"You are an idiot." I turned and walked out.
I could hear them laughing. The sound hit me in the gut and made me ill. I stumbled at the door, even waving away a hotel worker who asked if I was all right.
I stepped out, looking at the ghost riders, willing to face them. Even though I didn't know what or who they were, they had never lied to me. They had never laughed at me.
I stumbled across to the car and slid in, then leaned my head on the steering wheel. I shivered, remembering David in this car, sitting next to me. I remembered the lies of the nice person I'd liked -- the one who had never been real.
"Hey." Cato put a paw gently on my arm.
"Sorry." I lifted my head and sniffed. Tears still rolled down my cheeks. I felt stupid and weak for the reaction, especially when I saw one of those damned ghost horsemen right in front of us.
So I turned the car on, hit the gas and rammed him. Oh yes, he felt the impact. I saw the horse go limping away, half maimed. And didn't that make me feel better, taking out my frustration on an animal?
I couldn't win.
I couldn't win.
"I don't know what you're thinking, Kat, but I've never seen you look so bleak. It scares me," Cato said.
I maneuvered my way around the parking lot. I didn't try for any more horse and riders, though I thought I might have hit a couple more if I tried. I should have. I should have been trying anything to lessen the number of enemy I would face later.
"Kat?"
"I can't do this, Cato," I said, stopping at the edge of the lot. Cars passed in front of us, sloshing muck and dirty snow everywhere. "I can't fight this one. I don't have the power to handle a major battle, and the only other fae --"
"Would have been more trouble than help."
"Maybe so." Someone honked behind me, and I pulled out. Horses and riders swarmed in around us. A dog in a car ahead looked back and began to bark, banging his head against the window.
"Hey, this is fun!" Cato snickered as the dog fell when the driver turned the corner. "The riders are good for something, I guess."
"Cato --"
"I know things are tough, Katlyn. I know you feel like this is more than you can handle, but I don't believe it's true."
"I lost Aletta's help --"
"You never had her help," he replied with a snort of disdain. He was right, of course. "Look, I'm not stupid. I know a bunch of cats and birds are not the best help in the world, but they're all you've got. And you're not alone as long as you have us."
I stopped at a light and turned to him. Tears had come to my eyes, but they were a different kind this time. Not alone. And not helpless.
"You guys count for a lot." The light changed and I eased forward. The horses stayed with us. I started getting used to them, and I even scared a couple by making a sudden lane change. One leapt to the left and knocked against a van, which swerved and bounced against the curb before the driver got control. He would think he hit a bit of ice. I'd have to be more careful, though. "You've helped me out more than I give you credit for, Cato."
"We aren't --"
"You are important." Something settled within me. I felt calmer. "You're very important. And we both have proof. Someone tried to stop the cats and birds from helping me. If you weren't important, the person never would have gone to the trouble."
"Oh." His ears came up as he sat straighter. "Yeah, I guess so. Why didn't the magic keep me away?"
"Probably would have been too obvious," I said. "Whoever is doing this didn't want me to figure out why I wasn't seeing birds and cats. I think they wanted me off balance."
"Was this something Aletta and the guy did?"
I thought about it. I mistrusted Aletta, but I hadn't felt any of her presence in the magic. "I've known Aletta for a while. She's always been sloppy with her magic. This stuff has been pretty fancy. I could be wrong, but I can't find any hint of her in the spells. And David -- whoever he is -- doesn't have magic at all. I think the two of them are added nuisances when I least need them."
He nodded and looked around. "Where are we going? You're not heading to the house."
"To the grocery store. We're almost out of cat food and tuna."
"Ah. Good plan. Yes. We need supplies." He nodded enthusiastically.
Everything felt almost too normal at the store, even with the riders milling around in the parking lot. Birds gathered on the light posts and screamed at them. Humans barely noted the loud birds, but remained oblivious to the dangers, although the ghost horses did knock a couple people down on the ice.
My enemies were becoming dangerous to everyone.
Chapter Fifteen
Sunset arrived with a sharp, winter wind and a stream of ice-white clouds followed by the fall of snow. Most of the birds found shelters where they could, unable to navigate in this weather. Cats slinked in and out of the door, which I left open, but shielded to all but them. I made certain they had plenty of food and let them rest inside as long as they wanted. Even Gaylord got used to them, though he still kept his distance.
The cats brought me word about the dark things wandering the streets, though apparently even those creatures didn't appreciate the weather and were taking cover. For the moment, they seemed to be less trouble than some of the town's usual tourists.
Power had gone out in part of town. The peripix were doing their job, I feared.
The Edge felt more active as darkness fell, so apparently Aletta's mother had been wrong. What a shock. I didn't know why the magic seemed drawn toward the city. Maybe the creatures roaming the streets worked as magical magnets. Had something sent them in and used them as conduits? Could magic work that way?
The thought left me uneasy. Why would someone purposely want magic in Estes Park?
I wanted answers, and instead, all I got was another tendril of magic trying to curl down out of the mountainside and into town. I grabbed the power --
And felt the same horrible rolling magic like Cato and I had suffered through. I went down to my knees this time, holding on -- and it seemed to pass more quickly this time. When I recovered, I discovered The Edge stood barely a couple miles from the city limits, nestled somewhere near Rams Horn Mountain, beyond Marys Lake. It felt ready to sweep right down on the city.
A little later, some of the cats came in. None of them had liked the feel of wild magic, either, but they stayed at their work.
"Not much to report," Jules said, scratching at his ear where something had bitten him recently. The wound plainly bothered him, so I reached out and did a quick repair job. "Wow. Thanks, lady. My ear feels much better. Can you make all the teeth fall out of every dog in town?"
"I'll think about it," I said. "I'm a bit tapped right now."
He snorted. "Yeah. I can see you're weak and all. The northern part of town lost all power while I was out there scouting around. I think the creatures are working their way down through the rest of town. I saw power crews out, but they haven't found the trouble yet."
I had been a little distracted, but those words drew my attention. "They haven't found the nests of peripix?" I asked.
"Nope. I keep thinking they should. But they don't see anything at all."
"Hidden. Magic," I said, which once more pointed to someone purposely directing the peripix. I couldn't find a trail to him though, which made everything all the more frustrating.
Cato had been standing by the door. He suddenly growled and backed away. I crossed to the door, knowing there had to be trouble.
Aletta arrived on the porch, breathless and startled by the cats rushing past her. I stepped outside. She lifted a hand and gasped for a moment before she spoke.
"Okay, you're right," she said, her eyes wide -- the same look I still thought seemed far too fake. "Something odd is going on out there. I started doing my own checking, Kitty. Things are out of hand. What's The Edge doing so close to town?"
"I don't know," I said. I wished I had an answer and sounded wise. At least she'd come to me, though.
"Can you take me there?"
"Yes."
"Let me get my coat and we'll go."
She nodded, obviously relieved.
"I'm going with Aletta," I said to Cato and the other cats as I stepped into the house. Cato gave her a wary glare. "She found something which could be what's causing the trouble."
"Kat --" Cato began.
"I have to go. Keep things calm here, okay?"
"Yeah."
I walked over to the birds and told them the same thing. Gaylord glanced over my shoulder and shook his head.
"She looks like trouble, boss," he said, his voice softer than usual.
"She is trouble. But at least she's trouble I know," I answered.
Shakespeare nudged my hand with his beak, which was as friendly as he had ever gotten. "With loitering eye, till I have felt, the letters -- with their meaning -- melt, to fantasies - with none."
Was he trying to say something? He stared into my face with more earnestness than I had expected, almost as though he would begin to speak at any moment --
"Kitty," Aletta said from outside, impatient.
I went to the door, grabbed my coat and went with her out into the cold night.
"We'll take my car as far as we can," I said. The riders had once more disappeared. Maybe they feared Aletta, knowing she had stronger magic than me.
"I don't know how you can stand these things," she said, damping down magic as she got in. I almost told her she didn't have to, but you know . . . some small part of me, even now, wanted a little revenge over David. Or whoever he might be.
We headed along Highway 7, skirting the mountains. I thought I could see riders behind us, but the night had grown dark, and the wind kicked up snow covering our path and obscuring everything within a few feet of the car. I didn't enjoy driving in this weather, even with magical powers, but it still took less magic than if we had gone on foot. We'd need that power later. I went slowly, and Aletta sat, silent with her hands glued to the car seat, obviously afraid of my driving and the weather. We skidded on the turns a couple times. Petty stuff, but I enjoyed her reaction.
I could feel The Edge out on the right side of the road, still in the wilderness a bit, but glowing with flashes of bright blue and green. I drove the car as close as I could and pulled to the side -- though no one else was out tonight.
I could sense something magical but I couldn't make more out than a large dark mass of power. Worry crept in to my mind. I didn't know what we were going to face.
"This way," Aletta said, scrambling out of the door, obviously anxious to get away from car. Some fae never get the knack of living in this world. I sometimes wondered why they came over -- though in the case of Aletta I could make a good guess. Even without using overt magic, she still had powers here and they made her important, where on the other side she had never been much more than a dilettante and a spoiled child.
And didn't that make me feel better about having Aletta as my only ally?
I didn't have much trouble keeping pace with Aletta as we climbed upward, pushing through brush and climbing over dead wood. I soon reached a cliff and stood where I could see the road down to the right. The Edge sat to my left, glowing with all its usual beguiling rainbow beauty. I wished I could share the splendor with humans --
I heard the distant call of an eagle shouting a warning and I turned --
Aletta swung a branch at my head, her face set in a grimace of hatred and anger, transforming her into something truly ugly. I would have felt magic coming, but by using the wood I wouldn't have known she was about to attack without the warning. I barely had time to raise my right arm and felt the wood hit. Pain shot from my elbow to my wrist and then up to my shoulder, but she might have hit me across the back of the head, instead. She might have killed me.
I yelled something -- probably not polite -- and lost my balance on the icy rock. My right arm felt as though fire raced through the nerves every time I moved. I grabbed hold of a scraggly, snow-covered bush with my left hand, making certain I didn't slide off the side of cliff.
"Son of a bitch!" Aletta yelled. "Help me! I didn't get her!"
Movement came at me from the shadows of the nearby trees. I couldn't see quite who yet, but I knew anyway.
"Give me some light!" he ordered gruffly.
Aletta cast a ball of light into the air, showing me, as I scrambled away from the cliff and got to my feet. I shouted my own magic, born of anger, pain -- and loss. A wave of force hit Not-David and shoved him into Aletta, who had started to cast her own spell.
Aletta had rolled every bit of power she could have into the spell, and would have killed me if I hadn't managed to deflect some with Not-David's inadvertent help. The lightning struck to the right of me, and I gasped at the heat and leapt aside out of instinct. The bolt shattered a huge spruce tree. I swept the splinters away from me and watched as the remnants of the spell rebounded -- far weaker -- to hit both Aletta and Not-David.
The result was both spectacular and illuminating in a way I hadn't expected.
The strike staggered Aletta and she went to her knees with a gasp of pain. However, the power encircled Not-David -- and for a brief moment I saw another shape overlaying his: the silvery white of a ghost rider without his horse.
Something had taken over his body, just as a fae can take over the body of another animal.
I'd been an idiot.
And I still was. The sight of Not-David (in so many ways Not-David at the moment) took my attention when I should have attacked Aletta. She snarled obscenities as she got to her feet. I sent a wave of power knocking Not-David down on his ass and spun to face her.
I had never felt so enraged in my life. The wave of power I sent at her filled the night with a bright green magic. I heard her scream and she nearly didn't shield in time. I hurt her, but not enough -- and I had nearly depleted all my reserves. I glanced over my shoulder, gauging how fast I could get to the road and my car --
She started to cast. Anger helped her, and she'd always been more powerful than me --
The golden eagle very nearly evened the odds, though.
He swept down out of the trees behind her and grabbed at her shoulder, leaving a long ragged wound as he dragged her a few feet and let go. Her spell went astray and the backlash hit Not-David yet again. This time the power drove the thing out of his body by a couple feet.
He turned to me.
"Kat," he whispered, frightened, lost. "Kat -- I don't know -- don't let her --"
The ghost thing reached for Not-David again.
I did not want this creature to have him -- the evil thing who had taken my friend, went to Aletta and who laughed at me -- and who had tried to kill me.
I hit it with a bolt of force, driving the ghost rider away by at least a yard. I think I would have destroyed the thing if Aletta hadn't leapt over to try and save him. I rushed forward and awkwardly grabbed Not-David. He came with me, unsteady, his eyes wide and his skin pale and cold. Shock, I thought. I couldn't do anything for him because I had to use all the power I could to heal my wounds and get us away.
I glanced back to see a ghost horse coming for his rider. They both appeared to be pale and insubstantial, but I didn't think the weakness would last for long.
Aletta, though, was substantial enough. A cut bled across the side of her face, and her shoulder was drenched in blood where the eagle had grabbed her. She lifted her hand, but Not-David and I slid down the side of the trail and out of sight.
The eagle swept over me.
"Thank you!" I shouted at him. "Go!"
"Get clear! Get away from her!" he shouted and disappeared into the dark.
I heard other wings-- something larger but farther off. I worried for a moment and then I d
idn't care. Whatever flew out there wasn't attacking me. I had real problems to consider.
I expected Aletta to come after us -- Aletta, her friend and all the ghost riders. The thought made me sick with fear, and I slipped, dragging my companion down with me. I had a hard time getting him back to his feet and moving, but we finally reached the car. I had seen no sign of the others at all.
I felt cold, frightened and nearly helpless as I shoved Not-David into the car. His head fell to the side, his face almost snow white -- but he blinked at me as I pulled the seatbelt into place and I thought I could see some reasoning returning. Good. I wanted some answers, and he might have them.
Any answers.
I rushed to the other side and climbed in, hitting the car on and moving so quickly, I nearly buried us in a show drift as we skidded off to the side. I forced calm. I needed to get us to my house and inside the safety of the wards, which would be the best protection we could find.
This time I was smart enough to spread a thin wedge of magic in front of the car like a snow plow. If anyone noticed, they'd think someone with a pickup plow had been through. Though worrying about anything so trivial seemed silly when they were likely to see The Edge itself before too long.
"Kat?" Not-David whispered.
"I'm here," I said and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. He turned to me, his eyes gone half wild as he shivered beneath my fingertips, though I didn't think he felt the cold. "We're going to my place. You'll be safe there --"
We came into view of Estes Park. The storm parted and I stopped the car and gasped with shock and fear.
I could see the shimmering outline of the city I had last seen on the other side of The Edge -- only now the ghostly shape had overlain Estes Park. The high towers, spires and domes were unmistakable, even though they weren't entirely here. I could see ghost riders moving along streets, which -- between blinks of my eyes -- appeared either covered with sand or with snow.
I eased the car forward, holding my breath for fear I would cry out in dismay. I glanced at Not-David, glad to see his eyes closed and his face a little less pale. I didn't want him to look because I feared, even though a human, he would see the golden city, too.
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