“Don’t you?”
He shook his head and smiled. “No, but you bet your ass I’m going to learn one.”
“Let’s just dig the stupid hole.”
One thing I learned, after an hour of digging, is that fairies can dig like steam shovels. I wiped the sweat from my eyes and laughed as I realized ‘steam shovel’ was something Zola would say. Foster never paused to relax, or catch his breath, or stretch his back. He was all business.
“I think we’re done,” I said to the tips of his wings.
He looked up from the pit, glanced at the earth, almost level with his chest, and nodded. “I think the pieces will probably stack up pretty well down here.” He jumped out with a natural ease, bending his legs slightly as he landed on the ground beside me. “You look a little sweaty.”
I shook my head and blew perspiration at him off my upper lip.
He jumped away. “That. Is just. Nasty.”
I grinned and turned to find Zola, Aideen, and Cara on their way over with a wheelbarrow full of pureed demon. I heard Zola whisper, “Did you find it yet?” to which Cara just shook her head.
“Let me grab that,” Foster said.
Cara nodded and handed the wheelbarrow over. Foster took a few steps and tipped it over to the sounds of slush and splatter as the body parts hit the floor of the pit.
I frowned and looked over the edge. I glanced back to find Aideen bent over another piece of gore on the far side of the pit. Her face lit up with a grin and she picked up what I believe was part of Azzazoth’s head.
“Ah-ha!” she said as she handed the oily chunk of flesh to Cara.
Cara smiled and pushed the head chunk off the shiny object in her right hand. She held up the key of the dead as she walked around the pit. Cara wiped it off on the grass and held it out to me. “Keep it safe, Damian.”
I stared at the dagger and nodded. “I will.”
Zola chuckled.
“What?” I said.
“Just something about Fae and gifts Ah heard once.”
“Hey now,” Foster said, “that’s my Mom you’re talking about.”
I smiled as my eyes moved back to the dagger. I shrugged and tucked it into my belt.
We spent another half hour picking up pieces of demon and a few surviving bits of vampire from the shack bomb. When it was over, we filled the pit in with dirt, and Zola scribbled a series of runes into the earth with my staff.
She went down on one knee and placed her palm over the n-like rune uruz. The runes glowed briefly and Zola stood back. The earth churned beneath our feet and a thick granite boulder with a bowl-shaped indentation crept to the surface of what had been the pit.
A deep laugh echoed through the silence of the forest around us, scattering birds and a pair of deer.
“Thank you, Aeros,” Zola whispered with a smile.
I knew the worst was over when Foster wasn’t lumbering around as a seven-foot fairy. He zipped between Sam and the car about five times while I carried her to Vicky. Cara and Aideen were waiting silently on the dashboard and Zola was standing beside the passenger door, holding my staff.
I laid Sam across the backseat and thought about buckling her in. I decided against it. Hell, she’s a vampire.
“Ready to go home, boy?” Zola said as she handed me the demon staff when I walked by.
“Oh yeah, I think we’ve had enough excitement for one day.”
Cara snorted. “Make that one year, and I’ll agree with you.”
“Fair enough.” I smiled and sat down in the driver’s seat. Zola slid in and closed her door at the same time. Everyone fell asleep on the drive back. They were out cold and snoring by the time we hit asphalt again. No one mentioned the soulart.
I didn’t stop until Festus, right at Highway 67 and Highway 55. I stopped at the White Castle. If you’ve been to Festus in the last few years, you shouldn’t need any more directions than that. I ran inside to prevent my bladder from rupturing and walked out a few minutes later with three coffees, chicken rings, and a case full of cheeseburgers.
I sat down and grinned at the three fairies passed out in Zola’s lap. Foster and Aideen were tangled up in a snoring mass of wings, legs, and arms. “Wake up! I’ve got coffee!” I said in the most chipper voice I could manage.
Zola groaned and tried to kill me with a stare. I handed her a cup of coffee and her glare turned into more of a glaring smile. I opened the case of cheeseburgers and handed her a slider. She just grunted. “Ah shouldn’t eat this crap at my age.”
“You shouldn’t be breathing at your age,” I muttered.
She took the slider down in three bites while wearing a wry grin, and grabbed another one.
The fairies were all on the dashboard with coffee stirrers in hand. I sat a small coffee between them, which was immediately assaulted with tiny slurping noises. I laid a slider out too. Foster hacked a piece off with his sword and devoured the meat and cheese.
“You know, knowing where that sword’s been the last few days … ” I shook my head.
“Wahd?” Foster said through a mouthful of food. I think he meant what.
I laughed and took a sip of coffee. Hot enough to melt lead. I nodded and said, “Let’s go home.”
* * *
We took Sam to the Pit first. I was very surprised to find Frank asleep on Sam’s bed when Vik escorted us to her room. I raised an eyebrow at Vik and he shrugged. I laid Sam down beside Frank and pulled a blanket over her. “’Night, sis,” I whispered. I’m pretty sure Zola was already asleep in one of the guest bedrooms.
Frank mumbled something along the lines of, “No, Damian, not leaving her.”
Vik met my gaze and smiled, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
“Alright, alright, I’ll watch the shop.” I said as I blew out a breath. “Are you sure you’re okay in a house full of boogeymen, Frank?”
I think he said, “Yeah, actually, they’re not so bad,” but it sounded more like “Yuffly theso bah.”
Vik nodded and did a little disco flare.
I laughed despite myself and shook my head. “That is so not what I meant.” I gestured to Vik and he followed me into the hall. “I’m going to head back to the shop to take Foster, Aideen, and Cara home. I’ll probably just crash there because I’m about to fall over.”
“You are welcome to stay here,” Vik said.
“I would, but I don’t think Cara and Foster would be comfortable. After what they helped us do tonight, they deserve to go home.”
“You’re going to inform me of the night’s trials, yes?”
“Yeah, just not right now.” I patted the vampire on the shoulder and smiled.
Vik nodded. “No problem, Damian. I’ll call when Sam awakens.”
“Thanks, Vik. And let Frank know he can stay here if he wants. I’ll watch the shop for awhile tomorrow. I seriously doubt he’ll remember our little chat. And let him know Sam should be fine. She just needs to rest.”
He nodded and I waved as I left Sam’s home. Home—because it wasn’t just a vampire Pit, it was her home. She slept surrounded with her friends and family, who would kill or die for her without a second thought. I smiled and climbed into Vicky.
Foster and Cara were buzzing around the car like, well, like fairies on a caffeine binge. Aideen was curled around the coffee cup, out cold. I laughed and started the car up.
* * *
“How do they do that?” I asked as we pulled into a parking space in front of the shop.
A bloated ball of green fur was stuck in the doggy door, its back legs pumping at full throttle, to no avail. I didn’t even have to ask what happened. I already knew they’d gotten into the pet shop next door and eaten about six pounds of goldfish, again. It’d happened before and I’m sure the police were still baffled as to why anyone would steal goldfish from a nice shop keeper like Annabelle. I’d been giving money to Foster and Aideen to leave by the register in the pet store whenever the inventory mysteriously vanished.
I closed t
he door to Vicky and walked up to the wagging cu sith tail. “Foster, these dogs … good lord.” He laughed as I gently pried Bubbles out of the doggy door. She barked and jumped in circles, then licked my hand. “You’re welcome little green wolf Martian.” Peanut stuck his head through the door a second later, and then retreated with a scrabble of claws on hardwood as I opened it for the fairies.
Bubbles trotted peacefully to the back room. I locked the front door behind us and followed the bouncing green ball. After stuffing the remnants of the cheeseburgers in the fridge, I sat down on the couch across from the grandfather clock.
“Goodnight, Damian,” echoed all three fairies.
I laughed. “Goodnight, and thanks,” I said as I curled up on the couch and slept for six glorious hours.
* * *
A knock at the front door woke me up. I stumbled from the couch through the doorway to the front room, and up to the open sign. I blinked a few times at the blur outside the door.
“Hi, Damian!”
I couldn’t help but smile as I finally made out Ashley’s form on the other side of the door. After flipping the lock on the deadbolts, I opened the door for her, and flipped the sign in front to “Open.”
Ashley bounced down to the register and dropped a good-sized pink box on the glass counter. “Happy Birthday to my favorite shop keep!” She flashed me a huge grin.
“Whoa, whoa,” I muttered, “switch to decaf for a minute.”
She laughed and grabbed my arm, accelerating my stumble up to the counter. The next thing I knew a seven-foot Foster was walking through the back door with a box in his hand.
“Yowza,” Ashley said as her eyes wandered up and down the huge fairy.
Foster smiled and nodded at Ashley.
“Decaf, girl, decaf,” I said.
Foster’s face broke into a grin. “Happy Birthday, Damian! This one is from me and Aideen and Cara.”
I blinked slowly and looked at Foster. “What for?”
“Your birthday, of course!”
Good god I thought as Ashley’s and Foster’s words started to sink in, is it June already?
Ashley opened the box on the counter and turned it so I could see inside. Chocolate-covered strawberries graced the top of a huge chocolate cake.
“I think I’m in love,” I said as I picked off a strawberry and started to munch.
Ashley clapped her hands together and grinned. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Love it,” I said as I waved the half-eaten strawberry in useless circles. “You really didn’t have to do this.”
She shrugged, “I do it for all my friends, so don’t feel too special. Just keep giving me a break on amber and I’ll keep the birthday cakes flowing.”
I laughed and turned to Foster. He set the plain brown box down in front of me and shrank down to his normal size.
“Open ours now,” Aideen said as she flew up from the back.
I picked up the unmemorable box wrapped in twine and grimaced as I thought of the box the key of the dead had come in. I dangled it from my thumb and index finger.
“This better not be as exciting as the last twine-wrapped box.”
“Oh no,” Aideen said, “This is much more exciting.”
“Great,” I said flatly. I chuckled and untied the twine. A dull, gray gleam caught my eye as I unfolded the flaps and for a second I was intimately reminded of the dagger. This box, however, held only the plain, leather-wrapped silver and Magrasnetto hilt of an old Scottish claymore. It had strange dime-sized holes formed into it at regular intervals, which appeared to spiral up within the grip. Channels ran down the sloping arms and ended in a quatrefoil pattern. A wide hole was the only feature where the blade would normally be.
I glanced at Foster, then Aideen, and finally Cara. “Thank you?” I said.
Foster and Aideen burst into laughter and Cara sighed and bowed her head in obvious disappointment.
“Do you even know what that is?” Cara said.
“I guess not.” I hefted the hilt and flipped it over.
“Do you know what it is?” Cara said as she turned to Ashley.
Ashley smiled and nodded vigorously. “Oh, yes, it’s a focus.” She reached her hand out, then pulled it back. “I have no idea what it’s for, though.”
“Even our favorite priestess knows it’s a focus,” Cara said as she pointed at Ashley.
My eyes widened and whipped back to Foster. “For an aural blade?”
“It was Cara’s idea,” he said with a grin. “Having a focus for that blade you conjure up should make it very, very interesting.”
“But how–” I started to ask. I didn’t even finish the question as I focused my aura to form the blade. I gasped as the focus grabbed onto my aura and amplified it with the Fae power worked into the hilt. “Wards,” I whispered as a red blade so solid I couldn’t see through it sprang from the hilt, crackling with the occasional streak of blue power. I released the pulsing blade a second later and my distended aura snapped back into its normal state.
“Holy shit!” Ashley said as she stumbled backwards.
“You could see it?” Aideen said.
Ashley nodded and stared at the focus as I laid it on the glass counter.
Cara clapped her hands together and smiled. “It’s stronger than we hoped.” She turned to Ashley. “Child, do you have a strong gift for auras.”
“No, never.” She shook her head as she answered.
Cara nodded once and turned back to me. “Happy birthday, Damian, I hope it serves you well.”
“Ha! Yeah, I think, I think it might.” I stared at the focus for a moment and shook my head. “Thanks.”
The fairies just laughed.
“There is more,” Foster said.
“Really?”
“A gift from Glenn,” Cara said.
My stomach did a little flip flop. “Is he going to feed me to a kraken or something?”
Ashley snorted as Foster literally fell over laughing.
“Yeah, well, not so funny if he actually does feed me to a kraken,” I muttered.
“Take a look at your staff,” Cara said. “Look closely at the ferrules.”
I picked the length of carved wood up from its resting spot against the wall. New runes I didn’t recognize stared back at me. Two off center and curved horizontal lines with a slash connecting the pair, centered inside a psychotic Celtic knot. I furrowed my eyebrows and touched the symbol with my hand and a wisp of power. A second later I remembered Glenn had carved it and my hand sped back to my pocket to hide.
“He did it last night while you were asleep,” Aideen said.
“That’s not creepy at all.” I tried hard not to shiver at the idea of Gwynn ap Nudd looming over me in my sleep. After a stampede of goosebumps ran over my skin, I managed pretty well. “What’s it do? It didn’t do anything when I touched it.”
“Pick up the focus, then touch it,” Cara said. “Oh, and point the hilt somewhere safe.”
“Why do I nee–” I started to say as my right hand grabbed the hilt and my left hand slid over the symbol on the ferrule. A surge of power tore through me as the staff started siphoning a nearby ley line and an aural blade erupted from the hilt. In the center was the solid red blade I expected, but wrapped around and through it was a cacophony of blue and gold and silver filaments. The entire blade vibrated and the power washing away from it electrified the air. I let go of the ferrule and the power dissipated. I gasped and stared at Cara.
“Holy shit!” Foster said.
Ashley’s eyes were wide and her mouth was slack. “Holy shit, I could feel it.”
I stared at the little etching Glenn had given me and chorused, “Holy shit.”
“It is one of the few true acts of apology I have ever seen from Glenn,” Cara said.
“Wow, I mean, wow,” I said.
Ashley hung around for awhile and helped me eat the cake. Bubbles and Peanut took down a good quarter of the remains in a flurry of crumbs, tongues
, and growling.
“That going to make them sick?” Ashley said.
I snorted. “I think they could eat a bottle of Drano and not be sick.”
“Probably,” Foster said.
Ashley shook her head and stroked Bubbles’s back. She immediately flipped over for a tummy rub while her left hind leg twitched in the air.
I caught a huge grin on Cara’s face as Ashley was playing with Bubbles. “Good sign?” I asked the fairy.
“Oh yes.” Cara said as she nodded. “She is a good person to be so close to the cu sith.”
“She is a good person to bring cake.”
Cara gave me a lopsided grin.
The phone rang a minute later, about four hours before I was planning on closing the shop.
“Sam’s awake. Get over here,” Zola said with a throaty growl.
My heart leapt and I slammed the phone down. “I’m sorry, Ashley, I have to go. Sam woke up.”
She waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I was just in the neighborhood and wanted to drop your cake off. I’ll stop by again soon.” She waved again and the bell jingled as she went out the front door.
“You coming?” I asked the fairies.
“Ye–”
Cara cut Foster off and said, “No. Go, Damian, be with your sister. We’ll see her soon.”
I waved as I flipped the sign to “Closed” on the front door, locked it, and ran over to Vicky.
* * *
I pulled into the driveway at the Pit fifteen minutes later. Way too fast, but I couldn’t wait to see Sam. Despite everyone’s assurances she’d be fine, I was still worried. I had to see it with my own two eyes.
The front door was unlocked and I caught Vik’s smile as I blew past him in the entryway. I pounded down the steps two at a time on my way to Sam’s bedroom, the first door on the right in the dim hallway.
Sam had her legs hanging over the edge of the bed and a bucket in her lap. Her hair was pulled back loosely behind her ears and her skin was even more pale than usual, making the slightly darker patch of vampire on her neck stand out even more. She looked up at the sound of my footsteps. I was surprised to see something like shame cross her face. I didn’t see Frank anywhere.
I stood in the doorway for almost a minute, just staring at her, still alive, or whatever she was, and basked in the relief of it. I sat down on the bed beside her and held her in silence for a while.
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