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A moment later, al was quiet. I grunted as Menol y yanked the body off me and helped me up. As I wiped my blade in the grass and turned, I realized our front yard looked like a war zone. It was hard to count how many bodies there were in the dark, but the smel of blood, thick and metal ic, rose to choke my lungs.
"Crap, that was nasty. Iris was right--we have to post guards here now. I hate this, but we can't leave the place unprotected. Speaking of . . ." I stood up and looked around. "Where is Iris?"
"She's not in the house," Camil e said, slowly coming onto the porch. She was holding Maggie, who rested against her shoulder. "I looked everywhere, and she's not in there, guys."
"Fuck--turn on al the outside lights."
"I'l check the studio." Roz raced like Hel herself was on his heels, over to the studio. He adored Iris. We al did.>I let out a long sigh. "Amber, there's a lot to explain, but you have to trust us. As long as that necklace is around your neck and you stay here, you're in far greater danger than just from the coyote shifters. There's a demon general out there looking for the spirit seals. And a demon lord in the Subterranean Realms looking for them."
She gasped and cringed back in her seat. "I had no idea."
"My sisters and I--and our friends--are on the forefront of a war even your brother doesn't know about. We're trying to stop Shadow Wing and his army from taking over Earth, and eventual y--Otherworld. And that pendant you wear around your neck is an ancient artifact that wil make his quest a whole lot easier if he gets hold of you."
Amber was silent the rest of the way to the FH-CSI building. We let her be--she'd been hit by far too much to take in over the past few days, and she needed a little while to just rest after her captivity.
At least now we knew why the coyote shifters hadn't kil ed her. On one hand, the fact that the spirit seal had bonded itself to her had saved her life. On the other hand, I had the queasy feeling there was nothing we could do except hustle her over to the Elfin Queen, whether Amber wanted to go or not. We couldn't let her run around with one of the seals around her neck.
"So, do we go back and take down the rest of the Koyanni?" Roz leaned back against the seat and folded his arms.
"I'd like to put them out of commission. I'd also like to find out where that little gem of a weapon came from and see if we can do anything about getting them banned. That's fucking dangerous to any Supe out there, and I have the nasty feeling it would kil an FBH."
"Ten to one, our answers are going to be found at the Energy Exchange." Menol y leaned forward and peeked over my shoulder. "And that's Camil e's department if it's a magical club."
"Maybe, but she's been beat up a lot the past few days from the Wolf Briar." My cel phone jangled, and I flipped it on, adjusting the Blue Tooth in my ear.
I hated the damned thing, but it was the law, and it made sense. "Delilah here. Speak to me."
"Delilah, get your ass back home now. We've got trouble." Iris's voice sounded muffled.
"What's wrong?" I punched the button to put her on speaker.
"Something broke through the wards, and by the way the alarm is sounding, it's big and bad. This isn't any ghoul or zombie meandering through the woods. I put Maggie in Menol y's lair, and I've cal ed Wilbur. He's on his way over." Her voice was trembling. Iris was powerful--far more powerful than we'd original y thought--but she also was a single house sprite alone in the house.
"Crap! We're on our way. You get down in Menol y's lair, too--"
"No time, I hear them breaking in. I'm heading outside--Maggie should be safe where she is. But hurry."
The line went dead. I looked at Amber. "I hope you aren't hurting too much, because we're making a detour. Roz--cal Camil e and tel them to get a move on toward home."
And then, flooring the gas, I made a U-turn and headed toward Bel es-Faire. We were about fifteen minutes away, thanks to it being late at night with little traffic. I planned to make it in ten at the most.
As we came racing up the driveway, I was terrified what we'd find. The house on fire? Maggie and Iris in the ashes? A horde of Demonkin? Or was it somebody else--had the shifters figured out where we lived and that we'd taken down their operations?
Roz had cal ed Camil e, and Morio's SUV was right behind us. Then he'd placed a cal to Chase, asking him to send Shamas home. We wanted every hand on deck. Chase had promised to come with him.
I turned off the motor. It was obvious we were here, so no use being sneaky. But for a moment--just a moment--we sat, surveying the house. Roz said,
"I'l go in through the Ionyc Sea--they won't be expecting that. I told Camil e to have Smoky do the same. We can come in from the top floor and surprise whoever it is that way."
"Good idea." I closed my eyes, reaching for my inner light, reaching to push past the fear so I could be effective. "I need to get out of the car and shift into my panther form. The rest of you--head in. Amber, damn it, we don't dare let you near there--and we can't leave you alone. Vanzir, you have to protect her. With your life. We can't let that spirit seal fal into the wrong hands. So . . . I guess, Menol y--you go in with Camil e, Morio, and Tril ian."
Speaking of, the three of them were passing by the Jeep. Menol y silently joined them as I turned to look at Amber. "Whatever you do, don't get caught.
Run like hel if you have to, but don't let anybody take that necklace. In fact, Vanzir--can you drive?"
He grinned. "I can probably manage it. I don't promise how wel ."
"This is no laughing matter. Drive her to Grandmother Coyote's portal and hide with her there. If we don't come along within an hour or so, take her over to Queen Asteria."
