Ghost Light (24 page)

“Time for you to be off,” she said.  “Humphrey will make sure you get home safe.”

I limped to the door, sweating with the exertion.  Kaye had warned that I’d be “weak as a babe” for a few days.  Weak as a babe?  That was an understatement.  I was as boneless as a brollachan and pale as a vampire.  Whoever Humphrey was, I hoped he walked slowly.

I’d be lucky if I made it home without passing out.

Chapter 25

A
s it turned out, Humphrey was a gargoyle.  I was pretty sure he was the same gargoyle from the other day, but it was hard to tell.  He sported a familiar combination of features, a mutation of dog, goat, and bat, but I had trouble examining him closely.  The gargoyle was flying a few yards above me and I started to fall over each time I tilted back my head.

I shook off a wave of dizziness, put my hands in my pockets, and started the long walk home.  My wrist throbbed and a burning pain stabbed my side with every step.  I was pretty sure that if I had to raise my arm in a knife throwing stance, I’d pass out.

Thankfully, Kaye had provided the gargoyle escort.  I may be too weak to defend myself, but I had no doubt that the half ton of living stone could keep me safe.  Still, it was a long-ass walk to my apartment.

I limped along slowly, avoiding looks from passerby.  When I was nearly home, my phone rang.  I jumped at the sound and hissed at the pain the movement caused.  The gargoyle glanced down and snorted.  He seemed to find my predicament amusing. 
Har, har.

I winced and pulled my phone from my pocket.  The number to our office flashed on the screen.

“Hey,” I said, answering the call.  “Miss me already?”

“Kaye said you were on your way home,” Jinx said.  “But we got a problem.  I need you to stop by the office.”

“Seriously?” I asked.

“Dude, I need you down here,” she said, and hung up.

I stared at the blank screen and sighed.  Shoulders slumped, I trudged to the office.  All I wanted was my bed, but there was no rest for the wicked.  Some days it sucked to be me.

I turned the corner to see a crowd assembled in front of Private Eye.  The gargoyle gave a rumbling growl of warning and I looked up to see his ears lay back flat against his head.  I reached into my sleeves, making sure my blades were one flick away from my hands.  My right wrist was stiff, but if I ignored the pain, I could grab the throwing knife.  I just hoped I didn’t need my weapons.  I’d be able to fight, but it wouldn’t be pretty.

Faces turned toward me and I stopped dead in my tracks.  For a moment, I felt a sense of déjà vu.  The crowd was made up of the same fae parents from a previous morning, but the assembled fae were no longer gnashing their teeth and wringing clawed hands.  This time they were smiling and waving at me, though many had tears in their eyes.

This mob wasn’t here to lynch me.  Considering my current state of health, that was a good thing.  When Jinx saw me turn the corner, she jumped into the street and yelled, “surprise!”  I slid my hands away from my weapons and gave the gargoyle a quick nod.

“It’s okay Humphrey,” I said.  “That’s my friend and business partner Jinx…and a few of our clients.”

The gargoyle’s stone hackles disappeared and he came to rest on a nearby building.  He started licking his front paw, ignoring the people milling about below.  Apparently, Humphrey was satisfied that the crowd didn’t pose a threat.

I turned a stiff smile to Jinx and limped forward.

“Um, hi,” I said.  “What’s going on?”

Jinx gestured at the crowd behind her.

“These peeps heard you were recovering and wanted to say thank you,” she said.  “When Kaye announced you were coming home today, we put together a little welcome home party.”

A surprise party, for me?  I’d spent years avoiding parties, even going so far as to beg my parents not to celebrate my birthday.  Crowds and presents usually filled me with dread.  But looking at the smiling faces of the parents whose children I’d helped rescue, produced an entirely different emotion.

The faeries lifted a banner above their heads to flap in the breeze.  I examined the banner through joyful tears.  Someone had painted “thank you” in the center of the banner in big, red letters.  Around the words were numerous drawings and paintings of happy families.  The families were all different, some had wings or horns or fur, but they were all drawn with smiling faces.

The children from the cemetery had each drawn a picture of themselves at home with their family, safe and happy.  The children’s artwork was one of the nicest gifts I’d ever received.  Tears filled my eyes and I bit my lip as it began to tremble.

Most days, being a hero meant blood, sweat, and potential insanity, but then there were days like today.  Days like this?  They make it all worthwhile.

Chapter 26

I
leaned back in my office chair, boots resting on my desk.  I closed my eyes and sighed.  I could stay here for a week.

It was getting late and Jinx and I were the only ones left in the office.  The place was finally quiet.  The parents of the fae children were gone, but I wasn’t ready to climb the stairs to our loft apartment.

I was tired and sore, but happy.  Each parent had taken the time to sit with me and tell me about the moment they heard the phone ring, knock at the door, or splash in their fountain heralding the good news that their child was alive and safe.  I’d laughed, drank copious amounts of coffee, and cried as these clients shared their stories.

I usually met face to face with a client at the end of case.  I had found that it helped clients to understand my findings if I explained the details of the case in person.  It also gave us closure.  But I’d never had a case as satisfying to bring to an end as the case of the thirty-three missing fae children.  Every child had been saved, every family reunited, and I had sat with each parent to bring the case to a close.

I hadn’t realized until today just how terrified I’d been with the lives of so many children hanging in the balance.  I’d tamped down my own emotions and did what had to be done.  With the case solved there was no need to keep that fear and self-doubt locked inside.

The worry I hadn’t allowed myself to feel while searching for the children came crashing back with the meeting of every parent.  I’d spent the day with clenched fists and tight shoulders as I retold the most important events of the case, but now that it was over I felt completely relaxed.

Jinx clapped her hands together and I opened my eyes.

“Case closed,” Jinx said.  “I just finished logging the payments from our clients.  Time to get you home and in bed.”

I yawned.  I had no intention of getting out of my comfy chair.

“Go on up,” I said.  “I’m staying here tonight.”

“You can’t be serious,” she said.  “If you sleep there, you’ll get a stiff neck.”

Before I could answer, someone tapped on our office door.

“If that’s a client, I’m not here,” I said.

“Right, and that’s so convincing with you sitting there in plain sight,” she muttered.

Jinx sauntered over to the door and peeked out the window.  She smiled and opened the door for Ceff who stood illuminated by lamplight.

Ceff was in human form, though the large, not-so-human, dark green irises that encompassed his eyes were evident in my second sight.  Except for the eyes, Ceff looked like a human male in his early thirties, one who just walked off the cover of GQ magazine.  He stood in the doorway wearing an unbuttoned dress shirt and low-slung jeans.  Lamplight played across a strong jaw pebbled with a five o’clock shadow.  My eyes flicked down to where he stood on the brick sidewalk and I smiled.  As usual, Ceff was barefoot.

“Is Ivy here?” Ceff asked.

“She’s inside,” Jinx said.  She stepped aside and pointed to where I reclined behind my desk.  “I haven’t been able to get her butt out of that chair.  Maybe you can talk some sense into her.”

Ceff quirked an eyebrow at me and a grin touched his lips.  Crap.  I’d been caught enjoying the view.

I fumbled with my chair, trying to push myself to my feet.  I got as far as planting my boots on the floor before a head-rush made me stop.  I tried to blink away the wave of dizziness, but the entire room tilted and spun.  I swallowed hard as bile rose in my throat.

Standing had been a mistake.

I rested my elbows on the arms of the chair and let my head drop into my hands.  I’d have stuck my head between my legs to keep the room from spinning, but bending any farther forward wasn’t an option.  The wound in my side was already screaming in protest.

Ceff rushed over to where I sat slumped in my chair.  I sucked air through clenched teeth and tried to ignore the coffee churning in my stomach.  I may not be able to stand, but I’d sure as hell try not to throw up.

“Here,” Ceff said.

His voice was rough like he’d been crying recently, but when I lifted my head his eyes were full of concern not grief.  He’d pulled the sleeve of his shirt over his hand and lifted a glass from my desk.  I watched the glass fill with water and the water cooler burped air from across the room, making Jinx jump.  Ceff was using his kelpie magic to draw the water to him.  Jinx shook her head and went back to straightening papers on her desk.

I smiled and accepted the glass of water.

“Thanks,” I said.

I sipped the water, hiding behind the glass.  What do you say to the man you care about, when you’ve just killed his ex-wife?

“Looks like I missed the party,” he said.  “Sorry I’m late.”

“Your loss,” I said flashing Ceff a wry smile.  “There was music and dancing on tables.”

I waggled my eyebrows and Ceff barked a laugh not unlike a seal.  I’d managed to bring a smile to his face.  I smiled in return, wondering what to say next.  I shifted in my seat, trying to find a comfortable position.

“Don’t let her fool you,” Jinx said from across the room.  She paused in tidying up her desk long enough to point a fountain pen my way. 
Pesky eavesdropper
.  “She hasn’t moved since she fell into that chair this morning.”

“We shall have to remedy that situation,” Ceff said.

He leaned in close, eyes flashing green.  My heart raced and Ceff quirked his lips.

“T-t-there’s no way I’m making it up those stairs,” I said, breathless.  “I can barely walk.”

“No need,” he said.

Ceff scooped me into his arms so fast I didn’t have time to draw a weapon.  It was funny that stabbing him was my first reaction to being carried.  I froze, holding my breath, every muscle locked in place.

“Hey, you two, get a room,” Jinx said.

“That is precisely my plan,” Ceff said.  He leaned his lips close to my ear and whispered.  “Don’t worry, I won’t touch your skin and risk a vision.”

His breath grazed my ear and warmth spread through my body.  At a loss for words, I blinked in reply.  Ceff chuckled and carried me across the room.

The last thing I saw as we left the office was Jinx flashing me two thumbs up.

Chapter 27

C
eff helped me get settled onto my bed.  It took nearly every pillow and cushion in the apartment to prop me up into a comfortable position, but I had to admit it was better than my office chair.  I pushed myself up a bit further onto the pillows with my one good hand and winced.  My head pounded with the effort and I sucked air through my teeth as gauze, now stiff with dried blood, peeled away from the wound at my side.

I’d need to change the bandage soon, but first I had to tackle the sensitive topic of killing my boyfriend’s ex.  I fidgeted with the blankets and sighed.  My life was seriously messed up.

Ceff’s eyes took in my beat-up jeans, thin tank top, and the bump of gauze at my side.  I’d stripped off my leather jacket, boots, and knives at the bedroom door.  Without a word, Ceff turned and left the room.  I could hear him rummaging in the kitchen and opening and closing cabinets.  He returned a few minutes later with a shot of whiskey.

“Here, drink this,” he said.

I don’t usually drink hard liquor, but I made an exception.  I knocked back the shot glass and set it on the bureau.  The whiskey burned all the way down, but I suddenly wished he’d brought in the entire bottle.  I needed the liquid courage.

“I’m so sorry about Melusine,” I said.

I stared at my gloved hands in my lap, unable to meet Ceff’s eyes.  He froze on his way to perch on the bed beside me.  He changed direction and sat on the floor, resting his head against the wall. 
Way to kill the mood, Ivy.

“It was not your fault,” he said.

Dark circles ringed his eyes and I noticed for the first time that Ceff’s normally impeccable clothes were rumpled.  My boyfriend had spent the day mourning the death of his ex-wife.  No matter what he said, I felt guilty.

“I killed her in cold blood,” I said.  “Her death was definitely my fault.”

“She left you no choice,” he said, shaking his head.  “If our roles had been reversed, I would have done the same.”

I thought about that.  If Melusine had been inches away from killing me, Ceff would have fought to protect me.  He wouldn’t have held back.  I nodded, accepting his words for truth.

“So we’re okay?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“Are you…okay?” I asked.

“I will be,” he said.  “The hardest thing to live with is the guilt.  I was angry with Mel for so long, for what she did to our sons.  When I woke up and Jinx told me that Melusine was dead, I was…relieved.  A part of me is happy that she’s dead, and I feel guilty for that.”

Ceff pulled himself up off the floor and rolled onto one knee beside the bed.

“Promise me one thing,” he said.

I swallowed hard.

“Anything,” I said, nodding once.

“Do not ever keep your feelings hidden from me,” he said.  “If you tire of my attentions, send me away.  Do not hold your emotions inside where they can fester.  That is what Melusine did, for hundreds of years.”

Yeah, and we all know how that ended.  Melusine’s jealousy had driven her mad.  She’d manipulated Ceff into executing their oldest son for treason and she murdered their youngest son, throwing the tiny infant into a raging fire.  When she discovered Ceff had a new girlfriend, Melusine had gone off the deep end again.  With the help of my wisp brethren and The Piper, she’d arranged to kidnap and murder over thirty fae children and planned to kill me as well.  And if ridding Ceff of his “half-breed distraction” didn’t work to win him back, she intended to kill him too.