Burning Bright (Ivy Granger) (17 page)

As if this day wasn’t bad enough already.

I retrieved my sack of belongings and began the methodical
task of strapping on weapons.  My muscles began to ease with the routine task
and my breathing slowed.  As I pulled on my leather jacket, my phone vibrated.

I checked the screen and sighed.  It was Forneus.

“About time, demon,” I croaked.

I coughed, throat raw from those last dry heaves.  Puking
sucked, but dry heaves always seemed to flay the flesh from my throat.

“A pleasure as always, Granger,” he drawled.  “I suggest we
plan to meet.”

“Fine,” I said.  I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed.  I
didn’t want Forneus to see me like this, but I could use his help.  If we met up
at The Emporium, I’d at least have a chance to get the shakes under control.  “Meet
me at The Emporium in twenty minutes.”

“You do realize that the witch’s abode is one of the few
places in this city that I cannot enter,” he said.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll take care of it,” I said.  “Just meet me
there.”

“As you wish,” he said.  “If it will aid in Jinx’s recovery,
then I will attend you outside The Emporium.”

I thumbed off my phone, changed the ringer to full, and
shoved it inside a jacket pocket.  I let out a shaky laugh and stumbled out of
the alley.  I wasn’t looking forward to explaining things to Arachne.  The kid
was probably going to take things hard.

I tugged at my gloves and closed my eyes, surprised at the
relief that washed over me at the realization that I wouldn’t be doing this
solo.  When it came to hurting my friends, I was such a coward.  But I needed
to face Arachne and make sure she understood the full ramifications of her
actions.  With Forneus going with me to The Emporium, at least I wouldn’t have
to do this alone—even if he was a demon.

F
orneus said
he’d meet me at The Emporium at the turn of the hour, which gave me plenty of
time to hoof it back downtown.  In fact, if I was speedy about it, I could
check in with my
cat sidhe
allies and see if Torn had seen or heard
anything else that was useful.  Maybe his network of cat spies could shed some
light on Kaye’s whereabouts.

At least now I didn’t also have to keep an eye out for Hell
gates.  Touching the fire imp’s blood had sucked, big time, but now I knew
there was no portal to Hell in my city.  Normally, that would be reason enough
to celebrate, but not today.

There was still the matter of cleaning up the demon pest
problem for the people of Harborsmouth and the fire-phobic vamps.  I also
needed to find Kaye and convince her to let me kill her, and—fingers
crossed—bring her back.  And while I’m resurrecting my witch friend, I also had
to find the incubus feeding on Jinx and break his hold on my friend, dodging
fae assassins all the while.

Yeah, I wasn’t really feeling much like celebrating.

The
cat sidhe
, on the other hand, seemed to be having
a freaking party.  Cats bounded toward the mouth of the alley, ears and tails
twitching in excitement, as I approached.  The alley where Sir Torn held court
was completely filled with cats of all shapes and sizes.

I tiptoed carefully through the sea of cats toward Torn’s
leather clad body.  Thankfully, the
cat sidhe
lord was in his human
form, or I’d never have found him.  Every surface was covered in felines, more
so than usual.

I kept my gloved hands in my pockets and shoulders hunched. 
I’d had my fill of visions for one day, thank you very much.

As I approached, Torn turned and pulled a face.  He didn’t
look happy to see me.  Go figure.

“Hey Torn, sorry to interrupt your party,” I said, waving a
hand at the lively cats lining the alley.  “I won’t stay long.  Just wondered
if you or any of your cats have see Kaye.  Maybe out on the edges of the city?”

Torn wrinkled his nose and looked me up and down.

“What have you been up to, princess?” Torn said.  “You smell
like troll farts.”

Troll farts?  I’d showered when I returned from working the fae
pest control case, but there wasn’t enough soap in the world to wash away the
stink of jincan guts, not from the sensitive noses of
cat sidhe
.  My
time in the alley probably hadn’t helped either.  I blushed, but shook my head.

“Stop changing the subject, Torn,” I said.

He shrugged and made a series of growling purr-like sounds
in the back of his throat.  Heads turned and ears perked up.

“No, we’ve been busy,” he said.  “No one here has seen your
witch friend, but I can send word through the shadows—for a price.”

Mab’s bones, the cat lord was infuriating.  We may be
allies, but the
cat sidhe
dealt in information and that information
rarely came cheap.  I’d used up my one freebie when Torn sent me that note, vague
as it may have been.

“Fine, what do you want in return?” I asked.

“A date with Jinx,” he said, a slow grin lifting his scarred
lips.  “Though she should be paying me for the honor, not the other way
around.”

I ground my teeth.  Cocky, son of a female
cù sìth
. 
He was right, of course.  The cat lord was Jinx’s type.  He was a mysterious
bad boy who exuded sex appeal.  That was the problem.  If my best friend
survived her incubus encounter, the last thing she needed was a date with Torn. 
The guy was trouble with a capital T.

“That’s not mine to give,” I said.  “Ask again.”

Torn sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Fine, fine,” he said.  “Help us rid the city of fire imp
vermin and we’ll be even.  I’ll call if we get word of the witch’s
whereabouts.  Deal?”

“Deal,” I said, grinning.

That was one bargain I could happily make.  I was planning
on taking care of the fire imps anyway.

“Anything else you can tell me about that note you sent me
earlier?” I asked.

“The courts want you dead,” he said, shrugging.  “I owe no court
my allegiance.  So long as the
cat sidhe
abide by the one rule that all
fae must follow, then we are left alone, all but forgotten by the courts.  You
too may have remained beneath their notice if you hadn’t flaunted your powers
where humans could see.  You broke the one rule, and now you must pay with your
life.  It is our way.  I won’t do the court’s dirty work for them, but there is
nothing I can do to protect you, princess.  My people will not raise arms
against the Moordenaar.”

“Okay, um, thanks,” I said.  “These Moordenaar, they’re
tough I take it?”

“The Moordenaar are handpicked from the time they are
infants and raised as killers,” he said.  “They live only to obey the courts. 
They are the keepers of the law, and they will dole out their punishment with
no remorse.  My condolences, princess.  It was nice knowing you.”

That was my cue to make a hasty exit.  Torn had already lost
interest in me being here.  Either that or he didn’t want to be in the Moordenaar’s
line of fire.  I could take a hint.

But as I turned to leave, I looked past Torn and froze. 
There was the usual sea of cats, but this time they were playing with their
food—food that was pint-sized and crying.

Judging from the red skin and diminutive size, I guessed
that this might be another fire imp, though this one looked different from the
ones I’d seen earlier today.  But that may have had something to do with the
way he dangled from the claws of a huge tabby cat.

The imp’s long, thin ears drooped so low that the tips
touched the ground and his pointy nose quivered with each gasping sob.  His
fingers twitched together repeatedly, but all they managed were harmless
sparks.  The little guy was shivering, skinny tail tucked between his bony
legs.

I knew how he felt.  I was being hunted by highly skilled
fae assassins and being bossed around by powerful vampire and faerie leaders
with nothing better to do than mess with me and those I loved.  Something
inside of me snapped.

“Put him down!” I yelled.

My hair danced around my head, tickling my ears, and the
alley filled with light.  I knew without checking my reflection that my skin
and eyes were aflame.  But it didn’t matter anymore, did it?  My secret was
out.  The fae courts knew that my wisp powers were out of control, so why not
set it all free?

The cat flicked an ear in irritation and turned its head to
Torn.  With a sigh, Torn waved a hand.

“By all means, let the creature go,” he said, voice thick
with sarcasm.  “We wouldn’t want to upset the princess.”

“You were torturing the poor thing!” I exclaimed, hands on
my hips.

“That
poor thing
as you like to call it is probably
one of the foul creatures setting our fair city on fire,” he said.

“I’ve seen the other fire imps and this little guy isn’t
half their size,” I said.  “Look, he can’t even make fire.”

I pointed to the thing’s fingers sparking together
impotently like an empty lighter.  Even though the imp’s skin was red, he
somehow managed to blush as he moved to hide his hands behind his back.  The
movement made his tiny belly stick out like the starving kids on television and
I had the craziest notion that I could save the thing for the price of a cup of
coffee.

“He is a demon,” Torn said, rolling his eyes.

“He’s a runt,” I said.  “Sorry little guy, but it’s the
truth.”

 “Runt or not, he’s a menace,” Torn said.

I snorted.

“Now who’s calling the cauldron black?” I asked.

The imp shifted from foot to foot.

“Pretty,” he said, pointing at my eyes.

Mab’s bones, but he was cute.  Gah!  Stop it Ivy.  He’s a
freakin’ demon.  Demons are not cute.

“Um, thanks,” I said.

I fidgeted with my gloves.  I didn’t like my glowing eyes. 
They were just one of the many things about my wisp magic that I couldn’t
control—one of the reasons that the faerie courts had labeled me a traitor to
our kind and sent assassins to put me down like a rabid animal.  But it was
kind of sweet that the little critter liked them—at least someone thought they
were pretty.

“Thankyouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!” he cried.

Before I could react, the little imp launched himself at me,
a mewling sound coming from where he nestled at chest level and wrapped his
spindly arms around my neck.  The imp was giving me a hug, which might have
been cute if I hadn’t been born with the gift of psychometry.  Thing is,
there’s a reason I don’t give hugs, and the imp now had himself pressed
directly against my bare skin.

Oh, shit.

I barely had time to brace myself before the vision ripped
me from my body.  With a gasp, I was suddenly a few inches from the ground. 
The alley was the same, but I was quivering with terror as cats with pointy
teeth and sharp claws herded me toward a bored looking man dressed in leather
clothing.

A big, scary cat hooked its claws around me and lifted me
into the air.  The cat shook me and the alley filled with the scent of urine. 
I was going to die.  I just hoped that I hit the cat with my pee.  He was
mean. 
Stupid cat.

Someone yelled and the alley filled with a bright light,
like beautiful flames.  The cat dropped me to the ground, thankfully not in the
puddle of pee, and I stared at the glowing angel.  In Hell they say that angels
are bad, but this angel was good.  She saved me.  My heart swelled.  She was my
new friend…

I sucked in air as the vision dumped me back into my body. 
I blinked at the little imp clinging to my neck as he rifled through my
pockets.

“Okay, buddy,” I said.  “That’s enough of that.”

I tried to put the imp down, but he clung to me like a
spider monkey.  A laugh came from Torn and I grimaced.

“You never cease to surprise me, princess,” he said.

I knew that boredom plagued the fae.  I guess it’s hard to
find something amusing when you’ve lived hundreds of years.  It was the
downside of being immortal.  Combine that with the curiosity of a
cat sidhe
and you had Torn.  I had a knack for drawing Torn’s attention.  It was how we’d
met.  Too bad I didn’t like being the source of the
cat sidhe
’s
amusement.

“Whatever,” I said, trying futilely to put the imp down.

I gave up and pulled a sparkly pencil from my utility belt.  The
imp’s eyes widened at the glittery object, just out of his reach.

“Want it?” I asked.

He nodded and reached for the pencil, letting go of my
neck.  I handed the little guy the pencil and set him on the ground with a pat
on the head.  I didn’t know what I was going to do with the imp, but I’d worry
about that later.  For now, I’d keep the
cat side
from toying with him. 
I didn’t like bullies, never had.

“He’s off limits,” I said, eyeing the cats who sat licking
their lips.

“Off limits,” the imp said, parroting me.  He snapped his
fingers, creating sparks.  With his other hand he held the pencil against his
shoulder like a toy soldier.

“You tell ‘em, Sparky,” I said.

Torn’s eyes widened and a genuine smile crossed his face.

“You named him,” he said.

I blushed and looked away.

“Yeah, what of it?” I asked.  “It suits him.”

“You’re right, princess,” he said.  “It does.”

I turned back to see if Torn was mocking me, but his face
looked serious as he watched the little imp marching around my feet.  Mab’s
bones, I think the little guy was trying to protect me.  If he only knew what
an impossible job that was, he wouldn’t be so eager to play soldier.

I just hoped being around me didn’t get him killed.  Sparky
thought I was his friend, but being my friend came with consequences.  Just ask
Jinx.

“Come on, Sparky,” I said.

The sea of cats parted and we made our way out of the alley
without any trouble from the
cat sidhe
.  Sparky marched along at my
feet, brandishing his glitter pencil like it was a weapon.  But I knew the real
reason the cats let us pass was that we had Torn’s permission.