by J L Collins
A grin broke out across Fi’s face and my chest ached, remembering just how much her smile reminded me of her father’s. “That is probably the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. So, it was like a boy meets girl, they fall in love despite their differences, and have a ridiculously adorable child.”
“Mm, not quite. I mean, it wasn’t that simple. I got in a lot of trouble on my end. We weren’t supposed to have any contact with humans, remember? So, when I kept slipping out of the realm well past the CHARM, I was put on notice. No one really knew about Adam though. Except Erie. We told each other everything. She wasn’t a fan of the idea, but she knew I was a goner, and she kept my secret.
For months I was able to get away with all of it, no one catching on just how much I’d been sneaking out into the Human Realm. But one day, I got to the gateway and there were two of my fellow Shadow Hands standing there, guarding it. I was already in trouble and I tried to make it look like I was there because I’d been sent there. But they weren’t buying it. They’d been asked to stand guard in case I showed up. And there I was, just like he thought I’d be.”
I sighed. The burning anger I’d felt at being controlled that way and being kept from my boyfriend still lingered quietly somewhere in me.
“Oh no,” she whispered.
“Oh yes. And imagine my surprise when around the corner of that alcove, came Adam. He was so confused. So were the guards. All of us, really. Everyone started talking at once. The two standing there figured out that he was a human and stunned him until he fell over, asleep. They were busy talking about how to explain to Uncle Gardner and the rest of the heads at the MARC that they’d let an actual human slip through. I didn’t want Adam to lose his memories of me obviously, and I knew that was the first thing they’d do—I was relieved they hadn’t already. But I was livid of course, and not so great at controlling my emotions. I stunned them both and wiped their memories so that I could get him back into the Human Realm. It was nothing short of disastrous.”
Fiona-Leigh really was on the edge of her seat. “Whoa.”
“Yep. The worst part was having to explain everything to Adam.”
She winced. “You told him everything? How did he take it?”
The feeling was familiar to me. A hopeful feeling like maybe it hadn’t been such a bad idea to keep things going with Adam. Sort of like how I felt when I was walking through the woods with Sully. My stomach churned at the similarities. “After he calmed down about being stunned and the whole gateway leading into another world thing . . . he was pretty excited. He didn’t blame me whatsoever for not telling him. It was my worst fear and he brushed it off like it was never a possibility. He told me he loved me no matter what, and we would figure things out.”
This time my shoulders slumped. I knew what came next. “We had to get them off our backs, so I planned to meet him at the edge of the forest, not far from where we usually go into it. I had this crazy idea that I would pretend to go camping in Amaranth Forest when I was really going to spend a few days with Adam. He wanted to introduce me to his friends, to show me where he went to college, and to take me hiking through the Smokies. I was so excited. The day of, I wasn’t feeling too hot. It didn’t take the Health Maester to figure out what was going on. I was already stressed out about losing Adam because of the rules. I wasn’t about to tell a soul that I was pregnant. With you.”
Fiona-Leigh sighed. “Oh, Mama.”
“I was terrified because I had no idea what would happen. Witches and humans never procreate, at least to my knowledge then, and I didn’t want others wondering why it was on my mind if I tried looking it up in the Athenaeum. They keep records of that stuff.”
I leaned forward; my palms sweaty. “I made it out of the gateway, no problem. It was about halfway through when I started hearing this really weird noise. I thought it was maybe bees or something, but it got louder the further away from the gateway I got. I had no idea what the blaring red lights were, or why the big white transporter was making this weird wailing noise as I got close enough to the edge of the woods. But I saw him there, on the stretcher. His red hair, those same arms I’d had around me the whole time with him. When they pulled the white sheet over him, I-I came rushing out, screaming for him. No one could calm me down. They sedated me and I was taken to the hospital in another transporter—I mean, ambulance. I woke up and thankfully no one had done any kind of testing or bloodwork on me. The nurse took the saline drip off and I was told what happened. Adam had brought his car with him to our spot. While he was out fixing a flat tire, someone hit him on the side of the road where we were supposed to meet. He was killed instantly.”
Fiona-Leigh’s tears matched my own and I held back the urge to reach out to her. “I was a mess. I didn’t want to eat. All I wanted to do was sleep. And it didn’t take long for me to start showing. Erie was the first to put it together. She helped me steer clear of Aunt Bedelia so she couldn’t read my thoughts. It was only because of Erie that I admitted to Aunt Bedelia what happened. Then there was Dad. Nathaniel. I knew Dad was worried about me and you. He thought it would be a tough life for a human child to grow up in a magical place. But he was willing to be there for it, once he came around. Aunt Bedelia was excited,” I said, giving Fi a watery smile. “She said you were an unexpected but wonderful miracle. She was right.”
“What about Uncle Gardner?”
I looked down at my hands in my lap. “He was . . . difficult. He thought I was a disgrace to the name of Shadow Hands, getting myself caught up in the affairs of humans, then falling for one. He refused to even mention me being pregnant. I was kicked out of the Shadow Hands, understandably, even though I was one of their best. He couldn’t even look at me. And that hurt. I started thinking about what Dad said, and when more and more people found out it was like I was this social pariah, it cut me even deeper.”
Through gritted teeth, Fiona-Leigh muttered, “Wearing a scarlet letter.”
“It definitely felt like that. I had part of my family’s support, but without Uncle Gardner’s support—the person I’d been trying to please for a good chunk of my life—I was lost.”
“What about your dad? Didn’t you care about his opinion too? Why didn’t you feel like you should impress him?”
“Because with Dad, I knew I didn’t have to please him or win him over. He loved me and Tristan unconditionally, through and through. He was so loving toward us. He hated punishing us for anything—and often it came down to Aunt Bee or Aunt Ginny because he was such a sucker,” I couldn’t help but smile. “I always knew I wanted to be a Shadow Hand like Uncle Gardner though, and that’s why I always wanted to show off to him. He’s a tough nut to crack, in case you haven’t noticed.
Anyway. You were born and everyone loved you, naturally. I saw not only Adam in you, but parts of my mother who died when I was seven. She was a strong woman, very similar to you. You would’ve loved her. But so many people kept trying to show up to the manor house, claiming they wanted to see what a human was like. Wanting to see if magic would work on you. I hated the idea that you were going to grow up with all eyes on you, no matter who you were and what you did.
I made the decision one night. I packed up everything, wrote a couple of letters and left them there. I took my box, a few of our belongings, and left Spell Haven for good. After I’d stopped at the gateway to check and make sure you were okay, it sealed up behind us. It was gone. Back in Spell Haven, there had been the idea that it was time to seal off the gateways around the world. There are only three of them anyway, and with my meddling and other things happening, the MARC thought it was for the best. I found out later, that it was a cruel coincidence. No one locked me out on purpose, it was already meant to happen. But it also meant that unless there was an emergency, no one could get through either way.”
“But didn’t you say your dad died? And what about Osh? How did he get here?”
I held up my hands. “I got the letter about my Dad sent with Osh. Like you saw with
Aunt Bee, there is other strictly guarded magic that gets you into the Human Realm without the gateway. Since everyone there had had enough of Oisín, and he was meant to go to the first heir, my cousin Isobel, whom he hated… he decided he wanted to stay with me. We always got along pretty well, and he was pretty tired of Spell Haven too, I think. So, he stayed with me. Finding out about Dad like that . . . I don’t think I’ll ever get over it, quite honestly. But I’ve had to make peace with what I did and what happened afterward. I found a place to live. A little apartment nearby. And it took me a little while but I saved up and found a little cottage to rent here in Midnight Pitch. Got a better job. Decided to make a deal and take the house off the owner’s hands. And here we are,” I said, gesturing to the house around us, my eyes wet with tears. “Home . . . sweet home.”
And there she was, pulling me into a hug, completely forgetting about just how angry she was not even ten minutes before. She squeezed me tightly and I did the weird mom thing I do where I smell her head because even at fourteen years old, she’s my baby. It felt right, even as fragmented as my heart felt. I was lighter than ever, done with holding back from Fi. But it was definitely not something I wanted to put myself through ever again.
“Thank you. Thank you for telling me. I told you I’m grown-up enough to handle this stuff,” she said, smiling toward the end.
I pulled back just a little, raising a brow at her. “Eh, you have your moments.” I hugged her close again, finally able to breathe again.
15
On the Move
With Fi in school for the day, I was on my way to go pay my little brother a proper visit. The last time I saw him, he was pretty much attached at the hip to a bottle of Muldoon’s Shock Syrup. Neither of us were really in the mood for each other’s company.
The gate to the manor house swung open as soon as I approached it, and I waved to the MARC civic officer who was stationed outside the front door. “Morning, Officer.”
He tipped his hat toward me. “Ms. Brady.” He unlocked some kind of complex locking mechanism before the door opened; its creaking a quiet echo in the main entryway.
“Even more security?” I asked him.
“Inquisitor Brady has asked us to keep a higher-detailed security on the house, yes. It’s meant to be only temporary.” His tone implied the truth was a little more complicated than that.
The huge open foyer spilled into the rest of the manor—which was relatively silent and unoccupied. Uncle Gardner was certainly at work, and Aunt Ginevra could’ve been anywhere, as much as she did throughout the community. And of course, I knew Tristan was probably upstairs in his room being angsty about his house arrest. Maybe I should pop into the kitchen for a quick snack and some water before dealing with all that.
Using my wand, I directed a floating platter full of Aunt Ginevra’s favorite biscuits and jam, along with a pitcher of ice water, up the staircase ahead of me. My mouth watered just looking at them.
The portraits and paintings along the wall hadn’t changed since I’d lived here. There was the portrait of me and my mother, Maureen, before Tristan had been born. She was beautiful, with dark eyes and strong yet elegant features, her hair pulled back into a beautiful red braid. Next to her I was thin and gawky, with my front teeth missing and a wide grin. It was my favorite of just the two of us, and it happened to be right beside my favorite painting—a beautiful scene of a sunset over Lake Lachlan with a black-maned unicorn drinking along the bank. I paused to look at it, smiling to myself.
Positioning myself and the floating platter outside of my brother’s bedroom, I knocked with my wand-free hand. “Tristan?”
I could hear him talking, though there didn’t seem to be anyone else in the room. I knocked again, trying to see if he could hear me.
Feet pounded the bare floor and the unmistakable sound of a fire message whooshing out of existence caught my attention. Tristan threw open the door, wild-eyed.
“What was that all about? Go on, don’t make me just stand here like this.”
He moved out of the way, and for the first time I noticed the tint in his cheeks, even under very obvious scruff. “Nothing,” he muttered.
“Yeah, okay. Not suspicious at all.”
He rolled his eyes as I landed the plate on the wide dresser across the room. “I was just . . . sending a message to Brennrie. She’s been busy at the castle.” He saw the pitying look on my face. “But she’s trying to find time to come see me. It won’t be much longer, I’m sure.”
I poured his glass of ice water first, keeping an eye out for any opened bottles of Muldoon’s Shock Syrup lying around. “Have you two made up, then?”
“You could say that. The Queen isn’t thrilled about it, though. She doesn’t like her courtesans wrapped up with our kind, I don’t think. Not that it matters. It’s not like we can have much of a real anything with me cooped up here.”
I sighed. “I get it. I’d be going stir-crazy too.” I remembered the extra guard by the front door. “Any particular reason Uncle G has security ramped up?”
The color in Tristan’s cheeks drained quickly. “There’s a price on my head. And from what Brennrie’s managed to find out through the court’s whisperings, Delaney Drakar is on the move.” His voice was softer than usual, thoughtful even. I didn’t like it one bit.
“On the move? What is that supposed to mean?” I was more concerned about the newer information. It wasn’t exactly news that there were factions out there out for my brother’s blood—it had been the whole reason he was under protection in the manor house to begin with.
“In the Dark Market, she’s been keeping her people close to her—closer than normal. It’s a pretty good sign that she’s intending on moving into someone else’s territory. And with more territory gained, there’s more people in her grasp. More of a chance to get whatever she wants.”
Okay. I definitely didn’t like the sound of that. “Is this something that happens a lot? I know the Dark Market operates differently since I was in training.”
He took a swig from his glass, closing his eyes. “Not too often. It’s sort of a big deal when it does. She’s smart about these kinds of things. Delaney knows when to strike and how to do it without drawing too much attention to herself. Plus, she’s really good about not getting her hands dirty. She’s even got these two messed-up bastards on her payroll, or so I’ve heard. Changeling brothers—the Renaldi Twins. Deadly, too. Though for Changelings, you’d think they’d be pretty smart. They’re not.” Tristan snorted, sitting down on the edge of his bed. “Delaney’s sitting high on that self-made throne of hers. At least in the Dark Market.”
“It doesn’t hurt being part of one of the town’s most prominent families, either,” I said, biting into a biscuit. The buttery flakiness practically melted in my mouth.
“Very true. You’d think the Fontaines would want to distance themselves from her. But all I’ve ever seen is the opposite. It doesn’t matter that she’s deep in the Dark Market. With them, it’s all about family.”
“We can’t really talk, in that case. That’s pretty much how the Brady family has always been, too. I mean look at us. We’ve passed down one of the most petulant members of our family over the past several generations, just because he’s a cat. Who does that?” We both shared a grinned.
“Sometimes it’s still hard to believe he picked the Human Realm over Spell Haven. I always figured he would eventually get tired of us and go live in the forest or something.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him just yet. Especially now that we have our dog, Jax.” My smile faded. The bed creaked a little as I sat down next to Tristan. “Do you think Delaney is someone we should worry about? I mean with the investigation? I’ve looked over the case files but no one’s made mention of her as a possible suspect. I didn’t see anything about an alibi or evidence otherwise, so maybe no one’s officially marked her as one. Does it seem like something she’d be a part of, maybe?”
Truth be told, I knew it was
n’t exactly MARC protocol to bring in someone without any proper tie to a case. But the last time I’d seen information about Delaney Drakar had been in the old case archives in the basement of the MARC headquarters. She had quite an extensive list of not-found-guilty’s under her belt. Which meant that she’d been in a lot of sticky situations where she managed to squeak past, unscathed. A person like that was definitely one to keep an eye on, if you asked me.
“I don’t know, Gwen. I mean, she’s done a lot of people dirty but—”
“She had Enoch, your former employer, murdered. We all know that, even though it didn’t get pinned on her.” I thought about the cold-hearted man sitting in the prison underneath the MARC, and shivered.
“I know, I know. I just don’t know what she would have against Rourke. She’s not a townie, despite her family. She rarely leaves the Dark Market anymore. It seems like a reach to me.”
“She really likes power grabs. Becoming the Overseer of the Dark Market is about as powerful a grab you could possibly make. But having the Book of the Wise in your hands along with it . . . who knows what she would be capable of? It’s still missing you know, and we’re no closer to finding it than we were when we saw it was gone in the first place.”
He still seemed skeptical. “Yeah, I mean you have a point. But she’s so well-connected, I doubt she’d really even need that. She’s never really cared about anything but gaining access at the Dark Market to control it. She could care less about the rest of Spell Haven. It’s the underground she’s after.”
I gulped down my glass of water and sat it down, my thoughts circling the drain, too. It was probably dumb to start a scattershot approach of tracking down suspects in the case. I wasn’t going to completely let Delaney Drakar off the hook, though.