by P. A. Wilson
“Well, she is the one responsible for this problem.”
She shook her head. “Actually, the problem is the fairies not having babies.”
“That’s a symptom of what Fionuir is doing.”
“No, I mean what if the fairies started having babies again? It would at least buy us some time. If Fionuir has to change the spell on the amulet, we might be able to get it away from her.”
“But they aren’t.” She was right we needed a way to get the amulet, but the fairies were stuck.
She rolled her eyes at me and started tidying up the kitchen. “Are you sure you didn’t get hit in the head? Look, what I’m saying is, what if I found a way to at least temporarily get the fairies fertile again?”
“I didn’t think that was possible.”
“It occurred to me when I made your willow bark. What if I combined a few things then distilled the spell down to strengthen it?”
It felt like this was one of those things that in retrospect seem like a good idea at the time. “And what if you go overboard and we find ourselves knee deep in baby fairies. Do you have any idea how much trouble a baby fairy can be?”
“I would be very careful.” She twisted her lips in thought. “I could test it on something. I could make the potion for something short lived and then adjust it if we find it’s too strong or too weak. What about on fruit flies?”
“Crap, I don’t want an infestation of fecund fruit flies.”
“Very mature.” Cate poked my shoulder. “Keep that up and I’ll dislocate it again, buster.”
I dug for a good idea. “We can do it in a jar. That way we know we can keep control of the population.”
Cate went back to the bedroom and came out pulling on her coat. “I’ll have to do this at home, all my stuff is there and you don’t have what I need downstairs.”
“Just make sure you don’t let your apprentice help. Remember when we helped Vollont with that snow spell.”
She laughed. “Yes, we were digging the house out from the blizzard for a week. I think that’s why he had such a remote house; a blizzard in July would raise more than eyebrows in any town in California.”
Chapter Eighteen
Cate called me when she got home to let me know she’d seen Olan flying over the house as she left. And that I didn’t have to worry about the bird any more. I tried to reassure her that I wasn’t worried but she just laughed.
I cleaned up the breakfast dishes and tossed the coffee grinds on the garden. I went downstairs and checked to see if Princess was still okay, she was, and then scribed a seeking circle inside my power circle. If Cate was going to find a fertility spell, the least I could do was try to find some information.
I put three stones and a wren feather in the seeking circle. Then I sat outside it before closing my larger power circle. I took a deep breath and tried to empty my mind. Unfortunately a vision of Cate in my bed filled the space as quickly as I emptied it. I tried again. Deep breath, think of leaves falling, exhale blow the leaves away. There was Cate covered in leaves. Okay that was not going to work.
I hated to work under the influence of a spell but I wasn’t going to get Cate out of my mind without help. I pulled down a jar of mint leaves and a box of ground cricket. Placing a pinch of the cricket powder in a mint leaf I placed between my teeth. I thought the word calm and bit down. The weight of everything I’d experienced in the last three days drifted off my shoulders. Then the worries about what could happen floated after them. My mind cleared and I was ready to seek.
I held my list of spirits and looked at the section on procreation. I didn’t spend a lot of time with procreative spirits. Most were both birth and death type, like The Morrigan. They were a bit crazy. I figured I could ask one about how the fairies normally make sure they get a baby when they want one. Like most Real Folk the fairies didn’t have to produce kids if they didn’t want to. The trick was to make sure you got the baby when you did want it.
There were two spirits who seemed to be in charge of fairy, kobol and troll procreation. One I knew from the past, and we didn’t have a good parting. The other I’d heard of but never met.
“Ezeral. Please come to my circle. I offer you a stone or a feather for news.” I decided to try the unknown spirit first.
Five minutes later, nothing had happened. “Ezeral, I beseech you, it is vital we speak.”
A small dust devil started building in the center of the circle. I saw the feather lift and then spin away. The three stones rolled over twice before settling in place.”
“The feather is useless to me. I need more than a wren to feed my needs.” The voice echoed from deep in the earth, as though my cellar were a well.
“And the stones?”
“Two are adequate. I will take them now.” The stones lifted from the earth and I slapped my open palm on the floor beside me. The stones dropped back onto the ground.
“When I decide you have told me all you know, I will release the stones.”
The spirit humphed. “What do you want to know, wizard. Hurry I am busy.”
“Really, busy with fairies?”
“No, the fairies haven’t called me for some time now.”
“Did you wonder why?” The spirits didn’t often keep up with the gossip in the world.
“No, but I assume you will tell me what you have now made me curious about.”
I brought Ezeral up to date and asked my question. “Is there a way we can make the fairies fertile so they will stop killing?”
“There may be a temporary fix.” The stones tumbled closer to the center of the circle but didn’t rise.
“That will be fine. It will buy us some time to reverse what Fionuir has done. Will you tell me what it is?’
“”I didn’t say I knew. You will have to ask Ranseed.”
Damn, I didn’t want to mend that fence. “If I call Ranseed, will you intercede for me?”
The sound of laughter rustled through the room. Ezeral rose in a cloud of dust and the laughter stopped. “Why is there a dead fairy on the couch?”
Ah, that was not good. “Not dead. I am trying to keep her alive until I can solve her problem.”
“Hmm, I am not sure I believe you, but we will let that lie for now. I will not come between you and Ranseed that is a wound you must heal yourself.”
“It will cost me.” And, I really didn’t have a lot to give for information. “Is it likely to work?”
“I am not an oracle. You must decide for yourself if effort is worth a reward.” He moved the two stones closer; one was topaz and the other obsidian. “I require my payment now.”
I lifted my hand and the stones soared into the air and fell, disappearing into an invisible hole, the sound of Ezeral’s laughter fading way with along with the sudden wind. I picked up the list again. There wasn’t a spirit for blocking the Sidhe, nothing about finding the amulet, nothing about miracles for saving the world.
I was going to have to get more rewards if I called Ranseed. And something stronger than chalk to keep the circle closed.
I put the list away, and then covered Princess with a second blanket so she wouldn’t be visible. I didn’t think Ranseed would be as ready to listen to my explanation as Ezeral was. When the room was prepared, I wiped the chalk away and replaced the stones with two eggs, an airplane bottle of vodka and a gold chain with three pearls hanging from the clasp. I took some red ink and closed the circle.
“I ask for Ranseed to come to the circle.” I waited. It took an hour; my bones were aching from sitting still so long. An image of swirling dust filled the circle but nothing moved. “Thank you for coming to my circle.”
“That will cost you these eggs.” The sound of his voice whispered through my head like leaves in autumn.
I released the eggs to his control. “You can have them. I have a request. The other items are to pay for that.”
“You have to pay for more than my attention.” The vodka bottle tipped over and rolled toward the edge of
the circle. It bounced back from the power that held the spirit inside. “You owe me an apology.”
“I might give it as payment if your information helps me.” I know I wasn’t wrong, but apparently that wasn’t the point. “My apology and the rest of the objects in the circle.”
A rustle like wind in dry leaves flowed from the depths. “I wish the apology in writing.”
“I won’t break the circle.”
The rustling turned to the sound of rattling. An image of bones falling in a pile came to me. Ranseed spoke again. “I wish some form I can show to others.”
I didn’t know whether to just cave-in, or to make him work for it. I needed this and he had me by the family jewels. Well, time is long and eventually things come full circle.
“I agreed that if you give me the information I need, all the information, I will create a spell for the apology for you to show the entire spirit world.”
He laughed and I heard fire consuming a forest. “I hope I have what you need. The price will be worth it. What do you ask?”
I had already figured out my questions. “Have you heard about Fionuir’s interference with the fairies?”
“Yes, her little play for power. The Sidhe are like drunken teenagers. They only see what is in front of their face. I find it odd they have no concept of the long view given their lifespan.”
I couldn’t argue with his opinion. Even if I wanted to it was my opinion too. “I’m trying to stop her. I need to know how to make the fairies fertile again.”
“There is no way. Something is blocking the access to their spirits.”
“I heard there was a way to temporarily make fairies fertile.” Had Ezeral lied? Or was Ranseed trying to increase payment?
“There is something that will increase fertility temporarily. I created it to help recover the population after a plague three hundred years ago.”
Finally, progress. “Okay, that should do it.”
“It won’t. The spell needs the same access as the normal process. I said that is blocked. You have difficulty listening don’t you?”
I chose to rise above the bait. “Can you create another spell? One to make fairies fertile for the next few months. Something to give us some time?”
“Or, perhaps you can do something to convince the Sidhe to stop,” Ranseed said, sounding like steam escaping a kettle. “Something for leverage. Perhaps take away the Sidhe’s ability to breed.”
I didn’t care for the idea of escalating the conflict. “It will only make things worse. Besides, they only breed every few years. It’s likely they won’t even notice.”
The sound of leaves in the wind came again. I guessed that was him sighing. “Quinn, you sound so genuinely sad. I appreciate your concern for my fairies, but there is nothing. You will need to find another way. I have been trying to solve this since Fionuir started her little campaign. I only have one way to help them have children, the normal way. Fionuir has chosen an effective tool to carry out her power play.”
He used my name, which was promising. “I suppose you don’t know how to find the Gur amulet?”
“Is that what she used? Interesting. The Druids may have to come out of hiding. No, I have no way to help you there. I wish you luck, Quinn Larson. I think I will miss you if the Sidhe take you. Now my apology.”
“If I solve this problem, will you return my apology?”
“No. That is about the past. But if you succeed, I will owe you one favor.”
I released the necklace and vodka. Waited a minute until Ranseed swirled the dust again, then I laughed and scribed in the dust I am sorry I disagreed with you. You were right. I was wrong.
I dismissed Ranseed and cleared the circle.
Summoning spirits took a lot out of me, more now that I was directing energy to heal my injuries from last night. I mulled over what I could do next as I went upstairs to make a sandwich: tuna on rye with melted cheese.
As I popped the last bite in my mouth, Olan opened the door and landed on the table beside my plate. “Any more of that bread?”
I nodded and went to get the crusts. “You have a spell to open the door? What else have you been up to?”
He flapped his wings and settled his feathers before answering. “Just flying around searching for information. What have you been doing with your time?”
I told him what I had learned but I sensed that he wasn’t really listening because he pecked at the bread so loudly I thought there was a woodpecker in the room.
I finished with, “I don’t know where to go from here.”
He stopped eating and looked at me with his head cocked to one side. “I think we need a new plan. Something more active.”
That made me suspicious. “What kind of active?”
“We need to take the game to Fionuir. This time not just to ask questions. We need to raise the stakes, cause a bit of commotion.”
I tried to picture Olan as a chickadee causing commotion and had to stifle a laugh. “I don’t think we have enough people on our side for that. Look what happened last night.”
“That was them setting a trap, and you got out of it with just a bit of damage.”
“You think they killed that woman just to set a trap? This has gone way beyond a play for power.”
Olan shook his head, or waggled it and I took it as a shake. “They didn’t kill her, it was an illusion. It was a trap.”
It was a relief to know there wasn’t a dead woman waiting to be found. I tried not to worry about how I missed the fact that she was an illusion. “If they are setting traps, we must be causing problems.”
“If that’s how you want to look at it, so be it.” Olan hopped over to me. “We can’t have secrets if we go on the offensive. We need to know what obligation you agreed to.”
“I can’t tell you that. We can just make a plan.” I figured since I couldn’t do any harm as spirit wizard, the obligation would not come into play.
Olan flapped his wings, I took it as annoyance and kept talking, “What kind of plan did you have in mind?”
He paced across the table clacking his beak.
Yep, annoyance. “Olan, I can’t understand you. Speak human.”
“We could take Fionuir captive. We could hold her until she gave us the amulet and the reversal spell?”
Hmm, kidnapping. “Not a bad plan if you can figure out how we get to her and hold her. And, if we do get that far, what’s to say she won’t just wait us out. Eventually the fairies will band together to rescue her if they can’t breed.”
He chirped agreement and asked, “But it won’t interfere with your obligation?”
I wasn’t going to fall for such a blatant trick. “It won’t interfere with my spirit oath either. But that doesn’t mean it is a good plan.”
He flew up a few feet and then settled down. “How do I know what to suggest if you don’t tell me what you promised her?”
“Olan, we can’t know what will happen. We just need to make a plan that doesn’t violate my oath and not worry about anything else. Cate might be able to help. Her oath is different from mine.”
“You do know that if we break your promise to Fionuir, even by accident there will be problems.” He returned to the pile of crumbs.
“Yes.”
“I worry that we are missing something important or ignoring something obvious. It be a good idea to include Cate in this, she has a sensible head on her shoulders.” Olan clacked his beak again and flew past me to the door, so close I had to dodge. “You will be sorry. I can tell you that. If we don’t have all the information at hand, we won’t succeed.”
Chapter Nineteen
I couldn’t say I disagreed with Olan but I knew what would happen if I told him I agreed to do no direct harm to her or any other Sidhe. I would find myself on the sidelines. That wasn’t where I intended to be. I knew, I don’t know why, but I did know that this was my job.
I thought the best approach was to find a way for the fairies to breed. It seemed the le
ast violent approach. And maybe Cate had found a way, some poultice or tea that would override the spell.
I called her but there was no answer so I locked up and walked to her house. It was three blocks closer to downtown than mine and about fifty years younger. I liked my house with its age and creaks and groans. It was a bit crooked and full of little built in cupboards. The basement was dirt when I bought it; I got to build my workspace the way I wanted. And the garden was mature and beautiful.
Cate’s place was functional and neat. Her garden was around back, but I could see a small portion of the side of it, as neat as the front. I went to knock on the door and it swung open at my first touch. “Cate?” I peeked inside, feeling good that she’d spelled the door to respond to me. I’m pretty sure I was being sent a signal. After this was over, I was going to definitely make my move.
“Where are you?” I stepped out of the foyer and came to a complete stop.
The living room was turned over. The couch was thrown against the wall, cushions torn and lying on the floor. The coffee table was broken in half as though someone had fallen on it. I cast a spell to try to bring up the shadows of power left behind, but nothing happened. This damage was done more than a few hours ago.
I sniffed the air and there was no blood. No one had been hurt, a least not in here. I made my way around the house. All the rooms were in the same state, food was thrown all over the floor in the kitchen. The bathroom was a mess of suds, bubble bath and shampoo combining to form a lavender and citrus cloud of bubbles.
The good news was that no one had been injured anywhere in the house. No sense of blood. Either Cate wasn’t here when it happened, or she got out before whoever it was did it. I couldn’t sense any taint of demon, but then Cate would keep control of any demon she summoned. So it must be something else.
I stepped into her garden and saw it was not touched by whatever happened in the house. It was also protected from nosy neighbors by a boxwood hedge. I pulled a seeking amulet from my pocket. I breathed on it and whispered “Cate.”
