The riders bowed. I grabbed Adrian by the arm and pulled him to the side of the road, closer to the others than I wanted to be, but he understood. He held Cato tight and we bowed with the rest of the soldiers.
I saw Aletta turn to look out over the army.
"A problem?" Timur asked.
"I -- this magic makes me crazy," she said. "I feel her everywhere."
"But surely not here," he replied, and waved a hand which seemed to point directly at the three of us.
"The fae have powers to deceive," she said, but turned away and kicked her horse into a faster trot. "But not Kitty. She never had the ability to do any real magic."
Oh how tempting to drop a lightning bolt right on her pretty little head right then. Instead, I used her words to strengthen the power of our disguise. Aletta glanced back frowning, no doubt wondering about the little spark of power she felt. The two rode on to the top of the hill, but they didn't go into the building. We milled about with the others for a moment until I was certain everyone watched their ruler and his . . . companion. We headed down the road and into the shadows. No one stopped us or asked questions. I realized they were still mostly show -- not enough there to understand what they saw.
I made certain we were well out of sight before I finally dropped the spell. Adrian caught hold of my arm when I almost went down.
"I think your cousin is going to be in for a shock when this is all done," Adrian said and even grinned at the idea. How could you not like a guy who offered such sweet words at a time when you began to believe she might be right?
"I don't think we have much time left," I admitted, glancing back at the building. I felt pressure from it and that came from more than just magic. "Tamerlane's place is too real already. I hope the magic hasn't done irreparable damage to the Stanley Hotel already. I get the feeling they jinxed the power early on -- that's why the hotel was cleared out. I hope nothing damages it."
"The hotel survived The Shining. It will survive this."
I laughed agreement. He put his arm across my shoulder and we walked on, listening for the sound of horses. Cato walked ahead, far more silent than usual.
"I understand your worry, Kat. We need to find a way to stop this from going any farther, and worry about the damage they've already done afterwards. You need to concentrate on what to do to end this."
"Concentrate." I needed a few more answers. Knowledge is power. I needed to think like a fae. "Cato, I need to find out where Aletta and Timur are when they're not here. I can't see them bedding down with the troops -- at least not Aletta."
"I'll go find a few friends and we'll see what we can learn." He came closer and reached out to bat at my leg. "They haven't done anything to stop us so far, Kat. Timur is relying on Aletta and her magic, and I think he doesn't know she's not very strong."
"She's stronger than I am."
"Is she? What has she done so far that you haven't been able to counteract? Not this show with the riders and the buildings -- we both know this isn't her."
"I --" I stopped and bent to rub his ears. "Thank you. Be careful."
"We'll find the answers, Kat." Cato brushed against me and then turned to go.
And stopped.
We all did. I could hear the flap of very big wings, high up in the clouds, where I couldn't see anything but the movement they made in the mists. We stood very still, all three of us. Something circled, and for a brief moment I could almost make out the shape of a wing and maybe a long, sinewy neck.
Silence filled the night.
Snow began to fall again.
And as Cato walked away I could hear him whispering.
"There are no dragons, there are no dragons, there are no dragons."
Chapter Nineteen
Just after dawn the next morning, a scrawny half-grown black kitten with huge golden eyes came to tell us he'd tracked Aletta to her hiding place. I don't know how he managed, out there in the snow and the storm. The wind alone should have blown him off into Kansas. But he gave Cato detailed directions on where to find Aletta, and finally nibbled a little food, almost too weak to eat more. I petted him and gave him strength and a place to rest. He already looked better before we left.
Cato, Shakespeare and Gaylord came with us this time. I didn't know how long we'd be gone or if humans would arrive at the store today, so I couldn't leave them behind. The stray cats could slip out through the cat door, and while the two birds could have followed, this was not the kind of weather either of them should be out in. Besides, I wanted them with us.
Aletta had taken a condo out by Marys Lake; a fancy, expensive place, and damned near impossible to get near because of the protection spells. We found refuge in a partially finished condo with line of sight to where Aletta stayed. The storms were not as bad now, and the winds had swept the snow off the balcony. I saw her briefly step out onto her own balcony as the wind and snow blew around her. The light from her condo glowed so brightly, I feared she might even see us, sitting on the plain wood floor behind sliding glass windows.
Adrian watched and gave a little shudder. "She acts like a queen surveying her world."
Aletta turned around and went in. I carefully felt out the place, but I couldn't find any way to get to her.
"The spells are too strong," I admitted, checking over the rolling yards and the frozen lake to the left, trying to find a weakness. White on white everywhere. I longed for spring, but my wishes wouldn't help us. "I don't think this is her work. Someone wants to make certain she's safe. We'll never get in."
"But we know where she is." Adrian sounded optimistic for some reason I couldn't fathom at the moment. Maybe staying in a half-finished building appealed to him more than wandering around the snowy streets. "We can watch her, at least."
"True." I settled on the floor and he moved closer so I could lean against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me. Suddenly the idea of sitting here didn't seem so bad. Cato even came and nestled into my lap and Shakespeare found a beam to sit on and appeared quite content. He'd been quieter since we figured out the poem. I thought he seemed less crazed, too.
I wanted to know what had happened to him and how he happened on the Tamerlane poem. He'd come to me before the trouble started -- no, only before I noticed the trouble. I think, maybe, something tried to give me warning. I should have been paying more attention to him, and to the nuthatches.
I didn't see Gaylord for a moment. I found him on the floor watching through the sliding glass door toward Aletta's condo. He stared intently for a while, tilted his head, and finally nodded a few times before he turned to me.
"I can get in."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Gaylord," I replied, shaking my head.
"Come on, boss -- do you want to know what she's doing or not? You want to know if she's there alone? I can get in and out."
"She knows not to trust birds. She may have set a trap --"
"So tell me if she has, boss." Gaylord stared straight into my face. "And then tell me some more why I can't help."
I wanted to say it wasn't safe for a little bird to go out there -- but he wasn't a nuthatch who wouldn't have been able to tell me anything useful, and who likely would have gotten distracted and caught anyway.
"Sit still for a few minutes. I'm going to do a very careful search before you go anywhere near the condo."
He settled beside me, watching the building with the same intensity I did.
Aletta's hideaway had all the spells paranoia could provide. I felt them all around the doors, the windows. And even the chimney. I started to shake my head --
And I found the chink in the armor.
"The spells only work if she has the place sealed closed. Every time she steps out on the balcony she breaks the seal until she goes back in."
"So I need to get in while she's out," Gaylord said. He tilted his head. "We need one of them little spycams from TV. I can tell you what I see and hear, but it would be better if you could see yourself."
&nb
sp; "Spycam." I managed not to laugh. Gaylord had plainly watched too much television. "I don't have any spycams. And she'd detect any spell."
"I guess it's up to me, boss," he answered.
"I'm going to have to strip all the magic away from you, Gaylord. You're going to be cold out there."
"It isn't far." He tapped at the glass. "And now's the time. There she is again."
"I don't know if you'll find anything, Gaylord --"
"And you won't know until I try. Open the window, boss."
Against my gut feeling and every worry which suddenly sprang to mind, I pulled the magic from him and inched the door open. Gaylord scooted out before I had a chance to change my mind, and I slid the door closed with a sigh of worry.
Adrian's arms tightened around me and Cato lifted his head to watch. Shakespeare came from his roost and pressed his beak against the window.
Gaylord swept in low under Aletta's line of sight, and I nearly lost track of him in the gentle fall of snow. At the last moment I saw him flap twice, glide upward and land on the balcony behind Aletta. He walked inside.
I held my breath, hoping he'd scurry out but Aletta went inside and closed the door behind her.
"Let's hope she continues to be restless." I learned forward to watch, forcing myself to remain calm.
"I think she's waiting for someone," Cato said.
That possibility hadn't occurred to me. I feared he might be right. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I didn't know he was going inside. I thought he'd fly around and look in the windows. Don't worry, Kat. I could be wrong."
"I don't think so." I felt a little bell go off in my head. Literally. My spell finally worked! "Something came through The Edge and is heading straight for us! Down!"
I shoved Adrian backwards so fast his head thumped against the floor. I grabbed Shakespeare and Cato leapt close to us as I bent over and threw a big blanket of nothing over the top of us.
"We're nothing. We're nothing."
It's difficult to create nothing out of a world filled with somethings. I could see where my blanket frayed along the edges, and Adrian's boot stuck out. I hastily threw more nothing over us.
And Aletta's guest arrived.
I could feel the fae coming because he cast spells searching for others everywhere. I had thought the wards around Aletta's hideaway showed a little more than usual paranoia but this proved to be ten times worse. He checked the buildings around the townhouse, and in a moment the air above us filled with the magic of detecting spells.
"We are nothing, we are nothing, we are nothing."
The spells lingered, I thought, for too long. I felt my heart pounding, and I kept whispering my mantra, holding on to the spell, holding tight to my friends, waiting for discovery --
The light died as the detection spell slipped away. I held a moment longer, and another, but I slowly lifted my head and watched cautiously to where Aletta stepped out again. A man in a long dark cape pulled her into an embrace before they walked into the building.
"Oh hell," I whispered, my voice shaky. I caught hold of Adrian's arm as he started to sit up. "Sorry --"
"We weren't found. You did fine." Adrian wrapped his arms around me. Shakespeare and Cato snuggled close. I had begun to shiver.
"Gaylord." I whispered.
"I get the feeling Gaylord is an inventive little guy," Adrian answered, a soft whisper at my ear. "Wait and see what happens."
"Be ready if the fae leaves," I warned, taking deep breaths. I tried to pull more magic in from the air, but I had to do so carefully, and not draw attention. I needed the magic to cover us again, or else we had to leave right now, get out of the area --
And leave Gaylord behind.
I took another deep breath and forced calm. I would not abandon him.
The visitor stayed for a long time, which helped me gather magical strength. I did nothing to draw attention because whoever had come to see Aletta had far more power than me.
Calm. Wait.
The door began to slide open. I tried to catch a glimpse of the person visiting Aletta, standing there with the hallo of light around him, but I didn't dare take the time to study. Adrian already flattened himself, probably to avoid another bump on the head, and Cato and Shakespeare leaned in close to me as I bent over them.
Calmer this time. "We are nothing, we are nothing."
I almost couldn't make the spell work, and I panicked, frantically grabbing at strands of the magic, trying to keep us unnoticed as I spread the shield of nothing over us again.
I feared he must have felt my frantic magic, but he passed over without pause. I finally dared to lift my head and watch Aletta standing on the balcony.
Behind her, Gaylord scurried out, dropped over the side of the balcony and into a snow covered bush below. I nearly laughed with joy, but I held most of the magic in place, waiting.
Aletta finally went inside and slid the door closed.
I dropped the spell and reached for the door. I could already see Gaylord, a frantic flap of wings, heading our way.
"Thank God he's safe," Adrian whispered softly. The words made me love him even more, if that were possible.
I opened the door enough for Gaylord to get in. He arrived with his beak chattering from the cold, and threw himself into my lap. Both Shakespeare and Cato snuggled in beside him, and in a moment he pushed his head out from between the larger bird's wing and Cato's fur.
"Hey, this ain't half bad. The big fur ball is kind of warm and he rumbles like a vibrator --"
"He's purring, Gaylord," I said, stopping him from going any farther with that analogy. I gave him a little magic to help get warm.
"I didn't expect the fae guy." Gaylord shimmied his way out from between the two and began to talk, his wings fluttering in obvious agitation. "I'm sorry I couldn't hear much -- I couldn't get close enough to either of them. Right before he arrived, though, she talked to someone using a necklace with a big bright green stone she wears around her neck. I couldn't clearly see the face, but I think it was the same guy."
"That might explain how she can reach across The Edge and I can't." I wanted to think she had some special link, and it wasn't because I was weak. "The stone has a spell embedded and she triggers it to reach whomever she has tied to the other end. The magic wouldn't be easy to track in the rest of this mess. Do you think she called the person to come over?"
"I don't know what she told him, but she seemed a little upset. When he arrived I hid behind the television and kept an eye on them. I figured I would be safe behind something techie, but it scared the shit out of me to be so close to two fae. I hope they don't find it."
"You were very wise." I patted his head. He rubbed against my fingers and fluffed his crown up, preening for a moment. He nestled next to Cato, obviously still cold. "Okay, when the big guy comes in, he hugs her and kisses her on the forehead. I feared things would get out of hand, but they broke the clinch and she goes to the sofa and he settles in the chair. They talk. And they kept laughing. I think. . . ." He stopped and shook his little head. "I think they kept saying a name, one you guys say sometimes."
"Tamerlane?" I asked.
"Yeah, I think so." He bobbed his head several times. "Tamerlane. And then they'd laugh."
Oh, now that sounded interesting. I repeated his story for Cato and Adrian.
"Sounds as though maybe things aren't as tight between Aletta and Tamerlane as he thinks," Adrian said and shrugged. "But we can't really know."
"The necklace, though --" I stopped and explained about the stone. "I want the necklace. The stone should be a direct link to whomever she talked to. I want to know who is on the other end."
"You couldn't tell when he flew over?" Cato asked.
"No. I didn't dare try to test out his magic or he would have found us. What did he look like, Gaylord?"
"Tall, dark haired, mustache, dressed-funny --"
"Someone who doesn't come to this side often. They all dress odd over there
," I explained. His description could have fitted half the fae males I knew. A powerful one, but I tend to think all fae are more powerful than me. I didn't know how to judge.
We stayed for a while longer, and eventually the lights dimmed in the other condo, so Aletta must have gone to bed. I tested out the magic once more, hoping to find another chink -- but she remained safe behind the wards and I saw no way I could get to her. I considered staying around and trying to catch her after she came out, but I couldn't guarantee she would be alone. I didn't think we should sit here and waste time.
Time to move on.
"Cato, can you get some cats to keep an eye on the area and let me know when she comes out, and maybe where she goes? But carefully -- really carefully, because she won't hesitate to kill any of you."
"Like she probably killed Pawford, Abbie and the others." Cato's eyes went dark and anger came to his face. "Don't worry. We already know what kind of person she is, Kat."
I walked with him down the stairs to the door to let him out. "Meet us at the grocery store, Cato. Don't stay out too long, either. I worry about you."
He had started to step out, but came back to rub against my leg, his tail curling up and brushing my knee. I bent and gave him an extra scritch behind the ears and he left with a rumble of a purr, even as he darted out into the damned snow, which had started to fall harder again. The magic the fae had used triggered more bad weather, of course -- but no worse than we'd been seeing before this.
I climbed the stairs and found Adrian had shared some crackers with the birds. They sat starting at the dark condo and munching away like kids watching a movie on TV. They made me laugh a little, and brightened the mood.
"Come on. We'll head to the store for the rest of the night and see if there is word from any of the other cats. I don't think staying here is really going to help, and this place isn't very safe."
Adrian grabbed his jacket and pack. The two birds both sighed with resignation, neither happy about going out into the snow, even with my fae powers to keep them safe and warm.
I couldn't say I blamed them. I wanted to rest, but not here, so close to Aletta, and where the other fae might arrive, and catch us by surprise.
Kat Among The Pigeons Page 24