"So she told you to talk to Tzariene?"

  "Not in so many words. But she did admit having a suspicion the Changelings weren't being used by the Faerie."

  "Of course she'd say that. It throws suspicion off of her." She moved back to the table and poured herself another drink.

  "Miss Vervain—"

  "Are you fucking deaf? My name is Arden." Her voice grew in volume and I felt her presence. And when I say I felt it, I mean I felt it. Don't get me wrong—Arden was powerful. Her magic was strong, and she had the swamp and its water as her power base, even this far away from it. "You can do your ritual, but only under my conditions, and for a price. My people will draw the Circle, and I will be present during the communication." She pursed her lips into a pouty smile. "And one more thing. I want the head."

  I blinked. "The head? You mean Medbh?"

  "What other head is there? I want it. You give me the head first, and then we call Tzariene."

  "Aunt…what do you want the Sidhe's head for?" Kyle spoke up.

  I moved close to him, just in case the wacko went wicked.

  "Because I should have it." She didn't look at Kyle when she talked. She looked at me. "I am the Queen of this town, and that thing is dangerous. It should be under my care, under my guard."

  I had wondered for a time if this was the underlying reason for her dislike of me. I possessed something she wanted. Arden had seen the head only once eight months ago, and it had remained silent in her presence. Medbh refused to talk to her, though everyone else could hear her.

  I knew then the bitchy little ceramic queen was fucking with the bigger bitchy queen. Medbh didn't like Arden. And Arden didn't like Medbh.

  Arden was willing to contact the other Faerie Queen just to get a hold of the head, not to help in getting rid of the Changelings. I made the decision right then that we didn't need to talk to Tzariene. Based on what Ina had suggested, I needed to talk to Medbh again, and I needed to talk to Crwys, even though I didn't want to. The key to finding out why the Changelings were out and killing and how to stop them wasn't here with Arden.

  Not like this.

  "The answer is no, Arden. Merry meet." I turned, grabbed Kyle by the upper arm, and half dragged him with me back into the house to the front door. Grey wagged her tail as I approached and then growled at Arden as she followed us.

  "Don't walk out on me, Samantha. That head should be in a safer place and not locked up in some shack. It's dangerous, and the whole magical community wants it either moved or gone."

  I finished putting my boots on and threw my finger in Arden's face. "You are the reason they know it exists. If you'd kept that big mouth shut, this kind of bullshit wouldn't be impeding our real work. We're born into this world to protect it, not argue about it. That head is fine where it is. We've got something bigger and badder out there exchanging children for Changelings, and they are killing people. So, why don't you put your great coven together and do something worthwhile for once—find out where the real kids are!" I turned and headed out the door.

  I walked fast, my hair flying behind me as the heels of my boots struck the concrete walkway. I was pissed. I was angry and I was trying really hard not to cry. I just wanted to run by my place, grab a bag, and find Robin. I wanted sex. And I wanted it now.

  My phone rang as I got to my Jeep. I dug it out of my pocket and saw it was Robin's number. In fact, it looked like he'd called me a dozen times. I forgot phones didn't work in Arden's house. Grey jumped in the back, and Kyle got in the driver's seat after I tossed him the keys.

  I slipped in and hit redial. "Hey babe—what's wrong?"

  I barely understood his voice as he said, "It's Rose. Oh my god, Sam. Kathy attacked Rose. My niece grew teeth and claws and attacked her mother!"

  EIGHT

  Rose was already in surgery when I arrived at Tulane University Medical Center. Robin met us at the nurse's station, and we gave each other a tight, heartfelt hug. When I pulled back to look at him, I was shocked. He was pale, his face gaunt and his usually perfect hair was mussed. I could see he'd been raking his fingers through it, like he always did when he was upset. He had blood on his cheek and neck and on his shirt, but he assured me it was all Rose's blood.

  "The doc said Kathy nicked a main artery when she bit Rose. Just a bit deeper…she'd have bled out."

  "Where are the kids?" Kyle was lucid enough to ask the right questions. I was still too close and in a sort of shock.

  "Marly's with my mom, but Kathy…" His beautiful face scrunched up as his voice cracked and a tear dropped from his red-rimmed eyes. "She's dead. I killed her. I didn't know what else to do. She just went crazy at the dinner table. One minute we were talking and laughing, and the next Kathy was up on the table, a knife in her hand. She backhanded her sister, swiped the knife at me, and jumped on her mother. It all happened so fast."

  I put my hands on his chest. "Just take a deep breath, okay? That's good, and another, and tell me where Kathy's body is now."

  "The morgue, I guess. I got the knife from her and stabbed her in the neck." He put a blood-stained hand to his face and his tears ran pink. "I just…oh my god, Sam…what the hell happened?"

  I pulled him close to me again. He was shaking from head to toe, and I assumed it was from adrenaline and shock. Robin was going to collapse at any minute if he didn't relax. I guided him to a nearby bench in the waiting room as Kyle ran to get coffee.

  With his head on my shoulder, I had to think of the ramifications of this. His niece attacked his sister in exactly the same way the Changelings were attacking. Without seeing Kathy, I had to assume she was a Changeling too, which just put a personal stamp on this crisis for me. I was concerned earlier, but now I was determined to find out where the exchanged children were being held, and who was holding them.

  Kathy was the one with the God Mother's spark.

  If they were somewhere in New Orleans, this was doable. If they were in Alfheim, eeh—it was doable. But I didn't want to do it. I really didn't want to go into Faerie Land.

  I really needed to talk to Tzariene now. But I wasn't about to relinquish Medbh into the hands of a woman who might very well use the Sidhe's severed head for nefarious purposes. I didn't have proof that Arden was a bad woman, regardless of her reputation, but I had my doubts about her daily morals and noticed how they seemed to change to fit the circumstance.

  "It's going to be okay, babe."

  "No," he said, his voice muffled as spoke against my neck. "Nothing's ever going to be the same again."

  A double door opened down the hall and a man in scrubs stepped out. Blood decorated the front of his shirt, and he wore a grim look on his face. Robin stood, telling me that was the doctor. I stood up as well; ready to hear the verdict when my phone rang. I stepped away and looked at the face.

  Any other time I would have ignored Crwys's badly-timed call, but given what we were up against, he might have news. I held the phone out and excused myself as the doc pulled Robin away. "This better be good."

  "Did you know the grocer was the High Witch?"

  I had to realign my paradigm for a second so I could register what he just asked me. "You're joking, right? Higgins was the High Witch? I didn't even know he was a Witch."

  "I know! Which makes him a great High Witch. Or made."

  I still had to think on that. After a few seconds the reality of that statement hit home. "Shit…the Changeling killed the High Witch."

  "Keep up, Hawthorne. Higgins was well liked among the whole magical community in the quarter. My intel says the Elders had a meeting this afternoon about his death, and from what I'm hearing…they want answers."

  A group that had a meeting. Kyle asking Arden if she had a meeting came back to me. So did all that regalia she'd been wearing. It was obvious she didn't dress that way around her coven, and she was an Elder. "Fuck. They had their meeting at Arden's place." I gave him a brief run-down of our meeting with Arden and her sudden request for Medbh's head.

  "It makes sense they'd blame Medbh. Changelings are Faerie business and there's a Sidhe head in your basement. They're following a trail, I'm just not sure it's the right one."

  "Damn that woman," I said in a less than low tone. A few nurses and a hot orderly passed by, giving me a wide birth. "I haven't told anyone about Medbh's head. Neither has Ivan or Kyle. But Arden's been running her mouth."

  "She might be gunning for the High Witch position, Sam. She already calls herself the Witch Queen of New Orleans. If she were elected to the head position, it would guarantee her that power. And by giving the Elders the head of a Sidhe? But not just any Sidhe, the former Obsidian Queen, I'd bet that election would be in the bag."

  That. Bitch.

  "Where are you?" Crwys asked.

  I realized he didn't know, so I filled him in on what'd happened.

  "That's seven Changelings."

  "I'm aware of that. So where are the real kids? Are they all in Alfheim?"

  "We should have asked Medbh that. Look, we're going to have to find a way to speak to Tzariene to see if she knows anything. There's no telling how long these Changelings have been living their counterparts' lives," he paused. "You do realize Robin's sister's not going to survive this. Not if that thing bit her."

  "The doctor's talking to Robin right now. It looked like he was getting some good news." I turned to make sure Robin was still there.

  And he was. He'd turned to his right to speak to the doctor, and I saw his left side for the first time. His bloodied shirt moved as he held up his arms as if gesturing, and I saw the surgical tape and gauze of a bandage.

  "Sam? You still there?"

  I swallowed as I stared at the thread-woven piece of material, taped with such care and precision to my lover's side, just below what looked like the trailing edges of long, deep scratches. "Crwys…is it just biting that feeds the toxins?"

  "No. It's any kind of contact that'll flay skin. Biting, gnawing, clawing."

  I put my hand to my mouth just as Robin turned to me and smiled. He waved me over. I lowered my hand and nodded. "I gotta go."

  "What is it? What's wrong?"

  "I'll meet you at the shop." I disconnected and slipped my phone into my back pocket with shaking hands as I joined my lover. I put my hand over the bandages and inhaled deep.

  He winced, and just there on the edge, like a fleeting memory, was the rotting, pungent smell of Arcane Magic.

  NINE

  Kyle met me outside the hospital. The woman who appeared outside my shop, the first victim we knew, had died. Her body was on its way to the morgue.

  I didn't say much in the Jeep. Grey moved between the two front seats and put her head on my shoulder. She licked my ear a few times, and I absently reached back to scratch her neck.

  Tomorrow would be Halloween. All soul's night.

  And by tomorrow night, my boyfriend would be as dead as the rest of the Changelings' victims. What I couldn't wrap my head around was why. Why were they all coming to life at once? Like sleeper agents set to kill, all activated at the same time. What was the purpose?

  Ina's words kept tumbling around me as well. I should focus on whose attention the wielder of the Changelings was focused on. Otherwise, none of this would ever make sense.

  The sun set while I was in the hospital. We sat in the Jeep under the twilight part of the day, in the parking lot under threatening clouds, but still no rain. I fished my phone out of my back pocket.

  Ina answered on the fifth ring. "Hey…everything go well with Arden?"

  I could hear people's voices, soft music, and laughter. I imagined Ina's house was warm and full of companionship by now. I gave her a fast recap of what happened at Arden's.

  "Sam, what else is wrong? You sound just a little off."

  "I don't…I don't want to talk about it right now. But I need a favor. It's a crazy idea, but it might help us."

  "Sure. Just come on over and we can talk."

  "I have Kyle with me."

  "Bring him. And call Ivan to come as well. If this involves magic, you three must continue working together to forge your coven bonds."

  I called Ivan and told him to meet us at Ina's in half an hour.

  The house was lit up, just as I imagined it would be. My parking space was still available, and we wasted no time getting inside as thunder cracked the otherwise calm night.

  There were seven students in the house with Ina, along with one of the other teachers, an older woman I knew as Venus. She was like the students, all children of the God Mother, all carrying a single Dianic Gift.

  Once Ivan arrived, I spelled out my idea in the herb room and got everyone's opinion. Ina was okay with giving it a try, more than ready to throw her students into the deep end of real, working magic. So we filed back into the main room where everyone waited patiently, some whispering among themselves.

  The boy-to-girl ratio was nearly even, which surprised me. Once everyone gave us their magical names—a name they chose to be called in Ina's house—she turned the floor over to me.

  I felt a bit nervous standing in front of everyone's wide eyes. They were all dressed for a party in nice clothes and shoes, while I stood in my usual uniform of boots, jeans, and a black tank top. Luckily, I'd remembered my leather jacket, but it was in Ina's front closet. And she had my weapons tucked away.

  "Is that a real wolf? 'Cause you know it's illegal to keep a real wolf as a pet."

  The woman who asked the question called herself Arwen. Why was it always the Stevie-Nicks-wannabes that flocked to Ina? Arwen was taller than me, but I'm not exactly a giant at five-foot-seven. She had honey-wheat colored hair, all pulled up into an exquisite French braid, large blue eyes, and flawless skin. She wore several layers of flowy skirts and coverings and had silver rings on her toes.

  I don't know why, but Arwen set off all my don't likes. "Grey is not my pet. She's my familiar. As for whether or not she's a wolf, that's not what's important."

  "She's beautiful."

  That was Greysmoke, a young brunette in her mid-twenties, with bright brown eyes and a half crooked smile that I actually liked. Everyone focused on Grey where she sat at my feet, and she appeared to be taking the attention in stride.

  Ina stepped in and held up her hand. "I need everyone to focus. And listen carefully to Sam and me. What we're going to do hasn't been done with Dianic Magic, though the outcome shouldn't be any different." Well, that announcement quieted the room. "Samantha and her friends, Kyle and Ivan, need to talk to someone in the Circle. So we're going to draw down the moon for them and make it possible."

  Wider eyes and open mouths.

  Then, "But…can't the three of them do it themselves?" Arwen's whiny voice made the hairs on the back of my neck bristle.

  I answered that one. "Yes, we could. But because everyone here works the Circle in the back yard on a regular basis, I think the potency of the magic we need would be better if it was cut from your imagination."

  This was the idea that came to me while sitting in the Jeep outside the hospital. The need to talk to Tzariene was key in discovering if there were other Faeries in New Orleans, and we needed consecrated ground to do it. I realized then that Arden didn't have the only consecrated, magically-operational ground in the city. In fact, I'd just visited such a place earlier in the evening.

  Ina had agreed with it. She knew summoning Tzariene wouldn't be dangerous for the casters—the ones inside the Circle asking the questions were the ones at risk. What concerned me was what price Tzariene would ask for the answer.

  Everyone seemed excited, except for Arwen, though she followed the group as they gathered outside in Ina's back yard. In the dark, under lit torches and paper lanterns, the Circle looked ethereal. When Ina moved to this house, I helped her work the Circle on Sabbats and Moons and physically built the area when I was home from college.

  Nine feet in diameter, the center of the Circle was set with a permanent fire pit. Around the edge were tiles of yellow and red in the patterns of flames. At each of the four directions tall stones were set to represent the orientation and their corresponding Elements. North for Earth, east for Air, south for Fire, and west for Water. The altar was set in the north. Knee-high shrubbery outlined the Circle space and kept everything nice and neat.

  The group had the altar ready and wood in the fire within a half hour after the proposed impromptu ritual. Kyle, Ivan and myself had a quick meeting in the herb room to go over what we needed to say.

  "I remember the meeting you had with Brendi," Kyle said. "We don't want another bargain like that."

  "Are you sure she'll ask for something in return?" Ivan looked at each of us. He'd changed into a black hoodie, jeans, and boots. His lip ring really shined in the candlelight. "And does it have to be a promise like you made Brendi?"

  I shook my head. "It's whatever they fancy at the time."

  Ina came in with a clay pitcher and set it on the table. "For what it's worth, my experience has always been that the easiest way to get through a Faerie deal is to sweeten it. This is a pitcher of well-blended honey and milk. I've also added catnip for potency. I think you should offer it before she thinks of something." She looked at Ivan. "And I think you should do it."

  Ivan took a step back. "Me? Why me?"

  "Because you pose the least magical threat." Ina reached out and put a hand on Ivan's shoulder. They were about the same height. "Ivan, Sam told me what you did in the shop. That's an incredible Gift, and I want to work with you on sharpening it. You could be such a valuable asset to her—hell—to any Witch in the city. To actually see Arcane?"

  "But…I don't know if it's a fluke or a one-time thing."

  "That's why you need to be the one to make the offer. Tzariene is, for all practical purposes, composed of this magic. Arcane is what binds the Demon Realms together. The light, the dark, and Alfheim. She'll let you close because she can't sense your magic."

  "But if it wasn't a fluke, then I should be able to see the Arcane."

  "Exactly."

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212