“We’re on the same side,” Adan said, as if he knew what I was thinking. “I’m just trying to protect my father’s interests, the same as you. We don’t have to be rivals, Domino.”
I wasn’t sure how we could avoid being rivals if he challenged all my decisions. Maybe he thought we could avoid it if he were the one making all the decisions. If that’s what he had in mind, he was going to be really disappointed.
“There’s something else,” I said. “Terrence had to bury two of his nephews yesterday. I was at the cemetery.”
“That’s rough, but from everything you’ve said about Mobley, that’s the way the Jamaicans play the game.”
“That’s not what I’m getting at. After the service, the kids got back up and tried to eat us.” I told Adan about the zombies and about my visit to the Between.
“And you’re sure it wasn’t something Mobley did?” I shook my head. “There was no magic on the kids. I’ve been down that road before so I don’t want to make too much of it. But it wasn’t sorcery and it wasn’t glamour.”
“So what does that leave?”
“I was hoping you might have an idea.” Avalon, where Adan had grown up, was in the Beyond. He’d had more experience with this kind of thing than I had.
“It could be a plague, like in the movies.”
“Jesus, Adan, I was hoping you’d have something a little more solid than fucking Hollywood. Anyway, I got bit by one of them and I haven’t been feeling any cannibalistic urges or anything.”
“Sorry, Domino, I really don’t know. We didn’t get much in the way of zombies. I guess it could be an Unseelie thing. They were hooked up a little more closely with the realms of the mortal dead than we were.”
“The Unseelie?”
“Yeah. There are twin kingdoms in Faerie, one light and one dark. The dark one is called the Unseelie Court.”
“So the Seelie are supposed to be the good fairies? They swapped you out for a changeling, killed a lot of my guys, tried to kill me and planned to take down your father.”
Adan grinned. “Light and dark, not necessarily good and evil. The distinction is more about personality than morals. The Seelie fey are usually in a better mood.”
I didn’t know the Seelie king well, but I had to admit even when he was conspiring to kill me he’d been pretty cheerful about it. “So you think the Unseelie fey might be raising zombies?”
“I don’t really know, Domino. I was raised by the fey but I was never one of them. Everyone knew who I was, what I was and why I was there. I wasn’t trusted. If I had to guess, I’d say no. The Unseelie are still fey. If there were Unseelie glamour on the zombies you’d have seen it.”
“Should we be expecting the Unseelie to move on us, just like the Seelie did?”
“Another thing I don’t know. There wasn’t much contact between the courts, except for the occasional war. I do know King Oberon has an army of spies whose only job is to keep tabs on them. You could ask him.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll stay in touch.” I stood up and left. Adan might have called after me but I was already out the office door and heading down the stairs to the club.
I’d like to say I was thinking about Terrence, about the Jamaicans, about zombies and the possible involvement of the Unseelie Court. But I wasn’t. I was thinking about Adan. I was thinking about how badly I’d wanted him—or at least, the creature that had taken his place—just a few short months ago. At least I’d thought I wanted him. Looking back, it was hard to remember why. But then Adan would smile and those fucking dimples would soften his chiseled face, or he’d tilt his head to the side as he listened to what I was saying. Just like the changeling. I’d catch the scent of apples and cinnamon and I’d feel that familiar pull. It was just like waking from a pleasant dream and wishing for a moment you could go back to sleep.
This Adan wasn’t a changeling. He wasn’t a monster. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous.
I’d averted a war with the Seelie Court by giving them Hollywood. King Oberon had taken over a club on Sunset Boulevard that had belonged to one of the conspirators, a vampire I’d gotten to kill. It had been called the Cannibal Club under the vampire’s management, but Oberon had since changed the name to the Carnival Club. He’d done some remodeling and redecorating, too. The Mardi Gras theme was a lot less played out than the Goth thing, and I had to admit the purple, gold and green decor was a lot more festive—gaudier, too, but what do you want from fairies? All in all, Oberon could have done worse. It wasn’t like the world needed another Irish pub or anything.
I spun my parking spell and left my Lincoln out front, then went inside the club. I found Oberon behind the main bar polishing glasses with a white cloth. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt and faded jeans and looked more like the drummer in a garage band than a fairy king. The Carnival Club wouldn’t open for hours but a few sidhe were hanging around, lounging at the tables and booths or drinking at the bar. The fairy queen, Titania, was there, and she didn’t look old enough to be in the club.
“Domino, welcome,” Oberon said. “Tequila? I’ll join you.”
“Too early for me, King. How about some of that apple cider you make?”
Oberon reached below the bar and brought out a carafe of the amber liquid. The cider wasn’t too sweet, a little spicy, and I was pretty sure it had some narcotic qualities. I didn’t care—it was one of the best things I’d ever tasted and it reminded me of better times.
“With ice,” I said as he filled a glass.
“You’re a barbarian, Domino,” the king said, but he dropped a few cubes in my glass. He pushed it across the bar to me as I sat down. “What brings you in?”
“The Unseelie Court.”
Oberon frowned. “What about it?”
“I maybe got a problem with zombies. Adan thought the Unseelie fey might be involved. He said they were more closely aligned with the realms of the dead, and all that.”
“Queen Mab has, at times, made the mortal dead a part of her court. Mostly to torment them, from what I’ve seen.”
“Queen Mab? Is she your sister or something?”
“They were lovers,” said Titania.
Oberon glanced over at her. He looked worried. “That was a long time ago, my dear. We’ve been enemies far longer than we were lovers.”
“She doesn’t do zombies, though,” Titania continued. “Very few mortals can cross physically into Avalon, so you’re not likely to find any animated corpses there.”
“Many of the Unseelie sidhe can raise the dead, though,” Oberon said. “When they cross into Arcadia.”
“She hasn’t crossed, husband. None of them have. I’d know.”
“She will.”
“But not yet. And Domino doesn’t care about that. She’s asking about zombies.”
“Yeah,” I said. “One thing at a time.” Arcadia was the sidhe name for the mortal world. The idea that a grouchier sidhe nation would eventually cross over—that was a problem for another day.
“Tell me about your zombies,” Oberon said. I gave him the whole story, and I have to say, neither he nor his queen seemed all that interested.
Oberon kept polishing his glasses. “I know of the kephn. Human souls are its food of choice, but it’s been known to hunt the fey and other spirits in lean times. It feeds on juice and so it can be quite dangerous to the lesser fey. Graveyards, as you might guess, are its primary hunting ground.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s my problem. It’s dead, and any way, it seemed to have a hankering for ghosts, not zombies.”
“Yes, the kephn is incapable of manifesting in the mortal world. It would have no use for zombies so I doubt it was responsible for their creation.”
“So what’s creating them?”
“What makes you think there will be others? Perhaps it was just something that happened to those two and you’ll never know what caused it.”
“Yeah, I’m not going to waste time hoping there won’t be more. I’m
not that lucky.”
“Maybe it’s a plague—a viral outbreak or something.”
“Everyone watches way too many movies.”
Oberon shrugged. “This is Hollywood.”
“So you’ve got nothing for me?”
“I’m no expert on zombies, Domino.”
I sighed. “All right, thanks anyway. How’s everything else going? You settling in okay?”
Oberon grinned. “It’s perfect. Hollywood may not be much to look at, but there’s so much juice here. We’re all quite content, I assure you.”
“That’s good.”
“Are you coming to the Bacchanal Ball?”
“What’s that?”
“I’m throwing a party. Here at the club. You should have received an invitation.”
“Sometimes I forget to check my mail. When is it?”
“Tomorrow night. You must attend, Domino. It will be a celebration quite unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.”
“What are we celebrating?”
“Him,” said Titania. “What else?”
Oberon frowned at her. “Our return to Arcadia. The ceremony with which you celebrated our arrival was simple and elegant, but a little understated. That’s not really how we roll.”
“Yeah, okay, I’ll be here. Thanks for the invite. Is it formal?”
“It’s a masquerade, of course.”
“So I need a costume?”
Oberon laughed. “You stole my shapeshifter’s glam our, Domino. I’m certain you’ll come up with something wonderful.”
“All right, but I’m bringing Honey.”
Oberon shrugged. “That’s fine. I don’t hold grudges.” That was a lie—he held them better than just about anyone. “There’s one more thing, Domino, a somewhat more serious matter.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s Terrence Cole’s outfit. We’re concerned. We feel as though we’ve left the back door open while our family sleeps.”
“I’m handling it, King.”
“I’ve no doubt you’ll do what you can, within the limitations of the political situation. I understand you’ve given him Simeon Wale’s crew.”
That didn’t take long, but then Oberon’s spies were better than most. “Wale crossed on his own. Wasn’t my idea. I can live without the bastard, though—if it helps Terrence, that’s just a happy coincidence.”
Oberon nodded and smiled. “I don’t know this man Wale as well as you do, of course, but I’m concerned that it won’t be enough. I’m concerned that I was…too diplomatic…when I agreed to surrender Cole’s territory.”
I let the feeling drain from my face and looked at him. “Your diplomacy meant we didn’t have to kill each other. That’s still what it means.”
Oberon held up his hands in mock surrender. “Easy, Domino. I’m not proposing a breach of our treaty. I’m merely pointing out that I could hold Cole’s ground better than he can, with or without Simeon Wale.”
“You couldn’t hold it without the other outfits behind you. And we’re not. Remember that. Maybe there’s something for you in Reseda if you’re feeling cramped.”
“What the fuck would I do with Reseda? Open a carwash?”
I shrugged.
“And it’s not about feeling cramped, Domino. It’s about security. You of all people should understand that.”
“Yeah, I do. I remember when another outsider tried to move in and take my ground.”
“Precisely. And the same thing can happen to Cole, only this time, the outsider may not be as understanding as I was.”
“That’s why we have a treaty, King. Something comes in, we’re united against it. That’s the way we do it. We protect each other. The strong don’t feed on the weak.”
“That’s the way you’d like to do it. That’s not the way it was done in the past. You can’t even be sure your way is going to work. You still don’t know if you can make an army out of a gang. The old way was less risky.”
“Maybe now it is but not in the long run.”
“In the long run we’re all dead.”
“That’s an odd thing for an immortal fairy king to say.”
“Okay, in the long run you’re all dead.”
I laughed and the king did, too. “That’s better,” I said. “The point is, you should appreciate that we can’t be shortsighted about this. You’re the master of the long-term plan. We’re going to need Terrence. We’re going to need all the outfits to be strong.”
“Very well,” Oberon said. “You’re right, of course—I’ve been called many things, but never shortsighted. But as one who has a great deal of experience with long-term plans, let me offer a word of caution. The most dangerous thing about thinking ahead is that you wait too long when the time comes to act. The line between the short run and the long run is indistinct, Domino. Sometimes you can cross it without even realizing it.”
“I understand, King. Terrence is on a deadline but we give him a chance to stand up. That’s the way it’s going to be.”
“I concede, my dear, and once again you’ve proven that I’m no match for you in negotiations.”
I smiled even though it was bullshit. Oberon’s only reason for bringing this up was to put Terrence and me on the clock. We’d established the Seelie Court couldn’t move on Terrence immediately. But if the clock ran down, I’d be all out of excuses and Terrence would have more than the Jamaicans and Koreans to worry about.
I promised Oberon I’d see him at the party and left the club. I wasn’t real happy about how it had gone, but I wasn’t exactly surprised, either. I’d learned Oberon was someone I could deal with, but the deals always left me feeling like I’d gotten the short end.
But again, what do you want from fairies?
three
I woke up to a phone call from Adan just after dawn the next morning.
“Simeon Wale hit the Jamaicans last night,” he said when I picked up the phone.
“Yeah, good morning to you, too. What fucking time is it?”
“It’s about five-thirty. Did you hear me?”
“Yeah, Wale hit Mobley. What did you think was going to happen?”
“He burned a couple apartment blocks in Imperial Courts, Domino. A lot of people are dead.” Imperial Courts was the largest housing project in L.A., and it was the heart of Francis Mobley’s territory between Watts and Compton.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “What the fuck did he do that for? How many people?”
“According to the news, no confirmed deaths but a lot of serious injuries.”
“I thought you said people were dead.”
“They are, but the news teams haven’t figured it out yet. They’re calling it ‘The Miracle in the Projects.’”
“Oh, fuck me. Zombies?”
“Yeah. Maybe a hundred.”
“Jesus Christ. What’s happening there now?” I heard Adan take a deep breath. “We’re losing it, Domino. I think we maybe lost it already. They’re taking them to the hospitals. There’s not much we can do about it.”
“What’s Mobley doing?”
“Community service. He’s got his posses out there helping with the relief effort. But you can forget about getting him to sit down with Terrence. There won’t be any sit-down, not after this.”
“Stupid fucking Wale,” I said, and slammed the receiver against my skull a few times.
“What are we going to do, Domino?”
I really had no idea but I had to think of one, fast. “It sounds like containment isn’t an option. We’ve got to start thinking about a cleanup. I’m not as worried about the projects, but we’re going to have to put soldiers in the hospitals.”
Adan laughed and there was an ugly edge to it. “That’s it? You want to send death squads to the hospitals? Domino, it’s on the news!”
“Okay, not our soldiers. We’ll handle the projects—we won’t attract much attention there. We can send the fey to the hospitals. They can deal with the zombies and glamour the civilia
ns. They can keep a lid on it, if anyone can.”
“That might work, if Oberon agrees to help. You’ll be indebted to him, though.”
I didn’t answer. If I played my cards right I wouldn’t need Oberon for this. “Why don’t you go ahead and say it, Adan.”
“What?”
“I told you so. You’re thinking it, might as well be man enough to say it.”
The line was silent for a few moments. “I wasn’t thinking it, Domino. You didn’t know Simeon Wale was going to do this. And the zombie problem definitely isn’t your fault.”
“It was my plan to send Wale over, and it went about as wrong as a plan can go.”
“Look, I’m not going to pretend I agreed with your decision. I didn’t, but not because I anticipated anything like this.”
“No, you were just worried it would involve us in the conflict, that it would escalate and pull us in. You were right.”
“Maybe,” Adan said. “And maybe next time I’ll be the one who fucks up. The truth is, I’ve been at this, what, ten weeks? Most of the time I’m just bluffing my way through and hoping no one notices. Neither one of us is my father, Domino. We need each other to do this thing.”
“I’ll try.”
“As will I, starting now. I’ll take care of Imperial Courts. You handle the hospitals.”
“Done,” I said. “Call me.”
“I will. Good luck.”
“You, too. And Adan?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks,” I said and hung up the phone.
“Honey,” I called. I’d thrown on some clothes and I was in the kitchen nuking a frozen snack. Honey flew in from the second bedroom she and her family had converted into the Enchanted Forest.
“Morning, Domino. What’s for breakfast?”
“Hot Pocket,” I said, and looked at the box. “Ham and Cheddar.”
“Ugh. I don’t see how you can eat that stuff.”
“I’m not in the mood for a burrito. Say, Honey, how do feel about killing zombies?”
Skeleton Crew Page 3