by Smith, HD
I hesitated.
Mace put a hand on my arm. “If you make them wait, they’ll get suspicious,” he said. “Not sure you want them looking too closely right now, wouldn’t you agree?” He raised one of his perfect eyebrows and cracked a smile before he left me alone in the car.
I closed my eyes, stepping outside my body. I snapped a line to a few minutes before we pulled up, but left my body behind. I waited inside the bar for the big three to arrive, which happened within seconds. There were no fake pleasantries this time. They spoke in Ancient and got right down to business.
Mab was first. “Well, it looks like our fledgling queen has decided to step it up a bit, Brothers. Do we have a plan for that?”
“It isn’t like we can keep rejecting candidates forever. Hell, she doesn’t even need to submit them to us for approval. We have no basis for stopping her strategy now, just as we had no way to stop you from yours the last time,” Harry said to Mab, referring to her policy of killing the rejects. “It doesn’t break the rules.”
Those bastards. I didn’t need to submit candidates. Was the rule about seeing everyone that applied bullshit, too?
“If we stopped it now,” The Boss added, “there would be questions.”
“If we don’t stop it, she’ll be allowed to return to her realm,” Mab warned.
“We knew it would eventually happen,” The Boss said.
Harry chuckled. “It’s very unlikely that her plan will work. If she can’t see them all, she must continue another day, which breaks the contract. Her plan will fail and nothing will change.”
So seeing all the candidates that applied was a rule, but there was some way to limit the number of applicants. How? I wish I knew what the hell they were talking about.
Quaid entered the bar and they all fell silent.
I opened my eyes, returning to my body. I quickly left the car and caught up with Mace. I wasn’t sure what their conversation had been about, but they were discussing the curator position, not the blackout. None of it made sense, but there was a contract in play that would allow me to limit the number of candidates, so I just had to play along until I knew what they meant and then hire the next person I interviewed and be done with this damn job.
I nodded to each of them as I entered. The Boss and Harry acknowledged me, but, as expected, Mab didn’t.
Harry stared at me a bit longer than the others and I was worried he sensed his blood in me, but he looked away after a few seconds.
Mace stepped behind the bar to fix himself a drink, which also gave him the best vantage point to watch all of us without appearing interested. He hadn’t tried to transport away in a while, which concerned me. What was he up to?
Ignoring him, I turned to address the room. “You sent for me?”
“Yes,” Harry acknowledged.
“You’re not following the rules,” Mab interjected. “You will not be allowed to continue with your current strategy.”
I had no idea what they were talking about, but I knew Mab was bluffing. Harry said I wasn’t breaking any rules. She was trying to play me. I was tired of being played. It wasn’t like I was talking to Mace. I could bluff like a rock star.
“Prove it,” I said.
“What?” Mab asked, actual shock on her face.
“Prove that I’m breaking the rules.” I glanced at each of them in turn, which was when I noticed The Boss was now staring at me. He was probably pissed that I’d hung up on him earlier. I was actually surprised that wasn’t the first order of business, but maybe he didn’t want the others to know.
“Where’s Sorrel?” The Boss asked me, glancing at Mace.
“He’s busy,” I said, continuing Mace’s earlier lie. “He asked Mace to fill in.”
“Is that true?” The Boss asked Mace.
Without even batting an eye, Mace said, “Yes.”
“And you agreed?” The Boss questioned.
“Of course. Anything for my queen,” he said, holding his glass up to me in a mock toast.
Oh yeah, he is definitely up to something.
As usual, The Boss’s expression gave nothing away.
I glanced at Mab, but addressed Harry. “If you can’t prove that I’m breaking the rules, then I’m going to assume my strategy for replacing the curator is acceptable.”
Harry eyed The Boss, who nodded his approval. Harry then looked at Mab, but she was staring at me.
I really hoped none of the vines were starting to show. I put my hands behind my back and clenched my fists.
“There is something different about you,” she said.
“Is my strategy acceptable?” I asked again, ignoring her and trying to get the conversation back on track.
Mab finally glanced at Harry and nodded. Harry turned back to me. “Your strategy is accepted,” he answered formally.
That was way too easy. Then again, they didn’t expect me to succeed. I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially when I wasn’t even sure it was a horse I was looking at. They’d accepted the strategy, so I just had to figure out what it was, do it, and then be done with the job—the tiny office, the crazy assistant, and the big three requirement that I stay out of the fourth realm, which I’d start looking into Monday after I saved Sydney and Sorrel and got rid of Mace as my babysitter. Simple.
“Excellent. Is that all?” I asked.
“For now,” Harry said. He nodded to the group and then disappeared.
Mab left without a word.
The Boss didn’t move. Addressing no one in particular, he said, “Tell Sorrel that I need to see him.”
I nodded, expecting him to go, but he didn’t. “Is there anything else?”
He raised one of his dangerous-looking eyebrows. “What happened at your apartment?”
“Mace pissed me off,” I said, which was a completely reasonable answer. “It won’t happen again.”
“What about downtown?”
I shrugged. “No clue, but if you have your boy here,” I said, pointing to Quaid, “tell mine what the issue is, I’ll look into it.” I didn’t glance at Mace, but I was sure he had a disgusted look on his face at being called “my boy”.
The corner of The Boss’s lips curved up. He nodded. “You have much to prepare if your strategy is to succeed. I trust you have it all under control?”
“Of course,” I lied.
“Everything wrapped up by Sunday, then?” he asked.
Shit, why couldn’t this be a Monday problem? I smiled and inclined my head.
The Boss nodded and then disappeared. Quaid texted something into his phone, then left out the main exit, leaving Mace and me alone in the bar.
Mace pulled out his phone and rolled his eyes.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Daddy’s boy just informed me that the issue downtown happened at a place called Salvation Ink, but I’m guessing you already know that.”
I shrugged.
“You don’t lie very well, Claire, and you have no fucking clue what they were talking about.” Mace chuckled. “And now you have two deadlines on Sunday.”
I considered knocking him unconscious, but we needed to find Sorrel and Sydney. I’d just have to ignore him.
I was about to suggest we contact Cinnamon when Gizelle materialized in the bar. She spun around until she found me.
“Claire,” she said in a panic. “You must save Sorrel.”
“Hello, Mother,” Mace said, but Gizelle ignored him.
“Did you hear me, girl?” Gizelle asked, her voice hurried.
“Girl?” I questioned. “What happened to “my queen”?”
Mace chuckled. Gizelle narrowed her eyes at me. Composing herself, she made an exaggerated curtsy. “My queen, you must save Sorrel.”
“I’m working on it, but you need to keep Faith away from Thanos.” I’d planned to wait, but since she was already here, I wanted her to know he was in danger.
Mace looked my way. “Who’s Faith?”
Giz
elle waved her hand as if the Faith threat was of no consequence. “Sorrel must be saved.”
I stared at her and let her see the green shine in my eyes. “I said I’m working on it.”
“You must go to the museum,” she continued, ignoring my comment. “You must find Jayne’s old spell book. There are spells within you will need: specifically, the twin of the one unique. You must have it, or he is lost for all time.” Turning to Mace, she said, “Help her or you will all perish.”
With that ominous threat, she was gone.
I considered Gizelle’s warning. She was never wrong, but Sorrel wasn’t the only one kidnapped. Ronin knew Sydney wasn’t Faith, but I wasn’t convinced he’d be able to keep her safe or hide her true identity from his employer. X would want Sydney to show him his memories, but Sydney couldn’t do that. I doubted it was something Faith could do again either, but I was sure X would never believe that.
“Your mother is crazy,” I said, weighing the options.
“True, but she’s never wrong. And who the hell is Faith?”
“Mab’s untouchable and the one that brought you to my apartment. She knows about your mother’s curse and plans to kill one of you if I don’t bring her Sydney in two days.”
“I was wondering who gave you the first deadline. Why does she want Sydney? Who is Sydney?”
“Sydney is Faith’s twin—and they’re both contenders for the Fallen Queen’s throne.”
He snorted. “Really? Well, that sucks for you.”
“Yeah, well X is the one that has Sydney and he’s the one that’s been screwing things up downtown, oh and according to Faith he’s an Ancient but doesn’t know it. So I’d say it sucks for all of us.”
Mace’s eyes narrowed. I looked away, but not in time.
“I already know you have Harry’s blood or you’d be a hell of a lot more worried since Faith is Mab’s untouchable.” When I didn’t confirm, he asked, “So how did she get me?”
“No clue, but we need to get Sage and Cinnamon. Keeping you all safe is imperative.”
Mace opened his mouth in an exaggerated show of amazement. He put his hand over his heart. “Claire, I had no idea you cared so for my siblings.”
“Screw you. If it weren’t for this damn curse, I’d let Faith have you all and you know it.”
He looked mock offended, but quickly returned to his usual smirk. “Mother said you must go to the museum. If Cin or Sage were in trouble, she would have said to go to them first.”
I started to protest, but he cut me off.
“She’s never wrong, Claire. She said you needed that spell book. I say we hit the museum first and then get the others before we go after X. They’ll enjoy a little blood sport.”
“We’re not killing anyone—not unless we have to.”
Mace chortled. “I make no promises.” He left the bar area, snapping his fingers to dim the lights and lock the door.
“And Gizelle wouldn’t have factored in Sydney,” I said.
Sidling up next to me, Mace took hold of my arm. It itched with my desire to kill him. “She’ll keep,” he said. “But mother was in a panic and I believe you have to save Sorrel or die, correct?”
I was tempted to throw him through the wall, but I needed him capable of defending himself. Faith couldn’t be allowed to kill him. And he was right: if Sorrel died because I tried to save Sydney first, Gizelle’s curse would kill me.
“Faith touched you, you know. That means she knows all your deepest, darkest secrets,” I said, smiling at the shocked look on his face. Before he could speak, I laid my hand on his and slipped the line to the Great Museum.
Chapter 15
Walking through time with Mace was just as easy as it had been with Ronin. We materialized in the museum in the room Raven had been kept in for five hundred years, which was the only room in the museum Mace had ever seen. A fine layer of dust covered the red settee that Mab and the curator had used to watch Raven. It stood alone. The glass cage, Raven’s prison, had been shattered last summer when I let Raven out.
“That was a wild ride, Claire. Do tell how you got Harry’s blood,” Mace said as if it were a forgone conclusion. I remained quiet, but I wasn’t sure why I bothered. Mace saw things no one else could. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell, but you’ll owe me a favor.”
“Fuck you,” I said, shoving him into the closest wall and trapping him there with my will. “Enough with the questions. I don’t owe you any answers. Think what you like, but keep it to yourself.”
“Let me go,” he yelled, pushing my will away. I let him drop to the ground. Mace dusted himself off as he stood. “Fine. Pretend I don’t know the truth, but they almost noticed tonight.”
I turned to walk away. I was sick of dealing with him. Gizelle’s reminder was really starting to annoy me. Killing him was out, but that didn’t mean he was going on a tour of the museum with me. “Stay here.”
He made a derisive sound, as if he’d damn well do what he pleased.
Rounding on him, I formed a perfect ball of hellfire in my palm. He staggered back. “I can leave you here as you are or glued to the wall. Which would you prefer?” The green shine ran across my eyes.
“What if you never came back?”
“That’s unlikely.”
“This is the museum. Things get lost in here—forever.”
“I’m going to risk it,” I said.
“Fine. I’ll wait,” Mace said, as if he had a choice.
“Don’t leave this room. I don’t have time to find you and the damn spell book.”
He gave an exaggerated bow before he lay down on the settee. He put his arm over his eyes like he might take a nap.
I left the room, but stopped in the next hexahedron-shaped hub and closed my eyes. I stepped outside my body, hovering high above the museum and looking down on it like a map. The place was huge and although I’d sucked a lot of power and knowledge from the place last summer, I think my brain was still cataloging everything. Based on the size of the museum, it was a task I was sure my brain would never complete, so I needed a different way to find what I was looking for.
Scanning the area, there were only two dots in the museum: Mace’s and mine. Unfortunately, there was nothing on the map to reference.
“Labels would be nice,” I joked and then chuckled. “Okay, that works.”
I didn’t get labels, but I did get a better sense of the different areas in the museum. I could tell when I was near the different royals’ sections and where the common areas were located, which meant I wouldn’t be searching the entire museum.
I sent my presence out into the massive building to explore. Jayne’s section felt smaller than the others and there was a darkness that skirted a room just outside her boundary. I moved my presence closer to look at the darkness, but I still couldn’t see anything. The room held an emptiness my presence couldn’t perceive.
Pulling back, I snapped a line to the hallway outside the mysterious room. I was surprised to find it was just a room full of sleeping mirrors, each with its own Keeper. It was more than a bit creepy—and then the first one woke up.
I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said the room was stacked with thousands of possessed mirrors. They were all different shapes and sizes. At least I understood why the room felt like cold darkness. Of course, the Keeper that had opened her eyes was mine, or at least the one I considered to be mine.
The frame was a door-sized monstrosity made of thick mahogany carved with intricately detailed vines that spiraled through a labyrinth of geometric shapes, just as I remembered. It was the same mirror from Sage’s apartment last spring, the one that wanted to kill me. Her eerie phantom glow stared out at me. She looked as I did now, which made it doubly creepy. I remembered her true form, an androgynous siren with static energy covering her naked body, gray eyes that flared white when she was angry, and a head of green tendrils that fanned out around her in a wild mess of hair that blew in an invisible wind.
The tamer image was
no less frightening, because I knew what lurked beneath—and this time I even knew its name. My Keeper’s name was Madeline, which didn’t sound like a spawn of Satan, but I remember the green hair and psycho attitude, so cutesy name or not, she was evil.
The phantom stared at me, smiling as the image of the vine started snaking up both of its arms. I briefly stepped outside my body to see the power loop at my core. It was in check, but I wouldn’t be doing that again in this room. Not only did my presence see this place as a black hole of nothingness, the oppressive weight of the darkness felt like it was suffocating my life force. All of the freaky Keeper bitches were floating around me in neon Technicolor, true forms suspended and scary as hell. I opened my eyes, sluggishly pulling back into my body. I wouldn’t be staying in this room long.
Madeline chuckled as if she knew what I was thinking. “Do come closer, Claire. We should reconnect.”
I could feel the pull of her voice, but it wouldn’t work this time. I had too much power for her to manipulate me. “I don’t think so, Madeline,” I said, feeling the spark roll off my tongue toward her. Her eyes went black. This time, I would be the one trapping her.
In an instant, as if a nest of rattlesnakes had woken up, every Keeper in that room had their eyes open and green hair out. Each of them threw off the same power as Madeline, only then was my ability to refuse weakened, as they all sent the call at once. I wanted to go to all of them, even if that meant I needed to split myself into a thousand pieces. I threw a protection spell around me, dampening their pull.
Turning my attention back to Madeline and trying to ignore the others, I said, “Why are you here?”
“I know too much,” she said. “The secrets run deep. I told the young one—but didn’t want to. Mistress punished me anyway.”
“Are you talking about Mab? Is she your mistress?”
“Yes.”
“Who is the young one?”
“Dragon. I thought she was a pet. She tricked me, made me think of the truth. Stole it from me. Very bad.”
I would have put the Keeper on a higher level of the bad scale than Faith, but maybe I shouldn’t be underestimating the girl. The Keeper said Faith tricked her and made her think of the truth. Did that mean Faith’s abilities weren’t as all encompassing as she’d implied? “So she can’t read all your deepest, darkest secrets, just the ones you think of?” I asked to clarify.
