I thought about the strange wounds on the bodies I’d viewed. They weren’t made with wolf claws or teeth, that was certain, and they didn’t look like knife wounds either. I’d taken close ups with my phone and showed Jay. He’d agreed on all counts.
“Ivy. Do you have claws?” She raised her fingers, bending them and pretending to slash at me like a cat. “I mean when you change form.”
“In the water we grow fins for swimming and sharp teeth to defend ourselves.”
“No claws?”
“None. But we are faster than any other sea creature, much faster than a cheetah is on land.”
“But you said your people can’t live on land, unless they have your gift to remain human, right?”
“Most of the highest Royals can survive for long periods on land, but each kelpie also has a land form. ” She held up a finger for each form. “We are kelpie, human and steed.’
“Steed?”
She stood, straightening her spine and speaking with reverence of a time long ago. “We are the ancient horses of Faerie. Fae kings and queens, lords and ladies, rode us into war. Songs were written about us, but we have been abandoned and forgotten. We build our hidden castles near the land so that we may still take our ancient form.”
“Do the fae know you’re here?”
She shrugged. “They don’t search for us. We simply wait to be called.”
“Called?”
“You’ll call on us, won’t you? When the war comes?”
Holy crap. I’d found another whole race of people who believed the BS that I was some kind of freakin’ superhero. I stood and started to pace, cursing under my breath. Ivy’s eyes grew huge as my curses got more creative. I needed to go for a run in the worst way, but the boat deck just didn’t fit the bill.
“I guess I pissed him off, huh?” she asked Jay in a whisper.
“Yeah, he thinks the whole prophecy is a total fantasy and that Sinlae, the demi fey who made the prophecy, was probably on acid and that…”
“I don’t think she was on acid!”
“Okay, maybe she’s a secret honey wine addict.”
“Just shut up, Jay.”
Jay stood, moving toward me, anger burning in his eyes. “No, I’m not gonna shut up. You’re gonna listen to me. I don’t give a rat’s ass what you think about the prophecy. All I know is that you say you want to help people and then you make up ten excuses why you can’t.”
“I’m doing my best…”
“You’re hiding from your own magic.”
“You don’t know anything about what I’m doing.”
“Really? I think I know you better than you do, sometimes. You got another friend who spent half his life at your house? We’ve trained with weapons side by side for years. You’ve kicked my butt on the field too many times to count, but I kept coming back. Who else has listened to you complain about your life until his ears were ringing? Who else…”
“Jay…” I shouted.
“Why did you bring me? Why am I here, Char?”
“For backup. You’re my second.”
“If you wanted back-up you would’ve brought a fae guard. I’ve got no magic. I can do what I can do, and I do it really well, but the fact is, you don’t need a lot of backup.”
“Why do you think I brought you?”
“Because I know you better than anyone and I won’t bullshit you, and today, right here is a perfect example. Sit down and listen to me.”
“Fine. Talk.” I sat and so did Jay. We glared at each other for a few seconds, then Jay took in a long breath. I knew what was coming, and it was the last thing I wanted to hear.
“You’re acting like a coward. I see you staring at that scar, and I think you’re staring at it for the wrong reasons.”
“You have a lot of nerve saying that.”
“You got it because you tried to make someone a zombie, a robot who would dance to your tune. Isaiah freaked you out so much you hardly ever went back to that skill, to practice it, to hone it and learn what else you can do. He told you to practice, right? How many times did you practice?
“Three or four.”
“Three or four. How many hours have you put into using a sword, a gun, a crossbow?”
“Hundreds. Thousands.”
“Me too. That’s the stuff I can do. But you can do so much more. There we were in the Sierras and you practiced your magic, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you practice?”
“Making fae light.”
“Right. Big whoop. You can make fae light.”
“It’ll come in fucking handy when we’re lost somewhere in the pitch black.”
“You know what would’ve been even better? If you’d practiced taking the lines to go somewhere you’ve never been before. You didn’t practice that once before we left, did you?”
“No, but I haven’t killed us or anything.”
“Wow. I’m so impressed. Look, one thing I learned from my dad, Kyle, was that it’s great when you finally hit that bulls eye dead on for the first time, but you need to practice it a thousand times to make it natural, to be consistent.”
“I know, I know. Kyle taught me too.”
“If your great-grannie the archdemon showed up today to start trouble, you’d be dead meat and so would most of your friends and your family. But if you started to train, I mean seriously train, tapping into all that mumbo jumbo you got in your system, you’ll kick her butt.”
“An archdemon? You’re crazy.”
“You don’t even know what you can do, ‘cause you’re afraid to find out.”
“I’m not afraid of the magic. I just…I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“Learn to control it and maybe you won’t have to. But first you gotta learn what it is. You’re freakin’ bubbling over with all kinds of shit. You’re glowing, right?” He turned to Ivy. “You see it too.”
“It’s so cool.”
“I’m what?”
“Look at your skin. When you get pissed off, you glow.”
“Never noticed that.”
“It’s like your whole system is finally online and ready to start running programs. But then you put it in sleep mode. Can’t you feel it? You must be able to.” I nodded. “So let me ask you a question.”
“What?”
“Why didn’t you morph into someone totally different instead of just disguising yourself in this half-assed way?”
“It takes too much energy.”
“Too much ley line energy?”
“Yeah.”
“Uh huh. Isn’t that shit kind of limitless?”
“It tires me out.”
“Uh huh. Are your using both kinds?’
“I hardly ever use the demon lines, only the fae.”
“Why not? They’re equal in the human realm, right? And you can access both. You’re the only one who can. In the entire world. Maybe in the universe.”
“You made your point.”
“So I have a way you can rescue this Kelpie dude and not be in any danger at all.”
“I’m listening.”
“Morph into Ms. Turner, walk in there and let him go.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
“She’d find out she had a doppelganger and she’d put two and two together.”
“There’d be no proof.”
“They probably have security cameras.”
“Hey.” I turned to Ivy. “How’d you get me outta that house?”
“I told you, we found you wandering the street.”
“Yeah, and I’ll believe that the day LA plastic surgeons go out of business.”
I looked at the girl, remembering what I’d done. “I have another way to go in, but you’ll have to contact your friend. Tell him I’m coming. He won’t be able to see me or scent me.”
“Cool.”
“And we have to pull into shore someplace. Being over water disrupts the energy.”
“Now you’re talkin’ but can we eat first? I’m starving.” Jay sat down and wrapped his arm around Ivy, grinning from ear to ear. She didn’t move a muscle.
“Jay…”
“You don’t have to say it. She’s sixteen. I’m going to be a perfect gentleman. I swear.”
“Jay…”
“I know, Char. You’re welcome.”
I stayed silent for a few moments, wondering if he had more to say. Ya never knew with Jay. So I said out loud, “Okay. I guess we can eat. I can’t go in until night time anyway.”
IVY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
We ate at a chain Mexican place, better than the fast food version but not as good as the local family-owned restaurant I used to wait tables at. Jay was finishing his second beef burrito and Charlie had scarfed down at least three tacos. Man, these boys could eat. Seems like arguing was an appetite booster for shapeshifters. Arguing always left me feeling nauseous.
“Eat. You’re so small we won’t be able to see you if you stand sideways,” Jay said in between swallows.
“That had better not be a boob joke,” I grumbled.
“They’re perfect. Don’t sweat it.” Suddenly my face was hot enough to fry eggs on. “Hey, you’re the one who mentioned them.” Jay wasn’t even looking at me, but I could see his mouth twitch. The dope.
Charlie pushed his plate away, grunting with the satisfied sounds guys usually made. “That was good.”
“It’s not real Mexican food.”
“It still tasted good.”
I played with three of my beans, batting they around on the plate. “Do you think Samson’s okay?” I asked him.
“Yeah, I called the building manager. He’ll let him out and feed him. He’ll probably bite me for staying away so long, but I have no choice.”
Jay laughed. “I don’t think the manager’s gonna bite you, Char. He has a wife.”
I almost spit out my water. These guys were crazy. And fun. And I so didn’t want to go back to Court.
Charlie scowled. “I’m still pissed at you.”
Jay picked up a butter knife. “Maybe I should commit hari-kari or something.”
“You were an asshole on the boat.”
“My assholedness can reach epic proportions at times, but on the boat, I was not being an asshole.”
“Yeah?”
“I was doing my job.”
“Which is?”
“I’m your second-in-command, remember? Like Sash is to your dad. Isaiah even said so. I tell you when you’re messing up, get you back on track.”
“I guess.”
“So what’s the plan, boss?”
“Don’t call me boss.”
“Fine.”
Here’s the plan and you’d better not open your mouth to complain about it. “You two are getting on the ferry and going back to the office. I’m going in and getting the guy out of there.”
“Hey, wait a minute. I didn’t say…”
“A second does what he’s ordered to do. If I have to learn to lead an army, you have to learn to take orders from me.”
“What if they capture you? We won’t know.”
“You’ll know. I’ll send you a message.”
“It better not be a dead fish wrapped in your tee shirt.”
Charlie started to laugh, then Jay. I could only shake my head. Crazy as loons.
Jay and I took the 6 pm ferry back to L.A. The sun was setting, so we went up on top where we’d have a better view.
“So how’s he gonna do it?”
“Can’t tell ya. Trade secret. Did you call him? The prisoner?” He pointed two of his fingers at my eyes, then pointed them out at the island fading in the distance behind the boat.
“Yes. I told him someone will come but it might not be what he’d expect. Talk about cryptic.” I’d muttered that last part under my breath, but his grizzly ears heard all.
“You gotta trust my buddy, Char. He’s got magic that’s got magic.”
“Half the time I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s a gift.” He suddenly grinned at me. “You’re smiling.”
“So?”
“You don’t do it enough.”
“I don’t?”
“Nah, you’ve got sulky, sad, stubborn, sore and stressed down to a science, but happy? Not so much.”
“I’m happy.” Even I could hear the lie in my voice.
“What’s up? Are you still worried about those guys who kidnapped you?”
“No. But I still don’t know who they were.”
“Then something must be up back at the castle, right?”
“They’re gonna hook me up with someone.”
“They’re choosing someone for you to marry?”
“It’s not even marriage. I mean it’s not for life or anything.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Yeah, that’s why I don’t like going back. Why I stay human. When I turn seventeen, I’ll have to go back.”
“They wouldn’t force you.”
“Sure they would. I have good genes and babes are rare.”
“Do you do it like horses?”
“You are the most irritating male I’ve ever met.” I stood and marched to the railing.
He came up behind me, resting his hand on my shoulder then sliding it down to weave his fingers through mine. “I’ll protect you. I’ll never let them take you.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Cause females are supposed to be protected, not used. No matter what their species.”
“You don’t know how powerful the chieftain is.”
“Yeah, well I got a pretty powerful friend.”
“He’s like a god to them. At least the idea of him is.”
“What?”
“Charles Liam William Cuvier, the grandson of Finvarra, the King of Faerie. He’s a fae of royal blood, but also a demon of the royal line. We’re unseelie. His demon blood runs in our veins, too.”
“Why don’t you guys side with the demons?”
I shrugged. “The histories say we fought beside them, but they treated us like crap.”
“Guess that’s as good a reason as any to dump your allies.”
“The ancient fae were grateful for our service. They treated us as honorable allies, not lower class citizens. The demons turned up their noses at us, as if our bloodline wasn’t the same.”
“I always thought a lot of the fae were pretty snooty.”
“Not in Finvarra’s time. Only now they’ve all forgotten us.”
“There hasn’t been a war in a thousand years. They probably don’t even know you’re still trotting around. Oh. Sorry.”
“Lay off the horse jokes.”
“You know Finvarra’s back, right?”
“What?”
“Finvarra came back because Fionna, his daughter, turned out to be a really dangerous asshole. She was killing her own people. He thinks of every fae as his child.”
“You haven’t met him, have you?”
“I talked to him for a few minutes. But I’ll be spending a lot more time with him soon.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The war’s coming and I’m Charlie’s second. Fin will be there to help out.”
“Wow.”
“I’ve already met Isaiah. He’s the son of Naberia, the archdemon.”
“That’s the Isaiah you mentioned?” Jay nodded. “He’s one of the few demons my people say good things about.”
“He trained Char.”
“He did?”
“Yeah, they’re related.”
“Oh right. They are.” I sighed. “I wonder what the DR is like.”
“A lot like here, only with spookier creatures roaming around.”
“No, it can’t be like our world.”
“The way he described it, it seemed like something out of a 19th century novel.”
“Cool.”
“Except for the people running around
trying to burn you or poison you or kidnap you.”
“That’s exactly like a 19th century novel.”
“Yeah? Cool.”
I snuck a peek at his face. It was broad, with flat plains for cheeks and forehead, a square jaw, and large blue eyes maybe a little too far apart. But his mouth was full and he smiled all the time, like there was some kind of joke the universe was telling that only he got.
I liked him. A lot. Charlie was intense, too intense for me, but Jay, he made me feel safe and comfortable.
As if he could read my mind, he squeezed my hand. “You look nice in the sunset. It makes your hair shine.”
I frowned. “Are you flirting?”
“Maybe.” And there was that grin, definitely a make-a girl-weak-in-the-knees kind of grin.
“I thought you were a player when I met you.”
“People think what they think. I’ve always liked females, but this trip has made me see things differently.”
“It has?”
“I guess I’m seeing the real world. It’s dangerous and exciting, and there’s no time for flirting around. We have to get serious if we’re going to help your people and the wolves and anyone else who needs us.”
“Charlie needs you.”
“Yep.” He grinned and winked, proud to be part of his friend’s adventure. We stood together by the railing until the boat docked in Long Beach, his arm around my shoulders to keep me warm. I wished the boat ride had been a little bit longer.
CHARLIE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The prison was a stable. Why that should have surprised me I couldn’t figure out. I mean he was a horse, or at least he was in horse form at the moment. As I rounded the corner of the stall, I expected the usual, but when I saw him for the first time, I was floored.
He was enormous, sleek like an Arabian stallion but hands larger. Even in this darkened room, his mane shone golden against a chestnut colored hide, his nostrils flaring, his ears pulled back. His aura glowed with waves of power, fluxing because of his possibly weakened state. His magic wasn’t mine, the feel of it alien, but it was of the earth and the sea and the air: elemental in nature—more similar to fae than demon.
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