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“That figures. She lives over in Redmond, near Marymoor Park. No wonder we couldn’t get a bead on her here in Seattle.”
“Close to Bill Gates,” Morio said.
“No, that’s Mercer Island. But he’s no demon, regardless of what people think.” A smile played over Carter’s lips. “Stacia Bonecrusher lives in a secure compound. From the street, it may look like a swanky gated mansion, but don’t be fooled. The place has top-level security and I’m pretty sure she’s got a number of demons hiding there.”
“Speaking of,” Vanzir said. “There are a couple of skanky streetwalkers we pegged as Demonkin as we headed in here. I should sneak out the back way and see if they’re still there. I don’t think they’re part of the demonic underground here, so there may be a chance they’re working for the Bonecrusher.”
“They are,” Carter said. “I know who you’re talking about. I haven’t done anything about them because I don’t want to raise suspicion. As long as I ignore them, they won’t go into hiding and I’ll know where they’re at.”
I stopped Vanzir as he stood. “Carter has a point. If we tip our hand, we could make everything worse. Leave them alone, but make sure we check our cars for booby traps or bugs—”
“Not necessary,” Carter said. “When they first showed up, I decided I needed a little more protection than the barrier spell I have out there, so I summoned an imp to keep watch. They try to do anything, all hell breaks loose.”
“Great, just what we need. An imp. Let’s get on with this.” As I glanced over the paper, I stopped short. Stacia Bonecrusher was a necromancer, and a powerful one at that. Carter’s notes listed her as training under Telazhar. “Holy hell, this is bad.”
Menolly heard me; she looked up and nodded. “Telazhar must be working for Shadow Wing, then.”
“Not necessarily,” I said. “He swore never to bow to another, but that he’s still alive after all these centuries and that he’s training Demonkin is one big-ass sign to beware and be careful.”
Morio shook his head. “Who is he? I’ve never heard of him.”
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
