Dragon Noir (Pixie for Hire Book 3)

by Cedar Sanderson

  “Ok, I think we’re going to be let into the dome. Move faster.”

  Alger broke into a lumbering trot, his staff held high. With one hand, he held his ridiculous hat on his head. Byrne just followed doggedly. I tried to keep an eye on the monsters, but they seemed to have gotten the idea that we’d taste bad.

  Bella and the old lady were waiting at a gate. When we got there, she opened it, and I trusted my wife, running through it even while Alger and Byrne held back a little. They came in on my heels and she close the gate. I stopped and looked around.

  You couldn’t see outside of the dome. Also, inside it was sunny, warm, and as peaceful as a balmy summer day. Birds sang, and there was a little breeze. I stepped close to the fence. You could sort of see out, like looking through a two-way mirror. Bella wouldn’t have known we were in trouble until she came looking.

  Bella was leading the older woman toward me, holding her hand and beaming in joy.

  “Lom, this is my grandmother, Lavendar.”

  “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.” I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to put out a hand to shake, or… I took her hand and kissed the back of it. What the hell, I was covered in soot and gunpowder, I must look a fright. Might as well not scare the old lady.

  “And I am delighted to meet you, young man. Bella is going to have to tell me more, but she has already conveyed that you are something special.”

  I ran a hand through my hair, with a raised eyebrow directed at my wife, who was grinning like a loon. “There are a lot of, um, things out there.”

  She nodded. “I know. I’m so sorry we didn’t let you in sooner, I was so surprised to see Bella…”

  Alger cleared his throat. Bella gestured. “Grandmother, this is Alger. And this is Lord Byrne, and then Ewan... what are your names, men?”

  She was addressing the other sprites.

  “Och, aye… He’s Ian, and ah’m Mac.” One of them bobbed an abbreviated air bow to the smiling Lavendar. I was rather pleased Bella had included them in the introduction. That alone would show the long-exiled Lavendar how much had changed. A properly-raised fairy lady would have considered the sprites servants, and would sooner have introduced the furniture.

  “So nice to see all of you, if somewhat mystifying how you found me.” She turned to Bella. “I had presumed you were told I was dead, but how did you learn….?”

  Bella shook her head. “Grandpa Bob was told you were killed in a plane crash. That’s what he told me. I left school for a semester…” her lip wobbled as she remembered.

  “Bob told me you were dead, as well, and I thought it was odd.”

  She nodded. She knew what I meant.

  “I never meant to return to Underhill, so when it became obvious that I must move on, I started to look for this place.”

  “Why did you leave us?” Bella asked.

  “Um, I hate to break up the family reunion and recriminations, but there are a whole load of angry things just outside.” I pointed out.

  “Oh, don’t worry about them. They cannot breach my wards. I leave them alone, and they have learned to ignore me.” Lavendar dismissed that worry and took Bella’s hands in hers, looking my bride in the eyes. “I couldn’t stay with your grandfather, my dear. We had never been on the same page, and...” she bit her lip. “It was just not working.”

  “But me?” Bella sounded like the little girl she’d been when her parents died, and Bob and Lavendar took up the task of raising her. I made a mental note to talk to her about that, sometime. My little hellion would not have been easy, and we were about to welcome two just like her into the world.

  “You were in college, dear, starting a new life and could manage without me. I know it hurt, but I had to go.” Lavendar pulled Bella into a hug. “And here you are!”

  “We weren’t looking for you.” I pointed out, bluntly. My nerves were still jangled from combat, we were effectively cut off from our objective, and as nice as it was to see Bella rediscover her grandmother, a family reunion really needed to wait. Or happen on home ground, by my preference. It seemed unlikely that this woman wasn’t who she said she was, as Bella would know different, but that didn’t mean she was trustworthy, either. My lovely bride thought the best of everyone. I didn’t want to spoil that, but I wasn’t letting it take my edge off.

  Alger spoke for the first time since we had entered the dome. “You were not dwelling here the last time I was at the Library. I would have visited you for old times’ sake.”

  “You know grandma?” Bella looked between them. Both had their chilly social masks on – at least I presumed that was what Lavendar’s expression was. It was certainly many degrees cooler than her look at her granddaughter.

  “We were acquainted, before I left.” Lavendar told her now.

  “Before you ran away.” Alger looked down his nose at her. “I had not taken you for a coward, before. Now I see you make a habit of it.”

  “Alger!” Bella’s eyes flashed with anger.

  “I’m afraid it is the truth.” Lord Byrne spoke very quietly, but firmly. “And she cannot return Underhill with us, as I’m sure she knows.”

  “What?” Bella turned to her grandmother, who was standing with head bowed under this onslaught.

  “If I were to return, it would be the Hunt who would take me.” Lavendar sounded very far away. “Bella, I did not run away from you. But I did flee my home when I left Underhill.”

  “Leaving a certain notorious red cloak in a very inauspicious place.” Alger growled. My ears perked. Lavendar had something to do with the fall of House Mulvaney?

  “I was sorry for that, but I didn’t know what happened until far too late.”

  Now Bella just looked confused and upset. She came and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back and held her close to my side. We faced Lavendar. Alger pointed at us. “You heard your granddaughter call him Lom. He was not born until long after you left Underhill, and his given name is Learoyd Otheris…” He leaned closer to Lavendar. “Mulvaney.”

  She let out a startled little cry. “Bella is…” She looked at us. I was probably glowering, and Bella was all but hiding her face in my shirt. Lavendar took a step back and straightened out. Her short white hair fluttered a little in the sudden breeze. I could see the power crackling off her. Between Bob, the dragon blood, and this for a grandmother, my wife suddenly made a lot more sense.

  “I think we need to talk. But a little social lubrication is in order, and you all must be tired after that fight. Please, come with me.”

  I looked down at Bella, who gave me a little nod. I followed her grandmother, who had already begun to walk back to the shack. Post-combat shakes had been postponed, for a different, quieter sort of combat.

  Grandmother’s House

  When Lavendar reached the door, she reached out for the carved wooden handle, then looked over her shoulder and winked. “It’s bigger inside than it looks on the outside!”

  She pulled open the handle and stepped into a spacious foyer. It seemed to double as her pantry. Bundles of dry herbs and flowers hung from the high, exposed rafters. From the outside, the shack seemed as though it would fit into this room alone, but I could see that there was a hall further in. I remembered what Alger had said about this plane being more plastic than Underhill. Stretching space to create this place was possible, then.

  We walked past the shelves and cupboards, into a great room that held her living quarters. Kitchen, sitting area, even a small library, all centered around a massive stove. Bella walked up to it.

  “Grandma, this is like the one you had…”

  She nodded. “In Tok, yes. I do like a masonry stove. When the old bones get cold, I can curl up on it like a cat.”

  I’d seen them before, mostly Russian, but this one was decorated in blue and white Dutch tiles, it looked like. Or something close enough to resemble them. I saw familiar windmills, ducks, weeping willows, and as I got closer, I could see sprites and fairies in the street scenes. So, not human
-made.

  “I have tea, no coffee, I’m afraid, gentlemen.” She had a kettle on the stove, and with a hand gesture, made her table grow longer, to accommodate all of us. It had only one chair, and she frowned, then made a pair of benches appear. “Sorry, I haven’t the time for more complex.”

  I was a little taken aback at this casual magic. Fae conserved their power. Unless she was showing off? But that seemed unlikely, given the rustic furniture she was toying with. Perhaps it was just this place. Bella was wandering around, looking at everything. The other men and I sat, and Lavendar sat with us.

  “You have landed on your feet.” Alger still sounded sour. “As always. More cat than pixie, I always said.”

  Lavendar laughed, although it sounded a little forced to me. “You also used to say I purred when petted.”

  Bella came back over to the table and sat by her grandmother. “You wanted to tell us how you came to be here? It feels like far too much of a coincidence to have found you when we weren’t looking for you.”

  “You were coming to the Library, weren’t you?” Lavendar asked. “If so, that is also why I am here.”

  Bella blinked and waved a hand at the comfortable house. “With all this? And if you were in the Library, why hadn’t I met you there?”

  Lavendar’s jaw dropped a little. “You have been in the Library already?”

  “For months, even if it has been virtually, I’ve touched enough shelves and books and scrolls to know it was just like being there in person.”

  “And it’s my Library.” Alger growled. He was mad again. “So, you would steal this as well?”

  “What?” Bella exclaimed.

  “No! I was not trying to steal anything, not before, and not now.” Lavendar cried out, putting her hand on Bella’s. “Please believe me.”

  “You’d better explain. The way I remember it, a certain objet d’art went missing, and the only clues led to you, and Alonzo. I know he didn’t have it, so that leaves you.” Alger subsided, glaring at her. I had always known he was angry over the events that had led to the fall of our House, but not the depths of it. Nor did I know details, other than it was considered treason.

  “Art? That’s not what it was, and you know very well…” Lavendar snapped back. Then she looked around at us, and deflated a little. “Lord Byrne, do you know what it was? You were very young…”

  “I was, but not too young that I would forget you. I carried a little flame,” He got some color in his face. I hadn’t noticed how pale he’d grown until the blush rose. “You were accused of being part of a conspiracy to assassinate, or at least dethrone, the Queen.”

  Bella gasped. I contemplated the irony of it. “Lavendar, have you any idea why we came to the Library in person? What did you and Bella talk about when we were outside the dome?”

  Bella flushed a little and answered for the older woman. “Babies, and… well, you, my dear. I was reassuring her that I was safe and happy.”

  “For values of that…” I muttered. Lavendar had been deciding, then, if she would let us in. I had no doubt that had I been found wanting, we would have been locked out. I spoke loud enough to be heard. “We are looking for the original Charter, thought to be in the Library, in order to confirm that Bella is worthy to be crowned Queen. There is some doubt, given her mixed descent. No doubt that being related to you is considered into this, which I wasn’t aware of before.”

  Byrne shrugged. “It came up during the nomination process, but enough of us had seen her in action to know for sure it was not her motivation, and indeed, that she knew little or nothing of Fae history.”

  Bella looked thoughtfully at him. “So that is what that conversation was about.”

  He nodded. “Finding Lavendar here is, um, a bit reassuring on that front as well. You would hardly have run risks in your condition had you merely been able to reach out and ask her for help.”

  “Oh, you can’t message out from here.” Lavendar stated casually. Alger nodded.

  “Messages in don’t work, either.” He confirmed. “We are on our own until we’re ready to go home.”

  Lavendar got up and brought the kettle back to the table on a tray with mugs in assorted sizes and colors. “There is honey, no sugar. Some things I simply cannot get, and I have been unwilling or unable to travel away from home. When I ran out…” she shrugged. “You make do, and I don’t mind. Just never expected company.”

  “Why did you stay here?”

  “When I couldn’t get into the library, and I didn’t have any place else to go, it seemed fitting.” Lavendar poured tea for all of us. I appreciated the warmth of the cup. It had been an overwhelming day. “I was not part of a plot to assassinate anyone, let me begin there. I was trying to help those who wanted her removed from the throne. She was… not a good influence. Alonzo was my contact, that night. I don’t know who all was involved in the plot, he kept us compartmentalized.”

  I’d had no idea how organized and sophisticated this had been. And Alger? Had he been part of it? It seemed to fit how he operated. He was sipping tea, the steam hiding his eyes and expression from me. Lavendar kept talking.

  “We were trying to gather proof that she was conniving with Low Court to undermine the Council and seize the complete power of the throne…” she turned to Byrne. “Is she… did she finish young Corwin?”

  And again, my world rocked a little. Young Corwin? And the old Queen meant to kill him?

  Byrne shook his head, and his face softened in the light of her obvious distress at the idea. “The former Queen is long dead, she succumbed to a cancer. They are not unknown, even if vanishingly rare among the Fae. Corwin is a beloved ruler under his royal name, King Trytion.”

  “Ah.” Lavendar leaned back. “I thought she must be gone, when you said Bella was... but then again, she ascended to the throne when Mab stepped down of her own will to spend her twilight years in meditation.”

  “She wasn’t the kind who would relinquish power.” Alger said.

  “No, she wasn’t. I always wondered why you were not with us, against her.” Lavendar looked at him, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. I wondered what their history was. He was older than her, had been older than Alonzo, but… Fae didn’t count such things like humans did.

  “I preferred to do it my way. Out in the open, none of this sneaking around, which brought the Hunt down on you.”

  “The Hunt! Grandma…” Bella reached for me, not her grandmother. I took her hand and squeezed. Bella didn’t like the Hunt for good reason.

  “If we had been able to…” Lavendar sighed. “It’s all history now. She’s dead, and I will never return Underhill.”

  “Why were you trying to break into the Library?” Alger asked. “And what did you do with the Crown?”

  “The Crown?” Bella asked. “Trytion has it.”

  “No, girl,” Alger shook his head. “That’s a new one, a replica made when the original Queen’s Crown was stolen, by your grandmother.”

  “I did not!” Lavendar’s eyes flashed in anger. “I will admit I was there that night, with Alonzo, and we were looking for documentation of her link to the Low Court, but neither of us took the Crown.”

  “Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?” Bella asked plaintively.

  “I didn’t know, either.” I told her.

  Alger answered. “It was a closely guarded secret. No one, outside of a handful of people, ever knew about it. Corwin and I are perhaps the only two alive... Or so I thought until today.”

  “So… if Grandma didn’t take it?” Bella looked dubious. “I believe you.” She told her grandmother, taking her hand away from me, and holding on to both of the other woman’s hands. “Is there any way to clear your name? Our name?”

  “No, dear, not after all these years. It has been hundreds of years, in human reckoning. And sweet girl, I am happy here. I washed up here like driftwood, but remember when I used to take you to the ocean? Sometimes great beauty comes from the raging sea.”

>   “Oh…”

  Alger cleared his throat. “All very pretty, but why the Library?”

  “Like you, I wanted the Charter.” She looked at him levelly, her eyes dry now. “I wanted to repudiate the Hunt.”

  He leaned back. “And you think you would invalidate them with that document? I think the Huntsman would have something to say about that.”

  “He lives still?”

  “If you call that living. But the Hunt still holds sway over the evil that would wash civilization from the face of Underhill.”

  “How can you say that?” Bella protested. She had never forgiven him for nearly letting the Hunt have me, when I lay unconscious and dying in Tower Baelfire. “What did Lom do to deserve becoming a living automaton for them? And now? With Dionaea threatening to conquer High Court, when is the Hunt going to ride in? What purpose do they serve any longer?”

  “Lom had broken the law.” Alger’s voice was soft, and he was looking at me. “But it wasn’t that I was thinking of when I told the Huntsman to take him. He was dying. The laws of our land are not so corrupted as to be thrown away with ease.”

  “Why does the Hunt leave him alone now?” Bella looked confused.

  “I can explain that.” I broke in. “For the same reason they left me alone for decades before. I am the Hunter Above. I serve the Hunt, Bella my love. I am not of the Hunt, but bound to them nonetheless.” I finished in a very quiet tone. “I told you I was a monster, did I not?”

  “You did. I didn’t think… I still don’t think you’re being fair to yourself.”

  I hooked a thumb at her grandmother. “If she appeared at our house, I would have to turn her in.”

  Bella looked stubborn. “You didn’t with Georgio.”

  I’d forgotten she would catch onto that about the ghoul, and others I had in my – our - network. “No, he was useful. So are the others like him. Might happen with Lavendar like that, but might not. I’d advise her to stay here.”