Night of the Dark Horse (An Allegra Fairweather Mystery)

by Janni Nell

  Casper didn’t move. “It’s too dangerous to climb in the dark. You’ll have to wait until morning.”

  “And miss finding Liam?”

  “You can question him tomorrow.”

  The prospect of postponing my investigation when I could be close to a breakthrough had me pacing up and down the ledge.

  “Stop that,” said Casper. “One misstep and you’ll fall.”

  “It’s not even midnight. I’ll go crazy stuck here until dawn.”

  “Relax. Take a deep breath. There’s nothing we can do until morning.”

  “We?” I brightened up immediately. “We’re going to spend the night together?”

  “In a manner of speaking.”

  The chance of spending the night with Casper, even if it was on a cold rock ledge, was not to be dismissed lightly. Liam was no longer a priority. Even the case was suddenly far from my mind. I settled down beside Casper. Not so close that the Powers-That-Be would object, but not so far away that I couldn’t feel the warmth of his body.

  “What we need,” I joked, “is a pack of cards.” When he laughed softly, I almost added, Unless you want to make out. I shifted my position and the pebbles rattled in my pocket. Padraig had cautioned that the wishes couldn’t be used for anything lavish. Would a kiss from Casper be considered lavish? I closed my hand around a pebble. Sooo tempting. If the wish came true—well, it’d be totally amazing, but I only had two wishes left. What if I kissed Casper and later needed a wish to solve the case? Nope, for now, my own desires had to come second. I crossed my fingers that I’d have one wish left when the case was over.

  “Why are you looking me like that?” he asked, proving that his eyesight after dark was way better than the average human’s.

  “Like what?” I asked innocently.

  “Like your sister looks at shoes.”

  Gee, was I that obvious? I released my death-grip on the pebble and removed my hand from my pocket.

  “Be careful what you wish for,” he said.

  “Oh, like I need that warning. You’re talking to the person who used to be a fly.”

  “Just saying.”

  We kind of lapsed into silence until Casper yawned, and I said, “Tired?” which was a totally dumb and unnecessary question.

  “I’m fine to stay awake and keep watch.”

  “For what? We’re on a ledge half way down a crevasse. The pooka can’t reach us. I think we’re pretty safe until daylight.” I patted my lap. “Lie down. Rest your head. I promise not to cop a feel while you’re sleeping.”

  He hesitated as though laying his head in my lap was an intimacy he couldn’t afford.

  “Ah, go on,” I said, completely contradicting my earlier thoughts, “the Powers-That-Be won’t mind. It’s so dark they won’t see a thing.”

  His head felt good in my lap. I touched his forehead in gentle rhythmical strokes. I even sang a lullaby. When I asked for requests, he suggested I sing something in tune.

  I kept my word about not copping a feel, but I did trace his lips with my fingertip. A year ago, when I’d almost drowned in a Scottish loch, he’d given me mouth-to-mouth. I’d been semi-conscious at the time so I wasn’t sure whether my memory of his sweet-tasting lips was accurate. As I recalled they had tasted like fine wine, great coffee and smooth chocolate all wrapped up in one.

  Savoring the memory, I leaned back against the cliff face. Soon I grew tired of looking at the stars and closed my eyes. My fingers on his forehead stilled as my breathing deepened. When I next opened my eyes, early sunshine dipped its toes into the crevasse. My leg had gone to sleep beneath his head, but he looked so peaceful I hesitated to wake him. Who knew when we’d be together like this again? I had a bad feeling this was the calm before a very large storm.

  Soon my discomfort forced me to say, “Casper, wake up. It’s light. We can climb out now.”

  He came awake slowly, rubbing his eyes and making little noises that were as touching as they were sexy. He sat up, yawning. I stood, gritting my teeth against the pain of pins and needles as I stomped some life back into my leg. Blood flow restored, I stretched and did some deep breathing.

  I surveyed the cliff face. “It doesn’t look too difficult. There are plenty of hand and footholds.”

  Casper refused to fly up first. He stayed on the ledge, monitoring my progress. The hours in the gym paid off and I was feeling pretty cocky as I neared the top. One tiny mistake was all it took. I misjudged a handhold, lost my balance, and ended up clawing the mossy rocks to save myself.

  Before I plummeted into the crevasse, I heard the sound of wings. Then a pair of large hands grabbed my butt and pushed me upward.

  “Don’t let go,” I yelped. “Not until I reach the top.”

  You gotta love an angel who follows instructions. I took absolutely ages to reach the top and he kept hold of my butt the whole time. I think we were both disappointed when I scrambled to safety.

  The first thing I did, after making sure Casper was okay, was to check that my cell phone hadn’t fallen out during the climb. Phew! Still in my pocket. I dug it out and called Liam’s mom.

  She wasn’t thrilled to be woken so early. In answer to my question, she snapped. “No, Liam hasn’t come home. If you find him, tell him he’s in for a hiding with my wooden spoon.” She hung up.

  Hoping she wasn’t serious about beating Liam with a kitchen implement, I returned to Casper, who now had some color in his cheeks.

  “Liam hasn’t come home. I’ll continue searching for him.” When Casper said something about coming with me, I said, “Don’t even think about it. Finding Liam will be a piece of cake. Go to Cloud 9. Take a load off.”

  Instead of protesting that he was fine, he nodded and slowly faded away until he was nothing more than an ache in my memory.

  Chapter Six

  I cupped my hands to my mouth. “Liam.”

  I wasn’t surprised when he failed to answer. Finding him wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. Or the woods for that matter. After a while I stopped calling out and focused on other things like listening for footsteps in the undergrowth and scanning the ground in case he’d fallen and was injured. The one thing I failed to do was tune in to my toe. It had probably been tingling for a while before it began to itch in earnest.

  My toe led me higher. I was so focused on the itching, I didn’t look where I was going. My foot snagged in a hole and I fell hard on one knee. Moisture soaked through my jeans and pain snaked through my leg. My knee felt as though it had been knocked out of alignment. Not bad enough to be dislocated, but bad enough to cause pain with every step.

  Usually I called for Casper to fly me out of these situations, but since he wasn’t around I gritted my teeth and went on. I’d like to report that I handled the pain with great courage, but the best I can say is that nobody heard my grunts and swearing. I forgot all about the pain when I smelled sulfur. I followed the stench to the mouth of a cave.

  I crept up to the narrow entrance, which was so low the pooka would have to bend its head to enter, and peeped in. When my eyes became accustomed to the dimness, I noticed feathers on the floor—black with yellow tips, and even a few bird droppings—which was kind of odd because eagles tended not to nest in caves. Not that there was a nest in sight. All I could see, other than a rocky floor and walls, was a pile of neatly folded clothing. I entered the cave and took a closer look. Fae clothing. There was a pale blue dress—similar to the floaty costume I’d seen in Siobhan’s studio—a white cloak, and silver shoes with the soles worn right through in places. A few pieces of jewelry winked among the clothes. I couldn’t resist picking up a moonstone necklace. I was admiring the delicate craftsmanship when the eagle appeared from nowhere.

  With a whoosh of wings and a rush of air, it came at me. I ducked, but not low enough. Its talons scratched my forehead, leaving a trail of wetness. My fingers closed around a wish-pebble. In an instant I could make the eagle as docile as a dove. No, I couldn’t waste a wish on that. Bet
ter to run.

  I dropped the necklace and sprinted outside. In the open, the eagle had an advantage. It soared up high and then swooped down on me. Talons tangled in my hair. The savage beak nipped at my head. I fell to my knees, trying and failing to shield myself. I scanned the ground for a weapon, settled on a fallen branch and swung it at the eagle. There was a satisfying thump of wood connecting with flesh. The eagle shrieked and retreated ripping hair from my scalp. I jumped to my feet and ran. I didn’t stop until my lungs burned and my aching knee forced me to slow down.

  I touched my head, feeling the new bald spots—two smaller ones and a long streak. When I touched the scratch on my forehead, my fingers came away bloody. Deciding to temporarily abandon my search for Liam, I limped back to the road. My car was nowhere in sight. Nor was the big oak or the triple fork in the road.

  Okay, being lost wasn’t good, but following the road would eventually lead me somewhere. Maybe even back to my car.

  I’d been following the tarmac for only a few minutes when I heard a thin childish voice. “Hey.” It came from the woods.

  I left the road and headed beneath the shady branches, calling, “Where are you?”

  “Up here.”

  My eyes followed the sound of his voice, but... “I can’t see you.”

  “I’m in the big tree.”

  “There’s more than one big tree. Give me directions. Should I walk forward? Should I go left? Right?”

  “Forward. No, that’s too far. Go back. Stop. There.”

  Looking up, I saw a tiny figure far above. I’m talking fifty feet at least.

  “Liam?”

  “Did Mum send you to look for me?” He sounded kind of hopeful.

  Choosing not to disappoint him, I avoided the question and asked one of my own, “What’re you doing up there?”

  “Climbing.” He tried to make it sound like an adventure, but all I could hear was a frightened kid.

  I adopted a casual tone. “Need help getting down?”

  “No.” He was so lying. And he’d never admit to being stuck.

  “Bet you’ve got a great view up there. Think I’ll come up and take a look.” I swung myself onto the lowest branch.

  With two good knees I’d have made it no trouble, but the sudden shafts of pain in the knee I’d twisted slowed me down. Not that it mattered. Liam wasn’t going anywhere. Unless he lost his grip and fell. Don’t go there, Allegra.

  When I was halfway up, I called, “You okay?”

  “I’m grand.” A double-dose of bravado failed to hide the tremor in his voice.

  What had possessed him to climb such a tall tree? Was it just a kid thing? Or were my suspicions correct? He’d flown up there as an eagle, shifted into human form and couldn’t shift back. Fairy kids sometimes took a while to gain full control of their powers.

  Now, I know what you’re thinking—if Liam was Fae, how could he live in the human world without aging prematurely? Well, here’s the thing—changelings aren’t pureblood Fae. They’re a mixture of pureblood and something else. Often it’s crude-fairies, like leprechauns or elves. Very occasionally it’s human.

  At last I reached the branch below the one on which Liam was perched. My muscles trembled as I hauled myself up and sat astride Liam’s branch. I kept close to the trunk, unwilling to risk a broken branch and a swift plummet to earth.

  The first thing I noticed was that my toe wasn’t itching, which didn’t exactly lend credibility to my changeling-shapeshifter theory. Still, Liam did have the pale ethereal look of the Fae, except that his hair was glossy black rather than the pale blond common among purebloods. His eyes were more amber than blue.

  “How long have you been up here?” I asked.

  “All night.”

  “Oh come on, Liam, tell the truth. I know you couldn’t have been here all night.” I rubbed my head, which was still stinging from the eagle’s attack. He had some serious explaining to do.

  “I climbed up at sunset,” he said. “It got dark and I decided to stay.”

  “So you slept in the tree like a bird?”

  “I don’t need sleep,” he said, and yawned, quickly covering his open mouth. The movement forced him off balance and he slipped sideways. I launched toward him, snaked out my hand and locked my fingers onto his jacket. For long seconds we stayed like that, him hanging, me summoning my last reserves of strength. I was tempted to let him fall, just to see whether he’d shift into an eagle, but I didn’t. What if I was wrong? With a super-human effort, I yanked him up and deposited him on the branch.

  “Probably best if you hang on tight,” I said, panting. He nodded and established a white-knuckled grip on the branch. He really did seem tired. Purple circles shadowed his eyes and his lids looked heavy. Of course he could just be tired from all that swooping and hair-rearranging. I gave him a long hard look. All I saw was a frightened kid, but that didn’t mean I was buying it. I had questions, but they could wait until we were on solid ground. “Hey you know what? This branch is digging into my butt. I’m going down. Wanna come?”

  “Might as well.” He shrugged. “There’s not much to do up here anyway.”

  I moved back along the branch, inch by inch, until I reached the trunk. After easing myself onto the branch below, I stopped, pretending I needed to rest so I could steady Liam if he slipped again. There was no need. Once he got moving and concentrated on descending, he lost his fear. I hated to admit it, but he was more agile than me.

  When we were safely on solid ground, he said, “You’re American. That’s awesome. What’re you doing here?”

  “Ronan hired me. I’m Allegra, the paranormal investigator. But you know that, don’t you? I expect the whole of Dingaleen is gossiping about me.”

  “Nobody tells me anything.” He kicked the ground. “Not in the village, anyway. It’s better at school. They don’t know what I really am.”

  “And what’s that?”

  He folded his arms. “You’re the investigator. You tell me.”

  I wasn’t going to accuse him of being a changeling unless I was sure. For all I knew he was just a kid who was different.

  He pointed to my forehead. “You’re bleeding.”

  “Had a disagreement with an eagle. I lost.”

  “Does it hurt?” Was he gloating, savoring my pain and suffering?

  “Not much,” I said, and got down to business. “Have you seen the eagle? It’s got glossy black wings and yellow claws.”

  “Sounds awesome.” He looked up as though hoping to see it.

  I pulled a tissue from my pocket and dabbed at my forehead removing half congealed blood. “You like eagles?”

  “They’re grand. I wish I could fly away.”

  It wasn’t the reaction I’d expect from someone who was a shapeshifter. Still, shapeshifters didn’t always remember what they did in their different incarnations. For some shifters the memories were clear. For others they were vague at best. A few swore they’d never shifted even when there was evidence to the contrary. It wasn’t uncommon for a kid, who’d recently begun to shift, to be completely in denial.

  “You’ve smudged the blood,” said Liam. “You look gross.”

  More tissues were needed, but all I found in my other pocket was a wish-pebble. One wish-pebble. The other must’ve fallen out during the climb down the tree.

  “Liam, I’ve lost something. A smooth white pebble just like this one. Help me find it.” I dropped to my knees and began to search.

  Liam said, “What’s with the smiley face?”

  “Huh?” Was I smiling? I didn’t think so. Not when I’d just lost a wish.

  “On your head. Did you shave that into your hair on purpose?”

  I touched the top of my head, feeling one long curved bald patch and two smaller round ones. “Does it really look like a smiley face?”

  “Yep.”

  Not a good look for a tough PI. But I had more important things to think about than a lame haircut. “Are you going to help me se
arch for this pebble or not?”

  “Sure I’ll help you.” His sight was way better than mine—and mine’s 20/20. A nano-second later he swooped down and scooped up a pebble. “Is this what you’re looking for?”

  “Yep. Thanks, Liam, you’re awesome.” He ducked his head, but I saw his shy smile. Reuniting the wish-pebble with the one in my pocket, I offered him a lift back to Dingaleen.

  Liam was quiet during the drive. I hoped his parents would be happy I’d found him, but they were so absorbed in the latest achievement of the golden-haired girls they hardly noticed our arrival. It was small comfort that his mom didn’t get out the wooden spoon, but Liam seemed to take it all in stride. Just another day for him.

  “Thanks for the lift,” he said, coming outside again and walking me to the car. He waved, but instead of returning inside, he set off down the street.

  “Where’re you going?” I asked.

  He hesitated as though considering whether I could be trusted. “To Siobhan’s. She lets me work in her studio.”

  “Great. Have fun.”

  He blinked like I’d said something unexpected. “You don’t think being an artist is a waste of time?”

  “No. Anyway, Siobhan says you’re really talented.”

  His smile could’ve powered Dingaleen for a decade.

  He came back, stood right beside me. “Want to know a secret? Siobhan entered one of my paintings in a competition.”

  “Hope you win.”

  He shuffled his feet as though he didn’t think he had a chance. “The presentation night is at the Dingaleen community hall. Siobhan says it’s a big deal for Dingaleen that we were chosen. Something to do with us being the prettiest town.”

  “If I’m still here, I’ll drop by the prize-giving.” It was a throwaway line. I had no intention of actually going, but Liam seemed to like the idea.

  “Would you really come? It’d be grand to have someone with me. Other than Siobhan, I mean.”

  “Won’t your Mom and Dad be there?”