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The monster felt it, too, and woke suddenly, stretching beneathmy skin, reaching for the magic. Not because it seemed familiar—this wasn’t the Egregore that called from my mother’s sword. But because the power was enormous.
The second vibration was even stronger, like the earth was contracting beneath my feet. “Damn,” I murmured, and braced a hand against one of the metal supports around the fountain to stay upright.
“Elisa? What is it?”
“You can’t feel it?”
“No. It is the vibrations?”
“Yeah. Magic under our feet.” The rippling grew more violent still, like a train was bearing down on us. “And I’d say something’s on its way. Get ready.”
They appeared like ghosts, solidifying out of darkness. At least a hundred fairies in two straight lines that stretched out across the brick plaza.
Theo’s voice was quiet as he spoke into his screen. “We found the fairies.”
Or they’d found us.
• • •
They stood in two tight lines that formed a V, all in green tunics. All of them were fit. None too old; none too young. I guessed these were the soldiers—the warriors—and all of them had weapons. Straight swords, longbows, and daggers. Not a single gun or modern weapon, at least that I could see.
At the junction of the lines, facing us directly, their apparent master. Ruadan.
Claudia was nowhere in sight, which made me wonder: Was Ruadan here because Claudia had directed him, or because he’d overridden her command? Dragged her from her room in the castle and put himself in charge? And, maybe more important, were the fairies behind him loyal to Claudia or to Ruadan? How many rules were they willing to break for their would-be king?
“I’m alerting the CPD,” Theo quietly said, and tapped fingers against his screen even as he kept his gaze on the fairies. “Requesting significant backup.”
“Good plan,” I said quietly.
“Ruadan,” Theo said, when he’d put the screen away again, “what are you doing here?”
“Is this not a public park?” Ruadan asked with a sneer. “Are we not entitled to use it?”
“Is that all you’re doing?” Theo asked. “Planning an evening picnic?”
“Or maybe a group photo?” I offered, trying for bravado I didn’t really feel. Because while there was a part of me that wanted to fight—and the monster was eager for it—we were severely outnumbered.
“Oh, nice,” Theo said with a smile. “A group photo.” He looked around. “But I don’t see a photographer.”
“You dare mock me.” Ruadan’s expression was hard, furious magic beginning to pump from the fairies with almost the same ferocity as the vibrations beneath the street. “In that case, we claim this land—what you call Grant Park—for ourselves.”
“Who, exactly, is ‘we’?” I asked, and Ruadan’s gaze shifted to me, and his lips curled into a smile that made me want to shrink back into my skin. It was that look I’d seen before, the interest I didn’t like.
“I speak for the fairies,” he said.
“Does that include Claudia?” I asked.
His expression didn’t change. But there was a twitch at the corner of his eye that said he didn’t like the question.
“Where is she, Ruadan?” I asked, but kept my gaze on the fairies, wondering how they’d respond.
“Her location is not relevant,” Ruadan said. And the fairies’ expressions stayed blank. Maybe they didn’t know where she was.... Or maybe they didn’t care.
“It is relevant, because one hundred fairies have taken what appears to be a very aggressive position against the City of Chicago.” Theo slid his hands into his pockets like a man only mildly interested in the conversation. For the first time, I could see the former cop in Theo’s eyes.
“You mock us,” he continued. “You’re not here for enjoyment. Your people are armed. You’ve demanded property owned by the city, and I’m pretty sure you’ve already decided to fight. You know I’m not going to hand Grant Park over to you.”
Ruadan’s lip curled in obvious disgust. “We are older than your species, than your nation. We are better than you in every conceivable way.”
