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As Morio led Chase away, I worried about what would happen after Ivana and Aeval finished their mutual destruction of the will-o’-the-wisps, but before I could go out and check on them—taking care not to get in the middle of their obvious spat—Vanzir stopped me.
“Let them hash it out. Don’t get in the middle.”
Thinking about the way they’d greeted one another, I decided to take his advice. “You’re probably right.” I brushed a thin layer of dust off his shoulders, then realized it was covering everything in the room. It seemed the will-o’-the-wisps left something in the way of remains, after all.
“Great, just what I needed. Faerie dust.”
Just then Camille herded Iris, Hanna, Douglas, and Marion in. They looked no worse for the wear.
She motioned to me. “Come on, Delilah…Menolly. We’d better get out there and prevent the pair from killing each other.” As we headed for the door, she hissed at me. “What the fuck were you thinking? You knew I was going after Aeval. Don’t you remember the tales Father used to tell us about the feuds between the Fae Lords and the Elder Fae?”
“Apparently not.” And truth was, I hadn’t. But now that she mentioned it, a vague memory of the stories—and horrific tales they were—filtered back. Enough so that I bolted for the door. “Let’s go!”
As we headed onto the lawn, the clouds broke and the moon bathed the yard in her light. Camille paused, looking up at the silver crescent, soaking in the energy. I tapped her on the shoulder, and she nodded and took off again, following Delilah and me into the backyard, where Iris’s trailer sat stark against the darkness.
Aeval and Ivana were standing there, and the yard was empty of will-o’-the-wisps. They were staring at each other, hostility oozing off them like the smell of rotten eggs.
“So, you have truck with the Elder Fae?” Aeval turned to Camille, her voice accusing. I had the feeling my sister was going to be in serious trouble for my decision, so I stepped up.
“No. Not Camille. This was all my decision. We needed help and I went to the only place I could think of.” I glanced at Ivana. “Both of you, we owe you a de—” I stopped. I could not use the word debt around either one of them. So not a good idea. Even the word owe was a mistake. “We thank you both for your help.”
Ivana laughed. “Dead Girl, you know your lore but not as much as you should.” She turned to Aeval. “And so, the Night and the Morning have set up their courts again and now gird themselves with the mantle of Dusk. To what season will she rule? Neither Summer nor Winter—those are in the keep of you and Titania. But the other…She is not truly Fae. Not full-blood. You make a grave mistake and you know it.”
Aeval regarded Ivana closely. “We are returned, yes. The Fae Queens rise again and we will surpass our former glory. We build an empire. The Dusk…she serves a purpose, for now. And so we are the Court of the Three Queens. And Camille studies with us, bridging Otherworld back to Earthside.” She turned to my sister. “You are the hope of the future, in our Courts.”
The Elder Fae let out a long sigh. “There is no hope for the future. The old days are long past. The humans and mortals have razed our groves, have ceased to pay us homage. They no longer fear us.”
With a laugh, Aeval shook her head. “They would fear you, Maiden of Karask, if they knew you truly existed. The day will come when they will know our power once again. But a great shadow looms, and first we must dispatch the danger. I shall not kill you this day, Elder Fae. Instead, I tell you this: Go to your brethren and warn them to gird themselves for war. For war is coming, and whether it be in this world or in Otherworld, if we choose to face the future, we must all battle against the darkness that would shroud it in fire.”
Ivana regarded her silently, and I had a feeling that the two powers were speaking in silence.
After a moment, Ivana inclined her head. “Let our personal battle be at a truce for now.” She turned to me. “Dead Girl, there is much you have kept from me. Though I will never forgive you for depriving me of my bright flesh, I am here, at your service, for deals when you need them. If your ghosties keep you awake in the night, you know my number.”
And then, without another word, she slung the piglet over her shoulder and vanished into the darkness. Aeval watched her go.
“The Elder Fae were ancient when I was young. They are the backbone of this world. They live in the ages of the Harvestmen and the Hags of Fate and the Elemental Lords.” She inhaled sharply. “The demons are on the move. I know they threaten Asteria, but there is little my people can do for her. Instead, we train. For war is coming. But do not expect it in the loud clamor of guns or swarms…instead it creeps silently, infiltrates by ones and twos. Shadow Wing is not stupid…like all demons, he will seek to corrupt, to gain allies. What better way to wrest control than to divide and conquer?”
Camille gazed up at the moon. “Asteria mentioned that the dark moon Priestesses of the Moon Mother are her sorcerers.”
Aeval flashed her a mirthless smile. “The dark of the moon holds power over the unseen. The dark of the moon hides secrets. The veils grow thin during the waning half of the year. Moon Witch you are, and Priestess…but your true power resides in the abyss, in the purple flames of death. Like your cousin Morgaine, you, too, are a child of the dusk, my girl, trapped between worlds. Trapped between races. Trapped between the day and the night.”
She moved away, gliding over the ground, her long trailing gown light as leaves whispering along the ground. “Camille…be ready. Beltane will come, and the dragons will fly. And the gods will rut. And you, you will ride at the helm of the Hunt—and you and your Priest will learn what it means to belong to the night. The will-o’-the-wisps came out because they live with the spirits, and the spirits are singing a bright song, as of late.” And then, as the wind whistled by, she vanished as if she’d never been there.
We stared into the yard. The night was silent. There was nothing creeping out there that we could hear. Turning around, we filed back to the house.
We trailed back into the house with more riddles than we had answers for. As we dropped wearily into chairs, staring around at the others, it felt like we had no clear place to start.
“Where are we at?” Delilah asked. “What do we know? What don’t we know?”
“We know that Gulakah is here in Seattle. We know that a bunch of demonic spirits—bhouts—are running loose in the city. We don’t know if the two are tied together, but I’m thinking it’s likely.” Shade thumb-wrestled with himself.
“Carter told me that the Greenbelt Park District has been haunted for far longer than Gulakah’s been around, but I’m betting it’s an attraction for him, given the amount of ghostly activity there. And the activity has definitely stepped up the past few months. That may relate to the Lord of Ghosts being in town, too.” I frowned. “What else?”
“We know that those who use magic are being attacked and drained. Lindsey’s coven, Chase…and there are others, I’m sure. The bhouts seem to be responsible for that. If they’re draining the energy from people, is it going directly to feed them, or their controller?” Camille scratched her head.
“Probably both. The bhout attacked Chase in order to possess him. Chase controls the FH-CSI.” An idea struck me. “Think what Aeval said—Shadow Wing may not wage open war but come in through the back door. What would it mean if he could gain control of some of the more important members of society…those in charge?”
“Mind control…he could arrange anything, then. He could have the three of you deported or killed. But not all government officials have psychic energy,” Smoky said.
