Forgotten Ghosts

by Eric Asher

  “Maybe because we shouldn’t trust him?” Caroline said, practically pulling the thought right out of my head.

  “It is a risk I am willing to take,” Morrigan said. “The power of the Demon Sword is not to be trifled with. The power of two could turn the tide of this conflict, and the presence of a reaper is never frowned upon.”

  “So you’ll help?” I asked. “We need to get to the bombs.”

  “You will have the help of the Obsidian Inn,” Morrigan said. “Caroline, if you can, move the Irish Brigade into Falias. We may have need of you.”

  “What of the armories?”

  “Leave that to the Utukku. If you can spare a wolf, assign them a post in Antietam, as a warning system, if nothing else.”

  Caroline pondered that for a time before finally saying, “I will. I’ll meet the Obsidian Inn by the bones of the basilisk. We can keep whatever comes our way out of the catacombs and away from Damian’s group. There’s a network they can follow that will take them all the way to Nudd’s palace.”

  “And whatever bunker lies beneath it,” Morrigan said. “Prepare yourselves, for death walks among us this day.”

  Morrigan disconnected without another word.

  “Tomorrow, Damian,” Caroline said. “Call the vampires. You’re going to need them in the dark.”

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said, as if we’d just completed plans to meet for chimichangas, and not plans that were likely to get a great many of us killed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  We gathered around the old Formica table in the back room of Death’s Door in the morning. I’d slept surprisingly well after my conversation with Morrigan and Caroline. Foster stepped out of the grandfather clock and glided toward the table, much to my horror.

  “Oh my god, put on some pants!” While I could appreciate the finely cut muscles the fairy seemed to maintain with practically no effort, I really preferred him with pants.

  Zola froze, a breakfast burrito halfway to her mouth as the fairy glanced down, frowned, and then waggled his eyebrows at her.

  Aideen smacked him and pointed at Vicky.

  Foster quickly covered himself with his hands, still looking worse for wear as he sailed back to the clock. He had dark circles under his eyes, and the normal black and white coloration of his wings hadn’t returned to its usual crispness. It was almost as if the iron from the cell he’d been in had leeched into them, graying the white areas, and adding to his terrible pallor.

  “Didn’t need to see that,” Vicky said around a mouthful of eggs.

  I slid a plate full of freshly microwaved breakfast burritos to the center of the table. Zola snatched up another one and juggled it a bit, waiting for it to cool down. “You and me both, girl. You and me both.”

  “Sorry, we’re out of forks,” I said. “Things have been a little crazy lately.”

  Bubbles chuffed in agreement from the entrance to her underground lair.

  “Still tastes good,” Vicky said, shoveling half the burrito into her mouth at once. Her cheeks puffed up as she chewed, and Zola gave her some serious side eye.

  “Just because your parents aren’t here doesn’t mean you can eat like an animal,” Zola said a moment before she took just as big of a bite, and her cheeks puffed out, too.

  I grinned at the pair and glanced down at Aideen and a now-clothed Foster, who were seated at the edge of the table. “Feeling any better?”

  “Don’t feel like I’m about to die,” Foster said. “That’s always a plus.”

  I nodded. “Especially when we’re about to go to Falias and probably die.”

  Aideen slowly raised an eyebrow. “So … you spoke to the Morrigan and the Irish Brigade. We have a plan?”

  “We have to get Liam and his family out of there. They’ve lost enough, and they’re going to be executed in one day.” I glanced at the clock face. “Less than one day.”

  Aideen nodded.

  And they damn well had lost enough. Their home had been torn out of Faerie and erected on the corpses of commoners. They were some of the few who had come to realize that Nudd had, in fact, meant them to die in the transition. If it hadn’t been for Vicky, channeling her powers as the Destroyer, most of Falias would have died in the transition.

  But Nudd had still managed to spin the manifestation of Falias, and its survivors, to his advantage. He was as bad as any human politician, making himself out to be their salvation, instead of their doom. I wondered how many more of the Fae realized it now, or how many of them simply stayed silent because it didn’t affect them and their friends and their families. But there was little doubt it affected someone they knew, and perhaps that’s why the ranks of the Obsidian Inn had swollen the way they had.

  “Once we get to Falias, I’ll have someone look at Foster.” Aideen patted his knee. “I can heal him a bit more, but if we’re going to be engaging the dark-touched and Hern’s army, I’d prefer not to be exhausted.”

  “You can always stay at the Inn,” Zola said.

  “I’m not dead yet,” Foster muttered. “These hands can still make a whole bunch of other people dead before I’m dead, so I’m not staying at the bloody Inn.”

  I laughed and took another bite of breakfast burrito. Apparently, Aideen and Foster had already had this conversation, too. He was clearly not happy about Zola mimicking his wife’s suggestion.

  My phone rang, and I frowned at Sam’s caller ID. I answered and put it on speaker. “What’s up?”

  “Vik’s already got people on their way to Kansas City,” Sam said. “I don’t think we have many vampires to spare.”

  “I’m not surprised. That may not be a bad thing, though. If Hugh and Ashley are both in KC right now, and we know they’ve had problems with the dark-touched there.”

  “You’re still getting two of the best,” Sam said. “Dominic and Jonathan will both be meeting you.”

  That gave me some measure of relief. They were two of the greatest fighters Vik had, and the fact the old vampire was sending them out with us surprised me a bit, considering the current climate. I had no doubt Sam had more than a little to do with it.

  “That’s great,” I said.

  “I had to promise Vik not to go.” The irritation was plain in her voice. “He still tries to baby me worse than you sometimes, Demon. Really annoying. But I’d rather you have Dominic and Jonathan than me for this fight.”

  “You’ll stay here with Frank and keep everybody out of trouble?”

  “You mean keep the cu siths from eating people?” Sam asked.

  Peanut’s ears flicked up, and he finally rose from his resting spot in front of the grandfather clock.

  “I think Peanut heard you,” I said.

  “They don’t eat people,” Aideen muttered. “They might chew on them a little bit, but they always spit them out.”

  Sam barked out a laugh. “Be careful out there. All of you.”

  “We will,” Vicky said. She scarfed down her last bite of breakfast burrito and fed some scraps to Jasper.

  “Take care of that old vampire,” Zola said. “Lord knows, he could use the help.”

  “Will do,” Sam said, and then she hung up.

  “Is Nixie coming?” Foster asked.

  I shook my head. “I talked to her earlier. She’s headed to an emergency convention to meet with local politicians. They’re threatening to mobilize the UK’s military against the Fae after Nudd’s actions.”

  “I hope she can influence them,” Aideen said. “Drowning all the delegates would likely not help much.”

  I grinned at the fairy. “That’s a fair point.”

  “We should get packed,” Zola said. “It is time.” She glanced at Vicky. “Ah don’t feel good about dragging you along with us.”

  “I have a dragon,” Vicky said. “I’ll be fine.”

  Zola frowned at the round ball of fur with the big black eyes. “Be safe. Move if you’re told to move, and stay hidden if we tell you to.”

 
“You sound like Carter,” Vicky muttered. “I miss him.”

  And perhaps that changed Zola’s mind, the subtle reminder of the life Vicky had led in the Burning Lands. How she’d run with the Ghost Pack, slain dark-touched, and survived until she was once more pulled back into this world. Because my master said no more.

  * * *

  I stood before the shimmering red gateway. Somehow Aideen had talked me into walking through the Warded Ways instead of taking the much-smoother path that I’d grown used to with Gaia. Something about everyone arriving at once making less of a ripple, being less likely to get noticed.

  It made a certain kind of sense, but now that I was standing at the gateway, with the two fairies laughing at me, I felt like this was going to be a very bad trip.

  “I really don’t want to hold this open any longer,” Aideen said. “Just step through. We’ll be right behind you.”

  I grimaced at the fairy, took a deep breath, and then stepped into the Warded Ways. Some of the portals weren’t that bad, like those that took you to the edge of Faerie, or those that were simply a gateway between dimensions, to step from one world to another. But the portals to travel halfway across the country, or the world, were not so nice. For a split second, it felt as if something had grabbed my ankles and my wrists and then pulled until my body twisted and elongated so it could be tied into a pretzel a moment later. A dim red light became bloody brilliant yellow, and for a moment it wasn’t so bad, almost like going over the first large hill on a roller coaster, but then the fun began. It felt like being slammed into one wall and then another, jerked to the right until my head cracked against something hard, only to be flung forward into a whirlpool-like spiral of power. As I finally found my voice in that chaos, I let out a yelp a second before the light went out around me. I blinked, breathing hard against the cold, damp stone floor.

  “You’re alive,” Zola said. I squinted at her, a dim ball of illumination floating above her right shoulder. “A little bit faster than Gaia, too, Ah’d say.”

  Two winged forms blipped into existence above me, and the portal snapped closed. I rolled over and groaned, only to find myself face-to-face with Jasper and his rather intimidating silver-gray teeth. The furball grinned at me, and I threw an arm over my eyes.

  “Not you, too.”

  “Get up, boy,” Zola said. “You’ve been practicing your control over Illuminadda spells? We’ll be needing light in these catacombs, but not too much light.”

  “What are you trying to say? That I …” Whatever witty thought I’d been about to throw out was lost to a wave of my churning stomach. I lay flat on the floor until the nausea passed. “Why did I agree to that?”

  Footsteps sounded nearby. I thought I should probably get off my ass and stand up to greet whatever friend or foe was about to come into the room. On the other hand, they could kill me now, and I’d probably feel a lot better.

  “Lying down on the job?” a familiar voice said.

  I turned my head to the side and groaned in earnest when I saw Drake standing there, a snide smirk on his face.

  “What are you doing here? I thought the Morrigan was coming?”

  “She sent me instead. It’s your lucky day.”

  “Oh, that’s right,” Vicky said. “Drake used to live in the palace. I bet he knows all the secrets.”

  “He probably does,” Foster said, a good amount of steel in his voice.

  “A little respect, Demon Sword,” Drake said. “Now come here and let me finish healing you.”

  Foster took a half step back. “Morrigan is supposed to send a healer.”

  “She did. I thought it might foster some trust between us.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “That was a terrible pun. Please don’t ever try to make a joke again.”

  “What are you talking about?” Drake asked.

  “I don’t think that was a joke,” Foster said.

  “Let him heal you,” Aideen said. “If he tries anything, he’s not getting out of here alive.”

  “My reaper will …”

  It was about that time Drake noticed that his reaper, now also in its small furball form, had perched on Vicky’s shoulder.

  “My reaper will … affectionately love you to death.” The sheer level of irritation in Drake’s voice made me extraordinarily happy.

  “Fine,” Foster said. “Let’s get this done.”

  Foster snapped into his Proelium-sized form.

  Drake touched his shoulder and said, “Turn around.”

  Foster hesitated, but then did as he was asked.

  Drake laid his hands near the base of Foster’s wings, where I could still make out some of the discoloration that had been so prevalent the day before. “Socius Sanation.”

  A glow, one I swore was dimmer than Aideen or Foster’s healings, filled the small round antechamber we were standing in. Or at least, the antechamber that everyone else was standing in, until I finally managed to climb back up to my feet. The room only gave a little half spin, and the world seemed to settle back to normal.

  Drake let his hands fall to his side as Foster straightened his back and flexed his wings. “And you wonder why I’m not so fond of the commoners. The level of iron in that cell could have killed you.”

  “Well, none of them have tried to stab me recently,” Foster said. “That’s a bit more than I can say for you.”

  The corner of Drake’s mouth lifted in a small smile. “How are the wings?”

  Foster glanced at Aideen. “They’re good.”

  Drake nodded. “Caroline and Morrigan are ready.”

  Foster eyed the other fairy, but he didn’t thank him. The tension between them was still there, an old Demon Sword and his successor. As much mistrust as I had for Drake, he seemed genuinely concerned for Vicky’s well-being. Considering how many of the Fae I’d seen look upon her with something more akin to fear, his concern gave me some hope Drake might be an ally. But I’d been wrong before.

  Drake’s head snapped to the side, and he held his hand out, calling for silence. I listened, but I couldn’t hear anything.

  “Not far,” Drake said. “Vampires.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  I thought I heard something as we crept through a corridor off the antechamber. A scratch, or an awkward footstep. I knew I wasn’t the only one who heard it, because the fairies’ swords almost sang out of their sheaths. The pepperbox was a comfortable weight under my arm, but without being able to see what was in front of me, it would be a stupid place to fire the gun. I reached for the focus tucked into my belt and waited.

  A dull orange light appeared in the darkness around us, slowly brightening, chasing away some shadows and deepening others. One moment nothing was there, and the next a tall, bulky silhouette stood before what I could now see was a smaller form carrying a partially unsheathed flaming sword.

  Drake still stood his ground. “Do you bear loyalty to the king?”

  The air rippled around us, and it took me a moment to realize that Drake had imbued those words with some level of magic.

  The taller form stiffened. “What the hell does that mean?”

  Apparently, the bizarre response was enough for Drake. He sheathed his sword.

  The flaming sword grew longer, as more of the blade was unsheathed, and I smiled when I saw the deep outlines of Jonathan’s face. That told me with no uncertainty that the irritated vampire beside him was Dominic, one of the vampires’ strongest enforcers.

  “Zola?” Dominic said, stepping forward when Zola increased the brightness of her incantation.

  “It’s good to see you, Dominic,” Zola said. “And you, Jonathan.”

  The smaller, leaner vampire let the flaming sword drop back into its sheath. “I’d prefer to be in KC. Rumor is that the River Pack has a lead on Vassili, and I owe that vampire much.”

  Years before, Vassili had betrayed his own Pit, and slain the vampire known as Alexi. Alexi had been Jonathan’s lover for over a century, struck down by the va
mpire who was supposed to protect them. Jonathan’s wounds had been physical, mental, and deep.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” I said.

  The vampire’s eyes flicked to me. “I owe your sister. And Vik has shown himself more loyal to our Pit than any Lord I have known before. That makes us the closest thing to family we can be without you being a vampire. So, yes, I will help.”

  The vampire smiled, and let his fangs show just a little. The reflection in the dark corridor was eerie and homicidal in the best sort of way.

  “You guys know Vicky, but I don’t think you know Drake. At least not more than him trying to kill us all last year.”

  “I’ve heard many tales,” Dominic said. “I suppose it yet remains to be seen whether he is an ally, or lunch.”

  Drake tilted his head slightly. He didn’t respond, but I wondered what the fairy was thinking. I knew Drake was powerful, but Dominic was old. And you didn’t live to be an old vampire without being a threat to almost anything that crossed your path.

  “Let us leave,” Aideen said. “We need to find Liam, Lochlan, and Enda.”

  “If Nudd believes that bunker to be the most secure place in his palace,” Drake said, “it’s quite likely his more valuable prisoners will be there, too. Or at least very close to it.”

  “In my experience,” Zola said, “we aren’t that lucky.”

  “Let’s go,” Aideen said, and led the way into the darkness.

  * * *

  The catacombs were quiet. Deathly quiet. It was unnerving, and it didn’t take long for me to realize that not all of the stone and structure we were walking through was made of the pale rock of Falias. Some of it was ancient, appearing to have been carved by crude tools. Whether those tools had been wielded by men, or something else, I couldn’t say.

  The tunnels closer to the Obsidian Inn were occasionally lit by torchlight, and while we’d seen one or two lanterns, and old burns on the stone from the soot of ancient torches, there were no lights as we delved deeper into the belly of Falias. There was only stone and shadow and a kind of impending dread that I had not felt in quite some time.