by P. A. Wilson
The beer didn’t help.
I stepped toward the table running a mental rehearsal of what I would say. I wanted to be cool and professional. If she wasn’t interested, if I was reading the signals wrong, I would not let her see it.
“Hi. It’s good to see you are okay.”
She frowned up at me. “What do you mean?”
“Your place has been trashed. I was just there.”
She looked across the table at the other wizard. “Know anything about that, Lionel?”
Relief flooded me and I looked into my glass to cover my reaction. Lionel, of course she would be with her apprentice.
He coughed. “I don’t know. Umm. Well, I’m pretty sure I got the containment spell right on that mini hurricane. You did check it, right?”
Cate’s mouth thinned and I was glad I wasn’t Lionel. “I would have checked it if I knew you had a mini hurricane in my house. But if I knew that, I would have sent it back where you got it from. Why did you think you could summon one?”
Lionel seemed to miss the threat in her voice. “I was looking through the spells like you told me to. That seemed like a real easy one. And it was. I got it on the second try.”
She shook her head. “You know that you have to master containment before you summon. Well, no real harm done, I guess.”
I figured she was just trying to be careful of his ego while I was there. I stood up; it was time for them to be alone. “I’ll get you another glass of wine, Cate.”
She nodded at me then turned her full attention on Lionel. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
Mark and I watched the storm of words she lashed him with. We couldn’t hear because she’d cast a muffle spell as soon as I moved away. We could see Lionel looking down at the table, his shoulders were slumped and he didn’t say anything. I’d finished half of another pint before he stood and walked toward the door, face ashen. Cate beckoned me over and I took two fresh drinks with me. “It will get better,” I whispered to Lionel as we passed. I’m not sure he heard me.
I put Cate’s glass down and sat. “Still think it’s a good idea to have an apprentice?”
She looked up and I saw a sparkle in her eyes. “Remember when I spilled the invisible potion on the floor just in front of the door to Master Vollont’s house?”
“Now you mention it, yes. I remember watching people step over the hole that wasn’t there.” I remember Cate having a blistering talking to by Master Vollont as well.
She sighed. “I did tell him to look at those books. I should have thought about what he might do.”
“If you need help putting your place back together, I’ll be happy to be there.” I raised my glass to her. “Have you had a chance to figure out anything about our other problem?”
“No solutions, but I did find something about how they might have done it. The spell on the amulet I mean.”
“Okay, if we have the amulet, that will help us clean it.”
“It was in one of my old books. There are two components of this kind of spell. Unfortunately there was nothing about removal so I’m guessing about that. The Sidhe could do this for other Real Folk but it was easiest for them to choose the fairies because they’re related so the fairies trust them a bit more than the rest of us. They took blood from a fairy and a little more blood from a Sidhe. It’s a control spell. Fionuir used the two bloods to cast a control of reproduction spell.”
I started to feel hopeful that we would come up with a solution. “So, we might be able to recast the spell with only fairy blood and give them control over their own fate. This is great. You did way better than I did; I wasn’t able to find anything out.”
She smiled at me and took a sip of her wine. “I have something more.”
“Okay, how did you get so much when I got nothing but ‘there’s no way’ from my sources? Oh, Olan also told me last night was a trap, there was no woman.”
She shrugged. “That’s good news. How I got information instead of you? I don’t know. Maybe it’s just the questions you ask.”
I waited for her to continue but it seemed she was making me work for the information. “Okay, what did you find out?”
She grinned before saying, “I found a Sidhe who is willing to talk to us.”
That surprised me. “How did you find them? We just got away from one trap, this could be another.”
“A friend told me about her. I said we would meet with her later tonight”
“Are you sure about this friend?”
She sighed. “I trust my friend. Stop questioning my information just because you didn’t get anything useful.”
“It’s not that.” I realized I needed to back pedal a bit. “I’m really worried about another trap. We barely got out of the last one.”
“It’s going to be risky. We can’t look for ways to do this without risk.” She plunked her glass on the table and rose. “If you want to stay here, I’m happy to meet her and report back. Is there anything you would like me to ask?”
“No. I mean, yes. I mean, I’ll come with you.”
It wasn’t that far to the meeting place. We were in the alley where I saw the first killing. It gave me a chill and I couldn’t help looking at the corner where the human died. There was no sign that anything other than bad toilet choices had taken place here. I wondered what the human authorities had thought when they found her.
Cate pulled me out of the center of the alley into the shadows. “She’s supposed to meet us here. We’re a few minutes early.”
I waited quietly. I’d already put my foot in my mouth so I told myself to watch and not make anything worse. Anyway, this was Cate’s clue. If I had found this contact, I would have been bossing her around all over the place.
“Do you see anything?” Cate whispered.
“No, but don’t worry. She’ll show up. This will probably be the break we’ve been looking for. You might have saved us.”
“Don’t be so patronizing.” She giggled with the words.
“If you two are finished cooing at each other, perhaps we can speak.” The voice came from across the alley in a shadow of a dumpster. The voice was cool and low, but I couldn’t see who was standing there.
Cate stepped forward to the middle of the alley. “You have our attention.”
I stepped up behind Cate and kept my mouth shut.
The Sidhe woman stepped out of the shadow and dropped her hood to her shoulders. She seemed to glow. Her skin was fair, the lightness made more translucent by the rosy blush over her cheekbones. I knew that wasn’t make-up, just the look that teenage human females strove for. Her green eyes were shaded by a fringe of tiny blond ringlets. The rest of her hair bound in a green silk band and braided.
Cate elbowed my ribs. I realized I was gaping. The woman gave a deep chuckle. “Don’t fear, girl, I have no desire for your man.”
“He’s not my man.” Cate blushed as she spoke.
“Who are you?” I asked. Then feeling really clumsy and stupid, I tried again. “I mean. I wonder which of the Sidhe would take the chance to meet with us. You must be someone quite important.”
She smiled and I felt like prey. “Astute. I am coming to like you.”
Cate snorted. “I don’t think he needs an ego boost. I am Cate Witherspoon. I was told you wanted to speak to me.”
“Cate, I knew your mother. She seems to have passed on her directness.” The woman turned to me and I could see she was old enough to be Fionuir’s mother. Not a line on her face, but ages reflected in her eyes. “You are Quinn Larson. I do not know anything else about you.”
“You asked for a meeting.” Cate took my arm. “Is there something you wanted to say?”
“I am Maeve.” She waited for something. I didn’t know what to say. “I see you are not clear on Sidhe history. I am the rightful queen. Fionuir took away my crown and installed her irresponsible court in my place.” Pain and bitterness spilled through her words.
“And you want us to help you take
your crown back?” I guess it was one way to solve the problem.
Maeve nodded.
Cate looked at me then pulled me back a few steps. “It could work. We could stop Fionuir by replacing her.”
I knew that the Sidhe weren’t that straightforward. Maeve would exact a price for stopping Fionuir and it wouldn’t be getting her throne back. “And if Maeve is worse than Fionuir? If we are getting the devil we don’t know?”
“I am not a devil.” Maeve’s voice soothed my objections for a second.
I threw a charm to the ground between us. Maeve stepped back, as though it was a serpent. It was just a muffle spell. I hoped it worked on Sidhe.
I turned back to Cate, taking her arm and bringing her close to make sure we were both covered by the spell. “It all smells a bit fishy. Why would she have come to us now? And, why would she need our help?”
“I don’t know Quinn, but I think we should at least hear her out. It doesn’t have to be a trap.”
I couldn’t push away the feeling Maeve was going to cause us a lot of trouble. “She has had a chance to start telling us and yet she’s just playing with us.”
“Unless you have another plan, we should at least give her a chance to tell us what she wants from us.”
Cate was right, just hearing her out couldn’t hurt. And I might be able to figure out how to keep us safe while she was talking. There was no doubt we would come off worse in Maeve’s plans if we didn’t take care.
Chapter Twenty-One
When I cleared the muffling spell, Maeve said, “This is not safe. We need to go somewhere we can speak in private.”
“Do you have somewhere in mind?” I was not going to invite her into my home, and Cate’s place wouldn’t be in any shape for visitors no matter how hard Lionel had worked.
“As a matter of fact, I have. Come.” I could hear the royalty in her voice. That’s what worried me. Fionuir was a good example of the personality of Real Folk royalty and I wasn’t sure how different Maeve was in that department.
We followed her across the street and down into the basement of a hotel. I could smell the soap and boiling water of the laundry. Maeve led us down a long corridor and finally into a small room. Inside there were four armchairs and a table, on the table stood a bottle and three wine glasses.
“Will you join me?” Maeve poured herself a glass and sipped.
Cate nodded but I wasn’t taking a chance on being less than fully alert. Maeve poured then sat on a red leather chair. I remained standing.
“You want to know what I have to offer.”
Cate leaned against the wall and said, “Please tell us.”
“You are worried, Quinn, that Fionuir will bring the attention of the humans on the Real Folk.” She seemed determined to bring me into the conversation. I simply nodded. “And, Cate, I am not sure why you are involved”
Cate shrugged, and I admired her ability to seem so casual in Maeve’s regal presence. “I don’t like what is being done to the fairies. And, I agree with Quinn.”
Maeve paused and emptied the small glass before pouring another serving. “I have already told you why I wish things to change.”
“We are waiting for more information. Perhaps a plan,” I said.
Cate looked at me and I was glad I was standing too far way for her to poke me. She turned her smile on Maeve. “I prefer the direct approach as you mentioned earlier. Quinn is right; you have not given us any information other than your name. Do you have a plan?”
“You are in such a hurry.” Maeve gave that warm chuckle again. “Very well, I know where Fionuir has hidden the Gur amulet. If you take it, you can remove the spell. She won’t be able to replicate the spell without such a powerful battery as the Gur amulet. And, perhaps the fairies will be more careful of their blood in the future.”
“Where is the amulet?” Cate spoke before I could form the question.
“It is in her court, on one of the tables.” Maeve smiled. “Have you seen the Gur amulet before?”
I answered her, “I think it is stone. I haven’t seen it but I have heard it described as a small lump of stone with streaks of metal.
Maeve nodded. “It is sitting on the table in front of a tapestry of the Wild Hunt. I believe you have been in her court.”
“I have.” I tried to think where the tapestry was. I thought it was behind where Fionuir had sat. The amulet would have been within touch if I had known where to look.
“Yes, my friends are still talking about it. Very amusing.” Maeve smiled and sipped her wine.
“And how do you propose we get possession of the amulet?” Cate kept digging right to the heart of the question.
“You kill the guards and simply rush in and grab it,” Maeve said.
“No, no one dies,” I said.
Cate ignored me. “While we are doing this, what will you do?”
“I will not be there. If Fionuir suspects I am involved, she will use that to defeat me when we choose the queen.”
Ah, is this the catch? “Is that why you didn’t just bring the amulet here? That would have been the best approach.”
“Partly that, and partly because Fionuir has added a layer of spell that informs her if another Sidhe touches it.”
“Only Sidhe?” Cate asked.
“Yes, she is too arrogant to imagine any other Real Folk will be able to get to it.”
I still felt there was a catch. I don’t know if it was the plan, or the fact that she wasn’t going to help us any more than this. Or, because I didn’t know if she would be any better than Fionuir as a Sidhe queen. The plan was pretty good. The location of the amulet was our biggest obstacle. “Were you queen before Fionuir?”
Maeve smiled again, her gaze seeming to focus on something other than us and this room. “Yes, she took my crown and convinced so many of my followers to join her that I have been unable to rally enough support to challenge her since.”
As long as I could remember, Fionuir had been queen. “Tell me something that happened when you reigned.”
“We planted trees. Beautiful trees.” Her voice had a faraway quality. It was not earthshaking but the glow that rose in her eyes told me everything.
Cate had been quiet. I turned to her and saw she was frowning and looking at her empty glass. “I think I have an idea.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The meeting broke up shortly after Cate told us what she was thinking. Maeve faded into the shadows, Cate went home to research her part in the plan, and I’m pretty sure to give Lionel another lecture. I went home to sleep and recharge my batteries. The damage from last night was almost healed, so a good night sleep would store up new energy.
I hoped this ominous feeling would dissolve into my dreams.
Our agreement was to meet in the park at dusk. I got there a little early and while I waited I tried to find a fairy, but no one was about. I had hoped to get a chance to find some blood. I didn’t have any worries about finding a spell to undo the work Fionuir had done on the amulet. I had two choices. Overlay a spell or wash away her spell. My preference would be the latter. I hated to think that the spirits of those murdered Druids being used to power a spell. They should be at rest, or freed.
I sat on a bench close to the entrance of the park. I could see the three drug dealers back in their spot. They paid no attention to me.
I saw Cate cross the street and enter the park. She was wearing black again. All black. It didn’t seem to suit her but I guess if she liked it I could get used to it. She joined me on the bench.
“I found what I needed. I have a spell strong enough to put all the Sidhe asleep. It will be only for a short period. But you should have time to get in and grab the amulet.”
I had no doubt she would do her part. I was worried about me. That damn obligation. Would it think putting them to sleep was a direct harm? What if someone fell on a sword and killed themselves. I really wanted Cate to be out of it, but she needed to cast the spell so I could enter the court a
nd take the amulet back. “I wish we had someone else to cast the spell. I would feel better if you were out of harm’s way.”
“Don’t be an idiot.” She laughed. “I am not going to pass up this opportunity.”
I started to argue, to tell her that I didn’t want her to be in danger. That I would rather the Sidhe carry on rather than have anything happen to her, but before I could get out a word, Olan flapped into view.
“Have you saved the world yet?” He asked as he landed on the back of the bench.
I told him our plan.
“Sounds perfect. Nothing to go wrong in that plan.” Olan cackled a laugh.
“Okay, bird. What do you suggest? This is the first break we’ve had, and we’re doing our best. What more can we do?” I was done with Olan not helping. It was bad enough he couldn’t just stop the Sidhe and fulfill his debt to protect the humans, but he kept sniping at our attempts.
Olan started pacing the back rail of the bench. “It usually is wise to have a backup plan. What if the Sidhe don’t fall under the spell?”
“The spell should work. It was in the great book of artful war spells,” Cate said.
Olan pecked at her hair. “So, we are warring with the Sidhe. How do you think a spirit wizard will fare in war?”
“Stop that.” I pull the tress out of his beak. “We aren’t at war. I can work with this.”
Olan made a sound that I would have sworn you needed lips for. I felt dismissed. He paused his pacing and looked at me, his beady eye drilling into my soul.
“Witch Witherspoon.” Olan turned to her. “Do you know for certain you are able to cast the spell?”
“In the book it says the last time it was cast was in the war between Vampires and Kobolds. The Kobolds hired a witch named Ursulina to avert a battle. She cast the spell at the peak of the full moon and all vampires within a hundred yards fell asleep for two hours.”
Olan clacked his beak. “That is not what I asked you.”
She cleared her throat. Annoyance flushed her cheeks. “Ursulina is my mother’s aunt. My great aunt, I suppose. I contacted her to ask her what the key to the spell was. She told me.”
