by H A Titus
I waited. Was Aileen being sincere? Or was she just blowing me off? My stomach jittered. I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed, then rolled my eyes at myself. I just needed to tell her already, it wasn't as if I was asking her to the high school prom. Eliaster thinks you and Cori have a hidden agenda.
Because of what Gren said to him, right?
Yeah.
I swear that as soon as you guys are back in Springfield, we'll set up a meeting somewhere safe to talk. That's a promise. But until then, please be careful. Gren meant what he said when he threatened you. As reluctant as I am to say it, he is not on our side.
Nothing more came through, even though I sent a couple more messages asking her for more information.
I sighed and slipped the phone back into my pocket. Was Eliaster right—was Aileen just playing me? But why would she and Cori do that? I scrubbed my hand through my hair. This was ridiculous. I was so tired of not knowing whom I could trust.
The motel door creaked open and Eliaster poked his head out. "Whatcha doing out here?"
"I called Roe."
He smirked. "To report my behavior?"
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I'm a total snitch. Tattled to our adopted grandmother that you were being mean to a couple of goblins."
He elbowed me.
I laughed. It surprised me, but it felt good. I'd spent too long feeling wound up like a watch spring. "No, I wanted her to see the ogham on the relics." I told him what she'd said.
"So the stone isn't dangerous, but the necklace and the bracelet …" He winced.
"Yeah."
Eliaster leaned against the side of the motel, kicking one foot up to bounce against the wood siding. I rocked back and forth from heel to toe, watching Eliaster, wondering if he would bring up anything that had happened tonight. He seemed intent on looking everywhere but at me.
"So … are we gonna talk about what happened in the fight against the goblins, or …" I started.
He shrugged. "You can if you want."
Was that an invitation to ask questions, or was he trying to shut me down? I squinted. "You … killed that goblin."
"Yeah." His voice was hard, brittle.
Would it kill you to be a little more forthcoming? "You could have walked away from it."
"And let it stab me in the back? Or stab you? No thanks. Besides, you shot the thing."
Bitterness touched the back of my mouth. Gee, thanks for reminding me. As I opened my mouth to retort, an SUV pulled into the parking lot, the orange streetlights glinting off its dark sides. Another SUV followed the first.
"Uh oh," Eliaster said. He gripped my shoulder, pulling me back toward the room. "Get inside."
"Why?"
"Trust me, you don't—"
Car doors swung open, and several fae—carrying swords—jumped from the vehicles. A half-circle of fae, bristling with weapons, pinned us against the side of the motel. For the second time in less than three hours, we were surrounded. My throat tightened, and I stepped back until my shoulders hit the side of the building. My hands began trembling.
One of the fae, a guy with bright blue hair, glanced up and down the street, then pointed at the door to our room. "Get inside. Now."
Eliaster crossed his arms. "Why?"
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
Blue-Hair stepped up to Eliaster, teeth bared.
Eliaster straightened from his usual slouch and glared back, sneering. "Think you can make me, tough shot?"
The fae's eyes twitched toward me.
Okay, yeah, I was done. The very last thing I wanted was to be turned into a bargaining chip again. I held my hands up, spun on my heel, and walked into our room. If this was the hill Eliaster wanted to die on, I was more than willing to let him fight it out.
A moment later, Blue-Hair shoved Eliaster into the room. Two others followed him in, and they closed the door behind them, leaving the other three fae outside.
Blue-Hair jerked his thumb at the chairs. "You two, sit."
Eliaster crossed his arms and leaned one hip against the chair back.
Blue-Hair rolled his eyes. "Brayan, stay by the door and make sure these two idiots don't try to run. Adam, check the room."
As I sat down, Adam—the one with shoulder-length brown hair—sheathed his sword and started rummaging through the room. The other continued to stand beside the door, eyeing us even as he returned his sword to his side.
"Hey, hey, easy," Eliaster protested as Adam dumped his duffel bag of weapons out onto his bed.
Blue-Hair sat on my bed, facing Eliaster and me. He leaned forward and jabbed his finger at us. Pinpoints of ice blue swirled in his gaze. "What are you thinking, coming here and executing judgement in another fae's territory without permission? What kind of stupid do you have to be—"
"Whoa, hold up a second, Spike." Eliaster held up his hands. "Who are you exactly?"
"My name is Tadhg," the fae spat. He held up his hand. The back of his palm had a tattooed symbol, a small wolf's head in knotwork. "I work for Highlord Keelin."
Eliaster swore. "I didn't realize he lived around here."
"And you thought that'd make a difference?"
Eliaster shrugged.
"Highlord?" I asked.
"Kind of like my dad, but instead of being in charge of a specific community, they're in charge of a certain large area."
"Oh." Crap. I glanced across the room, watching Adam as he dug through Eliaster's backpack. The box with the books and relics was on my bed, right behind Tadhg. If they caught us with relics, what would they think? Probably nothing good.
I stood up.
The guy by the door—Brayan—immediately turned to me, shoulders tense.
"Whoa, whoa, sorry." I held up my hands, palms toward him. "Sorry. Just … let me explain." I glanced down at Tadhg.
His eyes narrowed. "So, explain."
"In good faith, I'm going to turn something over to you." I started to step around Eliaster.
"Are you kidding me?" Eliaster hissed, grabbing my arm. His eyes darted around the room, tracking each fae's movements. "We can't just—"
"In good faith," I said sharply. "These guys are Seelie, right?"
"Yeah, but—"
"So they're on the same side as us. And it's in Highlord Keelin's territory, right?" I waited, my eyebrows raised. Come on, man. Let me try to defuse this since you won't.
Eliaster's lips pinched together. "Right."
"So let's try not to get into trouble with the local authorities any more than we already have, okay?" I eased my arm free of his grip and skirted around the foot of the bed. I grabbed the cardboard box and opened it, then pulled out the bag I'd put the bracelet and necklace into, holding it out to Tadhg.
Tadhg's eyes widened, and he snatched the baggie from me. He glared at Eliaster. "What have you two been doing?"
"I know it looks bad, but if we can explain—"
Eliaster snorted and made a show of studying his nails. "Oh, just doing your boss's job for him, I guess."
Tadhg's hands clenched. "You don't know what you're messing with, Tyrone."
"Actually, I think I do. Either Highlord Keelin is incompetent, or he's in on the racket. I think you can guess which theory I'm going with." Eliaster grinned.
"How dare you—" Tadhg rolled his eyes. "Oh, right. I forget you prefer humans to your own kind."
A muscle in Eliaster's jaw twitched.
No, no, no. This was not how this was supposed to go. "Whoa, okay, can we just settle down here a minute?" I asked.
"It's a little late for that." Tadhg stood. "Get up. We're going to go talk to Lord Keelin."
"You're serious," Eliaster said in a disbelieving tone. "You're gonna stand by and let your highlord sink his—"
Tadhg raised one fist. "You can shut up now and come under your own power, or I can haul you over there like a piece of cargo. Your choice, but you're going."
I tensed.
Eliaster stared at Tadhg for a moment, then nodde
d once. "Fine. Let's just get this over with."
I'd expected to ride together, but as we stepped outside, Tadhg gripped Eliaster's arm and steered him toward the SUV closer to the street. I started to follow, but the fae named Adam stuck his arm out in front of me.
"This way," he said, nudging me toward the front SUV.
I paused, my throat tightening.
Adam glanced down at me and smiled. Not like he was gloating, but a kind smile, one that understood my instant of panic. His eyes were a steady, consistent dark brown—not flat, like he was trying to hide his emotions, but not the usual gyrating colors I'd gotten used to seeing. He was calm—even in the face of all of this, he was calm.
I could deal with this.
"Hey." Eliaster noticed I wasn't following him. He glared at Tadhg.
Tadhg rolled his eyes. "You can live without your pet human for half an hour."
"No, that's not—"
"Eliaster," I snapped. His name came out a lot sharper than I'd meant it to, but it got his attention. "Just … chill." I can handle this and lay off the mother-henning were phrases that came to mind, but I bit them back.
I turned and walked to the SUV, pulling the door open and climbing inside. Half of me expected Eliaster to start yelling, so I was a bit surprised when Adam climbed inside after me and pulled the door shut with no incident. I scooted over to the far side, buckled myself in, and leaned forward, elbows on my knees, hands clasped together in front of me.
Adam set my backpack on the floor close to my feet.
As the SUV moved forward, I glanced behind us. The second SUV was following, pulling a wide semi-circle in the motel parking lot and out onto the street. I could still feel my nerves jangling, but it wasn't as bad as it could've been.
See, Eliaster? Totally got this.
After a few minutes, the driver turned on music—smooth jazz. The irony made me snicker under my breath. I sat up and watched the fields go past in dark blurs, clenching and unclenching my numb right hand as if I were trying to work the feeling back into it. Even after a couple of days without the bracelet, it felt weird not to have it on. Thankfully they hadn't searched my jacket, or they would've found the bracelet tucked in the inner pocket. That really wouldn't have gone over well, given Tadhg's adverse reaction to the relics I did show him.
We drove about thirty minutes, heading back out into the Kansas countryside. I watched out the window, thankful this didn't mirror my first car ride with a bunch of fae.
I tensed. That thought made all sorts of memories burst into my mind. The flat cornfield outside became the dark forest, speeding by as I struggled to pull my mind out of a fog. The stickiness of duct tape pulled at my wrists and mouth. My breathing quickened. I curled up, rubbing the back of my neck with one hand. It didn't dispel the feeling of phantom fingers digging into my skin.
"We're here."
Tahdg's voice made the flashback pop like a dying lightbulb. My hand throbbed. I looked down and realized my fingernails had dug divots into the car's leather interior.
Oops. Adam motioned for me to head outside. I climbed out, waited for the other SUV to pull to a stop. Eliaster got out, jaw clenched. Tadhg didn't look any happier. Somehow I got the feeling that theirs had been a bumpier ride than mine.
We stood on the paved circle drive of a huge Victorian home. I glanced over my shoulder. The circle was filled with a sizable garden and stood quite a ways from the hedge-lined main road, all visible in the soft glow of copper garden lanterns.
Tadhg motioned for us to follow him. "This way, please."
I pulled my backpack over my shoulders and followed him, rubbing my hand. The dark line scoring the underside of my wrist burned as I ran my fingers across it. I pinched the web of skin between my thumb and forefinger, but as usual, felt no pain. Just pressure.
I lifted my eyes from my hand as Eliaster nudged my side.
"How's it look?"
"What?"
He nodded to a blinking light in the corner of the porch. A security camera.
Oh. I glanced around, spotting several other cameras mounted along the porch roof, three pointing outward and two pointing toward the door. There were others, scattered along the edge of the roof as it wrapped around the house.
The front door had no glass panels set into it, as I would have expected. I could lay an easy bet it was solid wood too, or maybe even reinforced with a metal core. A keypad sat below the door handle, rather than a lock, and an intercom was mounted on the wall beside the door at shoulder level.
What was he asking specifically? If the security was good, or if we stood a fighting chance if we had to make a break for it? I settled for a shrug. "I'm not a security expert."
He grunted, looking disconcerted
Tadhg thumbed a button on the intercom. "I've arrived with Eliaster Tyrone and Josh MacAllister."
The door's lock made an audible clunk as it disengaged, and Tadhg pushed it open, motioning us inside. We stepped into a wide hallway painted a soft green.
I couldn't see much more of it, thanks to the two fae who stood in our way. One was dressed in a way I imagined typical security would be, in a dark suit tailored to show off the fact that, despite having the usual slight build, he did indeed have enough muscle to make me think twice about fighting him. The other wore a dark T-shirt and jeans, hands casually in his pockets.
"Figures," Eliaster muttered. He stepped into the house. "I suppose you guys think we need to give up our weapons or something typical like that?"
Suit smirked. "You understand, of course, Mr. Tyrone."
He shrugged and pulled the knife off his belt, handing it over to the guy in the T-shirt. Then he raised his arms, clasping his hands behind his neck. The fae started patting him down.
I sighed, shrugging my backpack off my shoulder and handing it to Suit.
He set it to the side and started feeling down my sides. I sighed and glanced over at Eliaster. He tapped his fingers against his neck, his expression carefully neutral as always.
Suit grunted and stood up. "Shoes off over here," he said, pointing to a dark welcome mat placed against the wall beside the door.
"You guys should be working for the TSA," I said, sitting down as I pulled off my boots. "If you're gonna keep my backpack, can I at least have my tablet?" I kept my tone polite. If at least one of us was polite and cooperative, maybe we'd get out of here quicker. And maybe they wouldn't catch that I was shaking like a leaf in a gale.
Suit pulled the black leather case out of the backpack and handed it to me. Tahdg slipped past us and motioned for us to follow him, leaving the two security guys behind with our weapons, our shoes, and my backpack.
"If we end up having to run for our lives in sock feet, I'm going to kill you," I muttered to Eliaster.
He flashed a grin. "You'll have more problems if we have to run, because I'm faster than you."
I mimed strangling him.
The hallway opened into a luxurious living room banked with dark bay windows along one side. The sage-green color of the walls gave the place vibrancy, and the sleek, soft-looking leather couches took the inhospitable edge off the large space. Canvases of modern art, some framed and some not, hung on the walls, and lamps created pools of light in the room.
A fae with dark, slicked-back hair sat in a chair beside one of the bay windows, glasses perched on his aquiline nose as he perused a print newspaper. At the sound of our entry, he looked up, then stood, neatly folding his newspaper and setting it on the side table. Must be Keelin.
"Eliaster Tyrone and Josh MacAllister, as requested, sir," Tadhg announced.
Keelin nodded. "Thank you, Tadhg. That will be all." He motioned to us. "Please, come sit."
Eliaster crossed his arms over his chest and jutted his chin forward. "Not until you've explained why you think you have the right to drag us in here like criminals."
Keelin's eyes flashed, but he kept his tone measured and even. "You came into my territory, interfering in my work, and you ha
ve the gall to ask why you're being brought to heel?"
"We're tracking down a lead on a dangerous fae," Eliaster said.
"You still should have checked in with me." Keelin clasped his hands behind his back.
"For all we knew, you were a part of this scheme. You've certainly let it go on long enough."
Keelin raised one eyebrow, dipped his head in a slight nod. "Perhaps a few phone calls could persuade you of my stance."
Eliaster snorted. "Do I look like I'm in grade school? Calling my da won't do a thing."
Keelin smirked. "I was thinking more along the lines of Highlord O'Breigh. He might be interested in hearing about more of your … exploits."
Eliaster's knuckles went white, and his eyes darkened, but I couldn't tell from the stony look on his face if that was from fear or anger. Maybe both.
Probably both.
Not good.
"To be blunt, you coming after wrongdoers in my territory won't do either of us any good," Keelin said. Still in that calm, measured tone.
Yeah, I was one-hundred-percent certain that Keelin had no idea of the storm he was about to unleash. Whoever Highlord O'Breigh was, Eliaster was terrified of him.
Eliaster gritted his teeth. "You mean it won't do you any good. It makes you look incompetent—or like you're conspiring with someone for a cut of the profits."
"I had the matter well in hand—"
"Did you?"
Keelin's face took on a thunderous look. His voice cracked across the room, anger and indignation plain in his tone. "What would you have me do?"
"The right thing," Eliaster shot back. His right foot moved back a bit, and he angled his body as if preparing for a fight. "Getting rid of sidhé who were preying on the innocent."
I expected him to keep talking, but Eliaster just stared hard at Keelin. Keelin's eyes narrowed, and with that tiny change, his face suddenly looked a lot more fierce and a lot less friendly. I could swear his eyes even looked like they were glowing a tiny bit. The air suddenly crackled with hostile energy. The hair on the back of my arms rose.
I could feel the glamour in the room, but I couldn't see it. That didn't make sense. I could see glamour now, couldn't I? I'd been seeing past glamour ghosts for months now. I'd seen Larae's glamour in the tunnels, and Aileen's when she'd sworn by the rule of three, and left her phone number for me on the napkin.