Grave Dance Part 28

Tucker's vest had ABMU st.i.tched on the front. antiblack magic unit? When John arranged backup, he didn't skimp. Or maybe I was earning a reputation for trouble.

I left Tucker showing his gun to several of the uniformed officers and used my ability to sense magic to track where Holly's ruby amulet had fallen. I found it in the gra.s.s near the foot of the bridge. Then, clutching the amulet in my fist, I made my way to the three collectors, who were huddled over the charmed disk.

"You okay?" I asked, nodding at the raver.

She shrugged the shoulder of her uninjured arm. "I'll heal, but this has gone too far. We've got to find that accomplice."

"I don't think they're going to show here," the gray man said, spinning his cane like a baton, his colorless eyebrows drawn tight. "I told you this sounded like a trap. And judging by the escalation of the aberrations, I believe you have gone from potential tool to potential threat. That one was out for your life, the compulsion spell included just for good measure."

I didn't disagree.

I clutched Holly's amulet tight as my trembling fingers threatened to fumble it to the ground. "So, what now?"

Death moved closer to me, wrapping his arm around my waist, which earned him a frown from his companions. Not that he seemed to care. "Now we try to figure out where the accomplice will go next. We have to find him, or her, before the ritual is attempted again. And hopefully before any more of these"-he hiked his thumb at the copper disk-"are created."

I agreed. There must have been thirty souls in that construct. Where was the reaper collecting the souls? He had to be reaping in more than just Nekros-we'd had a lot of unexplained deaths, but not that many.

I frowned at the disk. "Are you thinking the accomplice is a witch who can work glamour or a fae who can craft spells?"

They looked at each other and shook their heads. Yeah, okay, the accomplice was a big mystery. I'd never heard of a human who could use glamour. Of course, even those fae who could use Aetheric energy-like Caleb-couldn't create a jumble of spells like those contained in the disk. So a really, really rare something, who had found a relic that allowed interaction across planes. I gnawed at my lower lip. Occam's razor said the simplest solution was typically right. So maybe we're not looking for one accomplice who can use multiple types of magic, but two accomplices.

I fidgeted with the amulet in my hand. There was more than just Holly's magic woven into it. Tamara's was also present. As a gift last year, Tamara had charmed all of Holly's favorite pieces of jewelry with a spell that would all but prevent her from losing them. She could not only track the amulet, but the charm made the amulet actively try to return to Holly by urging whoever found it in Holly's direction. I could feel the charm, and it was active, but it wasn't urging me anywhere. That meant Holly was either dead-unacceptable-warded, or otherwise out of the spell's range.

Possibly somewhere like Faerie. The glamour, the archaic runes, the location of the lost collector-everything keeps pointing back to Faerie.

"If we a.s.sume the accomplice is a witch, and judging by the runes she's using, a very old one, we are most likely looking for a changeling." I glanced at the sky. We were far enough from the city that the light didn't reach here, so for as far as I could see, everything was inky darkness speckled with hundreds of p.r.i.c.ks of light. I had no idea how much time had pa.s.sed, but it felt late, or early, depending on your perspective. "Rianna told me that the magic of Faerie protects changelings except during sunrise and sunset. If changelings are caught out of Faerie during those times, all their years catch up to them. We can't be more than a few hours from dawn. The changeling is probably heading back so he or she isn't caught by dawn."

Which meant I was going to Faerie.

Decision made, I collected PC and waited for the FIB to arrive. The gray man and the raver left, but Death waited with me. I sat on the bridge, leaning against his shoulder.

"Wake up, Alex," he said, shaking me gently.

I pried my eyes open. Agent Nori, her suit as crisp as if she'd just finished starching it, strolled across the bridge. I pushed to my feet, resituating PC in my purse as I stood.

"Miss Craft," she said, hitting all the consonants hard.

"As I'm sure you've heard, I have a warrant for your arrest."

"But you aren't really arresting me, are you? Because I haven't done anything."

She frowned, her eyes cutting to the side as if judging who was in hearing range. "No. I'm not. You're being taken to Faerie for your own protection."

"Great. Then let's go."

The look she gave me was torn between suspicion that I was pulling a trick and the possibility that I was an idiot. I seriously hoped I wasn't the latter.

The accomplice was acting in Nekros, and the only door to Faerie led to the winter court. Rianna had demonstrated that it was possible to not belong to a court and still use its door, but I was hoping I'd find the accomplice in the winter court. I was also hoping that going willingly would earn me some favor. Yeah, lots of hoping and not a lot of facts, but I had to work with what I had. I wished Falin were here. He knew Faerie, and he would know the best way to search for the accomplice-and Holly-once I got there.

"What's with the dog?" Nori asked as she opened the back door of her sedan.

"Long story." I slid across the seat, Death following me. I fell asleep on the drive and felt no better for the rest when Death woke me. The steps of the Eternal Bloom loomed outside the pa.s.senger-side window. I swallowed the dread crawling up my throat and clutched PC a little tighter.

"Please check-Oh, h.e.l.lo, Agent Nori," the Bloom's bouncer, who appeared to be either a faun or a satyr, given the hooves evident under his loose pants, said as we entered. He stepped aside, leaving the path to the VIP section of the bar clear.

Agent Nori removed her gun and handed it to the bouncer, who, in return, gave her a claim stub. Then she headed for the inner door.

"Shouldn't we sign the ledger?" I asked as Nori marched me past it. They were always so insistent about that d.a.m.n ledger. I glanced at the bouncer, hoping he'd back me up, but his attention was devoted to cleaning his fingernails with the tips of the horns sprouting from his head.

"Time isn't an issue for you, Miss Craft," Nori said, motioning me forward.

I stared at the door. This is it.

Death followed me all the way to the threshold, and that was apparently as far as he could go. Still he held on to my arm, his fingers sliding down to my wrist, my hand, until he clutched just the tips of my fingers. Then we were too far away to touch.

"Come back to me," he whispered as the door closed.

Oh, I intended to. But now I had to visit Faerie.

Chapter 29.

There were fewer fae in the bar than in my previous visits. Those who were present glanced up as we entered, and then immediately looked back down, apparently intent on their beers. A hush rolled over the bar.

They're afraid of Nori? Or more likely, the authority she represented.

I clutched PC tight, hugging him to my chest. As I did, I caught a glimpse of my hands. Once again blood stained the undersides of my fingers and coated my palms. d.a.m.n. I'd forgotten about that. I stopped to dig my gloves out from under PC and Nori turned. The thin membrane slid across her eyes as she blinked and her wings released a sharp keening sound, but she said nothing as I pulled the gloves on. She, I noticed, didn't have blood on her hands.

No one tried to stop us as she escorted me to the old hardwood growing out of the center of the room. Then we were in the frozen halls of the winter court, stars caught in ice over our heads and silent ice guardians lining the sprawling cavern. I faltered, coming to a complete stop a step past the pillar.

"The ice is neither cold nor slick," Nori said, misinterpreting my hesitancy. Of course, she had no way of knowing I'd pa.s.sed this way before. She made a sweeping motion with her hand. "It's just a hallway. A pa.s.sage that joins places."

I nodded, falling in step behind her again. When Rianna had brought me here, I'd seen Faerie only with my eyes. This time my psyche reached across the planes, but as soon as I'd stepped around the pillar, the wisps of Aetheric energy and the rot of the land of the dead had vanished. Both had been thin inside the Eternal Bloom, but they'd been visible. Now they were gone. Did my s.h.i.+elds suddenly snap back in place? I stared around as I walked. The ice-encrusted walls glowed with some force I'd never seen before, and s.h.i.+mmering glyphs of power floated on the surface of the carved guardians. Well, I definitely didn't notice that last time. Clearly I was still seeing multiple planes. But . . .

"Nothing decays here, does it?"

Agent Nori turned toward me. "There are ancient battlefields from the early ages. The fallen still stare at the sky, the red blood soaking the ground."

A "no" would have been sufficient.

I continued to look around in amazement. I knew I wasn't seeing primarily with my eyes-or possibly not with my eyes at all. I was seeing Faerie as it was, just pure Faerie with its strange magics and interesting concept of reality. And it was beautiful.

Agent Nori paused. "A moment," she said, and then seemed to shake herself. The double image around her s.h.i.+mmered, the human face vanis.h.i.+ng so that only the sharp, blue-tinted fae mien remained. A sigh escaped her as she stretched, and her iridescent dragonfly wings caught the light from the frozen stars as she fanned them behind her.

"Does it hurt?" I asked, earning me another look, which on her now-foreign features was either bemus.e.m.e.nt or confusion. I couldn't tell which. "Being wrapped in the glamour," I said to clarify.

"It is . . . confining."

"Then why do it?" I didn't really expect her to answer. I was talking because I was nervous, and silence made the strange icy hallway more ominous. "Fae depend on mortal belief, and yet most fae hide behind glamours. Wouldn't it be more beneficial to be seen? If the glamour is also uncomfortable . . . ?"

"I'm not like you, born in a world of iron. Nor have I spent enough time in the mortal realm to build the tolerance that many of the independents boast. I must wear my glamour. It helps insulate me from the poison. But here . . ." Her wings blurred as she lifted off the ground. Now that we were in Faerie, Nori acted more relaxed, friendlier. Apparently that stick up her a.s.s was glamour. Not that I wasn't thankful for the change.

For a moment, I thought she might flitter away. Then she glanced back at me and tugged her suit straight, as if the movement helped her regain her serious role, but she didn't land. Flight was clearly more natural for her.

"Hurry up," she said, and I got the distinct feeling that she barked the order only because she felt the need to reestablish her authority.

I didn't resist, but matched the pace she set. After all, she didn't know it, but she was taking me exactly where I needed to go. As I walked, I fumbled Holly's amulet out of my purse. Relief washed through me as the charm woke. She was alive. And she was here in Faerie. I frowned. Somewhere. The charm urged me in several different directions at once. Either it was malfunctioning or the landscape of Faerie confused the magic. The latter wouldn't surprise me, not with the way doors worked. The layout of Faerie could have been designed by Escher.

The guards-or at least, similar guards-I'd seen on my first trip to Faerie nodded to Nori as we pa.s.sed, clearly recognizing her right to be in the halls, and she led me on a twisting route through the icy caverns. She finally came to a stop in front of a doorway. I peeked around her to look inside. It was a small, empty room. I frowned. And where does it really lead?

"This is it," she said. "In you go."

Right. Well, only one way to find out where I was going. I walked across the threshold and stepped not into a small room but into a cavernous ballroom filled with people.

The room was ma.s.sive, the ceiling lost in shadows far above my head. Thousands of snowflakes fell lazily, sparkling in light coming from no discernible source. The only time I'd left Nekros for an extended period was when I was in academy, and that had been even farther south. I could count on my fingers how many times I'd seen snow, so I couldn't help smiling as it drifted around me. I held out my hand, but the snowflakes vanished as soon as they touched my skin, not even leaving a drop of moisture behind.

I looked around. Music filled the great ballroom, the singer a deep baritone whose voice seemed to bypa.s.s the ears so his melody was heard by the very soul. I wanted to close my eyes, to just enjoy the sound of his voice, but I couldn't rip my eyes away from the dancers. Fae of every shape, every size, every color, and every nature swirled across the floor. None wore glamour, and I'd never seen so many fae in one place before. I couldn't even name all the kinds I saw. I'd expected the court to be filled with Sleagh Maith, and their strikingly beautiful faces were evident in the crowd, but most of the dancers had horns, or wings, or tails, or tusks. They danced in large circles, wearing fas.h.i.+ons that might have come right out of King Louis XIV's court in France during the golden days of the arts.

I stood just inside the doorway-which on this side appeared to be a large gothic arch-and gaped. It's like I stepped into a dream. Except dreams always felt slightly fuzzy and unreal. This ball whirled around me in full color, deep sounds, and, I realized, a mix of intoxicating scents, like walking by a bakery next to a kitchen cooking any food you could ever desire. My mouth watered, and I turned to see banquet tables lining the walls, each piled with meats, breads, and sweets. Do not eat Faerie food, I reminded myself, though my stomach was pretty sure the risk was worth taking.

"Welcome to the winter court," Nori said, floating around me. She s.n.a.t.c.hed two frosted champagne flutes off a tray carried by a fae with floor-length vines of mistletoe growing out of the top of her head. Nori handed me one gla.s.s and then motioned me forward.

I accepted the gla.s.s, but I didn't drink the glistening blue liquid inside. The amulet in my palm had finally made up its mind. It wanted me to head back out the door. Which made sense-there was only one door to this ballroom and Holly wasn't present. Of course, that didn't mean the accomplice wasn't. I attached the amulet to my charm bracelet. The large ruby felt heavy around my wrist, but I wanted access to it without having to dig under my dog every time I wanted to check the charm.

As Nori led me into the throng of dancers, I stretched my senses, scanning the crowd for magic. I searched for any signature of magic, even the smallest charm, that felt like the spells in the copper disks that animated the constructs. Nothing. Not a single charm or spell. The dancers stepped aside as I pa.s.sed, some casting curious glances at me, others smiling, flas.h.i.+ng all manner of tooth, tusk, and fang. A Sleagh Maith with hair so pale it was almost transparent lifted his gla.s.s in a silent toast as I walked past. I smiled but didn't return the gesture. I didn't know the rules here. Best to err on the side of caution. I kept scanning as I walked, my free hand idly rubbing the top of PC's head. Then I saw a familiar face.

Caleb, glamour free so the skin left visible above his elaborate coat and cravat was pale green, smiled at me. It was a big, boisterous smile displaying lots of his flat, dark green teeth-and it was completely at odds with the dire warning in his eyes. But he made no move to speak to me as he turned back to his partner, a fae who looked like she'd been carved from living ice. As he stepped forward I noticed the cord of ice binding him to the dance floor.

I did a double take. The chain was thin, hardly substantial, and it vanished into the icy floor, stretching to accommodate his dancing steps before vanis.h.i.+ng again, but I had no doubt it constrained him.

I scanned the crowd again and noticed that several of the fae were tethered with cords that dripped down their ankles and disappeared into the floor. Prisoners? Not all of them. Not even most of them. But enough to be more than a small number, and all were the wilder type of fae who tended toward declaring themselves independent of a court.

I frowned at the extravagant ball around me. Extravagant farce might be more like it. The magic snow falling around me lost its charm, the beautiful and horrendous dancers their appeal. I was gritting my teeth by the time we broke free of the crowd of dancers to approach a dais of carved ice.

The singer I'd been hearing stood at the base of the dais, his pointy elbows sticking out at awkward angles as fingers with their too many joints plucked notes from a large harp. His oversized nose bobbed, his voice lifting in melodies that would pack any concert hall. As I approached, he fixed dark, reproachful eyes on me. Malik. An icy cord bound him in place, but he never missed a note.

Above him, in the center of the dais, a woman sat on a large, glimmering throne of ice. Her soul s.h.i.+mmered a brilliant silver under her already pale skin, making her radiant as she gazed down at me with a stare that threatened frostbite if met too long. Her features were sharp enough to wound, but her red lips were plump, offering a touch of soft femininity to her face. Icicles dripped like diamonds from her long gown and a glimmering layer of frost encased the perfect dark curls falling around her face.

Even if she hadn't been on the throne, I doubted she could have been mistaken for anything but a queen. She was breathtaking, and I stared. I couldn't help it. She was the kind of beautiful you wanted to be near, hoping it would rub off. I wanted to make her smile just to see the expression soften her face. To make her laugh to know if her voice would be musical. I stumbled forward, barely aware of my own feet. From the bag still slung across my chest, PC let out a loud, happy-sounding yip.

I blinked, snapped out of my daze by the sound. Oh, I still felt the need to make the Winter Queen smile, felt it with every nerve in my being, but the need was no longer all-encompa.s.sing. Enchantment? I didn't know, but I would be more careful from now on. I looked away and realized for the first time that she wasn't alone on the dais. Beside her, standing with one hand on her shoulder, was Falin.

Chapter 30.

"Welcome to my court,planeweaver,"the queen said, leaning forward.

I barely noticed. I was still reeling from the sight of Falin. Of him standing beside her. Of him touching her. My mouth went dry, and even Malik's soulful voice faded to a buzz in my ears. Something in my chest had frozen. Maybe it was my lungs, because I couldn't seem to breathe.

He's with her. And of course he was. Look at her. She was . . . And look at me in my tank top and hip-huggers with a giant pink chalk handprint on one thigh, my hair in a snarl of tangles after being whipped around by the wind tearing out of the land of the dead. I clenched my fists at my sides. I'd known Falin was the queen's lover. I'd known.

Falin wasn't looking at me, but staring straight ahead, over the dancers. Heat burned in my cheeks. Embarra.s.sment, maybe. Anger, definitely. At him. At me.

I tore my gaze away. I had work to do: a reaper's accomplice to unearth and a friend to rescue. Well, actually, more than one friend-I wasn't leaving Caleb a slave in the winter court.

When I turned I found the queen's sharp gaze on me, watching, a.s.sessing.

"You're staring at my knight," she said, reaching up to stroke his hand where it rested on her shoulder. "Are you wondering about the chain? He has been . . . unpredictable, of late. Let it not worry your mind."

I blinked, and only then did I realize that a finger-thick chain, the links formed of glimmering ice, bound Falin to his queen. What the h.e.l.l is going on?

He didn't act like a prisoner, but then again, he also didn't act like he wanted to be there. Aside from the hand touching her shoulder, he didn't acknowledge her any more than he acknowledged me. Of course, the chain binding him was thin, and it was only ice. If he wanted to break it, I was sure he could. Stop thinking about it, Alex.

"I have thrown this ball in your honor," the queen said, drawing my attention back to her. "Do you like it?"

I opened my mouth and then snapped it closed again. Play this smart, Alex. It didn't matter if I wanted to pull out all of the queen's perfect hair right this minute. I was talking to a regent in a place where I didn't know the rules. I had to be very, very careful. But I also couldn't lie. That complicates things.

I looked around. "It's enchanting."

"It is, isn't it?" She smiled. "While I firmly believe one never needs a reason for a ball, I also think one should celebrate a newly awakened Sleagh Maith joining a court."

Uh, except I hadn't. From what Rianna and my father had said, I was pretty sure that choosing a court was, well, a choice. I pasted on a smile and rubbed PC's ears. "Congratulations. And who aligned with the winter court today?"

She frowned. "My dear, you awakened in my territory. Of course you will join my court."

But she said "will join," which meant my a.s.sumption was correct: the choice came down to me. "I intend to see a bit more of Faerie before I commit to anything," I said, and then added, "I've heard the high court has golden halls."

"Make merry with us, planeweaver," she said, and I wasn't sure if she was ignoring my statement or just continuing with her apparent plan of awing me with the grandeur of her court. "Let me find you a partner."

She pointed and a man who appeared to be around my own age stepped forward. Judging by the bright yellow of his soul, I guessed he was a human changeling.

"Jarrid is a splendid dancer," she said as he approached the dais.

I smiled at him, but said, "I am not interested in a dance." After all, from my experience, dances in Faerie were dangerous things. Okay, so the ball had none of the frantic, addictive energy of the Endless Dance, but still, better safe than sorry.