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Sharah pressed her stethoscope to Zach's chest, where a pool of blood slicked his flesh. She paused, then shook her head, a look of relief spreading across her face. "He's alive and should come around in a few minutes. I doubt if any spider venom can stand up to Glassophan."
"What is it?" I asked, kneeling beside her to look at Zach's terribly pale face. The foam on his mouth held a faint trace of pink. "Is he bleeding internally?"
She nodded. "The spider venom was extremely potent. If we'd been any later, it would have destroyed something vital and killed him. The Glassophan is something our technomagi have managed to come up with that actually neutralizes neurotoxins."
"Technomagi?" I gave her a questioning look.
She sat back, wiping a bead of sweat off of her forehead. "Queen Asteria appointed several of our mages to learn the ways of Earth's technicians. They've managed to blend our magic with technology, in order to help the few elves that choose to cross through the portals. We call them the technomagi."
They must have created the crystal we used to find the bug in Camille's car. It was a handy tidbit of information to tuck away for future use. I motioned to Zach. "What do you need for him? Blankets, water? Name it, and it's yours."
She felt his forehead as he murmured softly. "Make sure he's warm and stays hydrated. Wake him up every hour to make him drink a glass of water. He needs sleep more than anything. Sleep and rest. He's in no condition to go anywhere," she added, a warning note in her voice. "Keep him from any strenuous activity for the next few days while his internal organs heal from the damage the venom inflicted on them. We'll come back out here tomorrow for a full exam, to see how he's faring."
I groaned. We needed his help with our raid on the spider nest, but one look at Sharah's expression told me that wasn't going to happen.
"Not a problem," I said. Then, because I couldn't help myself, I asked, "Are you staying Earthside to help us?"
She put away her stethoscope and helped Mallen repack their kit. "We talked things over with Chase and decided that yes, we'll stay as part of your new organization. We don't take our orders from Lethesanar. With the situation at hand, if Queen Asteria approves, we'll stay. We sent in our request to her this morning."
"Now that Zach's out of danger, what are you going to do with the spy?" Chase asked me. "Let me see him."
I led him into the kitchen and opened the closet. The man was still unconscious. Iris had dealt him quite the blow with her skillet.
Chase looked him over. "Looks a lot like Geph von Spynne, doesn't it? Maybe a relative."
"Yeah, I wondered about that. What the hell are we going to do with him? We need to question him, but after that…"
Without looking at me, Chase said, "Why not hand him over to Menolly? I don't think she'd mind being in charge of his destiny."
That jolted me, for sure. I never thought about Menolly's kills without thinking that at some level she must regret them, pervs though they were. But that was my projection. I had no idea how she really felt.
"Did I upset you?" Chase asked. "You look like I just slapped you."
"No, no…" I said. "I just… I suppose that would work. When Camille gets home, we'll ask her what she thinks." But in my gut, I knew she'd agree, just like I knew Menolly wouldn't have a problem with it.
I wasn't sure how either response would make me feel. Biting my lip, I reminded myself that we had no room for sympathy when it came to Shadow Wing and his minions, be they demonic, Supe, or human. I straightened my shoulders and closed the door on Horace. "We'll question him as soon as Camille gets back. By then, maybe he'll be awake."
There was a knock at the front door, and I opened it to find Trenyth standing there. He was followed by an elf who looked to be about sixty, which meant he was probably several thousand years old. Though he looked as unassuming as a computer geek, the moment I glanced into his eyes, I wanted to crawl under a rock and hide. Power. Sheer power. And brilliance.
Trenyth opened the scroll he was carrying. "Trillian delivered your message about the possibility of retuning your Whispering Mirror to contact the Elfin Court. Her Majesty thinks the idea is worth pursuing. Therefore, to that end, she has sent one of our technomagi, Ronyl, to adjust your mirror." He held out the paper. "You need to sign this so I can return it to Her Majesty."
I accepted the scroll and looked around for a pen. The first one I found was a sparkling pink gel pen, and I grinned, wondering how fitting it was to answer the Elfin Queen with pink glitter. I scribbled my name on the bottom and handed the scroll back to Trenyth.
"Should I show you the mirror now?" I asked.
Ronyl gave me a brief nod, and I glanced at Chase. "Keep an eye on Zach, and keep a watch out for those damned spiders. We don't want any more poisonings."
"Poisonings?" The technomage's voice wasn't nearly as deep as I expected it to be but, rather, a pleasant tenor. "You've been having spider problems?"
"Spiderlings. Unnatural Weres and their pets, and they happen to be hobo spiders, which are poisonous. It probably wouldn't hurt my sisters and me too much, but then again we are half-human, so we can't be sure. One thing is for sure, we have no intentions of playing guinea pig to find out." I nodded at Zach. "Unfortunately, our enemies have a form of souped-up spiders' venom. And since they can transform into regular-sized spiders, it's difficult to spot them until it's too late. They also have a resistance to moon magic. My friend—he's an Earthside werepuma—was just bitten by one. We almost lost him."
Ronyl considered the matter for a moment. "I can help you out with your pest control problem. Before I go, I'll cast a repelling spell on your house, and that should drive out any spiders taking residence, magically enhanced or not. It will last for a good three or four months. Would you like me to do that?"
I almost did a happy dance. "May the Lady Bast bless you," I said. "Do you need anything for it?"
He smiled faintly. "Trust me, girl, I need very little to cast minor spells except the power within my own heart. Now, if you'll take me to the mirror, I'll get to work."
I led him up to Camille's suite and removed the cloth from the Whispering Mirror. He cautiously examined it, running his fingers over the frame and then on the glass itself. "Nice workmanship. Whoever made this knew what he was doing. I can fix it so you can directly talk to Trenyth's office. It won't be activated by a specific voice but by a command word. Will that be acceptable?"
