In the living room I saw the reason The Gate had sent me back in the house. My mouth went dry.
Elgrin, the fairy-warrior, stood with her hands on her hips, glaring in my direction. Jack stood next to her and I had the feeling they’d been arguing before the sound of my running footsteps had stopped their conversation. Gil, still magically bound, sat on the couch. Diego stood nearby—straight and tall, but I felt his exhaustion, his anguish.
I closed my eyes a moment, calming myself. I knew why Elgrin had come.
“This man,” she said, infusing the word with venom and gesturing toward Jack, “is refusing to hand over my payment. Perhaps you can explain to him that a deal is a deal.” She turned her harsh gaze on the policeman. “I think you know cheating the fairies is not a good idea.”
I walked toward her. “Of course he can’t make the payment. You struck the deal with me.”
She unfurled her large wings, expanding the space she took up in the room. “Fine. You’re here now. Hand over the sorcerer.”
My mind spun, looking for a way out. I went for clean, honest truth. “The sorcerer is brother to wizard Adair, who is dear to me. When I made the bargain, I didn’t know the prize would be family.”
She made a scoffing sound. “That makes no difference. I and my troops held up our end—at some cost to us, if you will remember.”
I did remember: the fairy with burned wings, another with a wing half torn off, the ones with broken arms and damaged legs from the acolytes’ staffs.
I’d threatened to shoot Gil and probably would have done it at the moment to free Dee and The Gate. But now? Gill was a murderer and probably dangerously insane, but should he suffer what Elgrin had described as a ‘slow, painful, and fatal’ fate for his crimes? Was it fair to let the fairies have him, denying the families of the humans he’d killed a chance to confront him and have their say? To deny Dee’s family the chance to forgive Gil or not while he still lived?
Jack took a step toward the fairy warrior. “You know I’m Magic Police. You know that asking for a life in payment for anything is illegal. The fairies like to think they are outside the law, but they aren’t. You aren’t. I won’t let you take the man as payment. You’ll have to come to some other agreement with Oona.”
Elgrin slowly beat her wings. “The magic police hold no sway over the fairies, and human morality is none of my concern.”
Gils’ fate had never been my decision to make, but it wasn’t Elgrin’s either.
I cleared my throat. “Look, instead—”
The fairy cut me off with a sharp wave of her hand. “Enough!”
A thick blue fog filled the room, making me cough so hard my vision blurred. When the fog lifted, the fairy warrior and Gil had vanished.
Chapter Twenty-four
I didn’t see Dee for the next two days and he didn’t answer his phone when I called.
“Give him some room,” my mother said. “He must be miserable over what happened.”
My mother is a wise woman.
The entire magical community was awash with the story. Too many people knew about it and the fairies had been quite public about Gil’s fate. It helped fuel the fear of crossing them, I supposed.
I was cleaning up after breakfast when I felt Dee so strongly that I headed down the hallway toward the front door before he knocked.
He stood on my porch and reached out to me. We wrapped our arms tightly around the other and stood in the doorway swaying together for a long, long moment. I wanted to hold our embrace forever but people passing by on the Strand were beginning to stare.
“Come inside,” I said.
He followed me into the parlor and we sat together on the sofa, holding hands as if the only thing that could save us from the pain of this world was the touch of the other.
“How have you been?” I said finally.
He sighed deeply and shrugged. Really, what words were there?
“Have you talked to The Gate?” I said.
Dee nodded. “You were right. He’d left his star charm in hope I’d find it and know we were on the right trail.”
I nodded, encouraging him to go on. I could see he needed to talk, to get it all out.
“You know The Gate is accomplished at divination,” Dee said. “He knew it was coming. The abduction. The attempt at a sacrifice. All of it.”
“He knew,” I said aghast, “and let it happen anyway?”
“Not all the exact details, but he knew Gil would try to kill him.”
“And he let it go on anyway? That’s crazy.”
“It’s a rite of passage for wizards,” Dee said. “You know that. The Gate divined that Gil would come for him, but he thought he’d gently put Gil in his place and they’d go on like always. He didn’t know Gil had gone to black magic. Didn’t know about the people he’d killed to steal their power. Not just the ones we knew about. After Thomas Halverson killed the man at Alpine Village at Gil’s order, he killed Halverson. It was Gil who sent the fetch.”
I sighed. “The Gate must have been distressed when he realized.”
“He was, yeah. And yet he’s already thinking of taking on a new apprentice. The Gate is a teacher. That’s always going to be true.”
I thought about The Gate, the way he always seemed to see deeply into my soul. Had he, in fact, known everything all along and let it proceed as one of the “life lessons” he was so fond of? The thought appalled me.
“I want to thank you,” Dee said. “At the house. You were—” His voice trailed off.
“What?” I said.
He smiled, the first genuine smile I seen on him in a while.
“Seriously badass,” he said.
I smiled back, but it was thin. I felt he’d come to say something important but was reluctant, and it surely wasn’t to tell me how badass I was.
“Spit it out, Dee,” I said kindly. “Say what you came to say.”
He drew in a breath. “I’m going home for a while.”
My heart rate sped. “To the commune?”
He nodded. “My father, Gil’s mother, my mother, my sisters, everyone we grew up with are overwhelmed by what happened. No one can understand it. My dad and his mom are completely destroyed knowing what Gil did, knowing that the fairies—” He paused, gathering himself together. “I should be with them.”
The fairies had Gil because of me. I didn’t feel resentment or anger from Dee over my part in what happened to his brother. He knew I never would have agreed to the price if I’d known Gil was the sorcerer. His understanding only intensified the guilt I felt.
“Going home is the right thing to do.” I squeezed his hand lightly. “Do you want company? A traveling companion?”
His lips tightened into a line and I knew the answer before he said it.
“I need some time to myself. I keep running over things that happened when we were kids, wondering if this or that had gone differently would Gil not have hated me. I need time with my family now, away from . . . this life. Time to try and process everything.”
I understood that need for time to oneself well enough. Time to think things through. Time to heal. Still, a worry rolled through me. “Are we breaking up?”
Dee loved me and I loved him. It didn’t mean we would be together no matter what. My mother’s words came back to me: ‘He’s not known as a man who stays long with one woman.’
Diego glanced down and shook his head. I couldn’t tell if that meant no, we weren’t breaking up or I don’t want to tell you, but we are breaking up.
He sighed and looked at me. “I don’t know. I hope not, but, Oona, when my magic faltered, when I thought I might lose it, it was like I lost myself. If I’m not a wizard, if I’m not a damn good wizard, what am I? What do I have to offer you?”
I fought back the tears threatening behind my eyes. The last thing Dee needed now was his girlfriend crying for his misery.
“That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard,” I said.
He stared at me,
incredulous.
“Really, Dee,” I said. “You honestly think I’m with you because you’re a ‘damn good wizard?’ Have you been sitting around these last few days second guessing yourself and worrying about what and who are you if you’re not the second best wizard in town? You’re Diego Adair—first, last, and always. Diego Adair who is a friend to and adored by more people than I can count. A kind and compassionate man. And a helluva goalie.”
He started to say something but I cut him off with a flick of my wrist. Since I was on a roll, I might as well keep going.
“And fine looking, too, now that I think about it. Not that I’m the sort to be drawn to a man just because he’s better looking that anyone has a right to be, but it doesn’t hurt as an add-on. Did I mention how good you are in bed?”
Dee held up a hand. “Stop. You’re making me blush.”
I smiled, then sobered. “You’re right about going home for a while. Your family needs you and right now you need them. Go home. Have an existential crisis if you need to. Maybe I’ll have one of my own while you’re gone.”
“You don’t seem the existential crisis type.”
“You’d be surprised.”
He chuffed a small laugh. “I might be at that. You’re full of the unexpected.”
His muscles began to relax and his tension lightened. He slipped his arm over my shoulders and drew me to him. We sat together quietly.
“I have a favor to ask,” I said. “Would you be willing to give me the spell to open your wizard’s lair? I’d like to use your library.”
He cocked his head, puzzled.
“I could have done so much more to find you if I’d had more magic. A dowsing spell. More magical power. I could have helped more with everything. So much grief would have been spared.”
“Of course,” he said. “Take whatever books interest you. You can use my supplies to practice potions. Use the gazing bowls. Whatever you want.”
“Thanks.”
Another long silence set in. Finally Dee said, “I’d better get going.”
He stood, then bent over and kissed my forehead, leaving his lips on my skin a long moment. I wanted to throw my arms around him and hold him until all the pain in him was gone. I didn’t though. We can’t fix things for people; they have to fix themselves. And we have to let them.
“Will you keep in touch?” I said.
“I’ll call,” he said.
“Dee,” I said but he shook his head.
“I have to go.”
I watched him walk away and heard the front door close. I felt the wards go back up and the frizz of a bit of extra magic he added, an extra dash of protection.
"Thanks, Dee," I said softly.
I sat a long time in the parlor. I cried a little, sad for all that had happened, all that Gil had changed and damaged and destroyed. Cried for Dee and how awful he must feel. Cried for how much I already missed him and how lonely I suddenly felt.
Finally I made myself get up. I washed my face and went to the garage to pack my hockey bag for tonight’s game. I didn’t feel much like playing, but that was the thing about life—most times the best move you could make was to just get on with it.
Thank you for reading this book. I would be most grateful if you’d take a moment to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Thank you.
Also by Alexes Razevich
The Oona Goodlight series
Ice-Cold Death
Barbed Wire Heart
The Ahsenthe Cycle
If you enjoy being immersed in an alien world and like stories with strong female characters, The Ahsenthe Cycle has everything you’re looking for.
Book one: Khe
Book two: Ashes and Rain
Companion story: Gama and Hest
Book Three: By the Shining Sea
The Girl with Stars in her Hair – Cassie Goodlight has one year to save her kidnapped brother. Magic is the only way. Not exactly a prequel to the Oona Goodlight stories, but interesting for those wanting to know more about Oona’s ancestors.
Shadowline Drift – A psychological thriller with science fiction and fantasy elements. Perfect for fans of Inception or Lost.
Jumper: A short story in which world-class shopper, Maddie Bresslin, accidently remakes the world. Magical realism, a little strange, and not for everyone. A nice read during a lunch break or while waiting at the doctor’s or dentist’s office.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Dan McNeil, Richard Casey, and my amazing editor, Christina Frey, for their help in shaping this story.
Much love to Chris, Colin, and Larkin Razevich—the three greatest gifts of my life.
Cover design by Deranged Doctor Design
About the Author
Alexes Razevich writes speculative fiction. She attended California State University San Francisco where she earned a degree in Creative Writing. After a successful career on the fringe of the electronics industry, including stints as Director of Marketing for a major trade show management company and as an editor for Electronic Engineering Times, she returned to her first love — fiction. She lives in Southern California with her husband. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found playing hockey or traveling somewhere she hasn’t been before.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lxsraz
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Website: http://www.alexesrazevich.com/
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