by Eric Asher
Hess grinned. “Perhaps we should return our focus to the Spirit Hunt, and what may be done about the basilisks beneath your city.”
The smiles around the group faded with Hess’s words. She was right, and we all knew it, but the idea that there was a basilisk under the streets was frightening. The idea there could be more than one was terrifying.
“Hess is correct,” Edgar said. “Prepare yourself for a visit to the wastelands. Frank, gather what you think you’ll need to strike a bargain on behalf of Atlantis.”
“Already started,” Frank said.
“Where will we find the merchant?” I asked.
Frank shook his head. “Shamus says we won’t have to, that the merchants will find us. And I’ll have to pick one to bargain with.”
“Remember, you can trade with many,” Nixie said. “There is much to be gained by setting the merchants against each other.”
Frank rubbed his chin. “I hadn’t thought about that. And we won’t actually need to trade with multiple. Just make them think we have other options. But that’s good to know. If tactics that work on commoners will work on Fae, this could be better than I thought.”
“Find Gaia as soon as you can,” Edgar said. “I would feel better if Damian had some idea of what has changed with his powers.”
“What do you mean?” Hess asked.
“I may have incinerated some Unseelie Fae outside the shop,” I muttered.
“And you didn’t ask me to help?” Foster placed his head on his chest as if he was grievously offended.
“He turned them into slag,” Nixie said. “Their armor filled in the cobblestones like rain.”
Foster blinked.
“If the Unseelie were here, we need to be careful.” Aideen frowned and glanced between Edgar and Foster. “We can’t leave the store unprotected.”
“Or Shamus,” Nixie said. “Alexandra took him to the river, and I’ll make sure she knows to keep him with the other undines there for the time being.”
“Do we know why the Unseelie were here?” Frank asked.
It was an obvious question, and one we probably should have been discussing already. “One of them said something about the pawn of the Morrigan must fall?” I shrugged.
“It was clearly directed at Edgar,” Nixie said.
The Watcher inclined his head. “Yes, the Unseelie are not fond of Morrigan. And I am seen as an ally, to be sure.”
“Morrigan turned on them a long time ago,” Aideen said. “Before the Wandering War. It is not surprising they harbor some ill will for her allies.”
“I will be cautious,” Edgar said. “I will pass word to the remaining Watchers, as well. Some are using underground bases, and should one of those intersect with the basilisks’ lair, well, I imagine the number of our allies would decrease significantly.”
“Good call,” I said. “Then we better get ready to leave for the wastes. Who’s staying and who’s joining us?”
“My Spirit Hunt does not wait in the wastes,” Hess said. “I will stay here until your return. Should you fail to rejoin me in two days’ time, I will begin the hunt alone.”
“Don’t do that,” Aideen said hurriedly.
Hess grinned as the rest of us started to make plans.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
We spent a few hours gathering supplies and making a rough plan, and I hoped we were ready to go. The explosion of power in that fight had left me worried what other effects my bond with Gaia’s power was going to surprise me with.
Amusingly, those hours included more of Nixie’s water witches coming to see her for an audience. They fawned over the peacock and the cu siths, and Popcorn’s ghost appeared quite happy to be among the undines.
None of them refused a tithing when Frank asked. They didn’t say much about it, but they didn’t complain as they made random purchases of raw magrasnetto and a handful of precious stones.
The last of them, an older undine, smiled at Frank and did have something more to say. “Journeyman, it is good of you to keep the old traditions alive. I am surprised one so young as yourself is familiar with our customs.”
Frank scratched the back of his head. “Some of my best friends are undines. And if I’m being honest, I didn’t know as much about the traditions when I asked Nixie if it would be okay.”
She offered a kind smile. “The ways of the journeyman have always been odd. And I suppose it is one of those things that has not changed over the millennia.”
The undine said millennia like we said years. It made me wonder just how old she was. Though I supposed it would be almost as rude to ask that of an undine as it was a commoner.
Nixie appeared at the saloon-style doors, gesturing to the newcomer as her previous guest exited the shop. I couldn’t stop the smile when I saw her crack open a bag of Frank’s death jerky.
Frank went back to gathering more items from the shop that he thought would be good to trade with the Fae merchants. He took more than a few pieces of amber and obsidian that he tucked away into a large duffel bag.
“Why amber?” I asked as I looked over some of the stones left on the countertop.
“The Fae seemed to be drawn to it. They’re almost always buying that, obsidian, or magrasnetto. I figure if it’s something the Fae want, it’s something the merchant will want too.”
Frank made his way back behind the register and pulled a large paper bag out before checking the contents and laying them out on the glass countertop.
I raised an eyebrow. “Fudge?”
“Oh yeah. That’s not all.” He set down two bottles of Irish whiskey. “I wasn’t going to bring them, since they’re kind of heavy, but food can make for good trades.”
The whiskey wasn’t bad by any means, but the fudge was some of the best our local shop had to offer—peanut butter, butterscotch, and two blocks of salted caramel.
“How big are those?” I picked one up, the size of a brick that I would’ve expected to see used in construction.
“Two pounds per block, I think.” Frank tucked them into an insulated box before sliding the entire stash of fudge into his duffel bag.
I watched him for a while more, keeping my eye on the street to make sure no more Unseelie decided to drop in unannounced. He’d taken a vast array of items for trade, and most I couldn’t imagine a Fae merchant being interested in. Many of their weapons and things of value were forged from silver and gold, but Frank had left all of that behind. Not that we had much of it, but I always found the raw ore fascinating. Instead, he took some of the candles Ashley had carved along with the assortment of gems.
After a time, the older undine came back to the front of the shop. She smiled at Frank and offered a small coin. “You trade on behalf of Atlantis, and for that, I thank you. Should you have the opportunity, and lack the goods, offer this for what you can.”
Frank turned the thin silver over in his hand. It didn’t have the same rough edges that many of the commoners’ coins had from the age of Atlantis, instead smooth with a series of arches formed around an intricate circle and knot in the center. “Your support of Atlantis is appreciated.”
The undine smiled. “Perhaps you are more accustomed to our traditions than you realize. Travel safe, journeyman. It would be best if you returned alive with our mortal prince.”
I groaned as the undine laughed and made her way out of the store, turning to Frank when the door closed.
“That seemed like a nice gesture.”
Frank nodded and looked toward the back room. Nixie was still standing in the doorway. “Nixie, can you tell me anything about this?”
She walked up to the glass counter and took the coin from Frank. A small smile curled her lips. “Not many of these have survived the ages. There are a few in the throne room, coins from the first age of the undines.”
“Before your time?” I asked.
“Oh yes,” Nixie said. “There are none alive today who lived in that age. Immortal though we may seem, war takes most of us in tim
e.”
“What about Shamus?” Frank asked. “How old is he?”
Nixie hesitated. “Ten thousand years, I believe.”
Frank whistled at that. “Are you immortal, then? Shamus looks old, like he would easily be in his seventies if he was a commoner.”
“There is truth in what you say, but we do not age as a commoner does. Aging slows at varying times for all of us, though we do not know why. Some never age past their twenties, while others look far older than Shamus. Our lives freeze at different points in time, until the end comes, and we become something else.”
“Statuary on the bottom of a river,” I muttered.
Nixie grinned at that. “Sometimes. Sometimes yes.”
She handed the coin to Frank. “You will do well with that silver. Save it for a bargain that could change your life, or a time when you feel it is right. A journeyman with a king’s coin will be formidable indeed.”
“Are you almost ready?” I turned to Frank.
He nodded and stacked a few more boxes up inside the duffel bag. “I think so. I don’t know for sure what I’m going to need, but it doesn’t sound like the undines know either. But I think I’m as prepared as I can be.”
“Good. If we’re going to make it to the wastes today, I’d like to go soon.”
Nixie reached out to the saloon-style doors and paused. She turned back to us. “We most assuredly should. The wastelands will be threatening enough during the day, and there are things from Faerie that awaken in the night. Things I would prefer not to meet.”
She vanished through the doors, leaving me and Frank to stare after her, wondering just what else had crossed over from Falias. As if the Unseelie and the dark-touched weren’t a big enough threat on their own. But there were already other things that were a threat, like the basilisks beneath the city that had been pulled in from Faerie, as well. I rubbed the back of my neck and hoped I wasn’t about to get any of my friends killed after they’d just risked so much to save me.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
As much as we were in a hurry, I didn’t want to leave until we had a solid plan. That left me a few minutes to comb through some of the cardboard boxes upstairs and start putting away a few things. It was absent-minded work and let me concentrate on our current issues. I hoped the distraction would help my subconscious form a plan. Of course, even a solid plan felt a little shaky when you didn’t know what you were walking into. And one part of that plan was figuring out what to do with Hess.
I took a deep breath, closed one of the drawers in the wall that now housed an array of jeans, and started back toward the reading nook where Hess waited. I was surprised to see Nixie talking with the Utukku, as I hadn’t heard her come upstairs.
“You’re welcome to come.” Nixie gestured to the ghost and Nugget at her side.
“No,” Hess said. “I will remain here, at the start of my Spirit Hunt. Should you return, I would be honored for you to join me in the basilisk’s lair.”
Nixie laced her fingers together and leaned back on an overstuffed leather chair. “Could I ask you to watch my peacock? I am not sure if he would be agreeable to walking the Abyss. And you seem to have a way with him.”
“Of course. He will join me on the Spirit Hunt, as will you, should you survive your journey. The cu sith seems to have taken a liking to the bird.”
“Thank you.” Nixie looked down at the bird. “Stay with Hess.”
The bird jutted his beak up in something suspiciously like a nod.
Raised voices echoed up the stairs, and it wasn’t long before Aideen and Foster came into view as they sailed toward the coffee table.
“It’s not safe to leave the store unattended,” Aideen said. “One of us needs to stay here. The Unseelie know where we are, know where Damian is, and know we are allies of Edgar.”
Foster threw his hands up. “I agree, but it’s not safe to leave Damian unattended either.”
Aideen’s frown cracked. She didn’t fully hide the smile triggered by Foster’s words.
“I’ll be with him,” Nixie said.
“Alexandra and Shamus will be nearby as well. Shamus is a formidable fighter. He can lend strength to the water witches of the river if the need arises.”
“I too will remain here,” Hess said. “The store will not be undefended.”
Aideen crossed her arms. “That’s more help than I usually have.” She gave one sharp nod. “Foster, go with them. I’ll watch the store. We’re safe enough with our allies and the cu siths.”
“It was the leaving Damian unattended line, wasn’t it?” Foster said.
“Definitely.”
“If things get too bad, call Zola,” I said. “We’re probably going to have to drag her away from the cabin soon, anyway.”
Aideen shook her head. “Zola needs time. We have enough help here. The Unseelie are scattered, and I doubt there will be any coordinated attack in the next day. Word will reach the Unseelie about what happened here, and about your display of power. They will need time to form a plan, much like you.”
I still worried about Zola. But I guessed, for the time being, I needed to get my own affairs in order. Whatever the power of the Titan had done to my magic, getting it under control was a priority. And if one of my best chances was talking to Gaia, then that was what I was going to do.
Foster clapped his hands together. “Then I’m ready. Are we taking the Warded Ways?”
“No,” I said. “We’re walking the Abyss. I’ll give you fair warning. It isn’t quite as smooth as Gaia leading us.”
“Allow me to express my shock,” Foster muttered.
“I already told you not to take the Warded Ways,” Aideen said. “Taking one of the portals into the wastelands could be dangerous. The magic is changing all across those lands now, and it will affect the Ways.”
Foster rubbed his neck. “I know. But there aren’t any giant Eldritch things lurking along the road in the Warded Ways. That has an appeal.”
“You have your father’s sword now. Surely a monster the size of a building would be no match for you.” Aideen fluttered her eyelashes.
Foster scowled. “Are you seriously mocking me? Now? When I might be walking off to my death with this half-insane necromancer?”
“Yes.”
I burst into laughter at their exchange before shaking my head. “Come on. Let’s get Frank and get out of here.”
Nixie led us toward the stairs, and I grabbed my backpack off the banister on our way down. It was time to face the Abyss again, and this time I hoped for a more familiar experience.
* * *
Foster stood on my shoulder in the parking lot outside Death’s Door. We had everything we thought we’d need, which probably meant we didn’t have nearly enough. Then again, Frank was nearly dwarfed by the duffel bag slung across his back.
Alexandra gave us an idea of where to go, but I’d never seen the place myself. And even if I had, I assumed it looked a hell of a lot different since Falias had been pulled between realms and a good chunk of the surrounding state had been destroyed.
“Damian?” Nixie asked.
My gaze darted to her and then back to my feet. “What’s up?”
“Are you okay?”
I nodded, perhaps a little too quickly.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
I grinned at that. “Well, yeah, but I haven’t exactly had a lot of time walking the Abyss on my own. So, you know, I might be slightly nervous about this.”
“What’s the worst that could happen?” Foster asked.
“Stuff it, bug,” Nixie growled.
I looked to Frank. “You told Sam goodbye, right?”
Frank nodded. “Of course I did. Do you think I’m crazy?”
“You’re dating my sister, so definitely. Okay. Hold hands like we were just going for a stroll with Gaia. Let’s see what happens.”
Once everyone had laced their fingers together, I stepped forward, remembering the feel of Gaia’s cold fingers be
tween my own, and the world faded away.
It wasn’t so sudden a transition this time. Somewhere in between the step in and the next step, Gaia’s light rose.
“Oh freaky,” Foster said from his perch on my shoulder. “You’re glowing.”
A glance to my right showed me Nixie and Frank on the other side of her. We’d made it halfway without losing anyone, and that felt like an accomplishment in itself.
Nixie squeezed my hand a little harder as the path materialized underfoot and stretched out in front of us. Again, I saw more paths than I’d ever seen walking with Gaia.
“What do you see?” I asked.
Frank looked down at his feet and off to his right before answering. “Gold. Like a brick path that leads into nothing. And the stars.”
“Me too,” Nixie said. “It is as if we were walking with Gaia.”
“You only see one path?”
Nixie frowned. “Yes, why? Do you see something else?”
I studied the tangle of pathways traversing the Abyss, some far above us, and others below. “You could say that.”
A Leviathan moved off to our left and Foster whistled. “That’s a big one.”
Tentacles like the trunk of a redwood slid through the oily black of the Abyss and sent a shiver down my spine. As fast as it appeared, it was gone, and I felt a familiar tug on my entire being.
“We’re here. Hang on.”
My collar twisted as Foster took a stronger hold of it, and then I pictured my hand in Gaia’s once more, and the world fell away beneath our feet. Nixie cursed beside me as Frank let loose what I could only call a screech, and then we landed in the wastes.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The sun was already drifting past midday over the ruins of what was. I found myself face up on the earth as if I’d laid down to take a nap, but around me was nothing but the churned dirt and low growth of a land stripped bare in the cataclysm.
I wasn’t sure we were in the right spot until I turned and saw the remnants of a hydroelectric dam. The same one I’d seen a picture of, only now the top of it was gone, and a portion had crumbled into the river, letting water pass around the broken pieces of the Conowingo Bridge.