Between Homes (The City Between Book 5)

by W. R. Gingell

  “He didn’t steal me,” said North, sending a tiny breeze swirling through the kitchen to scoop up the toast and bring it to her. She must have been another five-second-rule person, because she dusted it off and bit into it. Through her mouthful, she added, “I stole him.”

  “Thank you!” said Detective Tuatu. “Pet, I have been kidnapped and terrorised.”

  “You should be grateful to me,” North said to him, sunnily. “Someone has been laying a nice little trail of crime and deception all the way to your front door. They’ve been doing the same to me, so when the Family made a grab to stop me handing over something to Lord Sero, I decided to come to you. I’m surprised you weren’t already in jail.”

  “Someone tried that,” he said grimly. It sounded like they’d been discussing it for a while. “They threw a dead body into a house while I was in it.”

  “Gotta talk to you about that later, too,” I remarked.

  “Humans don’t cope very well when Behindkind try to frame them,” said North, as if excusing herself. “And he has a nice face, so I thought we could work together, but he’s done nothing except complain.”

  “Excuse me for not appreciating being kidnapped,” said Detective Tuatu beneath his breath. “Do you have enough toast now?”

  She smiled at him. “Yes. Thank you.”

  “Oh,” I said, watching as Detective Tuatu managed to go very faintly red through the warm brown of his usual complexion. “Well, I’ve got the feeling things are going to get worse for a while, so…”

  He closed his eyes. “What did you do?”

  North, her eyes bright and fierce, said, “You found a way!”

  “Yep. But if I do it, there’s gunna be a heck of a lot more danger for Sarah and her parents for a while. You still got Zero and Athelas on board?”

  “Yes. Tell me your plan.”

  “Tell us your plan,” the detective corrected her. “If I’ve been kidnapped and terrorised, I’m going to make sure it was for a good reason.”

  “You’re such a nice little thing,” said North, beaming at him. “I’ll keep you.”

  “I’m a human,” said Detective Tuatu slowly. “You. Can’t. Keep. Me.”

  “I know,” she said, laughing in delight. “But you’re so adorable when you get annoyed about things that I can’t help it.”

  I cleared my throat. “If you blokes are finished flirting with each other, I need to clarify some things.”

  “We’re not—we’re not flirting!” said Detective Tuatu, flushing.

  “I was,” North said, without embarrassment. “Go on, Pet. What did you need to ask?”

  “The changeling that was there when Sarah got back from Between—it was you, right?”

  Her smile vanished utterly.

  “Sorry,” I said. “But I need to know for sure.”

  “Before I was the North Wind,” she said, slowly, reluctantly, “Upper Management had me do a spell as a changeling with the Palmers. It was supposed to stick, but Sarah came back after a year, and they knew straight away that she was theirs. They wouldn’t have anything to do with me until Upper Management trapped them into a contract to ensure Sarah’s safety.”

  “You were the one who won the ribbon,” I said. It was the only way the photos and the ribbon made sense. The only way the Palmers knowing what they seemed to know made sense. “And you kept it to remember your time as a human.”

  “I didn’t keep it to be reminded of my time as a human,” North said, her voice husky. “I kept it to remember what it was like to be loved. I never had that before. I won’t let them take it away from her as well. Do you really have an answer for me?”

  “Yes,” I said. “But it’s mostly leverage so it’s going to be dangerous for a while.”

  “If there’s danger, I’ll see to it.”

  “Did you know Sarah was special?”

  “I wasn’t told. I assumed that if she wasn’t an heirling it was her parents who were special.”

  “Nope,” I said. “Upper Management think she’s the harbinger.”

  North laughed incredulously. “That’s nonsense! At the most, she’s an heirling.”

  “That’s what the Troika say, too,” I said. “They’ve already got a good idea who the harbinger is. But Upper Management thinks otherwise, and they’ve been trying to make sure they’ve got a good hold on her.”

  “You’re saying we should threaten to take that knowledge to the Family,” North said, her pointed jaw setting firmly. “That’s—”

  “Yeah, dangerous. But we only need them to break the contract. They’ll do it and regroup. It gives us a bit more time. And I’m willing to bet they already think I’m in with the Family. Pretty sure one of them saw me with Zero’s dad, so…”

  North’s eyes grew bright and fierce again. “Can you get out again without dying? I can protect Sarah and her family, but I can’t make sure you get out of there safely again once you’re in.”

  “I’ll take the JinYeong with me,” I said. Well, so long as he was recovered well enough. “We’ll be fine. How much time do you need to get the Palmers safe before I can go in?”

  “Give us until tomorrow morning,” she said. “They’ll need…a little convincing. Sarah understands but her parents are still wary of anything coming from Behind.”

  “Call it ten?”

  “Ten,” she confirmed. “When you go in, find Richard—he’s the one who technically holds the contract.”

  “What’s Richard look like?”

  “You won’t need to see him: you’ll smell him. He’s a harpy. He’s the one who brokered the contract.” She hesitated, then added, “Your part will be more dangerous in that moment. The vampire might not be enough, although he’ll be able to scent the harpy for you. You should think about asking for more help.”

  “I’ll think about it,” I said, but I don’t think I convinced her. I wasn’t convinced either.

  She nodded, and sank into her own thoughts, eyes far away and her hair wafting around her in the breeze that scurried around the kitchen. It was a good time for me to leave: I had my own preparations to make, and some cologne to deliver that might help with those preparations.

  “Oi,” I said, on my way out. “Found that USB you left for Zero. I can—I can give it back to you if you want.”

  “No,” she said, after a moment’s pause. “I left it for Lord Sero, and you are…connected with him. I fulfilled my part of our bargain by leaving it for him. I will trust you to convey it to him when it seems good to you.”

  I don’t speak fluent Behindkind, but I know permission when I hear it. North was giving me permission to keep the USB for as long as was necessary—and to take advantage of whatever leverage it might give me when I inevitably had need to give it up.

  The detective walked me out, almost as if he was looking for an opportunity to get out of the house while North was caught up in her thoughts and plans.

  He didn’t try, though; he just asked, “Why did you bring up the changeling stuff? She looked like she really didn’t want to talk about it.”

  I’d brought it up because it was important. Because if North told me what I already knew must be true, I knew she could be trusted utterly to look after Sarah and her parents. It meant she had had everything a human could have, had loved it, and had given it up.

  “I needed to know for sure what kind of person she is,” I said. “Because I knew that if it was true, it would mean she’s an actually good person. Someone told me a bit of what it’s like to grow up as Behindkind, especially fae, and I needed to know that North is one of the good ones. She is, but goodness knows how.”

  “You’re telling me to trust her?”

  I grinned at him. He’d been pretty comfortable with her when I walked in, and as far as connections go, both of them were likely being framed by the same people. “As if you didn’t already know that!”

  He went that very dark shade of red again, and opened his mouth to protest, but I didn’t give him the chance.
>
  “Oi,” I said. “What’s with the stuff on that USB you gave me?”

  “Can’t say,” he said. “And believe me, Pet, it gives me absolutely no joy to say that to you despite the fact that your lot never tells me anything.”

  “Okay, but I don’t understand why Athelas had you looking into these things. These are things he could have found himself.”

  “Yes,” Detective Tuatu said. “He could have. Anyone could have.”

  “Then why bother to put them on a USB? If anyone’s looking for ’em they’re easily accessible—they just need a bit of digging to find, and someone who knows the right places.”

  “Yes,” he said again.

  “Right,” I said grumpily. “You can’t say any more.”

  “I’ve already said enough,” he said, and he sounded a bit testy himself.

  “Looks like everyone’s taking lessons off Athelas now,” I said. I felt pretty sour. “Did he say he wanted anything else from you?”

  “No.”

  “Did he say anything about the debt being cleared?”

  Detective Tuatu froze. “Do you mean he’s going to come back and ask me for more?” His voice sounded appalled, and I didn’t blame him.

  “You need to be a heck of a lot clearer about what you agree to and what you get back, next time,” I advised him. “Make sure he knows the debt is cleared, and get him to say that. There’s some stuff the dryad can’t help you with. And if someone’s still trying to frame you for stuff, you probably don’t want to be messing around with things for Athelas.”

  “I don’t want to be messing around with stuff for him at all!” Tuatu said feelingly, as I stepped out the door.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Pet, you said you were going to tell us what your plan is once we were up here,” protested Daniel. “I’ve already lent you my phone, so you ought to have started talking by now!”

  “All right, all right!” I protested. “I just wanted my coffee. Shove over, JinYeong; how are you taking up so much space when you’re so flamin’ skinny?”

  “It’s the size of his personality,” said Morgana, and JinYeong gave the smallest of approving nods.

  “This girl understands me,” he said to me in Korean.

  “You’re encouraging him again,” I complained.

  Daniel, impatiently, asked, “So what is the plan?”

  “I’m going to break into Upper Management’s new place.”

  JinYeong said, “Koll! Jaemisseo!”

  “Sure you’re okay?” I looked him up and down, and he grinned at me.

  “I am beautiful,” he said. “And healthy.”

  “What’d he say?” asked Morgana, her eyes wide.

  “He says he’s in and it sounds like fun,” I told her. “Also that he’s beautiful and healthy.”

  Daniel protested, “Pet, we can’t just break into their new place! That’s how people end up dead!”

  “We’re not doing it, I’m doing it. You’re gunna be helping to watch out for the Palmers: you and the boys downstairs. Detective Tuatu will help with that bit, and so will North. Tomorrow morning at ten.”

  “If you’re going there, I’m going too.”

  “I will go with her,” JinYeong said, with great clarity. “You look after your dogs.”

  I punched him in the arm and he said a quiet ow in Korean but didn’t seem abashed. Morgana’s eyes narrowed a bit.

  “I’m not breaking in to take something out,” I explained. “I’m breaking in to tell ’em something.”

  “Yeah, because that’s much safer,” muttered Daniel.

  “I reckon it’ll be safe enough while we’re in there,” I said. “It’ll be when we get out that it gets dicey. They’ll try to kill me before I can get to Zero’s dad, that’s all. We’ll have to go to ground pretty quickly then.”

  “Pet—!”

  “What? Don’t tell me you’re gunna complain about Zero’s dad, now? Strike, ya just can’t please some people! You don’t like me messing with Upper Management, and you don’t like me messing with the Family!”

  “That’s because they’ll all kill us!” Daniel said indignantly.

  “Is he exaggerating, or is it really that dangerous?” asked Morgana. The frown was more obvious now, and I wished we’d discussed this business anywhere else other than in front of her. We’d gotten too comfortable discussing stuff around her that we shouldn’t have been talking about, even if we were careful not to get into the really Behind things.

  “It’s pretty dangerous,” I said. “But there’s enough of us to make a difference. Don’t worry about it.”

  “How long have we got to prepare?” asked Daniel.

  “Tonight. Everything goes down at ten tomorrow morning. I reckon North’s already with the Palmers, trying to persuade them that they’re gunna need the help, and I’m certain she’s conscripted help from Zero and Athelas, too.”

  “It was promised,” JinYeong agreed unexpectedly, warming me with the realisation that this time, he was reporting things to me instead of about me. “There was an exchange.”

  I asked him, “Is that what the USB was exchanged for?”

  “Yes.”

  I couldn’t help grinning. By fudging the line of my connection with Zero, North had outmanoeuvred Zero, and given me the chance to look at whatever was on the USB before he could. Or perhaps she had just wanted to give me my own leverage for a change.

  North might value the human way of doing things, but she was obviously fully prepared to get things done in the fae way if it suited her. Maybe one day I’d be like that. Maybe I was already becoming like that.

  I wasn’t sure whether to be chilled about that or pleased by it.

  “You can make real plans around dinner tonight,” I said. “Fill the boys in, see if they’re willing to help out.”

  “They’ll help,” said Daniel. “I’ll call the others if it looks like we’ll need ’em.”

  “I thought you said you weren’t the mafia,” Morgana said suspiciously.

  “I’m not the mafia!” Daniel said indignantly. “I just have a…I just have a lot of friends. And they’re willing to help when I tell them—ask them!—to help.”

  “It still sounds like the mafia to me,” Morgana said, but she was grinning.

  “Quick,” I said to JinYeong. “Let’s get out before she thinks we’re part of it, too.”

  I dragged him out with me while Daniel was still protesting that we weren’t a part of it, we were the whole of it. I would have started back down the stairs to put something on for dinner later, but JinYeong shut the door behind him and pulled me back by the hood of my hoodie.

  “You,” he said. “I think you have something for me.”

  Rats. I’d been meaning to put the cologne in his room when he wasn’t looking, but now he was making it look like I’d gotten him a present. He must have smelled it in my pocket.

  “Pinched it from your room,” I said. “I was already at the house, so I figured I might as well. Oi. It’s rude to be all you this and you that.”

  JinYeong said with a touch of indignation, “You are not Pet. So what then should I call you?”

  I shut my mouth, taken aback. Truth to tell, I’d been Pet for long enough—and completely without a name for longer than that again—that I hadn’t thought anything about Morgana and Daniel calling me Pet. Or what I would answer anyone who asked me my real name. I was still instinctively unwilling to give up my real name to JinYeong, so I just pulled the cologne out of my pocket and tossed it to him.

  “Here,” I said. “Stink the place up. You can fight it out with the lycanthropes.”

  Daniel came back down again a bit later, and the lycanthropes gathered around him as he came, making me wonder again exactly how much of the communication amongst them was verbal.

  “All right, Pet,” he said. “What really happened, and what’s going down tomorrow?”

  I gave them the quick run-down that I’d already given to JinYeong, minus the de
tails of what JinYeong and I would actually be up to. I had a feeling that if I told Daniel how shaky that particular part of my plan actually was, he would insist on coming with us. The Palmers were going to need all the help they could get, and he would be far more useful there. As for me and JinYeong, so long as we got in safely, getting out safely was more likely. We just had to find Richard the harpy, threaten him a bit, and get out while he still didn’t know what had hit him.

  “You lot keep Sarah safe; that’s all we need you to do,” I said. “Me and JinYeong are the match, but the gunpowder’s all with the Palmers. Once we light her up, it’s gunna blow pretty fast. We’ll need to keep the Palmers safe for as long as it takes North and Zero to sort out something for them.”

  “What are we supposed to tell the little sister?” asked Cameron, tipping his head up toward Morgana’s room. “It could take us days. She’ll notice.”

  “You’re not supposed to be telling her anything,” Daniel said, and there was a threat to his voice. “You’re not supposed to be bothering her at all.”

  “She talks to us through the mirrors when we’re playing outside!” protested Cameron. “We can’t just ignore her!”

  “Don’t get too comfortable with it,” Daniel told him, after a pause. “We’re not supposed to be interacting with humans—”

  “We interact with humans all the time,” interjected one of the others.

  “Yeah, and you interact with her all the time, so—”

  “Will you lot shut up!” snapped Daniel. “We’re meant to be making plans for tomorrow!”

  I left them to their argument and eventual planning and went upstairs, moving through the confusing lines of this house and that with one hand against the wall to make sure I didn’t fall down the stairs in the confusion of it all. When I opened the door, I found that the room looked about a fourth of the size as it usually did, and that was confusing, too, until I caught on to the fact that I was seeing my old room superimposed on the actual room here.

  “Weird,” I muttered. Downstairs, everything seemed to match up with where it would have matched were the houses to occupy the same space. Upstairs in Morgana’s house, that should have meant I was walking into my parents’ room and part of the upstairs living room, but it was definitely my old room instead.