Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CORMAL
“ I ’ve got to go. Kavi says the trail is leading into Aerie Wells. As a chaos demon, he isn’t familiar with the area, and I don’t want him to end up a prisoner of some damn Red Cap or worse,” I inform them, sliding more weapons into the black fatigues I’m wearing.
Meri waves a hand, dressing herself in a fitted black outfit complete with knit cap, and lifts her backpack. “Let’s go.”
This isn’t a trip. “You’re not going,” I snap. “It isn’t safe. Just because it’s in the land of the Fae and not The Underworld doesn’t mean Leandra can’t find you there.”
She folds her arms across her chest. “I’m not asking your permission.”
Madoc heaves a sigh and stands. “Hell, Aerie Wells is in the Dark Fae Kingdom. I’m the most familiar with it. It makes sense for me to go with you.” He scowls at Meri. “I agree with Cormal. It’s too dangerous. Besides Leandra, the creatures in Aerie Wells are walking nightmares.”
She lifts a shoulder. “And?”
“And we can’t protect you and search for my man,” I shout, throwing up my hands. “What if something attacks you and your bracelet comes off? Think for a second.”
Rivan strides into the room. “What the hell is going on? I could hear you from the elevator.”
“Cormal’s sister went missing a long time ago. One of his men found a lead, but when they tried to follow it, Cormal’s other man, a very tough chaos demon named Fluk, died. They’ve been trying to catch up with the first man, but someone keeps interfering with their search,” Meri explains to Rivan.
“Lot was last seen in Aerie Wells twenty minutes ago,” I toss out. “My second in command, Kavi, isn’t familiar with the area.”
Rivan whistles. “I’ve been there quite a few times with my father. Kavi will be a target the second he enters. Let’s go.”
“Why did Brixton go to Aerie Wells?” Madoc questions him with a puzzled expression on his face.
“To talk to the other leaders of the Fire Fae Rebellion,” Rivan reveals with a shrug. “They were too easily recognizable everywhere else.”
Madoc turns back to me. “We have more knowledge than you. We’re going with you.”
Meri steps forward and spears me with a narrow-eyed look. “Me too. I’m not changing my mind. You need to trust us to be there for you.” Her fingernail taps her wrist. “We need to go.”
Exasperated, I point to Rivan and Madoc. “She’s your priority. If anything happens, get her out of there. I can take care of myself and my men.”
Both Madoc and Rivan snort but agree.
My phone pings. “It’s Kavi. It says JI #3.” I raise an eyebrow and look at Madoc and Rivan. “Well?”
“Juba Inn, room three,” Rivan murmurs. “We should go in the rear entrance to avoid anyone seeing us.”
Damn it. I was hoping he was bluffing about his knowledge. Without another word, I storm out the door with the three of them. As we pass Astor in the lobby, I tell him where we’re going in case anything happens.
His eyebrows shoot up. “Good luck.”
When we arrive in Aerie Wells, it’s pitch black.
We head to the Juba Inn and around the back. Old wooden stairs lead up to the second floor, and Rivan nods when I point to them. Once inside, we tread softly down the hallway until we reach room three. After knocking twice, then once, I push the door open and find Kavi and Lot arguing.
Relieved, I wave a hand to get them both to shut up. “Shut up. This isn’t the kind of place where you want what’s in the shadows noticing you. Not if you don’t want to be eaten or worse.”
Kavi throws a murderous glance at Lot but folds his arms and closes his mouth.
I point to Lot. “We’ve been searching for you. Why haven’t you answered my texts or sent us updates?”
“Too dangerous,” he spits out, running a hand through his red hair. “We made contact with the Fae and informed him that we had the info he needed. We set the time and location, then we fucked up.”
He lifts a shoulder. “Apparently, nobody uses a phone around here. Not in the open. The second Fluk picked up his phone to text you, the locals killed him for being a spy or some crazy shit.”
Unbelievable. “We lost our contact?”
“No, I made it to the rendezvous, but without Fluk, I knew he would get suspicious. Better to pretend we didn’t show and follow him. So, that’s what I did,” he excitedly corrects me. “He’s here.”
“In Aerie Wells?” I ask, afraid to hope.
“In the inn,” Lot replies. “He’s downstairs. I was going to try to follow him from here, but Kavi found me first.”
“When was this?” I whip around toward the door. “Madoc, Rivan, and Meri. Head outside. If he gets past us, I’ll text you. Kavi and Lot with me.” I get to the hallway and stop. “Which way?”
Lot hurries past me, taking the lead. “Stairs to the bar around the corner.”
We head left, and I look back to make sure Madoc turns right to lead Meri and Rivan to the rear exit. Before we reach the common room, I grab Lot’s elbow. “I’m going to slide into the shadows with Kavi. We’re too recognizable. All I want you to do is go in and sit down near the contact. Order an ale and blend in.”
Lot dips his chin, then hunches his shoulders and opens the door.
Slipping into the shadows, we watch him shuffle into the bar. A few of the patrons look up when he enters, but they quickly dismiss him and return to whatever they’re doing. Except for one.
That’s him. His height alone gives him away. I stare at the tall, dark hair man with bright green eyes, sitting there, nursing a tankard of ale. Not once does his eyes drift to anyone else, not even when Lot walks over and sits two seats down from him. It’s puzzling. Lot said he was paranoid. Those aren’t the actions of a paranoid man.
I text Madoc, asking if he can take the shadows to meet us in the common room. Near the interior entrance. Seconds later, he slides up beside us, and I add a sound barrier between us and the room.
“Lot says that’s him, but all he’s done is sit there. Do you recognize him?” I murmur, pointing to Fae.
“Aristocratic Fae. At least a lord or lady based on the reading I’m getting from their magic. Hard to tell with his glamour,” Madoc replies softly.
Glamour, of course. “Can you remove the glamour?”
“For a brief second, but they will instantly know it’s gone and bolt,” Madoc cautions me.
Modern technology working with old magic. Got to love it. I pull out my phone and aim the camera toward the Fae. “Do it. Now.”
Magic pulses out of the shadows, and the Fae turns toward it. The glamour lifts and I snap several pics of the now blond-haired, brown-eyed lord.
Flipping up the table, the lord takes off toward the door. I step from the shadows, with Madoc and Kavi, and wave to Lot. The four of us leap after him, intent on following him as far as we can.
Rivan: Small incident. We’re leaving. Might want to send Kavi to bury the bodies in the back. 3 Red Caps. One pile of ash.
Cormal: …
I show Madoc the text. “Will you go with Kavi and check it out? I’m going to keep following these two. Catch up when you can.”
Madoc pulls Kavi into the shadows, and they disappear.
Winding through the town, I spot Lot standing in the corner of a dark alley. Deliberately letting him see me, I walk past his hiding spot. He flicks a finger at the stables nearby, and I slide into the shadows.
Light streams through the slats from the lights outside. The cool interior is dark and mostly silent except for the occasional whinny from a horse. For the next hour, I stand in the shadows, waiting for him to make a move.
The front door slides open, and light spills through the entrance. Several Red Caps, muttering angrily amongst themselves, make their way to the wagon in the corner. Hitching up the jackass next to it, they lead it out of the barn and close the doors. The sound of clucking and the wagon pulling away echoes in the darkened room.
A huge beast of a horse rears up in the corner of the stables and changes from animal to Fae in a blink of an eye. Glamour gone, he leaps up on the nearest horse and sends a biting cold wind into the doors to open them wide. In a flash, they’re gone.
I rush outside and see Lot and Madoc standing in the alley. “Where’s Kavi?”
“I helped him drag the bodies out of town and burn them. He’s scattering the ashes throughout the woods,” Madoc replies with a shake of his head. “Based on the evidence, Rivan killed the three Red Caps, and Meri used faery fire to kill a hag. We need to leave. They’ll be searching for royalty.”
“I have an idea where to go next,” I tell them. “Lot, find Kavi and head back to The Underworld. Collect your bonus. You’ve earned it. Well done.”
He reaches out and shakes my hand. “Thank you. That money means a lot to me and my family.”
I make a mental note to find out more about his circumstances. “No, thank you. I’ve never gotten this close to finding my sister, and I wouldn’t have now if it wasn’t for your perseverance. I’ll let you know how it turns out.”
When he’s gone, Madoc turns to me with an eyebrow raised. “Where to next?”
His easy acceptance of my need to follow this through is unexpected. “You’re turning out to be better than I hoped.”
He scowls and stalks off.
Catching up, I flash him a broad grin. “We’re returning to The Abbey to check on Rivan and Meri. Then we’re going to find Theron and ask him about a man on a horse.”
Meri and Rivan are waiting for us in the room. She immediately rushes over and gives me a hug. “Sorry we had to leave.”
I smooth a hand down her platinum hair as I scan her from head to toe for any injuries. Thankfully, there are none.
Madoc inserts himself between the two of us. “Hello.” He dips his head and captures her lips in a deep kiss.
She grabs onto his shoulders and leans into him. “You don’t have to kiss me like that every time.”
He draws back. “You prefer a peck on the cheek like Cormal gives you?”
I growl in response to his asshole comment.
“I’ll take every kind of kiss from you three,” she breathes in a sultry voice.
Clearing my throat, I tilt my head and focus on Rivan. “What happened?”
“Some Red Caps were a little pissed because they lost family in the rebellion,” Rivan says nonchalantly. “I would have walked away, but they tried to take Meri as recompense.”
Meri’s turquoise eyes are brimming with laughter. “While he was ferociously fighting the Red Caps, a gnarled hand reached out from the shadows and touched my hair. Told me it was pretty, then tried to snatch it off my head. I might have gotten a little pissed and lit it on fire.”
I chuckle. “You’ve always been a little overprotective about your hair.” This little skirmish seems to have helped her and Rivan find their rhythm, too. “We followed the Fae to the stables. I think he’s a Winter Fae lord. I’m going to show Theron his picture.”
She frowns. “Theron’s brother is the only other lord in the Winter Court. His name is Oryn, and he lives in the palace with Denir. He’s the one who gave me the information about the Phoenix.”
“Full circle,” I murmur.
How the hell does Oryn know my sister?