by Amy Sumida
“Then glamour yourself and follow the birdie,” Raza smiled and a haze covered him. In seconds he was gone and a large black bird hovered before us.
“I am so sick of ravens,” I muttered. Then I called down to Teagan, “We've caught their trail. Raza is leading us to them, I'll call you when we arrive.”
“Wait!” Teagan cried but the bird was already flying away and Tiernan had launched us after it, using as much speed as he could.
“Glamour yourself, Seren,” he said.
“Oh!” I hurried to conceal myself as Tiernan chased after Raza.
“You're not going anywhere without me,” Wasutke cried as she too launched herself into the air.
Shadows immediately enveloped her, turning her shape into a sooty fog. Sparks streaked behind her as she flew, like she was a mass of smoking tar. I didn't see any wings but then it was hard to see much of anything within that nebulous shape. As I stared, a head turned to me from within the angry cloud, its face was shrouded but I could still make out a gaping mouth, stretched open to emit a sound like the call of a diving raven.
I looked away in annoyance.
We flew for at least twenty minutes before the bird descended in front of an old warehouse. It was clearly abandoned, with rusted metal walls and dirty broken windows. Grass had grown up around it like the beard on a homeless man; unkempt and scraggly. The raven disappeared as Raza's glamour fell and Tiernan set us down in patch of packed earth beside him. Then Raza went to the warehouse door and tore it from its hinges. He threw it aside and strode into the dark interior as Tiernan and I chased after him.
Then we stopped short. The place was empty, emptier than the plane had been. There was nothing inside except a single chair set in the center of the room. On the rusty metal seat was a black feather. Raza ran over to the chair and picked the feather up. He lifted it to his nose and inhaled. His exhale became a roar as he crushed the feather within his hand.
“I don't understand,” I whispered. “Where are they?”
“Not here,” Elder Wasutke's jaw clenched.
“I will incinerate them!” Raza shouted. “Whomever is behind this is already dead.”
“They most certainly are,” the witch agreed.
“The trail just ends here?” I asked Raza gently.
“Right here,” he opened his palm and released the crushed remains of the feather.
“This makes no sense,” I looked around at the oil stained cement floors and the pitted metal beams spanning the ceiling. “How could it just end?”
“They must have removed the raven mockers from the plane in another location and then left the plane where we found it to throw us off,” Tiernan surmised. “They could have taken the feather from a child at any time and then used it to pixie-lead us in the wrong direction.”
Raza roared again, long and loud, and rust rained down on us from the ceiling.
Chapter Forty-Two
“We'll continue to search the area,” Teagan was saying to a disconcertingly silent Raza.
He'd been quiet ever since we'd returned from that warehouse. Now we stood in front of the plane again and Raza just stared off into the distance, occasionally smiling maliciously like he was envisioning ripping someone's heart from their chest. Or entrails from their abdomen; I'm not sure what dragons preferred. He gave Teagan one of those smiles and the Councilman hurried away.
“They must have taken them somewhere nearby,” I put a hand on Raza's shoulder and he jerked away from me, his head whipping around so he could give me a nasty glare. “Raza, I need your help here and you're no good to anyone like this.” He started to growl at me, bringing his face down into mine, and I slapped him. Hard. “Snap out of it!”
Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at me in horror... Raza included.
“Don't you dare pull this shit on me,” I growled and stuck my face up into his. “I'm trying my best to help you. And I don't care who you are or what you can turn into, you will give me the respect I deserve as an ambassador, as an extinguisher, as a princess, and as your friend! Are we clear, dragon?”
“We're clear,” Raza's eyes mellowed and he took a deep breath. “My apologies, Princess Seren. There are very few people brave enough to be my friend and I would hate to lose one of them.”
“I have no idea what you're going through but I do know what it's like to lose someone you love, so I understand what grief can do to you,” I took his hand, weaving my fingers through his. “You're son may still be alive and if he is, he needs you. He needs you rational and he needs you to use all the help you have available to you. So you can find him.”
“Of course,” Raza nodded and then dropped his voice so that only I could hear him. “Thank you. I've never known anyone who can calm my rage as you do, Seren.”
“I'm good with beasts. Sometimes they make more sense to me than people,” I smiled and slipped my hand from his to place it on Cat's head. She'd been standing beside me the whole time, confident in the both of us. She, like I, had seen what lurked beneath Raza's surface and now she wasn't afraid of him anymore.
“Animals are simple,” Raza nodded. “They have simple needs; to eat, sleep, love, and live. All of their actions stem from those needs. Right now, my son's life is in danger and my love for him consumes me in a horrible aching way. I feel the instincts of an animal to protect its young. But you're right, I can't save him with the ferocity of a dragon, I must use the wits of a man.”
“So what do those wits tell you?”
“That my son was never on that plane,” he blinked, surprised at his own words.
“What?” I blinked back.
“I couldn't sense him, Seren,” Raza's eyes cleared with sudden comprehension. “I couldn't sense my own son. Scents can't just be erased. They can covered by using something really strong, like a chemical that would confuse my senses, but there was nothing like that on the plane. Which means that my son hasn't been on that plane for significant amount of time, long enough for his scent to fade naturally.”
“So if he didn't get on that plane in San Francisco,” Tiernan said as he joined us, “then who did?”
“Now that is an excellent question, Count Shadowcall,” Raza's eyes narrowed.
Chapter Forty-Three
“So...” I turned and smirked at Aidan over the back of my seat.
He had jumped into my SUV without asking, saying that he couldn't stand another minute with Jennifer Wasutke.
“Yes?” Aidan gave me a sexy look.
“Show us your dark mark,” I waggled my eyebrows at him.
“My what?” He lost the come hither expression and just went hither, leaning towards me in confusion.
Tiernan and our extinguisher driver were laughing.
“Your clan tattoo,” I explained. “You do have one, don't you?”
“Oh,” he sat back with a chuckle. “Yeah, we all do but mine is in a rather inaccessible spot at the moment.”
“I thought it was meant to identify you to other witches,” Tiernan frowned.
“It is,” Aidan shrugged. “But around the time I came of age to get the dark mark,” he shot me a wink. “I was in a rebellious period and I didn't like the idea of having to do anything.”
“You tattooed your ass, didn't you?” I said dryly.
“I absolutely did,” Aidan confirmed and our driver let out a burst of laughter. “That way, whenever anyone asks me to prove my connection to my clan...”
“You can tell them to kiss your ass,” the driver hooted.
“Precisely,” Aidan nodded, very pleased with himself.
“At least tell us what it looks like,” I huffed.
“Why? So you can add it to your files on the Coven?”
“Yeah,” I said in my duh tone. “And if you could tell us about the other clan tattoos, that would be very helpful.”
“I'm not...” he started to get upset but then stopped. “You know what? Fuck it, why not? It's not like knowing will do much for you.”
<
br /> “So what are they?” Tiernan slid his arm over the back of our seat and set his silver eyes on the Alpha.
“Well, they're not all that original, I'm afraid,” Aidan sighed.
“A howling wolf?” The driver asked.
“No, even worse,” Aidan rolled his eyes. “A crescent moon.”
“Crescent?” I frowned. “Why not full?”
“Because when you draw a full moon simply, it's just a circle,” Raza smirked.
“You got it, dragon-dude,” Aidan nodded toward Raza. “They toyed with the idea of having just an empty circle but it didn't pass. So I've got a circle with a crescent moon in it, tattooed on my butt. At least it's not as bad as Bite; they have two free-standing fangs in their circle.”
“Just a couple of floating fangs?” I chuckled.
“You got it.”
“What does Beckoning have?” Tiernan asked.
“What else?” Aidan rolled his eyes (he was really good at it). “They have a skull.”
“I wouldn't mind a skull,” Conri mused from his seat beside Aidan.
“Yeah, the bastards get the best of everything,” Aidan growled. “Tide has a wave, again so unoriginal I want to puke. Flame has.... anyone? Anyone?”
“A flame?” I offered.
“Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner,” Aidan pointed at me.
“What does Storm have; a picture of one of the X-Men?” Conri asked.
“How the hell do you know the X-Men, Dude?” Aidan looked to Conri in surprise.
“I like the Human Realm,” Conri shrugged. “I visit a lot.”
“Yeah, I see that,” Aidan flicked the sleeve of Conri's leather jacket.
“So is it a picture of Storm or what?” Conri smirked.
“No but good call,” Aidan gave a huffing laugh. “They have a lightning bolt.
“Who do they think they are; Thor?” I laughed.
“Yeah, probably,” Aidan grimaced. “Stormers are almost as uppity as Beckoners.”
“Wait one second,” Conri sat forward. “Stormers... Beckoners... Does that mean you call Flame witches flamers?”
“Yep,” Aidan's grin stretched wide. “Isn't that fantastic? They don't even get the joke.”
“And Quake witches are quakers?” I smirked.
“Right again,” Aidan pointed at me.
“That is hilarious,” I shook my head. “Hey, what's their symbol; a rock?”
“No, a mountain,” Aidan hooted.
I was about to respond when the Imperial March(aka Darth Vader's theme music) started playing from my phone. I gave a start as Aidan and our driver laughed.
“Everyone shush,” I growled. “It's my Uncle Dylan. Hello?”
“Seren?”
“Yes?”
“The witches have been here, I assisted them as your father asked me to,” he reported.
“Good but why are you calling me?”
“Because I wanted to make sure that you knew about what they found,” he said grimly. “They asked me to pull the surveillance tapes from the day the raven mockers came through Gentry on their way to the airport.”
“And?” I shot a look at Raza and he leaned forward eagerly. I held up my hand, “Hold on , Uncle Dylan, I need to put you on speaker.”
“If you must,” he huffed.
I pressed the button, “Alright, go ahead; Lord Raza and Tiernan are with me.”
“I pulled the surveillance,” Dylan started again. “And stood to the side as the witches watched. We only have cameras in the business areas, not down near the rath, so all we caught was their walk towards the elevators, but it was enough.”
“Did you see my son?” Raza asked urgently.
“No, Lord Raza,” Dylan said gently. “In fact, I didn't see any raven mockers at all.”
“Repeat that please?” Tiernan asked.
“We have a very advanced surveillance system at Gentry. It's infused with magic to see through any glamour. We need to be sure of our employees and our guests,” Dylan explained.
“Your cameras can see through fairy glamour?” I asked, impressed.
“Yes, so I'm absolutely certain when I tell you that not a single raven mocker came through the San Francisco Rath that day,” Dylan said firmly. “It was a massive group of dullahans.”
“Dullahans?” I whispered in horror.
“Yes,” Dylan's voice had dropped too. “Suffice it to say that the witches were disturbed by the sight... as was I. You will probably be hearing from the witches soon. I just wanted to give you a heads up.”
“Dullahans?” I whispered again, not quite believing that I'd heard correctly.
“Yes, Seren,” Dylan sighed. “I've already called your father. He wants you back in Ireland immediately. Get on a plane and get out of New Mexico. You don't want to go up against an army of dullahans.”
“An army?” I blinked. “We'd thought maybe a small group was behind this but an army?”
“The substitute pilot didn't need to be human,” Tiernan said in bitter deduction, “because he didn't have to fool anyone. There were no mockers on the plane.”
“Which means that your son is still in Fairy,” I said to Raza.
“Yes, I surmised as much,” Dylan added. “When I spoke to King Keir he told me that his men escorted the raven mockers to the rath but then left them there, thinking they could cross over at their own convenience. The raven mockers were free from suspicion and as such, the twilight knights felt no need to guard them. They left them to their own devices, as they would have any free fairy.”
“So somewhere between the time the twilight knights rode away and the time the raven mockers lined up to enter the rath, something happened to them,” I concluded.
“It would seem so and it would appear that dullahans had something to do with it,” Dylan agreed. “King Keir has already dispatched knights to search the area. If they don't find any trace of the mockers, they'll expand their search until they do. We will find your son, Lord Raza. If for no other reason than he is one of ours.”
“He's alive,” I whispered to Raza and took his hand. “I know it. In Fairy, Danu can help him and I don't believe for one second that she would let a bunch of dullahans murder innocent fey.”
“I'd like to believe that too but terrible things happen in Fairy all the time,” Raza said grimly. “Thank you for the information, Duke Dylan.”
“You're very welcome, Lord Raza,” Dylan said sincerely. “Goodbye, Seren... go get on a plane.”
“Yes, Uncle Dylan,” I disconnected the call.
Chapter Forty-Four
Our group was traveling in six SUVs since there were close to forty of us when you included the team who picked us up from the airport. My SUV was in the middle so I didn't immediately see the ambush. All I knew was that our vehicle braked suddenly and I was thrown forward, jerking against my seatbelt strap. Cat slid into the back of the driver's seat, paws outstretched and clawing at the floor for purchase.
Then there was shouting, a lot of shouting, and everyone in my SUV jumped out onto the road to see what the ruckus was about. Tiernan was in front of me and I barreled into his back when he stopped suddenly. Cat started growling, setting herself to the side of me and staring at the thick treeline next to the road.
“Dullahans!” Tiernan shouted back to me and the rest of our team. “Only a heart shot will kill them! And if you have any gold, bring it out for them to see.”
“Gold?” I asked.
“Dullahans are afraid of gold,” Raza growled as he came up beside me and smiled savagely, his gold eyes beginning to glow.
“That's a strange thing to be afraid of,” I remarked.
“It burns them, like iron does the rest of us,” Tiernan's hands filled with light as he stared around us steadily.
“Well damn,” I huffed sarcastically. “I left my solid gold dagger at home.”
Aidan started to head off toward the other SUVs but Tiernan stopped him.
“We stay with the Pr
incess,” Tiernan looked over to Conri and the extinguisher who'd been driving our SUV, they both nodded.
“I need to help them,” Aidan protested.
“Everyone here can handle themselves,” Tiernan shook his head. “If we move, we'll play into our enemy's hands. We have to remain solid in our center or they'll break our group up.”
“Right. Okay,” Aidan nodded. “Then I'll watch our backs,” he shifted to the front of the SUV, where he could watch the other side of the road.
Even as he moved, the rest of my Star's Guard rushed over to us, abandoning both extinguishers and witches in favor of protecting me. Well, it was kind of their job. They formed a circle around me and Cat, Sir Ian completing it beside Tiernan. Tiernan huffed, his plan shot to hell.
The witches in the last SUVs started shouting and bursts of light outlined their vehicles. Aidan looked over to his people in concern.
“Go,” Tiernan said. “Do what you need to do. I guess it doesn't matter now.”
“Good luck,” Aidan said to us as he ran off towards the witches.
“Princess Seren,” a raspy voice drew my attention to the treeline.
There stood a group of some of the most disturbing looking fairies I'd ever seen. I'd read about them both as an extinguisher in training and after I'd become princess. I knew that if you were close to death, a dullahan could call your name and kill you early. I knew they usually traveled with a wagon made of bones and skin, and if you stared at them too long, you'd be liable to get a bucket of blood thrown on you for your curiosity. I also knew they were the original headless horsemen.
Except these guys had left their wagons at home and they didn't seem to be headless at all, nor were they riding their famous black horses. They were afoot and when I looked closer, I realized that they had fastened their heads onto their necks with wide metal collars. I guess you didn't want to have to carry your head around when you went to war. It could get exhausting. Which made me wonder; how would their magic work in war? Wasn't everyone technically close to death when they went to battle? Did that mean these guys could just stand there and call out our names to kill us? Evidently not because one of them had just said my name, hadn't he?