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"You see, your body knows where you need to be," he whispered.
With a shiver, I finally let go, trying to catch my breath from between my thighs, where it had spiraled. "We have a problem. Several problems." I motioned him in.
"One of them, I think I can ease your mind on," he said, following me into the kitchen. "Feddrah-Dahns is out on my land, along with the pixie. The unicorn has been hurt, but he'll survive."
Everybody started talking at once, but Smoky gazed around the room, then held up one hand. "Enough."
I waited until everyone quieted down. "Who wounded him? Demons?"
Smoky nodded. "That's what he said. The Raksasa managed to get in a few swipes before Feddrah-Dahns and the pixie got away. Apparently unicorns can outdistance demons. He shook the Raksasa just as I was headed down the trail to speak with him. I hastened him and his pixie away immediately but didn't have enough time to stop and tell Iris."
"And you say Mistletoe is okay?"
Smoky blinked. "What? I don't have any mistletoe out there that I know of. Moss, yes. Lichen, definitely. Mistletoe? None."
Delilah let out a long sigh. "Not mistletoe the plant. Mistletoe, the pixie."
"Ah, I see." Smoky lifted one eyebrow with a quirky grin. "Yes, Mistletoe is fine. Feddrah-Dahns got raked on the side. He has some nasty wounds, but I had a batch of powders and ointments that Titania left with me some time back, and I used those to patch him up. Seems to have stanched the bleeding and slowed down the pain. There's something odd, by the way."
Not another out-of-place puzzle piece. "What?"
Smoky stared at the food on the table. "The dream chaser demon that walks with him?"
"Dream chaser?" I frowned. "I've never heard of them."
"Vanzir, his name is. Dream chasers feed on human energy during sleep—from inside a person's dreams. Anyway, Vanzir apparently stumbled between the Raksasa and Feddrah-Dahns right during a critical swing. Missed getting hurt but foiled the demon's last attempt to kill the unicorn. Apparently his stumble gave Feddrah-Dahns enough time to get away."
I motioned for Delilah to help Iris clear the table. "Somebody just burned down the rug shop that belongs to the demons. You can vouch for Feddrah-Dahns being on your land all afternoon, right?"
Smoky snagged a piece of chicken before Delilah whisked it away. "Yes. He's been out there for several hours. We need to talk about that portal downtown. I hopped through to take a look where it went."
"That's what Delilah said. You're positive it leads into Guilyoton?"
He nodded, biting into the drumstick. I watched as he fastidiously cleaned the bone in under a minute flat, but without ever seeming to chew or drop anything on his bleachy clean trench. The trench covered his usual gray turtleneck and butt-hugging white jeans, doing wonders to beckon my thoughts away from where they should be lingering. Smoky caught my eye and gave me a sly wink and pursed his lips in an air kiss. I weakly slid into my chair.
After he finished eating, he tossed the bone into the garbage and turned a chair around, straddling it and leaning his elbows on the back. "I'm all too aware of the goblin lands over in Otherworld. The creatures are still numerous in the Northlands, and in some of the higher mountain peaks here Earthside. They breed like vermin and taste just about as bad. I had a suspicion that the portal might lead there, and when I jumped through, saw that I was right. The bogs and swamps reek of goblin, and the land feels tainted by their magic."
"That would be Guilyoton, all right." Forcing my attention to return to the matter at hand, I retrieved a notepad and pen.
"Okay, what do we have going here? We have the Crypto problem, which is getting worse. I'm sure the goblin portal isn't the only one working overtime."
"The demons are our biggest concern at this point. Especially since they're well aware of who we are and where we live. And they think we have the spirit seal or know where it is." Delilah pulled out her laptop and fired it up.
"We do know. Now. Another problem—Morgaine and Titania. They're searching for the same cave Benjamin found. I know it in my gut. Which means if they find it before we do, they'll have the spirit seal." I jotted down another note. "Also, I have the unicorn horn, and both Morgaine and the demons would love to have that little goody."
"Don't forget, the demon's shop burned down. Who do you think they're going to blame?" Menolly leaned in. "Even if we have proof we weren't there, they're going to find a way to blame us."
"And Benjamin. We can't forget him," Morio added. "If we discovered that he knows about the spirit seal, my guess is the demons will figure it out before long. What if they tailed us out there? They'll tear him apart to get the information about the cave."
"Shit," Menolly said. "The demons are the crux. If we can get the spirit seal first and deliver it to Queen Asteria, then they won't have a reason to bother Benjamin. But they'll still be after us, so we have to take them out. The djinn, too. If she's mixed up with them, you know whose side she's on."
"I wish Trillian and Roz were here," I said. "With Zach and his men guarding the portal, we're down on manpower. And Karvanak is going to be a difficult kill. Hell—I forgot! Smoky gave us information on the Raksasa, and with all that's gone on today, we haven't had a chance to look it over." Rushing into the living room, I found my bag where I'd dropped it. Yanking the papers out of the side pocket, I hurried back into the kitchen and sat down.
Smoky reached for them. I handed them over. "Since you're here, maybe you can fill us in on what we need to know."
He pursed his lips. "They're masters of illusion. After tonight, you're going to have to make sure that when you've been separated for any amount of time that you aren't talking to an impersonator. In other words, Dispel Illusion spells would come in very handy at this time. Who besides Morio has them? I can set up a barrier that will force illusions to be shed, but I can't cast a spell on a person, per se."
Iris cleared her throat. "I can dispel illusion, especially when a nonhuman creature tries to pass as human."
