by Smith, HD
In a flash, she threw her hand out toward me. I had no time to switch on the second sight, but I felt the tiny pin pricks of her gift bump against my protection. I smiled at her when I saw the moment she realized it wasn’t working. Taking a second look with my sight, I saw the lines of her magic shriveling as they touched the barrier that surrounded me.
She lunged forward. I stepped back, throwing a light touch of will at the coffee table, putting it in her path and causing her steps to falter. She was Mab’s untouchable, so I couldn’t hurt her with magic. And using my will to toss her though a wall would just show her how strong my power had become.
Killing an untouchable wouldn’t be an easy task. It would have to be done by hand—my hand—with the power of all four, which I wouldn’t have if she learned of Harry’s blood. So getting close enough for her to touch me was going to be a problem. I would need to make sure I could kill her if I tried. I wouldn’t get a second chance.
Laughing, she said, “This is going to be fun, this little dance of ours, Claire. When we’re through, this whole town will be in ruin at our feet. Or my feet—you’ll be dead.”
“What exactly has crawled up your butt? Did your boyfriend dump you?” Faith's lips pressed into a hard line. “Or did Mommy start ignoring you once her real child was back?” Faith's eyes narrowed. “Or both?”
“You don’t—”
“Whatever. Why are you here? Clearly it isn’t to start the apocalypse. You said you needed something. What is it?”
“Sydney, of course,” she said. “My little sister and I have some unfinished business.”
Fuck, I should have tried to save Sydney the moment I got my powers back, but I let the situation with Thanos derail me. Now Faith was demanding I bring Sydney to her. “X has her because his ninjas thought she was you.”
Faith chuckled in that cutesy way I imagined all sorority girls laughed. “The Black Hearts, isn’t that cute? X’s pathetic little band of warriors. He may not even know they have her yet. I’m sure they took her to his warehouse on third. You should hurry before he figures out his mistake.”
“Why does he want you anyway?”
Faith rolled her eyes. “He’s under the misguided impression that I can bring back his lost memories or something like that.” She waved her hand as if the issue was irrelevant.
“What lost memories?” I challenged.
She shrugged.
“Why so quiet? You’ve been all Chatty Cathy about everything else.” Mocking her fake perky tone, I said, “Come on girlfriend, dish.”
She narrowed her eyes. “It’s your fault.”
What the hell did that mean?
“I was downtown, minding my own business.” She checked her manicure. “Mother was off hiding out in the museum. So I decided to screw around with the rubes you know, betting them I could guess their age,” she said, making air quotes. “Then this guy came in, all cocky and sure of himself. So I made him my next mark. Only I didn’t see what I thought I’d see and then something hit me like I’d been stabbed in the leg. I later figured out that was when you killed Raven—good job, by the way. Unfortunately, I had X’s hand in mine, reading him, when it happened. He didn’t feel the pain, but he did get a shock and his thoughts just went wild for a minute. I pulled away and got the hell out of there. He’s been looking for me ever since.”
“What did you see?” I asked.
“When I mentioned his age, I got a really big number—like Mab big.”
“Okay, so he’s old.”
She shook her head. “I don’t mean old—I mean Ancient, but he didn’t know it. When the power hit, he had all these memories flooding in. I saw this locket and someone that looked like Mother, but wasn’t. A bazillion battle scenes and then a muddled image of my prophecy—you know the one with the dragon—and this really odd mirror thing. It was kind of like an old “Twilight Zone” rerun, you know.”
My head was spinning with all the details. “No,” I said, then immediately wondered if she picked the last name Dragon because of her prophecy, because clearly that was the most important thing that she said—not. “Wait, how do you know which prophecy is yours?”
She smiled. “Claire, you really have no idea who you’re dealing with. Now, story time is over. It’s time to start threatening. Because you will bring me Sydney.”
“Not going to happen,” I said.
Faith’s lips pursed together as if holding back a laugh. “Bring him,” she yelled.
The door to the apartment opened. Two burly druids pulled a half-conscious Mace through the door. Blood was running down the left side of his face from a nasty gash on his head. He was clearly disoriented, but I still wanted to kill him. Of course, Gizelle’s curse was holding back that compulsion from becoming a reality.
The druid on his left kicked the back of Mace’s knees, forcing him to kneel, and the druid on his right wrenched his head back with a fist full of his hair and held a knife to his throat.
I felt Gizelle’s curse warm, which brought my attention back to Faith.
She looked smug. “According to my sources, you can’t let one of Gizelle’s children die.” Chuckling, she added, “And my sources are never wrong.”
I didn’t change my expression, but this was definitely going to be a problem if she tried to kill one of Gizelle’s children.
“Now, as I was saying. I want Sydney. You have twenty-four hours to bring her to me or I’ll kill one of Gizelle’s kiddos—maybe Thanos, he seems to trust me.”
The well of power within me surged. Wisps of energy sparked at my wrists and a dark vine of power started snaking up my arm, showing the tattoo Raal had given me. I clenched my fists tight to hold the power at bay until the vine disappeared.
Faith’s eyebrows raised, surprised by the show or maybe just not sure how to interpret it without the ability to use her gift on me.
“Good,” she said. “I’m glad we have an understanding.”
“I have no idea where Sydney is. I’ll need more than a day to find her.” I didn’t think this was true, but Faith didn’t need to know that. I couldn’t just trust her assertion that the ninjas, or Black Hearts, were at some warehouse on third. Third practically ran the length of downtown.
Faith walked over to Mace’s kneeling form. She pushed his hair away from his eyes. Laughing, she said, “I thought she might be lying.” Turning back to me, she said, “He really is one hell of a lie detector. No matter. I’ll give you two days, Claire, and then Thanos dies—or Sydney does. You choose.” Motioning to the goon that held Mace by the hair, she tossed her head to the side. The left druid kicked Mace in the back, sprawling his half-conscious form on the floor at my feet. “I’ll leave you with this one. He’s your favorite, I believe. Maybe he can help you get my sister back. The clock’s ticking.”
I glanced down at Mace with what must have been clear disgust on my face.
With a wicked smile, Faith placed both hands on her belly the way a pregnant woman might indicate her baby bump before it started to show. “To say he’s been a bad boy would definitely be an understatement, but you already know all about that, right, Claire?”
I drew my eyebrows together. What did she mean? Was Mace someone’s baby daddy?
“Hum,” she said. “I knew he didn’t remember, but surely you didn’t forget.”
I raised one of my eyebrows. Was she trying to imply that Mace and I were an item? “You’ve been misinformed. Mace and I aren’t anything—and I sure as hell wouldn’t be carrying his baby.”
“Oh, my. I know one of Claire’s secrets that not even Claire knows.”
Her laugh was an annoying girly sound. I wanted to smack her. And I was beginning to hate her coy looks. She was lying—there was no way Mace had ever gotten me pregnant. I’d never been pregnant. I would remember something like that.
With a contented sigh, she added, “You have two days. Find the girl and bring her to me, or I’ll kill one of the five people you can’t let die. Okay? Kiss, kiss. T
TFN.”
With that, she stepped into the arms of the nearest druid and they all disappeared, leaving me with a hell of a lot more questions than answers.
Chapter 13
Mace’s prone form was begging me to kill him, but I ignored the constant call to action when I was near him. How the hell had Faith gotten him anyway—and what did he know about me that made her think I’d ever been pregnant? Had she actually seen Jayne in X’s memories? What about Tarik? Of course, she’d also seen lots of battles and an odd mirror—none of it made any sense.
I turned Mace over and held my hand over his body. “Heal.”
I’d have to analyze Faith’s diatribe later. First, I had to fix Mace.
Blue lines of power wove in and out along the cut on his forehead as the wound started to close. The distant look in his eyes cleared and he started to regain consciousness. I stepped away from him as the disorientation passed and he woke completely.
In a movement too fast to be human, he got to his feet and rounded on me. “What am I doing here?” he growled, as if this were all my fault.
“How the hell should I know? You’re the one that got dumped on my floor half dead. What do you remember?”
His eyes narrowed, but I knew he could see the truth in my words. Turning away, he paced the room while he tried to remember. A few minutes passed before he spoke. “After you left me in charge downtown,” he started, but I raised an eyebrow. “After you left me in charge of the Fallen downtown,” he corrected, “I set up a meeting with a guy I know. He owns the Fire Pit and he’s one of the few people I trust. The problem is, when I arrived at Bishop’s bar, the place was closed. I’d made the plans a few hours earlier, but that wasn’t the oddest thing.”
I motioned for him to continue.
“I didn’t notice the bar was closed until I tried to open the door, and then as soon as the thought occurred to me, another popped into my head. I had an almost overwhelming desire to go to The Drunken Cow.”
“Is that where you got jumped?”
“No, I broke into the Fire Pit and tried to call Bishop. That’s the last thing I remember until I woke up here.”
“Great, so you know nothing,” I said.
“I know that the Fire Pit had no intention of closing, but I also know it was never there.” Mace moved closer, getting right in my face. “Since this is where I woke up and you’re the one that said things were closing, do you mind telling me what the fuck is really going on?”
I rolled my eyes and then tapped Mace on the forehead. A small static charge passed between us as I gave him the cure against X’s spells in Underworld. He blinked a few times, staggered back, and grabbed the couch arm to steady himself. I’d given him the cure for both issues: the spell on the new businesses and the one to make everyone forget the old businesses ever existed.
Mace shook his head as if trying to clear it. “I hate it when you do that.”
“So, can you remember things about the businesses more clearly now?”
“Yes,” he snarled and then glanced around the empty apartment with the candlelight motif. “Where are my brothers?”
I’d forgotten he wasn’t up on current events. I filled him in on the odd things I’d noticed downtown, about Sage going with Cinnamon, Sydney and Sorrel getting taken, and that I had two days to find Sydney. I left out the part about Ronin, which would just raise too many questions about how I’d gotten my power back. I didn’t want to reveal myself yet.
As soon as I finished, Mace headed for the door. I locked it and put protections up so he couldn’t leave.
“Let me go. I must tell Cinnamon and Sage about Sorrel. We will find him, then we’ll clean up downtown—starting with this X character.”
“No. I have to make a plan to find Sydney. I assume Sorrel will be with her. We’ll save them at the same time.” I had no intention of giving her to Faith, which meant I’d need to put the quads somewhere safe and figure out how to protect Thanos. But considering Gizelle’s power, she should know something was up and be able to warn him. She’d have to protect Thanos after I saved Sydney.
Step one was finding Sydney and keeping everyone in the dark about Harry’s blood—simple, right?
Mace was still trying to leave. After throwing his will at the doors and windows didn’t work, he turned to face me.
“How are you doing this?” he asked.
“Cinnamon’s wards,” I lied. I held up my hand to stop his protest. “I agree that we need to involve Cinnamon and Sage.” Because I needed to keep them all safe, but Mace didn’t need to know that was my reason. “But we’ll go together.”
Mace crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re lying. You know I know, and something is different with you, Claire. What is it?”
I looked away, not wanting him to see the hidden truth in my eyes. I’d never understood how he did that little trick, but I was hoping it was nothing more than educated guessing. There was no way he’d guess what I’d done with Harry’s blood.
After a few seconds passed, I heard him pacing. When I looked up, Mace was studying the room and ignoring me. He went to the window and looked out on the street. It was getting darker outside. I wasn’t sure what it looked like down there, but I could guess.
“You’re controlling yourself very well, Claire,” he said, still facing the window. “You shouldn’t have enough power to hold me here. Kill me, yes, but hold me, no.” He turned to face me. “And I’ve never known you to prefer candles—although the ambiance is quite inviting.” He winked at me and I rolled my eyes. Pointing out the window, he said, “I don’t know exactly what happened, but I don’t see a light on anywhere out there. Only a bunch of humans walking around with questioning looks on their faces. Did you do this, Claire?”
I didn’t say anything, but I didn’t need to. The smirk on his face was answer enough. He’d read me. He might not know everything yet, but he’d figure it out soon enough. I headed back to the office to get my phone.
The Boss had called back three times and left two messages. Quaid had texted.
QUAID: The Old Man’s pissed. He wants me to investigate. What are you up to, Claire?
I deleted The Boss’s messages unheard. Mace was still pacing when I returned to the living room, but stopped when someone knocked on the door.
I motioned for him to wait in the kitchen. He crossed his arms over his chest and made it clear he had no intention of hiding. I knew it was Quaid before I opened the door, so I let Mace stay in plain sight.
“What do you want?” I asked.
Quaid peered inside, but he wasn’t supposed to enter unless I invited him in. He could have crossed the threshold easily enough, but there were some perks to being the Fall Queen, at least with respect to my home when I was there. He was supposed to ask permission to enter the same as he would with Harry or Mab, but this was the first time the rule was being tested, so I didn’t have high hopes he’d actually show me the same courtesy as the others.
Quaid’s eyes stopped roaming when they landed on Mace. It was no secret Mace wasn’t my favorite, so I’m sure Quaid was wondering why Mace was here.
“You’ve been requested,” Quaid finally said.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“A meeting has been called and you’re required to attend,” Quaid clarified. “Where’s Sorrel? I’ve been trying to reach him.”
“What’s the meeting about?” I asked, ignoring his question.
“You and the sudden blackout in downtown and around your apartment.” His eyes landed on the candles near the door. “The royals are curious.”
My lips pressed into a flat smile. Curious my ass.
Quaid glanced over at Mace again. “Where’s Sorrel? He’s supposed to be with you at all times.”
I snorted. As if I needed a babysitter. Before I could respond, Mace stepped in.
“He had something to do,” Mace lied. “He asked me to fill in.”
I glanced back at Mace, surprise
d he’d just lied for me. Great, now I’d have to figure out his angle.
“Whatever,” Quaid said. “I have a car waiting. Let’s go.”
I could tell there wasn’t an option to refuse, not unless I wanted to show my hand by disabling Quaid. It would be better to just get the meeting over with so I could work on my real problems—like finding Sydney and Sorrel. I’d just have to keep the power under wraps so no one noticed. If they suspected anything, I could just blink away and keep running for the rest of my life.
Trying not to think about that option, I asked, “Where’s the meeting?”
“Mab’s castle.”
I shook my head. “No. We’ll meet in a neutral location or I won’t go.”
Quaid probably thought I was bluffing, but there was no way in hell I was going to Mab’s castle in Purgatory—not after accidentally showing up there earlier. He hesitated, but pulled out his phone and started texting. After a few back and forth messages, he said, “Where do you suggest?”
Mace answered, “The Wild Hare is available.”
Quaid grunted and then texted. A ping came in. “Agreed. The meeting will be held at the Wild Hare.”
Quaid put away his phone and motioned with his hand for me to lead the way.
Mace quickly headed toward the door. I smiled when I felt him try to transport away the moment he hit the threshold. I blocked him. He glanced back, scowling at me.
I grabbed my coat on the way out. “You don’t want to leave until Sorrel gets back, right? I mean, since you volunteered and all.”
Mace gave me a tight smile. Holding out his hand, he said, “After you, my queen.”
Chapter 14
I was anxious as we pulled up outside the Wild Hare Bar and Grill. I hadn’t planned to meet with the big three anytime soon, so this was especially problematic. After losing control of my power twice, once in Raal’s shop and then at my apartment after seeing Thanos snuggling up with another girl, I was using a lot of effort to hold it in check. Quaid got out of the car first and headed toward the bar.
