Authors: Ella Summers
“So, did you get that vampire put away last night?” she asked him between bites. “Claudine Evercast, you said her name was?”
“Yes. She’s being moved to Atlantis.”
“Are you sure that prison is safe? After all, Finn didn’t have much trouble escaping.”
“My unfortunate cousin had the assistance of one of the most dangerous and powerful mages in the history of the world. I find it unlikely that Claudine has similar connections. She’s ticked off too many supernaturals in her many centuries as an undiscriminating mercenary.”
“Yeah, we mercenaries who are discriminating about who we kill are much safer.”
He grunted. “I heard about your run-in last night with the vampires.”
“Oh? Did Naomi talk to you?” Sera asked, her pulse popping against her skin. She was pretty sure Naomi wouldn’t reveal her secret to Kai, no matter how much she thought he needed to know. But pretty sure wasn’t the same as completely sure. Not by a long shot.
“No,” he said, and she heaved a sigh of relief. He noticed that, but what he made of it was anyone’s guess. “You two rescued a lot of children. News of the kidnappings has spread to the Council.”
“There are still children out there,” she said darkly. “Naomi has the Mayhem tech guys scouring any surveillance footage they can find of that area, looking for hints of where the pirates took off to after they got the children from the vampires. They’re having some trouble. Someone shut off all the official security cameras at the piers last night.”
He took her hand. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. Why?”
“The Council sent a team into the Castle early this morning. They found the basement and the garage full of dead, headless vampires. I saw the photos. It looked like your sword work.”
“You’re familiar with my sword work?”
“You have a distinctive style.”
“Even in the way I decapitate monsters?”
His eyes twinkled. “Even in the way you decapitate monsters. But in other ways too. You fight with grace and elegance. It’s beautiful.”
“I hope we’re not still talking about the headless vampires.”
“No.” His thumb stroked her palm in slow circles. “You’re sure you are all right?”
“Fine.” She drew in a deep breath, fighting the flashes of memory. Headless vampires and pancakes didn’t mix. “They had taken children. Hurt them. I had to stop them. And the only way to stop a demon-charged vampire is decapitation.”
“I’ve heard stepping on them works well too.”
She snorted. “Too bad I didn’t have you with me last night.”
“Yes,” he agreed, kissing her forehead. “Whatever is going on here, it’s bigger than just those vampires. It’s dangerous. You need to talk to Simmons to make sure you’re getting paid for this.”
“I can’t be paid until Simmons reinstates me. And he’s only getting back into San Francisco tomorrow. I have an appointment with him later this week.”
“When you do meet with him, make sure you negotiate that you get a cut of this job.”
“That’s not how Mayhem jobs work,” she told him. “You can’t do a job without their knowledge and then later ask to be paid.”
“That may be what Simmons told you all, but there’s always wiggle room. You’re renegotiating your contract. You can make this job’s payment part of that. Simmons has seen your magic rankings. He wants to keep you. If you push hard enough, he will cave.”
“Hmmm.”
“I’m serious, Sera.”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure pushing a penny pincher like Simmons is worth the resulting migraine. This job is important to Naomi. I can afford to do one job to help out my friend and not get paid.”
Kai gave her peeling shoes a pointed look.
“You’re awfully concerned about my shoes,” she said, grinning at him.
“If your shoes fall apart, you can’t run away fast enough the next time you get yourself into trouble,” he replied calmly. “The shoes in question are behind repair. No amount of sticky tape or superglue will save them. And since you won’t let me buy you anything, I need to make sure you have the money to do it yourself.”
She skewered a stack of tiny pancake pieces onto her fork. “I let you get me things in New York.”
He grunted a laugh. “That’s only because I convinced you that sponsors do that all the time.”
“They don’t?”
“Sure.” He grinned. “If they have ulterior motives.”
“Ulterior motives? You mean like making me kill lots of monsters for you so you can collect favors from the magical elite?”
“Among other things,” he said. The scorching look that he gave her sent tingles to her toes.
She leaned in closer. “I knew dragons were trouble.”
“Yes,” he said, his lips brushing against hers.
Her magic hummed, buzzing through her. Wait, no. The buzzing was coming from her pocket.
“Just a sec,” she told Kai, reaching for her phone. “Hi?”
“Sera,” Naomi’s voice spoke through the phone. “I have a location for the pirates. Meet me at Pier 41.”
“I’ll be right there,” she said, then hung up the phone. She shot Kai an apologetic look. “It looks like our date’s been interrupted again.”
He checked his watch. “So you’re telling me I no longer have an excuse to skip my one o’clock meeting with Human Resources?”
“Sorry.” She kissed him. “See you later?”
He wrapped his arm around her back, drawing her in for another kiss. “Of course. We’re going to finish our date, even if it kills us.”
CHAPTER SIX
Fairy Island
SERA LOOKED OUT across the water, on toward the wall of trees jutting up from the island the ferry was fast approaching. A sparkling dew coated the enormous leaves and slowly dripped down the rippled trunks like pink crystal molasses. The air was thick with moisture and magic. It hummed—a chorus of singing birds and fluttering wings. Fairy Island.
Beside Sera, Naomi sighed. “It won’t be long now.”
“I’m sure your family will be happy to see you again.”
Naomi expelled a noncommittal grunt. “Maybe there’s another way.”
“There isn’t.”
“I know,” Naomi sighed.
The Mayhem tech wizards had come through. They’d tracked the vampire mercenaries to a meeting with a gang of mages dressed in headscarves and trench coats—and sporting some serious eyeliner. The Princes of Twilight. According to the video footage from a nearby restaurant, the pirates had loaded the children onto their ship and sailed for Angel Island. They might as well have sailed to the moon.
Public boats and ferries didn’t sail to Angel Island anymore. Neither did private boats. Not after all the mysterious accidents. People said the island was cursed by the spirits of the immigrants who’d died there. That didn’t seem to bother the pirates who’d set up bases on the island after the boats stopped coming. Nowadays, the only way on or off of Angel Island was with the blessing of the pirate captains. There were guns mounted on the towers to discourage trespassers. If the Magic Council members would just take a few minutes out of their busy schedules of being supreme assholes, they might have been able to do something about the pirates plaguing the bay.
Since Sera and Naomi couldn’t convince anyone to bring them to Angel Island, they’d done the next best thing: caught a ride to Fairy Island. Smaller than the nearby pirate haven, Fairy Island was a commune of fairies, mages, and hybrids. Their main export was the belief in natural living and magic. Supernaturals and humans from all over the area visited the island for weeklong relaxation retreats.
“I’m not sure this was a good idea,” Naomi said, clutching the railing as the ferry docked. “She’s not going to help us get to Angel Island.”
“The pirates are kidnapping hybrid children, just like the ones living here. Sooner or later, they will turn their eyes on this island.”
“Don’t try to confuse the issue with logic, Sera.”
Sera gave her an encouraging smile. “We don’t have much of a choice. No one else will take us to Angel Island.” In fact, more than a few ship captains at the pier had laughed in their faces.
“Ok.” Naomi marched off the boat, grim determination on her face. “Let’s go meet my family.”
* * *
Sera’s leather and steel was really out of place on Fairy Island. Still, the locals she and Naomi passed as they made their way down the curling forest trail offered them only amiable smiles. A few of them even called out greetings to Naomi. It was a far cry from the cold welcome Naomi had insisted they’d receive. The inhabitants of Fairy Island might have been somewhat eclectic in their homespun clothes, but they certainly weren’t unfriendly.
Naomi stopped in front of a wood house that smelled of lavender and burning leaves. A man in a sparkling ruby-red shirt stood in front of the door, his thick sun-bronzed arms folded across his chest. A tall wooden torch was stuck into the ground on either side of him. Though the afternoon sun was still in the sky, the torches were lit with fairy fire. The crystal flames lapped at the air, shimmering like a cluster of blue stars.
“Ash,” Naomi said, meeting his eyes.
Those eyes shifted from green to gold. “Naomi.” He dipped his chin slowly. “You shouldn’t have brought trouble here.”
She sighed. “What makes you think I’ve brought trouble?”
He pointed at her leather clothes, then at the blades strapped to her arms, her thighs, basically everywhere. “You always bring trouble.” His gaze shifted to Sera. “Who’s your friend?”
“That’s Sera, my partner at Mayhem.”
“Who is the source of more mayhem?” he asked.
“I am,” they both said.
Ash smirked at them. Well, at least he had a sense of humor.
“I need to see Mom,” Naomi told him.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. She’s still sour about how you ran off last weekend.”
“Of course I ran off. She kept shoving me into rooms with that stoned hippy. You would have run off too.”
“Our mother fancies herself a matchmaker,” he replied. “Why do you think I was so quick to find my own match?”
Naomi’s hard look softened. “How is Nerida?”
He grinned so wide, sunlight bounced off his white teeth. “Pregnant.”
His gaze drifted to a woman weaving through the trees, casting fairy magic across the leaves and branches. The word ‘pregnant’ was hardly adequate to describe her. Her exposed belly was as round as a Christmas ornament—and decorated with glittering loops of magical tattoos too.
“We suspect twins,” Ash added, his grin widening further.
“
Only
twins?” Naomi asked. “Her belly must have doubled in size since last weekend.”
“Hush. If you tell Nerida that, it will go to her head,” her brother told her. He turned to Sera. “You’re a twin yourself, aren’t you?”
“I… How did you know?”
“You have that look about you. Like you’re part of a greater whole.”
“Ignore my brother. He’s such a kook.” Naomi linked her arm in Sera’s and scooted past Ash to enter the house.
They came into a large hall thick with humidity and magical herbs. Floral wreaths and streamers hung on the walls and dripped from the ceiling. Long wooden tables and benches framed three sides of the room; a silk table runner was draped across the middle of each. Fairies and mages glided smoothly between the tables, setting them with patterned plates and polished silverware. The middle of the room was open, with enough space for a dance floor. In fact, two of the busy workers were setting up large speakers.
“I thought this place was all about natural living away from technology,” Sera whispered to Naomi, nodding toward the speakers.
“We’ve always made an exception for dance music.” Naomi’s eyes twinkled with magic. “You know how much fairies like to party.”
“We mages too,” a woman standing beside the head table said with a girlish grin.
She wasn’t much older than thirty. Her sleek dark hair was tied up into a high ponytail, and she wore a fitted red minidress with aspirations to be a bikini. It would have made even most teenage girls blush. Not the two teenage girls standing beside her, though. Each of them wore a similar outfit, one in teal-green, the other in sapphire-blue. Maybe they’d all gotten dressed together.
“Hi, Aunt Cora,” Naomi said, kissing the woman in the red dress on the cheek.
“Naomi. Didn’t we just chase you off? Already back for more?” Cora’s laugh rang like silver bells.
“Sera, this is my aunt Cora,” Naomi told her. “And my sisters Ivy and Ruby.” She pointed to the girl with the dark braids, then to the one with the red curls. They looked about sixteen or seventeen.
“Did you bring us anything?” Ruby asked, adjusting her silk floral scarf.
“Music?” added Ivy.
“Pizza?”
“Clothes?”
“Boys?”
“Mom confiscated the last ones you brought.”
“I don’t recall bringing you two any boys,” Naomi said.
“No, not the boys.” Ivy giggled. “Mom confiscated the clothes. She said they were unseemly.”
Naomi looked pointedly at their skimpy outfits.
“Oh, these are apparently all right because they’re made of all-natural plant fabrics. No leather.” Ruby rolled her eyes.
“You’re trying to see how far you can push her.”
“Of course we are,” said Ivy. “That’s our job. Mom basically said so.”
“Basically said so? What did she
actually
say?” Naomi asked.
“That our job is to record the output of the Diamond Lily fields on the west side. We can do that in like five minutes a day,” Ruby said.
Ivy nodded. “Which leaves exactly 1,435 minutes every day to dedicate to pushing boundaries.”
“Hey, geniuses. You’re forgetting something important in your calculations,” Naomi told them.
The girls’ brows lifted in unison. “Oh?”
“You have to sleep sometime.”
“Naomi, please.” Ruby clucked her tongue. “Don’t confuse us with amateur boundary-pushers.”
“A true professional knows how to push boundaries while asleep.”
“It’s all about multitasking.”
“Precisely.”
“Just imagine what you two could accomplish if you put as much effort into your studies as you do into annoying your mother,” Cora said.
Ivy gave her a horrified look. “Why would we do that?”
“Besides,” added Ruby with a coy smile. “You put quite a lot of effort into annoying Mom yourself, Aunt Cora.”