as Shui. As horrible as I imagined his Shojin to be. The very thought made me sick to my stomach. “I understand you have to go, but when will I see you again?”

  The hunger in his eyes intensified and my body responded. It wasn’t hunger, it was desire. Because I felt it, too.

  “What’s happening?” The words came out on a whispered breath because I was having trouble catching mine. We drifted closer to each other. The heat from his body mingled with mine, and I wanted to wrap myself around him, run my lips over the soft hollow between his neck and collarbone, feel his hands caress my sides and slide in to cup my…

  Strong fingers grasped me by the shoulders and held me still. “I’m sorry,” Aydin whispered, the words more like a growl. “This is what happens. I have a hard time controlling it when I’m this close to changing.”

  I frowned, confused. “Control what? I don’t understand.”

  He sighed deeply. “We’re both bonded, and though we have separate beasts, our connection is still there. It’s strongest when we reach the end of a cycle.”

  Wow. “You mean people with this curse are hot for each other?”

  He closed his eyes and jerked a nod. “In a word, yes.”

  No wonder I’d been so drawn to him. The animal magnetism was more literal than I thought. That meant my attraction wasn’t real, only a by-product of a nasty curse. “I’m so embarrassed,” I mumbled.

  He winced. “Don’t be. You didn’t know. Look, I really can’t stay. So until next time…” In an instant, he was gone. His clothes, still buttoned and zipped, collapsed in a heap to the floor.

  I spun around to see if he’d reappear, but he had truly vanished. I popped out one contact and squinted in the light, seeking out the energy particles I’d associated only with ghosts until now. I spied the muscular figure of a man, transparent and naked, striding quickly for the door. But he didn’t open it. He walked straight through it.

  Scratching the side of my head in wonder, I replaced my contact lens. I’d seen a lot of weird stuff in my life, but nothing quite like that.

  My breaths came hard and fast for a minute as I reflected on what this meant. Not only was Aydin a thief like me, he was a bonded thief. He, too, had a nasty, old gargoyle attached to him. And yet he acted like a free man. How did he manage it?

  “He’ll be okay,” said a voice at my back. I turned to peer down at Elmo’s bitter beer face. “He lost track of time. I blame myself for not reminding him.”

  Such a kind little man, and his concern for Aydin was obvious. The two must be good friends. I smiled down at Elmo, a genuine, eye-crinkling smile that almost melted the ice around my heart. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d smiled like that, but it was before I’d come to the United States.

  The elf grinned. “You’re a lovely girl,” he told me.

  “Oh.” I barked a shy laugh. Only two people in my life had ever said that to me and both had been liars. They’d just wanted to get in my pants. But I could tell Elmo was sincere because he spoke from someplace deeper than his crotch. He spoke from his heart. “Thank you.”

  “I mean for a human.” The bitter beer face returned and he tromped back to the coffee bar, toting Aydin’s clothes behind him. The stonewashed jeans dragged across the dirt floor, stirring up dust.

  I felt suddenly alone in spite of being inside a coffee shop filled with supernatural beings as alien as creatures from another planet. They belonged on the other side of the veil, the green veil, the plane of Faery.

  Aydin trusted the people of Faery, so why shouldn’t I? Except that I couldn’t hang out here, at least not indefinitely. I had to return to the Fatherhouse. When Gavin arrived he’d expect me to be there and lord knew it would be a bad thing to disappoint him.

  I peered over the counter and down at Elmo. “I have to go now. Will Aydin be back here tomorrow?”

  Gazing up at me from beneath a white-browed frown, he said, “Yeah, but you’ll probably run into him at the Fatherhouse before that. He lives there.”

  I needed to
see him again. Our connection gave me hope.

  “I have a small room in the back you can stay in for as long as you like,” Elmo said. “It ain’t much, but it’s private. I imagine you don’t get much privacy where you are now.”

  How intuitive. “That’s right, I don’t.”

  “Then stay here.”

  If I stayed, there’d be a risk the Vyantara would find out about this place. According to Aydin, there’d be a lynching if the Vyantara discovered Elmo’s and I couldn’t let that happen. “Thanks, Elmo. I appreciate the offer, but I have somewhere I need to go.”

  His eyebrows bunched together like two wads of white cotton. “Do you even know where you’re going?”

  “Sort of.” Spooks. That’s what Aydin had said I’d find in the city at night. I hated spooks. “There’s someone I need to see.”

  “Saint Geraldine?”

  My ears began to ring. How the hell…? “You know about her?”

  “Sure.” Elmo carried a tray full of cups to the sink. “Everyone the Vyantara brings to Denver has to talk to the saint. It’s tradition.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. “And what does she tell them?”

  “Nothing. She won’t talk to just anybody.” He grunted while stepping up on a stool to reach the faucet. “The ones who tried were sent away.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “Aydin told me.”

  Aydin had suspected the destination of my “errands” and steered me away from the cathedral. There was a history there, he knew what it was, and he was protecting me. Or was he protecting Geraldine from me?

  If Geraldine was some sort of oracle, could she possibly give me the answers I longed for?

  The cot creaked when I sat down and the dirt floor at my feet radiated a chill right through my boots. I told myself I’d only stay at Elmo’s until the sun came up. Ghosts were less active during the day.

  “I’ll start a fire,” Elmo said before I could complain of the cold. “Let me close up shop first.”

  Within a couple of minutes I heard him talking to his customers. Nosy person that I am, I got up to see what was going on.

  “Okay, folks,” Elmo said. “Daylight’s just an hour away. Time to close up.”

  Someone said, “Aww, come on. I haven’t finished my latte.” Then came the laughter, followed by more good-natured complaining. Stools scudded across the dirt floor as people got up to leave. I heard footsteps, some made by stomping shoes and others by clip-clopping hooves.

  I peeked around the corner and watched as one by one, Elmo’s patrons passed through the curtain, stirring up lines of energy that zapped the air like tiny lightning bolts. I caught a glimpse of deep emerald foliage dotted with bright colors that might have been flowers. It happened so fast I couldn’t tell for sure.

  The two in the group who were human—I guessed they were witches—left through the main door. I didn’t doubt they were curious to follow their fey friends, but the land of Faery was off-limits to humans. At least that’s what I’d been told. Considering the contradictory information I’d received over the years, I didn’t know what to believe anymore.

  Elmo brushed past me to gather his barista tools and take them to the sink.

  I had to know how it was possible for the fey to come and go as they pleased. Where was the sorcerer who summoned them?

  “Elmo,” I said. “Are you—?”

  “No.” He tossed some kindling into a pot-bellied stove in the corner. “I’m not a sorcerer. And neither is Aydin.”

  There was so much I didn’t understand. I now questioned everything the Vyantara had ever taught me. Which had been lies and what was the truth?

  “The fey can’t cross over and then leave on their own, can they? Someone must have summoned them.”

  Elmo shook his head. “I invited them. Aydin must have explained that to you.” He turned from the sink to face me. “The land of Faery is loaded with white magic. The fey don’t need a sorcerer to open the veil for them, they just need an invitation.” He held out his right hand with the sigil branded on the palm. “This is my invitation. Aydin has one just like it.”

  An idea came to me that made my heart jump. “So humans can cross to their side, as well?” Meaning I might have a means of escape from the Vyantara.

  “I wish it were that easy.” He gestured for me to follow him to the back room, where he pulled a stool close to the cot. He sat, his short legs barely touching the floor, and motioned me to sit beside him. “Where you and I are right now? This plane, the one with all the humans? It’s neutral territory. Nothing stands in the way of getting to this side as long as there’s an invitation. Black, silver or green veil, makes no difference. Unless you arrange for the proper wards to keep things out.”

  How creepy. “You mean the mortal plane can be invaded at any time? The Earth could start crawling with supernatural creatures with just an invitation?”

  “Who’s to say it isn’t already?”

  I gulped air, my throat feeling raw from too much espresso. I felt suddenly vulnerable.

  Elmo patted my knee and tilted his head to one side, then the other. “I wouldn’t worry too much. The Vyantara keep a low profile, at least for now. Millions of panicked mortals are the last thing they want. They prefer doing their dirty deeds in secret.”

  I shook my head and felt lost again. My ignorance overwhelmed me. “They taught me only what they wanted me to know, which obviously wasn’t much.”

  “But that’s about to change, yes?” He winked at me, just like Aydin had done. “You have new teachers now. It’s time for you to learn the truth.”

  An understatement if ever there was one. I should leave Elmo’s now, get out of this tunnel and back on the street. My head swam with questions and I needed to absorb everything Aydin and Elmo had told me. Knowledge was power, and I could certainly use a whole lot more than I had.

  “Tell me about Saint Geraldine.”

  “I don’t know much, and what I do know won’t be helpful.”

  “Then tell me what you think the Vyantara has kept from me that I should know.”

  Elmo made a T with his hands. “Time out. Chalice, I’m happy to help you, but I’m an old elf and it’s past my bed time. I’m not even sure how much I should tell you.”

  “Tell me everything,” I said, puzzled by his unwillingness to answer my questions. I pointed in the direction of the door. “I’m about to head back out there, into the arms of my slave masters, and I’m completely at their mercy.” The anger inside me mixed with my resentment over being helpless. I barely controlled the volume of my voice when I said, “I’m seeing the light at the end of a very long tunnel, a tunnel that’s been my life for over thirteen years. I finally feel hopeful. Do you know what that means to me?”

  Elmo blinked. “I, uh… No.”

  “It means freedom, Elmo.” My eyes began to sting and I shut them to fight back stupid, shameful tears. “I thought I’d forgotten what freedom felt like, but I haven’t. And I want it back. With your help, with Aydin’s help, and maybe with the saint’s guidance—if she speaks to me—I won’t have to answer to the Vyantara anymore.”

  Sighing deeply, he wiped his hand over his face and yawned. “Okay, fire away.”

  “How do I kill an immortal gargoyle?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Well, that was a long shot, but worth a try. “Does Saint Geraldine know how to kill a gargoyle?”

  He gave me a pitying look and I said, “Okay, so you don’t know that, either. But can you tell me if fallen angels exist?”

  “I’ve never seen one myself, but I’ve heard rumors. You should ask Aydin.”

  Who was probably at the Fatherhouse right now, but I wasn’t planning to go back there yet. It was time for me to go to church.

  “What can you tell me about Geraldine?”

  Elmo shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t know much. But I do know her remains are enchanted.”

  Obviously. I’d held her hand an
d experienced its power. “Do you know how it happened?”

  He appeared lost in thought before saying, “Geraldine had once been an ordinary girl living in a small Spanish village during the eleventh century, right around the time of the First Crusade. She became less ordinary when she started channeling the voices of angels.”

  An angel whisperer. I’d never heard of one, but there was always a first. “Was she possessed by angels?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know, but her village parish accused her of being possessed. That’s why they executed her.”

  It reminded me a lot of the Salem witch trials. “How?”

  “She was hanged, then drawn and quartered. When her body parts didn’t die, they were rumored to have supernatural powers. Her hands and feet were auctioned off to the magic community and profits from the sale made the greedy clergy rich. Geraldine’s head stayed with the church, but the Vyantara sniffed it out. It’s been in their possession ever since.”

  I found it curious that the saint had lived during the First Crusade. The Order of the Hatchet—the female knights my mother and I were descended from—was created because of this holy war. The order was founded by the Count of Barcelona as his way of honoring the women who took up arms to protect the town of Tortosa against a Moor attack. With all the men off to war, someone had to defend the families left behind. Who better than the wives? Made perfect sense to me.

  Elmo also told me some trivia about Denver’s Cathedral Basilica. I never would have guessed that Buffalo Bill Cody had been baptized there, and the legendary Molly Brown was once a parishioner. I’d have to be wary of tourists. Only I didn’t think any tourists would be milling around at six-thirty in the morning.

  “Thanks for your help, Elmo,” I told the elf before leaving. “I’m sure I’ll see you again.”

  Then I set out to find my way to the cathedral and the legendary Saint Geraldine.

  seven

  A BRISK FALL WIND BLEW AROUND ME AND I enjoyed the tangy fragrance of spent leaves in the air. I’d been told there was less oxygen in the mile-high city, but I couldn’t tell. I inhaled deeply and ignored the faint scent of exhaust fumes from a distant highway that rumbled with traffic. In spite of the conflicting odors, today smelled like freedom. As fleeting as the moment was, I wanted to enjoy the experience of what my future might be like if things went my way. Then my tattoo began to throb, reminding me not to delude myself. Damn Shui. And damn Gavin for forcing me into bondage with a monster.