Dreams of the Forgotten Dead

by Eric Asher

  “He probably should have feared the magic of a fire demon a bit more,” I muttered.

  Foster let out an explosive laugh and pointed at me. “That was a good one. Because Mike the demon forged the splendorum mortem. And you used it to kill him.” The half-insane grin on Foster’s face slipped.

  I looked at the fairy with some concern. “You are going to crash so hard.”

  “Titan magic,” Nixie said.

  Foster gestured to her. “You thought of something. What did you think of? Come on. You have to tell us. Tell us before I pass out. And then don’t tell Aideen how much of that fudge I ate. If she asks, you ate most of it. Deal? Deal.”

  Nixie’s eyebrows climbed a little higher as Foster kept rambling. “I was saying, Titan magic. Basilisks were believed to be descended from Old Gods.”

  And as soon as Nixie said that, I was almost sure where she was going.

  “And there are few outside of the Titans who can match the Old Gods. It is a power like no other. Perhaps Damian could magnify other magicks and bring down the indestructible.” She turned to look at me as we exited the highway. “Gaia might know.”

  “It’s possible,” I said. “Let’s try to find Edgar first. Maybe he can tell us something about the peacock, and maybe why it got so aggressive with Hess.”

  “I believe I can answer that,” Hess said. “I do not believe the peacock was ever warning you of my presence. But the presence of another Utukku, and perhaps the basilisk itself.”

  And that was an interesting thought.

  Foster slumped down against the bag of tissues before holding up one finger. “I’m just going to lay my head down for one minute.”

  I grinned at the fairy. “I wonder if Nagma knew something we didn’t.”

  Nixie’s brow wrinkled. “I have wondered the same. Perhaps the assassin is not Fae. Perhaps the assassin sent to hunt me is the basilisk itself.”

  “That would be a violent message,” Hess said. “Where basilisks ride into war, there are more who die than those intended.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “She means there’s a lot of collateral damage,” Nixie said under her breath. “She means if it comes for me, no one around me is safe.”

  “The water witch is correct.”

  Nixie looked down at the bird as it hopped over the seat and landed between us. “And Nagma sent me all the warning she dared. She knows more than she has told us, and I fear she is in danger. Euphemia must move to help the undines in Sri Lanka. And if this theory is correct, it is safer for me to remain here.”

  “You endanger all who are close to you,” Hess said.

  I let out a low laugh. “We like to call that Tuesday around here.”

  Foster released a thunderous snore, rattling the small pack of tissues he was lying against.

  I took a deep breath. “Then we get Hess to the veil mirror, find Edgar, and if he doesn’t have the answers we’re looking for, find Gaia.”

  “Have you heard from anyone at Rivercene?” Nixie asked.

  I nodded. “Cizin reached out to me a couple days ago. Gaia hasn’t been seen there in over a week, but Stump has been taking care of the place when he himself hasn’t disappeared. I’m not sure what’s been going on. Luna is still staying there, from what I understand.”

  Nixie smiled at that. “She is young to be striking out on her own.”

  “Maybe Vicky isn’t the best influence.”

  “I wonder where she learned that?” Nixie muttered.

  Hess chuckled from the back seat, and I laughed as we made our way toward Main Street.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  It wasn’t long before we reached Death’s Door. The street was fairly empty, so I parked in the front. Nixie picked up Foster and unceremoniously dropped him into a travel mug for easy carrying. He grumbled about something I couldn’t quite make out before immediately falling back to sleep.

  I held the door open for Hess, and she climbed out behind Popcorn. The ghostly cu sith chuffed at the door before turning around in a circle.

  “You’ve been here before,” I said to Popcorn. “I know you remember biting the hell out of my ankle.”

  The cu sith chuffed again and almost pranced to the front door.

  Nixie followed with Nugget in one arm and the coffee mug filled with a passed-out fairy in the other. “Is it okay to let Popcorn in with the other cu siths being, well, not dead?”

  “Of course,” Hess said. “They are spirit beings more than physical ones. They will outlive us all in some form.”

  That was an interesting observation from Hess. I’d certainly seen the cu siths do some pretty amazing things over the years, and some of that involved pulling on magic I didn’t understand. If they were tied into another realm entirely, somewhat like the blood mages but less gory, that could explain quite a bit of it. Of course, that made me wonder if any Fae had actually done research on that, or if the convenience of a supernatural pooch with the ability to kidnap across realms was all the explanation they needed.

  The door chimed as we walked inside, and if that wasn’t enough, the peacock squawked loud enough to let the entire city block know we were home.

  “How’d it …” Frank’s question trailed off as he stared at Hess. His quick notice of her told me the Utukku was still more corporeal than she should have been. I’d definitely pushed a bit too much power through that mirror.

  “Hess!” Aideen said, exploding off the counter into her full height. “What is this?” The pale blue shadow of the cu sith bounded up to Aideen. “Oh, you dear thing.” She ran her hand across the scar on the cu sith’s flank. “What happened to you?”

  “Gettysburg,” I said.

  Aideen raised an eyebrow.

  “When Nudd pulled Falias through the Abyss.”

  “Oh,” Aideen’s voice trailed off. “I suppose that is what happened to most who went missing that day.”

  Frank stared at the Utukku before rubbing his eyes and staring again. “Is she a ghost?”

  I nodded. “Frank, Hess, Hess, Frank.”

  “Greetings, journeyman.”

  “I haven’t met many Utukku,” Frank said. “It is an honor.”

  “Hess was watching from the mirror,” I said, patting her on the shoulder. “It seems we have more than one warning about the things coming after Nixie.”

  “What do you mean?” Aideen asked as she straightened. She frowned at the mug in Nixie’s hand. “You should probably wash that out with very cold water.”

  Nixie grinned, but the expression faded. “There’s a basilisk beneath the county.”

  Aideen blinked. “And I assume that’s why Foster is … in this condition?”

  “Oh yeah,” I said with a nod. “Don’t suppose you know how to kill a basilisk?”

  Aideen let out a nervous laugh. “Other than absolutely destroying it? No. And that takes power few have. Since the time of Titans, most of that ability has been …” Her eyes trailed up to mine. “Oh.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  “Will Gaia’s power work against a basilisk?”

  “I have no idea,” I said. “But it pulled Hess out of her afterlife. Which I didn’t realize wasn’t like a normal afterlife like our friendly neighborhood ghosts? Did you know they can look back on our world through mirrors after they’re gone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, okay then.”

  “It is why they were sometimes imprisoned in veil mirrors.” Aideen rubbed her hands together. “What of the bird?”

  “We think Nagma sent the peacock as a warning,” Nixie said. “And there may be more than one basilisk. The tunnels Damian saw are far too large for a single beast.”

  Aideen glanced away. “Unless it is an elder beast. Some lived for millennia and grew to sizes one can scarcely imagine. Ward fought one. He had the help of a reaper. You could bring Jasper. And Drake may help, since he has formed a friendship with Vicky. Sparkles and Jasper could be strong enough together.”


  I blew out a breath. “I can’t ask Vicky to do more. And as good as she is, I want Jasper to keep her protected. I don’t know if I trust Drake.”

  “He’s a dick,” Foster muttered from the coffee mug.

  Nixie held up one finger as if asking for a moment. She held her hand over the mug, and water poured from her palm until it overflowed with Foster screeching and splashing around like he’d been lit on fire.

  “So cold! So cold!”

  “Good morning, cousin.”

  Aideen plucked him out of the mug by his collar and held him up in front of her face. “Sober up, noble knight. There’s mischief afoot.”

  “No one talks like that anymore,” Foster huffed, wiping his plastered hair out of his eyes. He scowled at Nixie before dropping out of Aideen’s grasp and shaking himself off like a half-drowned cu sith.

  “Is Calbach still here?” I asked.

  Frank nodded. “Yes. Alexandra and Shamus too.” He lowered his voice to little more than a whisper. “Shamus is a little weird.”

  “He hasn’t interacted with humanity in a thousand years,” Nixie said before hesitating. “Longer, actually. That’s enough to make anyone a bit awkward.”

  “Geez, yeah. I feel uncomfortable with a weekend away from people.”

  The saloon-style doors pushed open and Bubbles stood there, staring ahead with her ears straight up. She gave two sharp barks and Peanut appeared in a clatter of nails on the hardwood.

  “Please don’t fight,” I whispered as the cu siths stalked toward each other.

  Popcorn sniffed the air as if she could smell the other two, and if she could, I had some serious refining to do with Gaia’s power supercharging my abilities, or some serious learning to do about cu siths. It also made me a tiny bit worried about what I might have done to Hess’s ghost.

  The cu siths had nearly reached each other at the end of the aisle when Peanut finally reared up and slammed his paws against the floor. Bubbles did the same before they both sat back on their hind legs and waited.

  Popcorn started to back away, and then mirrored the other cu siths, thumping down on the floor in silence. The gesture was apparently all the greeting Bubbles and Peanut needed, because braided tails and bristly fur exploded into booming barks as they rubbed against the ghost cu sith and licked her face.

  “They’re adorable,” Aideen whispered before looking back up at the rest of us. “Why have you returned here? If you need Edgar, I’m sure he would have answered a call.”

  “I told Hess what I saw in the veil mirror.”

  Aideen looked away before meeting the ghost’s gaze. “Yes. Is that why you were drawn to this place?”

  Hess frowned. “I am not sure. Utukku told us the necromancer had to be protected. I believe that order, given in life, may have compelled me even now. But time does not feel right. I remember things different from how they occurred, where years have been shuffled like a game of chance.”

  “I don’t know enough of the spirit realm of the Utukku to even guess why that is, Hess,” Aideen said. “But we can show you the mirror. I warn you. It may not be a pleasant sight.”

  “Was it you who imprisoned the Utukku?”

  “Never,” Aideen said without hesitation. “Those are magicks I do not employ and cannot condone. There is the cruelty of war, but this is something more. Cruelty for the sake of vanity is a trespass I cannot forgive.”

  “A veil mirror has more use than vanity,” Hess said. “Abomination though it may be, they have been used for more than seeing what was lost. And to look upon what has been missed can be both blessing and curse to the beholder. But if you did not imprison the Utukku, then I harbor no grudge.”

  “You wish to see the mirror?” Aideen asked.

  Hess inclined her head.

  We started toward the back of the shop before Frank raised his hand to stop us. “Hey, wait. I talked to Shamus a little bit. He wants me to negotiate on behalf of Atlantis. They need some kind of metal or something?” With that question, he turned to Nixie.

  “To restart the forges. Yes. There are few who have the materials we need, and Shamus only recently located a trader in the wasteland.”

  I frowned at that. “You mean the wasteland in this realm? Where Nudd destroyed the cities east of Gettysburg?”

  “Yes. But if Frank means to barter and negotiate on our behalf, he will need to journey to the wastelands. And those are wild places. Things not of this realm have gathered in the wastes, as you well know.”

  “I want to do it,” Frank said. “I might be good with the bomb lance, and the best at running the store, but I want to do more to help. And it’s not every day I get to help the Fae. And let’s be honest, Damian. Helping them is helping us. Look at all the crap we’ve been dealing with—vampires and Old Gods and Eldritch things. We need their help more than they need ours.”

  “Slow down.” I held my hand up when Frank looked like he was going to protest. “I agree with you. And I’ll go with you to the wastes. First, we need to deal with this basilisk. If it decides to surface, I can’t imagine what kind of damage it could do to the city.”

  Even at that horrible thought, Frank smiled. “I’ll be ready when you are.”

  I started through the saloon-style doors before turning back to Frank. “One other thing.”

  Frank waited.

  “You’re telling Sam.” I flashed him a grin.

  Frank cringed at that, and I didn’t miss Nixie’s quiet chuckle.

  By the time we made it to the stairs, Nugget had taken up his perch on Peanut’s head. The bird seemed more than happy to ride around on the cu sith while we were in the shop. I caught a glimpse of them vanishing into the cu siths’ lair before I heard Calbach’s voice upstairs.

  I texted Edgar as we crested the stairs, letting him know I wanted to talk to him about a peacock. I figured that was a strange enough message to get a quick response, and the Watcher didn’t disappoint.

  Why do you have a peacock?

  It makes a wonderful nightlight.

  I could almost feel Edgar’s groan over the text message.

  Meet me at Salt and Smoke. One hour.

  I sent him a heart emoji and smiled as I imagined just how annoyed he probably was at that point. I froze at the top of the steps and stared at the ocean of cardboard boxes stacked in front of some of the bookshelves and off in the corner above the stairs. There were more inside the new apartment, and with the boxes stuffed into that smaller home it looked like far more than I’d realized I was bringing.

  Calbach grunted as I met his gaze. “I helped the movers bring some of those up. You can give me the tip you would’ve given them.”

  “You didn’t leave them a tip?”

  “Settle yourself down. Frank took care of them. But he didn’t pay me.” A slow smile spread across Calbach’s face.

  “I take it we’re back to even?”

  “Indeed. And by that, I mean you have hot water.”

  I clasped the iron-touched Fae on the shoulder and smiled at him. “I do appreciate that. And thank you for helping with the boxes. And I say this without irony. When you need me, ask.”

  “A worthy tip indeed.”

  “Are you quite mad?” Shamus asked. “Giving your word to a Fae like that? It is dangerous, and could lead to a most unwelcome situation.”

  I glanced back at Nixie, who only gave a small shake of her head.

  “Shamus, oh Shamus,” Nixie said. “Our prince often speaks before he thinks. You will grow accustomed to it in time, or you will begin to suffer what the commoners call panic attacks. Either way, it will resolve.”

  I slipped past Shamus and looked behind the stack of boxes against the far wall. “Did you seal the coffin again? We need to get into it.”

  Calbach leaned over some boxes and tapped on a section of the wall. At first glance, I couldn’t see it. When he pushed on the wall, something clicked. It swung open just a hair.

  “No extra charge. I had a feeling y
ou’d want to get back into that sooner rather than later.”

  It was then that Calbach noticed who else had joined us upstairs. He didn’t take his eyes off Hess, and she did not take her eyes off the black coffin inside the wall.

  “I should not be able to see her. I do not understand. The iron-touched cannot see into the realm of the Utukku’s dead. Their spirit realm has always been a secret from us.”

  “Not so much a secret that you didn’t know about it,” Hess said.

  Calbach blinked at that. “And I could hear you as if you are standing right in front of me. How is this possible?” His eyes trailed back to me and narrowed. “Necromancer.”

  Nixie chuckled. “Got it in one. Hess was one of the spirits in the mirror.”

  “The veil mirror?”

  I shook my head. “The bathroom mirror. I saw her again at Samir’s. And then, well, necromancy.”

  Shamus watched this entire exchange with raised eyebrows before looking at Nixie with a pleading gaze. She offered the old undine a warm smile, which I guessed was anything but reassuring to him.

  I lifted a cardboard box and took it into the new apartment. Calbach followed with another, and I laughed when a very grumpy Foster changed into his Proelium state and dragged one inside. We did the same with another stack, and that revealed the hinged door in full.

  I pulled the coffin out, and Calbach helped me lower it to the floor.

  “Are you sure about this?” I asked Aideen when she landed next to the coffin.

  “The veil mirror protects the spirit inside of it as much as it protects us. It should be safe. But the effect it may have on Hess seeing one of her own imprisoned, I cannot say.”

  Hess stepped forward. “I have seen many things in my many lives. I will endure this as well.”

  I nodded and yanked the lid free. The veil mirror waited for us, a blank piece of black glass until my hand wrapped around it and the flaming skull of an Utukku stared out at me.

  Hess studied the face in the mirror before whispering. “Aseer. I did not think it would be her.”