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“How’d you know it was me?” I wasn’t surprised she knew. Given that it was Ivana, anything was possible. Especially things I really didn’t want to think about.
“How do you think? I have Caller ID, Witch. Now, what do you want?” Ivana sounded pissed, but I had the feeling it wasn’t at me. No, she sounded preoccupied and pissed.
“Ivana, I have a question. If you might answer, it would be considered…” I paused. When dealing with the Elder Fae, never, ever use the word favor or you’ll forever be in their debt. “I’m going to ask you a question. Answer if you like.”
“Not so dim, then? I was waiting for you to slip. But you remember your lessons, correct? Well, then, ask your question. The morning’s a loss anyway, and my beautiful garden stands in ruins.”
To my horror, huge sobs echoed through the line. What the fuck was I supposed to say to her now? There, there, I’m sorry your dungeon of horrors got trampled? Or whatever the hell had happened to it. And by the way…what had happened to it?
“Ivana, were you out in the graveyards gathering spirits last night and this morning?” I knew it wasn’t the appropriate way to phrase it—there was a whole song-and-dance the Elder Fae went through, but right now we just needed information, and I wasn’t feeling all that much like waltzing.
A long silence, then…“Witch, you are rudeness incarnate. But since I like your sister—the Dead Girl—I will answer you. No, I was not out rummaging through the boneyards. I was fighting off some unseen force that emptied my garden of ghosts.”
I stared at my phone. What the fuck? “Ivana, you said your garden of ghosts was…”
“Gutted. Sucked dry. Gone, just like the days when bright meat was easy to come by and humans weren’t so squeamish about the gifts they offered us to keep our tricks and taunts at bay.” She sighed, as if an era of beauty had passed by.
“Give it a break. You know what Menolly told you—no bright meat! No babies!” I wasn’t squeamish about much, but Ivana wasn’t joking and neither was I. There were plenty of creatures who relished young flesh, with a side of steak sauce. Trying to wipe away the mental image that conjured up, I continued before she could protest. “Ivana, I want to come look at your garden. I’m trying to figure out what’s stealing the spirits around Seattle—and why.”
Delilah motioned to me frantically. No! she mouthed, but I turned away and pretended not to see her.
Ivana hesitated, then cackled. “It has been a long day since I had a visitor, but yes, child. Come visit me, by all means. But do not bring an army. Only four others may accompany you.”
I mentally raced through who would be the most effective if she turned nasty. “Fine…how do we get to your home?”
“The portal in Tangleroot Park? I’ll be waiting on the other side. I’ll configure it. And from there, we will travel to my home. I will not tell you how to get to my home by the normal route. You half-breed girls, you are from the other side. You are not ancient Fae. At the end of one of your hours, meet me there.” And then she hung up. I put my phone away and looked up.
It was obvious Delilah had overheard the conversation.
She erupted like Vesuvius on steroids. “Are you fucking insane? She’ll lead us into a trap and eat us. Or worse.” Shuddering, she held herself, rocking back and forth. “I’m not that squeamish anymore, but she’s a total freak and she scares the hell out of me.”
Chase cleared his throat. “I have to agree with Delilah. Not a good plan. Really, just…not. I’m glad I’ve got a good excuse not to join you.” He pointed to his leg. “Foot. Hurts. Can’t walk far. Really.”
“Right, and I’ve got some swampland to sell you.” I flashed him a snarky look. “Fine, I’ll let you out of this one. But we’re going. She’s expecting us. I’ll put in a call to Morio, Smoky, and Shade. They’re most likely to be able to help us corral her if we have to. Meanwhile, Delilah, why don’t you run down to the cafeteria and grab us something.”
Shaking her head, my sister marched out of the room. She looked pissed. I prayed that she and Chase weren’t right, and that this wasn’t the biggest mistake of my day. And I really didn’t want to listen to a bunch of I-told-you-sos.
As I punched the End Call button, my ears were ringing. Smoky had not been pleased. I had the feeling he’d be showing his displeasure come the next available chance. Over the months, I’d discovered that my dragon had a fetish for spanking. He never took it into painful territory, but he liked playing the big bad dragon, and whenever I really crossed the line, he gave me a good licking. And then he’d fuck me till I was spinning with orgasms.
Come to think about it, maybe going to see Ivana had its pluses.
Once we arrived at Tangleroot Park, we sat on a bench near where a rogue portal had opened up some time back.
During the Great Divide, the Elder Fae Lords had ripped the worlds apart. For thousands of years, the division had been sealed by the spirit seals. But the separation was unnatural. Now, as the spirit seals made their way to the surface again, the fabric of space and time surrounding the portals was breaking down. Rogue portals, unable to be controlled, were appearing. They were unstable and could lead to disaster.
Aeval had attempted to close the rogue portal, but it refused any attempts, and each time it activated, we never knew where the destination would be. Finally, we’d stationed several Earthside Fae to watch over it, and Aeval cast an illusion spell to keep the FBHs from seeing it.
“I can’t believe it’s not even eleven A.M. and we’re going to portal-hop over to Ivana’s for tea and a stroll through her ghost garden. Damned Chase and his broken ankle.” Delilah snorted. “He got off easy.”
Smoky leaned down on my left side and whispered into my ear. “Your sister is right. This is truly one of the most reckless ideas you’ve ever had. And later on, I’ll show you just how reckless.” His hair tickled my arm, tracing a sensuous line down it. I shivered and he laughed, low and throaty.
Just then, the portal shifted. I stepped in front of it, and Smoky, Morio, and Shade stood beside me.
“Oh brother, here we go.” Delilah, rolling her eyes, joined us.
As the flicker of energy grew, opening out into a vortex, I heard Ivana’s voice from the other side.
“Witch Girl, hurry up. Don’t dawdle.” As always, Ivana gave me the creeps. She was so far from human that even the timbre of her voice made me nervous. But she was what she was, and the Elder Fae were part of my heritage.
