I only looked at her.
“You have magic now. It’s important to have fast hands and to show you can use them for tricks, so that your real power can be concealed,” she said.
I did as she asked, taking the key from her several times. At first I was rusty, but after a few moments, my light-fingered technique returned.
“It’s not just important out there. Even in here, that skill may do you good,” she said as she put the key into the gate’s lock. She turned the key and the gate slid open, but of course that wasn’t a help, since there was a giant slab of stone blocking the way.
“How come you didn’t use that key before?”
She opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of black stretch pants and a green V-neck T-shirt. “There was no point,” she said as she changed clothes. “As long as we’re underhill, wherever we go she’ll eventually find us.”
“So you have to get out of the Never.”
Momma lifted the mattress of her bed, and I gaped. There was an iron mallet and a metal pickax. “He smuggled them in for me.”
“As what? A Valentine’s Day present? Anniversary gift?” I scoffed.
She grinned.
“What he should have done is taken you out of the Never for good.”
Her smile faltered. “If only it were that simple.”
“Why isn’t it? He can live humanside. He’s done it plenty of times.”
“He’s sworn his allegiance to her. He can’t leave unless she gives her permission.”
I froze.
“Which she will never do.”
“Momma, you can’t stay here. You must see that. She thinks she poisoned you into losing your memory. When she finds out—And, hey, how come her curse didn’t work?”
Momma rolled her pretty eyes. “She’s so vain. She loves the human faery tales. She considers them a tribute. So she tried to poison me with a magic apple.”
“Like you were Snow White?” I asked.
“Exactly,” Momma said, smiling. Momma tipped her head and drew a hand quickly across her mouth. “I pretended to swallow a few bites, but didn’t.”
“I never knew you could be so sneaky.”
“Well, now you do,” she said.
I laughed. I couldn’t help myself.
“See if you can lift that mallet,” she said, taking the pickax.
I hoisted it. It was really heavy. I started toward the stone wall, but she went the other way. My eyes widened as she swung the ax, puncturing the bricks under the window with the sharp edge.
“The mortar between the bricks is old. This side faces the back of the castle.”
“But we’re upstairs. How far is the drop?”
“We’ll soon find out,” she said, nodding toward the wall she’d damaged.
I swung the mallet and pounded open a big hole. Bricks spewed outward and the wall under the window crumbled.
“That should do it,” Momma said, taking the candle in her hand and looking through the opening. “It’s a big drop. Too far to jump.” She took the linens from the bed.
“Momma, you’re not thinking we’re gonna tie those sheets together and climb down, are you?”
She looked at me through her lashes.
“Seriously? Knotted sheets? You think they’ll hold?” I asked.
“Do you have a better plan?”
I opened my mouth, but since I didn’t have any helpful suggestions I shut it again and shook my head. “Here, gimme one of those,” I said.
She smiled as she handed me a sheet. “That’s my girl.”
* * *
AS WE RAPPELLED down the side of the castle, I told her Zach and I had broken up for good and that I’d gotten involved with Bryn.
She paused, and my feet nearly bumped into her head.
“Despite the prophecy?” she asked, and then proceeded on the downward climb.
“Yep.”
“Falling for the wrong guy is risky.”
“I know. It’s the whole reason I’m climbing down the side of a castle. My momma got involved with the wrong guy.”
She laughed.
“It’s all right. Falling for the wrong guys is getting to be a family tradition, I guess. I met one of Aunt Mel’s exes, who was a killer fire warlock. Nearly got murdered by him.”
“Oh. I remember him. I never met Incendio, but she told me about him.”
“Anyway, Bryn’s a lot nicer than a fire warlock. He’s saved my life instead of trying to end it. So he’s got that going for him.”
She didn’t answer, which made me frown.
“Try to keep an open mind, Momma. You were gone for over a year. You can’t expect everything at home to stay the same when you’re gone that long,” I said. Of course, almost all the changes had happened in the past couple of months. It had been a real whirlwind. But she didn’t need to know that. “And by the way, I kind of got engaged.”
“Kind of?”
“Bryn got down on one knee and made the prettiest speech you ever heard.”
“Did you give him an answer?”
“Yeah. I said yes.”
“So you’re engaged to a Lyons.”
“Edie hates him. And she’s alive again.”
“Pardon me?”
I explained, and she laughed until I thought she’d lose her grip and fall. When I told her that Mrs. Hurley and Edie were together at WAM Headquarters, she shook her head. “My money’s on Edie.” She licked her lips. “But mostly for sentimental reasons. Josephine’s like those prophecies of Lenore’s: You never want to get on the wrong side of one.”
We reached the ground, and she pointed to the path we should take.
“We need to avoid the trees,” I said, explaining the way they’d been spying.
“It’s impossible to do that. The trees are everywhere,” she said, striking out through the woods. “But the ones near Caedrin’s won’t be loyal to anyone but him.”
We walked for a while in silence, and I found it hard to judge time and distance. Finally she said, “It’s okay to talk now.”
“We won’t be overheard?”
“There’s always a risk, but it’s safer here.”
“It’s good to see you, Momma. I missed you.”
She turned and hugged me. She held me real tight and whispered, “I missed you, too, baby. Every day.”
“You should come on home. He knows it’s not safe for you here. If he really wants to be with you, he should find a way to do so out there.”
“It’s not possible. The laws that govern the world of the Never are complicated.”
“Even if he can’t come out, you have to leave here. You see that, right? No matter how much you love him. You can’t be locked up behind a giant stone wall in some castle.”
She looked over her shoulder at the castle cloaked in clouds and sunlight. “It’s been bad here since Kismet left and Ghislaine heard that we helped her.”
“Did you guys help her?”
“In a roundabout way we did. It’s not easy. There are restrictions on what Caedrin can do.”
“So you care about Kismet?”
“Of course.”
“She thought you said you didn’t.”
Momma gave me a sharp look. “She said that? You’ve talked to her?”
“Yes.”
“How is she?”
“Um, she’s a real good assassin. She can flip out of trees like an acrobat and shoot an—”
“That’s not what I meant. How is she? Really?”
“Kind of sad and lonely, I think. She got mad at me over something. . . . I think she gets mad pretty easily. So about saying that you didn’t care about her, she made a mistake about that, right?”
“No, I said it.” Momma shook her head with a pained look. “She wasn’t suppos
ed to hear that. I told Ghislaine I didn’t care about Kismet because Ghislaine is so jealous. I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire. Though it’s hard to imagine things getting worse.”
“Why does Ghislaine care what you think of Kismet?”
“Kismet is supposed to be Ghislaine’s. Caedrin brought her here and gave her to the queen. He thought it would cool Ghislaine’s fury. Caedrin was once Ghislaine’s lover, and she hates that he fell in love with anyone else, especially a witch.”
I clucked my tongue. “There’s a lot of supernatural prejudice here. And out there. It’s a problem.” I bit my lip and shrugged. “I’ll maybe have to work on that, being half-and-half. Start a group or something. I’ll think on it. Now, back to Ghislaine and Kismet. If Ghislaine doesn’t think much of Halflings, why did Caedrin think she’d want Kismet at all?”
“Because she wanted a tribute . . . repayment for the slight. Ghislaine assumed there was one daughter and that she had her. A child was the biggest apology gift he could’ve given her. But she didn’t raise Kismet in the castle. She put her out and forbade Caedrin from ever revealing that she was his child.”
“How did you forgive him for that?” I said, my voice louder and sharper than I’d intended. “He took one of your babies and gave it to some jealous psycho faery. How are you even talking to him, let alone living in this place with him?”
“He had to do it.”
“He did not!”
“You don’t understand. The law made it impossible for him to leave Kismet with me. He had to take her into Never and to offer her to the queen.”
“There are some messed-up laws here. Someone should change them.”
“Yes, but the person who benefits from the laws isn’t likely to alter them, is she?”
“Maybe somebody should force her to.”
“Easier said than done,” Momma said, crossing a stream.
A pretty house shimmered into view. A silvery mist hung all around it, but I could see its archways and windows.
Momma put a hand on the door. “I’m home,” she said, and like magic, it opened.
In an instant I knew there was trouble, because I heard raised voices, and one of them was Bryn’s.
25
I HUSTLED INSIDE and found Caedrin and Bryn in a room that had a collection of furniture that could’ve doubled as a swing set. Everything was hooked to wires on the ceiling or walls. It made you want to hop on and take a ride.
Bryn was shirtless and wet, his black hair slick and shiny. He wore black pants that started below his navel and ended at his ankles. They were as glossy and dark as his hair.
He walked to me, smelling like salted caramel.
“Hey,” I said.
He caught my face in his hands and gave me a kiss that could’ve doubled for foreplay. When he let go, I flushed and took a deep breath. Then I murmured a little dazedly, “I’m fine. So are you. Really fine. That’s good.”
I glanced at Momma, who arched a brow and said, “So it’s like that.”
Bryn took a step toward her. “It’s nice to see you, Ms. Trask. I know you’ll have reservations about my involvement with Tamara, but I intend to put your fears to rest.”
She studied his face. “Even if your intentions are good, that prophecy might be about things outside your control.”
“I don’t accept that anything to do with us is out of our control.”
Momma laughed softly. “Not even here?” She glanced down at his legs.
Was it my imagination or had the pants gotten lower and higher at the same time, exposing his hip bones and calves?
“Hey! What’s wrong with your clothes? Salt water shrinks them?” I demanded, putting a hand out to touch his thigh. It wasn’t like any fabric I’d ever felt. It was soft, sleek, and attached to his flesh. My brows shot up.
“He’s fae,” Caedrin said with a smile.
“Is that sealskin?”
“In the water it covered my entire body like a wetsuit. Only my hands and face stayed human.”
“Wow! And how was swimming?”
“Amazing.”
My smile widened.
“I need to talk to you about that, though. I found something out,” he said, glancing around.
Momma looked past us at Caedrin. “And how about you, lover boy? Doing all right?”
The corners of his mouth curved up, and he looked at her like she was a biscuit covered in honey. “As well as the world allows. Better still if your memory’s restored.”
“My memory’s fine.”
“So the queen released you from the curse and the castle because she believes she has her first assassin back? She’ll be twice as angry when Tammy Jo leaves again. Or if she finds out she’s not who she’s been pretending to be.”
Momma shook her head. “Ghislaine didn’t release me. In fact, she tried to trap Tammy Jo in the cage room with me.”
He frowned and then covered his mouth thoughtfully. “You broke her out of the castle,” he said, looking at me. “Without negotiating for your freedom?” He shook his head gravely.
“I didn’t break her out. She broke me out!” I exclaimed, then thought about that mallet I’d swung. “Well, I guess it was fifty-fifty on the breakout.”
Momma made a gesture to wave off the trouble we’d probably started. “Ghislaine went too far.”
“What will you do? Leave with them?” Caedrin asked in a low voice, like he almost couldn’t bear to say the words.
“Yes, Momma. You should get out. Actually, you ought to go right now. Bryn and I will be right behind you. After we collect Zach and Mercutio.”
“Mercutio?”
“He’s my friend. An ocelot. That’s a jungle cat.” I turned to Bryn. “But speaking of Zach, guess where he’s at? Can’t guess?” I demanded, not really giving him time to. “He’s at the castle,” I said. “Don’t ask me why. But I’d sure like to know what he thinks he’s doing spying in there. Makes me wonder whether he had his own reasons for coming here besides just protecting me.” I glanced at the skin of Bryn’s hips and thighs where the black was fading. “Hey! You need some real pants right now.” I stepped in front of him to block Momma’s view.
“Come with me, selkie,” Caedrin said.
I joined them in Caedrin’s room. The bed had four wooden posts and was covered by a mossy green quilted silk spread that was as soft as a cloud. I sat on the edge of the bed as Bryn dressed in tan pants and a white pullover shirt. He looked like a pirate. A sexy one.
“Can you give us a few minutes alone?” Bryn asked.
Caedrin nodded and left.
“Have you noticed your hair?” Bryn said, lifting a strand and showing me the end.
It had grown lighter by several shades.
“Wow,” I said. It wasn’t strawberry blond like Kismet’s yet, but the color was somewhere between my normal color and hers. “The sun here must be pretty powerful.”
“Or the magic must.” Bryn laid the hair down thoughtfully. “When Kismet’s out there off the faery trails, her hair may get almost as red as yours.”
“Yeah, I think maybe it does.”
“I heard something interesting. I met other selkies in the surf. They sent me down to find a treasure chest that’s buried. It’s a test for young selkies, to see how deep they can dive and whether they’re drawn to the chest’s magic. Anyway—”
“Did you find it?”
“Yes.”
“What was in it?” I couldn’t help asking. I loved the idea of buried treasure.
“Gold and pearls mostly, but also a few handmade pieces of jewelry brought from the human world.”
“That must have been amazing. Now that you’ve been a selkie here, I wonder if you’ll be able to dive way underwater in the regular world. You could find shipwrecks and buried treasure all over the place. Alt
hough you’d have to watch out for merrows,” I said, frowning. The fae mermen and merwomen were vicious, and they lived in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
“Tamara,” Bryn said.
“Yes?”
“There’s another piece of sunken treasure we need to talk about.”
“Okay.”
“The selkies said that they’ve been sent several times into the Atlantic Ocean between Ireland and Scotland. They’ve been searching for a magical piece of amber that Kismet says she lost in the ocean while trying to escape a pack of werewolves who’d chased her to the Scottish coast.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying the woman the Conclave heard was in contact with werewolves in the Scottish woods was definitely your sister. She lied to us. She knows about the missing amber artifact. She is, in fact, the one who caused it to be missing.”
26
I WALKED TO the door, wanting to ask Momma and Caedrin about the artifact, but Bryn caught my arm.
“We shouldn’t talk in front of Caedrin,” Bryn said. “I don’t trust him.”
“That might be kind of tricky, since it’s his house,” I said.
“There’s plenty of room outside. From what I’ve heard, the Never stretches for miles to the north and east.”
“I’ll ask, but Momma may not want to leave him,” I said, walking out into the living room.
Caedrin sat on one of the couch swings, and Momma was right next to him. She sat sideways with one bent leg resting against his as she faced him. He held her hand as they talked, their heads close together. I couldn’t help myself; I smiled.
Bryn cleared his throat.
“Keep your pirate’s britches on,” I murmured. “I’m getting to it.” I strode to them, standing up straight. “I was wondering if you’d mind letting us talk to Momma alone for a little while about some humanside family business that concerns our aunt Edie.”
“If it doesn’t concern the fae, the queen won’t ask about it. You needn’t worry that I’ll be forced to tell her.”
“Well, I don’t know all the particulars of the situation. Could you give us a couple minutes?”
“Yes,” he said, giving me a reassuring smile that made me feel better. “I’ll see what word’s passing through the forest and the village near the castle . . . whether anyone’s spotted your cat. Or noted your castle break.”
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