by Alicia Wolfe
“An army of illiterate thugs who can’t use magic,” Davril said. “Except for a few Razor Wings and various mages, apparently. Maybe she thinks she can do better.”
“I guess. But why did she say you in particular would like this?”
A troubled look crossed his face as he contemplated it. “I don’t know.”
He hit the gas. I slammed backward in my seat as the g’s pressed against me. Wind streamed my hair out behind my head, and my eyes misted.
Beside us, Ruby flew on her broom, eyes narrowed and her chin set in her most stubborn position. I knew that expression well. It was the one she used when she was really digging her heels in over something. It usually meant a long argument was ahead. For a moment, I pitied Angela. Only for a moment, though. I knew Ruby was rushing toward what she probably thought of as vengeance for Jason.
I’d help her get it if I could.
Behind her, Federico hung onto the broom for dear life. She flew faster than he could, so he had no choice but to grab on. The wind ripped at him, and his hooves had come off the broom so that he was trailing backward, screaming curses into the wind. His wings flapped feebly.
“Razor Wings!” Davril said.
Several of the giant black birds were breaking off from Angela’s convoy and veering around to attack us. They’d apparently been waiting for an intersection big enough. Even as we neared the crossing, the five Razor Wings rocketed right at us. Two of them had riders, and these two witches lifted gnarled wooden wands. A light gathered on the tip of one, a dark, unhealthy blue illumination, then shot toward Lady Kay.
The diseased hue filled the windshield, and a scream built inside me. The unhealthy pulse came closer … closer…
Davril jerked the wheel. My stomach lurched. The blue light shot past, smashing into a building behind us and turning a patch of it into a glistening, gluey substance—blue, of course.
“That could’ve been us,” I said, feeling sick. I raised my crossbow and fired at the other rider just as she prepared to hurl a ball of blue light at Ruby. Not my sister! The crossbow bolt pierced the rider’s chest, and she listed backward, dead. The light on her wand faded.
The Razor Wings closed the distance toward us. One raked at my head, and I fired blindly upward, missing it. While I reloaded, another drove in from my right. Its beak snapped at my face. Shit! I knew I couldn’t get the bolt loaded in time. On the far side of the bird, Ruby was fending off two others.
The bird’s beak filled my vision.
Davril’s sword flashed out. Blood spurted. The Razor Wing, now headless, fell from the skies. Its head landed in my lap.
“Gross!” I said, then heaved the head up and out. Turning to Davril, I saw him gripping the wheel tight with one hand and holding onto his glowing sword with the other. “Oh my God, you killed one!”
His jaw tightened. “It was the only—”
“Screw that! Thank you.” Killing one of the Razor Wings had been painful to him. But he had to understand, women could be just as dangerous as men. More, maybe. “She nearly ate my face,” I reminded him. “You did the right thing.”
He sighed. “I suppose—”
The fifth Razor Wing dove down on us, talons outstretched to grab Davril up and haul him out from behind the driver’s wheel.
“I don’t think so,” I said, and fired. The bolt hit the creature in the neck, and it spiraled down and away. One of its wings almost brushed me as it fell.
Before we could catch our breaths, another of the giant birds came alongside us. This one had one of the sorcerer women on it. She saw me and raised her wand. I’d reloaded by then and lifted my crossbow toward her. She was faster.
Davril ripped the wheel sideways, and Lady Kay’s flank slammed into the Razor Wing, her wing on that side lifting to be clear of the impact. The giant blackbird screamed and veered away, losing altitude. The witchy woman dropped her wand and held on for dear life.
Ruby and Federico had dealt with the other two Razor Wings. We exchanged glances, and Ruby mimed wiping sweat from her brow—not that she needed to pretend. I sure didn’t. I knew I was dripping.
“That was tense,” I said to Davril.
“Hang on. We’re coming on Angela now.”
He gunned the motor, or whatever Lady Kay had, and she thundered forward. Ahead, Angela and the three remaining defenders, not counting the mirror-holders, were making a turn. The mirror swung to the side as they rounded the bend, then dipped back. It looked really heavy.
Davril turned with them, not losing a step, or wing-beat, and behind us, but not by much, Ruby and Federico flew as fast as they could. Just behind them flew two griffon-mounted police officers. They must have been lying in wait for aristo speeders and caught us instead. They would be of no help, though, and might actually pose a danger. But I didn’t think they would be a factor either way.
This was it, I thought. The big finish. One way or another.
The mirror glowed brightly, though the color it radiated changed moment by moment. The lights flashed off the windows of the buildings as it passed by them, first pink, then yellow, then red, then orange, then green, then purple. It was beautiful. I couldn’t help staring at it.
“How are we going to stop it?” I said.
Davril started to speak, then swore in Fae-ish and said nothing. Turning to Ruby, I said, “Any ideas, sis?”
It was Federico who answered: “It’s simple, toots. We smash it!”
“That should break the enchantment,” Ruby agreed. “The only problem is that it’s practically spell-proof. I can sense its power from here.”
“Me, too,” Federico admitted.
I grabbed Davril’s sword arm and raised his blade, just a little. Its light glimmered like sunlight behind clouds—a very pale sun, but very strong. “This can cut through just about any spell,” I said.
“That it can,” Davril said.
We plunged into the midst of Angela’s convoy. The three birds not carrying either Angela or the mirror spun about to face us. I shot one through the heart while Ruby encased another in a spell of ice like before; it fell through the sky toward the road below. Pedestrians scattered as it hit the asphalt and exploded, showering the area with frozen bird meat and feathers.
The third came in from the side, snapping at Federico. The imp dodged to the side, his eyes wide, then hawked a fiery loogie at the bird’s back. The flames consumed the bird, and it turned to ash in seconds.
“Damn,” I said. “Don’t piss off an imp.”
The mirror flashed, its changing colors coming faster and faster. Then, all at once, the colors stabilized, becoming a solid purple. The shapes that had been coming toward the pane of glass emerged, or at least the first ones did. To my shock, a man, or possibly Fae, erupted from the mirror riding what looked something like … like…
“Ohmygod!” I said. “Is that a pterodactyl?” It looked like one of those flying dinosaurs.
“A scalewing!” Davril said. “From the Southlands!”
“Excuse me?” I said.
“A taron,” he explained. “The taron riders were legend. But wait … that rider’s not … no! Can it be?”
Two more figures emerged from the mirror, both riding tarons, great scaly winged things with long sharp beaks, not exactly pterodactyls but close. They flew right past us, then swung back around to come to the defense of Mistress Angela.
On her Razor Wing, she thundered more words I couldn’t understand. The mirror brightened. A horde of shapes converged on the pane of glass, what seemed to be thousands. I saw curled horns, gnashing teeth and twisted limbs.
“Goblins!” Davril said. “Damn it all, it’s an army of goblins!”
“That’s what was hiding in the mirror? Yikes!”
The three figures on tarons who had come out already must be their leaders. They had seemed to be Fae. Those assholes must have converted to the worship of the Shadow.
“Ra!” Davril said.
He goosed the gas, plowing forward
. Angela turned to hurl a spell at him, but Ruby and Federico hurled their own deadly magics at her, and she jerked the reins of her Razor Wing, veering it to the left. The blast of freezing wind and toxic bile that the two had launched at her sailed by harmlessly.
Without her, the mirror was wide open.
“Hold the wheel,” Davril said.
He didn’t wait for me to agree but leapt up and jumped out on the hood of the car. Gritting my teeth, I slid behind the wheel. My fingers trembled as they wrapped around Lady Kay’s steering wheel. She shuddered but allowed it.
“Easy, girl,” I said. Mentally I cheered. At last I would get to fly the amazing vehicle!
I hit the gas and she shot forward, right toward the mirror. Behind us the three Fae on their tarons drew closer. I craned my head to see them readying swords and crossbows of their own. Ruby and Federico turned to fend them off. I whipped my head back around. Davril raised his sword to smash the mirror. The two Razor Wings gripping its upper portions screamed at him to stop but could do nothing about it except fly higher, out of his reach.
I pulled on the wheel, wondering how to make the car go higher. To my surprise, the wheel tilted. The car jerked downward. Damn it!
“Up!” Davril said.
Swearing under my breath, I pulled the wheel the other way. Lady Kay climbed, faster, higher, a little higher …
Davril lifted his sword, readying himself to strike…
Angela dove in from the side, a scream on her lips. She rode her bird with knees pressed tight against its neck and her wand outstretched. Deadly blue energy gathered on its tip. It was aimed straight at Davril. There was nothing he could do to stop her, and Ruby and Federico were preoccupied.
Keeping one hand on the wheel, I grabbed my crossbow from off the passenger seat and lifted it to aim at Angela. She was too small a target, though, so I centered my bolt on her mount.
The blue energy grew stronger…
I fired. The bolt struck the Razor Wing right in the throat. It gave one small screech, tilted sideways and plummeted toward the ground.
The three taron riders dove down after her, breaking off from their fight with Ruby and Federico. The griffon-mounted police followed them, leaving us in the clear.
Except for the mirror. Even now the thousands of shapes in it were reaching the pane of glass. As I watched, the first battalion of goblins started to cross—
Davril struck.
His sword burst the mirror into a million pieces, which flamed into nonexistence. The two Razor Wings holding it shrieked and released it, flying off into the night. We let them go. The mirror fell, a huge heavy thing, and I glanced over the side of Lady Kay to see it fall dozens of stories. The people on the street below screamed and moved out of the way, and it hit an empty parked car, destroying them both. Thankfully no one seemed to be hurt. Glass and metal flew in all directions.
Wearing a dazed look, Davril dropped into the passenger seat. I was shocked but also delighted he was letting me drive.
Ruby and Federico pulled up beside us. Both were sweaty and panting. I knew I was, too. But I felt exultant, and my heart sang.
“We did it!” I said. “We stopped Angela and prevented her from gaining control of a terrible army.”
“Woot!” said Ruby. She came over to my side, and we gave each other a high five. “But did we get Angela?”
Federico scanned the streets and side streets all around, but shook his head.
“The witch is gone,” he said. “The Razor Wings must’ve saved her scrawny ass.”
“Shit,” I said. “We were so close to a total win.”
“I wonder if the battle’s still going on,” Ruby said.
Davril hit some buttons on the radio, then spoke urgently to the other Fae Lords. They informed him the battle of the abandoned football stadium was over. Angela’s goons had fled the scene of combat as soon as she’d left.
“Queen Calista requests you to debrief her at your earliest convenience, Lord Stormguard,” said Dispatch.
“I will,” Davril said, and rang off. He paused, then gave me a haunted look. “I must tell her the truth, Jade. I cannot lie.”
I swallowed. Wordlessly, I nodded. I knew what a torment this was for him.
“But wait,” Ruby said. “Do you mean … Davril, are you going to tell the Queen about Jade thieving?” When he said nothing, she said, “You can’t! Jade needs this. Don’t you see that, Davril?”
“It’s no use,” I told her.
“She broke her vow,” Davril said wretchedly. “She betrayed the Order. I must inform Her Majesty.”
Ruby looked thoughtful. “You mean to say … it’s a matter of honor that you must tell the Queen?”
Davril looked offended. “Of course.”
“Then if Jade was doing the thieving for honorable reasons…”
Davril still wore that strange, distracted expression. I wondered what it could mean. I remembered his surprise at seeing that first taron rider. I sensed his current mood had something to do with that. But what?
To me, he said, “Would you like the honors?”
I sighed. He was going to allow me to drive myself to my own doom. Oh sure, I could drive Lady Kay back to the Palace … but only for him to inform on me to the Queen, who would then kick my own scrawny ass out of the Palace.
“The last march of the Ents, huh?” I said.
“Pardon?”
“Never mind.”
I started to hit the gas, but Ruby said, “Wait! Jade, uh, before you return to the Palace to debrief the Queen, there’s something very important we have to do.”
“What?”
“Yeah, what?” said Federico. He was watching Ruby strangely, one con artist judging the skill of another.
“Our paycheck,” Ruby said. “The Jordans. Remember? Because the idol wasn’t enough to cover our fee? Well, just a little while ago, they contacted me and told me they had the money and we should come by and collect it.”
“I hardly think I need to be involved in such things,” Davril said, looking as if this was distasteful.
“Please,” Ruby whined, then smiled brightly. Too brightly. “Besides, it might be the last time you ever get to spend with Jade. I mean, not that you care, but … you know.”
Now it was Davril’s turn to study Ruby. I frowned at her, but she studiously ignored my look.
At last, Davril let out a breath. “Very well, then. Jade, will you take us to the Jordans’ residence?”
Suppressing my own unease, I hit the gas, and away we went.
We didn’t say much as we tore through the steel, glass and stone canyons, but my mind churned like a whirlwind, and my stomach twisted in knots. This was the end of my time with the Fae. Damn, and I came so close. How many more archives would I have had to go through to find Vincent Walsh? One? Two? A thousand? Whichever, I would’ve found him eventually, I was sure of it.
Plus, there was Davril. I felt something there, and now I knew he did, too. He hadn’t argued with Ruby when she’d said that. That had to mean something, right? Plus, there had been those kisses. Something warm spread low in my belly at the memory. His lips had been so hot.
Concentrate, I thought. I still had Lady Kay to steer, after all, and my driving had been growing worse. I focused on guiding her through the city, and Davril sat silent beside me.
“So what do you really think Angela wanted a goblin army for?” I said, just for something to say, and because I was curious.
“I would think it was obvious.”
“Maybe I’m slow. Enlighten me.”
“She knows her Earthly minions aren’t enough to bring down the Fae, so she needed something more. A lot more. That army was intended to overrun the Fae and seize their power for Angela. Then she could use that power to dominate this world on behalf of her master, Lord Vorkoth.”
“The Shadow.”
“Yes.”
“That’s why she kidnapped Federico,” I said, finally seeing the bigger picture. “
Because she needed him to help her get that army.”
“So it appears.”
“But if the mirror was at your castle…”
Davril nodded. “The Shadow must have realized Queen Calista would bring our castles with us when we came to your world. He set a trap, embedding an entire army in the mirror of the castle closest to him.”
“Yours.”
“Exactly. My ancestor laid some apparently demon-inspired charms on it, probably to make her look better at the expense of her enemies—that is, her in-laws.”
I almost laughed. “Sounds about right.”
“Anyway, the demon magic masked whatever Vorkoth did to the mirror, made it so I never noticed anything askew when I came back into possession of my homestead. But all along there was a fell army lurking in my living room.”
“Damn. That would give me nightmares.” I tapped my chin. “Only the army couldn’t cross over on their own, I guess.”
“Yes, they seemed to have been in a sort of suspended animation, awaiting Angela’s intervention.”
“But we got them. We destroyed the mirror.”
That same troubled look flickered across his face. Sounding unconvinced, he said, “Yes.”
What was it with him and that taron rider? Because I knew that’s who he must be thinking of.
We lapsed back into silence. Davril only stirred to give me directions on how to park when we’d reached the Jordans’ apartment building, and I obediently lowered Lady Kay so that she hovered over the line of cars stopped on the street. Double parking was illegal usually, but not if you did in the air. I switched off the engine. Lady Kay continued pumping her wings, holding herself in place.
“Won’t that tire her out?” I said. “I mean, wouldn’t it be better to find a place to set down? A garage, maybe?” There were no empty spots. Ruby and Federico were coming down, and they “parked” behind us, also in the air. Ruby cast a spell of concealment on the broom as she climbed off.
“She doesn’t get tired,” Davril said, turning his attention to the apartment building. He looked bleak.
A gust of winter wind shivered down the street, leaves flapping before it, and I shuddered.
Ruby caught my eye and tried to give me an encouraging nod, but I didn’t return it. I didn’t have the strength. Feeling dread curdle in my gut, I followed Ruby up the stairs and to the Jordans’ room. Davril and Federico followed, both looking as glum as I felt. A few people passed us, and their jaws dropped when they saw Federico. Still, this was post-Fae-rival New York, and they’d all had to get a little familiar with the fantastic. Though shocked, none fainted or had a heart attack, thank goodness, and after a moment they all went about their business.