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“You still have nightmares about old Spider-Hag?” Chase had been captured by one of the Elder Fae—a spidery freak show who intended to fatten him up and eat him. Luckily, her plans had been nixed and he’d escaped. We thought we’d destroyed her, but upon leaving the plane into which she’d dragged him, we weren’t so sure.
“Her…Karvanak…the Tregarts. I count my blessings I’m still alive. I wouldn’t be if it weren’t…” He stopped, turning sober.
“For the Nectar of Life,” Delilah whispered.
“I was going to say you three. But yes, the Nectar of Life, as well.” After a moment, he changed the subject. “So, will you know your friend by sight?”
I gave him a nod. “Yes, we should. Andrees…we go way back. We took the same classes when we entered the OIA. Or rather, the YIA—we didn’t originally work for the branch dealing with Earthside affairs. Before we were assigned to specific departments, every agent has to go through what you might call a basic training.”
Camille turned in her seat, to stare over the back. “We joined the YIA before the portals to Earthside were opened up. Before we even really knew about them. The YIA—Y’Elestrial Intelligence Agency—took care of some of the worst criminal cases in Y’Elestrial’s history. We tracked down the rogue vamps, serial killers, the worst of the worst.”
Chase nodded. “I thought that might be what it was like. So you met Andrees then?”
“We met him in basic training, yes. What you would think of as the preliminary academic studies. Then he was assigned to Delilah’s department. The YIA is divided up into a number of departments and the OIA started as a branch, then hived off to become its own division.” I shrugged.
“Did you sign up because you wanted to come Earthside?” Chase had never asked us much about the time before we came over through the portals.
I hesitated, not sure of how to respond. “Not really. We were assigned to the OIA…”
“Oh, just say it. We were transferred to the OIA because of me,” Camille’s face clouded over. “My boss had been gunning for me for years because I wouldn’t fuck him. I managed to make a huge bust—I brought in Roche, a serial killer who had been a member of the Des’Estar. That’s when I met Trillian, in a nightclub I was scoping out.”
“And that didn’t cement your position?”
“My boss, Lathe, tried everything to get me to fuck him. He’s a sadist. He liked humiliating women. When I tossed Roche’s body at his feet, he couldn’t deny me a raise and a commendation. Three weeks later, Dredge caught hold of Menolly. And after that, Lathe set out to make my life a living hell.”
“You couldn’t call him on sexual harassment?” Chase looked mystified.
“In Otherworld, sexual harassment isn’t against the law. It’s only an issue when the individual employer forbids it. Among the Fae, it can be a fact of life. Especially for a half-breed like me.” She grimaced. “When the OIA opened up and they began recruiting agents, nobody wanted to join. Well, almost nobody. But Lathe, he ‘promoted’ me…and I guess they figured they could get rid of all three of us at the same time. We were all assigned to the division.”>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.
“No, but enough must have latent powers to tempt him. We can’t be certain that’s his goal, but we better consider it.” I pulled off my boots and socks and propped my feet on the coffee table. I’d painted my toenails—they were a brilliant crimson.
“Otherworld is on the brink of open war. Over here, the war is covert. The worlds are vastly different and call for different strategizing. Shadow Wing has to understand that, and so we’re seeing the results of what was probably long-term planning.” Trillian was sitting on one end of the sofa, Smoky on the other. Camille stretched out between them, her head on Trillian’s lap and her feet on Smoky’s knees. He rubbed her toes gently while Trillian stroked her head.
Morio sat on the floor next to them. “So two different fronts, two different battle plans.”
