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"Well, don't keep me in suspense, woman," he said. "If we don't get a handle on this problem, we'll be facing some tough questions from my prick of a boss. The mayor won't be too happy either. The last thing I need is for Devins to find yet another problem that he can turn into my fault. The mayor's another matter, but still…"
I glanced around to see who was in the shop. The unicorn had drawn quite a crowd, and a buzz of laughter and conversation threatened to overwhelm us.
"Over here." I motioned for Chase to follow me into a corner niche where the sound of voices died down to a low murmur. He settled himself on the short mahogany bench between the stacks holding suspense thrillers: Grisham, Crichton, Clancy, and so forth. After making sure nobody was eavesdropping on us, I joined him.
"When Queen Asteria visited us a few months ago after we destroyed Dredge, she mentioned that a number of previously undiscovered portals were being discovered—unguarded portals. And most of them lead to the Pacific Northwest."
Chase blinked. "Delilah didn't tell me that."
"She's a good girl. She keeps secrets. It's something you didn't need to know at the time." I watched his surprise turn into a frown. Oops, I'd just stepped on his toes. I did that a lot with Chase. We had rubbed each other wrong from day one.
"Oh, really? Thank you for your confidence. And pray tell—if you think I need to know—just where do these portals lead?"
Yeah, I'd wounded his ego, all right. "Don't be such a drama queen. There are plenty of things about your job that you don't tell us."
"None of the secrets I keep affect you," he said, squinting. "Oh hell, just drop it. Go on. You said most lead to the PNW?"
"Yes." I took a deep breath and continued. "Apparently a number of them lead to Seattle and the surrounding area. Now, Queen Asteria slapped guards on the portals in her jurisdiction, but there are plenty of portals out in the wild that are being discovered, and nobody has control over them. Want to make a bet that Cryptos and other creatures are finding and using them whenever they want?"
"Can't Queen Asteria put a stop to it?"
I shook my head. "As I said, if they're outside the boundaries of Elqaneve and the Elfin lands, there isn't a damned thing she can do. Even with the ones that are within her jurisdiction, well, Queen Asteria hasn't got the manpower to guard all of them. Not now, when she's fully engaged in the war against Lethesanar. You have to understand. War over in Otherworld is to the death, as it is here, but over there the magic involved can cause far greater damage than your tanks and guns. The elder mages can actually warp the makeup of the land. They can change the very structure of the soil and air. It's happened before, down in the Southern Wastes."
A somber expression crossed Chase's face, and his petulance passed. "If you were home—you and your sisters…"
"Well, if our father hadn't deserted the Guard and our aunt and cousin hadn't come out as traitors to Queen Lethesanar, we would have been pressed into battle like everybody else in the city. As it is, we'd be tortured and killed. Our entire family is under a death threat if any one of us should enter—or go anywhere near—Y'Elestrial at this time. Until Tanaquar wins, we're homeless…" I paused. A thought had crossed my mind several times that I didn't want to examine. I hadn't vocalized it to Menolly or Delilah yet.
"Yes?"
"I haven't mentioned this to my sisters yet, but I think that our father disappeared because he traded sides. His conscience won't allow him to fight for Lethesanar, but he's a warrior and a proud member of the Guard Des'Estar. He can't stand by and hide in fear, nor can he see Lethesanar defile the Court and Crown like she's been doing. I know he's in battle somewhere. I can feel it."
"You think he's working for the elves?" Chase reached out and took my hand. I started to pull away, then stopped. He was trying to be kind. I could read it in his eyes.
"Either that or he's directly enlisted in Tanaquar's army. One's about the same as the other, when you look at the end result." I stared at the floor, thinking about Father and the dangers he faced.
"You have to understand, Chase. The three of us are daughters of a member of the Guard Des'Estar. We've been brought up to face danger rather than run away. And our father is the son of a Guard member. We come from a family proud to serve the Court and Crown. Father will stay involved in this war until Y'Elestrial is free from the opium eater's grasp and a queen with honor reigns over Y'Elestrial once again.">I frowned. It was unlikely that Peter S. Beagle had even believed in the creatures when he wrote The Last Unicorn, but then again, who knew? "I'm not sure, Henry. You never can tell." I flashed him a smile, and he mirrored it back to me, then returned to Feddrah-Dahns's side.
"Camille? Camille? Did you hear what I said?"
"Huh?" I turned around. Chase had been talking to me at the same time as Henry. "No, I'm sorry. What was it?"
He sighed. "This is the third report of Cryptos on the loose that I've had this morning."
Chase was suave. Less lecherous than when we'd first met, he was a damned good detective. I'd gone from disdaining the dude to actually liking him, as long as he kept his eyes off my butt and boobs. Oh, now and then his gaze still wandered into forbidden territory, and he still smelled like spicy beef tacos a good share of the time, but at least he was polite about the occasional peek show. And most importantly, the scent of cigarettes was long gone. My sister Delilah had him on the nicotine patch, and he was faring remarkably well. Of course, he had incentive; she refused to kiss him or touch him if he smoked.
"You make it sound like they got loose from the zoo." I sighed. "Chase, babe, you've got to get over the idea that two legs equals intelligence."
He snorted. "Don't give me grief, woman. You're from Otherworld, you're half-Fae. You've been here, what… a year now, isn't it? The portals have been open about four—maybe five years, right?"
I nodded. "That's about right."
"In that time, a number of Fae have crossed over to visit Earthside. And the Earthside Supes have come out of the closet. But we've never had a run on Cryptos before. Not that I can remember. Now, they're everywhere. Portland's reporting a significant increase in sightings, and they've been spotted all over western Washington. What do you think it means?"
I had to admit, he was right to be concerned. While Otherworld Fae still weren't commonplace, and we tended to settle around the West Coast, we were no longer the novelty act that we'd been when the OIA decided to open a few of the interdimensional portals.
Since they'd reestablished the lines of communication that had been shut down during the Great Divide—when Otherworld had split off from Earthside—we'd become increasingly accepted in human society. And over the past month or so, a home court renaissance of sorts had sprung up. Earthside Supes were quickly becoming the flavor of the day.
After the first shock waves settled, we'd been welcomed with open arms. For the most part. There were still a number of factions who thought we were evil incarnate and who wouldn't mind lighting the match to our funeral pyres, but they were the vocal minority, and we didn't pay much attention to them. There was intolerance everywhere, and we knew better than to think we could eradicate it totally.
