by Jamie Davis
Clark bent down and pushed the soft tunnel floor. “Don’t stop to worry about it. We have to get out of here.”
“I don’t think they’re going to let us,” Taylor said.
“What are you talking about?” Quinn asked. She followed Taylor’s pointing finger back up the winding tunnel. Four man-shaped figures rose from the passage floor, their skin the same color as the surrounding stone.
“Rock elementals,” Naomi shouted. She drew her sword and charged at the nearest of the four creatures. “We must kill them before they mature and their skin hardens.”
Quinn stood and drew her Bowie. The rumbling had let up, but a new threat stood between them and the surface. Quinn raced after her mother, with Clark behind her. Taylor started chanting as she readied a spell.
Quinn led with her blade, slashing at the creature closest to her. She expected there to be nothing but sparks when the edge struck the elemental’s skin. Instead, the knife opened a long gash, and a muddy brown liquid oozed from the wound.
The beast howled in pain and reached out to pull Quinn into a giant bearhug. She didn’t have to know anything about fighting elementals to understand that embrace would be the end of her.
She danced back, evading the outstretched arms and scoring two more attacks, one on each arm while she dodged.
The skin seemed like softened clay, not stone, but she knew her mother was probably right about what would happen if they allowed that skin to harden. Quinn dove back in, launching another attack, working as quickly as she could. She had to kill this thing fast.
She scored another hit and danced away, dodging the clutching arms once again.
“Duck!”
When Taylor’s shout registered, Quinn dove for the floor, landing beside Naomi and Clark. Ice-cold wind rushed over them.
The magically chilled air struck the elementals, and ice crystals started to form instantly. The sudden layer of frost cracked the flash-frozen skin and slowed the elementals almost to a standstill.
“It worked!” Taylor exclaimed. “Quick, get past them. We can make a run for the elevator.”
Before Quinn could get up, Taylor darted past her, weaving between the frozen elementals while laughing at her magic’s effect. Quinn smiled and ran after her, followed by Naomi and Clark.
The four of them dove into the elevator when they reached it. Quinn sighed with relief as the car jerked upward, rising back to the surface. They’d made it out.
Chapter Six
Quinn let the double glass doors shut behind her as she left the VirSync building with the others. “I hope that boulder destroyed Jared’s demon soul along with the pedestal. I’d hate to think of him roaming around now, looking for a new host.”
“We should be rid of him,” Clark said. “Usually, when a magical locus for a spirit is destroyed, the spirit within is also destroyed.”
“’Usually’ doesn’t fill me with confidence,” Quinn replied. “We don’t need another random piece of evil roaming around right now.”
“Clark’s right,” Naomi said. “The demon is gone. Even if he was somehow freed, he’d need someone to inhabit to move on before his energy fades. That’s not going to happen any time soon, with those lurking elementals down there.”
They all got into the car, and Clark started driving home.
Quinn was quiet for a few minutes, trying to make sense of what little they’d learned from Jared. He’d said the wild magic was focused on or around a few ancient races. The more she thought about it, the surer she was she had an answer.
“I think I know who’s responsible for the attacks,” Quinn told them.
“Who?” Taylor asked. “Jared didn’t give us a lot to go on before everything fell apart down there.”
“Think about it. He mentioned ancient races. That has to be the Fae, right? I think this is Filippa’s way of getting back at us for screwing up her plan to control the Crystal Well.”
Naomi shook her head. “I know you think she’s the root of all the evil in the world, but we have no indication this is a result of Fae magic.”
“Filippa wasn’t down in that cavern with us, Quinn,” Clark said. “The only person who has all the incidents in common is you.”
“Me? You think I’m doing this?”
“Not doing it,” Clark replied. “Hear me out. I’m not blaming you. I’m trying to understand what’s in play here. Something about you is triggering these events. You might not even be aware of it.”
“Clark’s right,” Naomi agreed. “What were you doing or thinking about right before the tremors started down there?”
Quinn fought down her objections to this line of questioning. There was a logic to their thoughts she couldn’t deny. She went back in her mind to when they were down in the cavern. What had she been thinking about when the earthquake began?
“I guess I was angry at Jared for making me remember the fighting that defeated Handon and the others. I didn’t want to go there, but Jared forced me to.”
Clark glanced over his shoulder at Naomi. “What do you think? Would that be enough?”
“Maybe. None of us knows enough about the subject to be sure. We just lost the best resource we had on wild magic, so we need to go back to square one. What was it the demon said about the spear?”
Taylor said, “He said it couldn’t be the source of the outbreak, even though the evidence points to it.”
Clark shook his head. “I can’t shake the feeling we’re missing something. I don’t know what. We need to start from scratch and throw out any suppositions we have. Maybe then we’ll see what we’ve overlooked.”
Quinn didn’t respond. Everyone had thought she was obsessed with what Filippa was up to until Quinn had uncovered evidence that the Fae princess was behind something, which had happened more than once. She’d have to keep her mouth shut until she unearthed the proof she needed.
It was late, and the group fell into silence for the rest of the drive. When Clark finally pulled into the alley outside O’Malley’s, they got out, lost in their thoughts. Quinn wanted to get some sleep and planned on going straight up to her apartment once she got inside.
They all walked down the steps and entered the entryway for the club. The thumping rhythm section of the night’s country-western band filled the tiny foyer, even with the doors closed.
Jonas, the giant who acted at the bouncer for the bar, nodded at them. “Quinn, someone’s here to see you? They’re waiting at the bar.”
“Who is it?”
“You should see for yourself. I don’t want to be the bearer of bad tidings. It makes me grumpy.”
“You big baby,” Taylor said. “Come on, Quinn. It can’t be that bad. Jonas would never let anyone dangerous into the bar.”
Quinn let Taylor tug her along by the elbow. The music washed over her. The place was jumping, and the area between them and the bar was filled with patrons, many of them dancing to the current song.
Quinn and Taylor worked their way through the crowd. Clark and Naomi were right behind them.
The mass of people finally thinned enough for Quinn to see the bar. She knew right away which one Jonas referred to. The tall, thin woman wore some sort of riding outfit, complete with a crop tucked under one arm. She sat atop one of the barstools, sipping a frozen cocktail.
Filippa spotted Quinn at the same time Quinn spotted her. A big grin spread across her face, and she raised her drink in a toast.
“Aw, hell no!” Quinn exclaimed. She turned and glared at Clark and Naomi. “One of these times, you’re going to listen to me when I tell you my hunches. We’d have avoided a whole host of problems over the last year if you’d done that.”
Clark shook his head. “Let’s hear what she has to say.”
Quinn’s jaw dropped.
Clark held up a hand to stop her from responding further. “I’m not disagreeing with you, but now that she’s here, let’s play this smart and see if we can find out what she’s up to.”
Quinn grima
ced. “That’s kind of like a doctor telling someone to just let cancer run its course. You know that?”
“O’Malley’s is neutral ground, Quinn,” Naomi reminded her. “You can’t attack her here, and she can’t do anything to you. Clark’s right. We need to know what she wants.”
Quinn glared at the Fae princess, who sat beaming at her across the room. She had to see the expression on Quinn’s face, but she didn’t seem to care. That woman’s smug self-assurance was one of the things Quinn hated the most.
Shaking off Clark’s hand on her shoulder, Quinn strode over to Filippa. She could feel Clark and Naomi following, ready to stop her from doing anything that would violate O’Malley’s neutrality.
“Quinn, darling, it’s so good to see you. You look so much better than the last time I saw you.”
Quinn forced a half-grin onto her face and said through gritted teeth, “Considering a room full of cultists and vampires was trying to kill me at the time, I’m not surprised I look better. It’s a shame a spare blade didn’t slip and slash out in your direction.”
“My, my, you’re not still carrying a grudge about that, are you?” Filippa took a long sip from her drink and set it down on the bar. “I was in no position to intervene. Had I tried, they would have killed me for sure. Besides, you obviously had everything in hand. Look, you and Clark survived, and you were reunited with your mother, too. I’d call that a win.”
Quinn realized she wasn’t going to catch the princess in an admission of guilt. She wasn’t sure what good it would do if she did.
“What do you want, Filippa? You came out from under your rock for something. What was it?”
“Why, to come see you, of course. I would have thought that was plain. Why else would I have come here?”
“All right,” Quinn said. “You’ve seen me. Now leave.”
Clark stepped forward. “Quinn, rudeness won’t solve anything.” He turned to Filippa. “If you have something to say to us, let’s have it. We have urgent business to tend to.”
“Is it about the wild magic that’s broken loose? I can help you with that.”
Quinn had had enough. “Of course you can. You’re behind it, just like you were behind Gemma coming here to try to run me out of town.”
“Gemma? Gemma Beckingsly? I haven’t seen or talked to her for a few years. I used to help her out from time to time following the purges. I did the same for Clark. It was the least I could do, considering everything that happened to the clans. Gemma and I had a falling out, though. Why, what has she been up to?”
“We know you were behind it, Filippa,” Quinn said. “Aurora filled us in on your desire to find the Crystal Well.”
Filippa waved a hand in the air. “My cousin talks too much, though she is right. I’ve been searching for the Well’s location for years. I dropped that particular passion project recently for more pressing matters, though. Don’t tell me you located it?”
Quinn let out an exasperated groan. “Agh, I can’t talk to her anymore.” She turned away from the princess and crossed her arms.
“My, my, Clark, she does have a flair for the dramatic. I came to offer my help. Rumblings of a wild magic outbreak are rippling throughout the world. Several of my royal cousins have asked me to come here and look into it. Based upon Quinn’s reaction, you people have not had much luck locating the source.”
“You’re correct,” Clark agreed. “We had a source of information, but it fell through before we got the answers we need.”
“Then you need me,” Filippa explained. “I have a way to determine the source so you can isolate it and control it until it dissipates. It’s far too dangerous, given the current state of things.”
Taylor asked, “What do you want in return? You don’t strike me as the kind of person who does anything for free.”
“The ritual you’ll have to perform is difficult, though your little clan here has the necessary talents to pull it off. If it’s successful, I’ll ask a small favor of Quinn.”
Quinn spun. “I don’t want to owe you anything. I won’t be beholden to you so you can hold it over me later on.”
“What I want is quite simple. I’ll tell you what it is upfront if that’s what you want.”
Quinn nodded. “Good, tell me. Then I’ll tell you if we want your help.”
Filippa smiled, her pearly, iridescent teeth showed for a second, making it look more menacing than friendly. “It’s simple, Quinn, my dear. I want you to promise to come to me first when the time comes to imprint the dragon egg when your year is up. Promise to do that, and I’ll help you find the source of the wild magic.”
Quinn started to refuse reflexively, but Clark stopped her. “We can live with that. Aurora can do what she needs to do to get it back from you if she wants it badly enough.”
“Clark, we told Aurora we’d offer it back to her,” Quinn reminded him. “We can’t go back on that.”
“She shouldn’t have put us in the middle of a Fae custody battle.” Clark turned back to Filippa. “How long have the two of you been passing that thing back and forth?”
“Oh, it has to be several centuries now. We’ve both possessed it many times at this point. If my cousin wants it back, she has her own ways of accomplishing the task without involving you.”
Clark nodded. “Then we have a deal. Help us nail down the source of the wild magic outbreak, and we’ll give you first dibs on the egg a few months from now when Quinn’s year is up.”
“Excellent.” Filippa grinned and nodded as if ticking off a box on a to-do list in her mind. She slid off the barstool, then gave a little wave with the raised fingers of one hand. “I have some errands to run. I left my phone number with Juni. Contact me when you’re ready to begin. I’ll start making arrangements to acquire what we need.”
The princess left her spot at the bar and walked toward the exit as she sketched a simple rune in the air with a finger. The crowd parted as if they’d choreographed it beforehand, allowing her a direct route to the door. None of the patrons even glanced her way.
As soon as she left the club, Quinn turned to Clark. “The egg’s not yours to bargain with. That was my decision to make.”
“Quinn,” Taylor asked, “what’s the big deal? You were just holding the egg for Aurora anyway. Let the Fae royals battle it out. We’re better off without it.”
Naomi had been staring at Quinn for some time now. Quinn sensed her mother’s eyes on her and said, “What’s your problem, Mother? Why don’t you pile on me like the rest of them?”
“No one’s piling on you, Quinn. There’s something you’re not telling us, though. Why have you become so attached to the dragon egg? I know it’s rare even to see one, but let’s face it, they’re just pretty rocks until they’re ready to hatch. There hasn’t been a new dragon born in a century, maybe more.”
Quinn started to answer and stopped. She didn’t know what to tell them. One thing was sure: her dragon egg was not just a pretty rock. The dragon inside was pretty animated for a baby in a shell. Realizing everyone was waiting for an answer, she explained, “I’ve become attached to it. It’s nice to have around.”
Taylor laughed. “You don’t talk to it like a plant, do you?”
As Quinn felt the heat rising in her face, Taylor spotted her blushing and blurted, “You do! Oh, Quinn, sometimes I think you missed out when none of your foster families got you a dog growing up.”
“Sometimes it’s nice to talk things through,” Quinn said, realizing this was a way out of the conversation. “It’s not like I take both sides of the conversation or anything.”
Naomi smiled. “Well, I suppose that’s good. Do let us know if you start hearing dragon voices answering you.”
“I’ll make sure to do that.” Quinn pulled out her phone and glanced at the screen. “It’s late, and tomorrow’s a training day. I need to get some sleep. Can we talk more about how to handle Filippa in the morning?”
“That’ll work,” Clark agreed. “We also need
to mull over what little information we got from Jared tonight. We know the source isn’t the spear, so if we can localize it ourselves, we don’t have to use Filippa’s help.”
“I like that option best,” Quinn said. “See you all in the morning.”
The others waved. Quinn headed for the stairs up to her apartment above the club. As late as it was, she realized she had too much swirling through her mind to go right to sleep. Maybe talking things through with the egg would help her them out so she could get some rest.
She smiled as she thought about the dragon egg. Holding it always settled her mind and gave her a sense of well-being. There was no way she was giving that up to a conniving Fae princess, no matter which one it was.
Chapter Seven
Quinn woke up the next morning to the warm, soothing vibration of the egg against her back. She imagined the tiny dragon inside snoring while asleep, generating the gentle trembling transmitted through the shell.
She rolled over and laid her hand on the egg. “Morning, you. Did you have a good sleep?”
The smooth vibration stopped, then the egg gently trembled once and went still.
“Good. I did, too, thanks to you. At least I won’t be tired for this morning’s training exercise. Clark and Mom are probably going to blast me with something hard since I’ve been off for a few days.”
The egg vibrated twice.
“You don’t think so? I hope you’re right.” She glanced at the phone on the nightstand. She still had time to get some breakfast.
Quinn stood up and looked down at the egg. “You want to come out and watch me eat, or do you want to go back to sleep?”
A double vibration brought a chuckle from Quinn. “I don’t blame you. I’d want to sleep in, too. Okay, I’ll see you when I get back later. Sleep tight.”
She knew the responses were probably all in her imagination. How could the tiny thing in there even hear her through the thick shell? It was probably just a random series of ordinary movements she was putting voice to.
Quinn shook her head. She didn’t care. As far as she was concerned, the little creature inside was listening to every word she said. Padding out to the living room and kitchen in her bare feet, Quinn fired up the coffee maker and got her first mug going while she tried to decide what she wanted to eat.