Flicker (49 page)

“Conall,” Nasser said, bending at the waist.

Filo was blinking dizzily, but he managed to nod and cough out, “Conall.”

The man, Conall, nodded to each boy in turn, the
n turned to Byrony.
“Dryad,” he mused. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Byrony bristled. Her bruised and swollen face twisted into a deep grimace, and her partially-crumpled
scarlet
wings twitched. “Am I meant to believe this is a coincidence?”

Conall shrugged. “My assistant and I were out for a stroll, and we noticed a certain
…
commotion
.” His gaze slid across the four humans, finally coming to rest on Alice
, who’d been cut loose
and was now sitting up. She inclined her head toward Conall, just as the boys had done.

“Conall,” she said.

“Alice.” Almost imperceptibly, Conall’s expression softened. Then he turned to Byrony. “I must insist that you let the children go, dryad. You’ve
troubled
them enough for one day.”

“
I’ve no stomach for interference
,” Byrony re
plied crisply. Her teeth
were stained pink.

“But you forget,” said Conall, unfazed. “We have a deal, dryad. You owe me a boon.”

“As I recall,” Byrony retorted, “our deal entailed that your boon be of equal value to the knowledge you gave me.”

Conall’s dark eyes twinkled. “You’re a clever one, dryad. I’ll give you that much. But you underestimate the sheer amount of gossip I encounter on a daily basis.” When Byrony said nothing, he went on. “I know who you are and wh
at you’re after.
One could argue that I am asking very little of you now, comparatively.”

At that, Byrony stiffened. Her eyes turned dark and cold. “Can I
say anything to
dissuade you?”

Conall shook his head. “Let the children go, dryad. That’s all I ask.”

With great reluctance, Byrony nodded once.

Something curious happened then: A wet wind stirred, and Lee felt magic ripple through the air between the two faeries. They seemed to bounce off each other, then melt together.

“There,” Conall said. “Our deal
is struck.”

Byrony gave him a look that was pure poison. She glanced at Lee. “
Next time we meet
,” she se
ethed, “
do not count on another’s
meddling
to save you.”

Then the dryad
dissolved into a scarlet haze
. H
er transformation into that
autumn-
red
bird seemed slowed. Perhaps her numerous injuries hindered her.

When she finally stretched her wings and swooped away, the enchanted grass stopped moving, then wilted to the ground. Lee knew the feeling: As she watched, she felt herself sag wearily downward, like a punctured balloon.

For a long time, they simply stayed where they were, shivering in the wet wind and staring at each other. Eventually, Nasser came over to collect her. He offered his hand, and she took it gratefully, feeling the warmth of his fingers as he helped her up.

His boot
s sticking in the mud, Filo went to Alice. He
took careful hold of her shoulders and
lifted her as
easily as if she weighed nothing. She flinched as her feet touched the ground.

“My ankle,” she explained, raising her left
foot gingerly.

Before he could speak
, Alice frowned and snatched up Filo’s right hand. The skin over his knuckles was split and streaked with blood, but that didn’t seem to be what interested her. She pressed down lightly on his knuckles and he winced.

“What did you do to your hand?” Alice demanded.

“Nothing that won’t heal,” Filo said, attempting to pull away from her.

She narrowed her eyes and didn’t release him. “
Filo
. What did you hit?”

He hesitated, then muttered, “A wall.”

Conall sidled casually up to them. Tipper was bobbing at his elbow, smiling.

“You’re a very lucky bunch of children,” Conall said, a bit too cheerfully. “What a marvelous coincidence.”

“Oh, Conall,” Alice sighed, rubbing her temples. “It wasn’t a coincidence at all. You were following me.” There was nothing accusing in her tone.

“I do make a point of keeping track of my employees,” Conall admitted.

“You lied to that dryad,” Alice said.

“I neglected to tell her the whole truth. You’re still lucky children. Tipper and I will gladly accompany you back to Flicker,” Conall continued. “Assuming you’re feeling at all unsettled. And, Alice,
I trust you’ll be returning to Sandpiper with us.”

“
Actually, Conall—” Alice
shook
her head. “
With your permission,
I’d rather stay at Flicker tonight.
With
both
your permission,”
she added, glancing at Filo.

“I don’t care what you do,” Fi
lo mumbled, crossing his arms.
“
And
I don’
t even feel all that safe going back to Flicker, since
the dryad knows where it is. I’
d rather us find a motel room somewhere and set up some temporary wards. But
we have to go get Jason first.”

Without another word, they
crossed
the muddy playground and turned toward Flicker.

* * *

Byrony was too weak to hold her bird shape for very long. She’d flown as quickly as she could, but she was barely a mile ahead
of
the group when she’d been forced to change back.

Now her body felt like one mass
ive bruise. The shallow slices
were
hot and stinging. Her wings were cracked and torn in several places, and were now hanging limply from her back.
The blue-eyed boy had certainly broken her nose. All Byrony’s
muscl
es burned with each step
. Even the light glamour she’d drawn around herself was exhausting.

The wounds weren’t any that couldn’t be healed with a night spent inside a strong, healthy tree. But she didn’t
have time to heal herself now.

Fortunately
for her
, that mile appeared to be the only head start she needed. When she finally reached Flicker, it was still
locked
up tight.

She turned
into an alley beside Flicker, carefully studying the brick wall.
She couldn’t risk entering the apartment again. If that crow
faery
returned, Byrony wouldn’t have the strength to fight her. But she had other ways.

Byrony craned her neck toward the
window o
n the upper floor. She thought
of the mortal boy who’d hurled balls of energy
at her. The one who resembled
Nasser Ethan Rew. Obviously skilled with magic, but also obviously Sightless. He hadn’t
shown
up in the muddy lot. Perhaps he was here—and with any luck, he wo
uld be without any
amulets or charms.

Gathering as much energy as she could spare, Byrony forced a shape-shift. She pulled herself into her bird shape and fluttered up to the window. She wouldn’t be able to hold it for long, but she’d only need a moment if she was right.

Byrony tapped fiercely against the
glass
with her beak.
A face appeared
at the window
: t
he
mortal boy. His gray eyes widened at the sight of her, and he drew back from the window.

Perfect. Byrony released herself from her bird shape and dropped into the alley.

She drew a glamour around herself like a cloak, the strongest she could muster.
S
he glamoured herself to resemble Weatherly as much as possible. From this distance,
in such a short time, the boy wouldn’
t notice any small imperfections in her glamour.

Then she clenched her fists tightly and focused. With a great deal of effort, she managed to coax several limp weeds from the ground. They spiraled slowly upward, toward the window, where they worked their way between the frame and glass and into the room beyond.

A moment later,
t
h
e
boy
pushed the window open and stuck hi
s head out. Immediately he frowned in confusion and opened his mouth to speak.

Smiling, Byrony imbued her voice with glamour
. Then she called up to him:

“
Mortal boy. Now you will listen to me.
”

Chapter Nineteen:

Speak

Conall and Tipper lingered only a minute after they reached Flicker. Filo, Alice and Nasser spoke quietly with them as Filo unlocked the door that Nasser had so hastily locked behind him.  They
conducted
their conversation in Old Faerie,
though,
so Lee was entirely lost.

The silent shop felt wonderfully warm. Lee pulled
off her necklace and
rubbed her hands together while Nasser hustled upstairs.
Near the counter, Filo and Alice eyeballed
each other.

“You’re hurt,” Filo said finally.

“You’re hurt worse.
Look at those bruises on your neck.”

He shrugged. “There ought to be a few on yours, too.”

In response, Alice tugged down the collar of her sweater. The bruises on her face and neck already were turning yellow and green, as if they were days old, not hours. The shallow cuts on her cheeks and hands were scabbed over.

“But—” Lee said, moving closer and leaning in toward Alice. “How?”

She shrugged demurely. “That’s my secondary ability,” she said. “I heal fast. Not immediately. But faster than normals. Scratches and bruises are nothing.”

“What about your ankle?”

Alice
frowned, as if at a minor inconvenience. “Oh. That
’ll take a little longer.” She
was leaning against the counter now, keeping weight off her injured ankle. She’d been limping
badly
on the way back, and Lee was certain she’d heard Filo whisper an offer to carry her the rest of the way to Flicker, but Alice had ignored him.

Without warning, the door to the stairs flew open and Nasser burst into the shop. Before anyone could ask him what was wrong, he told them:

“Jason’s gone.”

* * *

Despite t
heir weariness, they raced upstairs
. Even Alice hobbled up the stairs and through
the apartment
as quickly as her legs would take her.

The bedroom door was open. So was the
window
.

“He’d locked the door behind him when I left,” N
asser explained hurriedly
. “When we got back, I opened it with a counter-spell. And he was gone.”

“He climbed out the window?” Alice aske
d
. “How?”

Furrowing her brow, Lee crossed to the window and stuck her head out. “
I don't see how he could’
ve left out the window
,” she informed them. “No ropes made of sheets or anything
, and it’
s too far to jump
.”

“Salt and
sage
,” Filo groaned. “What’d you do to set him off this time?”

“Does it matter? He’s gone!” Nasser clenched his hands into fists.

“Why did you leave him alone? You know he takes off at every opportunity!” Filo stepped forward. Eyes narrowed, Nasser matched him.

While Lee st
epped back, unsure
, Al
ice charged forward. She planted herself
between the boys before they
could begin fighting in earnest
,
so automatically that Lee supposed she had done it many times before.

“That’s
enough!
”
she snapped, pushing them apart. “I don’t need you arguing when we’ve got bigger problems to deal with. Got it?”

“Got it,” Nasser sighed. Filo just rolled his eyes.

After a moment, Lee asked, “So what are we going to do?”

With a heavy sigh, Alice sat on the nearest bed and crinkled her
brow. “We,” she said
, “
are going to wait
. See if he comes back.” She looked up at Nasser. “Do you think he would?”