Ghost Light (30 page)

The seer didn’t answer.  At closer scrutiny, I realized by the rise and fall of her chest that she’d fallen asleep on her feet.

“Let’s go, Princess,” Torn said.

The cat sidhe started walking toward the pathway from which we’d come.  The bones and feathers adorning his leather clothing rattled as he sauntered away from the ring of standing stones.  He swaggered confidently, but I wasn’t fooled.  Torn’s face had paled at the mention of Tech Duinn.

“What is this Tech Duinn?” I asked.  “And who is Donn?”

“Tech Duinn is the house of Donn,” he said.  Torn rubbed his chin and grimaced.  “Celtic god of the dead.”

For once I was in agreement with Torn. 
Oh shit.

Chapter 36

I
stumbled into the alley and braced my gloved hands on my knees.  A person may not tire while in Mag Mell, but the return trip was a doozy.  I sucked in air and looked around for my unlikely travel companion.  Torn rested against the dingy brick wall and waved.

“I’m famished,” he said.  “Later, Princess.”

He grabbed hold of a rusty fire escape and pulled himself gracefully off the ground.

“Wait,” I said.  “I have one more question.”

“What now, Princess?” he asked.  “You’ve already ruined a perfectly good trip to the Otherworld.  Give a man a break.”

Right, like the druid’s divination was all my fault.  It’s not like I chose to have the door to my kingdom accessed through an Otherworld realm of the dead.

 “This question is easy,” I said.  “No death gods, just access to your information network.  I need to find someone by the name of Inari.  I think she’s fae.”

“THE Inari?” he asked.  “As in, Inari, queen of the kitsuni?”

“Um, yeah, I guess so,” I said.

“Count me out, princess,” he said.  “Inari and me, we have a history.  I learned a lesson from my time with the kitsuni queen.”

“What lesson is that?” I asked.

“Don’t date chicks with nine tails,” he said.

Torn scampered up the fire escape and onto the roof of a neighboring building.  I’d gotten all I could from the cat sidhe for one day.  It was time to head home.

Time.

I bit my lip and pulled out my phone with shaking hands.  Torn had said that time in the Otherworlds moved at a different pace from the mortal realm.  How long had I been gone?  I checked the time and date and let out the breath I’d been holding.  I’d only lost six hours in Mag Mell.  My human friends were still alive.

The downside?  I was late for my date with Ceff.

I’d hoped to pay Jenna a visit at the dojo.  I needed to see about scheduling a date to begin training again.  I couldn’t afford to get rusty, not now that I’d be spending the summer solstice breaking into the home of a death god.

I didn’t have time now for a trip to the dojo, but at least I could give the Hunter a call.  I squeezed the bridge of my nose, a headache building behind my eyes, and punched in Jenna’s number.  The Hunter answered on the first ring.  There was nothing wrong with that girl’s reflexes.

“You on a new job already?” she asked.  “Jinx said you were on bed rest all week.”

Jenna sounded out of breath and her words were interspersed with the clanging of metal against metal.  The Hunter was talking on the phone while sparring.  Show off.

“No, I’m taking it easy,” I said.  “Just working on something personal at the moment.”

“You need someone to provide backup?” she asked.

I heard a loud thwap and a grunt and the ringing of metal ceased.  Jenna had struck a victory against her opponent while chatting with me on the phone.  The pint sized redhead made being a badass look easy.

“No, I’m good,” I said. 
For now.
  I’d need Jenna’s help to survive passage through Tech Duinn, but I wasn’t ready to talk about that yet.  Kaye said I had to keep the door to Faerie secret from humans and the last thing I wanted was to put Jenna on the fae’s hit list.  “I wanted to thank you for the replacement blades and see when I can return to weapons training.”

“No thanks necessary,” she said.  “I’ll add the cost of the blades to next month’s training.”

That was Jenna, always practical.

“So I can return next month?” I asked.

“Sure,” she said.  “Stop by next week and we’ll try running you through some drills.  Once I assess where you’re at with your recovery, I can give you some flows to practice as homework.  Last thing you need is to stiffen up or lose muscle tone.”

“Thanks, Jenna,” I said.

“Anytime,” she said.  “And Ivy?  Try not to get bitten by anymore lamias?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” I said.

That was one promise that I hoped I could keep.

Chapter 37

I
trudged up the steps to my apartment and paused on the landing outside the door.  My body felt heavy and I took a deep breath, fighting the tightness in my chest.  I didn’t relish the prospect of keeping secrets from Jinx.

Holding information back from Jenna was easy.  There are some things that fae, even half-breeds, don’t share with Hunters.  But not telling Jinx about my father’s key and my search for the door to Faerie felt like a terrible lie of omission.  I pushed open the door to the loft with a bitter taste on my tongue.

I looked around the loft, listening for movement in any of the back rooms, and smiled.  Jinx was nowhere in sight.  Ceff was preparing food in the kitchen and Jinx had apparently gone out.  I wouldn’t have to face my roommate just yet.

I tossed my jacket over the back of the couch and strode to where Ceff was holding two empty glasses.

“Champagne?” he asked.

“Hell yes,” I said.

“Bad day?” he asked.

“The worst,” I said.

I explained about the visit with my mother, our trip to the hospital, the key my father left me, Kaye’s instruction to keep the whole thing quiet, and Torn’s trick to learn of the key’s existence.

“So now I have to secretly plan how to breach the gates of Tech Duinn, break into a death god’s house, and find a door hidden in his hearth,” I said.  “If the key opens the door, then I’ll have to bring my investigation of my father’s whereabouts to Faerie.”

“Not tonight you don’t,” Ceff said.  “You’ve visited the Otherworld and had a breakthrough in the relationship with your mother.  You can begin your planning tomorrow.  Tonight we dine.”

Ceff waved a hand at the plates and silverware he’d set out on the bar.  Candles were lit and placed around the apartment.  He’d even bought flowers and arranged them in a vase set between the two place settings.

The smell of roasted meat and vegetables made my mouth water.  My stomach growled and I realized I’d missed lunch while in Mag Mell.  Dinner sounded fabulous, but first I needed to freshen up.

“Do I have time for a shower?” I asked.

“That depends,” he said.  “How much time do we need?”

Ceff’s eyes began to glow and warmth spread to my belly.  I licked my lips and kicked off my boots.  Dinner could wait.  I started walking toward Ceff, the heat rippling off my skin making the room shimmer.

“An hour,” I said.  “Maybe more.”

Ceff turned off the oven and leaned in close.  Water swirled around his body and a champagne bottle burst open behind him.  Ceff lifted me onto the counter, pressing his lips against my own.  When our lips met the visions of Ceff’s memories came streaming through me, but, this time, they were gone in a flash.

I shed a tear when I experienced Ceff’s torture at the
each uisge’s
hands and then I was back in the kitchen, safe and whole.  Ceff brushed the lone tear from my cheek, watching me raptly from inches away.

My breath caught as cool droplets of water and champagne skimmed across my heated skin.  Ceff smiled and pulled me closer.  This time when we kissed his lips pressed hard with need.  Ceff opened his lips and his tongue searched my mouth with the same urgency as the rivulets of moisture which now explored my body.

I moaned and Ceff smiled against my lips.  The flames of my wisp blood rose and heat flared.  The dozens of liquid fingers disappeared, filling the room with steam.

“Need more water,” he said.

Ceff lifted me off the counter and strode out of the kitchen.  He carried me into the shower and I forgot all about secret keys, deadly missions, and death gods.

Chapter 38

T
his morning Ceff returned to the sea.  He’d stayed a week while mourning the loss of his ex-wife, and exploring the new aspects of our relationship.  I was sorry to see him go, but all water fae must return to water and, as king, Ceff had responsibilities he couldn’t put off any longer.

At least Jinx was happy.  She’d finally get a good night’s sleep.

With the place to ourselves, Jinx and I tackled the job of putting our office back to rights.  Anxious parents can do a number on hardwood and our lobby floor was no exception.  Armed with a power sander and wood putty, we repaired the scratches and deep grooves left by hooves, claws, and talons.

I rubbed sore muscles and surveyed our handy work.  Jinx said she liked the new lobby better than before.  It probably says something about me that it took a mob of faeries to motivate me to give the place a make-over.  I wasn’t one for appearances, but I had to agree with Jinx, the place looked great.

Not bad for a day’s work.

I was supposed to still be on bed rest, but I felt fine.  Heck, I felt amazing.  I lifted the edge of my shirt and prodded the scars on my side with gloved fingers. The skin was still pink, but I was healing faster than a normal human.  At this rate, I’d be back to sparring with Jenna within the week.

Jinx tossed me a bottle of water and I caught it out of the air.  Accelerated healing wasn’t the only perk of being half fae.  My wisp powers were awakening, bringing increased strength and speed.  I was no superhero, but my fae blood was finally giving me an edge—not just pushing me to the brink.

I hoped that my new abilities would be enough to help me survive my sojourn through Tech Duinn and into Faerie.  I had no idea what to expect when I reached the wisp court, but, like Ceff said, my battle plans could wait a day.  The summer solstice was still months away and I’d promised Jinx we’d go out and celebrate a successful case.

Even after making repairs to the office, we had money to spend.  Jinx had been frugal with our expenses lately and the case we were going out to celebrate had brought us a big payday.  Gone were the days of celebrating a closed case with an extra cup of ramen noodles.  We could afford to take the night off and live a little.

Plus, I couldn’t let Jinx down.  She was on the rebound from Hans and I had been spending nearly all of my free time with Ceff.  It was high time for a girls night.

“So, we going out tonight?” Jinx asked.

I wiped sweat from my brow and gulped down the bottle of water.

“Yeah, where to?” I asked.  “Your choice.”

“Really?” she asked.  “Pinky swear.  No take backs.”

“I swear,” I said.

I smiled, but didn’t offer my pinky.  Jinx didn’t seem to mind.

I might be getting better at dealing with Ceff’s visions, but that didn’t mean I wanted to go around touching everybody.  The thought left my mouth dry.  I tipped the bottle back and finished off the last sip.  No, I didn’t want to live through everyone’s painful memories.  I had enough of my own.  Plus, I owed my friend some privacy.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” she said.  Jinx placed a hand on her hip and winked.  “There’s a club I’ve been dying to get back into, but it seems I’m not on the guest list.”  Jinx pushed her full, red lips into a pout.  “You really should do something about that.  I’m sure Nexus would allow a human vassal through the doors if you put me on the list.”

Oberon’s eyes on a stick, Jinx wanted carte blanche access to Club Nexus.  And she wanted to go there tonight.  The room filled with the hollow, rapid-fire sound of my gloved hand crushing the empty, plastic water bottle.

“You’re kidding, right?” I asked.

“How much trouble can I get into anyway?” she asked.  “As your human vassal, I’m protected.  Plus, there were so many hotties there the other night.”

“You want to go out with a faerie?” I asked.  “That’s insane.”

“What, think I’m not good enough for your kind?” she asked.  Her chin trembled and she caught her lip between her teeth.

“No,” I said, shaking my head.  “Mab knows you’re better than all the guys in that club combined.  I’m just worried what they might do to you.  The fae aren’t known for their good behavior toward humans.”

“They can’t be much worse than the human creeps I’ve dated lately,” she said.

Jinx had a point.  Hans was moody and violent and her other boyfriends had routinely cheated on her.  And I’d be a hypocrite to claim that all supernaturals were bad.  I was a half-breed dating a full-blooded kelpie and I was friends with a powerful witch, a hearth brownie, and a bridge troll.  Maybe Jinx was right.

“Okay,” I said.  “We’ll go to Nexus tonight.”  Jinx started vibrating with excitement and I held up a hand.  “But I’m not promising to sign you onto the guest list yet.  Consider this a reconnaissance mission, a trial run to test security and club safety.  If they don’t enforce the protection of human vassals, there’s no way I’m leaving you there unprotected.”

In her crop top, overalls, and bandana, Jinx reminded me of the girl in the WWII propaganda posters with the slogan, “We can do it!”  She was like a rockabilly Rosie the Riveter.  I knew that my friend had come a long way and could take care of herself in most situations, but there was no way I was leaving her unprotected in a fae club.  If I didn’t like what I saw tonight, I wasn’t adding her to the guest list.  But that didn’t mean we couldn’t have fun in the meantime.

“Sure, yeah, that sounds great,” she said.  Jinx pulled the kerchief from her head and hurried to gather up her things. “Thanks Ivy.  You won’t regret it.  Scout’s honor.”

Jinx had never been a Girl Scout in her life, but I smiled.  Her excitement was contagious.  She fluttered around the room, turning off lights and grabbing her purse.