Im listening.
I have Phins grandmother here, and we need to talk. But no werewolves.
Why is that? It wasnt about the kidnapping, so I figured it was a safe thing to say without ticking off the fairy queen.
Because shes scared to death of them, was nearly killed by them. She cant even look at one without a panic attack. And you dont want to be around this lady when she has a panic attack.
I wondered if Id have been as sympathetic if I didnt have my own panic attacks. Fine. Where?
Good question. Your house is no more, he said. She doesnt live here, so she doesnt have a place. My house is no good. She wont go where there are so many fae.
What about the garage?
In fifteen, he agreed. Do you have anything that belongs to Gabriel?
I opened my mouth and closed it again. How specific would the spell be? Better to play it safe. I cant answer that question.
Get something.
A womans voice said, Something that is his. Something he is connected to, that matters to him or that has belonged to him for a long time.
You heard her? Zee asked.
I didnt say anything.
Good.
He hung up.
I didnt have anything like that. Gabriel was incredibly organized; he didnt just leave stuff lying around.
I looked around the room. Jesse would have something. It was either that or go face down Sylvia.
Thinking of Sylvia made me realize that I should have called her as soon as I found out about Gabriel. I would rather be stripped naked and walked through the mall with a pink feather boa. I would rather be boiled in oil. Rancid oil.
I could call her on the way to the garage. First I needed to find Jesse, in the hope that she had something of Gabriels I could use.
Conveniently, Jesse walked into her room just when I was about to leave and hunt her down. Im looking for Samuel, she said. He went walkabout. Ben says he ought to be fed because he didnt eat anything this morning, and for some reason Bens pretty frantic about it. I didnt expect to find Samuel herebut I didnt expect to find you here, either.
I was just coming to find you.
She looked at me, then at her stereo. You like Bullet for My Valentine? she asked. Just like you were sharing my Eyes Set to Kill CD with Mary Jo earlier?
Sarcasm isnt lost on me, I told her. You could tone it down and Id still get the point. I was having a private conversation.
She gave me a tight smile. Let me guess. Stuff I shouldnt know because Im a girl. Im only human. I cant be risked.
You know how to use a gun? I hadnt meant to ask that. Id meant to just ask her for something of Gabriels. But I knew what it was like to sit around while people were in trouble, and you couldnt do anything about it.
At my question, she stilledjust like her father did when something important was going on. I have a sweet forty-cal 1911 Dad got me for my last birthday, she said. Tell me you found Gabriel?
And the intensity of her voice made my decision for me. They were younghe was trying not to be serious because he was aiming for college; she was trying not to be serious because she knew he felt that way. Nothing might ever come out of it, but she cared a lot for him. That gave her a great big stake in this messand if she could shoot, she could protect herself.
Jesse was her fathers daughter. Smart, quick-witted, and tough. And yet I already had one of my fragile humans in danger, and I was considering another.
But I couldnt talk to the fae or the werewolves about Gabriel, and writing, as my attempt to write down everything for Adam had demonstrated, was too time-consuming. I needed Jesse.
I pulled Jesse all the way into the room and shut the door. Zee called and wants me to meet him at the garage in fifteen minutes. He has a fae who is terrified of werewolves who can help us. We need to find something that belongs to Gabriel that hes pretty attached to. I dont think she intends to hunt for him by scent, so it can be something hard like a ring instead of just things that carry smell, like a sock or shirt.
I get to come?
You get to come to this meeting, I told her. I need you. But you need to understand that I will not be exchanging Gabriel for you. Im not going to get you hurt. I gave her the best smile I could manage because the fae scare the pants off me. I need you. But I need you to listen to me when I send you home, too.
She watched me with her fathers eyes, and I saw the moment when she decided. Okay. Shall we tell them were going out to get you stuff that you need because your house burned down yesterday?
Secret girl stuff, I said. Remember they can tell if you lie. So when this is all done, Im going to go get a gallon of chocolate mint chip ice cream.
Secret girl stuff, she said. And if they try to send Warren with us because for some reason they think he ought to be interested in girlie thingswhich really makes no sense, since Kyle likes men, after all, the more manly the betterwhat do we do?
Preemptive strike, I told her. Lets find Warren first and send him up to keep an eye on your father, who is sleeping.
And then Sam crawled out from under the bed.
* * *
IT WORKED. WE MADE IT ALL THE WAY OUT TO MY CAR with only Sam beside us. All the wolves in the house were fine with Jesse and me going out togetherbecause we had Sam.
You have to stay here, Sam, I said. And then stopped. Looked at him. Really looked at him.
Sam the wolf wouldnt have turned his back while everyone was trying to fix Mary Joand he wouldnt have looked like he felt guilty about it. Because Sam the wolf wasnt a doctorhe was a wolf. This morning, Darryl had recognized pretty quickly that Samuel was in trouble. But in the garage, not one of the wolves even looked funny at Sam. Because it had been Samuel.
Welcome back, I said, trying to act like it was no big thing. I didnt know why hed decided to take charge againor if it was a good thingbut I figured the less drama about it, the happier Samuel would be. But . . .
You cant come with us, I told him. You heard Zee. Were going to see a lady who I stopped. How do the fae manage this lying-without-lying stuff? It really sucks. Look, Samuel, were going to see the lady who is scared to death of wolves. You have to stay here. You cant come as a wolf, and you dont have any clothes.
He just stood there looking at me.
Stubborn, I said.
Were going to be late, said Jesse. And Darryl is looking out the window and frowning at us.
I grabbed my purse out of my car and held the back door of Adams truck open for Samuel. There should be jeans and sweats and stuff in a pack in the backseat if you want to dress, I told Samuel. And when we get to the garage, you need to stay outside and leave her to us. Hopefully, well find out . . . what we need to find out . . . and I expect that well be really glad we have you with us then.
* * *
ON THE WAY TO THE GARAGE, I CALLED SYLVIA. SHE might insist on bringing the police into itbut I hoped I could talk her out of that. Her phone rang until the answering machine picked up.
Sylvia, this is MercyI have news about Gabriel. You need to call me as soon
I told you, she said, coming on the line. My family doesnt want to talk to you. And if Gabriel chooses you over his family
Hes been kidnapped, I told her, before she could say something that would break her heart later. She wasnt as tough as she liked to pretendI knew, because I pretended to be tougher than I was a lot, too.
Into the silence that followed, I said, Apparently he walked to the garage last night and tried to take one of the carswhich he has my permanent permission to do. Youd know better than I why hed do that and where he was going. I have a friend who is in trouble and that trouble crashed down on Gabriel.
Your kind of trouble, right? she asked. Let me guess. Werewolf trouble.
Not werewolf trouble, I said, abruptly irritated with her assumption that all werewolves were horrible. Me, she could be mad at, but she would have to hold her tongue around me about the wolves.
Tell Maia that her werewolf buddy is going to put his neck in the noose trying to save her big brother, who got himself kidnapped by the bad guys. Because I knew that Samuelmy Samuel who was at that very moment dressing in the backseatwould never stand by and watch a human get hurt. He was the only werewolf I knew who cared that much about mundane humans, just because they were mundane humans. Most werewolves, even the ones who liked being werewolves, actively resented, if not hated, normal people for being what they could no longer be.
Sylvia was silent. I supposed the information that Gabriel was in trouble was finally catching up to her.
Gabriel is alive, I told her. And weve managed to make sure his kidnappers know that his continued health is important to their goals. Police wouldnt help, Sylvia. They just dont have the tools to deal with these people. All that bringing the police into it will do is make things worse and get someone killed. Like Phin. My werewolf friend is a little better equipped. I promise Ill let you know when I find out something moreor if you or the police can help. And I hung up.
Wow, said Jesse. Ive never heard anyone hand Sylvia her head like that. Even Gabriel is a little afraid of her, I think. She settled back into her seat. Good for you. Maybe itll make her think. I mean, werewolves are scary, they are dangerousbut . . .
Theyre our scary-dangerous werewolves, and they only eat people they dont like.
She flashed a quick smile at me. I guess thats what I meant. Maybe, when you put it that way, I can understand how she got so upset. But it seems to me that what she was saying when she made Gabriel quit working with you was that she didnt trust Gabriels judgement. As if he were stupid and would work someplace that was dangerous.
Someplace he might get kidnapped by a band of nasty fae? I asked dryly, but then I went on. As if he were her son whose diapers shed changed. You have to forgive parents for acting like parents even though their children arent four years old anymore. As a not-unrelated example, when your dad finds out I took you to meet a strange fae, hes going to have my hide.
She did grin then. All you have to do is let him yell at you, then sleep with him. Men will forgive you anything for sex.
Jessica Tamarind Hauptman, who taught you that? I said in mock horror. Funny how she made me feel better at snapping at a mother whose son had just been kidnapped by a fairy queen . . . It sounded like The Snow Queen when I put it that way. I hoped that we didnt find Gabriel like poor Gerda found her Kai in the storywith a shard of ice in his heart.
* * *
ZEES TRUCK WAS ALREADY AT THE GARAGE WHEN I got there. The Bug Id loaned Sylvia was parked where shed left it, but it was trashed. Someone had pulled the drivers side door off its hinges, the front window was smashed, and there was blood on the seat of the car.
Samuel wasnt through changing.
Stay here, I told him, and got out of Adams truck.
Hes not a dog, Jesse said on the way to the shop.
I know. I sighed. And hes not going to listen to me anyway. Lets get this done as fast as possible.
Zee had moved the chairs around in the office, pulling them out of their usual line so that three of them were facing one anotherall that was missing was a kitchen table. When he saw Jesse with me, he looked a little surprised but pulled out another chair.
Im the facilitator, Jesse explained. She can talk to me instead of you.
I wasnt surprised to see that Zees companion was the older woman from the bookstorethough I wouldnt have been surprised to see a complete stranger either. She was subtly different from the grandmotherly woman Id met earlier. The kind of difference that made Little Red Riding Hood say, What big teeth you have, Grandmother.
Mercy, Zee said, you may call this woman Alicia Brewster. Alicia, this is Mercedes Thompson andhe pausedJesse.
He gave me a look. I hope you know what youre doing, he said.
Having her here will speed things up, I said. When were finished, shes going home.
All right, he said, and sat down next to Alicia.
You came to my grandsons store looking for him, the fae woman said to me without acknowledging the introductions. And to return what youd borrowed.
I looked at Jesse. When I saw Alicia at Phins store, I was trying to bring Phins book back to him. Hed called TadZees sonto have him ask me to take care of it. It was odd, that phone call, and the fae whod moved in next door to Phin was odder. By the time I got to the bookstore, I was ready to believe that there was a problem. When I saw Alicia at the counter, and she couldnt tell me anything about where Phin was or when he was coming back, I decided that I wasnt going to give her the book to return to him. I also decided that someone needed to see if they could figure out where Phin was.
So you came back at night and looked for him at the store?
I thought, I said to Jesse, that we were coming here to find out where Gabriel is and how to rescue him.
And I choose to ask questions of you first so that I may decide how much I want to tell you, Alicia said.
That implied heavily that if I chose not to answer her questions, shed tell us nothing. If she knew anything. I looked at Zee, who shrugged and lifted his hands an inch off his laphe had no influence with her.
My other option was to wait for the fairy queens call.
All right, I told Jesse. You already know that Sam and I went to check out the bookstore at night to find out if something happened to Phin. We found that his store had been trashed by a water fae and two forest fae of some sort.
There was a glamour in the store, said Alicia. A strong glamour that I couldnt penetrate, though I knew it was there. I was so afraid that my grandsons body was lying next to me, and I could not sense it.
Theres a cost for magic, said Zee, folding his age-spotted hands over his little potbelly. Glamour has less than most now, but there is still a cost for sight and sound, a cost for physical dimensions. There are few fae with good noses, so less effort is spent there and more on the other senses. Magic works . . . He glanced my way.
Oddly is what I usually say, I told him.
Oddly on Mercedes. Some works fine, some not so well. But she has a keen nose, and that allows her to penetrate glamours. Ive seen her break through a glamour set by a Gray Lord. This one we are after is no Gray Lord.
Phin bled on that floor, Jesse, I said. I dont have much hope that he survived his encounter. But we didnt find his body. We went down to the basementwhich was also trashedand while we were down there, one of the fae who had destroyed the store turned up on the stairs.
Thats the one who was dead in the basement, Alicia said in an odd tone. The one someone started to eat.
Sams not been himself lately, I told Jesse. The fae knocked me cold, and when I woke up Sam had killed him and . . .
Sam, the fae said softlyand her hands clenched on her lap. You have friends who are werewolves, Zee tells me. This Sam is a werewolf?
Sam is a werewolf and my friend, I told her. Maybe my tone was a little sharp, but I was getting tired of people attacking Samuel. Who saved my life by killing the not-so-jolly green giant. Im okay with it if he helped himself to a little snack. If it squicked my thou-shalt-not-be-a-cannibal button, that was a button my mother gave me, not the werewolves. He hadnt violated any werewolf tabooseating your prey is better than leaving the bodies lying around.
Alicia didnt seem to be too upset about my snapping at her, though.
Samuel Cornick, she said, her eyes catching mine. Samuel Marrokson, Samuel Branson, Samuel Whitewolf, Samuel Swift-foot, Samuel Deathbringer, Samuel Avenger. I couldnt remember what color her eyes had been in the bookstore, but I knew it hadnt been green. Not hazel, not a human color at all, but a brilliant grass green that darkened to blue and brightened.
That would be me, said Samuel, standing in the doorway. He was wearing a gray sweatshirt and had managed to find a pair of jeans that were only a little baggy. Hello, Ari. Its been a few centuries. His voice was soft. I didnt know you had a talent for true naming.
She looked at him, and I saw the pupils of her eyes widen past her changeable irises until her eyes were as black as a starless night. And then her glamour went all funky.
Ive seen fae drop their glamour before. Sometimes its cool, with colors sliding and mixing; sometimes its like when I shapeshiftjust blink and the man in front of you suddenly has antennae and six-inch-long hair growing from his hands.
But this was different. It reminded me of an electrical appliance shorting out, complete with quiet fizzling noises. A patch of skin appeared on her arm that had been covered by the sweater she wore, and on the patch of skin was a little scar. Then there was a sound and the sweater reappeared and there was a six-inch-by-four-inch section of skin revealed on her thigh, but most of that space was taken up by a horrendous scar that looked deep and stiffa wound that healed badly enough that it probably interfered with her ability to use her leg. After an instant it disappeared, and three scarred areas appeared on her face, hand, and neck. Her skin tone around the scars was darker than the one she wore to hide from the world. The color was nothing outlandish, a few shades darker than mine or lighter than Darryls, but to my eyes the texture was softer than human skin. It appeared as if the old wounds were presenting themselves to usor rather to Samuel, because she never took her attention off him.
Jesse reached out and grabbed my knee, but her face didnt change as the fae woman slowly stood up. She began to breathe hard as she took several steps back, sliding her chair behind her until it bumped into the shelving in back of her, and she couldnt retreat anymore. Her mouth opened and she began panting, and I realized what I was seeing was a full-blown panic attack done fae-style.
Zee had said her panic attacks were dangerous.
Ariana, Samuel said, in a voice like Medeas gentlest purr.
He didnt move from the door, giving her space. Ari. Your father is dead and so are his beasts. I promise you are safe.
Dont move, Zee told Jesse and me in a low voice, his eyes on the fae woman. This could go very badly. I told you not to bring any of the wolves.
I brought myself, old man, said Samuel. And I told Ariana that if she ever needed me, I would come. It was a promise and a threat, though I didnt mean it that way at the time.
Alicia Brewsterwhom Samuel had apparently known as Arianahummed three notes and started to talk.
A long time past in a land far from this one, said Alicia in a storytellers voice, there was a fae daughter who could work magic in silver and so she was named. In a time where fae were dying from cold iron, their magics fading as the One Gods ignorant followers built their churches in our places of power, the metals loved her touch, her magic flourished, and her father grew envious.
He was a nasty piece of work, said Samuel, his eyes on the womans wrinkled face that sometimes wore scars on her cheek or at the corner of her eye. Mercy would call him a real rat-bastard. He was a forest lord whose greatest magic was to command beasts. When the last of the giantswho were beasts controlled by his magicdied, it left him a forest lord with no great power, and he resented it as Arianas power grew. When the fae lost their ability to imprint their magic on thingslike your walking staff, Mercyshe could still manage it. People found out.
A great lord of the fae came, continued Ariana. She didnt seem to be listening to Samuel, but she waited for him to quit speaking before she started. He required that she build an abominationan artifact that would consume the fae magic of his enemies and give it back to him. She refused, but her father accepted and sealed the bargain in blood.
She stopped talking, and after a moment Samuel picked up the story. He beat her, and she still refused. His was a magic sort of like the fairy queens, in that he could influence others. It might have been more useful, but he could only influence beasts.
So he turned her into a beast. Arianas voice echoed even though my office was full enough that a gunshot shouldnt echo, and it was eerie enough that Jesse scooted nearer to me.
Ariana wasnt looking at Samuel anymore, but I couldnt tell where she was looking instead. I dont think it was a happy place.
In those days, the faes magic was still strong enough that it was harder to kill them unless you had iron or steel, said Samuel.
He didnt seem worried about Ariana, but Zee was. Zee had gradually moved off his chair until he was crouched between Jesse and the scarred fae woman.
He used his powers to torture her, Samuel said. He had a pair of hounds who were fae hounds. Their howls would drop a stag in its path, and their gaze could scare a man to death. He set them at her every morning for an hour, knowing that as long as he went not one moment more than an hour, she could not diebecause that was part of these fear hounds magic.
She broke, Ariana said hoarsely. She broke and followed his will as faithfully as his hounds. She knew nothing but his commands, and she built as he desired, forged it of silver and magic and her blood.
You didnt break, said Samuel confidently. You fought him every day.
Arianas voice changed, and she snapped, She couldnt fight him.
You fought him, Samuel said again. You fought, and he called his hounds until his magic failed him because he used it one time too often. I had this story from someone who was there, Ariana. You fought him and stopped, leaving the artifact incomplete.
It is my story, she growled, and she turned those black eyes on Samuel. She failed. She built it.
Truth belongs to no one, Samuel told her. Arianas father visited a witch because his magic was insufficient to work his will. There was something in his voice that made me think that he knew and hated that witch. He paid the price she demanded for a spell that combined witchcraft with his magic.
His right hand, said Ariana.
Samuel waited for her, but she just stared at him.
I think he wanted to call his hounds, Samuel said. But they had strayed too far for him to influence. He got something quite different.
Werewolves, said Ariana, then she turned her back to us, hunching her shoulders. I saw that there were scars on her back, too.
We attacked because we had to, Samuel said gently. But my father was stronger than we were, and resisted. He killed her father. We stopped, but she was so badly hurt. A human would have died or been reborn as one of us. She only suffered.
You doctored her, I said. You helped her heal. You saved her.
Ariana crumpledand Samuel leaped over all of us and caught her before she hit the floor. Her body was limp, her eyes closed, and the scars were hidden safely behind her glamour again.
Did I? Samuel asked, looking down at her with his heart in his eyes. The scar on the top of her shoulder was one I gave her.
Hot damn, I thought, watching him. Hot damn, Charles. I found something for Samuel to live for.
Samuel had been upstairs with Adam when the fairy queen called to tell us what she was looking for. Silver Borne. The mention of the artifact alone was enough to make it impossible for him to yield to his wolf. But it had been when Zee had called me and Ariana spoke that hed come back to us.
You saved her, I told him. And you loved her.
She didnt know, did she? said Jesse, sounding as caught up in the story as Ariana had been. You doctored her up, and she fell for youand you couldnt tell her what you were. Thats really romantic, Doc.
And tragic, said Zee sourly.
How do you know its tragic? sputtered Jesse.
The old fae scowled and gestured toward Samuel. Im not seeing a happy-ever-after ending here, are you?
Samuel pulled the fae woman against him. It looked odd, a young man holding a woman who could have been his grandmother indeed. But fae dont age, they fade. Her grandmotherly appearance was a glamour. The scars were realbut I saw his face and knew that he only cared about the pain they represented.
Endings are relative, I said, and Samuel jerked his head up. I mean, as long as no one is dead, they get the chance to rewrite their endings, dont you think? Take it from me, Samuel, a little time can heal some awfully big wounds.
Did she look healed to you? he said, and his eyes were the color of winter ice.
Were all alive, said Zee dryly. And she didnt disappear on uswhich she still has the magic to do. Id say you have a chance.
Chapter 13
SAMUEL STARTED TO SAY SOMETHING TO ZEE WHEN the woman he held opened her eyes, which were green again. She gave us all a bewildered look, as if she could not imagine how shed gotten where she was.
I knew exactly how she felt.
As soon as he saw that she was awake, Samuel set her down with careful haste. Im sorry, Ari. You were falling . . . I wouldnt have touched
I had never in my life seen anything like it. Samuel, the son of a Welsh bard, who shared his fathers gift for words, stammering like an infatuated teenager.
She grabbed Samuels sweatshirt and looked up at him in utter astonishment. Samuel?
He stepped away from her, but stopped short of pulling the shirt from her grasp. I cant give you space unless you let me go, he told her.
Samuel? she said, and, though it hadnt caught my notice before, I realized that her voice had changed sometime in the middle of her panic attack, and sounded way too young for the late-middle-age face she wore. It was also lightly accented, some combination of British and Welsh or a related language. I thought . . . I looked but I never could find you. You just disappeared and left me nothing. Not a shirt or a name.
He pulled away again, and this time she let him go. Free, he retreated to the damaged door that separated my office from the garage. Im a werewolf.
Ariana nodded and took two steps forward. I did notice that when you killed the hounds who had come for me. There was a hint of humor in her voice. Good, I thought. Any woman Id allow to have Samuel would have to have a sense of humor. The fangs gave it awayor maybe the tail. You saved me againand then you left, and all I knew was your first name.
I scared you, he said starkly.
She gave him a half smile, but clenched her hands. Well, yes. But it seems I scared you worse because you ran away for . . . a very, very long time, Samuel.
He looked away from her gazethe most dominant werewolf in the Tri-Cities, and he couldnt meet her gaze. Didnt he see that even if he scared her, she still wanted him?
She tried to take another step toward him and stopped. I could smell her terror, sharp and sour. She backed away from him with a little sigh.
It is very good to see you again, Samuel, she said. Because of you I am whole and here all these centuries after my father would have destroyed me. Instead, his body long ago fed his beasts and the trees of his forests.
Samuel bowed his head and, to the floor, he said, Im glad you are welland apologize for causing your panic attack today. I should have stayed out . . .
Yes. Panic attacks. They can be pretty . . . She looked at Zee, who was back in his chair looking as relaxed as if hed spent the last ten minutes watching a very boring soap opera. Did I hurt anyone, Siebold?
No, he said, folding his arms. Just true-named our wolf, and told Mercedes and Jesse the story of the Silver Borne.
She looked at me, then at Jesse, maybe to see how frightened we were. Whatever she saw reassured her because she gave a shy smile.
Oh, thats good. Good. Her shoulders relaxed, and she turned her attention back to Samuel. I dont have them often anymore. Not at all with mortal canines. Its just the fae dogs, the magic onesblack dogs and houndsthat set me off. Only when I am overcome with She bit her lip.
Fear? Samuel suggested, and she didnt answer. She also had left off werewolves, I noticed.
I am glad to see that your magic has returned, he said. You thought it was gone.
She took a deep breath. Yes. And for a while I was glad of it. She looked at me. And that has bearing on the present situation. You are Samuels friend, Mercedes?