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"You okay?"
For the second time in the past hour, I checked. No broken bones. No bloody knees or nosebleeds. "I'm wet and cold and muddy, but I'm okay." I glanced around, looking for the pixie brigade. "Where the hell are they?"
"I think you scared them. A few were blasted over the fence; the rest vanished. Wherever they went, you can bet we're not going to find them," he said. "Pixies may be annoying, but they aren't stupid."
"Yeah." I felt like grumbling but decided to quell the thought right there. I let out a long breath and looked at Morio. He looked good, though a bit tired. "Give me a kiss, babe."
Morio slid his left arm around my waist and casually drew me in, his lips curving around mine like they might be tasting a fine wine or an aged cheese: gently, with finesse, taking their time to explore every nook and cranny of the new flavor.
I leaned in for more. He was my second. My lover, my partner in magic, and also my friend. We stood silent, just lightly touching, as he sniffed my neck and trailed a chain of kisses down my bare chest, stopping where the bustier crested just above my nipples as it thrust my boobs up in a lovely decadence of cleavage.
"Trillian was called back to Otherworld," I whispered as his tongue explored my neck. "I'm afraid for him."
Rather than blow me off with a "He'll be all right," Morio pulled back. "He can't go. He's got a bounty on his head."
"I know" I said, staring past him at the hedgerow. "That's why I'm so frightened for him. There's something brewing. I can feel it, and Trillian's caught up in whatever's going on. Sometimes I wonder if he's been telling me the whole truth. If he isn't playing a bigger part than he lets on."
As I gazed at the unkempt bushes, I couldn't help but think of Father, and where he might be now. He'd deserted the Guard when Lethesanar turned them against her own people. My father was no coward nor a traitor. He was loyal to Court and Crown. But when the Crown abused her power, he'd stepped away and pledged his heart where it belonged—to the throne, not the madwoman who sat on it.
Morio let out a long sigh. "I don't know if this means anything, but a man came to my apartment, looking for Trillian not long ago. I don't know why. Maybe he thought we room together or something. He wasn't human, but some kind of Fae. He insisted that he had to talk to Trillian. I wasn't sure who he was, and the man refused to give me his name, so I played dumb. I told Trillian about him the next morning, and he looked as though he'd seen a ghost when I described the man. He wouldn't speak of it after that."
I thought for a moment. "Earthside Fae or OW?"
"I don't know, but he wasn't dressed quite right. My guess is Otherworld."
"Then it could be a spy, come to track him down and kill him. Or someone from Tanaquar's army to give him an update. Whatever the case, Trenyth called in the middle of the night to order him back to OW." I shivered as the cloud cover closed in again, cutting off the sun. "Come, let's take Mistletoe home. So much has happened in the past twenty-four hours."
"And so much is about to happen, I fear." Morio wrapped his arm around my shoulder and walked me to the gate. "The Degath Squads may have been our focal point the past few months, but there are demons aplenty living in the area who follow Shadow Wing." Degath Squads—or Hell Scouts—were Shadow Wing's vanguard.
"That's true," I said.
Morio sighed. "I'm very much afraid that they're planning something. Menolly should watch the bar carefully. The portal is well-known, and the demons are becoming bolder."
"And there are new portals, ones we know nothing about yet, and they are open targets for the enemy." As we returned to the front yard, I noticed that Tish was sitting on the front steps, talking to Delilah. Mistletoe was sitting on Kitten's other side, pointedly ignoring the elf.
"Don't talk about this in front of Tish or Mistletoe. Not till we get home," I said. "Feddrah-Dahns knows about the Demonkin; that's why he sent me the… gift that he did. But we have to watch what we say when we're out in public."
I turned to Tish and, with a beaming smile that I didn't feel, said, "We did what we could. I think we ran them off, but you never can tell when it comes to pixies. We'll take Mistletoe with us."
Delilah stood and dusted the butt of her jeans. "We're good to go, then?"
I nodded. "As ready as we'll ever be. Mistletoe, would you prefer to ride with Delilah or with me?"
The pixie glared at Delilah, then sniffed as he gave me the once-over. "I'll go with you, my Lady. I don't fancy riding with a cat."
Delilah gave a little hiss, laughing when he jumped. "Get a grip. I've never once changed while I was driving. Promise and cross my heart."
Mistletoe let out a choked gulp. "That hiss doesn't lend confidence, you know. Very well, I'll ride with you, but you have to behave. I mean it—one misstep, and His Royal Majesty will run you through. I'm a valuable member of the court!"
Delilah put on a straight face as she scooped him up and deposited him on the passenger seat of her Jeep. "I'm sure you are, M'Lord Mistletoe. I'm sure you are."
Morio followed me in his Subaru. As we headed home, I couldn't help but wonder how things were going to shake out.
Cryptos were everywhere now, far fewer than the human population of course, but they seemed brighter, shinier, louder. They stood out. It looked like the Freedom's Angels had already decided to start their own private war. Now, all we needed was for Shadow Wing's armies to begin their invasion.
Chapter Eleven
By the time we got home, Feddrah-Dahns was munching his way through a patch of tall grass that Iris had set him on. It would save her the trouble of weeding and give him a nice spot of lunch. He told us she'd left for the shop, along with Maggie, so it was just Delilah, Morio, Mistletoe, and me. And the unicorn. Feddrah-Dahns's eyes lit up when he caught sight of the pixie, and Mistletoe flittered over to land on the horned beast's shoulder.>Trish raced over to my side and helped me up. "I'm sorry. Are you all right?"
