by Luna Lindsey
Pogswoth pointed to the bottle in his hand. “Bring some glasses.”
Sandy nodded with finality. She grabbed a handful of shot glasses from the bar and headed out the back door with Hollis and Gretel.
This time, Sandy held the shotgun, and kept it leveled at him even as he poured three shots of Scotch.
“You lied,” she said. “I know you have the power to cure Jina. Do that, and I’ll help you kill Jett.”
Pogswoth chuckled and slugged back his drink. He slowly poured another. Sandy resisted reaching for hers. She’d drink it, in time; for now she had to stay steady.
“You got me,” he said. “I did it.”
“Why?” she asked.
“To give her some reason to leave Jett. Didn’t work. Jett’s glamour is too strong.”
“So you were trying to flush them out. Unacceptable. You went too far, and now she’s dying. I won’t help you unless you save her.”
Pogswoth tugged on his scarf. “I’da done it anyway. She’s not much good dead.”
He hadn’t exactly committed. Wording had to be just right when dealing with these creatures. It was like signing a contract with a credit card company, only it wasn’t hidden fees you had to watch for.
“Promise,” she said.
“Yes,” Pogswoth replied with certainty. “I promise. I’ll halt my curse next time I see Jina. Only problem is getting to her. That’s all I want from you. A little help.”
“Why? What can’t you do on your own?”
Pogswoth took a sip of Scotch. Sandy tried not to look too eager.
“All her brugh-mates are protected by an elf-shot – Cupid’s Arrow, she calls it. Add to that the geas they’ve all sworn. Protective magic gets doubly-powerful when the little vassals stare up at her with doe eyes waiting for commands. Sheep waiting for oats. Then she holes herself up in that BrughHaHaHa of hers. I can’t get to either of them in there. Spent the whole night trying.”
“So what do you need from me?”
“All I need is help flushing the rabbit out of her warren. I kin do the rest.”
Sandy nodded. “We can do that.” That part would be easy. She could lure Jett out on the pretense of making a truce.
“I can provide a little backup,” Hollis said, pulling out his pistol. “In case you miss.” Sandy recognized it as a modified air gun, but it looked heavy, black, and menacing. Deadly to a faerie.
“There is a problem,” Gretel said. “We are still trapped here.”
“Yer right,” Pogswoth agreed. “But I can chase them off for long enough. You saw.”
Sandy lifted her hand. “No need. I’ve already planned for that. We can give you everything you want and more. Just as long as you do right by Jina.”
“Done.”
Sandy smiled and finally allowed herself to feel relieved. Everything was set now. She just had to call up Jina and arrange to meet somewhere.
The shot glass had been calling to her since Pogswoth filled it. “Let’s drink to seal the deal!” She raised it up high and didn’t wait for the others before slugging it back. The old familiar burn brought even more relief.
Pogswoth shot his back, followed by Hollis and even Gretel.
“It’s time for me to fulfill my end of the deal,” Sandy said, scooting her chair back. “You can stay out here until I’m done. And I’m taking this.” She picked up the bottle.
“Take it,” Pogswoth muttered. “I brought it for you.”
Hollis and Gretel followed her inside, clearly happy to be back behind the wards. If they had any criticism of the way she handled things, they kept it to themselves.
And a good thing, too, she thought as she pulled out her phone. How could they argue with these results? She’d saved Jina from both Jett and Pogswoth, plus Jett would be dead by the end of it.
That was the thing about faeries. All you had to do was outsmart them. Some people in the stories didn’t realize how clever the fae were, and made foolish bargains that went awry. But not this time.
Sandy thought of herself as the brave little tailor, where a man killed seven flies in one blow, and then went on a number of adventures, outsmarting kings, killing giants, and winning princesses with his cunning.
Nevertheless, she needed to be wary. The trouble always came after the contract was signed. She wouldn’t be caught off guard.
CHAPTER 55
*
JINA AWOKE in the bathtub. Her skin felt like it was boiling in oil. Water splashed out as she shivered and thrashed.
Jett sat beside her with cold fury carved into her face of stone. “Pogswoth has learned too much from man, and far too much from the Ordo.” She brought her eyes to bear into Jina’s soul. “You were right; we could use Sandy’s help.”
“Give me my phone,” Jina tried to say, but the shuddering choked off her voice and it came out as a sputter. She allowed Jett to add more warm water, and drank as much hot tea as she could until she regained control of her body.
When Jett handed over Jina’s phone, she got water all over it and was afraid she would drop it into the tub.
Especially when it rang.
“Sandy,” Jina said, answering, her teeth chattering. “I’m so glad you called.”
CHAPTER 56
*
JINA PICKED UP THE CALL right away.
“Sandy, I’m so glad you c-called,” she said before Sandy even said hello. Her voice sounded shaky. “We need your help. P-pogswoth is on a rampage.”
Sandy hadn’t expected this to begin so easily. She needed to play a little hard to get, or Jina would wonder why she’d suddenly changed her mind.
“He’s k-kidnapped Trey and offered to t-t-trade him for me,” Jina continued, stuttering a little.
He was only trying to save you, Sandy thought. It was a clever ruse. Claim to have a hostage to draw them out. Too bad it hadn’t worked.
“He also k-killed Ramón, and at least one other d-d-dreamer.”
Sandy needed to build a little mousetrap, and spring it. The mouse was already sniffing around. “How horrible,” Sandy said. “But… I can’t really help you. I’m still trapped here.”
“That’s why I’m glad you c-called. Jett is very willing to work with you now.”
“What will make this stop?” Sandy asked. She tried to sound as weak and helpless as she felt a few hours ago.
Jina’s voice seemed to calm a little. Sandy realized she must be shivering. Soon, Jina would be cured. “She wants you to k-kill Pogswoth. She wants you to rescue Trey. And she wants to p-pick your targets so you won’t hurt her allies.”
“She wants me to be a pawn in her political games.”
Jina sighed. “You called me, remember.”
Sandy let a long silence elapse, as if she were thinking about it. Then Jina said, “Do you ever think about it? About killing Ezra? I think about it every day. He’s–”
“No!” Sandy cut her off. It was a distraction, a guilt trip. She had a trap to build. “Stop trying to talk me out of being who I am. Is that why Jett starving us to death? “
“If the police knew what we did, we would both be rotting in a prison cell right now. For life.”
Prison. For what? For ridding the world of a monster? That wasn’t how it worked in movies. The vampire or demon just died. Simple, end of story. The hero went on to kill the next villain. Then the next.
But no, the police would only see a dead teen, so the Ordo had to hide the evidence. And endure these accusations. As if she were some kind of criminal…
Sandy craved more of the Scotch Pogswoth had brought. Not yet, not yet.
“It’s a good deal, what she’s offering,” Jina said. Her voice held no hint of stuttering. “You get to keep hunting unseelie fae, including Haun. Jett will call off the fae. She is insisting she always returns gifts, which I think means she will restore your funds, with interest. She’s nodding. Everything will go back to normal for the three of you. Plus, and you should like this, Sandy. She’ll answer any– No? S
orry, most of your questions about the fae.”
Sandy compared Jett’s offer to the deal she’d already made with Pogswoth. He’d put no restrictions on her, and he was going to help her kill fae. Jett might try to seduce her with tasty bites of faerie food, but Sandy would not fall for it.
She’d only pretend to fall for it. She centered the cheese on the pressure plate of the mousetrap. “If… If I did decide I wanted that… What then?”
“You two should get together to work out the details, and once it’s agreed, you and she would bind it with an oath.”
“You mean a geas.” Sandy felt a prick of fear before remembering she was lying and had nothing to worry about. You had to be careful with mousetraps, that you didn’t snap your own finger.
“A geas works in your favor. You wouldn’t want Jett to be free to renege, would you?”
“Fine. Where would we meet? I can’t leave the house.” The trap was placed. Now she just needed the mouse to sniff a little closer.
“Just a minute.” Sandy heard a muffled sound. She came back a minute later. “There’s a neutral place, where rare meetings between the humans and the fae sometimes happen. Jett has agreed to lift the siege for a day before and after the meeting.”
Snap. “Where?”
“The last time you knew where to find a faerie, you killed him. So you have to swear to me you won’t hurt anyone. And more than just a pinky-swear.”
“A geas? Right now?”
“A little one, just between me and you, not Jett. I’ll write it myself.”
A geas could ruin everything. Unless… This was just like dealing with Pogswoth. If she were clever enough… “It’s not a trick?” she asked.
“Come on, Sandy.”
She sighed. “Let’s hear it.”
“Hold on.” There was a very long pause.
“Sorry, I had to write it,” Jina said. “It goes: By all that’s right and all that’s warm I swear to Jina I’ll do no harm to any persons at the place we agree / I swear to the sky, or so help me.”
Sandy scrutinized the wording. Yes, that would work. Sandy couldn’t do any harm, but there was Pogswoth. And Hollis. And Gretel.
She smiled. “Warm and harm? Jina, that’s a terrible rhyme.”
“I do what I can in a pinch. Just say it.”
Sandy wasn’t sure it would help, but Sandy crossed her fingers behind her back anyway. “By all that’s right and all that’s warm I swear to Jina I’ll do no harm to any persons at the place we agree I swear to the sky, or so help me.” The words all came out in a rush, and she didn’t feel anything. She didn’t know if she was supposed to feel anything.
“Good. There’s a shop on the Ave called Gargoyles. It’s run by a woman named Gayle. She’s human, but she also buys and sells articles of interest to the fae, and a nymph lives there, too. Other faeries live there, but we can clear them out beforehand. Hell, half of them are probably at your house right now anyway.”
“Don’t say that, Jina. It gives me the creeps.”
“Sorry. Jett’s going to end the siege as soon as I get off the phone. Be there tonight at seven-thirty. If you want insurance, leave a note in your house saying where you went. Gayle runs a respectable business, and doesn’t want to be investigated, so she’ll be motivated that you return home safe and sound, no missing persons reports. Got it?”
“I’ll be there, with Gretel and Hollis.”
“No. Only one of them. And no weapons.”
Jina seemed hell-bent on being an outsmarty-pants, but Sandy had the biggest ace up her sleeve. “Fine. I’ll bring Gretel then. No surprises, Jina.”
“It will be good to see you again, too.”
Sandy hung up.
No weapons. Sandy hadn’t sworn to that at all. A small dagger ought to be enough to hide. Just in case Pogswoth couldn’t do his job.
CHAPTER 57
*
JINA ENTERED THE STORE, relieved to leave the permanent nighttime outside. She’d spent a lot of time soaking in the tub to get good and warm, and she had an extra-hot latte in a paper cup, but she still worried. This had to go well.
Dried leaves crunched under her feet. The last time she’d been here, it had been just a shop. A shop full of human wonders, yet still just a shop. Now under Jett’s geas, Jina could sense the secondary layer, movement in the nooks and corners, faeries not just figurines, but alive and breathing.
They were a little early. Gayle leaned against the counter tallying the day’s receipts. She smiled. “Lady Jett.” She dipped her head slightly in respect. “Come on in. We just closed.”
“Thank you for letting us meet here,” Jett replied.
“Anything I can do to keep the peace between the dream and the world. And from what Jina told me on the phone, Sandy may become a new customer. Jina, it’s good to see you again.”
Gayle left her paperwork and wandered around the room, shooing away the fae. “Fly away, my darlings, hobble and walk. Come back tomorrow.”
She showed them to a circle of folding chairs that had been set up in the back next to a large off-white fountain where a carved goddess poured an endless trickle of water into the basin. A space heater pointed toward one chair, and Jina sat as close as she could without setting herself on fire. Jett sat down beside her.
Jina half expected Sandy to pull something. If she did, the geas would kick in. She’d chosen every word carefully. She felt a little proud of herself for thinking like a faerie; though she worried it might have to become a habit.
She heard a splash, and saw the nymph perched on the edge of the fountain flicking water with her toe. She was larger than Jina had imagined, nearly two feet high, wearing a ragged dress that managed to be all the shades of a Seattle winter sky. She had no wings, which surprised Jina just a little bit. Instead she was surrounded in mist. She smiled coyly and stood to face Jina, her arms crossed.
“This is Phaesyle, the genius loci of this place,” Gayle said. “She lived here when this was The Unicorn Pub. Before they built that, she lived in the trees, and before that, she lived in a pond on this very spot. The Greeks would have called her a hyade. A rain nymph.”
Phaesyle stuck her tongue out in disdain at such an imperfect introduction, and climbed up the statue, just like a cat. She sat on the top on the head of the goddess, her knees up around her ears, her hands between her feet.
“And I’m pretty sure she started the fire way back when. She refuses to confess. We’ve worked things out, and now we’re a team. Aren’t we, Phaesyle?”
The faerie smiled prettily, and leaned her head sideways against her knee.
The door jingled and admitted Sandy and Gretel. Neither looked happy. Sandy shot Jina a confident, knowing look, before turning an icy glare on Jett.
Gayle locked the front door behind them and politely showed them each to a chair.
“Everyone here can help each other,” Jina said, leaning down to rub her hands in front of the heater. “I’m hoping we can cut most of the haggling and go straight to the agreement.”
Sandy glanced at the door and shifted in her seat uncomfortably.
“We’re all on the same side,” Jina continued. “Jett finds scared, lost fae. Faeries who might become twisted like Haun. Instead of leaving them to their fates, she teaches them.”
“Why should I care about that?” She bit her lip and her eyes darted to the door again. Was she thinking of running out?
“Just imagine if she had saved Haun from his wicked stepmother as a child. Jett hunts in her own way, protecting seelie fae before they become corrupted. Before they can hurt anyone. Ezra was seelie,” Jina said, “and it was a mistake to kill him. As a hunter, I would hope to never make that kind of mistake again.” As soon as Jina finished, she took up the latte from between her legs and drank half of it.
Jett’s look could have killed Sandy right then. Sandy fidgeted. There it was again, that quick glance towards the door. Was she expecting Hollis?
“I… Ezra was…” she
stammered.
“It’s okay,” Jina said, holding her hands out between them as if she could break up their fight of chilly glances. “Ezra is still alive, and he’s forgiven us. He’s an old spirit, innocent like I’d been saying. He’s found peace now.”
“What are you talking about?” Sandy snapped. “I’m glad we killed him.”
“I don’t think you are.”
“I don’t have any regrets,” Sandy said with the firm conviction of a zealot.
The door jingled and Sandy looked up expectantly. Jina looked up and saw no one there.
“Never mind,” Jina continued. “It’s—”
Water splashed on her pants from the fountain, instantly cooling her skin. She jumped to her feet.
Next to her, a wrinkled, warty, wet head broke the surface of the pool like a monster being born. Jina started to reach for her iron knife, before remembering she’d promised no weapons and didn’t have it.
Phaesyle jumped down from the goddess and grabbed his hair, but Pogswoth ignored her. He climbed out of the pool and stepped dripping onto the floor. Phaesyle bit at his forehead, but he just brushed her off like a bug.
“First the crows, now rain imps,” he said. He shook water off himself and it sizzled when it hit the heating element. “I hate water furrows.”
Gayle and Phaesyle backed away. Jett wrapped a protective arm around Jina. Sandy and Gretel did not move. They appeared… triumphant.
“You didn’t,” Jina whispered, glaring at Sandy.
“Someone had to save you,” she said.
“You korrigan, are not invited here,” Gayle said. Phaesyle perched on her shoulder and glowered.
“Think I care?” he said. He lifted a sword. Jina’s own katana. He leveled the sharp tip a foot in front of Jina’s eyes. “Don’t try that sticky glue spell,” he said. “Iron will fell you as easily as it felled Ramón.”
“Save Jina first,” Sandy said, looking at the korrigan. “You promised.”
“Think I’m a deal-breaker?” Pogswoth said, inclining his hear her direction. “Potato bath,” he said to Jina.