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I let out a long sigh. “If I remember my history lessons correctly, Telazhar was one of the most feared Fae to ever live. Centuries ago, he was a powerful necromancer. He raised an army and terrorized Otherworld during the magical wars that scorched the Southern Wastes, leaving them barren and rife with rogue magic.”
“How did he get down to the Sub Realms?” Vanzir asked.
Menolly picked up the story. “Telazhar led an army of the dead to lay siege on Aladril. He planned on marching on Y’Elestrial after he’d taken over the City of Seers. But the seers took him by surprise. Y’Elestrial sent help and so did the elves. A powerful Fae warrior led the armies against Telazhar and they drove him back into the desert. Once they cornered him in the depths of the Wastes, Aladril’s seers held him in stasis, and they sent him through a Demon Gate into the Subterranean Realms, then dismantled the spell so it could never open again.”
“Apparently,” I said, “Telazhar is still alive. His powers must be terrible by now.” I sucked in a long breath and stared at the page. “Want to make a bet he’s the one who gated her over here?”
“No, because you’d win,” Menolly said.
I nodded, not wanting to think about the coming battle. “We have to be so careful and so crafty that she doesn’t know we’re coming. We could use some extra help.”
Kim returned with our tea, and as we silently sipped the warm brew from bone china cups, and ate the ripe Camembert spread on seasoned crackers, all I could think about was curling up in my bed and sleeping for weeks. This was such bad news it made me want to retreat back into Otherworld. Maybe I should take Raven Mother up on her offer. A little house in the heart of Thistlewyd Deep, live there with Smoky and Trillian and Morio . . . it didn’t sound so bad.
“What next then? And how do we cloak these notes again?” Morio asked.
“As far as how to cloak the notes,” Carter said, “use the locking word. And that, my friends, is clotted cream. Again, I chose something that won’t immediately come to mind. And as to the dilemma you’re facing, I can’t tell you what to do.”
“We’re going to have to look elsewhere for help. And I know where.” I gazed up at my sister.
She groaned and slapped the side of her head. “Not the Triple Threat?”
“Suck it up. They’ll have to agree—or at least Aeval will. She owes me a favor. But once I call in the marker, I’m going to owe her so big. I have the distinct feeling it’s not going to turn out a quid pro quo situation.”
“So we go out there tomorrow and hit up the Queen of Night to help us track down and destroy a demon general. Great.” Menolly shook her head. “I really don’t want to see the fallout from this one.”
“Neither do I, but it’s our only choice. We need more help. At least we don’t have to track the Bonecrusher anymore, thanks to Carter.” I held up the sheet of paper. “And we have a map.”
“Yeah, we have a map,” Menolly said, her eyes turning bloodred. “Big whoop. Ten to one, it leads straight to our doom.”
Doom or not, we had no other choice. If we didn’t destroy Stacia, she’d mangle the portals trying to rip open a gateway for Shadow Wing’s buddies. And that spelled trouble with a capital T. I stood, feeling as resigned as I was resolved.
“Okay, let’s get a move on. We’ve got a long day facing us tomorrow.”
On our way back to the cars, we didn’t catch sight of the streetwalker demons. Had they run back to the Bonecrusher to tell her we’d been at Carter’s? Either way, she knew we were on the move. She just didn’t know when.
CHAPTER 21
I opened my eyes to Morio sitting beside me on the bed. Squinting in the morning light, I pushed myself up and looked around. I was alone on the king-sized mattress. Last night Morio had slept on the daybed near the window, while Smoky and Trillian flanked me. I’d nixed any wandering hands, though, too exhausted to even think about sex.
“Good morning.” He gave me a quick kiss and, as I slid out from beneath the covers, slipped his arms around me, drawing me close.
“You didn’t get any last night, you’re not getting any this morning.” I gave him a playful thunk on the head.
“I wasn’t looking for any,” he whispered. “What I am looking for is for you to haul your lovely ass downstairs. We’ve got a full day, sleepyhead.”
Not sure whether to be insulted or just annoyed, I glanced at the clock. Nine-thirty? Oh shit, I had overslept by a good two hours. I jumped up and grabbed a towel.
“Let me catch a quick shower.”
“Iris said if you want breakfast, you’ll be there in ten minutes.” He laughed, then headed out the door after giving me a sharp slap on the ass. “I’ll be out in the studio, cleaning and purifying our ritual gear.”
Twenty minutes later, fully dressed and in makeup, I showed up in the kitchen. Good to her word, there was no breakfast on the table, but when Iris saw me coming she opened the fridge and, before I knew it, I was settled in my chair with yogurt, a toasted English muffin, a banana, and a cup of coffee. Not quite the hearty breakfast I was used to, but it would do.
Delilah came running through the back door, breathing heavily. I gave her a quizzical look and she pulled off her Windbreaker and tossed it over the back of a chair. “When Morio said you were taking a shower, I decided to get in a quick run down to Birchwater Pond and back.”
I glanced around the kitchen. “Where’d Smoky and Trillian go? The house seems empty today. And where’s Maggie?”
Iris answered before Delilah could. “Smoky took off for his barrow. He said he had something to do. Trillian went shopping with Roz. Vanzir’s out in the studio, and Shamas is at work. Maggie’s in my room having a time-out.”
