Dragon Shadow

by Alicia Wolfe

  My cheeks tingled, and I looked away. Could it be? Could I really be right about that? If so, it meant…

  Don’t think about that now, Jade. Focus.

  I scowled and struggled to get myself under control. “Anyway, so Seafoam tried to kill me,” I said. “He must have been Angela’s mole on the inside. Or at least one of them. I bet he’s the one who has been letting her goons in—the ones who turn into trolls.”

  “He must have been the one to tell her about the antler of the Golden Hind,” Davril said. “And she used that to get a horn she knew could be turned into a weapon against Queen Calista.”

  “That must be it,” I said. “Or maybe Seafoam was the one who found out about the horn, too. Maybe he’s the one who hired Angela.”

  “If he likes to hire people to do his dirty work, then why did he try to kill you himself?”

  That was a good question. “So he’s not the boss? Does that mean Angela is, or is she taking orders from someone else?”

  “I…” Davril held back a swear, I could see it. “I don’t know.”

  “She…mentioned Jereth,” Queen Calista said, sounding very weak.

  “Are you sure?” Davril said, looking surprised.

  “Yes. I heard her. When…she was attacking me…she said, ‘Now comes the rule of…Prince Jereth.’ That was right before she…stabbed me.”

  “Who’s Jereth?” I asked.

  There was steel in Calista’s voice. “My son.”

  “Damn,” I said. “I’m so sorry.”

  She fell silent, and I didn’t press her. She obviously needed to conserve her strength. Around us, New York whizzed past. The breeze whipped my hair even more strongly as Davril ground the gas pedal, shooting us faster into space. For one moment, I allowed myself to relish it. My blood sang and the world was laid out before me like a glittering dream, and beside me was a badass Fae Knight. Then the good feeling drained away, replaced by concern for Calista, and I scrambled onto my hands and knees, then slid over the seat into the back.

  “What are you doing?” Davril said.

  I didn’t answer but simply dropped beside the Queen. Reaching out, I grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, then continued holding it. She had leaned her head against the headrest, too weak even to prop it up, but she turned and offered me a grateful smile.

  I smiled back, but I had to force myself to do it. I choked down sobs and squeezed her hand even tighter.

  “Hang in there, Your Majesty,” I said. “We’ll save you.”

  I caught Davril’s eyes in the rearview mirror. He held my gaze for a moment, then ripped his eyes away. We swung wide around a building and came in sight of his castle ahead. I had never been so relieved to see a building as I was when those pocked gray walls, scarred by war and betrayal, came into view.

  “We made it,” I told Queen Calista.

  She issued a ragged breath. I studied her. She was pale white and so weak her eyes had lost focus and her body all strength.

  Davril must have sensed it, too, because I could see him grind his jaw even more.

  The knights on watch saw us coming. The castle gates swung open, and Davril flew us right into the courtyard. They closed with a bang behind us as he set the car down on the stone floor. Knights and Sisters of the Order of Elshe gathered to us just like last time. Had Lady Kay sent out a message of distress? Just how did that work, anyway?

  There was no time to worry about it now. Knights yanked open the doors, and Davril snapped orders. In moments, the Sisters were bearing Queen Calista to their tower on a stretcher, and Davril and I jogged at their side. We came with them as they entered the tower and took her to what passed for a hospital here.

  It was unlike any hospital I’d ever seen. Magical creatures flew through the air or stomped along the floor, some shimmering with bright and exotic colors. I saw what looked like a horse with a mane of flame, a thing like an otter with a zebra-striped coat and that walked upright wearing a pair of spectacles. Many Fae women buzzed about, performing ritual magic, mixing potions and enchanting objects presumably used in healing. They laid Queen Calista out on a bed in a medium-sized room, then ushered Davril and me into a waiting area.

  “Stay here until we come for you,” said Liara, the white-haired Fae, and left us.

  Davril avoided my gaze and stalked to a window, where he stared out over the city. I moved to my own window. Night deepened. Idly my eyes touched upon the golden antler, and I held it up to the light. It shone like fire.

  “Is that why you helped?”

  Davril’s voice snapped like a whip, and I looked up at him, startled. Hastily, I dropped the antler to my side.

  “No,” I said. You have until tomorrow, Skull-Face had told me. Shit, what am I going to do?

  Davril watched me close, and I knew he didn’t trust me. The worst part of it was that he was right. I had betrayed him and the Queen, and I couldn’t say I wouldn’t do it again. I’m coming for you, Ruby. I had what I needed. Now I had to leave this place and see to my sister.

  I’d leave when I knew the Queen was well.

  I wondered how much Davril saw of this on my face. He said nothing, just turned back to the window. I suppressed a sigh. I hated to deceive him, I really did, hated that I’d caused him pain. But surely he understood on some level, right? I wasn’t sure. His own brother had betrayed him, after all. Hell, no wonder he was so sensitive to betrayal. I would be, too. But another side effect of it was that he might not understand the need to help a sibling in trouble. He probably didn’t have such lovey-dovey feelings toward Nevos.

  We waited for hours, pacing and brooding, while the sounds of the strange animals drifted in from next door. Davril lit a fire in the hearth, and we sat across from each other on fine, old-fashioned couches. Still, we said practically nothing. It got so awkward that I was almost tempted to go into another room. Man, I really missed cigarettes.

  I jumped to my feet as Liara entered. Davril stood, too, his face solemn. Liara’s face was tight and drawn, her eyes very still. My heart dropped into my stomach. Please no, I thought. Please don’t let Calista be dead. It surprised me how much I cared. I’d been a lone wolf for too long.

  Liara approached us and stopped. We waited. I was sure Davril was even more anxious than I was, although I couldn’t see it on his face.

  “Well?” he said, and his voice was like lead.

  Liara blinked, seemed to gather her strength, and said, “Queen Calista is still alive…for now. I…I don’t know how long she has.”

  “But you have to save her,” I said. “I mean, you have all these charms and animals and…and you have to!”

  Liara lowered her eyes. “The demon horn rendered all Fae spells defunct. No Fae magic can cure the Queen, and no human medicine can do it, either.”

  I staggered back, suddenly feeling weak, and collapsed onto the couch. Davril wore a stricken look. He stared far away and said nothing.

  “I’m most sorry,” Liara said.

  “There…has to be a way,” Davril said at last.

  Liara wrung her hands. “Well…”

  I sat up. “Yes?”

  She grimaced. “There is a possibility that some earthly magic could cure her. Some magic from this world. Non-Fae magic.”

  “Well, can’t you just use some?”

  “We do not know how. We…we’ve never needed to learn.”

  My eyes fell on the antler of the Golden Hind. I spun to Davril and lifted it high so that it shone by firelight. “There’s only one thing left to do,” I said.

  His attention fixed on the antler. “Yes?”

  Though I could hear the distrust in his voice, I plowed on. “We have to get Ruby back.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “She’s a powerful witch, especially good at healing spells. Remember, I told you?”

  “Yes…” After a moment, the doubt in his face began to retreat, at least a little bit. “Go on,” he said.

  I almost grinned. “We use the an
tler to free her. She can heal Queen Calista.” To Liara, I asked, “How long do we have?”

  “As I said, I don’t know. However…”

  “Yes?”

  She seemed to think about it. “I would say by dawn.”

  My grin faded, and once more I felt weak. Forcing myself, I said to Davril, “Then I’d guess we better work fast.” I paused, then mustered my courage. “What do you say?”

  Firelight glittered on his eyes. “What are we waiting for?”

  Chapter 20

  My blood hummed as we buzzed back through the streets of Manhattan in Lady Kay. The towers of the city scrolled by to either side, their lit windows leaving tracers as they flashed by. Davril drove so fast I thought the car would come apart or at least elicit a groan of protest, but Lady Kay seemed just as anxious to save the Queen as we were.

  Hang in there, I thought, not just to the Queen but to Ruby. Ruby, I’ll finally get to see you again. For a moment, I was overcome by how much I missed her, and grief and terror welled up and nearly took me over. At the last instant, I wrenched myself out of the gulf of despair. Any longer and it would have consumed me, rendering me incapable of action.

  Get it together, Jade, I thought. This was for all the marbles.

  We swiftly navigated toward Hartson Tower, the name of the building Skull-Face had told me to meet him at. I told myself I wasn’t just doing this for Ruby, but for Queen Calista, too. And it was the best thing for her; I wasn’t just saying that. Right? That was the hard part. I was pretty sure that the answer was yes, but there was still that little tugging doubt that gnawed at me, telling me I was just using Davril and that this wouldn’t save the Queen at all.

  Can it, I thought at that negative voice. This IS going to save the Queen.

  “I still don’t understand any of this,” I said. “Queen Calista mentioned something about Prince Jereth being her son when we were taking her to your place. Why would Angela be serving him?”

  “I don’t think she is.”

  “But she wants him to rule! She said as much.”

  “There’s…some bitter history there.”

  “Well? Tell it.”

  “It’s simple. When we came over to your world, we had to leave many people of the Nine Thrones behind us. Jereth raged that they were still in the Shadow’s power and would suffer terrible fates because of our cowardice. He said we needed to open the portals once more and return to the Fae Lands to save our people.”

  “Sounds noble.”

  “It is,” Davril said. “Or it sounds that way, anyway. In reality, if we opened the portals, the Shadow would simply cross over into your world…our world now, too. Vorkoth would bend it to his will just as surely as he’s done to the Fae Lands. What Prince Jereth wants sounds righteous, but it would doom us all.”

  “I…damn. That sucks. So what happened?”

  “Prince Jereth tried to convince his mother to reopen the portals. When she refused, he tried to lead an uprising against her.”

  “Say what?”

  “Yes, he was really committed. He felt like we had betrayed our own people. He wasn’t willing to face the fact that sometimes we have to make hard choices for the greater good. At any rate, I and the other true knights stood against him. There were more of us, and we drove him and his faction off. Prince Jereth and his followers live in exile now, somewhere…out there.” Davril gestured to the skyline, but I could sense he didn’t mean New York exactly, but the world.

  “Do you have any idea where he is?” I said.

  “No, but there are some in the Palace who do.”

  “Why?”

  “He is the Heir.”

  I put a hand over my mouth. “Shit! So if Queen Calista dies…”

  “That’s right. He would return, install himself on the throne, and open the portals in an attempt to liberate our people still trapped in the Fae Lands.”

  “And the Shadow would pour through instead.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So that’s what Angela wants!”

  “Yes. It would seem like it. She truly is in service to Lord Vorkoth, and if Queen Calista dies, Angela will bring her master a great victory.”

  Hartson Tower approached, a darkly gleaming skyscraper of black glass thrust up along the coast. It stood like a shadowy thorn in the night. We drew toward the upper reaches, and I nearly whistled at the beautiful penthouse that perched on top—this was one of the few skyscrapers left without a castle on it. Most penthouse owners in New York nowadays had to live with not being the top resident of their particular tower. Instead of going down in value, though, penthouse prices had soared. People longed to be close to the Fae Lords, for all sorts of reasons.

  But not Skull-Face. Skull-Face operated out of a penthouse that was the uppermost portion of its spire, just like with Hawthorne. I wondered if that meant something.

  “This can’t be Skull-Face’s real address,” I said.

  “No?”

  “He wouldn’t give us his real address unless he intended to murder us, anyway. He wouldn’t want us to live to spread the word. He’d expect us—or you, or the police—to come after him. He’s a kidnapper in league with murderous vampires.”

  Davril patted the spot where I knew his invisible sword to be. “He won’t catch us by surprise, and we’re not defenseless.”

  I had to admire his bravery. He looked so determined hurling us through the air, the lights of the dashboard making his high cheekbones gleam and his eyes spark.

  “I guess,” I said, but I still had my doubts. “But anyway, I bet he’s renting this place. Maybe there will be a paper trail for us to follow afterward.”

  “Maybe.” Now it was Davril who sounded skeptical.

  After a moment, I had to agree. “He wouldn’t be using his real name, would he? Still, there might be something.”

  “Perhaps.”

  “I don’t want to let him just get away with this.”

  “Neither do I. We need the horn.”

  We flew up to one of the large jutting balconies of the penthouse and coasted to a stop. Gorgeous plants in huge ornate holders stood all over the balcony, and vines crept up from them and curled along the balustrades. I could see all this from the lights shining from equally ornate fixtures along the exterior wall.

  Davril tied Lady Kay to the railing just like hitching a horse, or maybe a boat to a dock, then jumped out. After making sure the place was safe—for the moment—he turned to me and offered his hand. I hesitated, studying his face. Was this a sign of forgiveness? It was dark with him facing away from the lights, and I couldn’t tell.

  I gave him my hand, and he helped me out of the car. Seemingly unconsciously, his gaze flicked down the length of my body as I settled, then—as he caught himself—hastily jerked up to my face. I stared. His cheeks reddened, which I could see very well as he turned his face to the side in full glare of the lights.

  I continued to stare at him, then felt my own cheeks grow warm. What the hell, Jade? Concentrate.

  I began moving toward the door, but it opened and a man stepped out. Dressed in fine clothes, he wore a beautiful wool scarf around his neck.

  “Won’t you come in?” he said.

  I reached for the knife at my waist—Davril had given it to me before we left his castle. At least he trusted me with a weapon now. What was more, he knew I could use it, too. Shame at killing Blackfeather rose in me again, and I had to shove it down.

  Was this guy Skull-Face?

  “Are you the asshat who abducted my sister?” I demanded.

  Davril stiffened at my side, one hand going to his hip like an Old West gunfighter.

  “His Lordship requests your presence indoors,” said the man with the scarf.

  “Fuck that,” I said. “I’m not going in there. Tell His Lordship—” What the hell was up with that name? “—to get the fuck out here. Right now.”

  The man blinked at my tone. “I apologize, ma’am, but he is insistent.”

  I
paused, then said to Davril, “I don’t want to go in there. It could be a trap like we talked about.”

  “I’m confident of our ability to spring any trap and come out the victor,” he said.

  “Jesus, you’re a robot. Or a fucking Vulcan. My God, you’re a Vulcan!”

  “Decide,” said the man with the scarf. “Come inside and save your sister. Or stay out here and watch her die.”

  I glared at the man, feeling heat course through me—sheer, devouring anger. The bastard was lucky I didn’t hit him in the belly right there.

  “Fine,” I said. “Then let’s get this stupid thing over with.”

  The man turned and led the way inside, leaving the door open for us. I stared at the gaping rectangle of darkness, hesitating. Surprisingly, Davril lowered his voice and said gently, “It will be all right.”

  I swallowed, feeling my eyes sting. Davril looked tense but strangely confident, and I thought I saw something in his face…something warm. Maybe he wasn’t a Vulcan.

  Maybe.

  “You think so?” I said.

  He nodded, once. “Yes.”

  Slowly, he reached up and squeezed my shoulder. I leaned into the contact, relishing it. Then together we turned toward the door. Davril went first, and I let him take the lead. He was the knight, after all. I went immediately after, though, one hand on my knife. I was just seconds away, I thought. Ruby, I’m coming.

  Darkness enclosed us as we entered, but thanks to my shifter senses I could see very well.

  “Why’d you turn out the lights?” I asked suspiciously, coiling myself for a fight. I could feel Davril tensing, too.

  “My friends don’t like a lot of light,” our host said. “Now come. This way.”

  He moved forward down a hallway. Davril and I glanced around, then reluctantly followed. Hairs stood up on the nape of my neck. My legs wanted to run. At the moment, I wished to be anywhere other than there. And yet that was just where I had to be.

  We passed large open areas and private rooms, and I saw a few people who must live here to judge by their fancy appearances, then some people who had to be servants or staff. All wore scarves.