by Jayne Faith
“My, what a mess this sword has caused, hasn’t it?” He tsked. “What is the blade’s name again? Bal-something. Balister?”
“Balisarde,” I said. I suspected he knew exactly what the sword was called and what it did.
“Yes, Balisarde,” he said. His gaze swung from the sword to me. “You did not ask permission to take on an additional job. Is this business with the sword an attempt to do extracurricular freelance work?” His tone was only mildly accusing.
“No, it wasn’t a job, I assure you,” I said. “No payment is involved, and I never intended to spend this much time on it. It’s already taken up more of my attention than I’d planned.”
He nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer, but he didn’t dismiss me. Instead, he regarded me for a long moment.
My pulse quickened uneasily. If he started asking me about the big bounty, about whether I’d learned any details of the prize or the hunt, I was sure he would find a way to further restrict me from going after the skull. I schooled my expression, keeping carefully neutral eye contact.
“I’m sure you’re eager to get back to the Earthly side of the hedge,” he finally said. “Until I need you, of course.”
He gave me a thin smile, and my heart skipped a beat. Was I really going to escape with my secret knowledge of his big prize? I held my breath.
“I bid you goodnight, Tara.”
I blinked. “Goodnight, boss.”
Forcing myself to move at a casual pace, I turned and went for the door. Agent dude opened it. As I stepped out into the hallway, victory surged through me on a burst of adrenaline.
A runner, a low-level employee in Shaw’s organization, was waiting.
“I’ll take you back to your friends,” she said. When she turned, her two waist-length braids swung out.
I just nodded, not trusting myself to open my mouth. It would be too awkward if a triumphant yell exploded out.
She escorted me to the sun room on the side of the house, where Judah and Blake waited.
“They’re bringing Laine now,” she Blake said. I knew she was pissed at her sister, but the relief was clear in her voice.
“The guy who told us to stay here said it would only be ten minutes or so,” Judah said quietly.
Blake had moved near the front exit and was anxiously peering out into the dark, watching for any sign of her sister.
“Was everything okay in there?” Judah whispered. He stepped close, blocking my view of Rosalina, Shaw’s guard who stood at the wall. His body curved protectively over me.
“Yeah,” I whispered back. “But I’d like to get out of here as soon as possible.”
“Me too. I didn’t like the vibe I got from Shaw.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “What kind of vibe did you get?” I asked after a second.
“Psychopath.”
I snorted. “That’s a bit dramatic.”
Judah didn’t smile. “I wish you didn’t have anything to do with him.”
You and me both, I thought but didn’t say aloud. “Well, not much I can do about that until my debt’s paid off.”
“That’s why you’re interested in the bounty, right? The one you were asking Ray about? Because it would pay off your debt?”
“It probably wouldn’t pay off all of it, but yeah,” I said.
“Tara, I’d like to help you,” he said. I started to protest, but he held up a hand. “I’m serious. You saved our asses. And after all of this, I understand even more what kind of risk you were taking to do it. I owe you.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay, really. Don’t worry about—”
My response was cut off by an exclamation from Blake.
She turned to us. “I see her!” She made a lunge toward the door.
Rosalina took a couple of steps out from the wall. “Stay where you are,” she commanded.
Blake jumped back and quickly clasped her hands behind her.
Judah and I went to join her, watching two figures walk along a path from the side yard, a spot with the Faerie doorway I used to come to the estate whenever Shaw summoned me. A summons meant I didn’t have to go through the red tape at the front gate. But the doorway somehow only worked when I’d been summoned—I’d tested that long ago.
The two figures—one was another of Shaw’s personal bodyguards, and the other a slumping near carbon copy of Blake except with a chin-length bob instead of hair down to her shoulder blades—came into the sun room.
Blake flew at her sister, at once reprimanding her and embracing her. Blake stepped back and shook her sister by the shoulders, but then embraced her again. Laine’s face was hard, and she didn’t speak. I got a clearer view and saw she was young, probably only eighteen or so. By her surly demeanor, it was pretty obvious I’d guessed correctly: she’d been in on the plot to get Balisarde.
I couldn’t stand it any longer. I needed to get away from Shaw’s estate. The runner with the braids seemed to agree with me, as she went to the door and held it open, pointedly looking at my companions and then me.
“Sorry to break up your reunion,” I said to the Moriarty sisters. “But it’s time to go.”
I began herding them out the door and toward the front, with the runner escorting us at a fast trot.
Laine walked with her arms folded, Blake alternately lecturing her and pulling her close in a side-hug.
Homer was on duty out front. I stopped next to him.
“Hey, Homer,” I said.
He nodded. “Tara.” Cigarette smoke wisped through his lips as he pronounced my name.
His gaze flicked to Judah and Blake and then settled back on me. Homer’s eyes had yellow irises, and even after knowing him for many years, it was hard not to stare at them.
“Who’re your companions?” he asked.
“Judah McMahon and Blake and Laine Moriarty,” I said. “Friends of mine from the other side of the hedge.”
I thought for a second, wondering if I could get any info from him about the bounty. I’d have to choose my words carefully.
“If you were to place a wager on who’s going to get Shaw’s big bounty, who would you favor?” I asked.
I wasn’t sure if the oath would prevent him from responding. Even if he was allowed to answer, he could still choose not to. I watched his mouth carefully. When an oath of silence was in effect, it was usually apparent when the person tried to answer but their mouth wouldn’t cooperate.
He licked his lips and peered at me.
“I’d put my money on the same person you likely would,” he said, his Old World brogue making his words sound very deliberate.
I tilted my head. “Stephanie?”
He dipped his chin once. “Aye.”
“Happen to know if she’s spending her time anywhere in particular lately?” I pressed.
He lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “Couldn’t say. I don’t leave the estate much.”
“Sure,” I said, my tone easy. “But I bet you hear things. I saw her earlier in town. I thought she might have passed through here.”
“Ach, you know I can’t say anything about what business happens in the big house,” he said.
I nodded and bid him goodnight.
Just beyond the gate, Blake turned to me.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice hoarse with either emotion or exhaustion, or maybe both. “Thank you so much for everything.”
I waved a hand. “It’s over. That’s the important thing,” I said. “It’s time to go back to the Earthly side of the hedge.” And ASAP so I could check for messages from Volkov Retrieval.
I walked quickly, and the sisters dropped in behind me, Blake talking quietly to Laine. I was taking them to a nearby town square where we’d find a doorway. I hadn’t seen a clock in a while, but it had to be well past midnight.
Judah moved to my side. “I meant what I said back there, Tara. I owe you. I want to help you get that bounty.”
I glanced at him, and the force of his gaze startled m
e a bit.
I shook my head. “It’s fine. You really don’t. You need to get back to your business and your life in Portland.”
He let out a soft chuckle, which brought my eyes up to his face again, not understanding what he found amusing.
“What’s so funny?” I finally asked, when a couple of seconds slipped by and he didn’t explain himself.
“You think I’m letting this go.” Contrary to his chuckling, his tone had turned serious, his voice pitched so deep it was on the verge of a growl. “But let me assure you, I’m not.”
Unbidden, a little thrill of a shiver trilled through me. I scoffed internally. Was I that hard up for male attention? All it took these days was a guy standing close to me and pledging his aid? I really needed to get out more.
“I appreciate it,” I said softly. “But this is Fae business. It’s Shaw business. And I work best alone.”
“We’ll see.”
I shot him a glare, but he was looking ahead and didn’t see it.
We’d reached the little town square, with its historical plaques, benches, and a brass statue of a long-dead Duergar king in the center. There was also a historical monument that doubled as a doorway. It was a giant stone slab with a poem about a long-ago battle on one side and a metal inlaid arch design on the other. We gathered in front of the arch.
“You’ve been through a doorway before, obviously,” I said to Laine. I turned to Blake. “Make sure she comes through and doesn’t try to pull anything.”
Blake nodded and shot a warning glare at Laine.
I couldn’t imagine how awkward Moriarty family dinners were going to be after this.
I turned to the arch and raised my hand with my index finger extended. On cue, I felt the pressure of three hands on my shoulders. Chanting the phrases that would open the doorway and tracing the sigils that told the netherwhere the location I wanted to end up, I performed the quick ritual.
The area under the arch began to appear less solid, dissolving into a wavy mirage. I stepped forward, and my companions followed.
But just as I was nearly through, there was a cry of surprise behind me. One of the hands was ripped from my shoulder. At the same time, someone rammed into me, sending me into the netherwhere.
The ice-cold of the nowhere space between doorways enveloped me. I couldn’t cry out in panic or ask what had gone wrong. I had no voice or body in the netherwhere.
When the void spit me out under the Boise freeway overpass, I whirled around. Only Laine and Blake had followed.
“What happened?” I asked them, alarm tightening my chest and pitching my voice high.
Blake turned to look at the concrete column with the arch shape scratched into it. “Where’s Judah?”
“Someone was there,” Laine said, looking around with wide eyes. “I think someone grabbed him.”
Cursing under my breath, I went back to the arch. “Wait here,” I said to the Moriarty sisters. “I’m going back.”
Ignoring their protests, I quickly mumbled the chant, and the netherwhere claimed me once again.
Emerging a moment later in the dark town square, I ran a couple of steps and spun around.
“Judah!” I shouted. My voice echoed off nearby buildings.
I ran around to the other side of the stone monument. The square was deserted, and there was no hint of what had happened to Judah.
Chapter 16
I SPRINTED ACROSS the square and then made a loop around it, shouting Judah’s name the whole time. There was no response, and just my luck, no one was around.
After about fifteen minutes, I had to give up. I’d left Laine and Blake in a not-so-great part of Boise, and it was the wee hours of the morning. I went back to the arch. Just as I was about to begin the ritual to drop into the netherwhere, I spotted something on the stone of the monument. Squinting, I leaned in, pulled out my penlight, and turned it on.
There was a fresh smear of blood, soaking into the stone and still wet. Stuck in the blood were a few hairs. I used my fingernail to smooth the one that hadn’t been saturated by blood. It had a wave to it, and it was the exact length and reddish-orange color of Killian Abernathy’s hair.
A grim smile touched my lips. It looked like Judah had managed to smash Killian’s head against the arch, and in doing so tipped me off to who’d attacked us. I put my penlight away and quickly went through the doorway back to where Laine and Blake were waiting.
Blake rushed to me, firing off questions.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know where he is,” I said.
She was on the verge of tears. “What are we going to do?”
I leveled my chin. “We’re going to get the two of you home. Now, where are you staying?” I asked Blake.
“With Judah’s mother and stepfather,” she said. “But we can’t just leave. We have to try to help him!”
I shook my head firmly. “I’ll go after him. I can work faster alone. The two of you should go home.”
“But we should come, too,” Blake protested. “I don’t want you to run into danger alone.”
It was good of her to offer, but there was no way I was taking them with me.
“Sorry, but I’m going by myself,” I said. I gestured to the parked car that had brought Blake, Judah, and me to the doorway. “I don’t suppose either of you have a key to the Lexus.”
“Judah has it,” Blake said.
“You’ll have to hire a ride then,” I said.
She nodded and lifted her phone to pull up a ride share app. “Hey, I have some messages.”
“Anything from Judah?” I asked.
“No.” Blake raised her head to look at me. “From the people I’d asked about your . . .”
My brows rose. Shaw’s bounty. “Oh. If there’s anything interesting, could you text it to me?”
“I’m sorry, but it looks like there’s nothing to give you. Everyone I contacted either doesn’t want to talk or doesn’t know anything. I’m so sorry. I’ll try some other avenues.”
Damnit.
“Well, let me give you my number anyway,” I said and then did so. “And I should get going. Will you be okay if I leave you?”
Blake nodded. “Yes, we’re fine. Please find him, Tara.”
“I will,” I said.
I went returned through the doorway into Faerie.
Back in the town square, I made one more quick round in case I’d missed any clues that Judah might have left me. There was a freshly trampled flower bed I’d not noticed before, but other than some kicked dirt and mangled blooms, it didn’t offer any. That was okay. I had a fairly confident guess about where he was.
Aiming toward the township of Aberdeen, which was on the opposite side of the Duergar palace from Aerwyn, I took off at a fast pace. Running through the quiet streets, I got into a rhythm, focusing on keeping my breath synced with my nearly silent footfalls. The only people I saw were a few very drunk lone Fae staggering toward home and a trio of Duergar men with their arms around each other singing Old World songs. I skirted them by turning down a different road. A glimpse of a clock tower I passed showed it was half past two in the morning. I remembered that I should have checked for messages from Volkov Retrieval. Too late now.
Fatigue tried to slow my legs, but I ignored it. I’d already accepted I wasn’t going to be sleeping that night, so my muscles would just have to come around to the idea, too.
As I ran, I thought about what I would do when I reached my destination. I was headed toward Killian’s clubhouse—a room at the back of a bakery owned by his cousin where Killian and some of his buddies in the network liked to hang out, drink, and shoot pool. I hadn’t bothered to go there to look for Laine because I knew it was too obvious a hiding place. But Killian wasn’t trying to hide Judah. This was no kidnapping. It was about teaching Judah—and probably me, too—a lesson about what happened when Killian believed he’d been screwed over. In his mind, I’d ratted him out to Shaw. Killian had gotten himself into hot water all on his own, of
course, but he was the kind of guy who’d rather blame someone else.
Killian Abernathy was a hotheaded man with a Napoleon complex who loved an excuse to throw a punch. He was pissed that the rest of us had gotten away scot-free, while he’d gotten in trouble with Shaw. Killian knew he couldn’t touch me without bringing down Shaw’s wrath, but he could kick the tar out of Judah as a message to me. Beating up Judah was technically still fair game, and it was exactly the kind of thing Killian would relish.
I slowed to a walk about two blocks before the bakery. I needed to catch my breath and give my legs a chance to stop burning before busting in on Killian and his crew. A peek down the block showed the bakery was closed. I went around to the alley, loosening a couple of throwing knives on my belt, grasping one in my right hand, and readying two blunt-point metal shurikens in my left hand.
Yellowish light from Killian’s clubhouse window, which was thrown open, spilled onto the gravel of the alley. I flattened myself against the rough brick building and sidestepped until I could hear noises inside. There were grunts, smacking sounds, and cursing. I winced, hoping Judah wasn’t getting too worked over. Killian and the others were lucky they had the shifter in Faerie, or they could very well have been ripped to shreds.
I moved back away from the building and crouched low. Trying to stay out of the rectangle of light cast onto the ground, I raised up until I could get a look inside.
My eyes bugged. I didn’t have a complete view of the room, but I could see enough to know that Judah wasn’t tied to a chair getting worked over, or any other similar scenario I’d imagined. A bleeding cut above one temple showed where he’d probably been knocked out. That was likely the only way Killian had managed to get Judah to the clubhouse so quickly.
But now, Judah was very much awake, obviously pissed, and taking it out on Killian and his two friends, brothers Rob and Tim. The three part-Fae men were trying to attack Judah, but every time they went in with fists or kicks, Judah was fast in fending them off and even getting in some blows of his own. I recognized several years of serious martial arts training in the way he moved. That was new. He’d not been involved in any such activities back when we were kids. But he was good. Very good. And he looked good doing it.