Sebastian stroked his chin, tilting his head. “You’ve seen the darkness then?”
Elizabeta’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “We are creatures of the night, and this is our city. We see everything.” She crossed her arms and lifted her nose, sniffing haughtily. “Plus, Charla called me,” she added. “She sensed a magical void and asked if I could check on the nymphs.”
Well that explained how she had found us, and I was glad it wasn’t her having me followed. Not that it would be an easy task now that we could jump around as we pleased.
“We only formed small pathways to check for the darkness before healing the larger ones,” I explained.
Her nostrils flared as those dark eyes landed on me, and I realized I had misspoke. “You wereonlysupposed to form the small pathways. And we were going to let you do it in exchange for you preventing the healing of the old ones. Your mother destroyed them for a reason.”
I glanced at Gabriel standing on my other side since Sebastian wasn’t being particularly helpful. Telling Elizabeta the truth seemed like a bad idea. She knew my mother, but she would take the safety of the city and her own people over my mother’s life any day.
Even the ancient vampires jumped at the sudden burst of darkness between us. Penelope formed in its wake, crossing herarms and giving her back to the vampires. “There you are. Of course you would hide from me behind a boundary.” She jerked her chin toward the gates of the park. “It’s time to complete our contract.”
“What contract?” Elizabeta snapped.
Penelope slowly turned to face the vampire. “That is none of your concern.”
Elizabeta’s minions shifted as she snarled, “If your contract is for another pathway, then it is indeed my concern. Aren’t you already powerful enough to travel to the hells?”
“I don’t want to go to the hells,” Penelope scoffed. “I live in the hells. I want to go to the fairy realm.”
Boy, this night was just full of surprises. Here we thought we were going to be putting Varian off once again while we helped Penelope. Leave it to her to not let anyone know from the beginning that their goals were aligned.
Recovering more quickly from the surprise, Sebastian snorted. “What could you possibly want there?”
“That is none ofanyone’sconcern,” Penelope huffed, turning back to her brother. “Wehad a deal.”
“There will be no more pathways,” Elizabeta spoke to Penelope’s back, and Penelope stiffened.
I took a subtle step back, bumping into Crispin. If a fight broke out between Elizabeta and Penelope, I had no idea who would win. Might not be the worst thing though. At least then we would only have to deal withoneof them.
I winced as a sly smile crossed Penelope’s face, her eyes on me before she turned back Elizabeta. “Therewillbe more pathways, else that ancient celestial will slay Eva’s mother to regrow them himself. Either way, I’m going to the fairy realm. My only interest is getting there as quickly as I can.”
Elizabeta looked past Penelope to me. “Is this true? He has your mother?”
My shoulders slumped, jostling Ringo. There really was no point in denying it now. “He does. She’s telling the truth. I didn’t take the Realm Breaker from him. He gave it to me to regrow the pathways. I figured if I did it myself, I could at least try to find where the darkness is and keep it away from earth.”
“And she has,” Crispin added, lifting a finger. But then the finger slowly lowered as he muttered, “Mostly.”
Elizabeta pursed her lips, considering. After a long, tense moment that really made me sweat, she nodded. “Very well. Do what you can, but know this. If the darkness comes fully to this realm, you will not be alive to see what happens.”
Sensing Gabriel stiffening beside me, I placed a soothing hand on his arm. “So you’re not going to interfere?”
“I am practical above all else. If he has your mother, I personally have no chance of rescuing her. And if her death will regrow the pathways, your plan is indeed our only chance.” She stepped around Penelope, ignoring her glare. “But my pragmatism does not extend beyond my thirst for vengeance. Do not fail, Eva Nix.” She glanced toward some shrubs lining the border of the park, then turned away, her minions following her as quiet as actual shadows.
As soon as they were out of sight down the block, what she had been glancing at popped out of the bushes. Isadora hurried over with her glowing glittery device, pointing it at Penelope. “I thought they would never leave.” The glitter in her device glowed a red so deep it was almost black. Her eyes lifted from the device to the devil. “Have you ever considered donating some of your magic in the name of science?”
Penelope sucked her teeth. “In exchange for what, exactly?”
Isadora grinned. “Lotions, potions, explosives, you name it. I’ve got it.”
Penelope shocked the hell out of me by saying, “Very well.” Her eyes slid toward Sebastian, who had a hand over his face and was shaking his head.
“We’ll do the fairy pathway in the morning,” he sighed. “We’ll ask Varian to grant you entry into the Crystal Vale.”
Her smile was of the proverbial crocodile variety. With her perfect white teeth glinting in the streetlights, Penelope snapped her fingers at Isadora, then pointed for her to start walking.
Isadora hopped to attention. “Oh, we’re doing this now. Cool, cool.” She looked at me, folding her three middle fingers and extending the other two to pantomime holding a phone to her ear, mouthingcall me. Then she and Penelope walked off together.
