Poison in the Blood (21 page)

“You would turn us into demons, and our home into another hell,” Horatio countered.

“Objection,” Iago protested.

“No more questions for this witness.” Horatio returned to his desk, and Helen returned to her place with her clan.

A few more Infernus faeries were called to give evidence of their crimes, though like Helen each insisted that their actions were research. I studied the crowd’s response, worried that more faeries would agree with them. After several centuries of infertility it was reasonable that they would become desperate, but I hoped that they were not desperate enough to condone mass murder.

When the last witness was finished, each speaker was allowed to give a closing statement. Iago went first, and he stood in the center of the room and addressed the council.

“My ladies, there are those who will see only darkness in the actions of my clan. They will focus on the loss of life, but we respectfully ask that you look at the potential for life instead. When the last of the elves perished, our people knew that our days on Earth were numbered, and we created Faerie as a means to escape extinction. We may have saved ourselves from being hunted into oblivion by the humans, but it was an empty victory, for we still doomed ourselves.

“For the first time since the creation of Faerie we have hope for a new generation. Isn’t that hope worth any price? We mourn the loss of the magicians who sacrificed their lives for our studies, but I ask you, how much weight do those lives truly have? Magicians are mortal, and their lives are short. Ephemeral. They are only allowed a handful of years on their world before their shells perish and they move on to their next incarnation. All we have done is speed that process along, with the promise that their lives were not sacrificed in vain. They were given for the good of us all. Who among us has not longed to hold a child in our arms without suffering from the knowledge that the child’s mortal blood would see it perish as surely as its mortal parent? Who doesn’t long for a return to the days when faerie marriages were honored as sacred?

“We are so close. Don’t throw it all away on some tired sense of honor, or obligation to the mortals. Let us finish what we started, and we will all benefit.” Iago bowed and returned to his seat. I exchanged a worried glance with Justine and noted that she still held Dr. Bennett’s hand.

Horatio took his place in the center of the room, bowed to the council and began. “My ladies, I ask you, what defines a faerie? Is it our magic? For other beings possess magic, including, as my colleague mentioned, our elven cousins. The elves fought to a brave end, and they accepted their fate. We did not. We chose to run, and that choice came with a price. All magic comes with a price.” He turned and eyed the collected Infernus clan for a long moment before returning his regard to the council.

“When it became clear that there would be no more full-blooded faerie children, we turned to the mortals to produce our offspring. Generations of magicians carry on our bloodlines, and yes, their lives are short, but all life is precious. In murdering these magicians, you have likely killed our own descendants. You claim that it is worth it to sacrifice the few to cure the many, but the truth is, we gave up our right to future children when we formed Faerie. You claim that it is only helping the magicians along to their next incarnation, but this is
murder
, and it is monstrous and evil. Faeries do not murder the innocent for our own gain. That is the work of demons. To embrace it would turn all of us into spawn of the shadows, and our world, our sanctuary, into one more hell dimension.

“We are better than this. Desperation must not excuse murder, or allow the guilty to go unpunished. What would you tell our children about how they were conceived? What sort of faeries would be born from the blood of innocent victims? These crimes cheapen us all. Do not reward the Infernus clan for them.”

Horatio returned to his seat, and the room burst into whispered conversation. The three council members gathered and spoke for a few moments. My heart pounded as I watched them, and I fought the urge to attempt to read their energy with my eyes closed, for that would be cheating. When the council finished conversing, Lady Hippolyta addressed the room.

“This was a difficult decision. Never before has any council faced an issue such as this one. The Infernus clan firmly believes that their actions are in the best interest of all faeries, while Horatio has reminded us that these are crimes, and embracing them would forever change who we are. As such, we have decided to find the Infernus clan guilty of murder.”

Astonishment gripped the room, while the Infernus faeries leapt to their feet in outrage.

“We are not all guilty. Only a few committed these crimes,” one man shouted. I wondered if he was my visitor who’d begged for mercy.

“But you all knew of them, and did nothing to stop or report them. You may not have taken lives, but your refusal to act allowed more deaths to occur,” she replied. “Therefore, as punishment this council declares that the Infernus clan is banished from Faerie. Your lands are forfeit, and your people will be considered spawn of the shadows. Anyone discovered consorting with your clan from this point on will be punished, and risks their own exile.”

“No!” Helen shouted. “You can’t do this. Not now. All we need is a bit more time and we will have a cure.”

“Your cure is more poisonous than any disease of our blood,” Lady Hippolyta snapped.

“I will prove it. Take her!” She pointed in my direction, and though my heart leapt, I heard Justine scream as two faeries appeared behind her and she vanished from the room.

“No!” Dr. Bennett grasped at the air where the guardian had been a moment ago as her parasol clattered to the floor. The rest of the Infernus faeries vanished from the room, and everything devolved into chaos. He grabbed Horatio’s shoulder. “Where is she? Where did they take her?”

“Come with me,” the faerie ordered.

Horatio led Dr. Bennett to the council, and I followed, hoping I could help somehow. The three council members were engrossed with faeries who were armed and armored, likely members of some sort of military.

“Lady Hippolyta, can you locate Miss Dubois?” Horatio asked.

She shook her head. “It will take time. The clan has scattered throughout Faerie, and some have fled to Earth.”

“We don’t have time. She is unarmed. Her life is in danger.” Dr. Bennett clutched Justine’s pink parasol, and I wondered how he wasn’t injured by it. She had mentioned that a guardian’s weapon was harmful for others to touch. Perhaps being a guardian’s soul mate granted him immunity to its effects.

“We will do our best. That is all we can offer you,” Lady Hippolyta said.

“That’s not good enough!”

I took Dr. Bennett’s arm. “I believe I know how we can find her. Can you return us to Miss Dubois’s home now, please?”

Horatio nodded, and we were popped out of the room.

Chapter Sixteen

Michael and Simon were waiting for us in Justine’s parlor, and they both rose at our sudden arrival.

“Where is Miss Dubois?” Simon asked.

“She was taken by Infernus faeries after they were found guilty,” Dr. Bennett explained. He turned to me, filled with desperate hope. “You have a way to find her?”

“
You
have a way to find her, through your connection as soul mates,” I corrected. He blinked in surprise, and I explained further. “You are closely connected to Justine. When I first found that Michael and I were soul mates, there was only one cord of energy binding us together. Now there are many. You and Justine already have a strong connection. It should be simple for you to open a door to where she is, just as I opened a door to Michael when we were escaping the Infernus stronghold. And once we are there, I can lead you to her as I led us to Miss Thistlegoode.”

“So the two of you intend to invade Faerie on your own and rescue Miss Dubois from murderous faeries?” Michael asked. It seemed like a bad plan when stated that way.

“What if she isn’t in Faerie?” Simon asked.

“Then I suppose we will need to attempt a different method of locating her. I am confident that any spell we use will work.” At least I sounded confident. In truth, I was afraid for Justine. I trusted that the faerie council would do everything within their power to find her, but I knew they might not find her in time. I turned to Dr. Bennett. “We will need a mirror.”

“Of course. This way.” Dr. Bennett led us through the house, but then he stopped in front of a door and withdrew a brass key from his pocket. “This is the armory.”

We stepped into a room filled with tall, broad cabinets. Dr. Bennett crossed to one and unlocked it, revealing a variety of weapons within. He stood before the cabinet holding Justine’s parasol, frowning down at it. He opened it and it transformed into the sword and shield, making him the best-armed witch in existence.

“That is remarkable,” Simon said, clearly impressed. Though I agreed, I was more interested in the contents of the cabinet.

“May I have a pistol?” I asked, and received a chorus of “no”s in reply. “Why not?”

“Because you have no training with firearms, or weapons of any sort,” Simon replied.

Michael chose a more diplomatic answer. “You are just as likely to hurt yourself, or one of us, without proper training.”

“Then may I receive proper training after we rescue Justine?”

“Yes,” Michael replied, much to my shock. I had been expecting another no.

“May I borrow a rapier?” Simon asked. “We can’t accompany you to Faerie, but if they have taken her elsewhere, I can take you there, and it’s best to be prepared.”

Of course he was allowed to take a weapon.

“May I have a sword as well? Preferably a sabre,” Michael asked.

“But you don’t have weapons training either,” I protested.

A faint blush stained his cheeks. “Yes I do. There has been more to my chronicler education than cataloguing manuscripts.”

“Take those then.” Dr. Bennett pointed to a sword and a shield decorated with heraldry I didn’t recognize. “The shield absorbs magical energy. Justine claimed that her ancestors used it to protect themselves from dragon fire. It should come in handy against Infernus faeries.”

Michael hefted the shield—the effect was dashing, though it didn’t quite match his plain evening attire. His brow furrowed as he looked down at me. “I feel I should warn you that the tea table in the sitting room met with an unfortunate end during one of our training sessions.”

“You were
dueling
in my sitting room?”

“Well, to be fair, it is
my
sitting room, and it was raining outside that evening,” Simon said. I glared at him, but he simply shrugged, and I decided to let the issue drop in favor of the more pressing matter of rescuing Justine.

Now that our party was armed, we continued on to the guest room I had occupied after breaking my arm. A full-length dressing mirror beckoned from the corner, and we hurried over to it.

“I need you to cast the spell as you normally would, but first I want you to picture Justine in your mind. Every detail, every emotion connected with her, until you can see her as clearly as if she were standing here with us. Then cast the spell,” I instructed.

Dr. Bennett nodded and closed his eyes. I stepped back to give him space and time alone to concentrate, and I bumped into Michael. He wrapped an arm around me, and I turned and embraced him. The lilting chant of Dr. Bennett’s spell drew my attention back to him, and we all watched the mirror with bated breath. An anemic glow filled the glass, but then nothing happened.

“It’s not working,” he said, his voice filled with heartbreak.

“Then she’s not in Faerie. Keep concentrating on her,” I ordered.

I placed my hand over Dr. Bennett’s, pressing his palm against the glass. This was new magic to me, but I said a prayer and concentrated on Justine. On her golden hair and her courage of iron, on her pretty pink gowns and her deadly parasol, and then I focused on her location. “
Show us where she is
,” I said to the mirror. Miraculously, the mirror answered.

An image formed. Justine was alive—and fully clothed, thank the powers—but she was chained to a stone stab. It didn’t give us much to go on, and I changed my focus, withdrawing my energy in hope of getting a glimpse of the building she was housed in.

“That’s here, in London,” Simon said.

“Are you certain?” I asked.

“Yes. A sorcerer owned it years ago, and a few gatherings were held there. A fire sorcerer.”

I drew away, and the spell ended.

“Why would they bring her here?” Michael asked.

I sighed. “Obviously because London is covered with so much magic it gives me a headache. It’s sure to interfere with the faeries’ search for them, and perhaps buy the Infernus faeries some time for whatever plans they have for Justine. We should hurry.”

We waited impatiently for Justine’s personal carriage to be ready, and it raced through the streets—as much as anyone could race through London, which seemed to be busy at all hours, and it was early evening yet. Dr. Bennett fussed with his glasses so fiercely that I was afraid he would break them. I placed my hands over his.

“We will find her. Justine is far stronger than Miss Thistlegoode. I’m certain she will be all right,” I said.