One Thousand Kisses

by One Thousand Kisses

  “Then why don’t you take her to Court?” Her fingers pressed his wrists. Again she noted the slow, erratic pulse. His pupils were dilated more than the inconsistent lighting could account for. Beside them, Gret retrieved the contested bottle of whiskey and began to gulp it like water.

  He held up a finger. “First we celebrate.”

  “More?” A man handed Embor a full bottle.

  Embor straightened, his hand on Ani’s shoulder, and raised it high. “To vanquishing evil!”

  “Drink, drink, drink!” As Ani watched, everyone at the table except for herself and Milshadred guzzled intoxicants. Ani had never been drunk, but Tali assured her fairies had no head for human libations. A little went a long way, and the aftereffects were intense.

  Master Fey’s tail fuzzed to twice its normal size. He arched his back, hissing at Milshadred.

  “Back off, cat.” The old fairy thumped her chair farther from the table. “Nothing you can do now.”

  “What do you mean?” Ani’s gaze trapped Milshadred’s. “Nothing we can do about what?”

  Milshadred shook her head. “Look, sweetness, you don’t want to be mixed up in this. Why don’t you use your tooth to transport home where you belong?”

  A fairy at the other end of the table lurched sideways and vomited. The rest laughed.

  Ani took the bottle from Embor. “You’ve had enough.”

  “No.” He shook back his long hair. “I need more.”

  “Drink, drink, drink!” Horace and Gret crowed. Somebody handed Embor another bottle.

  On a hunch, Ani checked Gret’s pulse. Slow and erratic. The woman smiled at her.

  “Lucky,” she slurred. “I bet you can coach him out of the one hundreds. What I wouldn’t give to try a four hundred and ten with that man. No offense.”

  “None taken.” What exactly had Embor told his companions about Ani?

  “Don’t be mad at him. It didn’t mean anything,” Gret called after her as Ani advanced on Milshadred. Master Fey’s tail whipped back and forth.

  “What’s wrong with them?” she demanded.

  Milshadred gazed at her, rheumy eyes wide. “They’re assholes?”

  Ani stuck her hands on her hips. “You did this, didn’t you?”

  “Not me, chickie.” Milshadred gave her a tight-lipped smile. “I’m a washed-up agent trying to save her own skin. I’ve been in humanspace too long to have any magic left.”

  The cat emitted an ugly snarl. “Mrow.”

  “The cat disagrees. So this is magic?” Ani sorted through spells in her mind, wondering what could compel fairies to drink and engage in licentious behavior. No magic she’d been taught—or that was authorized—came to mind. “I’d appreciate it if you could tell me what spell was used.”

  “I didn’t say this was magic.”

  The cat growled.

  “Yes, you did,” Ani corrected.

  “Hell. I’m too old for this crap.” Milshadred sighed. “After I rescued you, cat, you do this to me? I saved your butt from the gnomes.”

  Quick as a skink, the cat leapt at Milshadred, scratched her chin and bounced to the floor.

  “You little shit,” Milshadred exclaimed. “He attacked me.”

  Ani retrieved her purse and pulled out the baggie of healing globes. She couldn’t force Milshadred to tell the truth. Only Jake could do that, and his magic went against everything the Doctrine of Ethical Magic Use stood for. Jake and Tali’s contract required Jake to give up magic, considering he could lose control and rip holes in the world.

  However, Ani ought to be able to repair whatever had affected Embor and his cohorts. With a disdainful glance at Milshadred, she extracted a tiny orb and approached Embor.

  “Your hand, please,” she said in her best healer’s voice.

  Embor clasped her fingers with a seductive grin that was so out of place on his stern countenance. His grey eyes twinkled. Ani realized he had, of all things, dimples in each cheek. Dimples. On the Primary. It was almost absurd.

  For a moment, she wondered what it would be like if he were this relaxed due to natural causes. What could make him let go of his worries, or was it impossible for a man in his position to be carefree?

  “You’ve reconsidered.” He twirled her around, barely stumbling. “The moon is full. Come outside with me.”

  She placed a finger over his lips. “Not now.”

  He sucked her fingertip, curling her insides. Before she could get distracted, she squeezed the healing globe. A dark red miasma of warped magic clouded his mind. It bore no resemblance to the globe dependence also there. She’d never seen anything like it. Here in humanspace, she didn’t have enough power to analyze it. She’d be lucky if she could remove it.

  Using every smidgen of magic from the globe and her skill as a healer, she cleansed the tainted magic from his system. His ailment felt a bit like psychosis, but also like fever. Embor’s psyche returned to the patchy blackness of withdrawals with a mist of intoxicant.

  She released him with a shudder as the fever left her too.

  Embor sank into a chair, hand to his head. “Wash going on?”

  “I was hoping you could tell me.” How had Milshadred inflicted everyone with twisted magic, and why were they all on this island?

  “I…Anisette…” His gaze fell on Milshadred. “Wash she doing here? I hate her.”

  “You captured her.”

  He blinked. “I did?”

  “Idiot,” Milshadred muttered.

  When Embor waved away the liquor Gret offered, Ani felt confident she’d removed the bad magic. Her cure, though, had ceased to cloak the effects of the alcohol. She couldn’t remedy fever and drunkenness with a single globe.

  Embor slumped onto the table and began to snore.

  Goodness. How many healing globes were in her kit? She’d need to tend everyone. Handling the fever would take everything she had. Their overindulgence would have to be rectified by nature. Hopefully none of them had ingested enough alcohol for it to be hazardous.

  One by one, Ani drove the strange compulsion from the fairies’ minds. A few needed extra purging, and several had physical injuries. She worked as quickly as possible and reinforced Milshadred’s bonds several times. If the Torvals returned, Ani doubted she could prevent them from releasing Milshadred or harming anyone. She’d packed offensive globes, but her combat training was limited.

  One thing her task confirmed was that these people were, indeed, Fey. If the bald man was to be trusted, they were Drakhmores. It explained why Gret seemed familiar. She looked like Jake.

  However, it didn’t explain why the Drakhmores were Embor’s assets. The clan had been banned from Court for almost forty years. Ani and Embor would have much to discuss when he woke from his stupor.

  Once everyone had been treated, two healing globes remained. Snores filled the air and the occasional grumble of someone talking in his sleep.

  “You gonna heal this cat scratch before it turns septic?” Milshadred asked her.

  The agent had offered any number of unhelpful comments during the healing marathon. Ani sank into a chair near Milshadred and rested her head on her hands. “It doesn’t look bad.”

  “Cat claws are nasty.”

  “I’m sure Master Fey had reason to believe you deserved it.” The next phase of her rescue effort would involve relocating the Drakhmores, Embor and Milshadred somewhere safer. Ani was so tired after the healing, all she could think about was a nap. “Would you care to tell me why he reacted that way to you?”

  “He’s a cat. They’re freaks.”

  Master Fey claimed Milshadred and her sibs had mistreated him. If that weren’t sacrilegious enough, they’d tortured Embor, murdered Court employees, threatened the lives of Tali and Jake and introduced a pack of gnomes into the human populace that could have done irreparable damage to the Policy of Discretion.

  Moreover, Milshadred seemed to be a very disagreeable person.

  If Ani used one of her remaining glob
es on the old woman, would she be more cooperative? Or should she try to neutralize the alcohol in Embor’s system so he could help her figure out what to do? Of course, once he returned to himself, he’d instruct her to sit in a corner while he handled everything.

  Wouldn’t it be nice if there was nothing for him to handle when he woke? Wouldn’t it be nice if she could prove her worth?

  Ani studied Milshadred. The two of them were essentially alone except for Master Fey. If the building hadn’t collapsed and the Torvals hadn’t returned, their location would do for another ten minutes. Ani would cross-examine Milshadred before starting the next phase of the rescue.

  “I’d like to know what happened here,” she told the agent.

  “Wouldn’t we all.” Milshadred grimaced. “Look, you’re about to try to force information out of me, and honestly? You don’t have the guts.”

  “You’re wrong.” Ani drew an agony globe out of her purse and inspected its purplish surface. “There’s so much at stake. You can’t possibly realize—”

  “I realize more than you think.” Milshadred’s attitude dared Ani to use the globe. “Let me save us both some time. Let me go, and I’ll tell you everything. I’ll tell you things you don’t even realize you should ask.”

  “Like what?”

  “I’m tied up so tightly my mouth doesn’t work. Sorry.”

  Ani covered a yawn with her hand, forcing herself to remain alert. “If I let you go, it will defeat Embor’s purpose for coming here. He’d never forgive me.”

  “He’ll forgive you anything.” Milshadred placed a peculiar emphasis on each word.

  “You’re mistaken.” While he might desire her, he’d overcome it this morning and sought another woman’s embrace. Not exactly an indicator of a man who’d forgive anything.

  “Don’t you want to know why?”

  Milshadred was a murderer—murderer by gnome. A murderer would have no compunction about lying. “Why would I believe anything you tell me?”

  “I’ll give you a freebie.” Milshadred grinned, her teeth large and white. “The fact you’re here means you ditched my dear, sweet cousins, Warran and Ophelia. Stay away from them. They mean you harm.”

  Freebie or misdirection? Milshadred might be guessing and might have overheard something. Then again, Milshadred might be in league with her clansmen.

  “Are you colluding with them?” How Ani wished Embor had been able to share his version of events before passing out.

  Milshadred smiled tightly. “Untie me and I’ll tell you.”

  “Not good enough.” Ani rolled the agony globe between her fingers in a way she hoped was threatening.

  Milshadred laughed. “Give it up, Princess. You’re not going to use it. You healer types never can bring yourself to cause pain.”

  That was normally true, but a violent power had been shocked out of Ani in the wake of the Torvals’ mindwipe. When she’d turned that anger on the gnomes, it had killed them. Could she bring herself to use it on purpose, after years of training to do no harm?

  She might have to. “You don’t know me.”

  “I know enough.” Milshadred swiped her bleeding chin against her shoulder. “I know why my cousins targeted you. I know what they were going to do. And I know it was going to succeed.”

  “Not possible.” Did she really know about the forced bond or was she trying to scare Ani?

  “You’ve met Jake, right? Married to your sister? Predicted to destroy us all? All sorts of things the Elders don’t see fit to share are possible. Hell, the Elders don’t even know as much as they think they do.”

  Since Ani had used that same argument on Embor, she couldn’t deny it. That didn’t mean she had to agree aloud. “Jake has nothing to do with what happened here.”

  “That’s all you get. You want me to spell it out, you have to untie me.”

  “I can’t do that.” Ani sighed and replaced the globe in her purse. “I don’t trust you.”

  “Understandable.” Milshadred closed her eyes. “What will it take for you to let me go?”

  “If you answer more questions, I’ll recommend clemency.” Ani wondered if Embor would be willing to give it.

  “Clemency?” Milshadred scrunched her face. “I’ve heard that one before.”

  “It’s all I have to offer. I’m not even in Younger Court.” Ani waited until the agent gave a single, short nod before continuing. “Do you know anything about the Drakhmores helping Embor?”

  “They were news to me. I’m impressed. Never thought Jerk-off would work outside the laws of the Realm. Nearly caught us, too.”

  “He did catch you,” Ani corrected.

  “But not the others.” Milshadred leaned forward as much as her bonds would allow. “I’m not the crazy one. I wanted somebody to do something about the damned AOC. But I wasn’t the one who hurt him the most.”

  “That’s no excuse for your actions. People died.”

  “We went overboard, and I didn’t keep an eye on my sibs. Mea culpa.” Milshadred shrugged. “The AOC was never going to make good on our contract. They wanted us dead. What was I supposed to do?”

  “Not try to kill Elder Embor. Twice, if we count today,” Ani added, hoping for details.

  “Nobody was supposed to die, and nobody did die.” Milshadred tilted her head toward the sleeping Primary. “I hear his campaign against the AOC isn’t going so hot.”

  “You hear a lot of things about the Realm for someone hiding out in humanspace.”

  “It pays to stay abreast of current events. Chew on this, missy. I could tell him what he’s doing wrong with the AOC. Does that sweeten the pot?”

  “I truly can’t release you.” Ani frowned, tempted for the first time to take the agent’s bargain. She could tell Embor Milshadred had escaped.

  No, no lies. She’d tell him the truth. If the information was more valuable than a Torval in captivity, did it matter he might never forgive her?

  “I don’t want to die, girlie, and if you force me back to the Realm, that’s what will happen.”

  “The Court will imprison you, maybe banish you to Greenland. They won’t—”

  “The Court?” Milshadred cackled. “They’re more toothless than I am. In case you haven’t clued in by now, the Court isn’t the agency I’m worried about.”

  “Meh,” Master Fey added. He sat pertly on the table, ears forward.

  Ani stared at the agent. Some of the fairy globes had begun to flicker, low on power though they could last years in the Realm. Shadows and light danced across the other woman’s face, smoothing her wrinkles, softening her features. What was it Tali had said about the Torvals. They were two hundred and fifty. Tali had bonded, married and had the triplets young, in her sixties.

  The Torvals, it seemed, had never had families. Their careers had been everything, and now everything had soured. Imagine being in the prime of one’s life and yet so near the end of it. Should Milshadred return to the Realm and be given access to a Court healer, her youth could be restored.

  The AOC promised all humanspace agents complete renewal before it sent them to the other side. Humanspace agents weren’t like Jake, Tali and their assistants. They couldn’t return to the Realm until their contracts were up due to issues with separation sickness. With acclimated physiologies, they appeared human, even during an autopsy. But more and more humanspace agents had died before the end of their contracts. Now only the largest rings had humanspace outposts. In human studies class, the deaths had been attributed to environmental factors.

  Was that true or were Milshadred and Master Fey right? What was at work here?

  “Perhaps we could come to an agreement,” Ani said at last. “It won’t be the one you suggested.”

  Milshadred’s shoulders straightened. “What do you have in mind?”

  “Part of what you think the AOC is going to cheat you out of,” Ani said. “Healing.”

  “I’m not giving up the goods for a Band-Aid,” Milshadred said with a snort.


  “Full healing. Whatever you want. I’ll do it myself.”

  “You think I couldn’t have had that already?”

  Ani’s confidence wavered despite her words. “If you could, why wouldn’t you have?”

  “I suppose you do know what you’re doing,” Milshadred mused. “You’re trained and experienced. Other people are as likely to screw up as they are to get it right.”

  “I have my journeyman’s license. I can restore fertility.” Humanspace agents were sterilized to prevent what had happened with Tali—cross-pollination with a lost one. Though it had worked out with Tali and Jake, that didn’t mean it would with anyone else.

  Milshadred’s expression hardened. “Is that all?”

  “I can reinstate your rightful age,” Ani added. “Inside and out.”

  “So I’ll make a pretty corpse? Perky tits won’t do me any good if I’m dead.”

  “I don’t know what else to tell you. I can heal you, but I can’t offer safety if you think the Court can’t provide it.”

  “Letting me go would keep me safe, cupcake.” Milshadred kicked an empty bottle on the floor. “You can sure as hell provide that.”

  Now that Milshadred knew about the Drakhmores, Embor wouldn’t have another chance at catching her. Yet with her in custody, it increased the likelihood he could arrest her sibs. Sibling sets didn’t do well without their focal.

  Arresting all four Torvals was Embor’s goal. It was what drove him. It was what he felt he needed. It was what might make him happy.

  Ani would do whatever she could to help.

  “Give me answers. Did you set a trap for him?” she asked the older fairy. “How did you know he was coming? Were you responsible for the repository’s disappearance? How did you cast spells if you’ve lost your magical cortex? I thought acclimated fairies were limited.”

  Milshadred wriggled the cords that secured her to the chair. “Untie me. I can tell you so much, Princess. I can even tell you what he learned from the Seers.”

  “He learned about Jake having the potential to destroy the Realm. I already know that.”

  Milshadred eyed her shrewdly. “He learned about you.”

  Ani’s stomach clenched. She’d been to the Seers once. She hadn’t stayed for the whole reading because she’d had greater worries that frantic night. She’d just learned her sister was pregnant, bonded to a onesie and banished to humanspace. While sibling sets didn’t do well without their focals, they could make do. Twins, like bondmates, had difficulty existing apart.