Late Eclipses od-4

by Seanan McGuire

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Do you really think I believe you poisoned my mother?” She giggled. “You’re the family dog. You couldn’t hurt her if you wanted to. That doesn’t matter, because when she dies, my finger points to you. The Duchy has its justice, and I have my peace.”

  “You’ll never convince the Queen,” said Quentin.

  She smiled sweetly. “I think you’ll be surprised, little boy. You’re a foster here, and your word will never stack up against mine. You have no power, no authority, and no reason to be trusted.”

  “You’ll let the real killer go?” I asked, aghast. I understood revenge, but this wasn’t revenge. This was insanity.

  “Oh, no. We’ll realize our mistake once you’re dead, and whoever did this will be caught and punished.” Her smile was thin and triumphant. “All’s well that ends well. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to fetch something.” She turned and stalked away, clearly intent on having the last word.

  Quentin started to go after her. I grabbed his sleeve, holding him back. “No, Quentin. She’s not worth it.”

  “But she—”

  “Can you prove it?”

  He stopped. “What?”

  “Can you prove she did anything? Can you even prove we had this conversation? You and I have a past. We’ve worked together. I could have convinced you to take my side.” I sighed. “We can’t prove a damn thing.” Raysel was clever. Telling Quentin didn’t endanger her; it just gave her a chance to discredit him if he tried to come forward. We were stuck.

  He stared at me for a moment, and then sagged. “This sucks.”

  “Yes,” I agreed. “It does.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  ETIENNE LOOKED MORE DISTRESSED THAN ever when he returned. “His Grace didn’t answer when I knocked. I’ve called for Jin, but it may take some time.”

  “That’s okay.” I raked my hair back, grimacing as the movement tugged on my bandages. “I could use a moment to catch my breath.”

  “If you don’t mind my saying so, you don’t look well,” said Etienne, hesitating before adding, “I’ve never seen you maintain a human persona inside the knowe.”

  “What?” I felt the rounded edge of my ear, resisting the urge to laugh. “Oak and ash, Etienne, I didn’t even realize I was still wearing the damn thing.” I hesitated before adding, “I’m not sure I could put it up again if I took it down right now. I’m not exactly at my best.”

  “You could try.”

  “That seems too much like work.”

  Etienne smiled a little, looking relieved to have me back on what he viewed as familiar ground. “Still lazy, I see. I’ll never know how you survived your training.”

  “The Puck looks out for the lazy and suicidal?” I suggested.

  “Possibly the only explanation,” he agreed.

  I was trying to figure out how to say “by the way, I’ve been poisoned” without freaking either Etienne or Quentin out when a door opened in the wall across from us, cutting off any further conversation. We turned, almost in unison, to see Dugan—the Queen’s messenger—step through. He was closely followed by Rayseline, Manuel, and five men in the Queen’s livery. All of them stopped when Dugan did.

  I straightened, wishing I’d thought to drop my human disguise when I came in.

  “My lady—” Etienne began.

  Raysel cut him off with a sharp gesture of her hand. There was a strange, bright triumph in her eyes. “I told you she was here,” she said. “Do your duty.”

  “With pleasure,” said Dugan, stepping forward. “October Daye, you stand accused of murder and attempted murder. Will you come quietly?”

  “Don’t I even get a title when I’m being arrested?” I asked wearily.

  “His Grace—” began Quentin.

  “This isn’t his concern,” said Dugan.

  “Yes, it is,” I said. “He’s my liege. He has a right to be here.”

  “No, he’s not,” said Raysel, the triumph in her eyes bleeding into her voice. “You may be my father’s knight, Daye, but you’re the Queen’s Countess.”

  I froze. “You’re kidding.”

  “No, she’s not,” said Dugan. “When you took that title, your fealty changed.”

  I wanted to protest. I couldn’t. Fealty is a tricky thing; it’s a debt, of a sort, one you pay with loyalty, duty, and action. Goldengreen was in the Queen’s own lands. Oberon help me, but I was hers.

  “Will you come quietly?”

  “Tell me what I’m accused of,” I countered. “You owe me that much.”

  “We owe you nothing,” Raysel said sharply.

  Too sharply; Etienne’s eyes narrowed. “My lady, she is sworn to your father. You overstep your authority.”

  “Fine,” said Raysel. “Dugan, read the charges.”

  Dugan looked at her sharply, clearly displeased by her casual orders. Then he cleared his throat, and said, “You stand accused of the murder of the Lady of the Tea Gardens and the attempted murder of the Duchess of Shadowed Hills.”

  “What makes you accuse me?” I asked, fighting to keep my temper in check. Getting mad wouldn’t do me any good. Etienne looked like he was fighting the same battle; he was glaring daggers at Raysel. “It could have been anyone.”

  “I saw you run out to the terrace just before the Duchess collapsed,” said Manuel, with unconcealed malice. “You went out and spoke with her, and then she fell.”

  “You know I’d never hurt Luna.”

  “Like you didn’t hurt my sister?” he hissed.

  “You were a captive in the Tea Gardens, and now their Lady is dead.” Raysel ignored Manuel’s outburst. “You became a captive because of my mother, and now she’s dying. An interesting coincidence, don’t you think?”

  “That isn’t all we have against you,” said Dugan. “Manuel?”

  Manuel pulled a leather pouch from his pocket, handing it to Dugan. Dugan held it toward me, asking, “Do you recognize this?”

  “No. What is it?”

  “Open it and see.”

  I took the pouch, feeling the weight of it. My heart sank, and kept sinking as I untied the strings and looked inside, seeing the contents for the first time.

  Lily’s pearl looked like some strange, half-rotten fruit. It was the size of my fist, and glossy white, except for the black streaks marring its lower half. I reached into the pouch and scooped the pearl into my hand, turning it until the blackness was all that showed. Gouges scored the enamel at the center of the decay.

  “That was found at the edge of the Tea Gardens,” said Dugan, taking the pearl from my unresisting hand. “An uncorked vial was driven into the mud a few inches away. It was empty when we found it, but had it held poison—”

  “—the current would have carried it over the pearl and into the scrapes. Oh, root and branch, how could we have been so stupid?” Of course Walther’s samples tested pure. The poison was so diffuse by the time it reached the main water system that it registered as normal contamination of the groundwater. “When was this found?”

  “Yesterday morning. The Undine guard such treasures fiercely. How many people knew that fiefdom well enough to know its location?”

  “You found this before Lily died?” Fury rose hot in the back of my throat. I tamped it down, demanding, “Why didn’t you save her? Why didn’t you try? The Queen—”

  “Has no jurisdiction in the park,” said Dugan.

  “So why is she trying to prosecute me for a crime committed outside her jurisdiction?” I snapped.

  “It was in her Kingdom. She could not prevent, but she can punish. Now will you come quietly?”

  “I don’t think she has to,” said Etienne.

  “Stay out of this,” snapped Raysel. “It’s not your concern.”

  “Actually, it is. She’s your father’s knight, Rayseline, just as I am. Would you turn me over so easily?” Etienne shook his head. “This isn’t right. The Duke must be told before we allow them to take her.”

/>   Dugan was opening his mouth to answer when a tired, familiar voice said, “The Duke must be told what?” We all turned, even the Queen’s men, to watch Sylvester step into the room. “Have I missed something, Rayseline?” he asked. “Hello, October.”

  “Hello, Your Grace.” I bowed. The Queen’s men hastened to do the same. “These nice men were just arresting me.”

  Rayseline shot me a look dripping with hatred. “They’re taking Countess Daye for questioning, Father. They think she might help them answer some questions about Mother’s illness.”

  “Is that so? Interesting. Are you here on the Queen’s orders?” His question sounded almost aimless. I knew better. Sylvester’s at his most dangerous when he sounds like he doesn’t care.

  “Your daughter requested our presence, Your Grace,” Dugan replied.

  “As I expected. She’s a good girl, but sometimes she rushes things.” Sylvester smiled, looking no less exhausted. “You’ll have to speak to the Queen before I let you remove my knight from my fiefdom. I’m sure you understand.”

  “She’s a danger!” Raysel snapped.

  “You’re not in charge yet, Rayseline,” he said, tone sharpening. “I appreciate your initiative. Now get your friends out of my knowe before I get angry.”

  She stared at him before she whirled and stormed past me, the Queen’s men following in her wake. My fealty might belong to the Queen, but Sylvester was right; without either a direct order from her or his consent, they couldn’t take me.

  “This isn’t over,” Manuel hissed as he left.

  I held myself stiff as I watched him go. So this was the way they wanted it? Fine. At least we all understood where we were coming from.

  It was only a few moments before Sylvester, Etienne, Quentin, and I were the only ones in the room. Sylvester sagged. “Toby, I’m sorry. I didn’t know she would … ”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “You didn’t know, and she hates me. She always has.”

  “I expected more from her.”

  “I’m sorry.” What else was I supposed to say? Raysel was his only child, and his wife was dying. He wasn’t going to get another chance unless I somehow solved this.

  “I know.” He shook his head. “Did you come here for a reason? Etienne seemed quite set that you should see me.”

  “Yes, I did,” I said. “I think I know who’s behind this.” I tensed, waiting for him to fly off the handle again.

  He just looked at me dully, and asked, “Oleander?” I nodded. Sighing, he said, “I assumed you’d try telling me as much. I’ve had Jin prepare a calming tonic to keep me … reasonable while this is going on. Is there proof?”

  “More all the time. Someone poisoned the meat Tybalt feeds to his Court with pure extract of oleander flowers; several Cait Sidhe are already dead. The Queen’s men have Lily’s pearl. They found it next to an empty vial.”

  “Poison?” asked Etienne.

  “I think so. And … I went to see a Tylwyth Teg named Walther, who used to work for Lily. He ran some tests on my blood. I’ve been poisoned, too. Low-grade—it’s intended to confuse me, not kill me—but it’s still poison.”

  Sylvester’s mouth thinned into an angry line. “You say these things and then expect me to let you go charging back into danger.”

  I sighed. “Because I know you will. It may be Luna’s only chance.”

  “You’re right,” he said, softly. “Toby, you can’t come here again. I’ll send Quentin or Etienne if I need you, but I can’t stop the Queen if you’ve been accused.”

  “I understand. Go back to Luna; stay with her. If I can fix this, I will.”

  “If you can’t fix this, she’ll die.”

  “And so will I.”

  “I know.” He turned away. I started to reach for him, but stopped myself, shaking my head. There was nothing left to say.

  Etienne stepped up beside me, offering his arm, and I took it without hesitating. Shadowed Hills was no sanctuary for me anymore. In the end, there’s never a sanctuary. You run until there’s nowhere left to run to, and then you fight, and then you die, and then it’s over. That’s how the world works, and if there’s a way to change that, I hope someone’s eventually planning to let me know.

  TWENTY-TWO

  I WAITED UNTIL QUENTIN AND I were halfway down the hill outside the knowe before saying quietly, “Try to stay out of Raysel’s way. If she’s gunning for me, she may start gunning for you, too—out of spite, if nothing else.”

  “Yeah.” He sounded subdued. The poor kid was practically worn through. If we survived this, I was going to take him to Great America and make him ride roller coasters until one of us threw up. Never doubt the restorative powers of a good amusement park. “I think she’s probably going to try.”

  “If she accuses you of anything, run for my mother’s tower. It will know you from Jan’s funeral, but nobody else who’s not family will make it past the gate.” The dream I’d shared with Karen was still vivid in my mind. I needed to call her. Even if she didn’t know why she sent the dream, she might remember details I’d forgotten.

  Quentin cast a sidelong look in my direction. “I still can’t come with you?”

  “She’d add kidnapping to the list of charges, and I need you here so you can get Connor out, too. I don’t trust her not to hurt him.” He didn’t love her. With the way she was acting, that might be enough of an insult to let her justify punishing him for his insolence.

  “You’re probably right,” Quentin said glumly. “What are you going to do?”

  “It’s too soon to go back to the university—having me show up asking Walther for results will just distract him.” He hadn’t had time to get used to the way things speed up when people start trying to kill me. Hopefully, he’d live long enough to learn. “I guess I’ll head for Golden Gate Park, bring Tybalt up to speed on what’s been going on. After that—”

  Quentin’s pocket started ringing.

  He shot me an apologetic look as he pulled out his phone and flipped it open. “Hello?” He stiffened. “Oh.” Lowering the phone, he turned to me. “It’s for you.”

  “What?” I plucked the tiny plastic oblong from his hand, bringing it to my ear. “Toby here.”

  “Toby, you have to come home. You have to come home right now.”

  May sounded panicked enough that it took a moment for me to recognize her voice. It felt like my heart froze solid. Putting a hand on Quentin’s shoulder—as much to keep me upright as to reassure him—I asked, carefully, “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Spike. It won’t wake up.”

  The frozen feeling in my heart just grew at that statement. With Tybalt’s Court in chaos and Luna still in a comalike state, the last thing I needed was for the poisoning to start following me home. “I’ll be right there.”

  “Toby—”

  “Call the Luidaeg if it gets worse before I can get home.” She wasn’t willing to help before, but she wouldn’t turn down my Fetch, not when it was Spike. She knew how much the rose goblin meant to me.

  I could almost hear May swallow her first response before she said, softly, “Get here fast.” The line went dead.

  I took my hand off Quentin’s shoulder, practically shoving the phone back at him. “I have to go. Get inside, and see if you can get Connor somewhere private. Tell him there’s something wrong with Spike. If anything changes—anything, no matter how small it seems—call the apartment and get the hell out of the Duchy. Okay?”

  “Promise,” said Quentin, eyes wide. He gave me a quick hug before turning to run back up the hill, beginning the series of gymnastics that would let him into the knowe. I didn’t take the time to watch him. I was already racing toward the parking lot.

  I was too stressed and worn down to throw any sort of illusions over the car, but I still drove like no one could see me, risking traffic accidents and speeding tickets as I raced across the Bay and back into San Francisco. All told, I probably set some sort of record. I wasn’t really thinking about
that. I parked the car and jumped out without taking time to lock the doors, running up the concrete path to the front door.

  The wards were unset but unbroken—May hadn’t had any unexpected company. I was fumbling for my keys when the doorknob turned under my hand and May tugged the door open. Her newly-long hair was skinned back into an untidy ponytail, and Spike was cradled against her chest. Its eyes were closed. It didn’t look like it was breathing.

  My own breath caught. “Is it—”

  “It’s alive,” she said. Taking my wrist, she tugged me inside, kicking the door closed behind me. “The cats woke me up just before I called you. They wanted to be fed.” A brief, all-too-bleak smile crossed her lips. “No matter how bad the world gets, you still have to feed the cats. I filled all three dishes. Spike didn’t come.”

  “Oh, sweet Titania.” I scooped the rose goblin from her arms. It never weighed much, but this was like picking up a dried branch; Spike’s narrow body seemed to weigh nothing at all. “When was the last time you saw Spike awake?”

  “I don’t know.” The admission seemed to pain her. “It’s the middle of the goddamn day. We’re lucky I was awake enough to notice at all. I fed it when you dropped us off, but then my hair grew and I got distracted … ”

  Spike had been sleeping on the couch the last few times I’d seen it. That was longer than I liked to consider. “Well, was it okay when you got home from the Ball?”

  “It was quiet. It didn’t eat much—” She stopped in mid-sentence, staring at me. I stared back, realizing what she was about to say. It was so obvious, once you considered all the factors. “Toby—”

  “Spike was fine before the Ball, but it wasn’t fine afterward,” I said. “It was listless. Tired.”

  “Wilting,” she said, in a small voice.

  “Oh, oak and ash.” I pulled Spike back against my chest. “I’m an idiot.”

  Luna Torquill was Blodynbryd, a Dryad of the roses. The rose goblins are her children, created before she changed her face. Their health was probably somehow connected to hers; Faerie likes that sort of small, vicious irony. As for Luna …