by Ramy Vance
As we passed through the kitchen, Moira set the kettle to boil, then motioned for us to follow her. We rounded a corner and entered a much smaller study than the war room. It was filled with test tubes and glass beakers containing jewel-toned liquor.
Moira stopped in front of a large bookshelf and pulled down an ancient-looking, leather-bound book. She opened it, flipped a few pages, then sat it down in front of us on the table. “There is only one plant in all the world that could be responsible.” She turned the book sideways so we could see the inscription below the etching.
Mary leaned forward, then lurched back, sucking in her breath. “Thistle of salt … but how? It’s been gone from this world for over a century.”
“The only way this would be possible is if it were brought here from another plane. I would also think this seriously reduces your suspect pool.”
Great—our killer is someone who gets off on out-of-body nature walks?
“My, she’s an odd duck,” Moira quipped with a glance at me.
“She takes some getting used to, to say the least,” Mary quipped.
“And you claim that I have no manners. Let me tell you …”
The kettle whistle screamed, drowning out my highly offensive retort. We followed Moira back to the kitchen and stayed for a cup of tea. As hard as it was for me to eat since I’d been turned, I’d fortunately not lost my taste for tea. It was a custom blend of mint, ginger and thyme. Astringent, but refreshing. I complimented Moira on her blending skills.
“Thank you, dear. I thought it might help clear your mind so you can focus on solving your mystery.”
Mary sighed. “I’m afraid we’re going to need more than tea to help solve this case.”
I hated to admit it, but Mary was right. She remained quiet and self-absorbed on the walk back to the palace. When we arrived back, we headed straight for the war room, where Mary paced back and forth, chewing on her thumbnail and muttering to herself.
“So are you going to clue me in, Sherlock?”
Mary sighed again and flopped down in Bob’s napping chair. “I’ve been avoiding speaking my mind because I hate the thought of where it leads. If Moira is correct, and I’ve no reason to believe she isn’t, whoever is behind this has access to ancient and powerful magic. The ability to walk the planes of the past is beyond rare and points to someone with the most advanced level of magic. The ability to do so, and the willingness to extinguish the life force of two as powerful and high-placed as Gaelyn and Kalysta, means this being poses a formidable threat.”
“OK, but doesn’t this prove that Aldie is innocent? It sounds like this kind of magic would take a crap-ton of focus, and Aldie seriously lacks discipline. I doubt he’d be capable of walking backward, or whatever you called it.”
“Unfortunately, Katrina, the ability to walk the planes is most common among the royals. It allows them to seek the counsel of their ancestors who’ve left this plane for the next. Aldermemnon received training from an early age.”
“OK, then who else among the court has the ability?” I asked. “I mean it has to be an elf, right?”
“Who indeed?” Mary began pacing while she contemplated the answer to her own question.
My stomach growled loud enough that it drew Mary’s attention.
“It’s getting late. You should return to your chambers and handle your stomach situation while I make my rounds. I wouldn’t want Lady Amaryl to notice our absence and get suspicious. I’ll join you later, after Bob’s returned.”
Rat blood wasn’t my idea of haute cuisine, but it kept my stomach from protesting. It tasted like ass, but at least my conscience was clean even if my mind was distracted. I ran through the evidence about a hundred more times and finally came to the realization that without a motive, we were not going to be able to zero in on the right suspects.
I was just about to go find Mary when Bob careened through my window, crash-landing on my bed. “Um sweet cheeks, you know I like my chicks a little on the freaky side, but you got some schmutz on your chin and it’s kind of creeping me out.”
I wiped my chin with the sleeve of my dress just as Mary showed up. I braced myself for the lecture, but she completely ignored my fashion foul.
“It’s a lovely evening for a walk. Let’s get some fresh air.”
Bob and I followed Mary into the hallway. As we rounded the corner to the stairs, we encountered Lady Amaryl and a handful of her guards.
“Ah, there you are. You’ve been keeping a such low profile that I wondered where the three of you had scurried off to. I was beginning to suspect you’d ignored my warning and were out meddling in the investigation.”
Mary was quick to reply. “Is there something we can do for you, Lady Amaryl?”
“I have no use for any of you, and once Aldermemnon is sentenced I’m afraid you’ll all have to come to terms with the reality that none within this court has use for any of you.”
I admired Mary’s ability to ignore Amaryl’s goading. Personally, I wanted to rip her throat out and spit in the hole, but I decided to go with a verbal gutting instead.
“Once Aldie is released, I am going to enjoy snapping your neck and draining your wretched essence.”
Amaryl sneered, obviously not finding me amusing. That’s probably why Mary reached back, grabbed my arm and dragged me through the throng of guards. I almost peed myself laughing when Bob called out, “Incoming,” as he flapped his way overtop Amaryl.
Once we reach the courtyard, Mary wheeled around until she spotted Bob and shook her fist at him as he made large, lazy circles above our heads. “Robert, was that really necessary?”
“No, but you gotta admit it was friggin’ hysterical.”
“I’m with Bob. It was epic.”
“No, it was foolish. We cannot afford to make Amaryl an even bigger enemy than she is already.”
“Feck that harpy,” Bob chirped.
“Good one, Bob,” I chuckled.
Mary glared at us. “I don’t want to hear another word out of either of you until we reach my study.”
She turned and stomped off toward the greenhouse. Other than a few stifled giggles, we managed to avoid any further wrath.
Once we reached the chamber I headed toward the large door we’d entered on our last visit, but Mary was standing in front of a much smaller, gilded door. She placed her palm in the center of the door and I watched in amazement as more of the weird symbols appeared. This time they glowed like jewels.
“OK, I thought you were human. How are you doing that?”
“Magic isn’t exclusive to the elves, Katrina. With proper training, any creature can master the magical arts. I was raised at Gaelyn’s side—what he learned, I learned.”
I knew Mary had come to the UnSeelie court as a baby, but Aldie’s family seldom spoke of it. I got the impression it was some sort of elven secret I wasn’t supposed to be privy to.
Once we were safely inside, Bob settled into his favorite napping chair and I took a seat at the table while Mary messed with her murder board.
With her back still toward us, Mary started talking. “OK, as Moira pointed out, our killer has to be someone with the ability to walk the planes where salt of thistle still grows. This narrows our suspects pool down to a handful of people among the royal families of the courts.”
“Courts?” I repeated. “As in, plural?”
Mary looked at me like I was dense. “Yes, just because the members of the Seelie court are kinder than UnSeelie elves does not mean they are not capable of murder, Katrina.”
I let her slight slide and finished my question. “I thought the courts had declared a truce. Why would anyone want to risk disrupting the peace?”
Bob hopped up on the chair’s arm and shook out his feathers. “I paid a visit to our friends on the Seelie side, and I gotta tell you: something not quite right with this whole mess. They’re usually pretty quick to share intel, but they seemed hesitant, almost like they’re afraid of something. I’m starting to think there�
�s more to all this than meets the beak, if you catch my drift.”
I spun around and locked eyes with Bob. “Tell me exactly what they told you, and don’t leave anything out.”
“That’s the thing—they didn’t say much. It was more like they were pumping me for info. They did want me to tell you some hokum about the sweet scent of a flower being an illusion that masks the stench of death. Like I said, they were acting weird.”
Mary grabbed a piece of paper from the table and quickly wrote down the message. She pinned it to the board, then stepped back, crossing her arms over her ample chest and stared at the board. I got up and moved to her side. She gave me an appraising look, then returned to her contemplation.
“I don’t think their message is hokum, Bob. I think it’s a clue. Salt of thistle was the killer’s poison of choice, and it’s a flower,” Mary said. “What I can’t figure out is how Gaelyn and Kalysta came in contact with it. Maybe this is trying to tell us that it was in their food and that the aroma of the food concealed the smell.”
“No, that can’t be it,” I muttered. “Neither of them touched their food. I remember asking Aldie if he knew why they weren’t eating.”
Mary gave me look that was equal parts impressed and annoyed. “Well, if not in their food, then how did they come into contact with the poison?”
Bob jumped from the chair to the edge of the table. “It must have been in the booze, then.”
Mary seemed to consider this for a moment, then shook her head. “No, that’s not possible, either. Katrina and Aldermemnon shared cups with Gaelyn and Kalysta. If the poison has been in the wine, they’d have fallen ill as well.”
A deep silence overtook the room for a few moments, then it hit me. “The orchids.”
Mary gasped. “Bloody hell, that’s brilliant. It’s also exactly what the message is trying to tell us.”
Mary and I stared at one another, the same thought passing between us. I was the first one to vocalize it. “We need to find out what happened to the orchids after the ceremony.”
Mary and I were halfway out the door before Bob even registered what I’d said. Not only did Mary have the body of a goddess, she had the speed of a gazelle. Her long, powerful legs allowed her to take the steps two at a time while I tripped on the hem of my dress at least twice trying to keep up with her.
Bob, on the other hand, had no problem. He quickly caught up, sailed past Mary and disappeared.
At the top of the stairs, Mary stopped so fast I almost plowed her over. She grabbed my arm and yanked me behind a huge potted fichus. She clapped a hand over my mouth and whispered for me to stay quiet. She had no idea how close she came to getting bit for real this time.
She slowly released her grip, and I eased up to peek over the top of the pot. I cussed under my breath as I spotted Lady Amaryl’s guards loading the orchid case into a cart.
I ducked back down and gestured for Mary to follow me. We crept along the row of plants and stopped a few feet away from the guards. I saw Marion, Amaryl’s right-hand elf, leaning against the edge of the cart watching the rest of them struggle with the heavy glass case.
When Marion spoke, his tone was rife with boredom. “Is this going to take much longer? Amaryl wants this off the palace grounds tonight, and you all know what happens when Amaryl doesn’t get what she wants.”
Marion had apparently hit a nerve, because the guards finished quickly and left without another word.
Once they were gone, I followed Mary out of the greenhouse. She made a beeline to the edge of the woods, where we found Bob waiting for us in a large tree. We followed him deep into the forest until we reached a rocky outcropping. He disappeared inside a small opening in the rocks, muttering something about giving him a second to light the torches. A few minutes later, the soft glow of firelight filled the opening. Bob reappeared and made a few lazy circles above us before disappearing back in the hole.
Mary hung back and let me enter first. I initially assumed it was a rare moment of politeness, but all illusion of civility was quickly shattered when Mary’s foot connected with my backside, propelling me through the opening. I tumbled forward, landing with a thud on the other side and narrowly avoiding a full-on face plant. I snarled as Mary shot though the opening, landing gracefully on her feet.
“Welcome to my nest, ladies,” Bob said. “This is where the magic happens, if you catch my drift.”
I stopped glaring at Mary and looked around in amazement. The tiny opening gave no clue as to the size of the enormous cave behind it. There were torches set every few feet along the perimeter and a large, candlelit altar occupied the far back corner. I moved closer and saw what looked like a large bird’s nest in the center.
Bob fluttered over and gently landed beside the nest. “Katrina, this is my sister Emma. Emma, this is the lovely Katrina Darling.”
I felt awkward. I wasn't exactly sure what my reaction should be. I'd never met an un-hatched anything before so I just went with, “Um hey, unhatched egg thing, how’s it going?”
Fortunately, Bob seemed to sense my awkwardness.
"I know it seems kind of weird, keeping an egg around. Deep down, I know Emma's never coming out of there, but it was my mom's dying request and I'm a bird of my word."
I reached over and scratched Bob’s neck. "Actually, Bob, I think it's sweet."
I took a tentative step back from the altar and looked around to see where Mary had gotten to. She'd taken a seat on a large boulder near the opening of the cave, and for the first time since this whole mess started, Mary looked truly tired.
"So, am I the only one who thinks it wasn't a coincidence that Amaryl's guards were moving the orchid case right after we realize that the orchids were the murder weapon?" I asked quietly.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Mary stood, dusted off the front of her gown and walked to the center of the cave. "No Katrina, of course not. Amaryl is most definitely behind this, or at least, very deeply involved. Now the question becomes, how do we prove it?"
I bit down hard on my lip, trying to decide if I should ask what was on my mind or keep it to myself.
"I can see the hamster in your brain working overtime, Katrina. Why don't you just ask before you strain something vital?" Mary snarked.
"Um, first, you're mean when you're tired. Second, I'm wondering if Amaryl did this out of jealousy or greed."
Mary paced a few minutes in silence, then stopped and took a seat on the rock again. Bob flew over and settled on a ledge just above her. Mary motioned to a smaller boulder a few feet away, and I took a seat. She spent the next ten minutes explaining to me the entirety of what had happened between Lady Amaryl, Lord Gaelyn and Lady Kalysta.
I'd heard bits and pieces of the story, but there was way more to it than I'd imagined. Now that I knew the whole story, I felt sure that Amaryl’s motive was both jealousy and greed. She was one vengeful bitch.
“So why are we still here?” I said. “Let’s go prove Amaryl’s behind this.”
Mary shook her head. “Not so fast, Katrina. We need to be subtle about this. Robert, I need you to go back to our friends in the Seelie Court. Let them know that now is not the time to close ranks and stop communicating. Do whatever it takes to find out what it is they’re afraid of. My gut’s telling me they know more than they’re saying.”
“I’m on it like a bonnet,” Bob replied.
Mary turned to me next. “Come Katrina, I think it’s time we pay a visit to Lord Neighlor.”
“Um, isn’t that Amaryl’s father?” I asked.
Mary looked annoyed again. “Yes, it is. I’m curious why he made the sudden decision to cede his seat to his daughter. He may be an elder, but he’s certainly not ready to walk the fields of forever green just yet.”
I usually trusted Mary’s judgement, but my fiancé’s fate rested on us finding the killer, and I wasn’t convinced that angering Amaryl was in Aldie’s best interest.
Mary moved like a cheetah. How the hell she cou
ld navigate through the dark woods so gracefully in a full skirt and high-heeled boots was beyond me. By the time we reached the palace grounds, she was practically sprinting and I was out of breath.
“Katrina, keep up. We’re running out of time, and we can’t afford to dilly dally.”
If I’d had enough breath to tell her off I would have, but I didn’t, so I just flashed her my fangs.
Mary huffed. “When we get there, perhaps you should let me do the talking. You seem a bit testy at the moment.”
“Ya think? Maybe you should spend more time trying to find our killer and less time trying to kill me with all this running around.”
Once inside the palace, Mary finally slowed to a trot and I was able to catch my breath. She made a beeline to Lord Neighlor’s wing. I was surprised to find the door wide open, and even more surprised that Mary took the liberty of just waltzing right in unannounced.
“Mary—we can’t just invade Lord Neighlor’s privacy. He may have passed his seat to Amaryl, but he’s still an elder of the UnSeelie Court and we’re … “
“More than welcome here, Katrina,” said a deep male voice.
Lord Neighlor was standing in the archway separating his sitting room from his terrace. He held a pair of shears in one hand and a small bouquet of exotic flowers in the other. “Come ladies, let me show you my gardens.”
He turned and glided across the terrace, disappearing down the stairs. Mary followed quickly behind. She was across the terrace and down the stairs before I even reached the doorway. She turned and motioned for me to hurry. When I finally caught up, they were standing in front of a huge raised bed of Scottish primrose. Instead of the small purple flowers that dotted the countryside, this bed contained at least a dozen different colors.
Lord Neighlor brushed his hand across the tops of the flowers closest to him and smiled. “Stunning, aren’t they?”
“Yes, exquisite,” Mary replied. “I’ve never seen these colors. They must be quite rare.”
“Yes, rare indeed. These were a gift from Amaryl. She loves to bring me back plants from her travels.”