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Davido confirmed his statement. “No,
it’s not.” He leaned back enough to give Oregis a scolding frown.
“What? I didn’t get to finish my drink because you showed up with your tale of the apocalypse then you brought me here.”
Rez ignored the gremlin and addressed Davido. “What apocalypse?”
“Our gremlin friend exaggerates.”
“Oh, yeah?” Oregis called out. “How else would you interpret, in your words, “Then the Nine Realms will cease to exist as we know it.’”
Holly broke in, “Davido, what’s going on? I’m sure Vojalie must have told you that Rez killed five wraith-pairs in Boylbury and two more pairs in Millerell.”
He nodded solemnly. “She did.”
Rez rose to his feet. “You’d better give us some answers. Now. What the hell is going on? What has happened in the past fifteen minutes, because Holly and I haven’t been here longer than that.”
“After you left, we reached a consensus. First, none of us knows what’s going on, where the wraith-pairs came from or why there seem to be regular realm-folk taking on wraith characteristics. But your near-death in Millerell then five wraith-pairs showing up out of nowhere in your home village, tell us something critical is in play and that you and Holly are at the center of it.”
Holly asked, “But no vision from the Sidhe Fae Council or even your wife?”
Davido had never looked more solemn. “Only one. From Vojalie.” When he turned to stare at Holly, Rez felt a kind of dread he hadn’t known in a long time.
He sat back down, closer to Holly than before.
When Davido didn’t speak, it was Holly who broke the tension. “In the past two years, when I’ve studied time-pathing with Vojalie, I guess I knew it wouldn’t just be for fun.”
“No, Holly. It’s not.”
“So, what you’re suggesting by your careful avoidance of your real point is that I’ll be putting my life on the line, but to do what? And stop trying to protect me. My father might be a fae intellectual, but my mother is a vampire. Understand? And I built this damn house, so get on with it. Spit it out.”
Oregis, still perched on Davido’s shoulders, crossed his arms over his chest and grinned. “I’ve always liked her. She’s my kind of woman. Reminds me of my wife. Got strength, that one.” He glanced at his watch. “BTW, gang, I’ve got an appointment in a few.”
Davido didn’t respond to Oregis’s announcement. Instead, he glanced from Rez to Holly. “That’s just it. We don’t know. It’s going to be your job, if you’re willing, to find out exactly what this latest threat is. You’ll need to work together, that’s clear. But it’s Vojalie’s opinion and mine that a dark fae or even several of them working together, have been blocking the Fae Council’s ability to receive useful visions and intuitions about the future. Whatever is going on, it’s been extremely well-shielded.
“Tonight, however, they’ve tipped their hand with the poison attack on Rez then sending five wraith-pairs to Boylbury. Whoever they are, whatever their purpose, they’re serious.
“What we do know is that Underworld is involved.”
Rez leaned back in his seat. Underworld. It was the name for the darkest part of the black market and inhabited by the most powerful of the dark fae and other realm-folk attached to them. These folk engaged in the worst kinds of black market enterprises. Holly’s shoes and Oregis’s illegal workers were one thing. But Underworld trafficked in drugs and people, both human and realm.
“So, what do you say, Rez, Holly? Will you head into Underworld and see if you can figure out who the enemy is and what they’re up to?”
Rez felt a cold spot form dead center in his chest. He’d gotten within forty feet of the entrance to Underworld once and had to turn back. He’d never felt so much evil in his life.
One of Oregis’s friends had guided him there, a place heavily misted. Confusion had set in and made him almost delirious. He’d promised himself he’d never return, never again get that close to the place.
Yet, he was uniquely qualified to gather intel because of his proximity to the black market. He had dozens of contacts through the realms. He knew the back doors to all kinds of places. He was the right man for the job.
But Underworld.
~ ~ ~
Holly had heard of Underworld, but she’d never seen it. Even the black market only sat at the fringes. In fact, she’d never really believed it existed as a physical space.
“Let me understand. Even with all the work Vojalie and I have done together, she never spoke of Underworld as an actual place with a physical location. I’d always thought of it as a term used to encompass any realm-folk who happened to be involved with dark forces. Or if anything, I thought it was another word for the worst parts of the black market. You’re saying it exists, in real time and space?”
Davido had never looked more solemn and the hard look in his eye scared her. Usually, his blue eyes shone with so much humor and good-will she couldn’t help but be drawn to him. Right now, she didn’t know what to think.
