Ghost Light (16 page)

I stared at Ceff and a smile tugged at his lips.  I bit my lip, wishing I didn’t smell like the inside of a rotting corpse.  After a few minutes, the water trickled to mist.

“That’s all the moisture I can manage to pull from the air,” he said.

“Thanks,” I said.  I sighed.  There was no way I could go directly to Club Nexus looking and smelling like this.  Making my grand entrance into fae society covered in rotting ghoul guts?  Yeah, not an option.  “I need a shower and a change of clothes.”

I looked up and down the street.  It was after dark and the night crowd was beginning to come out to play.  Pretty soon someone was going to notice that I was dripping liquefied corpse intestines.

The only thing keeping me from curious eyes was the fact that I was upwind from most of the revelers and standing in shadow.  But I couldn’t stay that way for the entire walk home.  The loft was too far away.

“If we can find a bigger water source, can you rinse more of this off?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said, nodding.

I pulled a slip of paper from my jeans pocket and squinted at the address.  Marvin’s new digs weren’t far from here.  And where there’s a bridge, there’s usually water.

“Come on,” I said.

I started walking, but turned back to see if Stinky had made it safely inside.  The doors to the vampire’s lair were closed and the stoop was empty.  If I hadn’t stopped to thank the ghoul, I might not be covered in rotting, slimy, dead guy.  I shook my head ruefully and continued walking.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Chapter 17

T
hankfully we didn’t have far to go.  A few people scowled and gave me a wide berth, but we stuck to the shadows and made it to the bridge without incident.

The bridge where Marvin had taken up residence was small, a single stone arch over a burbling stream.  Homes and apartment buildings sat on a ridge where the land rose above on either side.  The bridge itself sat low, hovering over the stream where a river had once cut its way into the earth.

As we approached, I heard snores echo from the shadows.  The kid was asleep.

I made sure my booted feet hit every rock on the narrow trail that led down to the bridge.  When we were only a few yards away, I called out to Marvin.  The bridge troll had been attacked in his previous home and I didn’t want to frighten him.

The snores ceased and the kid rolled to his feet, a baseball bat dwarfed in his huge hands.  Marvin had been sleeping armed.  I wasn’t sure if I should be proud or cry.

“Hey, Marvin,” I said.

“Poison Ivy?” he asked.

“Yeah, it’s me and Ceff,” I said.

“You stink,” he said.

 “I sure do,” I said.

That was one thing about my troll friend.  He got right to the point.  And when a troll thinks you smell bad, you know that you seriously stink.  I started to laugh and gagged, again.  I’d been doing a lot of that since Stinky busted a gut all over me.

Normally, the only thing that comes between me and the contents of my stomach is a return trip to my body after a particularly nasty vision.  But rotten ghoul gunk was a whole new can of maggots.  I covered my mouth and tried to calm the churning in my belly.  I didn’t want to foul Marvin’s new digs any worse than I already was.

When I caught my breath, I told Marvin about our visit to the vamp’s lair and the exploding ghoul.  He was still chuckling as he led us downstream.

“Clean here,” he said.

“Thanks,” I said.  “I promise to bring a housewarming gift next time.”

“Don’t stink,” he said.

That was a gift I could manage—so long as no more ghouls exploded on me.

Marvin flashed a gap toothed grin and I smiled.  There was something about being around the orphan bridge troll that made me feel comfortable, like coming home.  We’d become each other’s surrogate family since the
each uisge
attack.  I was glad to see that even though Marvin’s injuries were healing and he was moving on, we had managed to stay friends.

“Ready?” Ceff asked.

I nodded, stepped into the stream, and tried not to blush.  My skin had tingled the first time Ceff pulled water from the air.  What would happen when he tapped into an entire stream?

Ceff lifted his hands to chest level and closed his eyes.  When he opened them again, his eyes shone bright green in the darkness of the streambed.  Water rushed from the ground to Ceff’s hands where it spooled into a large sphere.

I stood, mouth gaping, as he wove the water using his kelpie magic.  With a flick of his wrist water rose from the sphere to cascade over me, my own private rain shower.  I snapped my jaw shut and tried to remain still, but it was hard not to fidget.  The water pouring over my body made my skin heat and left me breathless.

I met Ceff’s glowing gaze and he winked.  A flush ran up my neck and face and I bit my lip.  I think we just discovered a way to get past our inability to touch.  Too bad we were too busy to explore our options further.

Ceff lowered his hands and the water returned to the stream.  I sighed and shook off, shedding water like a dog.  Fun time was over.  It was time to bag some bad guys.

I looked over my clothes and frowned.  I’d need to wipe excess moisture off my leather jacket and give it a rubdown with mink oil, but it was salvageable.  The t-shirt and jeans were soaked through.  I pulled at the clothes, but the shirt stuck to me like a second skin and the jeans chafed as I stepped out of the stream.  There was no way I could run or fight in these clothes.

And I still smelled like ghoul guts.

If I was going to make a trip to Club Nexus tonight, I needed to keep that appointment with my shower and a bar of soap.  I sniffed my hair and winced.  Make that a case of soap and bottle of shampoo.  I turned to Marvin and waved.

“Thanks, Marvin,” I said.  “We have to run, but I promise to bring some honey next time I stop by.”

“Find children?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.  “I gotta stop by the loft for a change of clothes, then a trip to Club Nexus.  But we’ll find them.”

Marvin nodded and I turned to leave.  When Ceff and I made it to the top of the hill, I turned to see Marvin ducking under his bridge.  It was then that I realized he was still holding the baseball bat.

A lump formed in my throat.

“I won’t let bad things happen to any more fae kids,” I whispered.  “Not in my city.”

I tightened my fists and dug the wet toes of my boots into the scree that covered the embankment.  I was going to find those kids and I wouldn’t let anything get in my way.

Chapter 18

C
eff and I hurried back to the loft as fast as we could move without attracting the wrong kind of attention.  I was no longer covered in rotting blood and chunks of corpse flesh, but if a cop came too close they might notice the smell, and the fact I was soaking wet and carrying an arsenal of weapons.  It’s hard to keep weapons concealed when your clothes are sticking like a second skin.

The brisk walk in wet jeans had chafed the skin around both my thighs and the backs of my knees.  The raw skin burned in the shower.  Good thing I wasn’t staying under the hot water for long.  There was a hell of a lot more to do tonight and long showers weren’t on the list.  I dumped an entire bottle of shampoo over my head and rinsed fast.

I pulled on a clean t-shirt and stepped into a dry pair of jeans.  My legs burned when I moved, but that was okay.  The pain would help keep me awake and focused.  I blew dry my hair and let it hang down over my shoulders to finish airing out.

Before stepping in the shower, I’d wiped down my boots, removed the insoles, and stuffed them with dry towels.  I pulled out the soggy towels, tossed them into the tub, and aimed the blow dryer inside the boot shaft.  The heat would be hell on the leather, but right now I was more worried about my feet.  I pulled the boots on with a tug and wiggled my toes.  They were damp, but if I was going to face an angry lamia, a piper with an enchanted demon flute, and a dancing ring of the animated dead, I wanted steal toes and a place to hide my dagger.

My weapons came next.  I strapped a forearm sheath to each arm, and slid my throwing knives in and out, testing that they were secure, but could be pulled easily.  If I needed my blades, I wouldn’t have any time to spare.  Every wasted second could mean my death, or the loss of someone I cared about.  I thrust a dagger into my boot and shrugged on my leather jacket.

I stood and looked in the mirror.  The face staring back at me didn’t look at all like a princess, but it would have to do.  At least I no longer smelled like rotting flesh.

I stepped out into our loft apartment and stopped dead in my tracks.  While I’d been in the shower, Jinx had transformed.  I may be the faerie princess, but I looked like a thug in my jeans and leathers.  Jinx, my totally human best friend, was just missing a crown.

Jinx stood in a short, sequin-covered shift that reflected and caught the light in hundreds of sparkling rainbows.  Her black hair was held up with wooden hair sticks that could double as stakes and she’d abandoned the matching sequined clutch for a velvet bag which she’d slung over one shoulder.  The bag was large enough to carry a crossbow and a hip quiver packed with iron bolts.

Jinx had foregone matching accessories for weapons?  That could only mean one thing.  Jinx was going with us to Club Nexus.

My heart did a flip-flop of joy and fear.  I was secretly pleased that my friend was willing to go with me, but she was only human.  I didn’t know what would happen to her once we stepped inside the club, or if they would even let her through the doors.  I started to shake my head, but Jinx raised a hand and put the other firmly on her hip.

“I’m going with you,” she said.

“But…” I said.

“No,” she said, shaking a finger at me.  “There is no way you’re leaving me behind on this one.  I am not missing my best friend’s introduction to fae society.”

I flicked my eyes at Ceff, who had the sense to take a step back.

“I am sorry,” he said.  “I thought Jinx should know where we were going, in case she needed to contact us.  I didn’t realize that she would wish to attend your coming out ceremony.”

I narrowed my eyes.  Ceff was so busted.  Jinx would never miss a party.  I was pretty sure that my boyfriend was well aware of that, but had told her where we were going anyway.  Thing was, I had no idea why.

That made me more nervous than the thought of battling Melusine or The Piper.  If Ceff thought I needed Jinx along for backup, then maybe there was more to this faerie royalty thing than I realized.  But what other choice did I have?

The children were still out there somewhere.  I had to find those kids tonight, but there were too many graveyards and cemeteries where The Piper could be hiding.  We had to narrow down the search.

And I needed leads on Will-o’-the-Wisp.  I had to track down my father if I wanted to continue taking any cases that involved leaving my apartment.  I’d been lucky so far, but I didn’t expect that luck to hold out.  If I didn’t find a way to control my wisp powers and learn to create a concealing glamour, the faerie courts would have me executed for treason—whether I was a princess or not.

I sighed.

“Okay, but I can’t guarantee they’ll let you inside the club,” I said.

“Yes!” Jinx exclaimed.

She squeezed her eyes shut and did a little happy dance.  Even her eye makeup looked fit for a princess.  Jinx had applied faerie ointment so that she would have the ability to see through most faerie glamour.

Unlike Jenna who usually slathers the stuff on like petroleum jelly, Jinx uses a makeup brush.  Jinx normally adds a bit of dark pigment to the ointment and uses it to line her eyes, but tonight she was going for a more dramatic look—one that would allow her see and be seen.  She’d added glitter to the dark pigment and ointment, and brushed it onto her entire eyelid in bold strokes.

The smell of clover was strong as she blinked away happy tears, showing off eyelids that looked like a starry midnight sky.  I clutched the door casing, overcome by dizziness.

*****

I sank into the memory of a long forgotten night, the heady smell of clover in my nose and my eyes on the stars.  I was lying on a bed of clover, staring up at the star filled night sky.  My father, Will-o’-the-Wisp, leaned over me into my line of sight.

I smiled, reaching my arms up for a hug.  He lifted me into strong arms and kissed my forehead, then set me on his shoulders where I grabbed at the glowing fireflies dancing around his head.  He carried me across the lawn and toward the house.  It was the same house I’d grown up in with my mother and stepfather, but it looked brighter, cleaner, and larger than I remembered.  Even beneath the night sky, flowers surrounded the house in full bloom.

We met my mother on the porch and I squealed as father pulled me from his shoulders.  He pretended I was flying as he lowered me down to the freshly painted porch.

The house wasn’t the only thing to look refreshed.  My mother was fully transformed.  Until now, I hadn’t remembered her ever looking so happy.  The perpetual lines in her forehead were gone and her eyes crinkled at the corners.  For once my mother wasn’t frowning.  Her smile was radiant.

Her face, and my father’s, began to blur.  I tried to hold on, to make the memory last just a bit longer, but the happy moment was replaced by a second memory.  This new memory was from a different day entirely.

“Please don’t leave,” my mother sobbed.

She was on the porch and I crouched inside the house, behind the half-open door.  I could hear her voice shaking, but she stood just out of sight of my hiding spot.  Her hands were the only part of her that I could see clearly.

My father was standing on the front lawn.  He was holding a lantern that shone strangely and cast eerie shadows over his face.  His shoulders were slumped and he looked like he was in pain.  I wanted to run to him and ask if he was hurt, but something about the lantern in his hand frightened me.

I held my breath and listened.

“I must go,” he said.