by P. A. Wilson
“I don’t think we want to parade a pretty red haired witch past the three musketeers.” I cut my eyes toward the group who were ogling a street walker as she strutted by with a client.
“Good idea.” She dropped her voice from contralto to tenor. “Thanks for thinking I’m pretty.”
“Don’t go all girly on me.” I laughed and motioned for her to stand. “Let’s get to that Sidhe.”
We made it past the three dealers with only one offer of drugs. Cate led us through a few bushes to a clearing just out of sight of the main path. It looks like the Sidhe were not as reckless as I first feared. A body could rest in here for a while before someone stumbled on it. Although there was not going to be another body. We were here to make sure of that.
Cate held her finger to her lips. Even though I wasn’t planning on chatting I pushed my lips together to show I understood. She pointed toward an ancient oak and cupped her other hand behind her ear. I moved closer and realized I could hear quiet voices from the other side.
“Did you find the right human?” That was Iain. Interesting, it never occurred to me that he would be anything other than a go between.
“Of course.” I didn’t recognize the other voice, but the accent said Sidhe. “It is almost time.”
“I’m ready.”
Cate and I looked at each other; I didn’t feel any fairy presence. I flapped my hands like wings and raised my eyebrow. She shook her head. And I noticed the absence of bird sounds too.
I gestured with my hands and a tiny web formed between them. Cate nodded. A snare spell would be the easiest. I pushed more power in the spell and felt some draining from Olan. The web was large enough to hold two fully grown Sidhe.
I pointed at the left side of the tree and then Cate. She moved into place. We were going to rush around the tree and I would fling the web at the first being I saw. We would get our captive and make the best of it and the chosen victim would be safe .Just before I gave the signal to go, Olan flapped off my shoulders and disappeared into the night.
I nodded and both of us moved around the tree. I held up my hand to cast the web and stopped. There was a human woman on the ground, her back arched in a convulsion, her lips an unnatural color. I saw her fingers tearing into the ground. Her eyes were staring at the tree canopy with no light of comprehension.
Cate stood frozen on the other side of the tree trunk. I took one step toward the woman as she sighed and collapsed. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the swirl of a cloak and a sudden absence of something that had been standing in the shadow of another oak.
I dismissed the spell and grabbed Cate’s arm. We ran in the direction of the motion.
I heard a series of chirps from above as we entered a clearing at the edge of the park. Only a few tall rhododendrons hid us from the street. I turned to see Cate step into the clearing, her disguise gone. Her eyes widened she opened her mouth. I spun to see what had shocked her.
Ten Sidhe males stepped out of the bushes and we were surrounded.
Chapter Sixteen
I stepped toward Cate and she turned so that we stood back to back facing the Sidhe. “Sorry,” I said over my shoulder.
“No problem. This isn’t your fault either.”
I felt her shoulders move and realized she was forming a spell as she talked. I called back the web, it was an easy spell and I figured the first step was to decrease the number of attackers. “What have you got?”
“A stun spell. I figure a spirit wizard would be uncomfortable with fatal spells and I didn’t want you stopping to lecture me in the middle of a fight.”
“Funny.” I appreciated her thoughtfulness. It would help if we could capture one of the Sidhe alive.
Olan flew to the center of the circle. “Damn, I thought I could leave you to this.”
I shrugged and said, “Welcome to the fight if you want. But you can sit back and watch us take care of this.”
One of our opponents roared out a laugh. “Brave words, wizard. But not even a creator will help you now.”
Ah, twin one. I didn’t recognize him earlier because he was covering his face. Now he threw back the hood and I could see all the bruises.
“Did I do that? Or did Fionuir punish you for letting me get away?”
“Queen Fionuir to you.” He stepped forward. “This time you will not triumph.”
“The odds are in my favor.” I said and threw the web. He tried to avoid it but my aim was true and he found himself wrapped in a sticky net that contracted and hardened as he fought it. We all watched as he collapsed to the ground.
“Who’s next?” Cate asked. I saw a ball of light growing in her hand.
The other Sidhe closed the gap and the circle became a step tighter.
I picked through the charms in my pocket. I always carried a few defensive spells, even though I hadn’t come prepared for an ambush. Cate bounced the globe of light in her hand like she was getting ready to toss a grenade. I found a thistle in my coat pocket that contained a confusion spell,
I turned to her and whispered, “What will that do?”
“Blind them. What have you got?”
“Not enough time,” I said, watching the nine Sidhe, creeping closer while we talked.
I don’t know why they didn’t rush us, we were totally unprepared and the fight would have been over in a flash. Maybe they thought we were ready for them. “Cast that and I’ll think of something.”
Cate tossed the globe underhanded; I felt her body slide to the ground beside mine. With our bodies out of the way, the flash should affect the whole circle. I palmed the thistle and found a bee ball. I kissed it and slammed it against the ground before grabbing Cate and rolling on top of her. If I guessed right, my kiss would keep the bees away from me and if she was under me, they wouldn’t find her either.
I heard the buzz grow as the bees expanded to life size. The ball held a hundred bees. A second after the ball released the bees; I heard two things, Sidhe shouting in pain and Cate swearing at me.
“Get off me you oaf.”
“In a second, the bees need to latch onto Sidhe taste before it’s safe.”
She stopped struggling. The Sidhe yelps slowed and I took the chance to look up, the flash from Cate’s spell should have dissipated enough by now. Three of the Sidhe were running for cover, pursued by a trail of hungry bees. Two were unconscious; I’m not sure what happened to them. The other four were batting at attacking bees and trying to cast spells to disperse them.
I rolled off Cate and she sat up moving her hands to create another spell.
“I have confusion ready to go, can you work with that?” I showed her the thistle.
“Yes,” she said before flicking her fingers in the last gesture. “Rain.”
We both started to stand but I felt something touch my leg. Suddenly the strength was gone. I looked down and saw a vine attaching itself to me. A glance at Cate showed she was not yet touched. I tossed the thistle toward to Sidhe who seemed to be casting the vine and pulled out my pocket knife.
The Sidhe dodged the thistle but it did manage to catch two others in its confusion net. Unfortunately, it also caught the remaining bees. They flew out into the trees to get away from the people smacking at them.
The vine was still trying to attach itself to my leg. It was not getting enough purchase to get anywhere, but if it decided to get under my pants I figured it would at best be an immobilization spell.
At worst, I was going to die.
I slashed and caught it on the tip with the point of the knife and it collapsed like a punctured balloon. I looked up as Cate threw the rain spell and saw Olan swoop down from a tree with a stone in his claws.
The two Sidhe caught in the confusion spell stood looking up at the sky. When the rain slapped at them, it was a buckets of rain spell, it knocked them over. Olan dropped the stone on the head of the most aware Sidhe and we were suddenly able to take a second to breathe. It wouldn’t be long before someone gained enough sense to a
ttack for keeps. We still had four Sidhe who could attack if they thought of something.
“Can you do another web?” Cate asked, I noticed her face was drawn; she was putting too much energy into her spells. “I don’t know how long we’ve got, but if you can put down two more, we should be safe to run.”
I nodded and started to spin the web between my hands, then decided to split it. I would have to put more energy into the spell to create two webs, but with two I could pin down the remaining Sidhe and we could leave. If the worse we got out of this a need for a long nap, I would consider it a victory.
“Get ready,” I whispered. Olan came back into my line of sight, this time he carried a stick in his talons.
I parted my hands and spun the webs toward the remaining Sidhe, I caught all but one, and they toppled like bowling pins.
“Run,” I shouted and grabbed Cate’s arm. Olan dropped the stick toward the head of the remaining Sidhe. Cate was now leading me, as I watched to make sure we weren’t being pursued. I blindly put one foot after the other as I watched the branch spin away from the strawberry blond head of the standing Sidhe. His arm swung and the branch followed like it was in his hand.
I stumbled and felt Cate fall with me. The branch hurtled toward us, spinning as it came. Olan flew at the branch, I think he was trying to force it down, but he couldn’t get purchase. I heard the air buffeting that preceded the impact, and then I felt pain. It started in my shoulder and burned its way up to fill my head with stars. I could hardly breathe with the shock. Over the agony I felt Cate pulling at me, and in the haze that filled my vision, I saw the Sidhe coming.
He picked up speed and was running in a few steps. He would be here before I could clear my mind enough to fight back. I tried to push Cate away. If I was a goner, I wanted to save her. She wouldn’t move. Then something crossed my sight, streaking toward the Sidhe. Olan pulled up at the last minute and raked his talons across the Sidhe’s cheeks. He stopped and rubbed his hands against the wounds. I saw the blood drip through and his healing spell close the wound almost as quickly as Olan had caused it.
“Please get up, Quinn.” Cate’s voice in my ear was strained and I realized she was trying to lift me all by herself. “I can’t carry you and we need to go now.”
“Can you calm the pain? I can barely stand; if you can do something for the pain I’ll be fine. I will run.”
“I don’t have any strength left. I’m sorry.”
“You always were bad at conserving your strength.” I laughed, and then drew in a breath at the agony that tore through me. “Let me lean on you so I can stand.”
She knelt and I put my arm on her shoulder. Then she grunted and stood. “Okay, you run and I’ll be right behind you. Go to my place. The doors will let you in.”
“No, we go together.”
I looked at her; there were tears in her eyes. “Okay, you lead. I’m right behind you.”
She shook her head. “No, I’ll follow. If you fall down I’ll know and help you.”
“Okay, just run.” The Sidhe would need a few minutes to recharge after healing himself. I didn’t think spending that time arguing would be a good idea.
She stopped and threw a spell behind us and then gave me a little push. “I thought you didn’t have any strength left?”
“Shut up, Quinn. You know healing takes five times the energy that casting does.”
We made it past the three drug dealers. I couldn’t run, but if I held my arm close to my body, I could walk fast. I noticed the dealers started looking around to see who was chasing us. As if there was a signal, they faded off in different directions. Damn, if the Sidhe was going to chase us I was counting on the presence of humans to discourage him from attacking again.
Olan swooped past me and circled as if trying to land on my shoulder. My stomach rebelled at the thought of even his tiny weight. “Don’t you dare,” I gritted through my teeth.
He veered and landed on Cate’s shoulder.
“You can slow down. The Sidhe isn’t coming after you.”
I didn’t think of arguing, I didn’t really have the energy to run home. “What did you throw back there?”
Cate snickered. “It was a honey spell. I dumped two gallons of sticky mess on his head. He may have healed the wounds, but by now he’s covered in bits of bark and leaves and anything else he stumbled into.”
“Almost tempted to go back to see the mess,” I said. My energy was fading away, we needed to get home to my house, and I needed to rest. “But let’s keep going.”
I was moving so slowly, it took almost half an hour to get to my front door and then Cate had to go and set a chair just inside the front door. I collapsed into it and heard a groan spill from my lips.
“Do you have any willow bark?” Cate touched my shoulder. I knew she was being gentle but it sent fire through my bones.
“In the cupboard above the sink.”
“Any chocolate?”
“I didn’t know chocolate had healing powers.” I thought I knew all the healing plants; I’d needed them enough in training.
“No, dope. It’s for energy. I eat the chocolate and then I can fix your shoulder.”
I figured she was working really hard to stop herself from slapping me. “Sorry, I’m not thinking very clearly.”
She went to the kitchen to brew willow bark tea. I left the chair and stumbled into the living room and sat in my big leather chair. I tried to think what we could do next, and all that entered my mind was pain, I’m in pain.
“Here.” Cate handed me a mug. “Drink it in one swallow.
I looked in the mug, the liquid was thick. I’d never seen willow bark tea so strong. “It’s barely liquid.”
“You can moan all you want. You decide whether to drink the tea and feel better or not drink it and wait for your shoulder to heal all by itself.”
“Okay. Did you put any honey in there?”
“Yes, lots.” She stood in front of me with her hands on her hips, waiting for me to do something.
I took a deep breath then exhaled, tipped the mug to my lips, opening my throat and hoping nothing hit my tongue. I could smell the bitterness of the liquid. It hit my stomach and I felt warmth rise first in my stomach then in my bones. “You put something else in there.”
“Yep, you’ll feel sleepy in a minute.”
My eyelids drooped and the last thing I saw was her stepping forward with her hands reaching for my shoulder.
Chapter Seventeen
The sun was shining in my eyes when I opened them again. I couldn’t see Cate anywhere, but I was still in my chair, and my shoulder didn’t hurt. Well, not quite as much. The pain was now at the level of a twinge. I rotated my shoulder and was surprised it worked.
My energy level was almost back to full. I got away from that fight better than I expected. “Coffee I need coffee.”
“What?” Cate’s voice came from my bedroom.
“I said, coffee, would you like some?” The thought of Cate in my bed made me feel a bit weak. “How are you feeling?”
She came into the kitchen pulling her hair into a ponytail and yawning. “Yes, please. I feel fine. Before you put the coffee on, do you have any food? If not, we should go out for breakfast. We need to get a good meal in us or we’ll collapse at the first sign of resistance.”
I opened the cupboards and took down a tin of steel-cut oatmeal. “This will do it. I’ll make the coffee, will you make the oatmeal?”
Cate took the tin from me and poured water in a pot. I measured out the coffee and put the espresso maker on the stove. I could tell the oatmeal would be heavy so I checked the fridge. “Here’s some cream. And I think there’s some dried fruit in that container.”
Between us we got breakfast on the table without any injuries, but I realized she was right. Just getting food on the table had made me tired and more than a little dizzy.
“I’ve never used up so much of myself. How long will it take us to get back to normal?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. And, even if I did know, what if I said a week? We can’t wait. I think if we just eat every few hours, we can keep our energy high enough to do what needs to be done.”
I marked a luck rune on the table. If we ran out of energy, then we might as well give up now. There was no point in annoying the Sidhe if we couldn’t bring the point home.
“What did you put in that tea? It healed my shoulder like a miracle.”
“It wasn’t the tea. I just put you to sleep so I could examine your shoulder.” She held her coffee cup up to me in salute. “I’m impressed you managed to get home. Your shoulder was dislocated. No permanent damage but it must have been a lot of pain. I popped it back in while you were asleep.”
“Thanks.” I felt like a big he-wizard.
“Olan is gone.” Cate picked a sliced of dried apple out of her oatmeal and chewed it.
“He does that. I remember him raking the face of the Sidhe but I don’t remember anything after that.”
“How do you know when to worry about him?”
“I don’t worry about him. Nothing can hurt him for long.” I was starting to feel the benefit of the coffee and oatmeal.
“But he can be hurt, right. Can we do this without him?”
“You don’t know Olan. He can be as much hindrance as help.” I felt mean saying that, he’d saved my life after all. “I mean he has his own agenda, like everyone.”
“I’m still worried.” Cate finished her oatmeal and put the bowl in the sink.
“Okay if he doesn’t show up soon, we can try to seek him. I’ve got some good seeker spells I haven’t tried.”
Cate smile at me and I felt warm all over. “I’ve been thinking,” she said.
“I’m impressed; I thought you were going to pass out in my lap last night.”
“Well, your bed is very comfortable.” She blushed and I thought about making my big move, wasn’t now the right time? She’d just called me a hero after all. Before I could say anything, she spoke again. “What if we looked at this from a different point of view? We have been trying to stop Fionuir, right?”
