by Alicia Wolfe
The imp nodded. His wings beat slower, and he looked ragged and hung-over, even more than before. That transportation spell had really taken a lot out of him.
“I can’t do that again for a while,” he said, and passed a trembling hand over his face. It tore my heart to see the little guy so racked.
At least until he turned a lecherous grin on me and said, “I like to see you in action, toots. You’re all right.” His eyes traveled down my body, then back up. Well, not all the way up.
“Ahem,” I said, drawing his attention to my eyes. Again.
He shrugged, as if to say How can I help it, babe?
“How far are we from the camp?” I said.
“A few miles,” Federico said. “Enough, I think. But I’m too weak to sense which way is our closest out.”
Davril pointed to my right. “That way, I believe.”
“Well, let’s not waste any more time,” I said.
We continued moving through the treetops for aways, but my arms grew tired and my concentration wavered so that I nearly smacked into a tree, which would really have screwed up my makeup worse than it was already. Davril and Federico agreed to start walking along the ground, and I was relieved to set my feet on the loam of the forest floor. I wasn’t cut out to be Jane to Davril’s Tarzan.
At least not in that way …
Focus, Jadeslut, I told myself, and pushed on. At any moment I expected to hear the shriek of a giant bird or to feel huge talons tearing at my head, but so far so good.
“Did they hurt you badly?” I asked Federico.
“Naw, I’m fine,” he said, but I could hear the weakness in his voice. A waxy sheen glistened on his face.
“We can stop for a break if we need to.”
He shook his head. “Naw.” A visible tremor shook him. “Whoa! I’m getting’ my mojo back. Be a while before it all comes back, though. Here, I think it’s more in this direction.”
He started flying a bit to our left. Davril glared warily at the imp’s back. He obviously didn’t trust Federico. Then again, I couldn’t really blame him. Federico was an imp, a demon of mischief.
“He’s getting his mojo back,” I told Davril. “Maybe he can sense things better than we can.”
Davril didn’t look convinced, but when I started after the imp Davril came with me. If nothing else, he wouldn’t leave me alone in the forest. And of course we had to bring Federico back to the Compendium.
“She got something from you,” Davril said to Federico’s back.
“Eh?”
“Angela. She extracted something from you. What was it?”
“Oh, yeah.” Federico tapped his chin, then began to slow. At last he drifted to a stop, and when he turned back to us his face was utterly baffled, and there was fog in his eyes. “I … don’t remember.”
I believed him. “You were in a trance.”
I squeezed his arm, reassuring him. He seemed to appreciate the gesture. For the very first time, I saw him in a vulnerable state. I mean, I guess he’d been vulnerable when he was being tortured, but it wasn’t really him then, if you know what I mean.
“Some heavy shit,” he said. With a sigh, he flicked his fingers. Suddenly a cigar appeared in them. Federico flicked his fingers again and the end of the cigar glowed red with flames. He drew in a deep breath, smiled, then blew the smoke at the treetops. The vulnerability started to melt away.
He turned about and continued on through the trees. Slowly, Davril and I followed.
“You two looked pretty chummy back there,” the imp said over his shoulder. “Am I a third wheel? Because I can take off. Leave you two in peace.”
“Don’t you even think it,” Davril said, an edge in his voice. “You’re coming back to the Palace with us.”
“Wait a minute,” I said.
Davril looked at me questioningly. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…” I slowed, and they slowed with me. “Federico’s not like a slave, is he?”
“Well, he was bound.”
I shot Federico a look. “Do you want to return to the Compendium?”
The imp looked surprised. “Well, sure, I guess. But where else would I go? I don’t want to return to the Pit. You know what that place smells like? The Pit!” He laughed uproariously, and I rolled my eyes. “Naw, toots, I wanna stay clear of that place. But if I’m loose my old pals might find me. Might take me back. The Queen’s magic shields me. And I like the life there. Still, might be fun to go out … cause some mischief like the old days…” He resumed flying toward what we hoped was the exit. It might have been my imagination, but I thought his course had veered again. Was he taking us in a new direction?
I started to say something, then caught Davril looking at me.
“You are not to encourage him,” Davril said.
“Why not? He’s a free man. Or he should be,” I added. “I won’t be party to slavery.”
“Of course not. Neither would I.” He looked offended at the thought, and I was glad to see it. “But that’s not what this is. He’s sworn an oath to the Queen, as have we all.”
“But you said he was bound.”
“By oath.”
“You don’t mean … by magic?”
“Oh, he’s bound magically, all right, but not to the Queen—he’s bound to this world. So that his hellish brethren don’t summon him down to them.”
“Ah.” That part was finally beginning to make sense to me. Suddenly, I began to feel hot. Beads of sweat burst out on my cheeks and forehead. My chest warmed, and so did my legs.
Breathing more heavily, I turned to Davril. Sweat soaked his short flaxen hair, and a flush had come into his cheeks.
“Is it getting warmer?” he said.
“I … think so.” Facing front, I asked Federico, “Can you feel it too, Federico?”
“Feel what?”
“It’s getting … hot.” My words came out dreamlike, fuzzy. The air was fuzzy, too. Spores drifted around it, swirling around us as we passed through the area. They teased at my nose and clung to my hair. “What the … hell?”
“Spores,” Davril said, clutching at one with his hand. “Are there mushrooms around?”
We peered around us. The air was so thick we could barely see each other.
“Jade?” he said.
“Davril?”
“Stay … close.”
I swallowed. What the hell was going on?
“I will.”
I reached out a hand to hold his. As soon as our skin connected, a spark jumped between us. Startled, I glanced at him, and he stared back. We stared into each other’s eyes. Instantly, my core turned molten.
“Davril,” I said.
“Jade.”
I could tell by the burr in his voice that he felt it, too. We stepped toward each other as spores drifted all around us. I lost thought for anything but the touch of his skin. I longed for it. I stepped toward him again. A lusty glint lit his eyes as he moved toward me.
Gone was all thought for Federico. I thought I saw him vanishing out of the corner of my eye, but I didn’t care anymore. I took one more step toward Davril, and our bodies slammed up against each other. I stood on one leg and raked my other along his side. One of his strong arms went around my back, grabbed me just above my buttocks, and brought my body in even closer. My breasts pressed against his chest.
His lips, savage and full, mashed against mine. I locked against him, feeling his tongue play against me. I played back. My hips ground against his. Heat flooded through me, begging me to surrender to it, to surrender to this, to this one moment, this perfect moment.
My fingers caressed his hair, which was just long enough to allow it, while my other hand pressed against his chest. His hard, hot chest. My hand caressed him, squeezing his biceps and delighting in the hard shifting muscle there.
“We … can’t…” he said.
We tore ourselves away from each other. Dazed, we stared at the other. I still wanted to go to him, but I he
ld myself back. I could see him going through his own internal battle. And I could really see it, if you know what I mean. Ahem.
Our heads snapped toward what I thought of as the east, the direction Federico had been traveling in.
The imp was gone.
“Well, shit,” I said.
We started in the direction Federico had been going, and slowly the spores started to recede. My head still buzzed and my loins still burned, but I forced myself on. Gradually, I noticed the fading in Davril’s pants. Part of me was sorry to see it go. After several minutes, we were no closer to finding Federico.
“I think we need to split up,” I said. “We don’t even know if we’re still going in the right direction.”
Davril nodded. “I cannot sense him.”
He wasn’t talking in modern slang anymore, I realized. He wasn’t trying to fit in or make me like him. If anything, he was trying to distance himself from me. At the thought, I felt sad.
“You take that way, I’ll take this way,” I said, pointing, and Davril nodded.
He hesitated for just a second. “Be careful, Jade.”
Not entirely cold, then. Thank God. “You, too.”
Our eyes lingered on each other, just for an instant. Or at least mine did, and I thought his did. Then we started in our assigned directions. Davril’s hand strayed to his invisible sword but didn’t draw it. Mine hovered over my crossbow. I moved in what I thought of as the southeast, the forest closing around me. Soon Davril was out of sight. I couldn’t even hear him.
I pushed on, threading my way as silently as I could through the undergrowth. I was much quieter when traveling by myself. Davril may have been a Fae and pretty stealthy, but he was still a man. I could move like a panther when I wanted. Which reminds me. I once dated a panther shifter for a while—this was years ago. He was a total disaster. Anyway.
As I went, I followed the trace of smoke left by Federico’s cigar. It was why I’d wanted to go this way. I thought I had a chance of getting to the imp first. And then what? I asked myself. Because I remembered the bargain I’d made with Prince Jereth. He had wanted a moment of Federico’s time. And if he doesn’t get it…
Then fuck it, I thought. I’m NOT giving Federico to Jereth. No matter how fabulous he is.
It was the right thing to do, I knew. No matter the personal risk I would be undertaking by that action, I had to go that route. Any other and I wouldn’t have been able to look at myself in the mirror.
The trees began to glow around me. First one, then two, then whole banks of them, all lit up from the inside like some fantastic Christmas ornament. Only they weren’t just conifers but oaks and spruce and many others, besides. The limbs pulsed with fantastic lights, gold and white and orange and red, even the odd stripe of blue and green. I held out my hands and saw the light reflecting off my palms.
I laughed. Shadowpark was freaky, but it was also magical. I didn’t know why, but I was starting to grow fond of the place.
The banks of glowing trees ended and I pushed on, missing their warmth and light. The forest seemed even darker and more sinister now. The underbrush was deadly silent. Slowly, the air blurred, then rippled violently around me. Reality shimmered. As I stepped forward, the forest faded away completely and I stood on a street in New York City. In the distance I heard cars honking and the ever-present sound of traffic and industry. It was only then that I realized how long I must have been gone, because the sounds were almost alien to me.
“Dang,” I said, holding out my arms to steady myself. The world tilted around me, almost like I was seasick, or drunk.
I blinked shaking my head. The feeling passed, but slowly. Police sirens began to blare to my right. I lurched in that direction, came upon the ruined police wall, and slipped through a gap. On the other side of the barricade, two SWAT vans that had probably been making a circuit of the wall had stopped abruptly, suddenly stuck to the asphalt of the road by two huge wads of red gum. The gum completely overwhelmed the vehicles and plastered them to the roads. Cops were yanking at the doors, but they, too, were held fast. It would be some time before they could get free.
“Oh, Federico, what have you done?” I said.
Chapter 15
Damn, I thought. I’ve unleashed a mischief demon on New York.
This would not look good on the report Davril and I would have to file with the Order of the Shield. With a sigh, I started off into the city, aiming for the sound of the next set of sirens. It wasn’t far away. There was no time to help the policemen with the gum. I had to catch Federico before he destroyed the city, or at least brought it to a halt. A sticky, bubbly halt.
I trotted through the streets, brushing past bystanders staring upward, as if they’d just seen something unusual fly past. I didn’t have to ask them what it had been.
At the next intersection, the traffic lights flickered randomly, and crashed cars jammed the lanes. My heart wrenched, and I slowed. With a huge sigh of relief, I saw that no one had been hurt. Good. I didn’t think I could forgive Federico if his actions had caused someone to be injured—or worse, killed.
In any case, I had to find him, and fast. I only hoped Davril was safe and well in Shadowpark. And that he’d be able to get out of it soon.
An elephant rounded the corner ahead of me.
Huge, it raised its trunk and bellowed, then stomped its front hoof at a hipster crossing the street. The hipster gaped, then dodged aside. The elephant hooted again, then ran off. Gasping, the hipster stared after it. So did I, along with many others on the street.
More animal sounds to the south. I hurried that way, wishing I didn’t have to. What would I find next?
Foot traffic flooded back toward me as people tried to escape the madness, and I elbowed my way through them. I felt like I was swimming upstream. I wished I had Ruby’s broom. Or my own theoretical flying motorcycle.
I moved to the cars parked along the side of the street and started traveling by jumping from car to car. And just in time. A herd of zebras was coming up the street, scattering pedestrians every which way. Several climbed right past me, going over the car. The zebras swept to my position, then past, and the ground shook under my feet as they went. I continued on.
Little rascal let out the zoo, I thought. Either that or a circus. City officials would have a time corking that particular genii bottle. I really had given Federico some bad ideas, hadn’t I? Well, damn, I just wanted to make sure he was happy, right? Wasn’t that a good thing?
But this was definitely not a good thing.
Suddenly, a flying shape struck by overhead, then another. I glanced up, half expecting to see Federico. Instead, I saw a Fae in shining armor riding a giant stag with great antlers. The animal had no wings, but it flew just the same, shimmering with magic. The first shape I’d seen had been similar, only this Fae’s armor was purple.
Prince Jereth, I realized. The traitorous prince has come to collect. This is going to be interesting.
I moved faster. More shapes swept by overhead, an even dozen. Prince Jereth, fabulous though he was, was bravely leading his troops into battle … or whatever this was. Maybe it would be more accurate to say he was on the hunt, and for very dangerous game. Federico might look harmless, but he was obviously powerful and certainly not goodly. Not evil, maybe, but he didn’t play a harp, either. He was electric guitar all the way, baby.
I ran forward, breathless, following the shapes of the stags as they swept above the crowd. I still had to force my way against the current. Elbows struck me in the ribs. Once, I was nearly knocked over. A kindly man steadied me, then fled on.
I came across Federico and the Fae in Times Square. I realized I was approaching the famous location, then saw the stags of Prince Jereth’s party circling the square. Below, the people here weren’t fleeing, I saw with shock—they were dancing.
Break-dancing, in fact.
I stared, feeling my mouth fall open. In the middle of Times Square, laughing uproariously, was Federico,
his little red belly shaking, tears welling up in his eyes.
“Federico, you little bastard,” I muttered.
Below the imp, hundreds of people break-danced to the tunes of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and the sound of the song blared through the air, both spooky and electrifying.
Federico was just becoming aware of the Fae circling him. Jereth’s circle tightened, drawing in like a noose. He held aloft a glowing net and spun its weighted edges like a lasso. I could tell the net had some sort of binding spell on it. It might not last for long, but the prince evidently hoped it would hold for long enough.
I pushed forward, slipping between break-dancers. Now that Federico’s concentration had wavered, the dances were becoming more awkward. Around me, people blinked and shook their heads. One stopped dancing, then another.
The Fae rushed in. Jereth threw the net.
Federico darted toward the ground. The net flew wide. Another Fae caught it and threw it again; they’d obviously planned this out. This throw missed, too. Federico shot through the cracks between dancers and rushed toward an intersection. I followed at his side, threading my way through people now all coming out of the trance. Overhead, the music still blared.
Behind us, the Fae gave chase.
Federico fled down one road, then turned at an intersection. I made the turn, too, seeing a side street a little further down.
“Here!” I called. “Come here!”
Federico saw me, his eyes widening. He banked abruptly, one wing going low, one high, and veered toward me. His cigar was clamped between tight-set teeth. “What’re you doin’ here, toots?”
“Saving your ass.”
I said a spell of concealment. Shadows and concealing were aspects of magic I was particularly good at, one of my few areas of expertise in the field, and I was always happy to show it off. Unfortunately the working used precious spellgredients. Not to mention it always meant someone was chasing me.
We hunkered against a wall of the side street. The Fae swept past, all in a rush. The wind of their passage ruffled my hair. In seconds, they were gone.
Panting, I turned to Federico. He looked admiring.
