Authors: Cindy Spencer Pape
“What—not going to just grab her arm and claim her?” Lana still had trouble believing in that barbaric practice.
“Not if I expect to live with her for a thousand years or more,” Uther said with a laugh. “It may be the law here, but I’m not that stupid.”
A few minutes later, smiling and well-paid, Anys and Pak waved them off from the door of the inn, while their daughters waved from an upstairs window.
Uther walked them to the edge of town. “Travel safe,” he said as they went through the gates. “Tell Galen I send my blessings.”
And then once more, it was just the two of them, together on the road.
* * *
The day was still young when they reached a modest, two-story thatched cottage on the edge of a small settlement. The runes carved into the door matched the marks Uther had sketched on the back of his letter to his brother. Lana knocked while Des waited with a defensive spell ready to cast. A local man with pink hair and wrinkled green skin opened the door, and Lana held out the letter with Uther’s seal.
“We need to travel Underhill,” she said quietly. “Uther has vouched for us.”
“Come in.” The man ushered them into a small, tidy parlor. “Wait here. I will fetch the master.”
They removed their hats and gloves. Des took a seat on the edge of a straight wooden chair and Lana paced before the small stone hearth. The ceiling was almost uncomfortably low, making her feel as if she was in a child’s playhouse.
The reason for that soon emerged from the hallway. “Greetings. You are a long way from home.”
“We certainly are.” Lana smiled at the gnome who entered the room. “And we understand you’re the gentleman who can help us get back.”
“My name is Benedick Gimble,” the gnome—a perfectly formed person of perhaps three and a half feet, with ears not quite as pointed as an elf’s and a rounder face—said. “Please, take off your cloaks and have a seat.” When he gestured toward a small, dainty sofa, Lana politely accepted, sitting cautiously on the edge so she wouldn’t hurt it. Des introduced the two of them and again mentioned Uther’s name in recommendation.
“Not many from your world find their way to others.” Gimble sat in a chair by the hearth and puffed on a pipe as he spoke. “I would hear the story of how you came to be on my doorstep.” The faintly British, stilted speech was familiar from some of the Fae they’d met through Aidan, so it didn’t strike Lana as overdone. For the most part, she kept her mouth shut while Des told their story.
“I have heard something of your previous exploits,” the gnome said. “And I can understand why you need to get home. Follow me.” He stood and led them through an archway into a hall. “Mind your heads.”
Lana and Des both had to duck as they followed him up the stairs. The ceiling up here was even lower and sloped on both sides, with gabled dormer windows letting in light. It was clearly used for storage, with chests and a handful of dressers and shelves. The servant followed at a discreet distance but didn’t say a word. Lana suspected he was guarding his boss’s back.
Gimble led them to the largest armoire, a big, boxy thing that smelled of cedar. “Through the wardrobe, then. My brother Roderick will meet us on the other side and point you toward Galen’s castle. Let’s go.” He stepped into the wardrobe and vanished.
“Thank you,” Des said, then more quietly, “A wardrobe. Could this be any more cliché?”
“Yeah. We could click our ruby slippers and find out it was all a dream. Now watch for moths in there.” Lana pushed him ahead of her and smiled. Finally, things seemed to be going according to plan.
Which meant she’d be watching the sky for falling pianos.
Keeping hold of Des’s hand as she followed him into the wardrobe, she held her breath and didn’t let it out until her feet touched down on a softly carpeted floor on the other side.
“Here we are then.” Gimble’s chipper voice was clear before the fog of the portal dissipated. “This is my brother Roderick. Roderick, these are the two lost Earthlings. Show them the way to Galen’s tower.”
Another gnome, who could have been a clone of the first Gimble, waited with a big smile on his face. “Just about two miles from here is all. You’re practically home. How about some tea first, then?”
“We really should just go,” Lana said. “There are demons causing trouble in Detroit—we need to get back there to help stop them.”
Roderick’s face fell, but he nodded. “Righty-ho, then.”
He waved goodbye to his brother, who shouted, “Good journey to you,” as he stepped back through the portal, this one just a shimmering alcove in the wall.
“This way,” Roderick said. He led them through a labyrinth of rooms, not too different from his brother’s cottage on Makra. They ducked—literally—out the front door after the gnome. He pointed west down the road. “Off you go. Good luck.”
“Have fun storming the castle,” Lana cackled after they’d gone a few hundred yards down the road. “Those two crack me up.”
“Huh?” Des gave her a look as if she were speaking Swahili.
“You’ve never seen
The Princess Bride?
” He couldn’t really be that pop-culture illiterate, could he?
Des shook his head.
Lana rolled her eyes. “Damn, Sutton, you really need to get a life, you know? Kick back. Have some fun. Laugh a little.”
He shrugged. “Let’s get home first.
Then
you can criticize my taste in movies.”
The weather here in Faerie was balmy, so they stashed their furs in the pack. The sunshine and warm breeze made for a much more pleasant hike than the past few days, and they picked up some speed. Soon they spotted a hamlet in the distance, and on the hill above it, a tower-style castle. They got a few strange looks as they passed through town, but nobody bothered them. In short order they stood outside the gates of the keep, holding up the letter from Uther.
Two guards let them past the gate, calling something up to another two who guarded the double doors of the castle itself. Again Des showed the letter with its seal, and again they were passed through, until eventually they found themselves in the great hall.
Lana looked around, soaking in all the late medieval regalia, from swords on the wall to brightly colored pennants and intricately woven tapestries. Modern touches had been added discretely, including a few John Wayne movie posters and an iPod set up in a corner by the hearth, currently playing country music.
“It takes all kinds,” Lana muttered. “We should introduce him to Ordwel.”
“Shh.” Des nudged her forward, where they waited on a bench facing the dais at one end of the room, between two long trestle tables. Maybe ten minutes later, a blond male elf came in, dressed incongruously in a western-cut suit and cowboy boots, his long hair pulled into a neat queue in back. He read the letter, then without conversing more than minimal politeness required, led them through the house to a portal. Most of the Fae noble houses had a portal to the palace, and from there, they could get to Aidan’s house in Grosse Pointe. Home.
They thanked Galen and stepped through into the familiar portal chamber in the Seelie palace, an enormous octagonal marble room filled with portals. To Lana’s surprise, they found a welcoming party. Tobias Bootle, brownie and one of Aidan’s right-hand men, waited on a small stool beside the guardsmen.
“Well, there you are!” He jumped up and came running to shake their hands. “A lot of people are waiting for you. Let’s go.”
* * *
Before they knew it, they were rushed back into a portal and out into Aidan’s decadently comfortable Grosse Pointe library.
“Oh, my goddess, I can’t believe you’re finally here.” Elise ran into the room and launched herself at her brother. “Greg and the others are on their way. We were so worried about you. And when Vin showed up, no one knew whether to believe him or shoot him.” As soon as she was through hugging Des, she turned on Lana and squeezed the breath out of her. For a tiny thing, the little
Wyndewin
packed quite a punch. When had she stopped being shy and diffident? Now that she and Aidan were together, her happiness seemed to warm up everything about her.
Aidan followed behind her and gave Lana a more restrained hug and clapped shoulders with Des. “Good to see you both. The shit has hit the fan around here while you were gone, so we’ve got our work cut out for us in the next few days.”
“Food first,” Des said. “And some real clothes for Lana, if there’s anything here you can make fit.”
Lana could have kissed him. She didn’t want to have to explain the tunic that had been her basic undergarment for the last few days.
Of course now that they were home, there was no touching allowed—at least not when anyone else was around. She cast a surreptitious glance at Des’s collar to make sure the mark where she’d bitten him last night didn’t show. Letting her cousins see that would be a major pain in the ass and she didn’t think he’d bothered to heal it.
“I’m sure we’ll find you something.” Elise led the way to the home’s grand central staircase and hauled Lana into the master bedroom, where she started pulling clothing out of drawers. “Bronwyn will have lunch on the table by the time the rest of the crew shows up, which should be soon since I’d guess they’re breaking every speed law between here and there.”
“Probably.” Lana had no doubt her cousins would break the sound barrier getting here if possible. “Do you know if my parents were aware I was missing?” She didn’t always check in with them on a daily basis, so there was a chance—a slim one—that Greg hadn’t let them know.
Elise winced. “Yeah, they know. It gets worse, though not for you. My parents flew in earlier than planned. Des will get that surprise as soon as he gets back downstairs.”
“Why, doesn’t he get along with them?” Lana watched while Elise magically enlarged a spandex sports bra and matching panties before handing them over.
“They get along okay, but you know how much Des hates to be fussed over, and our mother is a fusser.” She tossed a pair of stretchy workout leggings on the bed. They were probably full length on Elise, but would pass for capris on Lana, which was fine. One of Aidan’s gorgeous Irish fishing sweaters was a decent fit over the top, coming down to cover her hips and only needing a little roll at the cuffs. With a pair of fluffy socks, Lana felt almost normal again, even if the look was straight out of the eighties.
“That’s a gorgeous bracelet,” Elise commented while Lana brushed out her hair. “I don’t remember seeing it before.”
Lana swallowed hard. Shit, she’d forgotten all about the wedding bracelet. “It’s a long story,” she said, hoping desperately that Elise would just let it be.
“And none of my business,” Elise said with a kind smile. “Though the engraving is beautiful—and I did notice that it matched the one my brother has on.”
Oh crap, Des had forgotten to take his off. Of course everyone had noticed. Lana rubbed her bracelet with her thumb. It was beautiful. Once she’d had time to think about it, Lana had been a little shocked that Des hadn’t chosen the plainest, cheapest bracelets available. Well—not silver, that would have been bad on a werewolf—but brass or bronze had also been available, and some much thinner gold ones. This one was beautifully engraved with a pattern similar to a Greek key or Celtic knot-work. It was one of the prettiest things she’d ever owned and she was going to hate to give it up. Maybe she could get a jeweler to replace the locking clasp with a regular one. That way she could wear it as a reminder of Des and no one would know the difference.
“Hey, there, are you okay?” Elise shook Lana’s shoulder lightly. “You looked like you zoned out for a minute. If it’s about the bracelets, don’t worry, I won’t say anything.”
Lana shook her head. “Just the magical equivalent of jet lag, I suppose. Hell, I don’t even have any idea what time it is here. We were in so many different places—jeez, even you guys aren’t going to believe it. And I’ll never be able to tell anyone else. Other worlds—actual other dimensions. Besides Underhill, I mean. I’ve kind of gotten used to that one.”
“I can’t wait to hear more.” Elise got up and went to the door. “Come on, let’s go have lunch. It’s not quite noon here, by the way.”
“Yikes.” Lana padded after her on her stocking feet. “We’ve been up for hours already. To me it feels like three or four o’clock.”
“You can catch a nap after lunch.” Elise tucked her arm through Lana’s as they descended the stairs. “But there’s been trouble with the demons and the League while you were gone, and you and Des need to know about it. Besides, everyone will want to see in person that you’re all right.”
* * *
“So what’s with the bracelet?” Aidan asked as Des unloaded their gear, including the maps into Aidan’s private office.
Des looked down at his wrist and mentally kicked himself. He’d forgotten to remove the engraved gold cuff. “Long story, but in one of the worlds we went through, it was safer to pose as married.” Des removed his bracelet and tucked it in among his things. “That’s their equivalent of rings.”
“Probably smart. In any of the more primitive societies, unattached females can attract a lot of attention.” Aidan let it go at that. “Look, there’s some serious shit going down with your boss, and with the demons, but I don’t want to have to explain it twice. But that’s why we called the major war council for lunch. You’re in a damn messy situation, and you need to be prepared for it.”
Des nodded. “I was afraid of that.”
Before he could say anything more, there was a clamor in the hallway and Des’s father’s booming voice asked, “So where the bloody hell is my son?”
“Ah, hell. Somehow I was hoping you hadn’t called him.” Des scrubbed his face with his hands and yelled, “In here, Dad.” He set his half-empty Scotch on the table.
“Actually I think the League did.” Aidan’s expression sent a chill down Des’s spine. Yeah, there was trouble in River City, all right.
Huh
.
That
movie he knew. Somehow he didn’t think Lana would be impressed. “I told you things were fucked up.”
The door burst open. In a flurry of blue silk, Des’s mom ran in and hugged him around the waist. She was barely five feet tall, but like Elise, she was strong and full of energy, so Des steadied himself to keep from falling. He returned her hug and met his father’s eyes over her shoulder, happy as always to see his parents and feeling like a louse for making them worry. Still, given the situation, he wished to hell they were back in Vancouver.