The Returned

by Bishop O'Connell

  Wraith opened her mouth but was cut off.

  “What the hell is this?” said a gruff voice from behind her.

  Wraith turned to see a cocky young guy walking over. He was wearing a white tank top, and he was covered in tattoos that marked him as a Purple Death member.

  “Ease off, mate,” Con said. “We’re having us a chat with the girl.”

  “Yeah? Well you’re costing me money, mate,” the man said and pushed Con back against the wall.

  “I’m sorry, D,” River said to the pimp. “It’s my fault. I—”

  “I’ll deal with you later,” D said, pointing at River.

  “Not going to happen,” Wraith said and stepped between River and D. “We’re leaving, and we’re taking her with us.”

  D took a step forward. “Bitch, you ain’t—”

  Geek grabbed D by his shirt, slammed him against the wall twice, and held him at eye level, almost a foot off the ground.

  “That’s a very rude term,” Geek said and adjusted his glasses with his free hand. “You need to apologize.”

  D sneered and moved one hand to his waistband. “Fu—”

  Geek slammed him against the wall again. The pistol D was reaching for fell to the ground. Geek dropped him, picked up the gun, and looked the guy in the eye as he bent the barrel.

  “What the hell are you?” D asked.

  “We’re the ones taking River away,” Wraith said. “And I’ll be back for the other girls. All of them.”

  “Best bring an army,” D spat. “You crossed the—”

  “The Purple Death,” Wraith said. “Yeah, I know who you are. I’m Wraith, and I don’t need an army.” She reached into her jacket and pulled out her hand, fingers in a gun shape. She pointed at the front of a nearby abandoned car.

  “You’re a crazy bit—”

  “Bang,” Wraith said.

  A ball of force hit the car, crushing in what was left of the front end, knocking it off its blocks, and sending it sliding ten feet down the road.

  D stared at her with wide eyes.

  “And I carry two,” she said, holding up her other hand.

  D didn’t say anything.

  “Bloody hell,” Con said through a laugh. “He’s gone and pissed his pants.”

  Wraith glanced down at the growing wet spot in his jeans then back up at his face. “See you soon, snookums.” Then she turned and led River toward the nearest door-door, Con and Geek right behind her.

  “Are you okay?” Geek asked when they reached the door to an old abandoned building.

  Wraith reached into her bag, took out a doorknob, and stuck it in the spot where the original had been broken off.

  “I thought you said you were taking me to the magister’s house,” River said, watching Wraith.

  Wraith wove an entropic formula over the door frame. “Con, you want to explain it?”

  “She can make magic doors,” Con said.

  When the formula was complete, Wraith grabbed the handle and looked at Con. “That’s a vast oversimplification.”

  “Am I wrong?”

  Wraith opened her mouth to protest, then closed it. “That’s not the point,” she said after a moment and opened the door.

  River stared with wide eyes.

  “Come on,” Geek said. “It’s safe, I promise.”

  They stepped out of a closet door, crossing nearly eight hundred miles, and into the foyer of Brigid’s home.

  “Wow,” River said as she looked around.

  The room was large enough to have been the lobby of an upscale hotel. The floors were parquet wood, with a large sunburst design at the center. The walls were old gray stone and extended to the open second story above them. Opposite the oak double doors—the entrance most people would use—was a large staircase that split and doubled back before leading to the second floor. And everywhere were plants of all kinds; small flowering bushes of every color, trees in large terra-cotta pots, and ivy wrapping up the columns and over the walls. It could’ve made the place look abandoned, as if nature had moved in to replace absent humans. But it didn’t; rather, it looked like the flora had been invited in as an honored guest.

  “Welcome back, Wraith,” a very tall, strikingly beautiful woman with dark auburn hair said. She was dressed in a pristine white blouse and black maxi skirt.

  “We have a new guest,” Wraith said.

  “So I see,” Brigid said as she stepped to River. Every motion was graceful enough to make a prima ballerina envious. When she reached the nixie, she smiled bright and extended her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, child.”

  “Ma-magister,” River said and bowed.

  “Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Brigid said and lifted the girl’s chin with two fingers. “You’re a guest in my home. You have nothing to be nervous about.”

  “Thank you,” River said.

  “Did you explain the rules?” Brigid asked Wraith.

  “We didn’t have time,” Wraith said. “There was—”

  “Rules?” River asked, her guard clearly going up as she took a step back.

  “No, no,” Brigid said. “Nothing so bad as you imagine. You’re free to come and go as you like, you have my word. This is a home, not a prison.”

  “Do, uh, do you live here too?” River asked Geek.

  He blushed a little as he nodded and smiled. “Yeah, Con and I share a room.”

  “And like everyone here,” Brigid said, “they help out.”

  “Help out?” River asked skeptically.

  “Geek and Con here help Wraith teach others how to use their abilities.” She gave Con a sideways glance. “Safely and properly.”

  “I said I was sorry, didn’t I?” Con said. “I got the bleeding fire out before it did any real damage.”

  “Fire?” Wraith asked.

  “It was when you were gone,” Geek said.

  Wraith shrugged. “I still have you beat. I think I blew up some buildings once.”

  River looked at her with huge eyes.

  Brigid cleared her throat.

  “Sorry,” Geek, Con, and Wraith said in unison.

  “You’re part nixie, right?” Brigid asked River.

  River nodded. “I think so. I didn’t know my mom. My dad is a mortal. He’s the one who raised me.” She shrugged. “Until I started looking like this, anyway. That’s when he started drinking a lot and kicked me out.”

  “Well,” Brigid said. “We have a pond that could use tending. I think that would be a perfect job for you.”

  “A pond?” River asked, her features softening as she tried to hide a smile.

  “More like a small lake,” Con said.

  “That sounds wonderful,” River said.

  “Excellent,” Brigid said. “We don’t wait on you, so if you’re hungry, you have free access to the kitchen. But I insist you treat everyone here with respect and courtesy. And—”

  “Why are you doing this?” River asked.

  Wraith stepped over. “This isn’t about anyone saying you can’t cut it on your own,” she said. “You obviously can. But you shouldn’t have to. I’ve been out there too, and I know what it’s like. No one should be on the street. No one. Life is hard enough already.”

  “And if it helps,” Brigid said, “I do get something out this. I get the satisfaction of knowing one less child is hungry, scared, or being preyed upon.”

  River nodded. “And I can leave anytime I want?”

  “Thrice promised and bound,” Brigid said and gave a slight bow.

  River worried her lower lip for a second, then she flung her arms around Brigid and hugged her tight. “Thank you,” she said.

  Brigid stroked her hair and held her for a long moment.

  River stepped back and wiped her eyes.

  “Is there anything you left behind that you want me to get for you?” Wraith asked.

  River shook her head. “I don’t want anything from that life.”

  “If you change your mind, let me know,” Wra
ith said.

  “Thank you,” River said to Wraith, then looked to Con, Geek, and Brigid in turn. “All of you.”

  “Come on,” Geek said. “We’ll take you to your room.”

  He and Con led River up the stairs.

  “You best stay close, love,” Con said. “The bleeding halls shift around on you here.”

  “Really?” River asked as they vanished up the stairs.

  “I wish I could’ve gotten her out sooner,” Wraith said quietly.

  “She’s out now,” Brigid said. “Focus on that.”

  “There are others,” Wraith said.

  Brigid’s smile faded, and she sighed. “I’m afraid there always are. All we can do is what we can do. Every candle, no matter how small, holds back some of the darkness.”

  Wraith nodded. She knew the wisdom of the words but struggled for it to be enough.

  “How are you doing?” Brigid asked. “You look like you’re sleeping and eating.”

  Wraith arched an eyebrow. “Are you saying I’m getting fat?”

  Brigid laughed. “I’m saying you’re looking healthy, and happier than I’ve ever seen you.”

  Wraith smiled and thought of her secret friend and all their visits. “I’m doing good. All this is helping; feeling like I’m making a difference.”

  “You’re doing good work, Wraith.”

  “Lots more to do,” Wraith said and turned to go.

  “Do you have a moment?” Brigid asked.

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  “I have a favor to ask of you.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Wraith followed Brigid through the winding halls of the former Irish convent until they came to her office. It was modest considering the size of the house; maybe ten by fifteen. It was barely enough to hold the large desk and two club chairs with room to walk. One wall was nothing but windows that looked over the lush and verdant grounds of the house. Two other walls were taken up with bookshelves, almost overflowing, and the last wall bore portraits and a strangely annotated map of the United States. Brigid offered Wraith one of the chairs in front of the desk, then closed the door and took the other.

  “Serious talk, then?” Wraith asked when Brigid had seated herself.

  Brigid nodded. “Do you remember Caitlin and Edward?”

  “Sure,” Wraith said. “That doctor and nurse who helped Con and Sprout back in Seattle. Edward’s a wizard, right?”

  “That’s them,” Brigid said. “Caitlin’s daughter, Fiona, is very important to the Rogue Court. As are Edward and Caitlin, of course. They helped put down an attempted coup a couple of years ago.”

  Wraith thought back to the little girl she met so briefly in Seattle and how clearly she could see the light in her.

  “As such, Dante has them under court protection,” Brigid said. “There are at least six marshals watching them at all times.”

  “And I take it that’s not a common thing,” Wraith said.

  “For good or bad, the court tries very hard to stay out of the affairs of mortals. This is your world first, and we feel it’s very important you live freely, without any influence from us.”

  Wraith tried to figure out where Brigid was going, but she could think of only one thing. “I get it; you want me to stay away from them.” She nodded. “I understand—”

  “No, that’s not it at all,” Brigid said. “You see, Edward and Caitlin were married not long ago, and they’re going on their honeymoon soon.”

  “Okay . . . ”

  Brigid looked away.

  “What?”

  “They’re going to New Orleans,” Brigid said.

  Wraith waited for the punch line.

  Nothing.

  “Okay,” she finally said into the silence. “I hear it’s a fun city. I’m still not sure what—”

  Brigid let out a sigh. “I’d consider it a personal favor if, in your wanderings, you wouldn’t mind watching over them while they were there.”

  Wraith blinked. “Me?”

  Brigid nodded.

  “Okay, I give. What do you need me for that a squad of court marshals can’t handle?” Wraith chuckled to herself. Court marshals.

  “The marshals won’t be there,” Brigid said. “The Rogue Court isn’t permitted to operate in the state of Louisiana.”

  “Come again?”

  “Have you ever heard of the Cruinnigh?” Brigid asked.

  “I’ve heard the term,” Wraith said. “But I don’t really know what it is.”

  “The Cruinnigh of the Five Houses, its full name, is a sort of council. In fact, that’s what Cruinnigh means. The fae are the Fifth House, the Rogue Court anyway.”

  Wraith’s eyes went a little wide. “Wait, you’re saying . . . ”

  Brigid nodded. “We’re only one contingent of the—let’s call them nonhuman groups—in the world.”

  “Who are the others?”

  “The First House is made up of beings native to this world. Most of them are shape-shifters, including some beings that most mortals think are fae, but aren’t: formorians, selkies, kitsune, and the like.”

  “Does that include Native American spirits?” Wraith asked, thinking of her friend Shadow. She was a fifty, but Wraith always suspected her nonmortal half wasn’t fae.

  Brigid nodded. “I seem to remember Dante saying you knew Ciye. He’s First House.”

  “Ciye?”

  “Iktomi,” Brigid said. “The Lakota trickster. He doesn’t usually use that name; it’s too obvious.” She smiled. “But I think it’s mostly because he thinks none of us know he isn’t Maca, the Lakota coyote spirit.”

  A flood of realization hit Wraith, and she was suddenly glad she was sitting down. She remembered Toto, the huge coy dog that was so loyal to Shadow and then to Wraith when Shadow died. “Could he have meant Toto?”

  “Toto?” Brigid laughed. “That’s a new one.”

  Wraith shook her head. “That’s what I called him, but it wasn’t what he called himself.” She thought back to her friend Sprout, who had been able to talk with the big dog. What had she said his name was? “Hototo. That was it.”

  Brigid paled a little. “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure. Why?”

  “Hototo is an important Hopi war kachina,” Brigid said. “A very powerful entity. That means he’s stepping on some very big toes outside his tribe.”

  “That sounds bad,” Wraith said.

  “It’s not good,” Brigid said, then smiled and squeezed Wraith’s hand. “But I’m sure he’ll find some way out of any trouble he’s caused. He always does.”

  “I hope so. I’d like to apologize for what happened to Shadow.”

  “We’ve been through this,” Brigid said. “You have nothing to apologize for. Besides, if Ciye was with you all that time, he knew there was nothing you could’ve done to save his daughter or your other friends.”

  Wraith wanted to believe that, but her lingering fight with depression made things like that hard. After a long moment, she looked at Brigid. “Okay, I think I’ve got it together. Hit me with the next one.”

  “Are you sure?” Brigid said.

  Wraith nodded. “Absolutely. I’ve learned more in the last five minutes than in the last five years. But how is it that I’ve never heard about any of this?”

  “We share it only with those we know we can trust,” Brigid said.

  “Oh,” Wraith said and smiled. “Thanks. That means a lot.”

  “You’ve earned it,” Brigid said.

  “Okay, so the First House are the spirits and creatures native to this world. But the fae aren’t?”

  “The fae are from Tír na nÓg,” Brigid said, “though different cultures have different names for us. The Rogue Court makes up the Fifth House because we joined last when the court was formed.”

  “Right, then,” Wraith said. “If native spirits and the fae are the First and Fifth Houses, then who makes up the rest?”

  “The Second House,” Brigid said. “Well, we
call them the celestials.”

  Wraith laughed. “I’m guessing you don’t mean the giant armored guys in the Marvel comics.”

  “No,” Brigid said. “Not hardly.”

  “So what—” Wraith’s eyes went wide. “You don’t mean . . . angels?”

  Brigid shrugged. “They call themselves Seraphim.”

  “Holy shi—” Wraith cleared her throat. “You’re saying angels are real?”

  “It’s really not for me to speak of the other houses,” Brigid said. “Especially not the two whose seats have been empty for so long.”

  “What’s that mean? Their seat is empty?”

  “They haven’t been heard from in quite some time,” Brigid said.

  “Are they, uh—?”

  “Not dead, no,” Brigid said. “They and the Third House, the Draconius, tend to involve themselves less with mortals than the rest of us.”

  “Draconius?” Wraith asked. “As in dragons?”

  Brigid made a noncommittal gesture. “As I said, it’s not my place to speak of them.”

  “Okay,” Wraith said, then took a few slow breaths. “Wow, okay, the world is suddenly a lot stranger, which is saying something after everything I’ve seen.”

  “Now you see why we don’t usually talk to mortals about this.”

  “Yeah,” Wraith said. “Sort of the definition of ‘blowing my mind.’ So who makes up the Fourth House? God? Superman? Santa Claus?”

  Brigid laughed. “No, Claus is fae, of course.”

  Wraith nodded and smiled. “Right, sure—wait. What?”

  “The Fourth House is made up of the elemental spirits of earth, air, fire, and water,” Brigid said, oblivious to Wraith’s stunned expression. “Though technically there are only four of them, they exist beyond a single physical manifestation. Do you remember Elaine, the elf who helped you in Seattle?”

  Wraith could only nod. Her brain had sort of checked out at this point.

  “Well, she has a stone that lets her summon an earth elemental,” Brigid said. “She calls him Rolf. Anyway, it is the earth elemental but just a single manifestation of the larger being that is the elemental earth. Does that make sense?”

  “Actually, yes,” Wraith said, still stuck on Santa being a faerie.

  “I know it’s a lot to take in at once,” Brigid said.