Page 28 of The Innocent Sleep

“All right,” he said, relaxing. “I didn’t want to leave the Court. I’ll be right back.”

He dove into shadow rather than stepping, and the gathered cats surged forward, the ones who had yet to feed meowing in distress. It was an overwhelming scene, and not one I was eager to linger over. Still, they needed to be fed, and Ginevra needed to rest.

“We are working to alleviate the current situation,” I said. “But begging like common street dogs won’t make me feed you faster. Please, settle and be patient, and allow any who have not been fed today to move to the front.”

They fell silent, and for a moment, I felt smug, sure that my kingly commands had fixed things. Then they began meowing again, even louder, and Ginevra opened an eye.

“Requests for civility might have worked before they were starving,” she said. “I’ve had to add powdered milk for bottle-weaning kittens to the supply list, as their mothers aren’t getting enough to keep them properly fed. This isn’t sustainable.”

“I know that,” I snapped, and hurled three more packs of chicken into the crowd. Crude as this distribution method was, it at least kept them from mobbing me and tearing me apart in their eagerness to eat. It would be a deeply unpleasant way to die.

“You sent Raj away,” she said, and yawned a massive, bone-cracking yawn. “Do you have some sort of a plan?”

“Shade is doing this all alone,” I said. “She needs our help.”

Ginevra started to object. I held up a hand, cutting her off.

“I understand we’re needed here,” I said. “Our people come first, always. But if we can get things settled sufficiently to no longer be in a state of constant crisis, we can possibly assist her, and send word to your father of what we’ve done to make things better.”

“He’s managing alone, but better than we are,” said Ginevra. “He’s been using the store’s business account to buy cat food in bulk. Mail order and sending Mom to the wholesalers means he’s been able to get a lot more supplies in, even without anyone to help him out. I’m pretty proud of him, honestly.”

“I can see that,” I said gravely. I had a decent quantity of mortal money but no credit cards, and with Titania’s exile of the Cait Sidhe, there was no telling whether my accounts were currently accessible. It would have been nice to have an ally in the human world who could go and inquire for me, but I couldn’t . . .

Janet.

Titania wasn’t allowed to harm her, and she was living in the city with Cliff, when not ensconced in the hidden courtyard she had anchored to the Summerlands in Berkeley. Janet was strange and fey in the mortal sense, and not always an ally, but she was human, and was one of the people Titania was explicitly forbidden to harm. She might remember Faerie as it really was.

She was worth searching for, anyway.

I was spared from needing to continue my conversation with Ginevra by Raj’s return, with Emil, Cal, and Gabriel in tow. Opal had also come along, her daughter, Alazne, in her arms. I knew the child could walk on her own—I’d seen it—but Opal was reluctant to allow her to do so, preferring to keep the girl close at all times. Given the circumstances of Alazne’s birth, and the loss of her littermates, I couldn’t fault her mother’s protective streak.

“Hello,” I said, tossing the last of the chicken to the cats in the crowd and turning to face the group I’d summoned. “I appreciate you coming,”

“Our King calls for us,” said Gabriel solemnly, and bowed. “We are grateful for the chance to aid in any way you see fit.”

“I wonder what version of the past you remember,” I said, suddenly speculative. Gabriel looked at me, confused. I waved a hand. “No matter. We need to feed the Court.”

Alazne perked up at the thought that food might be in the offing, then slumped again as she realized I wasn’t offering a meal. Opal kissed the top of her head, then shot me a strained look.

“I don’t mean to tease, child,” I said. “But I may have a means by which we can access plenty. Are any of you strong enough to access the shadows?”

“I did, once,” said Cal. “On a dare. I concentrated as hard as I could, and when I reached into the air, my whole hand vanished. It was still attached. I could feel it. It was just someplace I couldn’t see, someplace very cold. But that was the most I could do.”

“No matter; I only wondered,” I said, soothingly. “My plan doesn’t require you be able to move through shadow. Opal, do you think you could stay here and speak for the Court for a short while if Raj, Ginevra, and I all leave together?”

Looking flustered, she bit her lip and nodded.

“No one will give you any trouble, and I’ll tell them before we go that you have the full authority to reduce anyone’s rations if they try to abuse your position. It will be all right.” I turned to Emil. “The Fell Street Garage remains a part of our domain, yes?”

A parking garage in the mortal world, it had been featured in many works of human cinema before its demolition, which had been enough for portions of it to become lost when the building came down, sinking into the strange sub-realm that was in our keeping. It would provide sufficient room for us to stage everything I intended to steal tonight.

“Yes, sire.”

“Excellent. Is anyone currently dwelling there?”

“It is isolated and cold, with no access to plumbing or fresh water,” he said. “No one lives there that I know of.”

“Even better. Please go and clean out anyone who’s gone looking for privacy and thought to find it in cold concrete, and we will be there shortly.”