Loose Changeling: A Changeling Wars Novel (33 page)

“I can't be sure,” Kailen said. He rubbed at the back of his head. “I don't know how much of what I've done he's sensed. I've tried to redeem myself, Nicole. But I spent so many years, so many, doing the wrong thing. I don't know how I'll ever balance that. Maybe Merlin knows this too.” He pulled himself onto the couch, then cradled his head in his hands.

We didn't have time for this sort of reflection or self-pity. “Then we'll have to explain it to him.”

“I can't seem to talk to him. I opened the wards, and then he grabbed me. I don't think he even heard me.”

“He heard me.”

Kailen leaned his head to one side, so he could look at me. “No. I saw what it was like when you touched the watch. You barely made it back out.”

“I've made it out twice now.”

“Absolutely not. I forbid it.”

“You
forbid
it? From what position of authority are you speaking?” Great, now he had
me
talking all formal too. “I think I have more to lose than you here. A war between the mortal and Fae worlds? I've already dragged my nephew into this mess. I have a mother and father that I love and care about, a sister, a brother-in-law, a niece, and a nephew. And I have two biological parents I haven't even gotten the chance to know.” It didn't hit me until after I'd spoken that I was placing Kailen's lack of family and friends in sharp relief.

But instead of retorting with anger, he reached out and clasped my hand. “That's true, all of it. I just don't want anything to happen to you.”

I deflated with a hiss of breath. “Well, we still have to fight, to do something. If you have any other ideas, I'm all ears.”

“I don't. I'm sorry. If we can convince Merlin of our intentions, then we have a better chance of stopping this mess. The Fae won't stand for what Grian's done. If we can release him in time for the raid, he can stop the Fae from attacking, undermine Grian's support. But let’s try to think of other ways first—you touching that watch again should only be a last resort.”

“And Faolan?”

Kailen gave me a rueful smile. “I'm still thinking. Haven't gotten there yet.”

I leaned back on my heels so I could look down the hallway. “Are you hungry? I got pad thai.” Kailen's hand was still around mine. I wanted, suddenly, for him to let go—and for him to keep holding it. When I turned my face back to his, he was close, his lips near to mine.

I shrugged him off, before either of us could decide that kissing was a good idea. Why had I slept with him? Was I just as bad as Owen?

"Yeah, sure," he said. He left me on the floor and retrieved the food.

He’d just set it on the coffee table when a knock sounded at the door. We exchanged glances.

“If they wanted to kill us,” I said finally, “they probably wouldn’t have knocked.”

Kailen shrugged his agreement and went to the door.

It was Dorian.

“I put wards on this place,” Kailen said, “and a charm of unseeing.”

“Good to see you, too,” Dorian said. He still wore that ridiculous outfit I’d seen him in the last time. “Let me guess? Supposed to protect you against those who wish you harm? Well, luckily for you, I don’t want to hurt you or the Changeling.”

Kailen only glared at Dorian, and Dorian glared back. The bad blood swam between the two of them so thick it had long since congealed, scabbed, and festered.

I made my way down the hallway. “He did help me before,” I told Kailen. I left out the part where Dorian warned me about the former Guardian.

“After he tried to kill both of us,” Kailen said. “Dorian only wants to climb the ranks, to elevate his family. He doesn’t care about saving mortals, or Fae. We can’t trust him.”

“And she should trust you, instead?” Dorian scoffed. “That’s rich. If someone asked you what color the sky was, you’d tell them green.”

Kailen reached for the sword at his belt.

I stepped between the two men. “I don’t care about his motives,” I told Kailen. “I care about stopping this war.”

Kailen relaxed his stance. “You don’t think Grian can pull this off,” he said to Dorian. “You’re throwing your lot in with us.”

“I think Grian can win. But the opportunities for me are greater if she doesn’t. Who do you have on your side?” Dorian held up a hand and ticked off fingers. “An illegal Changeling and a Sidhe who is not only confined to the mortal world, but is Grian’s son. If she is exposed, someone will have to step in to smooth things over, to handle the upheaval in the families. It won’t be either of you.”

“You were ever the opportunist,” Kailen said.

“And you, ever the dishonest snake.” Dorian continued on in a rush, “Now listen carefully, because I’ll only say this once.”

“Good,” Kailen said, “because I’m tired of hearing you talk.”

Dorian cleared his throat and ran his hands down his hunting vest, as if checking for holes. His gaze found the ceiling. “Grian plans to attack the prison, tonight.”

And then he collapsed into a heap, right inside Kailen’s door.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Tonight. There wouldn’t be time to lay out meticulous plans, or to plan at all. I stood frozen as Kailen knelt next to Dorian.

“He’s still alive,” he said, “but he’s hurt. Help me bring him inside.”

I grabbed Dorian’s ankles as Kailen took his shoulders. We half dragged, half carried him down the hallway and set him on the couch. He looked even paler than normal, a trickle of blood starting at the corner of his mouth.

“He was in my house a couple days ago,” I told Kailen. “He tried to tell me about Grian, but something stopped him.”

“Mind magic,” Kailen said. He placed a palm against Dorian’s ribs. “He must have uncovered her plans, and she put a binding spell on him. If he tells anyone about the plans, the spell activates.”

“What did it do?”

“He’s bleeding internally. I’m going to have to heal him.”

“I thought you hated him.”

Kailen looked at me, his mouth pressed into a line. “I do. But I’m not that kind of man. He came here because he trusted me to do this much, at least.” And then he closed his eyes.

The trickle of blood from Dorian’s mouth slowed and the color returned to his cheeks. Kailen fell to the floor a couple minutes later, gasping and trembling.

Remembering what had happened in my parents’ house, I grabbed the pad thai and a tall glass of water. “Here,” I helped him into a sitting position and shoved water and food into his hands.

He tossed back the water in only a few swallows and ate half the noodles before he could speak again. “I forgot that I went back to the Fae world again.” He flexed his fingers. “My magic isn’t as potent as it used to be. I don’t know when I’ll be able to use it again.”

“Tonight?” I asked hopefully.

He shook his head. “Unlikely.”

My heart quailed. It had been difficult enough, deciding to throw my lot in with Kailen again. Now that I had, I didn’t want to do this alone. “You should have let me try to heal him.”

“Healing isn’t like sword fighting. It takes a good deal of time to learn; if you make a mistake, the person you’re trying to heal can easily die. I had to do it. But even if I can’t use any more magic, I still have my sword. I’ll be there with you when the attack starts.”

The attack. I checked the clock on the wall. Twelve thirty. Night in a Portland winter could mean anywhere from five to seven, depending on whose opinion you asked. “We need to get to the prison. We need to warn someone.”

He dug into the noodles again. “And who would you suggest? Remember, mortals don’t exactly believe in the Fae.”

My mind churned as I digested his words. “I think I have an idea. It might not work.”

Kailen gave me a tired smile. “Shitty plan, huh?”

I huffed out a laugh. “Very shitty. As far as ideas go, this one’s been dredged from the bottom of the septic tank.”

WE PULLED UP TO THE POLICE station thirty minutes later.

“They might not be here,” Kailen said.

“True. But if they’re not, we’ll pester someone until they call them, or try telling someone else.”

“We don’t have much time.”

“Then we shouldn't sit here talking.” I slid out of the car and walked to the doors of the station with what I hoped was more confidence than I felt. Kailen hurried to catch up, falling in behind me just as I reached for the handle of the door.

"Ms. Philbin?"

Officers Brown and Gomez approached from my right. I drew away from the door. "Hi. Good to see you." Which was the truth at the moment, but it came out sounding falsely chipper.

"Here to report more women being turned into mice?" Gomez asked. She laughed a little and elbowed Brown, who rewarded her with a smile.

Kailen stepped a little closer, and I knew he closed the distance so he could stop me if I tried to jump her. As much as I wanted to show Gomez everything I'd learned in the Arena, I had to play nice. "Actually, I was looking for you."

They exchanged glances. "Us?" Brown said. "Why?"

"Because I couldn't think of who else to tell. You know when I went to visit that prisoner the other day? The one who killed those people? Well, he was an old friend of my father's."

"And?" Gomez prompted.

I took a deep breath, mentally rehearsing the words. "He's got connections. He said there was going to be an attack on the prison, tonight. And it's been planned. They've got at least fifty people."

For a few seconds, no one spoke; the low hum of traffic permeated the air. And then Gomez started to laugh. "Fifty people? Lady, you are fifty kinds of
crazy
, that's for sure."

Brown gave me a sheepish smile and shrugged. "It's a fun story, but that’s exactly what it sounds like. A story."

So much for shitty plans. My heartbeat fluttered, my mouth flapping as I tried to think of something else to say to make them listen.

They began to walk again. "Excuse us," Gomez said.

I stepped into their path. "No."

"Nicole," Kailen said softly, "are you sure we should—”

We still stood in front of the double doors. I had to get out of view of them, so I shoved Gomez back.

"Well, that'll about do it," Kailen said under his breath.

Brown reached for his gun. Gomez glanced down at where I'd pushed her, as if checking for fingerprints. And then she swelled to her full height, her hands curling into fists.

I breathed in and called upon my magic. Both of their guns became horse figurines, I changed Gomez's shirt into plaid flannel, and Brown's into a Viva Las Vegas! T-shirt. "I need you to listen. What I told you about Jane was true. And what I'm telling you about the attack on the prison is true. I'm sure there's some rule against me using magic on mortals, but I've got only a few weeks to live if I don't stop this from happening anyways. And I can't stop it alone."

Gomez opened her mouth and then shut it. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she dropped.

Brown caught her and eased her to the ground. "What the hell did you do to us?" He pulled the horse figurine from his holster, stared at it, and then chucked it into the parking lot. "Is this some sort of trick? Are you from a television show?"

I held his gaze, plucked a twig from a bush next to the wall, and changed it into a sword. "I'm one of the greater Fae, otherwise known as the Sidhe. This is magic, and it's as real as it gets." I changed it back into a twig, quickly, so he wouldn't get the wrong idea. "I need your help. There are only two of us, and there may be more than fifty of them."

“Help you? Get the fuck off this property, or I
will
arrest you.”

“On what charge?” Kailen asked.

“Assaulting an officer,” Brown said, his face red. He reached for the handcuffs at his belt.

“He has a point,” Kailen said in my ear.

I glanced around the parking lot. Another patrol car was pulling in. Time to retreat. “Right. Let’s go. You’re driving.”

As surreptitiously as we could manage, we made our way back to the car and left. As soon as we pulled out of the parking lot, I let out the breath I’d been holding. “Not good. Not good at all.”

“Anyone else you can call on?” Kailen asked.

“No.” I could ask Mark, or Lainey, or Mom, but they’d done enough. I’d already inadvertently dragged them into my conflict once; I didn’t plan on doing it again. “You?”

“Not really.”

“Then it’s just the two of us,” I said, leaning my head against the window. “Not good odds.”

“Terrible odds. But you don’t have to do this.”

There were lives at stake—mortal and Fae. In addition to this, that bitch, Grian, had made things personal. And, oh yeah, I’d made a pact with the Arbiter. “I kind of have to. You’re the one that doesn’t.”

“I know,” Kailen said, his jaw clenched, his hands tight on the steering wheel. “But I’ve done a lot of bad things in my lifetime and not enough good things to make up for those. What we’re doing is a good thing, the right thing.”

“Yeah.” It felt like suicide to me. Very interesting suicide.

“I’m going to take us to the prison. We can scope the place out and figure out the best way to defend it. Don’t worry—they have guards there with guns, and they’ll call in reinforcements after the attack starts.”

It wouldn’t be enough. Too little, too late. I dropped my gaze to the floor and frowned. There, wedged between the car seat and the door, was my phone. I fished it from the gap. The battery was dead, but it seemed otherwise unharmed. It must have fallen from my pocket at some point.

“What is it?” Kailen said.

“My phone. I thought I’d lost it.”

He glanced over. “Looks like the same brand as mine. You can plug it into the charger if you’d like.”

I let out a harsh laugh. Worrying about my phone being charged seemed sort of petty at the moment. “Yeah, this may be the last chance to respond to messages.” That sobered me right up. Sending something to Mom, Dad, and Lainey wouldn’t be a bad idea. Just to let them know that I loved them, that sort of thing.

As soon as I plugged it in and turned it on, it began to ring. Kailen and I exchanged glances. “No one I know. It’s a blocked number.” I leaned down to accommodate the short wire and answered. “Hello?”