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As it vanished into the undergrowth on the other side, Chatter waited for a moment, then motioned us on. We followed him deeper into the forest. For an hour, we followed the Fae, stopping now and then as he checked the slipstream for any Shadow Hunters.
Finally, up ahead I saw the entrance to a cave leading into the hillside. Chatter pointed to it and we headed toward the dark opening. As he stood back, waiting for me to enter, I sucked in a deep breath and paused.
Is it safe, Ulean?
No place in this woodland is safe, Cicely, but I don't sense danger at fingertip's length.
I entered, followed by the others. Chatter brought up the rear. He stopped, turned to the entrance, and in a low voice chanted a few words. A sparkling light filtered over the opening, cloaking it, and I realized he'd just made it harder to see from the outside.
The chamber was pitch-black, but after a moment, little Faerie lights began to light the inside and I found myself staring at a cozy living room. Several seats carved from oak were placed around a center pit, over which a rotisserie had been placed. A small stalagmite rose from the ground, a bowl chipped out on the top. Fresh water bubbled into the bowl, continuously cycling.
Chatter let out a long sigh. "We should be safe enough for a little while. I have to check on Grieve." He motioned to the benches. "Sit down, please." With a wave of the hand, he lit the stones beneath the rotisserie on fire and they blazed a merry warmth. "Warm yourselves while I'm gone."
"Let me come with you." I walked over to his side. "I have to see him. Please."
"If you're sure . . ." He cocked his head. "I don't know if it's a good idea."
"Chatter, we're here to take Peyton, Grieve, and you home with us. I'm going to see him, one way or another." I held his eyes and felt myself falling into his gaze. He blinked slowly and I found myself moving toward him, but then shook my head. "Don't try that on me. I'm part Cambyra Fae. I know what you're doing."
"Cicely, how can we go with you--"
"Shut up." I held up my hand. "You don't have a choice in this. Chatter, we're stronger than you think, and we'll do everything necessary to save our friends, ourselves, and this town. I love Grieve. He loves me. Take me to him."
"You may not like what you see." A sullen look washed across his face, but he wiped it away. "All right, follow me. But only you. Grieve would not tolerate more than your company right now."
"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Kaylin asked.
I shrugged. "I don't have a choice. Just keep alert out here."
I followed Chatter to the back, where another opening led to a narrow passage. It led so far back into the mountain that I couldn't see the end of it, but several chambers opened off of either side. Chatter led me to the first one and we slipped through the opening, ducking our heads in order to do so.
The chamber was fitted to be a bedroom. Soft lights lit up the inside, delicate and sparkling, and in the corner was a bed. The bed was carved from rock, piled high with moss and blankets. A dresser to the left looked like it had been plucked out of the Victorian era, and to the right, a divan and table, both from the Art Deco years. But my focus was on the bed, for resting in the center of the blankets, as still as death, was Grieve.
As soon as I entered, he began tossing and turning. My wolf gave a whimper--now that we were within touching distance it would be hard to keep the connection from re-forming. I rushed over to his side but stopped when he sat up, a ferocious look on his face.
"Stay back, I'm having trouble controlling myself. Even around Chatter." His eyes shimmered, the stars in them sparkling, calling me forward even as he warned me back.
"Grieve, what's going on? What's happening?"
I didn't dare tell him that I had caused this--in his condition, who knew what he'd do? Guilt warred with triumph--the thought that we might be able to get a leg up on the Indigo Court through this plague danced in my heart like Tinkerbell dancing on Hook's grave.
"I don't know, but it's hit a number of the Indigo Court." He struggled to sit up. "Now's the time for you to rescue Peyton, if you're ever going to. She'll be easier to get out of here."
I bit my lip. "You can't help me, can you? You're too sick."
He shook his head, drawing his hand over his eyes.
"I'm managing to hold on. But the true Vampiric Fae--the ones born to the Court--are having trouble maintaining. Some are slipping into madness, others into their brutal natures fully. I'm afraid that whatever this is, will make them more dangerous than ever once they adapt to it."
His words hit like ice water. "Adapt? Isn't it . . . nobody's dying from it, then?"
"Not that I know of, but it's created a condition where the daylight is like poison. Unlike the true vampires, we aren't dying from it. Just incapacitates and seems to bring out the inner beast."
I sat down on the chair near his bed, closing my eyes. What had Lainule and Lannan done? Even if they couldn't effectively fight during the day, they were still terribly dangerous and they weren't going to go poof into a pile of ashes like the Crimson Court when the sunlight kissed them. The plan had backfired, in a terrible way. Now they'd be less able to reason.
"What's wrong? Cicely?" Grieve pushed himself up on his elbows. "Are you okay?"
I nodded bleakly. "Yeah. I'm okay. But we have to get Peyton and Chatter out of here." With a horrible finality, I realized that taking Grieve home with us wasn't an option. Even my love couldn't blind me to the fact that he was far more dangerous, closer to the edge than before. He could survive here, among his crazed brethren, but Chatter--Chatter couldn't.
