Burning Bright (Ivy Granger) (16 page)

“You’re not what I expected from fae royalty, but then
again, I should have known better from a friend of Kaye’s,” he said.  The
creases at the corners of Janus’ eyes deepened with a smile and I realized
those wrinkles came from more than squinting down the barrel of a weapon.  I
could see why his men would follow him into battle.  The Hunter’s smile was
contagious, and I fought to keep my trademark frown intact.  “I was worried I’d
lose my entire afternoon to some poncy twit spouting Shakespeare while trying
to stab me in the back with my own blade.”

“Nope, no dancing around with flowery words from me,” I
said.  “I don’t know which knife and fork to use at a fancy dinner party
either.  I’m not your typical faerie princes.  I grew up human, same as you.”

For all his reputed skill with a sword and rugged good
looks, the man was human.  That was clear.

Janus smiled more widely and leaned back in his chair.

“So what can I do for you, Miss Granger?” he asked.

“I was hoping you could help me locate a mutual friend,” I
said.  “Kaye took off without a word as to where she was going, and now all
hell’s breaking loose.”

“You talking about those bloody pyro demons?” he asked.

Now it was my turned to gape like an idiot.

“Aye, lass, we know all about the fire imps plaguing the
city,” he said.  “I’ve got men on it, though we’re short staffed here at the
moment.  Timing couldn’t have been worse, almost as if it happened that way on
purpose.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and scowled.

“You think the demons showing up now is a targeted attack on
the city?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but Kaye was checking things on her end,” he
said.  “She went to walk the perimeter barrier.  It may not keep things out
like it used to, not enough powerful magic users left to fuel the damn thing, but
the barrier still works as an early warning system for those of us who still care
about protecting this city.”

“So Kaye went to check the perimeter?” I asked.

“Aye, fire imps were popping up inside the city, but there
was no sign of them passing through the barrier,” he said.  “Had our witch
friend in a right tizzy.”

“Yeah, I bet,” I said.

I remembered how foul tempered she’d been when Forneus
managed to enter Harborsmouth without triggering Kaye’s magic alarm system.  In
fact, he never did share how he managed that trick.

I sighed.  Kaye hadn’t been the only one to disappear. 
Forneus had left with a promise to help find out how to break the incubus’ hold
on Jinx—and I hadn’t heard from him since.  I guess I should know better than
to trust a demon.

“Any theories on how a bunch of rare demons are getting
inside the city without setting off the barrier?” I asked.

I bit my lip, a knot forming in my belly.  As far as I knew,
Forneus was the only demon to pass unnoticed, until now.  If I found out that
the demon attorney had something to do with the fire imp plague on the city,
I’d send him straight back to Hell—and I’d make damn sure he stayed there.

“Not yet, but I don’t reckon we’ll like the answer,” he
said.

No, probably not.

“Well, um, thanks for the info,” I said.  I thought about what
Father Michael said regarding the possibility of Hell gates and winced.  “Tell
your men to keep an eye out for portals…mirrors, tears into the fabric of
reality, that sort of thing.”

God, did I just say that with a straight face?

“Already on it, lass,” he said.

Master Janus rose to his feet, the universal sign for ‘get
the hell out of my office.’  I stood slowly, every muscle in my body
protesting, and went for the door.

“If you hear from Kaye, let me know,” I said.  “I’m in the
book.”

Jinx had printed up fancy Private Eye business cards, but I
hadn’t thought to grab any earlier.  I was too busy strapping on weapons.

“Aye, will do,” he said.

I nodded over my shoulder.  I may not trust the man, or his
guild, but I did appreciate the fact he’d seen me on short notice.  I was also
aware that someday, if Kaye and I were gone, the Hunters’ Guild could be the
one thing that came between the rogue paranormals and the human inhabitants of
Harborsmouth.  With Kaye’s magic waning and my current situation with The Green
Lady, that day may come sooner than later.

“Safe travels, Janus,” I said.

“Good hunting, Granger,” he said.

I just hoped that this round of hunting didn’t get me dead.

M
y exit from
the Hunters’ Guild was uneventful.  Jonathan was nowhere in sight and his
taciturn replacement escorted me to the front gates with no more than a series
of monosyllabic grunts and mutters.  I’d been ready for a fight, but Hendricks
had left his post and I made it through the gate without so much as a barbed
insult.

I sprinted away from the looming edifice of the Herne
building, burning off unspent adrenaline while formulating a plan.  Kaye’s
magic perimeter barrier encircled the entire city of Harborsmouth.  If I
started tracing it now, I could be running in circles for days looking for the
woman.  There was a chance I’d never encounter the witch at all.

No, I’d take my chances back at The Emporium.  Kaye was
bound to return eventually and Arachne had that demon vessel artifact for me. 
Plus, I wanted to check in with Jinx.  A status report over the phone was all
well and good, but I needed to see my friend for myself.

Decision made, I hastened toward the Old Port quarter which
was thankfully downhill.  I may run along the harbor and go through basic
defense drills daily, but unfulfilling my bargain with The Green Lady was
beginning to take its toll.  My breathing was labored and sweat was beading on
my forehead and upper lip.

Although the sweat may have had something to do with my
close proximity to a dozen fire imps.  Imps ran across my path, cackling and
chittering as they slipped into a nearby alleyway.

Fire imps roving in packs?  Now that was interesting.  In
fact, there was a chance they’d lead me to the Hell gate that Father Michael
suspected was somewhere in the city.

I considered turning around and raising the alarm back at
the guild, but shook my head and put on more speed.  Why let the Hunters have
all the fun?  I bolted after the demons.

My limbs felt heavy with fatigue—damn The Green Lady—but I
pushed forward, muscles burning.  I careened around the corner and into the
alley, gulping air thick with the reek of garbage, urine…and smoke.  I choked
on the stench, raising an arm to cover my nose and mouth.

The fire imps had definitely come this way, but they were
nowhere in sight and the alley was blocked by a tall, chain-link fence.  I retraced
my steps, but there were no doors or windows on the first or second floors of
the adjoining brick buildings.  Unless there was a portal here which I couldn’t
see, the imps must have made their way over, under, or through the fence.

I let out an impatient growl and returned to the fence,
searching for signs of the diminutive demons.  A closer inspection turned up a
patch of blood where one of the buggers had cut himself trying to climb up and
over to the other side.

I eyed the fence, topped with barbed wire, and sighed.  I’d
never catch up with the imps now, not in my current bargain-plagued condition. 
If I wanted answers about the location of the Hell gate, I’d have to take my
chances with the cooling blood.

I grimaced, not liking my options.  Using my psychometry was
always risky, which is why I was so selective in how I went about engaging it. 
Normally, I tried to play it safe, and fondling some demon blood was not my
idea of safe—not by a long shot.  But if there was a portal to Hell in my city,
there was no way I could sit back and let demon hordes pour through unchecked.

The gate had to be closed, and the only way to do that was
to find its location.  I thought of the gigantic master demons that Father
Michael had shown me in his books and shivered.  Those demons dominated the
demons of their plane.  What would they do to the people of this city?  Would
they enslave my family, my friends?

I imagined Jinx in shackles, her spirit broken.  Mab’s
bones, what about Marvin?  Could the bridge troll take another beating?  The
kid still had scars from the
each uisge
attack.  And I knew what Kaye
and Ceff would do.  They’d fight until their bodies lay broken and lifeless at
the feet of the demon lords.

I tugged at the fingers of my glove, and took a long, quivering
breath. 
Stupid, stupid, stupid
, I admonished myself, but I forced my
shoulders back.  Sure, I could lose my sanity and end up a gibbering mess in an
alley stinking of piss and smoke.  Heck, if the convulsions were bad enough, I
could break my own neck.  But I continued to strip off my gloves.

There are some things that are worth the risk.

I went through my preparations slowly, all the while trying
to calm my nerves.  I needed to find my center, my chi, and focus my will.  I
slid a plastic mouthguard into my mouth and ignored the drool that immediately had
me resembling a slavering barguest.  The mouthguard made me claustrophobic, but
my convulsions could be violent and now was not the time to bite my tongue
off.  I had to maintain control, at all cost.

I cleared the ground at my feet, sweeping away the refuse
that littered the pavement with my boot.  I thumbed off my phone’s ringtone,
not wanting any unnecessary distractions.  This would be hard enough without
the jarring sound of my ringer going off.

I was pretty sure that losing my focus while handling demon
blood would be a mistake of epic proportions.  Stabbing myself with one of my
many weapons was also probably a bad idea.  With jerky movements, I stripped
off my leather jacket, forearm sheaths, and utility belt placing them all in a
plastic bag I kept folded inside my jacket.

Even in the heat of the alley goosebumps dotted my skin.  I
felt naked, vulnerable.  I tossed the bag aside and planted my feet wide.

I winced at the drool trickling down my chin, but the
mouthguard was a necessary evil.  Not only would it keep me from choking, or
eating my own tongue, it would also muffle my screams.

I raised a shaking hand to the fence and swallowed hard.  It
was time to go down the rabbit hole.

E
verything was
burning.  EVERYTHING, and it was glorious. 
Burn, burn, burn!  Fire, fire,
fire!

I giggled with glee, but NO.  This was not me.  These
thoughts were those of a fire imp, the one whose blood I’d touched in the
alley.  I was Ivy G-g-granger…

I felt myself slipping, drowning beneath the tide of
flames…losing my sense of self…becoming a demon.

Fire, fire, fire, fire!  Who that?  Witch with bad
magic.  Nooooooooo!  Darkness, stuck, bottled up with brothers.  Bored.  No fire,
no fire, no fire, no fire.  Whoa!  Falling, tumbling, FREE!

Girl with purple hair?  Witch!  Run, run, run.  Hide,
hide, hide.

Tall buildings.  No darkness.  No masters.  No witch.

Make fire.  Fire, fire, fire!

I groaned, drool leaking past my lips.  I struggled to
breathe, but the cloying scent of smoke and unwashed demons lingered.  I turned
my head to the side, pulled the mouthguard from my mouth, and puked my guts out
in the alley.

I heaved until there was nothing left, body wracked with the
shakes.  My muscles cramped as spasms sent fingers of pain throughout every
nerve, but it could have been worse.  I’d survived the vision.  Thankfully,
fire imps were simple creatures obsessed with fire, flame, and smoke.  Not much
else left an impression on them—except being bottled up by a witch.

Oh shit.  Images from the vision came back to me and I began
to make sense of them now that I wasn’t trapped inside a fire demon’s puny brain.

Kaye had rounded up these little mischief makers before. 
She used her magic to keep them contained in a small, arcane vessel—an artifact
that Arachne had disturbed in Kaye's office.

Now I understood the kid’s nervousness on the phone. 
Arachne was the girl with purple hair from my vision.  Intentionally or not, she
was responsible for the fires raging through Harborsmouth.  Arachne had set the
fire imps free.

Arachne had offered us the artifact to help lure the fire
imps to the carnival grounds.  So she knew that the magic item must have been a
demon vessel, she’d figured that much out.  If her nervousness was any
indication, she also knew that she’d screwed up.  But did she realize exactly
what she’d done?  Probably not.

I sighed and rubbed my face.  The kid was about to learn
about facing the repercussions of her actions.  I knew from my own experience
that it was a hard lesson to take.

I pulled on my gloves, glad they hadn’t ended up in the line
of fire.  I didn’t want to be smelling puke all day.  In fact, I could really use
some gum.

I turned to where I’d left my other things, and gasped. 
There was a note folded and set on top of the bag.  Someone had been here in
the alley with me while I was incapacitated by the vision.

I sighed and plucked up the note with two gloved fingers.  I
wasn’t sure who had left it, but judging by the smell of tuna and the fact we
were in a shadowed alley, I was guessing it was from one of Torn’s minions.

I unfolded the note, reading it quickly.  There wasn’t much
to read. 
You’re in danger, princess.  The courts know about you, and they
don’t tolerate traitors.  Watch your back.

I squeezed my eyes shut and let my chin rest on my chest.  Traitor. 
I’d never even been to one of the fae courts, had only known about my fae blood
for a few months, but they’d labeled me a traitor just the same.  I couldn’t
control my wisp powers, not without my father’s help, and someone had found
out.  I’d screwed up, and now I was on their hit list.