Death And Darkness

by E. A. Copen

  “Pervert,” I mumbled.

  “Deviant.”

  Emma slid a bowl of oatmeal onto the table in front of Grammy. “Lazarus hates Mondays.”

  “I hate Mondays in October especially,” I corrected. “I’ve got two group séances today, one for a bunch of frat boys and another for some tourists. Not looking forward to that.”

  “Could be worse,” Emma said, stirring the eggs.

  I frowned. “Don’t say that. That’s like tempting fate.”

  “If you don’t like it, then why do it?” Grammy shoved a heaping spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth.

  “I’ve got expenses just like everyone else, and Baron Samedi’s stipend hasn’t been all that reliable.”

  “Grammy’s got a point,” Emma said. “You’ve been putting in a lot more hours than normal. I don’t think it would kill you to take a day off here and there, Laz.”

  My answer was a shrug. That was all I could say without giving away too much since I wasn’t able to lie. The truth was I’d been working extra to save back enough funds to buy Emma’s ring. Now that I had it, I needed to keep working so I could build up my savings. If she said yes, I’d need enough to pay for part of a wedding, the honeymoon, and to still cover my expenses while I took time off. Wasn’t easy pulling together that much money, not even as the Pale Horseman. Of course, it might’ve also been an excuse to avoid actually popping the question, since I didn’t know how to approach that either.

  Grammy studied me, stuck out her bottom lip, and picked up the paper again, hiding behind it. “You know, you’d have fewer expenses if you’d just move in already.”

  Emma nearly choked on her coffee. “Laz likes his space, Grammy. Besides, isn’t that Pony’s old place? Must have a lot of memories for you.”

  “And where I raised Remy for the short time I had her,” I agreed. I didn’t want to lose the house, but it hadn’t escaped me that proposing would mean we’d eventually have to move in together. Emma’s place was much nicer, better neighborhood…But I still had trouble picturing being there all the time. It was cozy, but almost suffocating, especially with Grammy staying with her. In the end, it was just a house. I could take the memories with me wherever I went, and those were the most important thing.

  Grammy snorted and turned the page. “You see this column about the new water treatment plant, Emmy? Thing looks like a damn prison.”

  “It’s supposed to be hurricane-proof.” Emma put two plates of eggs and sausage on the table and sat down in front of one of them. “Biggest project the city’s had in a long time, and we need it. The tap water in New Orleans isn’t the greatest.”

  While Emma and Grammy chatted about the water treatment plant and other boring news, I leaned on my arm and pushed my eggs around the plate. I couldn’t shake that dream. Odin had said I needed to get my shadow back or Emma could be in trouble, though he’d refused to give it to me. What did he want me to do? All he’d said was that I should look at the water.

  I rubbed my neck. What was that thing? If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought it was one of those vines I’d seen in Summer. Remy had initially made me promise I’d come back and help her figure out what they were and destroy them, but when I tried to make good on that promise, she dismissed me. That was the last time we’d spoken. I’d tried twice to get a message to her, but no one seemed to be checking our normal dead drop. Foxglove had disappeared too. I thought the two of them were shacked up together somewhere, but now I wasn’t so sure. It was time to look in on them, which I planned on doing after getting through my two appointments.

  Odin had also warned me someone would be coming to pay me a visit, someone I should assist at my own risk. Did that mean I was supposed to help him, or that I wasn’t supposed to? Damn gods, always speaking in riddles.

  “Laz?” Emma snapped her fingers in front of my face.

  I blinked, coming back to the present. “Huh?”

  “I asked if the eggs needed salt. I think I overcooked them again.”

  “Nope. Perfectly fine. See?” I scooped a heaping forkful into my mouth and immediately regretted it. Definitely overcooked and in need of salt.

  Grammy snapped her newspaper wide. “I love you, Emmy, but Lord have mercy on that poor man if he marries you. You couldn’t cook eggs to save your damn life. Too much like your daddy. No patience. You gotta turn that heat down.”

  “Thanks, Grammy. Love you, too,” Emma grumbled and stood. She scraped her eggs into the trash and slung her purse over her shoulder. “I’ve got to get going, or I’ll be late.” She gave me a quick peck. “Dinner?”

  I shook my head. “Don’t think so. Second séance will probably run late. I can make lunch, though, if you’re free.”

  “I’ll do my best. Bye, Grammy.” She gave her grandma a quick hug and went for the door. “There’re leftovers from last night in the fridge. Be good while I’m gone.”

  Grammy smiled a toothless smile and winked at me. “She knows me too well, don’t she?”

  I waited until she was gone to dump the eggs, then ran a comb through my hair, grabbed my jacket, and drove to the shop. My first appointment was at one, but there might be a few curious folks stopping by before then. I was too far from the Quarter to get many random customers, but I slipped some cards with my shop information to a couple of the city walking tours to hand out.

  Most people who came in didn’t stay long and didn’t buy much. They were looking for voodoo dolls, shrunken heads, and books on the occult, none of which I carried. My biggest seller—aside from tarot readings and palmistry—was the crystal jewelry, protective talismans for one-time use, which I spent my mornings charging.

  I had a small chunk of rose quartz in my palm and was sitting in the back of the shop when the doorbell chimed. “Coming,” I called and set the quartz down. The beaded curtains clicked together loudly as I pushed them aside. “What can I…?”

  Foxglove staggered up to the counter, one hand pressed firmly against a bleeding wound in his side. More blood oozed from a crusty black cut on his forehead, and he left crimson footprints behind him when he walked. He lunged forward and grabbed me by the shirt. “Help…me.”

  Before I could even respond, the door crashed open and Finn and Remy barged into my shop, Remy with her sword drawn and Finn with his shadow whip at the ready.

  “Where is it?” Remy demanded.

  Foxglove stumbled away from her.

  Remy shifted her hold on the sword. “Fine then. I’ll cut it out of you.”

  And here I thought the frat boys would be the worst thing to happen to me all day.

  Finn lashed out with his whip, but he didn’t catch Foxglove. I stepped in the way. Deep shadow wrapped around my outstretched arm and bit into the skin like a thousand beestings. I gritted my teeth and held it. “What the hell is going on here?”

  “Step aside, Father,” Remy warned. “He’s not who you think he is.”

  I glanced over at Foxglove, who’d fallen behind the counter. He sat in a pool of his own blood. In all the time I’d known Foxglove, he’d never once run from a fight, but then again, he’d never fought Remy. He was so in love with her, he’d never do anything to hurt her, not even if it cost him his life. He wasn’t even armed.

  “He’s dangerous,” Finn added.

  I glared at him and tugged on the whip. Whatever magic held it in existence faded and the whip disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. “From where I’m standing, it looks like two armed fae from other courts just chased my unarmed Knight into my shop. If it were any fae other than you two, I would’ve put you down already. If this gets out, it’s going to look like an act of war. You sure that’s what you want?”

  Finn pressed his lips together and looked at Remy.

  She didn’t lower her sword. “Summer has no quarrel with the Court of Miracles.”

  “You will if you kill my Knight.”

  “He’s not Sir Foxglove, Lazarus.” Finn put a hand on Remy’s shoulder before placing himse
lf between my daughter and me. “Use your Sight, and you’ll see I’m right.”

  I looked from Finn to Remy. The minute I turned my back on them, they could strike out again. I couldn’t match either of them in a fight, and I didn’t trust Finn not to hit first and ask questions later. Remy was hot-headed enough to risk it too.

  Foxglove suddenly found his feet again and charged at me. He tackled me with a shout, knocking me to the floor and then using my prone body as a springboard to launch himself toward the back door. Finn let out a curse and ran after him, but he wasn’t fast enough to get to him before he threw open the door and fled into the alley. Finn followed.

  Remy rushed to close the back door behind Finn and lock it. “Get the front door! Hurry!”

  “What about Finn?”

  “He can walk through shadow, remember?”

  Right. I got up on shaky legs and went to lock the front door, flipping the sign to closed. By the time I turned back around, Finn was already in the room.

  Finn shook his head at Remy. “Gone.”

  “Dammit!” She dropped her sword, put her back to the door, and slid down to sit with her face in her hands.

  Finn squatted next to her and pulled her into a hug. “We’ll get him, Remy. I promise.”

  I crossed my arms. “Not to interrupt the tender moment you two seem to be having, but could somebody please explain what’s happening?”

  Finn sighed. “It’s Foxglove. He’s…infected.”

  Remy lowered her trembling hands. It wasn’t until she spoke that it was clear she wasn’t upset, but angry. “You didn’t come.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Her eyes burned into my forehead. “You swore you’d return. Summer needed you. I needed you, and you didn’t keep your word.”

  “Except I did,” I said. “I came back to Summer as soon as I could. You’re the one who told me you didn’t need my help, so don’t get mad at me. Whether I like it or not, you’re an adult. If you tell me to buzz off, I’ll respect that, even if it hurts.”

  Finn helped Remy to her feet. “Jessica. He must’ve come after we left.”

  “Jessica? Nate and Leah’s daughter?”

  Remy nodded and pushed some hair behind her ear. “She was glamoured to be my body double while I was helping Finn, Declan, and Foxglove find the source of the blight.”

  Finn put a hand on my shoulder. “A lot’s happened since the last time we’ve all been together. Might want to clear your schedule so we can bring you up to speed.”

  I frowned at his hand before shrugging it off. “First of all, we’re not friends, especially since you wrecked my alliance with Winter. I barely even know you, Finn, so don’t get all chummy with me. Second, I’ve got a business to run and clients to meet with. I don’t suppose this can wait until after five o’clock?”

  “Summer has fallen,” Remy said.

  “What?” I studied them both. Impossible. I’d seen the size of Summer’s armies, and the strength of its walls. Shadow had only stood a chance because Kellas infiltrated the court and destroyed morale beforehand, and that was with a full army. No other court had an army that could match Summer’s after Shadow’s crushing defeat. Titania had made sure of that.

  Finn nodded. “Winter and the High Court too. We managed to liberate Shadow but…” He sighed and lowered his head. “I’m here to cash in that favor you owe me, Laz. Help us take Faerie back from the monsters who’ve overrun it. Before they find a way to come here.”

  Chapter Three

  I canceled my two appointments for the day. Neither of my clients was happy to hear it, but I was thankful the frat boys decided not to reschedule. I had to give a discount to the tourists, but it was better than dropping the job altogether. I’d still need the cash, and tourists were likely to leave a bad review online. Bad reviews killed business.

  After that, I had some sandwiches delivered and then activated the wards around the shop. Only then were Finn and Remy willing to give me the details. When Finn told me it was a long story, I figured it’d take a few minutes to get through, but it took the better part of an hour before I fully grasped all that’d happened.

  “Let me get this straight,” I said, gesturing to Finn with a French fry. “You’re the bastard offspring of Osric Morningstar and Queen Nyx, both of whom I killed, by the way. Somehow, that makes you the last living heir to the Shadow Throne.”

  “I honestly don’t give two shits that you killed them. In my experience, some fae just need killing, and anyone who crosses you generally deserves it.” Finn took a bite of his muffuletta, chewed and swallowed. “This sandwich is epic, by the way. Best thing I’ve had in ages.”

  “Focus, Finn.” Remy closed her Styrofoam box and pushed it away. “The three of us are the last free monarchs in Faerie.”

  “And you say Winter, Summer, and the High Court have been infected by this blight? The black vines you showed me?”

  Remy nodded. “They’re all part of one organism that calls itself Mask.”

  Mask. I put my sandwich down, my appetite suddenly gone at the memory of the giant flesh wall I’d encountered in the Nightlands. The flesh wall was supposed to be some sort of being beyond my understanding, or so the creature known as Mask had claimed. Mask himself had a pretty wild appearance, having a tentacle for a head and unnaturally long arms. Of all the hells I had visited on my quest to free Emma from Lucifer Morningstar, the Nightlands were the most terrifying, though I spent the least amount of time there. It was a realm of pure darkness with creatures that could’ve spawned in the nightmares of a madman. Everything was all tentacles, scorpion tails, and claws.

  Finn stopped chewing. “You’ve heard that name before.”

  I nodded slowly. “I’ve been to the Nightlands, the place that thing calls home. It was in the Nightlands where the Archons were born, bastards like Morningstar. But even the Devil was a peon compared to the things that lurked there. Mask claimed to be a messenger for the Old Ones.”

  Finn paled. “I’ve read stories about them, the old gods. We know them as Fomorians.”

  I closed the sandwich box. “Funny, I didn’t picture you as a book nerd.”

  “Not much else to do when you spend your childhood locked in a tower,” Finn said. “These old gods, they’re so old they were ancient when the first fae walked the Earth as gods themselves. Some sources said as old as the universe itself. Some say older.”

  Remy crossed her arms. “Impossible. How can anything be older than the universe?”

  He shrugged. “It makes for a good story anyway. Point is, they’re old. Powerful. And if they’ve been locked up in perpetual darkness for eons, probably pissed about it, all of which fits what we know about the Fomorians.”

  “Fomorians? Is that what we’re calling them?” It wasn’t as scary sounding as Old Ones, but it worked.

  “That’s what Commander Adrix called them,” Remy said.

  “Who’s Commander Adrix?”

  Remy and Finn exchanged a glance before Finn answered, “Sir Adrix is dead. I think he did enough while he was alive to warrant a posthumous promotion. We wouldn’t have the two stones we do without his help.”

  “About those stones…” I pitched my cup to the trashcan on the other side of the room. “You took one of them from the Winter Queen the last time we worked together, didn’t you? Do I even want to know who you took the others from?”

  Finn grinned. “Probably not, but we are going to need to get the third one back if we want to have a chance of taking Mask on. I had all three when I expelled him from Shadow. To date, that’s the only weapon we know can hurt him. My Spellweaver powers can hurt the Fomorians, but Mask himself barely noticed them.”

  “And nothing from the Nightlands has a soul,” I said with a nod. “I checked when I was there. If Mask is anything like an Archon, he’ll be tough to beat, but not impossible. Nobody’s impossible to beat. We just need the right weapon. Tell me you have a lead on the missing stone?”

  “You let our only l
ead escape.” Remy’s tone was icy. “We believe Foxglove took it from the Shadow Palace. Where he’s stashed it, we have no idea. It could be anywhere since he can move freely between the Nightlands, Faerie, and Earth.”

  “Well, this is the first I’ve seen of him in three months. You too.” I gestured to Remy.

  “Sorry. I was a little busy helping Finn liberate Shadow and set up a government.”

  Looking at Finn, it was hard to imagine him as king of anything. When I met him, he was just a thief who’d rather run away from a problem than face it. Remy was ready to execute him. Now they were fighting alongside each other and the looks he was giving her… I didn’t like it.

  I drummed my fingers on my knee for a moment, studying Finn. “Foxglove…Is he still…him?”

  Remy’s jaw flexed. She swallowed before answering. “I hope so.”

  Finn put a hand on her knee. “When we broke Mask’s hold on Shadow, everyone there reverted back to their original forms. There’s no reason to believe Foxglove can’t be saved.”

  “Foxglove’s part of my court though,” I said, forcing myself not to focus on his hand on her leg. “And Mask doesn’t own my court. Not yet. Since Foxglove is my knight, shouldn’t I have some connection to him that we can exploit? Use it to draw him into a trap?”

  Remy shrugged. “Why do you think he came here?”

  “If I hold court, will he show up?”

  They exchanged a look. Finn finally took his hand off her knee. “If the bond is strong enough.”

  “He’s not stupid,” Remy said. “Mask won’t go inside.”

  “But he might not be able to resist showing up. We can set up a perimeter and take him down the minute he shows. Trust me. I know people who are experts at setting up perimeters and containing a scene.” I stood. “And it’s been a while since I’ve held an official court. We’ve had our weekly informal meetings, but the whole court thing just bores me to death. I was only really doing it for Foxglove anyway. He likes all that formality stuff.”