by Eric Asher
“Close your eyes!” Hess screamed as she scampered away from the roaring serpent.
I looked through Nugget’s eyes and didn’t understand what I was seeing. His tail feathers spread wide as the glow grew ever brighter. It reached a peak at last, each eye on his tail like a blinding sun, so bright that even the basilisk had to close its eyes.
I lunged forward to the shouts and protests of my friends as I raised the focus high into the air, and channeled without holding back, leaving the threads of Titan magic tangled with my aura.
The soulsword erupted from the focus, scything up through the ceiling as I slammed it to the ground. The farthest reaches of the corridor showed faint signs of scorching where the blade had extended farther than normal.
The basilisk reared, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever forget that sucking, popping horror as its head rolled free. Its eyes still moved, roving the hall as the fiery Utukku approached and slammed her spear through one socket and out the other.
I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself as the basilisk stilled.
Foster stepped up beside me and looked down at the basilisk. “Fuck.”
“That risk was unnecessary,” Hess said.
The eyes of Aseer flared. “You are most welcome in the Spirit Hunts, necromancer. Journey well until we meet again.” She turned to Hess. “Until the next life, sister.”
Hess answered with a string of clicks and pops I didn’t understand, but the fiery Utukku smiled as she faded. Hess faced the rest of us as the magic around us dimmed. “An honor, my friends. The Spirit Hunt is done, and this realm is cleansed of the basilisks once more. May your days be less … eventful. Farewell.”
The electric blue magic of the Spirit Hunt faded. Popcorn looked up at me and chuffed before she faded away with the Utukku.
“What the hell just happened?” Casper asked.
“That was Hess,” Foster said. “Well, the one that wasn’t a flaming skull, anyway. She died defending an armory in the war with Nudd. But Utukku, well, they aren’t quite like commoners? Sometimes when they die, they come back from their spirit realm for a Spirit Hunt.”
“Thank you for explaining absolutely nothing.”
“You’re welcome.”
Aideen put her hand over Foster’s mouth. “When a realm the Utukku call home is in danger, their spirits can sometimes become its defenders. It is rare, and a beautiful thing to see.”
“And the cu sith?”
“An old friend of Hess’s. She can run free in the fields of Finias now. Finally at rest.”
Casper rubbed her face. “And the giant dead snakes rotting in my base?”
“We need to pull the fangs and get them to Atlantis,” I said.
“We need to what?”
I cocked my head to the side. “Right. Atlantis is real. They need to make more swords. Basilisk fangs help them make swords.”
“And the rest of these creatures? They are … sizable. And don’t appear to be conveniently drifting away like the dead Fae.”
“I’d ask Park about that,” Foster said with a grin.
Casper frowned as she looked at the blood pooling across the floor. “Pretty sure I’m going to call Aeros instead. Park doesn’t need to—”
“What the fuck!”
Casper cringed as she turned and found Park on the other side of the half-collapsed intersection, staring at the enormous corpse. “I’m afraid we lost three soldiers, sir. They disobeyed orders to shelter in the mess.”
“I feared it would be more. And for the rest of this mess?”
“Sir, yes, well, the basilisks are dead.”
I barely choked back the horribly inappropriate laugh as it tried to make its way out of my mouth. Sometimes my sense of humor could get quite a bit darker after a battle. Apparently, it was contagious, as Casper’s worry turned into a smile while Park took stock of the chaos we’d left behind.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Casper volunteered to take us to Samir’s. Foster and Aideen decided to fly back to the shop for a much-needed shower, and I had to admit I was a little jealous. After the battle, the peacock had zero interest in being around me, instead sticking to Aideen. After a brief debate, the bird went with the fairies, looking irritated clutched in Foster’s arms. I thought about stepping into the Abyss again, but I also felt like we’d survived enough close calls I didn’t want to push my luck. Soon we were on 270 headed south.
Nixie sat in the front of the black SUV with Casper, and I sat just behind them. Traffic was starting to get a little heavier as rush hour neared, but it didn’t look too bad.
“What’s that smell?” I asked, wondering if my eyes were about to start watering.
Casper rolled her eyes. “Park and his pine fresh car freshener things.” She pulled a small square out of the vent and dropped it into a Ziploc bag. “Close that for me, would you?”
Nixie sealed it and set it in a cup holder.
“I don’t know why he likes those things so much.”
“Thank you again for the ride,” Nixie said. “It was kind of you to offer.”
Casper shrugged. “I needed to get away. It’s hard when we lose people, even if they just look like gravel now after the mines went off.”
“I understand.”
Casper glanced in the rearview before turning her focus back to the highway. “You get numb to it sometimes, you know? Like it’s just a regular thing. I don’t like that. It shouldn’t be like that. But then it creeps up on you when you least expect it.”
“It is the way of grief.” Nixie smiled at Casper. “It is a thread the Fae share with commoners. In our great wars, when the loss becomes so wide, the numbers of dead so large, you start to lose their faces and the lives left behind.”
“Yeah, fucking exactly. But today would have been a hell of a lot worse without you two and the Fae. Park might have sounded mad as hell, but he knows. He’s more grateful than he’ll ever say.” Casper looked at me in the mirror. “And what’s going on with you? Why didn’t you just lop the head off the first basilisk?”
“Long story. My powers have been a little inconsistent since I came back.”
“Did you die like that Utukku?”
I sat up straighter with that question. “No. No, why?”
Casper nodded. “Some of us have been wondering. I mean, you’re a necromancer and all, so who knows.”
“Necromancy is good for keeping other things alive in some way,” Nixie said. “It’s not so great at keeping a necromancer alive.”
I grinned at Nixie. That had more truth to it than I cared to admit.
* * *
We reached Samir’s a short time later after making plans to meet up for barbecue that night. Food was the last thing on my mind, strangely, but I was sure I’d be ravenous after we put some distance between us and the fight with the basilisks.
Nixie and I waved to Casper as she pulled away from Samir’s. We headed to the back, and I stopped cold when I found Samir sitting in a lawn chair under an umbrella. He had a book propped up on the table and what appeared to be a boba tea in his hand.
He looked up when I cleared my throat. “All is good?”
“All is good,” I said with a smile.
“Excellent. I’ll give my staff the day off. Aeros recently arrived to seal the tunnel beneath the shop. A fantastic suggestion. And, if my workers saw a face of stone in the wall talking to them, well, they may not come back to work.”
“He’s going to have a few more tunnels to seal up, I’m afraid. All the way to Saint Charles.”
“I don’t think he’ll need to seal them all,” Nixie said. “With the basilisks gone, it should be stable enough. If this state doesn’t collapse from all the caves underneath it, I’m sure it can handle a few extra tunnels.”
“Probably.”
Samir set his book down. “I rotated your tires while you were gone. The dents in the door came out well enough, but it will take some time for the paint to come in.”
“What do I owe you?”
“Nothing. Consider it payment for removing a very large pest problem.” Samir grinned.
“I appreciate it. I’ll pay you for the paint, though, and whatever other bodywork needs to be done.”
“While I might think to argue with you, I like the money. Bring the car back next Monday. And plan to leave it for a week. Delicate work, straightening and sanding.”
“Thanks, Samir.”
He picked the keys up from the table and tossed them to me. Nixie and I headed in through the open bay door and made our way to the rear hydraulic lift. Samir had already done an amazing job straightening the warped steel, but it had lost more paint than I’d realized.
“I’ll probably just have him repaint the whole thing at this point. Color matching is going to be a bitch otherwise.”
Nixie grabbed my arm and pulled me past the car and into the back room, making our way down to where the tunnel had been just that morning.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I wanted to see if Aeros was still close.” She tapped on the wall. “Hey, rock!”
I smiled at that. I was rather fond of calling the Old God “rock” as well. Probably Zola’s fault. Almost assuredly Zola’s fault.
Nixie reached out to thump the wall again just before the stones shifted, and two yellow-green eyelights burst into life.
“Nixie,” the Old God’s voice boomed. “Damian. It is good to find you not dead.”
“Has Park contacted you yet?” Nixie asked.
“No. I have been closing the paths to Samir’s. There will be nothing but stone for nearly a half mile in any direction.”
“And pipes?” I asked.
“Yes, of course. Though there may be some trouble if they need to dig those pipes up, now encased in stone.” Aeros paused and his eyelights flickered. “I would rather like to see that.”
Nixie grinned. “Frustrating the commoners does provide some amusement.”
“Indeed. Is Park in need?”
“Part of the base was damaged in a fight with the basilisks.”
“More than the dead one in the lair nearby?” Aeros asked.
Nixie nodded. “Two more. They’ll need some help repairing their walls.”
“I am nearly finished here. I will be sure to visit with Park when this is complete.”
“Aeros?” I said as he started to fade back into the wall.
“Yes?”
“Have you … have you spoken to Zola?”
“Briefly.”
“I’m a little worried about her. Did she say anything to you?”
Aeros looked down for a moment before meeting my gaze again. “I have seen her this way before, Damian. Give her time. As we grow older, sometimes it is simply isolation that we need. A time to reflect on what has come, and what is yet to come. She knows death like few others, but even that which comes for us all cannot grant her peace.”
I nodded to the Old God. It made a kind of sense. Most of us had ghosts from our pasts. But most of our ghosts didn’t talk to us. Or at least, not unless I wanted them to.
“Thanks, Aeros.”
“Be well, mortal prince.”
I rolled my eyes and blew out a disgusted breath. “Not you, too.”
His slow laughter echoed around us as the Old God faded into the stone.
* * *
We took our time getting back to Death’s Door. After the battle, I mostly just wanted to enjoy the quiet. I stayed close to the speed limit all the way home, taking 141 instead of 270. It wasn’t too much slower, but the traffic lights certainly kept things at a more reasonable speed, even if you didn’t feel like it.
I glanced out over the river when we reached the bridge into St. Charles. It was hard to stop my grin as I looked at the towering form of the Bone Sails docked at the riverfront. I wasn’t sure how long Graybeard planned to stay close by, but I wasn’t complaining. I was fairly sure the city wasn’t complaining either because the ship had become quite a draw for the tourists.
We took the exit and made our way to Main Street, bouncing across the cobblestones with mercifully modern shocks. It still didn’t quite feel real being home. Moving so soon after coming back from the brink probably wouldn’t help that feeling, but I already loved the new apartment.
A few patrols walked up and down Main Street, mingling with the tourists and the locals. It was good to see things reaching some semblance of normal. I supposed, in a way, things with the commoners might never get back to normal. They knew what the Fae were capable of now, or at least some portion of what they were capable of. I had little doubt we hadn’t seen the end of that tension.
I pulled around to the rear of the building, turning the car off before letting out a long sigh.
“Ready?” Nixie asked.
“To sleep? Yes.”
She scrunched up her nose. “First, you really need a shower.”
“Touché.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Showered and clothes changed, I realized what I had forgotten in my glorious new apartment. A washer and dryer. We had hookups on the first floor, but in my infinite wisdom, I’d covered them up behind some of the cabinets. That was a problem for another day. And possibly another task to bribe Calbach into doing.
“What is it?” Nixie asked as I pulled my shoes on, getting ready for our friends, who were joining us for dinner.
“Is it bad that Calbach is my new favorite handyman? I feel like that’s bad.”
“Not until you end up in debt to him. Then it will be bad.”
I laughed and tied up my boots. “I was just thinking we need a washer and dryer here. But there’s a laundromat three or four blocks up Adams Street, so we’re probably good for now.”
“So, not much farther than you had to walk at your old apartment?”
I pondered that. “Well, yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Soon, you’ll be as lazy as the vampires, hiring people to clean your apartment and wash your clothes.”
I rubbed at my chin and glanced toward the door. “I bet Frank would do it if I asked real nice.” Nixie slapped me on the back of the head and I winced.
“Don’t make me tell Zola.”
I grinned and followed her out to the stairs before I heard the cu siths go absolutely mad, their barks shaking the walls around us before a rather high-pitched squeal pierced the chaos. I sprinted down the stairs, terrified I’d find a half-eaten customer by the time I reached the saloon-style doors.
Instead, I found a fiery halo of red hair buried beneath a pile of excited green fur while a gray orb sat on a nearby shelf, huge black eyes watching with what I could only assume was irritation. The cu siths had stolen his perch.
“So close to keeping your feet,” Foster said, bending down to pick up what I now realized were takeout containers.
“Bubbles! Peanut!” The cu siths listened to Aideen as she hovered over them, pulling back to reveal their slobber-covered victim.
Vicky rubbed at her face and pulled her hands away, slobber stringing from her fingers. “Oh. No. Sink. I need a sink.”
“What brings you by?” I asked.
She hopped to her feet with an ease that only reminded me how old I was getting. There was a brief flicker, a reminder that I’d live longer than most commoners, but I tucked it away. It didn’t seem to help me avoid back pain, and I sure as hell didn’t need to dwell on what had come before.
“Sink,” Vicky muttered as she pushed through the saloon-style doors and I heard the kitchen sink turn on.
The bell on the front door rang, and I tried to understand what I was seeing. Alexandra half dragged, half lifted, an enormous barrel through the doorway. Nixie hurried forward to help her, and the pair took the barrel into the back room while Frank and I stared after them.
“What the hell is that?” I asked.
“Housewarming gift from Calbach,” Alexandra called back after I heard a heavy thud. “No, tap goes in this side.”
“I
s that … beer?”
“Yes. Calbach’s own brew, so be careful with it.” Alexandra rubbed her hands together as she reappeared. “Strong enough to put Foster on the floor, so it’ll make short work of you.”
I placed a hand over my heart. “My dear lady, hast thou issued a challenge?”
Alexandra sighed and patted my shoulder. “Maybe a few less renaissance faires a year would do you good.”
“Awfully kind of Calbach,” Nixie said.
“He’s still grateful about Nudd being dead. I’m sure he’ll come to his senses after a time. I heard from Shamus. He’s made the journey back to Atlantis, and the merchants have apparently reached out to the undines as well. I suspect there will be more than enough eternal flames, though Atlantis may be stripped of Orichalcum by the time this is done.”
“Good. That’s good. We’ll be ready if Lewena’s loyalists splinter off again.”
Vicky walked back to the front of the shop, pulling her now-damp hair into a ponytail. “Casper said she’s coming by later with Park. I brought food. Well, actually my parents sent me over to bring you food.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Still running errands for the family?”
“When they need it, yeah. Otherwise, I’m training with Drake. I’ve spent a few days at Rivercene, too. I’m trying to convince Luna to come stay at my place, but she’s weird about being around so many commoners.”
“Did your parents drive you out there?”
Vicky blinked at me. “How old do you think I am? I drove myself. I mean, it’s not as convenient as walking through the Abyss, but unless you want to chop off your hand and give it to me, I guess I’ll be driving more.”
“Call me if you need a quick walk,” I said. “I managed not to lose a single person today!”
“That’s … very reassuring, Damian.”
Frank chuckled at the register, and it was only then I noticed the other bags on the counter. Several bags, filled with more takeout food than I thought we could eat in a week.
“How many people are coming tonight?” I asked.
