by Anya Bast
They just had to find her first.
The scent of richly turned dirt and loam filled his senses, the rough feel of tree roots tripped over his thoughts. His magick traveled through the bustling, burrowing insects, to the tender roots of plants and grass, up to the air of the forest, redolent with a mixture of rot and growing things. Outward, he expanded his consciousness, searching for the woman or the two silvery chunks of preciousness all of them sought.
Elizabeth, the water fae, was protecting her mother, according to the Summer Queen. Her goal wasn’t unlike his. Elizabeth’s mother would die when the walls fell because the sprae keeping her alive would disperse. His wife, Aideen, would die because long ago she’d killed a fae man. For that crime she would be reaped by the Wild Hunt and added to the sluagh when the walls fell. If they could find Elizabeth and get her to hand over the pieces, they could save both their loved ones.
But he didn’t have a lot of confidence that Gideon would just let Elizabeth go after she turned them over. Gideon never missed a chance to kill a fae, if that fae wasn’t of use to him.
“Find anything yet?” Gideon’s whiny, impatient voice cut through the syrupy overlay of consciousness his magick always provided.
He didn’t respond. Instead, he kept sifting, searching through tree limbs, the prickly arms of bushes, the soft padding of a bird’s nest. Careful. Patient. Leave no stone unexamined.
There. The woman was just there.
Surprise rippled through him. He double- and triple-checked to make sure it was really her. Days of searching and nothing. Now, all of sudden…
“Got her.” Liam made note of the location of the cottage where he’d located the water fae’s presence and pulled his hands out of the earth. “She’s gone back to her house.”
“Labrai be praised. Now we can stop camping and maybe even get out of this Labrai-cursed shithole of a place.”
Liam only stared stonily at him. Part of him wanted to stay in Piefferburg forever, even though he’d be trapped. If only Aideen could live here with him.
“Let’s go get the woman. Once we obtain the pieces from her, we can get rid of her, too.” Gideon stomped off toward the main road, where they’d parked the Jeep, pushing at tree branches and cursing nature every step of the way.
After a moment, Liam followed. He just wanted to do what needed to be done to protect Aideen.
“I’M not used to seeing you engrossed in a book, Niall.” Aeric O’Malley entered the room where Niall sat slumped over a pile of dusty tomes. “It’s just not like you.”
Bella Quinn, Charlotte Bennett, and Bran, a nature fae who was part of the Wild Hunt, were also in the tower library sitting in various nooks and crannies, thumbing through their own volumes. All of them were looking for tidbits of knowledge about the asrai or anything about Elizabeth’s family.
The queen had ordered that anyone not preparing for the coming war should help him sift through the massive amounts of information the fae had collected since Piefferburg had been created. If they could find out who Elizabeth was protecting, and why, he’d have leverage over her. At this point, Niall thought it was their only hope, but they weren’t getting very far.
He slammed his book closed and glanced around the library, stretching. “A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.”
Aeric tossed a leather-bound book onto the table in front of him. “Emmaline found that in my forge, tucked away on a shelf. It’s a book about various kinds of nature fae. She thought you’d want it.”
Niall picked it up and flipped through it. “Great. Tell her I said thanks.” He indicated the pile of twenty books to his right. “Tell her I could use her help, too, anytime she wants to give it.”
“She’s helping me in the forge. Aislinn has me making weapons twenty-four seven. It’s tapping my magick every damn day.” He jerked his chin toward the general direction of Bran. “I came for Bran, too. Aislinn wants him to start organizing whatever animals and birds he can for the coming conflict.”
Back in the day, during the Fae Wars before Piefferburg was created, there were nature fae like Bran who could communicate with animals and use them in battle. Looked like they were nearing that time again.
“It’s getting that bad, is it?”
Aeric shrugged. “No way for us to know. It’s not like they send us status reports. The red caps report higher-than-usual activity at the gates. Maybe the military and the Phaendir are finally finding accord.”
“That would be bad for us.”
“Maybe not. The humans seem to want to show restraint. Maybe having them work with the Phaendir is better than having the Phaendir loose on our asses.”
Niall grunted and picked up the book. “I need to get back to work.” Not getting the pieces from Elizabeth had made him grumpy. He opened it up and leafed through it angrily.
Aeric was silent for a moment. Finally he said, “The queen’s sending Ragnar and a bunch of goblins after the woman. I thought you should know.”
He went still. Ragnar Joren Kvalheim had the ability to boil the water in a person’s body. Not a pleasant way to go.
Niall looked up at him, rage making him clench his teeth for a moment. “What the fuck is Ragnar going to do? Evaporate her when she dissolves? How is that supposed to help us find the pieces?”
Aeric paused, hesitating before he spoke. “I think Ragnar is meant to go after the people she cares about.” He paused. “You know, those people she keeps fed.”
Niall slammed the book closed on the table. “What are we, the fucking Mafia, now? We’re taking out people’s families? Old people? Invalids?”
“We need the pieces, Niall, no matter what. The queen knows it’s time to get brutal.”
Like locking Elizabeth in a charmed iron box and plunging her into a waking nightmare wasn’t brutal.
“She won’t give the pieces up to save herself,” Aeric continued, “but she might—”
“Yeah, yeah, I understand the concept.” Niall pushed to his feet, rubbing his hands over his face. “I’m out of here.”
Two weeks ago, the Black Tower had known nothing about Elizabeth. Not what she did at night, not about her gardens, not about the people she cared for with the food she grew. Now the Shadow Queen was in possession of all kinds of information about her…thanks to him.
Now all those people she fed were in danger…thanks to him.
He pushed past Aeric and stormed out of the library, stalking his way through the Black Tower to Aislinn’s receiving room. Recognizing him, the guards let him through. Good thing, since Niall hadn’t really planned on knocking.
“What the fuck is going on, Aislinn?” he burst out, coming to a stop in front of her chair. Aelfdane, a Twyleth Teg and part of the Wild Hunt, was sitting on the couch near her, along with Gabriel.
Gabriel stood. “Back off, Niall.”
He glanced at him with fire enough in his gaze to burn. “I will not fucking back off. She’s sending Ragnar after the asrai. Elizabeth is mine.”
Aislinn’s face flushed and her hands went tight on the armrests of her chair. Her eyes burned with fury, and all of it was directed at him. The heat in the room ratcheted upward with her emotions. With a swish of silk and satin, she stood. “You had your chance, Niall. Now someone else gets a turn.”
“You’re going after the starving, old, and sick nature fae she cares for, Aislinn? Really?”
She looked pained for a moment, then her face settled into a mask. Turning away from him, she walked to the window and looked onto Piefferburg Square, gazing past it, toward the gates. “Don’t think I liked giving that order. Don’t think I’ve slept a moment since I gave it.” She drew a breath. “But I’m running out of options.”
“This is not the way.” Niall fisted his hands at his side. “We don’t hurt innocent people, Aislinn.”
She gave a cold, mirthless laugh. “Tell that to the military at our door. Tell it to the Phaendir. They’re getting ready to slaughter hundreds of innocents.” She tur
ned toward him. “So, you tell me what I should do, Niall. Sacrifice one or two to hopefully save hundreds, maybe thousands, of us? Or should I take the high road, not pursue the pieces with every brutal tool at my disposal, and let our enemies turn our streets to blood?”
Niall let out an agonized breath of air, nostrils flaring. Sweet Danu, this was wrong. “Why pick Ragnar? He’s a monster.”
She smiled, but it came nowhere close to her eyes. “It takes a monster to do this job.”
“Could you do it?” asked Aelfdane from the couch. “She had to set Ragnar loose for this task.”
“Yes, I can do it.” Niall looked at Aislinn. “Call him off, send me instead.”
Sadness entered her gray eyes. “You’re no monster, Niall, and you’re too close to her. I hear it in your voice when you talk about this woman. You feel protective of her. Despite everything, you like her. Could you really go out there, threaten the people she loves? Torture them in front of her? Kill them?”
“No, I couldn’t do that. Not for real. I can do it in her head, though. Let me try.” He would hate it, and she would never forgive him—not for that—even if it was only a scene he created in her mind. Still, better she hate him forever than let innocent people die.
Aislinn shook her head. “She’s on to your tricks now. From the moment you captured her, she’d know anything that happened wasn’t real.”
Sensing a crack in Aislinn’s resolve because of the slight tremor in her voice, he pushed on. “I won’t use myself in the scene. I’ll make her forget me. I’ll use Ragnar. She won’t even know I’m there until it’s over. It will seem totally real to her.”
The queen said nothing, considering him. “We can’t afford to waste any more time.” She smiled. “Niall, you just don’t have the kind of darkness we need for this. You didn’t even think of it as an option when you captured her.”
No, that was true, he hadn’t. He was really fucking regretting that right now, too.
“Aislinn, I’m begging you. Call off the dogs. Send me.”
Her face pale and dark circles marking the flesh under her eyes, Aislinn turned away. “I’m sorry, Niall. It’s done. Let Ragnar handle it from now on.”
Niall stared after her retreating form with heavy, black dread forming in his soul.
Nothing left to say, and with Gabriel and Aelfdane refusing to meet his eyes, Niall turned and smashed his way out of her chambers. Making noise made him feel better, even if he was totally fucking powerless to stop this shit storm.
“Niall!”
He turned to find Bran running down the corridor toward him. “Aeric told me what was going on with the asrai.” He stopped and stared hard into his eyes. “You’re not going to let that happen, right?”
“Fuck, no.”
Bran nodded. This was probably the most he’d heard Bran say since he’d met him a hundred years ago. Man of many words, he was not. “I found something interesting in one of the genealogy annuals a minute ago. It’s a record of a woman reported to be an asrai. There’s not much info about her, but it does list an adoptive mother who is sprae dependent.”
The sprae dependent were a type of nature fae that had evolved only since Piefferburg had been created. The few of them that existed lived only by the grace of the sprae, who provided them life energy.
“I think it’s possible the asrai they’re talking about could be Elizabeth,” Bran continued. “If her mother is sprae dependent, that would be a pretty big motivation for Elizabeth to want to see the walls stay up.”
Especially since she’d already watched her father and brother die and had no one else in her life.
Niall was already moving when he called over his shoulder, “Thanks, Bran.”
Time to end this.
ELIZABETH tossed her damp hair over her shoulder and stuffed an armful of garments into a duffle bag.
The first thing she’d done after getting away from Niall was visit her mother to make sure she was all right. Thea had patted her cheek, asked her why she was so pale and tired looking, and then offered to make her a meal.
Elizabeth had eaten until the hungry ache in her stomach had faded, all the while spinning a story of lies to explain her absence that gave her a different kind of ache, this one right around her heart. Worse, she had a feeling Thea hadn’t really bought her made-up story.
When she’d been adequately fed and rehydrated, she’d kissed her mother on the cheek and left her house to check on her gardens and deliver food to those who counted on her. Niall said he had distributed food to them, but how could she trust him? She’d never experienced black magick like his before and it scared her to the center of her bones.
Tonight, moving as quickly as she could, she’d harvested everything from her gardens and given it all away. It would be the last time she could feed people for a while, so she’d cautioned each of them to be careful with the supply. Happily, she’d found her people already with food stores. Niall hadn’t lied to her about that, at least.
She needed to leave the Boundary Lands. The ocean would be the best place for her. Lots of water to hide herself in. The act of becoming and traveling as her water self always seemed easier the closer she was to the sea.
More than anything she wanted to check on the pieces, maybe move them, but it seemed too risky. At this point she was pretty sure that everything that was happening was real, but she couldn’t be one hundred percent certain.
Coming home hadn’t felt safe. After her time with Niall, nothing felt safe. She’d returned home only long enough to take a shower and pack a few necessities.
Things were going to get a whole lot more dangerous—that’s the only thing she knew for sure. She wasn’t safe and no one around her was safe. The only choice was to flee.
Of course, Niall, or some other Unseelie, would find her eventually.
She slung the duffle over her shoulder and made her way downstairs. Light had just begun to show on the horizon, which meant she’d be traveling by daylight. Not ideal. She could handle being in sunlight, but it sapped her energy. If she was forced to dissolve into water self, she’d find it much more difficult. It was at least a forty-minute drive to her destination. The faster she left, the faster she could find a dark place to sleep.
Taking the stairs two at a time, she entered her small foyer. At the exact moment her foot touched the floor, the front door burst open. Standing in the frame was a hulking man with long, stringy black hair and a shiny gold front tooth. He put her in mind of a pirate and—she sniffed—apparently he had the hygiene of one, too.
She dropped her duffle to the floor, ready to dissolve. Man, she hated that she’d be leaving all her clothes behind. Narrowing her eyes, she fisted her hands at her sides. Maybe she should have been scared, but she wasn’t. Her experience with Niall had frightened the scare right out of her. “Can I help you?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement. Slender gray beings. Crap. He wasn’t alone. It appeared other creatures were outside her house, probably surrounding it. Were they goblins? Quickly, eyes on the stranger, she reached out and tapped into the moisture in the air, sensing presences in the immediate area. Felt like seven to eight.
“Where are the pieces?” the pirate bellowed.
Damn. She’d thought she’d have more time.
Glancing regretfully down at her duffle, she made the decision to dissolve. The moment she hit the floor, she knew something was very, very wrong.
Warm…then hot. Unable to soak into the wood of the floor.
Burning.
Every molecule of her water self screamed in agony. Evaporation. Dying…
TEN
SHE re-formed, lying on her clothes and gasping, her fingers digging into the floorboards on either side of her. No charmed iron. Only wood. What was going on?
Scorch marks ran along her arms and legs, radiating white-hot pain. The man had some kind of magick that heated water.
“Try to escape again and I’ll boil you down to nothing.�
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“So, do it,” she rasped, swallowing hard. “Kill me and you’ll never find the pieces.” She sat up like nothing was wrong, wincing at the agony of her wounds, and dressed, hiding the way her hands were shaking.
Another Unseelie with magick off the charts. Fantastic.
“Your friend Niall told us all about your death wish. I’m here to take things a step further. We know all about the people you help.” He made the words people you help sound like maggot-filled apple. His thin lips spread into a cold smile. “Brought some goblins with me.”
Movement caught her eye, and a couple of the tall, skinny alien-looking creatures stepped out from behind him.
Goblins weren’t necessarily as frightening as they appeared. They had their own culture, religion, customs. Leave them alone, respect them, and they minded their own business—could even be nice. But they could be vicious, too, and they lived at the will and mercy of the Shadow Ruler, in this case, Queen Aislinn. If she had commanded these goblins to make hats from the livers of the people she loved, that’s exactly what they would do.
Saying nothing, she pulled on her shoes. “Fine, asshole, you have my attention.”
His creepy smile widened. “Tell me where the pieces are and this stops now. I won’t touch your friends or your family.”
Her eyes narrowed. He didn’t know about her mother or he would have said mother not family. After all, Thea was the only family she had left. That he didn’t know about Thea was good. Unfortunately, thanks to Niall, this fae likely knew the names and location of every one of the elderly and infirm nature fae she visited every night. He’d run through them like a wildfire—literally.
“The goblins are already rounding them up. They’ll bring them here and I’ll kill them one by one until you tell me what I want to know.” He smiled. “We’re like kin, you and me. You can become water, travel as water, and I can boil it within another person’s body. Neat trick, right? I bet you’re jealous.”
