Shadow Rising (29 page)

“Crap!” I scrambled over to Chase as the will-o’-the-wisps poured into the room. Iris, Hanna, and Marion were shouting from the kitchen, and Camille and Morio bolted their way, slamming the front door as they ran. Everybody was moving at once.

A flutter of wings and the whisper of siren songs, and Chase was up, unsteady on his feet, and moving toward a large cluster of the creatures. I tackled him, taking him to the ground. As we landed, I heard him groan. Great, I’d broken him, but it had kept him from heading into their midst. I just prayed that whatever I’d hurt wasn’t anything major.

Bruce was shoving through the clamor, trying to get to the kitchen. He darted through the mayhem, his size a plus in this instance, and I watched him go as I sat on Chase, trying to figure out what the fuck to do.

Delilah snarled from the corner. She’d transformed into her panther self and was snapping at the lights. She wasn’t getting very far, but I had to give it to her—my sister had grown a pair.

The next thing I knew, Ivana was hovering over me,
popping will-o’-the-wisps right and left. Aeval was in the corner weaving some sort of spell that seemed to be causing havoc with the Corpse Candles near her. As I watched, a fork of lightning rippled out from her fingers, catching hold of one of the globes. It exploded in a puff of smoke as several lightning strikes emerged, finding their way to other will-o’-the-wisps, and like chain lightning, explosions rattled through the room. A wave of shrieks echoed as the will-o’-the-wisps vanished.

Ivana, not to be outdone, struck again and again, and between the Elder Fae and the Fae Queen, they began to clear the house. The pair, ignoring each other, exited the house, and we watched from the window as they dispatched the invasion.

“Chase, are you okay?” I helped him up, glancing around in case any of the globes had been hiding, but they all seemed to be gone.

“I think I sprained my thumb. My left one.” He held out his hand and I grimaced as I watched the flesh swell and turn a lovely shade of black.

“Sorry, dude. Morio, can you take him to find Sharah? She can splint it. We’ve got plenty of medical supplies.”

As Morio led Chase away, I worried about what would happen after Ivana and Aeval finished their mutual destruction of the will-o’-the-wisps, but before I could go out and check on them—taking care not to get in the middle of their obvious spat—Vanzir stopped me.

“Let them hash it out. Don’t get in the middle.”

Thinking about the way they’d greeted one another, I decided to take his advice. “You’re probably right.” I brushed a thin layer of dust off his shoulders, then realized it was covering everything in the room. It seemed the will-o’-the-wisps left something in the way of remains, after all.

“Great, just what I needed. Faerie dust.”

Just then Camille herded Iris, Hanna, Douglas, and Marion in. They looked no worse for the wear.

She motioned to me. “Come on, Delilah…Menolly. We’d better get out there and prevent the pair from killing each other.” As we headed for the door, she hissed at me. “What the fuck were you thinking? You knew I was going after Aeval.
Don’t you remember the tales Father used to tell us about the feuds between the Fae Lords and the Elder Fae?”

“Apparently not.” And truth was, I hadn’t. But now that she mentioned it, a vague memory of the stories—and horrific tales they were—filtered back. Enough so that I bolted for the door. “Let’s go!”

As we headed onto the lawn, the clouds broke and the moon bathed the yard in her light. Camille paused, looking up at the silver crescent, soaking in the energy. I tapped her on the shoulder, and she nodded and took off again, following Delilah and me into the backyard, where Iris’s trailer sat stark against the darkness.

Aeval and Ivana were standing there, and the yard was empty of will-o’-the-wisps. They were staring at each other, hostility oozing off them like the smell of rotten eggs.

“So, you have truck with the Elder Fae?” Aeval turned to Camille, her voice accusing. I had the feeling my sister was going to be in serious trouble for my decision, so I stepped up.

“No. Not Camille. This was all my decision. We needed help and I went to the only place I could think of.” I glanced at Ivana. “Both of you, we owe you a de—” I stopped. I could not use the word
debt
around either one of them. So not a good idea. Even the word
owe
was a mistake. “We thank you both for your help.”

Ivana laughed. “Dead Girl, you know your lore but not as much as you should.” She turned to Aeval. “And so, the Night and the Morning have set up their courts again and now gird themselves with the mantle of Dusk. To what season will she rule? Neither Summer nor Winter—those are in the keep of you and Titania. But the
other
…
She
is not truly Fae. Not full-blood. You make a grave mistake and you know it.”

Aeval regarded Ivana closely. “We are returned, yes. The Fae Queens rise again and we will surpass our former glory. We build an empire. The Dusk…she serves a purpose, for now. And so we are the Court of the Three Queens. And Camille studies with us, bridging Otherworld back to Earthside.” She turned to my sister. “You are the hope of the future, in our Courts.”

The Elder Fae let out a long sigh. “There is no hope for
the future. The old days are long past. The humans and mortals have razed our groves, have ceased to pay us homage. They no longer fear us.”

With a laugh, Aeval shook her head. “They would fear you, Maiden of Karask, if they knew you truly existed. The day will come when they will know our power once again. But a great shadow looms, and first we must dispatch the danger. I shall not kill you this day, Elder Fae. Instead, I tell you this: Go to your brethren and warn them to gird themselves for war. For war is coming, and whether it be in this world or in Otherworld, if we choose to face the future, we must all battle against the darkness that would shroud it in fire.”

Ivana regarded her silently, and I had a feeling that the two powers were speaking in silence.

After a moment, Ivana inclined her head. “Let our personal battle be at a truce for now.” She turned to me. “Dead Girl, there is much you have kept from me. Though I will never forgive you for depriving me of my bright flesh, I am here, at your service, for deals when you need them. If your ghosties keep you awake in the night, you know my number.”

And then, without another word, she slung the piglet over her shoulder and vanished into the darkness. Aeval watched her go.

“The Elder Fae were ancient when I was young. They are the backbone of this world. They live in the ages of the Harvestmen and the Hags of Fate and the Elemental Lords.” She inhaled sharply. “The demons are on the move. I know they threaten Asteria, but there is little my people can do for her. Instead, we train. For war is coming. But do not expect it in the loud clamor of guns or swarms…instead it creeps silently, infiltrates by ones and twos. Shadow Wing is not stupid…like all demons, he will seek to corrupt, to gain allies. What better way to wrest control than to divide and conquer?”

Camille gazed up at the moon. “Asteria mentioned that the dark moon Priestesses of the Moon Mother are her sorcerers.”

Aeval flashed her a mirthless smile. “The dark of the moon holds power over the unseen. The dark of the moon
hides secrets. The veils grow thin during the waning half of the year. Moon Witch you are, and Priestess…but your true power resides in the abyss, in the purple flames of death. Like your cousin Morgaine, you, too, are a child of the dusk, my girl, trapped between worlds. Trapped between races. Trapped between the day and the night.”

She moved away, gliding over the ground, her long trailing gown light as leaves whispering along the ground. “Camille…be ready. Beltane will come, and the dragons will fly. And the gods will rut. And you, you will ride at the helm of the Hunt—and you and your Priest will learn what it means to belong to the night. The will-o’-the-wisps came out because they live with the spirits, and the spirits are singing a bright song, as of late.” And then, as the wind whistled by, she vanished as if she’d never been there.

We stared into the yard. The night was silent. There was nothing creeping out there that we could hear. Turning around, we filed back to the house.

We trailed back into the house with more riddles than we had answers for. As we dropped wearily into chairs, staring around at the others, it felt like we had no clear place to start.

“Where are we at?” Delilah asked. “What do we know? What don’t we know?”

“We know that Gulakah is here in Seattle. We know that a bunch of demonic spirits—bhouts—are running loose in the city. We don’t know if the two are tied together, but I’m thinking it’s likely.” Shade thumb-wrestled with himself.

“Carter told me that the Greenbelt Park District has been haunted for far longer than Gulakah’s been around, but I’m betting it’s an attraction for him, given the amount of ghostly activity there. And the activity has definitely stepped up the past few months. That may relate to the Lord of Ghosts being in town, too.” I frowned. “What else?”

“We know that those who use magic are being attacked and drained. Lindsey’s coven, Chase…and there are others, I’m sure. The bhouts seem to be responsible for that. If they’re
draining the energy from people, is it going directly to feed them, or their controller?” Camille scratched her head.

“Probably both. The bhout attacked Chase in order to possess him. Chase controls the FH-CSI.” An idea struck me. “Think what Aeval said—Shadow Wing may not wage open war but come in through the back door. What would it mean if he could gain control of some of the more important members of society…those in charge?”

“Mind control…he could arrange anything, then. He could have the three of you deported or killed. But not all government officials have psychic energy,” Smoky said.

“No, but enough must have latent powers to tempt him. We can’t be certain that’s his goal, but we better consider it.” I pulled off my boots and socks and propped my feet on the coffee table. I’d painted my toenails—they were a brilliant crimson.

“Otherworld is on the brink of open war. Over here, the war is covert. The worlds are vastly different and call for different strategizing. Shadow Wing has to understand that, and so we’re seeing the results of what was probably long-term planning.” Trillian was sitting on one end of the sofa, Smoky on the other. Camille stretched out between them, her head on Trillian’s lap and her feet on Smoky’s knees. He rubbed her toes gently while Trillian stroked her head.

Morio sat on the floor next to them. “So two different fronts, two different battle plans.”

“And my people—humans—don’t know that nuclear weapons probably won’t do a lot against demons, but you know the governments here would resort to that if they knew about this danger. Shadow Wing may be worried that they might be effective enough to make things difficult. He doesn’t care if most of the world gets offed in the attempt, but he doesn’t want his forces harmed. No, I’m guessing that he thinks it’s better to infiltrate from within,” Chase said.

I had to agree with them. “You’re probably right. As far as we know, his attempts Earthside have been limited and will probably remain on the down low. However, should he make inroads in Otherworld, the sorcerers might be able to open
enough portals to let the demons in that way. And from there, they can access the portals leading over Earthside.”

“That’s a horrible thought.” Delilah shivered.

“Damned right it’s a horrible thought. The influx of demons Earthside will be far greater once they gain a stronghold in Otherworld. My guess? Most of his outright efforts are being focused on Otherworld, while here, he’s preparing the reception committee, so to speak.” My feet hit the ground as I stood. “Mind control here can pave the way for them to come over from OW without a fight.”

“Which means we need to find and destroy Gulakah and stop the war in Otherworld. Neither of which will be easy. We don’t know where Gulakah is, Carter hasn’t been able to locate him, and there’s enough psychic mayhem going on in the city that—” Camille stopped as the phone rang.

Iris answered it. After a moment, she motioned to me. “Roman on the phone. Wants to talk to you.”

I stepped into the foyer where I could hear him better while the others continued to talk. I was nervous—I hadn’t spoken to him since Nerissa and I had left his house. “Hey…what’s up?”

“Menolly, I have some information for you. I’m sorry to tell you that one of my guards stumbled over a dead body about ten minutes ago, out in Tangleroot Park. I think it may be your agent.”

Fuck.
Andrees? Dead? My heart sank.

“Crap. I didn’t want to hear that. Andrees is a good man. I hope to hell it’s not him.” I paused. “You say Tangleroot Park? There’s a rogue portal there. We’ve had one hell of a night so far and it’s not even midnight.”

“Do tell?”

I was about to tell him about the will-o’-the-wisps and the bhouts when call waiting beeped. I glanced at the screen. Carter. “I have to go, Roman. I have another call that I need to take. We’ll get over there as soon as we can. Will you have your men stand guard over the body until we arrive and tell them not to touch it, please? We’ve got several situations going. I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”