Etched in Stone: Twilight Court Book 9

by Amy Sumida

  “There,” Killian whispered as he squeezed my hand.

  “Yeah; I see him,” I said.

  We paused to stare into a shop window while we watched Delli's stalker in the reflection. He was a seelie male, but that was all I could tell. Either he was one of the normal looking ones, or he was masking his strange features under a light glamour. He wasn't even watching for someone who might be following him; he was too intent on the chase. It was a common mistake for those in pursuit. When you're the one doing the chasing, the thought that someone could be chasing you rarely enters your mind.

  But this guy wasn't the only one Lana had sent to watch Solvang. Two more fairies were closing in on Delli; one male and one female. I took a moment to look deeper with my Second Sight and saw nothing more to tell me what types of fairies they were. But, almost on cue, Conri strode up beside us and pointed into the window—right at the reflections of the fairies.

  “An anthousai and selkie,” he said casually. “The other guy is just sidhe.” He took a long sniff and then said, “He smells airy, though. Probably a wind-based mór.”

  “That's a good nose,” I noted.

  “And a far cry better-looking than yours.” Conri nodded to my face.

  I glanced at my reflection in the glass. I had gone a bit large on the nose, but I thought I might as well have fun with the glamour. I shrugged and smiled; showing off my buckteeth.

  “A Greek flower nymph and a seal-shifter,” I said. “Those are some odd choices for goons.”

  “Don't let the flower girls fool you,” Conri said with an annoyed look. “They can be vicious when they want to be.”

  “Says the voice of experience.” I chuckled.

  “Hey, you'd think that a fairy who inspired the word 'nymphomaniac' would be okay with some bold flirtation,” Conri huffed. “Instead, I got my nose shoved in the dirt like a common cur.”

  “Let's move, or we'll lose them,” Killian said as he eased me away from the window.

  Conri followed us after a few minutes.

  “Delli took that corner.” Killian nodded across the street. “Hurry.”

  We had to wait for a pause in traffic, and then we crossed; trying to be casual about it. We made it around the corner just in time to see Delli get surrounded. I didn't notice that he had made it to the entrance of Bad Moon Books. Not until a wild woman came screeching out of the shop to throw herself on the back of one of Luna's thugs. The other two jerked away in shock as the woman tore into the sidhe male.

  “Dora's defending her friend,” Killian said. “You gotta give her props for that.”

  “And she's doing a hell of a job,” Conri added.

  The other two fairies had regrouped. The selkie held Delli tightly while the anthousai jumped into the fray. As the sidhe turned about, trying to dislodge the nattmara, the anthousai balled her fists and struck out. She caught the nattmara in the side, but that did nothing. Her second punch, however, got Dora in the face and sent her tumbling.

  “Told you they're vicious,” Conri muttered. “And they haven't even employed any magic yet.”

  “Not as vicious as a nattmara,” I said as Dora leapt onto the anthousai and started to rent at her with vicious-looking claws.

  The nymph started to scream.

  “Danu damn it!” Daxon hissed as he came up beside us. “If Dora wins, we're screwed.”

  “We need to get her out of that fight without revealing ourselves,” I said as I looked pointedly at Daxon. “And without attracting too much attention.” I angled my gaze to the tourists who were pausing to listen to the anthousai shrieks.

  “You want me to give a nattmara a nightmare?” Daxon asked and then smirked. “It just might work.”

  Daxon took a deep breath and focused on Dora. The rest of us backed away from him as his hands started to glow. But we weren't just getting out of the fallout zone; we also formed a barrier between Daxon and the street so that, hopefully, no innocent passerby would come to investigate.

  Daxon flicked out a hand, and the nattmara fell to the ground, screaming. Her hands went to her head as she rolled into a fetal position. As soon as she was down, I grabbed Daxon and pulled him around the corner with the rest of us. I caught a glimpse of Lana's fairies looking around suspiciously, but they didn't seem to have noticed that they were being watched. When Daxon lost concentration, Dora's screaming became whimpering, and then there was a scuffling sound. I pulled out my receiver and turned up the volume.

  “What the fuck?” A woman's voice came through the little box.

  “Who cares?” A male asked. “Just leave her before some humans show up. Do you know what Lana will do to us if she finds out that we had Delun and then lost him?”

  “You're right,” the woman said grudgingly. “Let's go; I can come back for that bitch later.”

  The sound of footsteps got louder and started echoing outside of the speaker.

  “They're coming our way,” I hissed as I shoved the receiver back in my pocket.

  We split apart and started striding down the street in different directions. I heard Lana's fairies pass behind us and risked a glance over my shoulder.

  “They're putting Delli in a black truck,” I said to Killian.

  Killian pulled out his scry phone and held it to his ear as if it were a cell phone. He scried Torquil and had him alert Desmond that we needed them to bring the vans around. I watched the truck speed off, and then I pulled out my receiver again. Just as Delli passed the city limits, Torquil and Desmond pulled up to the curb, and the rest of our team ran over. We jumped in the vans and raced after Delli and his abductors.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “Where are you taking me?” Delli's “Delun” voice came through the speaker in my hand.

  “Shut up,” one of the fairy males growled. “I've had to walk around that dumb Danish town for days because of you. I don't have the patience to deal with your bullshit.”

  Delli did shut up, but it didn't matter; we were right behind him on the highway, and the tracker was working fine. Of course, he wouldn't know that and was probably worried that we'd lose him. We didn't.

  We followed the truck all the way to San Marino; a pretty ritzy neighborhood for a fairy fugitive to be hiding in. We slowed down as we rolled through the quiet streets and looked at each other with grim faces.

  “She must have fairy-struck another human to use their home,” Killian said. “You gotta hand it to her; at least she has style.”

  “She doesn't have style,” I corrected. “The people she strikes do.”

  “Well, good taste then,” Killian amended.

  “I don't think this is the same situation,” Daxon said with his gaze focused forward.

  The truck had pulled up to a gate—guarded by a human—and a voice came through my receiver.

  “We caught Delun,” one of the men said.

  “It's about time,” the guard replied.

  “You're telling us,” the anthousai muttered.

  The engine revved as the truck headed through the open gate, and I craned my neck to get a look at the house as we drove by. There were more humans roaming manicured grounds, and several cars parked in front of a colonnaded mansion. It was a fast look, and some of the guards may have been fairies, but my instinct was telling me not. Lana was holed up with a human army.

  “We need backup,” Killian said. “We can't just go in as we are. With that many guards visible, there's no telling how many we aren't seeing. And frankly, we need the Extinguishers here in case this gets loud, and the police get called in. A place like this; they'll be here in five minutes tops.”

  “But Delli,” I said. “We can't just leave him.”

  “We'll call the Council House and see if those reinforcements have arrived, and then we wait here and monitor things,” Daxon suggested. “If Delli sounds like he's in trouble, we'll go in. With all of us here, I'm confident that we can handle things. I just don't want to risk Lana getting away. With so many humans to use as living shi
elds and distractions, she could easily outmaneuver us.”

  “Most of those guards are human,” I pointed out. “We could sneak by them under a glamour of invisibility. And all I have to do is put on my helmet.”

  “And stand in front of the rest of us, Miss Magic-Proof,” Conri said.

  “He's right,” I said to Kill and Dax. “I should take point.”

  “I don't want you going in there at all, Twilight,” Killian growled. “Didn't you hear what I said? We're outnumbered, and I don't want a fucking repeat of the Underground debacle.”

  “We won,” I reminded him.

  “Just barely,” he countered.

  “And we nearly lost you in the process,” Daxon whispered as he looked away. “It took everything we had to keep ourselves alive; you weren't the only one depleted.”

  “I know,” I said gently as I took Daxon's hand. “And I'm sorry I did that. But that was an army of fairies, and this is—”

  “An army of fairies and humans,” Killian said. “Twice the risk.”

  “Shut the fuck up!” Gradh growled.

  “What?” Killian looked at her in shock.

  “I've been trying to tell you guys to shut up for the last two minutes,” Gradh said as she pointed to the receiver in my hand. “Listen.”

  We all went quiet, and the conversation we'd been talking over became clear.

  “—days, Delun,” Lana was saying. “After that, I start cutting off fingers.”

  “All right,” Delli/Delun whispered.

  The sound of a door slamming shut reverberated through the mic.

  “Did you guys get all of that?” Delli whispered. “Dear Danu, I hope you did. If not, I'll be dead in five days. Because as soon as she starts cutting me, I won't be able to hold onto this shift. And then she'll really bring the pain.”

  “Hang on, Delli,” I said as if he could hear me. “We're here.”

  “You know that getting in there isn't going to be easy, even if we're invisible,” Conri said as he stared at the estate through a pair of binoculars. “And someone had better get outside and put a Look-Away spell on our vans before one of the neighbors call the police. On a street full of Maseratis and Lamborghinis, these vans stand out like a pair of bums at High Tea.”

  “I'm on it,” Ainsley said as he opened the side door. “And I'll let the others know what we're doing.”

  “What do you mean; it won't be easy?” I asked Conri.

  “I can see the shimmer of wards, and that's on top of human security systems,” Conri reported. “And they have dogs. Invisibility ain't gonna fool the dogs; they'll smell us in a second.”

  “Fucking dogs,” Gradh grumbled. “Always making things difficult.”

  “Ha-ha,” Conri huffed.

  “The good news is; it sounds as if we have five days to get to Delli,” Daxon said. “That's more than enough time for the reinforcements to arrive.”

  “Just kidding,” Lana's voice came through the receiver. “You're making me another box right now, or I'm taking off your pinky.”

  “Okay; you win!” Delli screamed.

  “Excellent!” Lana exclaimed. “Come with me.”

  “Fuck,” I hissed as I rummaged in my bag.

  “What happened?” Ainsley asked as he came back into the van.

  “We have to go in now,” Daxon said. “Get the others. Killian, notify Councilman Murdock. I want someone to know where we are if things go south.”

  “On it,” Kill said.

  Ainsley was already heading back to the other van. I found the helmet and put it on while everyone else used a glamour to go invisible. By the time the rest of our group joined us, only Daxon was visible.

  “Everyone stay together,” Daxon said. “We'll fly over the walls, and I'll handle any dogs that may come sniffing. Sanna will take care of the wards, and the rest of you will handle any other altercations that may arise.”

  “She took me down to a laboratory in the basement,” Delli's whisper interrupted us. “If you're listening, please hurry. I don't know how long I can fake this.”

  “You heard him,” Daxon said. “We need to get to the basement. Seren is taking lead on this since she has immunity against the gorgon magic. And all of you will let her.” He stared hard at the visible members of my Guard and then shifted that glare over the empty spaces where the rest of us stood. “I know your job is to protect her, but today, she's our shield, and no one here wants to wind up like Reese, right?”

  Those who could be seen didn't look happy, but they nodded.

  “Good,” Daxon growled. “Seren, step up next to me so we can all get a good look at your energy signature.”

  “I'm here,” I said as I moved next to Dax.

  “What the fuck?” Killian growled. “I can't see you, sweetheart. Nothing; not even an aura.”

  “What?” I asked in surprise.

  “Sweet Goddess,” Daxon murmured. “The helmet grants true invisibility. You can't be seen in any way, Princess.”

  “Well, that could come in handy,” I murmured.

  “No kidding,” Daxon said. “Perhaps you'll even shield our energy from Lana's fairies.”

  “Remind me to thank Dagur again,” I said.

  “Hell, remind me to thank Dagur,” Killian added. “I don't care if he has the hots for you if it ends up saving our asses.”

  “All right, new plan,” Daxon announced. “Everyone follow my energy. I'll hold Seren's hand.”

  “How sweet,” Killian said. “Now, let's move, people; we're burning daylight.”

  “Right, let's go.” I pulled Daxon across the street with me.

  There was a ward on the wall that bordered the property, but Sanna made short work of it. The iron spikes at the top of the cement wall were more daunting, but as long as the other fairies didn't touch the spikes, they'd be fine. Kill and I were immune to iron—one of the perks of being part human—but full-blooded fairies could be injured just by touching the stuff.

  We used our Air magic to levitate up and over the walls; coming down softly on the other side. There were humans patrolling the area, but they were easy enough to avoid, and we didn't even have trouble with the dogs. The first few hurdles surmounted, we went in a side door and ended up in the kitchen. I prayed that our luck held, but I wasn't sure that Anu was even listening.

  At the door leading out of the kitchen, I stood and listened. A murmur of voices came from the right. To the left, there was a hallway that looked promising, so I headed in that direction and carefully opened doors as I went; looking for the stairs to the basement. They weren't in that corridor at all, nor were they to our immediate right, but we crept quietly along the sprawling ground floor until we made it to the correct door without issue. One human passed by us, but we flattened ourselves against the wall, and he kept going.

  Finally, we made it down to the basement. The first room was one of those home theaters with a screen on one wall, a projector across from it, and recliners in between. It was empty, but it led to a lounging area with a brass bar. The bar was occupied by Lana, her lover Gareth, and several other fairies. I recognized them all; everyone but Gareth was an ex-monarch of the Undergrounds. They laughed and drank their wine like nothing was wrong in their world.

  “Soon, we'll have another box, and each of you can use it to take some magic for yourselves,” Lana said to the others. “Delun is hard at work as we speak”—she waved toward a hallway to her left—“afraid that I'll start chopping off his fingers.”

  Lana cackled, and the other fairies followed suit. I silently thanked her for the timely directions and headed down the hallway. I glanced back for a moment and saw Gareth pause his adoring petting of Lana's hair to focus on our group. A small smile twisted his lips, and a warning shiver went down my back, but it was too late. As soon as we were all inside the hallway, a door slammed behind us, and the floor fell away.

  A booby trap; it was an honest-to-goddess booby trap. I had about two seconds to bask in my disbelief over the In
diana Jones twist before I fell onto a cold floor. I felt something snap, and pain shot through my forearm. But my groaning was only one part of the painful chorus coming from our team.

  “Seren?” Killian asked as he went visible. “Are you okay? Where are you, honey?”

  “I think I broke my arm,” I muttered as the floor—now the ceiling—slid back into place above us.

  “Anyone else injured?” Daxon asked.

  The rest of them went visible to report that mine was the only serious injury. There was no sense in hiding now; at least not for them.

  “Keep that helmet on, Twilight,” Killian whispered. “I hear someone coming.”

  “A lot of someones,” Daxon growled.

  The wall in front of us slid open to reveal iron bars that went from floor to ceiling. Everyone except Killian and I hissed at the feeling of so much iron... and one other thing.

  “Fuck; I feel something too,” Killian hissed.

  “It's a null spell,” Daxon growled. “It's dampening our magic.”

  “I feel fine,” I whispered.

  “That's a hell of a relic you're wearing if it can block a null,” Daxon whispered back. “It may save more than your life today.”

  “Well, look who we've caught, Gareth,” Lana said conversationally to her man as she strolled in on his arm. The other royals flowed in behind them. “Royal intruders—” Lana stopped short as her cocky gaze scanned our cell and then went confused. “Where is she?” Lana stomped to the bars and stared through them with narrowed eyes. “I know she was with you. Where is Seren Firethorn?!”

  “How could you know that?” Daxon countered.

  I flattened against the wall, and realized that it was iron too; the entire cell was lined in the stuff. That would help with the null spell. But I was fine with it, and I'd stay fine as long as Lana didn't find me. With that thought in mind, I slowly reached into my jacket and turned off the receiver. The last thing I needed was Delli saying something and giving me away.