Blood, Smoke and Mirrors (2010) (8 page)

"And that's all you've heard?" Lex prompted.

"There's some paranoid speculation that the vamps have figured out how to dilute pure faerie blood enough so they can feed on it and not kill themselves. It'd give 'em a big boost, might tip the balance of power. I don't put any stock in that though." Pete shook his head. "Right now the big money's riding on Morrow to win, since the vampires put a price on Catherine's head. No offense, Miss."

"None taken." Sipping my latte, I resisted the urge to sigh--I was sighing entirely too much lately. Any more angst and I'd be adding black bodices to my wardrobe and shopping for matching lipstick.

"The vamps have been tight-lipped on this one." Pete rose to his feet and took hold of his mop. "You know what you need to do, Duquesne, if you want real answers to your questions."

There was a grim expression on Lex's face at those words, and a sinking feeling settled into my stomach. Whatever the other option was, it couldn't be pleasant. The guardian nodded and took a long drink of his coffee.

"I was hopin' to avoid that particular option."

I opened my mouth to ask what they were talking about, but all I managed was a strangled gasp as the worst migraine in the history of mankind suddenly threatened to implode my skull. I covered my eyes and blocked out the painful light, whimpering like an injured kitten. Before anything important popped inside my brain I felt Lex's hand grip my forearm. Waves of soothing energy flowed out from where his skin touched mine, driving the invading magical migraine away until I was able to open my eyes again.

"You're all right, sugar," he murmured to me.

I blinked at him as I regained my focus, and I noticed that he stared at something behind me. His hand still gripped my arm as I turned around to see what held Lex's attention, and I spotted my father standing across the room.

Because he was out in public he'd left the cheesy wizard robes at home and wore a simple black suit instead. Three men stood with him, dressed in similar dark suits and looking as though the Secret Service had started recruiting from the Addams family. I knew the strangers weren't the ones who'd attacked me, considering my father was smiling. I tensed to leap to my feet and charge across the room to claw that smile off his face, and Lex tightened his grip on my arm and tugged toward him.

"Cat. Don't."

"What is he doing here?"

"If you promise to stay put, I'll go ask him."

"No way. I have a few choice words for that asshole."

"I'm sure you do. How 'bout we let me do the talkin' then?" Lex countered, his voice soothing.

"Fine, fine," I grumbled. It was a good idea--just because we'd breezed through security to get in here didn't mean they wouldn't arrest me if I cussed out Dorian and lit him on fire. Not that I could, seeing as I had no fire to work a spell with, but it was a pleasant thought.

"Nice talkin' to you, Pete," Lex said as he rose to his feet. The old man nodded, looking uncomfortable, and hurried to get far away from the scene that was about to unfold. I stayed close behind Lex as we crossed the room, staring poisonous daggers at my father the entire time. To prevent any further attacks on his part I made sure to put my shields up as we moved.

"That was just low. Couldn't resist takin' a cheap shot, could you, Dorian?" Lex said, drawing to a halt. Now that we were close I could smell the magic rolling off the group, and easily recognized them as necromancers from their unholy stench. It was all I could do not to gag.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked. "I'm willing to bet you and your buddies aren't taking a trip to Disney World. Unless you're planning a hostile takeover of the Haunted Mansion."

Dorian ignored me, concentrating his disdain at Lex. "Duquesne. I'm surprised to see you here, especially with her. I wasn't surprised to hear you'd chosen a side in this, but a man in your position really should be more careful."

"Just trying to keep things fair. You know it's not legal for applicants to try to kill the competition. It's considered cheatin'." Lex eyed the necromancers. "Assuming y'all even remember what it's like to abide by the rules. Course you've already proved that you've got the paternal instincts of a snake, Dorian."

I choked down a bitter laugh and it came out as a cough instead. Dorian glared at me and I gave him a sardonic smile. "Hey, what happened to your eyebrows? Get a little too close to a fire?"

Apparently his ego hadn't recovered from his toasty dragon encounter and he took a step toward me. Lex moved in front of me, blocking him. "Play nice, now. Wouldn't do to make a scene."

Dorian paused, glaring first at the guardian and then at me. "You won't be able to hide behind him forever. He won't be able to protect you during the next test," he said, his voice low and threatening. "I'm surprised you're trusting him at all, after what he did to you."

"That's none of your business. I'm not worried, but you oughta worry more about yourself. Next time you might lose something more important than eyebrows." I tried to sound more confident than I felt, but it didn't come out very convincing.

"You won't survive this."

"When I become Titania, my first act will be your execution."

"You don't have the spine for it. You're weak, just like your mother. Useless, whining witch," Dorian sneered in disgust.

My temper snapped and my shields vanished in a fizzle of fury as I hauled back and slapped him across the face. "Don't you talk about my mother that way, you--"

Lex cut me off mid-shriek as he clamped a hand over my mouth and hauled me out of arm's reach of my father. I struggled, wanting to take another swing at him, but Lex didn't let go. Several more suspicious men hurried over to join Dorian, and by the lack of color in their ensembles I guessed they were also necromancers, probably a dozen in total. What was this, a convention?

"So this is your daughter, Dorian?" a new voice interrupted, calm and soothing. The posse of necromancers parted like the Red Sea as the speaker approached us. The only one of the group who'd incorporated color into his wardrobe, the man stuck out from the crowd. Though I couldn't remember where I'd seen him before, he looked vaguely familiar. He was tall, well-tanned, with sandy blond hair and a pair of expensive designer sunglasses. "It seems she's inherited your temper. Thankfully she has her mother's looks, lucky girl."

Stunned silent, I blinked at him, wondering how to respond to that as he smiled perfect white teeth at me. It was a strange statement to make, because my father was actually quite handsome. All of Laura's men were. She was like a connoisseur of pretty-boy magicians. From the way it made my father twitch I figured it was meant as an insult to him and not to me.

Lex eased his grip but didn't let me go, eyeing the stranger with sincere concern. I was about to demand to know who he was when I caught the scent of vampire magic. Strange. Sure, vampires could go out in the daylight, but I'd never heard of one actually doing it.

"And you are?" I asked, curious.

"Zachary Harrison, a pleasure to meet you." Extending his hand to shake mine, I reached for it in reflex but Lex grabbed my arm and yanked it out of the way.

"Don't you dare touch her, Harrison," Lex warned. Shocked, I turned and looked up at Lex. I'd never heard him use that tone of voice before.

"I was merely being polite, Duquesne." He chuckled, and then it clicked in my brain why the vampire looked somewhat familiar. Zachary Harrison was a famous real estate mogul--one of those celebrities who's famous for being famous. The man owned a string of high-profile buildings in cities across the country, as well as hotels and casinos throughout the world. Harrison was the subject of tabloids and gossip TV shows--who would be stupid enough to make someone with that high a profile a vampire?

Probably Laura.

Turning my attention back to Dorian, I raised an eyebrow. "What'd you do, ditch your skanky blonde for a new boss? Nah, I bet Laura finally got bored with you and upgraded to a younger, prettier boy toy."

Dorian's face went from angry red to furious, blotchy purple, and he raised a hand to take a swing at me. Lex dragged me another step backwards while the vampire clamped a hand on Dorian's shoulder and yanked him back out of reach.

"Is there a problem here?" A pair of female security guards hurried up to us, looking as though they were three seconds away from tazing our whole unhappy group.

"No, just a small family dispute. While awaiting my arrival my associate bumped into his estranged daughter, and he's very sorry for causing a scene, aren't you, Mr. Morrow?" the vampire assured them.

"Yes, of course," Dorian murmured, looking chagrined.

As the vampire smiled at the two security guards magic billowed around him like a thick fog, and I started coughing, my eyes watering. Blinking away tears, I noticed the women's shoulders sagging as the tension smoothly bled away from them.

"Oh, Mr. Harrison! I didn't realize you were coming through here," one of the guards spoke. "We could have gotten you an escort." If I didn't know better, I'd've sworn she even batted her eyelashes at him.

"Thank you, that's very kind, but it won't be necessary." Harrison favored them with a charming, reassuring smile. "I think we'll be on our way now. Dorian, why don't you go see to the luggage."

After throwing one last glare in my direction, my father slunk away like a dog that'd just been kicked by its master. Wow. I could barely believe my eyes.

"Ms. Baker, Mr. Duquesne, I'm sure you have somewhere you need to be," Harrison suggested regally.

"C'mon, Cat, let's go. Y'all have a nice day." The guardian grabbed my hand and tugged me after him as he walked away. "I'm sorry about that. I had no idea they'd be here," Lex said once we'd reached a safe distance. "You're real lucky they didn't haul you off and lock you up for assault."

"I know, I know... What's our next move for finding out what the vamps are up to?"

"I have someone else we can talk to, someone more likely to have answers. If we hurry we can meet with him today."

"Oh. That's good then."

We headed out of the terminal and back to the parking garage. As a smoker I am opposed to stairs, so we took the elevator up to our level. Everything continued to be normal with our departure, until we stepped out of the elevator and the world dropped out from under us.

Chapter Seven

For a heartbeat I was afraid I'd been dropped into the same earthen cavern as last time but with a different dragon, one that'd be more open to barbequing me. After all, maybe that had been the point of the original test, and the Council hadn't realized that the dragon they'd plopped into the room with me was an easygoing pacifist who just wanted to watch celebrity
Jeopardy!

The thought faded as the lights came up around me, allowing me to see my surroundings. The floor beneath me was made up of rough carved blocks of stone coated with a thin layer of dampness that soaked into the seat of my jeans. Though I could see, the light was still dim, produced by a series of torches placed around the room. The air was humid, and the sound of dripping water echoed around me.

"Well, I don't think this is our level," Lex commented. Surprised, I turned toward the sound of his voice and saw him getting to his feet.
He won't be able to protect you during the next test
. My father's words echoed in my head, and yet Lex was here.

"Yeah, definitely not. I think our trip to your next contact is going to be delayed."

Reaching down, he took my hand and helped me up. "Looks that way. Let's find out where we are."

We walked down a corridor toward a better lit area, and as we approached, three doorways loomed into view at the end of it, each crossed with ominous, thick metal bars. A prison? A dungeon? It was difficult to see what lay beyond those doors, so I took another hesitant step forward.

"They are all guilty."

Startled, I turned to my right, and Cecelia of the Silver Crescent stood next to us as though she'd appeared out of thin air, her gaze turned toward the three doors.

"Guilty of what?" I asked.

The faerie woman turned toward me, ignoring my question as she coolly regarded me with her regal stare. "It is up to you to determine their punishments. At least one of these criminals deserves the sentence of death."

"Death?" I blurted. I couldn't call for someone's death, not a stranger. Not anyone--well, with the very deserving exception of my father. Aside from that though, I was against capital punishment in my world, and I wasn't about to start doling out death sentences here.

"You may speak with the prisoners. When you have decided their fate, speak with me again." Folding her hands together, she took a step back, watching me with an air of infinite patience in her perfect posture.

"Okay. Now, though I'm happy I got to bring backup with me this time, why is Lex here?" The faerie woman didn't answer, her expression unchanging. "Great." I sighed quietly. I guessed they were allowing him to be a one-man cheering section, which was fine by me. I needed all the help I could get.

Licking my lips, I approached the first cell. Peering through the bars, I spotted an imp sitting on a cot, its tiny legs swinging back and forth as it stared at a spot on the floor, its bright red skin a startling splash of color in the dull gray cell.

"What did you break?" I asked. Imps are one of the less intelligent creatures of Faerie, and thankfully less powerful as well. If faeries are the embodiment of magic, imps are the embodiment of mischief. They seem to serve no purpose other than causing destruction and mayhem. Despite what you may think, those aren't necessarily bad things. Often a little purification by fire can go a long way in raising awareness about a problem, bringing attention to an area, things like that.

The imp looked up at me with its beady little black eyes, and its tiny shoulders slumped in obvious defeat. "It wasn't that important!" it protested in its high-pitched voice.

"Important enough to get your butt tossed in jail, buddy." I pointed a scolding finger at it. "What was it? Cut somebody's brake line? Cause a pile-up on the Kennedy during rush hour?"

"No."

"Cough it up. Confession is good for the soul, you know."

The imp sniffled and then burst into tears. I suppose I should have felt bad, but I've had enough bad imp experiences to not be fooled by their crocodile tears. I didn't believe it was sorry for whatever it was it did--it was sorry that it had gotten caught. Rolling my eyes, I decided to move on to the next and come back later to find out what the little bugger had done. I didn't have time for crying imps, I needed to go home so we could talk to Lex's next contact and figure out why the vampires wanted their puppet as Oberon.

I moved to the middle cell. This one was much darker than the one the imp occupied. A dank, musty odor permeated the air, and there was something vaguely familiar about it. Frowning, I leaned forward and was rewarded by nearly getting my dumb face scratched off as a furred arm shot through the bars and swiped at me with a set of wicked claws.

"Cat!" Lex shouted. Dragging me out of harm's way, he held me tight against him as my pulse thudded loudly in my ears. Cackling laughter reminiscent of a hyena's call sounded from the darkness of the cell, and I glared at it.

"Cute, real cute," I growled between gritted teeth. A snuffling noise answered me, and a stubby snout approached the bars, sniffing in my direction like a dog. It was some sort of canine, caught halfway between human and beast. Pale gray eyes stared from above the snout--they were human and not animal eyes, and a gleam of madness shone in them. Despite the fact that shapeshifters are controlled by wild magic, most of them are very stable, sane people. However, when wild magic is loosed on a weak, fractured mind, the results are catastrophic. Shapeshifters are not creatures of Faerie though, and belong to Earth. If this one was being held here, it must have done something to harm a resident of this world.

Lex released his grip and stood by my side, and together we stared at the shapeshifter. "That one's lost. It's got no control left."

"I know," I answered him and then addressed the shifter. "So what'd you do to get tossed in here?" I barely heard the click of claws on stone as the shifter moved, pacing up and down the row of bars as it watched us.

"Witch..." it whispered in a soft hiss. A chill ran down my spine and I couldn't help but shudder. I swear it laughed at my reaction. "Witch. I am guilty of no crime."

I raised an eyebrow at it as the shifter continued to pace. "Okay. What do they think you did?"

"They think I hunted the hunter, but I did not." The shifter snarled with a snap of its teeth. "The hunter hunted me, I defended myself. That is no crime!" It shrieked, an inhuman howl worthy of a werewolf movie that echoed off the stone walls.

"Hunter?" There were those who hunted shapeshifters exclusively, for a variety of reasons ranging from the benign to the malicious. Attacking a human or magician hunter wouldn't have landed the shifter here, though. "Do you know what it's talking about?" I asked Lex.

"It killed a guardian," he replied, his voice hollow. "That's the shifter that killed Thompson."

"I had to, it would have killed me," the creature snarled.

"What's the story here?"

"Thompson was a guardian in Arizona. He was killed while tryin' to enforce a warrant on that shifter. Happened last week."

Like in an old western movie, the good guys weren't supposed to kill an outlaw unless it was wanted dead or alive, or just plain dead. If the shifter had a death warrant, yeah, I could see why it would have fought back that ferociously. The question then became how had it earned a death warrant in the first place?

"What'd you do that they sent a guardian after you?"

"I was a very bad dog. Come a little closer, and I will show you."

"Thanks, I'll pass." I shuddered, glad I was out of arm's reach. The wild magic had broken this one. I didn't have to know the details of its crimes to know it had committed at least one inhuman atrocity, if not more. It simply couldn't help itself--it had all the instincts of an animal and no control over them.

I moved on to the final cell and saw a thin, scrawny teenage girl seated on her cot, her arms wrapped around her legs. She looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes, her gaze heavy with fear and sorrow. The sight of her made my heart ache.

"Oh, honey, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry." She hiccupped. "I just wanted him to like me, I didn't--" The girl's eyes filled with tears and she swallowed down a sob. "I didn't know."

"What didn't you know?"

"I didn't know he was allergic to the pollen."

"Pollen?" For a moment I pondered that, wondering just what sort of magic the girl had used on the poor boy. If a flower was involved, it was probably used in a potion, and love potions were the most popular recipes. However, there was only one love potion I'd heard of that contained an ingredient that would catch the attention of the faeries.

"Was the pollen from Medb's flower?" I asked, and she nodded miserably. Medb's flowers grew only in Faerie and were famous for their ability to control the minds of men. "You're an alchemist?" The girl nodded again. "And the boy's not a magician?" Another nod. Poor kid, talk about dumb luck. It was hard to tell what magical ingredients a straight will have an adverse reaction to, particularly in the age of allergies.

"He's...he's in the, the hospital." At least the boy hadn't died, that was a good thing. If a healer could sneak in to see him, the kid could probably be put to rights, no permanent damage caused.

"You know love potions don't cause real love, don't you, honey?"

"I just wanted him to notice me. I thought if he did he'd see that I'm so much better than that stupid Jennifer."

Ah, young love. I hadn't suffered from a real debilitating crush until college, myself. Probably because I was convinced that men were the worst kind of scum and should be avoided like the plague. It took some time and therapy for me to realize that it was unfair to blame all men for the crimes of my father.

"Even if he did notice you because of the potion, it wouldn't be real. It wouldn't last. True love's a rare thing, you know? Can't put it in a bottle."

She nodded, sniffling miserably, and I hoped she understood what I was saying. I couldn't see how this poor kid could possibly be deserving of a death sentence. Hell, she ought to be considered not guilty by reason of mental defect (said defect being teenage hormones).

Lex put a hand on my shoulder, and I turned toward him. "There's somethin' she's not tellin' you." I frowned at him, curious, and watched as he studied the girl. "A severe allergic reaction isn't enough to get her tossed in next to the likes of that shifter."

"Oh. Good point," I replied sheepishly. Sure, it seemed pretty severe to me, because for a witch interfering with the free will of another falls into the category of harming someone. Alchemists don't suffer from those kinds of moral issues though. They're a mercenary lot, ready to stir a spell for the highest bidder with no questions asked.

"What's your name?" I asked, focusing on her again.

"Jane."

Ugh, plain Jane, no wonder she lost out to a Jennifer. "Jane, did something else happen?"

Squirming, she turned away and stared at the opposite wall. "Not to Todd."

"Okay?" I prompted, waiting for an explanation. Jane refused to elaborate, continuing to stare sullenly at the wall.

"What happened to Jennifer?" Lex asked.

"Her hair fell out."

That was odd. True, it was the sort of spiteful thing I expected from a teenage girl, but it also wasn't a very big crime. "Was whatever you gave her
supposed
to make her hair fall out?"

"No. It was supposed to kill her."

"Right then," I said. Guess high school really is tougher these days. Without another word I turned and headed back to the first cell, giving the shapeshifter a wide berth. The imp had returned to staring dejectedly at the floor. "Okay. Tell me what you broke."

"I broke the metal bird."

"Metal bird? What metal bird?"

"The big silver one with the red and blue stripes."

A sinking feeling formed in the pit of my stomach.
Oh no.
"An airplane?" The imp nodded. "Lord and Lady," I whispered. "What did you break on the airplane?"

"A big round thing."

I really hoped it meant a wheel and not an engine. "What happened to the airplane after you broke the big round thing?"

"The round thing started to smoke, big black smoke, and then it went boom!" There was a note of manic glee in the imp's voice. "And then the metal bird fell out of the sky and there was an even bigger boom!"

A nauseous, lightheaded feeling washed over me as I realized just what the imp was guilty of. The little bastard had brought down a plane--not just a "oh the landing gear failed" kind of thing, but the sort of fiery explosion that the more bloodthirsty cable news networks like to show over and over again. I hoped it was a small plane, but a lot of the big airlines had red and blue in their logos. No matter what size the plane was, the imp's tampering caused the death of innocent people. With that in mind, the imp's punishment seemed like a no-brainer, so I didn't know how it could be considered a test of my abilities. There had to be some sort of catch I was missing--

Lord and Lady. Mac's plane left that morning.

"When did this happen?" I asked the imp, a spike of fear slicing through me.

"Just now."

"Like when? This morning? Ten minutes ago?" The imp shrugged its tiny red shoulders. "Where did it crash? Where was it going?"

"I dunno. Somewhere in the human realm."

Frustrated, I turned and walked over to Cecelia. "What plane was it? When did it leave?"

The faerie woman raised a regal eyebrow. "Will the answer affect your decision?"

"
Was it Mac's plane?
" I nearly shouted, at the end of my patience.

She seemed to ponder my question for a long, tense moment, and then she nodded. "Yes, it was."

It felt as though the air had been sucked out of the room, and I struggled to breathe. My knees wobbled beneath me as I stumbled backward. "Imma be sick." Turning, I caught a glimpse of Lex's expression--the color had drained from his face, and his mouth was set in a grim line. My legs threatened to give out and collapse beneath me, but before they did he grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against his chest, letting him comfort me as I broke down into hysterical sobs. Lex murmured to me, stroking my hair as I struggled to pull myself together and regain my composure. Eventually I pulled away to dig through my purse for some tissue.