by E.J. Stevens
“Make that two lifetimes,” I muttered.
“What?” Jinx asked.
“Nothing,” I said with a shrug.
One of my fae talents is second sight. I can see through the glamour that most supernatural creatures cloak themselves with in order to hide amongst humans. With Kaye’s help, we’d come up with a recipe for faerie ointment, a concoction that allowed Jinx to see through fae glamour, but the ingredients weren’t cheap and it didn’t allow to her see vamps and other supernatural beasties—only faeries. Due to the price and its limitations, Jinx saved the ointment for night jobs and trips to Club Nexus. Which meant all she saw was a sweaty guy with a long, tangled beard and a skin condition. Too bad I couldn’t be so lucky.
I flicked my eyes to Jinx as we passed the drippy vodyanoy. She was biting her lip and fidgeting with the neck of her sweater. In other words, she was totally freaking out.
“Do you really think Kaye can help?” she asked.
We’d come to a stop in front of a wood and brick façade decorated in blue, purple, and gold. Madam Kaye’s Magic Emporium may look like a total tourist trap where suckers spend their hard earned money on useless charms and gaudy kitsch, but it was also the home of Harborsmouth’s most powerful witch.
Kaye O’Shay is a tough old bird with a gift for magic and a penchant for mischief. She also used to run with the local Hunters’ Guild, which gave her ties to the secret society and access to their arcane records. If there was one person in town likely to have the knowledge we needed, it was Kaye.
Too bad she considered Jinx to be a flaky liability. Jinx was a human with a knack for racking up injuries and Kaye, grudgingly, was good at patching people up. It didn’t take long for the two to get on each other’s nerves. But in our own way, Kaye and I had become wary friends over the years and where I went Jinx followed. If the old witch had a problem with it, that was just too bad.
I winced inwardly and shook my head. I had a reputation for being stubborn, and where Jinx was concerned I could be as bull-headed as a minotaur, but I knew I’d back down if push came to shove. Thing is, not only was Kaye one of the most powerful witches on the eastern seaboard, but I also owed her big time. When the each uisge invaded Harborsmouth, Kaye had helped to turn the tide against the bloodthirsty creatures and she’d been saving my butt, one way or another, ever since.
Instead of voicing my concerns, I nodded and flashed Jinx what I hoped was an encouraging smile.
“Sure thing,” I said.
I reached for the door, but paused in mid-motion at the snick, snick of claws on the bricks above my head. My fingers itched to draw my blades, but I stifled the urge and turned a smile to the massive stone face peering down at me.
“Hey, Humphrey,” I said. “How’s it hangin’?”
The gargoyle chuckled, making his dog-like ears twitch.
“Dude, I will never get used to that,” Jinx said, shaking her head.
“Get used to what?” I asked. “Laughing statues or my poor attempt at gargoyle humor?”
“Humphrey’s laugh is definitely way creepy, but I was actually referring to the way he seems to teleport around,” she said. “Without faerie ointment, I can’t see him move. So one minute he’s up on that rainspout and then, poof, he’s hanging over the door. It gives me the heebie freakin’ jeebies.”
Jinx’s comments made Humphrey chuckle all the more. It sounded like someone tossed rocks into a coffee grinder.
“Is Kaye inside?” I asked, hooking a thumb toward the door. Humphrey nodded, spread his bat wings, and flew back up to his perch. “I’ll take that as a yes. Ready?”
“I was born ready,” Jinx said.
She tossed her hair and strode confidently forward. Too bad the effect was ruined by her tripping and falling headfirst into the shop. No one ever accused her of being graceful. I just hoped she wasn’t hurt. I was pretty sure that asking Kaye to patch Jinx up wouldn’t put the witch in the best of moods, and take it from me—it’s never a good idea to ask the favor of a pissed off witch.
A black cat was the only one to witness our ridiculous entrance, though I didn’t kid myself for a second that Kaye couldn’t see through the eyes of her familiar. Heck, for all I knew the thing could be one of Sir Torn’s spies. But I turned my back on the cat and crouched down beside Jinx.
“You okay?” I asked.
Jinx fell all the time, no big deal. Thing was, she didn’t look okay. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought she’d been without sleep for a week. The dark circles that ringed her eyes were joining together, making her look like a bugbear bandit.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, pulling herself up and dusting off her hands and knees. “I’m fine.”
“Good, let’s get this over with,” I said.
I picked my way through the winding maze of the occult shop, stopping only when Jinx tripped or knocked something over. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Kaye was using her magic to make this difficult, but I didn’t think she’d waste her powers on Jinx. Then again, the witch was known for her love of pranks and practical jokes. I shook my head, unlocked the hatch in the oddments counter, and continued down a hallway to an unmarked door at the back of the building, Jinx close at my heels.
I didn’t have time for practical jokes. We needed to get to the bottom of Jinx’s marks before one of us started glowing in public. Mab’s bloody bones, when did my life become so complicated?
Chapter 5
I walked into Kaye's spell kitchen and Jinx nearly toppled over as I stopped dead in my tracks. Arachne was inside Kaye's spell circle working a casting. Since when did Kaye allow Arachne to practice real magic?
Don't get me wrong. The kid was from a long line of Wiccans and she was well versed in herb lore, but Kaye never trained her would-be apprentices. What had changed?
"I'm getting old, Ivy," Kaye said, as if reading my mind. She waved a tattooed hand toward the spell circle. "It's time I had an apprentice."
It had taken Kaye over 300 years to utter those words. There was nothing I could say in response, so I continued to watch Arachne in silence. Purple streaked hair floated around the kid’s face, and a ball of energy spun in the middle of the circle, as she chanted something under her breath. I had to admit. The girl was impressive.
But the longer I watched, the more Arachne showed signs of fatigue. Sweat rolled down the girl’s face and her hands were starting to shake. I frowned, but resisted the urge to rush forward. I had to remind myself that this was what Arachne wanted.
“Do you have her parents’ consent?” I asked.
Kaye snorted.
“Don’t be daft,” she said. “Of course I have their consent. That family has been forcing its progeny on me for decades. They’re so happy, they threw a party.”
I was glad I’d missed that party. Wiccan gatherings tended to have a strange dress code; clothing optional. Not to mention the orgies. Start pouring the mead and brandy wine and the local coven was nearly as bad as the clan of pooka who lived in my old tree house.
“Things are changing in the world,” Kaye said. “I can feel it like a storm brewing on the horizon.”
“What kind of storm?” I asked. “Something magical?”
I had a feeling I didn’t want to know, but I had to ask.
“War,” she said. “There are signs, if you know where to look for them. Even Jenna being sent to Europe demonstrates just how desperate the Hunters are. They feel it too.”
“Wait, what do you mean?” I asked. “Is Jenna in trouble?”
I’d thought that Jenna had been sent away as a punishment, but maybe there was more to the story.
“The balance of power is shifting and there are those who would use that change for their own benefit,” she said. “The Guild is mobilizing for war. They are rushing the training of young Hunters like Jenna and calling up old retired souls like myself who have aided them in the past.”
“So this trip to Europe is part of her training?” I asked.
&nb
sp; My head spun trying to keep up with Kaye’s unusual outpouring of information. The witch was normally tight-lipped about her Hunter friends—unless she herself was deep into the brandy wine.
“Yes, the final step in a young Hunter’s training is a solo assignment to the Old Country,” she said. “But Jenna was years away from her testing. The fools at Guild headquarters are advancing journeyman Hunters into the ranks of masters with little or no preparation.”
“Is it really that dangerous?” I asked.
“The supernaturals who haunt the Old World cities are ancient and deeply entrenched,” she said. “Locals often worship them, which only adds to their power. I do not know to which city Jenna has been assigned, but I hope for her sake that she has made allies. The girl will need all the help she can get.”
Icy cold spider’s legs skittered up and down my spine. If the highly skilled Hunter needed help, then the Old Country was indeed a dangerous place to be. Apparently, Jinx was thinking the same thing.
“Whoa, remind me never to vacation in Europe,” she said. “We’ve got enough supernatural nut-jobs right here in Harborsmouth. Bigger and badder doesn’t sound like my idea of fun.”
“Sounds like a dream vacation for Jenna,” I said.
It was true, Jenna loved a good fight, but my gut twisted all the same.
“What is she doing here?” Kaye asked, arching an eyebrow and pointing a tattooed finger at Jinx.
“Um,” Jinx said, looking down at her shoes.
“We’ve got a case we need help on, but if you’re busy with Arachne, we can come back later,” I said, waving a hand at the spell circle.
Kaye sighed, making a tut tut sound, and shook her head.
“Go have a seat by the hearth,” she said.
We’d been dismissed. Getting the hint, we gave the casting circle a wide berth and headed toward the large stone hearth at the back of the room. The front of the kitchen was modern looking with bright, white cabinets and wide open spaces to accommodate the large spell circle, but the rear of the room was all stone, thatch, and dark beams. It was like walking into an old pub, a pub that happened to have its own hearth brownie.
“Hi Hob,” I said, lowering my head to acknowledge the brownie and bowing slightly at the waste. “May we enter?”
The top of Hob’s crumpled hat only came to my knee, but I sure as heck didn’t want to anger the little fellow. Brownie’s can be ornery, and if you piss them off, you’ll be in for a world of hurt. Brownies have made an Olympic sport out of pranking, and some of those pranks are pure evil.
Hob nodded his oversized head and waved a knobby hand, allowing us to enter his domain. And don’t be fooled, Kaye may own this place, but the old portion of the kitchen was Hob’s territory. Even the witch respected that fact.
“Thank you, Hob,” I said.
“Thanks, Hobster,” Jinx wheezed.
She dropped onto a wooden bench and slumped over the old oak table. Crap, she didn’t look so good. The circles around her eyes seemed darker than before and she sounded out of breath from our short walk to The Emporium, which wasn’t like her at all. Jinx may be curvaceous, but she was in great shape. If she was that tired from our walk, then something was seriously wrong with her.
“Got me gift?” Hob asked.
Right, time to get down to business. Hob had allowed us entry into his domain and now it was tradition to reciprocate with a gift. Since I’d been on the receiving end of Hob’s ire once or twice in the past, I came prepared.
I held out a small pendant in the shape of a gnome standing beneath a mushroom. It was made of a gold that matched the twinkle in Hob’s eye. His fingers twitched, but he didn’t reach for the trinket, yet.
“Gnomes don’ look li’ dat,” he said.
Hob scowled at me from beneath thick, bushy eyebrows. I smiled back and winked.
“I know,” I said.
I did in fact know. I’d helped to relocate a family of gnomes when the land their home was on was sold to developers. The gnomes now lived in my mother and stepfather’s garden, spitting distance from the tree house where I’d stashed a clan of pooka. If I didn’t watch out, their yard would soon be inhabited by an entire freaking fae menagerie.
Me a soft touch? No way. I just seemed to have a knack for picking up strays. That old lady who lived in a shoe? I wondered if she was half-wisp.
“Hah!” he exclaimed, slapping his thigh. “Me wear dis bit o’ pretty next time me see Olga.”
Olga was one of the female gnomes I’d help to relocate. She usually stops by my office once a week with fruit pies (real fruit pies, not goblin fruit or grasshopper pies, I checked) as her way of saying thanks for the new digs, and I’ve noticed that Hob has made a habit of visiting at the same time. I was pretty sure the brownie was harboring a gnome sized crush.
I was happy for the guy. Olga was kind and sorta cute, if you could get past the facial hair. It took me weeks before I realized that female gnomes have beards, though I should have guessed sooner with all the catcalls coming from the tree house.
“You do that, Hob,” I said. “It’ll be good for a laugh.”
The pendant disappeared into one of Hob’s many pockets as a shadow crept across the floor at my feet.
“So who is your client?” Kaye asked.
I turned to face the witch, and tried not to flinch. She looked as drained as Jinx. The arcane tattoos that crept across her body had spread down her arms and up her neck during our battle with the each uisge. In recent months, the marks had snaked across her wrists and hands, bringing with them a frailty I’d never before witnessed in the woman, no matter how old she really was.
“You’re looking at her,” I said, pointing to Jinx.
Kaye gave me the stink-eye, no surprise there, and turned her steely gaze on Jinx.
“Come with me,” Kaye said.
She turned and marched toward the spell circle where Arachne was still sweeping away a pile of salt. Jinx shot me a questioning look and I shrugged. There was no point arguing with Kaye. If the witch said jump, you asked off which bridge. I just hoped that she could help my friend.
Jinx pulled herself upright and shuffled zombie-like across the room. By the time she reached the spell circle, Arachne was done with her cleaning and striding toward the hearth. Hob was nowhere to be seen. Knowing the brownie, he was probably down in his home beneath the hearthstone, counting his gold.
“Hey, Ivy,” Arachne said, toweling her face and pulling her purple-tipped hair into a pony tail. “What’s wrong with Jinx?”
I raised an eyebrow at the kid, wondering what she could see. She’d always been the gangly teenager who worked the register at The Emporium. Aside from being the butt of Kaye’s magical jokes, and being brought up in a Wiccan family, I hadn’t thought she had much real experience with magic. Maybe I was wrong.
“You tell me,” I said.
“I don’t know,” she said, forehead wrinkling. “Maybe the flu? Her aura’s all messed up, like she’s been drained of energy.”
“Does the flu leave behind glowing hickies?” I asked.
Arachne’s eyebrows disappeared beneath purple bangs.
“Guess it could be mono,” she quipped.
Mono—the kissing disease. A chill ran up my spine. Kisses that left behind glowing marks and drained the victim of energy? I really didn’t like the sound of that.
“Guess we can rule out normal human ailments,” I said.
“Yes, you can, dear,” Kaye said.
I jumped. Not many people can sneak up on me, but Kaye wasn’t most people. That was something I’d be smart to remember.
I frowned, scanning the room for Jinx. She wasn’t standing behind Kaye, like I’d expected. Heart racing, my eyes came to rest on her prone form at the center of Kaye’s spell circle.
“What have you done?” I asked.
I took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, but the light coming from my skin betrayed my emotions.
“Calm yourself, child,
” she said. “She will be safe inside my circle. I’ve given her something to help her sleep. She needs rest if she’s to recover.”
“Recover from what?” I asked.
“From being eaten, dear,” she said. “Someone has been feeding off her lifeforce.”
“Someone or something?” I asked.
At some point my blades had found their way into my gloved hands, my fingers cramping around the hilt.
“A succubus or incubus,” she said. “Judging by your friend’s proclivity for ‘bad boys’ I’d say we’re looking for the latter.”
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“That is one way they feed, though if things had gone that far, I don’t think the girl would still be alive,” she said.
An incubus could steal your life energy during sex? That gave a whole new meaning to getting screwed.
Chapter 6
I left the Emporium determined to find the perp who’d been tapping into my friend’s life force like she was a freaking battery. The fact that he’d been doing it under the guise of sex just made it all the worse. My stomach twisted at the thought of some incubus violating my friend.
I gripped my knives and strode toward the waterfront. There was one place I knew harbored incubi and succubi, and there was one succubus in particular who might have some answers. Too bad Delilah and her friends were under the glaistig’s protection. The Green Lady was the last person I wanted to face right now.
But this was Jinx who needed my help; my business partner, my roommate, my best friend. Jinx had always been there for me, through all the weirdness, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do for her.
According to Kaye, the incubus who’d fed on Jinx wasn’t finished. He’d linked himself to Jinx and was continuing to siphon off her energy, bit by bit. She was safe inside Kaye’s spell circle, but if I wanted to keep her alive, Kaye speculated that I needed to break the connection.
That’s where Delilah came in. I needed someone who could help me find the incubus and reason with him. It would be best for Jinx if I could sweet talk the incubus into willingly breaking his hold.