“What does this mean?” Sam asked as Aideen and I left the river. “Open war? With who?”
“With Ezekiel, for one,” Hugh said. “Do you think she meant humanity as a whole, Cara?”
Cara frowned. “I hope not. Glenn may know something about the video. Something we don’t know.”
“If Ezekiel has damaged Falias, Glenn will destroy the world to cut the Fae’s vengeance from the bastard’s soul,” Foster said. “And I don’t know if we should stop him.”
We all fell silent. I was trying to wrap my head around the potential disaster that was waiting for us in the back of a pitch-black alley. A disaster that was ready to smile at us as it stuck the knife in and twisted.
I remembered the number then. I pulled out the napkin from my coat and started dialing.
“Hello?”
“Euphemia?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Falias is under attack. Nixie and the others need you, but the Ways are closed.”
“Gods, we’ll head for the oceans. They’ll be the first to open when the King strikes.” The line went dead.
“Damian?” Sam said. “What now?”
“We fight.”
Mike took a deep breath. The air whistled like wind through a cavern as he exhaled. “I will forge the
splendorem mortem.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
W
e slept for a while, if you can call nightmares, nervous speculation, and whispers sleep. Some of us stayed at the shop. Sam, Frank, Dell, and I went to my apartment while my dad took Mom and his cannon to a hotel. The next morning, well, early afternoon, we regrouped at the shop and then went our separate ways.
“Is splitting up the best idea?” Frank asked from the back seat.
“Yes,” Foster said from his perch on the rearview mirror. He adjusted his sword as we bounced over a pothole. “There’s too much to do, too fast. Aideen can take the Ways to travel most of the distance back to Rivercene. They may be blocked completely overseas, but some of them are still open here.”
“I wish the wolves were coming with us,” Sam said from the back beside Frank.
I nodded in agreement as I steered with my left hand and ran the fingers of my right over the series of scars on my left arm. They were a constant reminder of Hugh binding me to the pack. If anything, it was a reassuring presence.
“So where does that leave us?” Frank asked.
“We make for Elephant Rocks,” Zola said as she balanced her giant quickie mart mug of coffee in the slightly too small hanging cup holder beside me. “Aeros will not need to hold back. Our secrecy is coming to an end.”
“You can’t know that,” the Old Man said from the back seat. He looked cramped, but not uncomfortable wedged into the small seat beside Sam.
Dell snorted from the passenger seat. “Old Man, all you ever talk about is Adannaya’s gut feelings and how
uncanny
they are. You going to write her off now?”
Zola chuckled and elbowed Dell.
The Old Man didn’t say a word. I like to think he was blushing.
“Can we stop for barbeque?” Foster said.
Three of us said “Yes!” as my mouth started watering.
“We don’t have time to stop for a meal,” I said. “We’ll get some carryout. Will you call it in, Sam?”
“Consider it done. I can sauce Frank up and have a tasty snack later.”
“Good god,” Dell said. “That’s just … that’s more than I needed to hear.”
“It was funnier when Frank was still kind of round,” I whispered.
Zola and Foster burst into laughter.
“What?” Frank asked. “What was that?”
I caught a glimpse of Sam grabbing Frank’s face and trying to suck out his soul in the rearview mirror.
“Damian’s just jealous,” Sam said as she released Frank.
“I’m pretty sure Damian’s just worried,” Frank said. “You know, Nixie and whatever’s happening with the Fae.”
“You aren’t wrong about that,” I said.
“We’re all worried about Nixie,” Foster said. “And the rest of our friends. Hells, Ward comes back from exile and gets trapped in Falias while it’s under attack?”
“Who is Ward?” Frank asked.
“Ward gave you the runes for your ghost circle,” the Old Man said. “Isn’t that right, Adannaya?”
Zola’s laugh was deep in her chest. I didn’t have to see her face to know her lips were pressed together in a tight grin.
“Who is he?” I asked. “I mean I know he’s known for his use of wards, but who is he?”
“That’s an easy question with a convoluted answer,” Foster said.
“He’s a badass,” Dell said. “Hard. Core. Badass.”
“He will not be able to defeat Ezekiel alone,” the Old Man said. “He takes his vow very seriously.”
“What vow?” Zola said.
“His vow not to kill,” Dell said. “What kind of nonsense is that, right?”
“It’s good nonsense,” Sam said. “I wish we never had to kill.”
Zola turned in her seat and then stared out the windshield for a moment. “Ward helped Gwynn ap Nudd rise to power. Ah hear he destroyed the Old Guard.”
“So why did he take a vow like that?” Sam said.
“The Old Guard was his brother,” Foster said.
“Christ,” I said.
“If Ward is in Falias, Neil will be with him.”
“Oh Foster,” Sam said. “I’m so sorry.”
The fairy raised his head and spared her a weak smile. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. They could still be okay.”
I wanted to ask who Neil was, but it didn’t seem the time with the sad look on Foster’s face.
The car fell silent but for the constant hum of the highway as the miles rolled by. Sam ordered the carryout and it wasn’t much longer before I pulled in to Warehouse BBQ to grab the goods.
“Drop it on the seats and I’ll fashion a new seat cover out of your ass,” I said as I handed the bags to Zola and Frank.
“He’s serious,” Frank said. “Crazy bastard.”
“I can get behind that,” Dell said. “I love this car. I usually like to see them unmodified, but the extra space is great. It’s a hell of an antique.”
“Not the only antique in here,” Frank said under his breath.
We all stopped and stared at him for a moment before everyone burst into laughter.
“Bloody hell, Frank. I didn’t think you had it in you,” I said as I started the car.
“He’s just quiet around all you freaks,” Sam said.
“At least
I
don’t try to eat him all the time,” I said.
“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.”
“Oh, Ah do not like where this conversation is going,” Zola said.
“Just stop talking and hand me the food,” the Old Man said.
We managed to clean out most of the sandwiches before we reached the park. I took a sip of water and dropped the cup into a hanging holder on the door. Foster was laid out across the dashboard with a string of pulled pork the length of his arm hanging out of his mouth. Dell was snoring from the passenger seat, and I was utterly impressed at his ability to sleep at a time like this.
“Hey, Foster?” I said.
“Mmmph?” he mumbled around a mouthful of food.
“What did you mean when you said Ashley ‘was’ a green witch?” I asked.
“I meant she is not a green witch,” Foster said with a small smile barely lifting his lips. “She is a Power now. No green witch can become a Power. She ascended.”
“Power,” Zola said. “Ah haven’t heard a witch called a Power in a century. That’s a dated way of thinking. Ashley will always be a green witch.”
“Maybe,” Foster said. “But she’ll be a green witch with some serious weight to throw around. The Blade of the Stone was lost for a reason.”
The Old Man grunted from the backseat. “The Blade of the Stone was lost because it was made to fight the Eldritch Gods. Your witch does not wield the power to battle the Eldritch. She may be able to stand her ground against an Old God, but the Eldritch Gods are beyond us all.”
“I didn’t think anyone outside the Society of Flame knew about the Eldritch Gods,” Foster said. “At least not anyone that wasn’t Fae.”
“I was in Alexandria, Foster,” the Old Man said. “The knowledge in that place, the knowledge we lost …” He sighed. “It took centuries to regain it. Some of it we may never have again.”
“Okay,” I said. “Alexandria’s amazing and all, and the fact you were actually there blows my mind, but I thought you just said Ashley could stand up to an Old God with that art.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Bloody hell. No wonder Edgar flipped out,” I said.
“Who gives a damn what Edgar thinks,” Frank said. “Ashley is a good person. I’ll go out on a limb and say she is one of the
best
people any of us have ever known.”
“That’s not much of a limb,” I said. “That’s like a going out on a wide flat surface with a safety harness.”
“Yeah, but Frank’s right,” Foster said. “I don’t care if she turns into some kind of demon witch, she’ll still be a good person.”
“You know, if anything ever happens to her, the River Pack will eat whoever causes it,” I said. “Hugh told me they still feel it was their fault Ashley got hurt last year.”
“Hurt is a bloody understatement,” Foster said.
“I think Alan’s got it the worst,” Sam said. “He feels like he let his Alpha down.”
“Some days that man is one big idiotic bag of muscle,” Zola said.
“Umm,” Foster said. “You know he has like
five
graduate degrees, right? The guy’s a genius.”
“Why are geniuses always idiots?” Zola asked, barely hiding the chuckle in her voice.
“They’re not idiots,” Dell said as he stretched and knuckled the sleep from his eyes. “It’s more like they don’t have all the answers when they think they do.”
“I think my idiot apprentice has a point to make,” the Old Man said.
I turned on the signal and started to turn into the park.
“Any man who thinks he knows all there is to know in the universe is mad,” the Old Man said. “No one knows everything. Half the world thinks Foster’s people are myths, vampires are nothing more than Halloween costumes, and people can’t live to see their second millennium.”
“They’re usually right about that last one,” Foster said.
“Oh god, I’m going to explode,” Sam said.
“Off topic much?” I asked.
“Too much food.”
“Little heavier than your usual bloody morsels?”
“Barbeque is worth any price,” Sam said. “Even exploding in your damn car.”
“That’s fine, just remember I will be making upholstery out of whatever parts of you don’t explode.”
She laughed, and then groaned. “I need to walk around.”
“You’re in luck. We is here,” I said as I pulled into the u-shaped parking lot. The sun was starting to fall below the horizon, turning the forest into an unending mountain of hands trying to claw their way out of a blackened orange hell. Out of the Burning Lands.
I took a deep breath as I put the car in park. I couldn’t even think of calling my ’32 Ford by its old nickname anymore. Vicky was Vicky, a ghost, a little girl, and my friend. Everyone piled out, grabbing weapons and packs from the trunk.
“What’s that smell?” Frank asked.
“Clean air,” Zola said as they stepped away from the car. “You sure won’t find it around the city.”
I hung back as they headed toward the pavilions at the front of the park.
“What is it, Demon?” Sam asked.
I glanced up as I let the trunk fall closed. Most of the group was halfway across the parking lot, following Zola.
“I was thinking about Vicky,” I said.
“It’s not your fault.”
I smiled. “I know, but look at her now Sam. She’s running with the Ghost Pack? She calls herself a Harrower?”
“She doesn’t just call herself a Harrower,” Sam said quietly. “She’s been to the Burning Lands with Carter and Maggie. She’s helped rescue most of the Ghost Pack.”
I ran my hand through my hair and blew out a breath. “I know, but to do that Sam … It’s all there in the Black Book. To do that she has to be … fuck, I can’t even say it.”
“She has to be a demon,” Sam whispered and she wrapped her arms around me. “It’s not your fault.”
I sagged into my sister’s arms.
“Come on D, we get through this, then we see what we can do to help Vicky. We already got Mom back. Be thankful for that.”
I stood up straighter and took a deep breath as I squeezed Sam’s arm. “You’re right, of course.”
“Of course,” she said with a smirk.
“Thanks,” I said as I adjusted the pepperbox under my arm. “Now you just have to talk to Mom about your tendency to bite people.”
Sam smiled at me, but she didn’t say anything more. She knew damn well what I meant, and I knew she’d feel better for having that talk with Mom.
Sam and I started trailing the group. I waited for Foster to clear one of the little green huts before I turned to Sam again.
“Who is Neil?” I asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard Foster talk about him.”
“Neil is Foster’s cousin. Don’t you remember? He was friends with Colin and Foster when they all lived in Falias.”
I glanced at Foster, fluttering over the Old Man’s shoulder. He’d already lost Colin. Hell, I’d barely known Colin, and he’d still managed to save my life. I’d never met Neil, but I didn’t want Foster to lose anyone else.
“Closest thing to a brother he’s ever had,” Sam said, “next to you at least.”
I couldn’t keep a smile off my face. “I’d be proud to call him my brother.”
“Me too.”
“We should adopt him,” I said with a completely straight face.
She blinked. “Umm, I don’t think you can adopt siblings.”
I cracked a grin. Sam scowled and punched me in the arm.
“Ow, dammit! No fair punching like a vampire.”
“I spent twenty some odd years listening to you tell me I punch like a girl. You should be glad I’m not breaking your arm and saying you scream like a girl.”
“A manly girl.”
“Gah,” Sam said before she burst into laughter. “Let’s catch up to the group.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
H
ow long had it been? A year now since I came here with Zola to meet Aeros the first time? Longer, I thought. It seemed like an impossible length of time, but felt so short. A lot had happened.
There was nothing quiet about our entrance, crunching on loose gravel and bits of torn up pavement as we made our way to the asphalt path leading to Aeros. Commoners thought the path led to an array of massive boulders near the old quarry, which it did, but Aeros made his home among those rocks.