Burning Bright (Ivy Granger) (5 page)

The breeze shifted as I moved closer to the harbor and I
caught the scent of smoke.  Something was on fire that was for sure.  Normally,
I’d be curious, but I didn’t have time to check it out.  Protecting the people
of Harborsmouth was a job I normally took seriously, but not today.  The whole
city could burn for all I cared, Jinx needed me.  For now, that was all I could
think about.

I hurried to the waterfront, passing the shops and cafes
without really seeing them.  I made a cursory sweep for potential threats and
hurried on.  I needed to reach the carnival and gain an audience with The Green
Lady.

Kaye had looked so weak and frail when I’d left Jinx in her
care.  How long could the witch maintain the spell circle that kept Jinx safe? 
What would happen if the circle fell?

I blinked rapidly and broke into a run.  I wouldn’t pass for
a morning jogger in my jeans and leathers, but who the hell cared?  For once,
attracting unwanted attention was the least of my worries.

I passed more police and fire engines as I ran, but no one
stopped or questioned me.  Flames leapt from a nearby building and I tamped
down the guilt that rose as I passed.  I couldn’t save them all, but I could
try to save my friend.

A trashcan a few yards ahead of me burst into flames and I
sighed.  Shit, this was getting out of hand.  What the hell was going on?  It
was like this part of the city had turned into a warzone.

“The Guild is mobilizing for war.”
  Kaye’s words
niggled at the back of mind.  Was this part of the war she was talking about?  Here,
so soon?

I hadn’t given it much thought at the time, but I realized
Kaye had also mentioned the Hunters requesting her help in the war ahead.  Did
that mean she’d be going away too?  I had hoped that my friends would be here
to help during the upcoming Summer Solstice, but now I wasn’t so sure.  It was
starting to look more and more like this was something I’d have to face alone.

Could I survive breaking into a death god’s domain on my
own?  I’d been training with Jenna these past few months, but I was no Hunter
and I was still healing from a nasty wound in my side.  Kaye had nullified the
lamia poison, but Melusine had left me with scars to remind me that her fangs
had punctured my left flank.  The wound slowed me down so that even the pesky jincan
had given me trouble.  If I could barely take care of supernatural lawn pests,
how could I possibly hope to successfully sneak through the Otherworld and into
Faerie?

I glanced at the fire from the corner of my eye and caught a
flicker of movement within the dancing flames.  There, grinning from ear to
pointy ear was a tiny fire imp.  With a flick of my wrist, my blades reached my
gloved palms, but the fiend was already gone.  I scowled at the mocking flames.

Damn it all to Hell.  The city was being plagued by demons.

I
massaged my
temples with gloved hands and waited at the railing.  I didn’t want to get sidetracked,
not with Jinx’s life on the line, but as much as I tried, I couldn’t let my
city go to Hell in a hand basket.  I just hoped that didn’t make me the worst
friend on the planet.

“Tell Ceffyl Dŵr that I require his presence,” I said.

My voice was drowned out by the crash of waves and the ever
present echo of sirens, but I needn’t have worried about being heard.  Within
seconds an equine head emerged from the water.  The kelpie whinnied and ducked
back below the surface.  The creature had heard my summons, now I just had to
wait.

“Come on Ceff,” I muttered.  “I don’t have all day.”

Ceffyl Dŵr, king of the kelpies, was my lover and
official suitor.  When we’d fallen for each other, I’d assumed there was no way
to make things work between us.  I was a half-breed wisp who couldn’t be
touched without triggering unwanted visions and he was a kelpie whose people
had a reputation for eating humans.  But somehow, against all odds, he’d
managed to nuzzle past my defenses.

But dating each other didn’t change our personalities or our
duties.  I continued to live on land and run my private investigation business
and Ceff returned to the sea where he ruled over his people.  Of course, we
managed to find time for each other in our busy schedules and sending him a
message via one of the kelpie or selkie sentinels who patrolled the harbor was
the best way to get in touch.

Unfortunately, this time I wasn’t looking for a rendezvous
with the sexy water fae.  I needed his help as the local kelpie king.  I just
hoped he was within swimming distance.  It wasn’t unusual for Ceff to be called
off on official business, trade negotiations and border wars with the local
water fae were common, but I prayed he’d be nearby.

I fidgeted with my knives as my eyes obsessively watched the
water.  I’d give it five minutes and then I’d have to book it out of here. 
Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait that long.

A handsome face pushed its way up through the water,
followed by a well muscled chest.  Blushing, I looked away as Ceff pulled
himself up over the railing and onto the sidewalk.  I gave him a moment to
shake off, and put on some clothes, before turning around.

My belly tightened with need as I took in the rippling
muscles and his wet, tossled hair, but I swallowed my desire.  This was no
booty call.  I pulled my gaze from his low slung jeans and met the dark, green
pools of his eyes.

The raw desire I saw there didn’t make this any easier.  I
took a step back and shook my head.

“I gather this is not a date,” Ceff said, gesturing to my
knives.

I sheathed my weapons, but nodded.

“Jinx is in trouble,” I said.  “I have to find a way to get
her butt out of hot water, but…”

I lifted my arms, indicating the smoke and flames that
engulfed much of the waterfront.

“What can I do to assist?” he asked.

Just like that, Ceff had agreed to help.  Whoever said
chivalry was dead had never met the kelpie king.

“Something, or someone, is setting the city on fire,” I
said.  “I don’t know how far it’s spread, it may only be here on the waterfront,
but I’m pretty sure that fire imps have something to do with it.  I saw one of
the gleeful little fiends over there.”

Imps were lesser demons and as such weren’t entirely
malicious.  The tiny creatures were the pixie equivalent of demonic
society—irritating, but not too destructive.  The problem arose when you
encountered fire imps, which were thankfully somewhat rare here in the human
world.  The little fellas tended to prefer the fiery pits of Hell—to each his
own.

 Mix the mischievous nature of a brownie with a fire imp’s
proclivity toward setting fires and things could quickly get out of hand.  Like
now.

“And you need someone with the ability to control water to
help you put out the flames,” he said.

“Yeah, can you do it?” I asked.

“Of course,” he said.

I owed Ceff, big time, but I didn’t say that.  If those of
us with fae blood skate too close to a faerie bargain, we’ll be held to the
deal.  I’d show him my gratitude later, but I wanted it to be on my terms, not
part of some supernatural compulsion.

I took a step closer, not quite touching, and whispered in
his ear.

“I love you,” I said.

“I know,” he said, eyes twinkling.  “And I love you more
than the air and sea, Ivy Granger.”

I ducked my head and smiled.  Damn, Ceff always knew the
right thing to say.

“Now go to your friend.  My entourage and I will take care
of these flames.  I will do my best to hold the demons at bay.”

With one last glance, I spun on my heel and sped toward the
carnival grounds.  The sound of hooves hitting cobblestones filled the air at
my back.  Ceff’s “entourage” was a battalion of his elite royal guards.  With
their water magic, they’d make short work of the fires along the harbor.  The
close proximity to the sea lent power to their kelpie magic.  Any fires burning
deeper within the city would be more difficult to fight, but I knew that the
kelpies would do their best to extinguish the flames…and keep Ceff safe.

After Ceff’s kidnapping last autumn, his elite guard weren’t
letting their king out of their sight.  Sometimes it meant a lack of privacy,
which was a total pain in the ass, but right now, I was more than happy to have
them at Ceff’s back.  I already had Jinx to worry about.  I couldn’t be afraid
for his safety as well.  I suppose my growing circle of friends were my weak
spot, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world.

I just hoped that Jinx hadn’t been targeted in an attempt to
get to me.  I’d been struggling to come to terms with her marks and psychic
assault, and the thing I kept coming back to was motivation.  Was she attacked
because she was a weak human or because she was my vassal?  Vassals were
supposed to be protected, and to the fae world I was royalty.

As Will-o’-the-Wisp’s daughter, I was a princess, but as I
was quickly learning, being a faerie princess wasn’t all it was cracked up to
be.  For every handful of fae who respected my role as leader of the wisps,
there were at least ten more who’d gladly slit my throat.  The fae had a long
history of backstabbing and political infighting that made the Byzantine Empire
look like bumbling preschoolers.

If I found out that someone had gone after Jinx as an
indirect attack on me or my theoretical throne, I’d bring their ass to Mag Mell—a
land where death resulted in immediate resurrection—so I could kill them over,
and over, and over again.

A grin tugged at the corners of my mouth.  I may even invite
Torn along for the ride.  The
cat sidhe
lord would appreciate that
particular trip to the Otherworld.  Cats do enjoy toying with their prey, after
all.

W
ith a
supernatural fire brigade fighting the flames at my back, I approached the main
carnival gates at a dead run.  The carnival, the domain of the The Green Lady,
was on the old amusement park grounds that straddled a pier that thrust the
gaudy vaudeville acts, circus sideshows, and rusting rides out into the harbor.

I shoved my twenty bucks at a pimple-faced kid with an
overbite, yelled for him to keep the change, and vaulted over the turnstile. 
The carnival was a maze of tents, gaming booths, food vendors, and amusement
rides.  It would be easy to get lost, but I’d been here before, during the
each
uisge
attack on the city—and that night wasn’t one I was apt to forget.

I hurried past the carousel where I’d faced down a very
different kind of horse, and hurried to the heart of the carnival.

Of course, the heart of the carnival was where I’d find the
glaistig, her pavilion nestled in a ring of smaller tents advertizing peculiar
physiology and feats of strength.  Fae with no other place to go had found a
home in the carnival’s freak shows.  The Green Lady provided a haven for
faeries who could not glamour their true form, an affliction that struck close
to home.

The carnival may be a safe haven, but it felt like a
prison.  I’d spent more than one sleepless night picturing myself on a stage
where humans came to gawk at the strange, glowing girl.  Unfortunately, that
nightmare would become a reality if I couldn’t find my father and learn how to
control my wisp abilities.

Surprised, I blinked away traitorous tears as I ran.  This
path had been strewn with the torn and bloodied bodies of human parents and
their children, as well as brave carnival fae, the last time I was here.  I
shook my head, dispelling the ghosts my subconscious had conjured.  I was
already walking a fine line with my emotions.  I was anxious about Jinx and, as
much as I hated to admit weakness, thinking about the night of the
each
uisge
attack could push me over the edge.  I needed to focus or I wouldn’t
be doing anyone any good.

I took a deep breath and slowed my pace to match the
families milling about me.  If I started glowing in front of humans, the faerie
council would have my head on a platter and if The Green Lady discovered my
particular malady she’d try to keep me here for my own “protection.”  A blade
or a leash, I wasn’t sure which was worse.

I checked my warped reflection in a funhouse mirror and felt
my muscles tighten.  I wasn’t glowing, thank Mab, but I did have a tail.  Make
that two. 

I pretended to fix my hair as I surveyed the area at my
back.  Apparently, my hasty entrance had gained the attention of the carnival
fae.  That was fine by me.  This wasn’t a stealth mission.

I needed an audience with The Green Lady and I needed it
yesterday.  The fae liked to stand on ceremony, but this was no time for red
tape and lengthy traditions.  Jinx was counting on me. And honestly?  I sucked
at diplomacy anyway.

Of course, that didn’t mean I was stupid.  I kept my blades
out of sight and held my hands at my sides as I turned to face my escort.

“Hey, Delilah, who’s the new guy?” I asked, tilting my head
toward a scruffy
nagual
with amber eyes and, judging by the pelt worn
across his shoulders, a bad case of mange.  “He doesn’t seem like your type.”

The succubus dropped from her perch and sashayed across the
sawdust strewn path.  The
nagual
frowned, keeping his weapon trained on
me, but he wasn’t the one I was worried about.  When I’d visited the carnival
in the past, there’d been a faerie bard who’d stuck to Delilah like snot on a
boggle’s finger.

Despite the succubus’ feeding methods, the bard seemed to
have genuine feelings for her.  I figured if Delilah was here, the trigger-happy
bard wasn’t far behind.  And that guy?  He had incredible skills with a bow. 
Even Jenna would have been impressed.

As it turned out I didn’t have long to wait.   The bard
stepped out from behind the funhouse mirror, a haughty look of amusement on his
breathtakingly handsome face.  Like I said, the faerie had skills.  I’d been
within inches of him and hadn’t known he was there.  I was impressed, not that
I was about to advertize that fact.