Blood and Mistletoe (10 page)

The scent of primrose and thyme met my nose and I slumped forward.  I loosened my grip on the stakes and locked my knees, trying not to slide to the floor.  My legs had gone wobbly, and stars danced on the edge of my vision, but the Hunter’s face emerged from the smoke haze.

“Jenna?” I asked.

“If I’d been the Faerie Mistress, you’d be dead right now,” Jenna said.  She shook her head and let go of my wrist.  “You really need to reconsider my offer for weapons training.”

 I let out a shaky laugh and brushed a piece of falling ash from my cheek.  Jenna had a point.  I caught a glimpse of my gloves and winced.  I was lucky that my hands weren’t covered in third degree burns.  My leather gloves were a charred mess.  Good thing Marvin had given me new ones for Christmas.  I’d have to make sure and thank the kid.

“You may be right,” I said.  “So where is Leanansídhe?”

Jenna pointed to the ground a few feet away.  The faerie was sitting in the dirt, rocking the skeleton she held in her arms.  A low moaning rose from her mouth and Leanansídhe began sobbing into the skeleton’s shoulder. 

“Must hear him play again…such beautiful music,” she cried.

I almost felt bad for her.  My eyes rose to the small bodies hanging from the spit above the blackened tree.  The bodies were charred and covered in bite marks from where Leanansídhe had encouraged the redcaps to feed.  Maybe she didn’t deserve my pity.  I limped to a dainty, velvet armchair and pulled it over to the furnace.

“What do we do with her?” Jenna asked. 

Jenna pulled her crossbow from her back and aimed it at the insane faerie.  I shrugged.  I didn’t have a lot of sympathy for Leanansídhe.  She’d killed….for her own greed.  But she was obviously unhinged.  I thought back to the number of times I had come close to losing my own sanity.

Jenna began pulling the bow string back and I shook my head.  I may not like the faerie witch, especially now that I was standing eye to eye with her roasted victims, but the woman was clearly insane.

“Wait,” I said, raising a smoking hand.  “Let me call Kaye.  She’ll know what to do.”

Jenna went back to guarding Leanansídhe and I struggled to dial The Emporium with scorched gloves.  Kaye wasn’t thrilled at my suggestion to keep the faerie alive, but eventually she caved in.  She knew a Ghillie Dhu who ran a faerie rehab containment facility outside Boston.  I was fuzzy on the details, but the important thing was Kaye agreed to make the necessary calls and get Leanansídhe into the facility before dawn.  It may have been kinder to kill the faerie, but at least I wouldn’t be responsible for her death.

I’d do almost anything to protect my friends and keep the city safe, but I wasn’t comfortable with the role of executioner.  And if I agreed to let Jenna kill Leanansídhe, that’s exactly what I’d be.  It didn’t matter which of us pulled the trigger.

While talking to Kaye on speakerphone, I worked at removing the dead bodies from the metal spit.  I had trudged back up the basement stairs and retrieved the first aid kit and towels from the hotel service corridor.  I now had my gloved hands and arms wrapped in towels monogrammed with the BH of the Bishop Hotel.  My entire body shook, but I swallowed my fear of nightmare visions and finished the job.  Talking with Kaye helped to keep me distracted.

I used gauze from the first aid kit and more towels as shrouds, wrapping each of the burned bodies before setting them on one of the fancy couches that lined the walls.  It was hard work, wrapping the faeries with my own clumsy, towel wrapped hands.  But they deserved this token of respect.  I would make sure that each of the bodies was returned to their people and laid to rest in the manner in which they would wish.  It seemed like the least I could do.

I hadn’t been able to protect these faeries, but I swore that no more innocents, fae or human, would go unnoticed in my city.  Not on my watch.  And if I was going to be protecting the residents of Harborsmouth, I needed more training.

“Jenna, that offer for weapons training still stand?” I asked.

Jenna wasn’t cheap, but I could give myself training sessions for Christmas.  Maybe Jinx would like lessons as well.  She was getting feisty with her sharpened crosses and holy water grenades.  Making ourselves kick ass for the New Year?  Sounded like a resolution to me.

Of course, I’d still have to get Jinx a new pair of shoes.  Either that or I’d be the first person she’d stake.

Epilogue

M
y hand twitched as the Felix the Cat clock ticked on the kitchen wall.  I scowled at the time and grabbed my shawl from the granite counter, shaking my head.  I had hoped that Ceff would be here to escort me to Kaye’s crappy solstice party, but he hadn’t showed.  The kelpie and selkie negotiations must not be going well.

I stomped to the door, and flicked off the overhead lights.  I stood in the glow of the city lights that filtered in through the loft windows and took a steadying breath.  Jinx had gone on ahead with her date while I insisted on waiting for Ceff. 

I should have gone with Jinx and Hans, but I felt like a third wheel and I still wasn’t thrilled about Jinx going on a date with the Hunter.  Hans was trouble, but then again so was Jinx.  I shook my head.  At least she wasn’t going with Forneus.  The demon had sent numerous requests to be her date, but Jinx had refused.  At least attending the party on the arm of a skilled Hunter meant that Jinx wouldn’t be bothered by the demon tonight.  I sighed and leaned against the cool metal of our apartment door.

I’d have to walk into Kaye’s party on my own.

I was used to being a loner, but walking into a nude dance party, rife with magic circles and group orgies, had me checking my body for weapons.  The dress I’d worn, since I wasn’t going to tear off my clothes and run naked under the solstice moon, didn’t have as many places for stashing stakes and blades as I’d like.  How did Jinx manage to hide all of those sharpened crosses in her skirts?

I snorted, remembering Jinx’s last attempt to stab Forneus.  Jinx and I had started taking lessons with our Hunter friend Jenna and the training sessions had paid in spades.  Too bad demons like the rough stuff.  Jinx was never going to rid herself of Forneus now.

I tipped my head back and stared at the ceiling.  Maybe I’d feel better after a walk under the stars.  Starlight soothed my wisp half and the walk might calm my jangled nerves.  If not, I could stop on the way for some liquid courage.  The streets between our apartment and The Emporium were lined with bars and it was late on a Wednesday night.  I might be able to duck in and out without anyone trying to touch me.  And if they tried, I’d have an excuse to use some of the moves Jenna was teaching me.

I grinned, showing my teeth, and pulled the door open.  Ceff stood startled on the top landing.  His hand was lifted, as if to knock on the door.  I gasped and stepped back, but the grin didn’t leave my face.

“You made it,” I said, looking him over.

Ceff looked dapper in a suit and tie, but if you looked past his faerie glamour he wasn’t wearing shoes.  Apparently kelpie kings prefer to go around barefoot, even in winter.  I glanced up in time to see Ceff looking me over as well.  I blushed, running a hand down the shimmering dress.  I had planned on wearing pants and a turtleneck, but Jinx had insisted on the evening gown. 

“You look stunning in that dress,” he said. 

Ceff stepped inside, careful to keep his distance, and looked around the darkened room.  He raised an eyebrow and I nodded.

“Jinx already left for the party,” I said.  “I was just…”

“Working up your courage?” he asked. 

We hadn’t been dating for very long, but Ceff knew me well.  He was one of the few people I trusted enough to let my guard down with.  I enjoyed being able to just be myself around Ceff.  I smiled and gestured to the couch.

I sat at one end of the couch and turned on the table lamp.  I knew that Ceff’s eyes could see well enough in the dark, and my night vision was rapidly improving as my wisp abilities matured, but the darkness seemed too intimate.  I sighed, folding my gloved hands in my lap, and perched on the edge of the couch.  Jinx was right.  I had issues.

“I have something for you,” Ceff said.

He pulled a small, beribboned box from his pocket and set it on the couch between us.  My Christmas present?  But it wasn’t Christmas yet.

I hesitated, hand shaking, as I leaned toward the package.  Gifts made me nervous and the tiny box before me was no exception.  But I didn’t want to hurt Ceff’s feelings.  He looked so eager.  I took a steadying breath and reached for the box.

I pulled the ribbon away and lifted the lid with the tips of my gloves.  A seaweed covered item rested inside.  Please say that wasn’t jewelry, or a hat.  Jinx would laugh for a week if she saw me wearing seaweed.  Ceff cleared his throat and smiled.

“This was a boon from the selkie queen, the payment for my recent services to aid in the negotiations with her people,” he said.  Ceff’s voice trickled over me like water, but I forced myself to pay attention to his words.  “It grants the recipient one night without visions.  She claimed that it was crafted with powerful magic at the request of a clairvoyant.  How it came under the selkie queen’s possession, I do not know.”

Wait, a night without visions?  But that meant…

“I could touch you,” I said, a blush rising to burn my cheeks.

“Yes, but it is up to you how you wish to use it,” he said.

He was saying that I didn’t have to use the item to touch him, but Ceff looked pleased.  I looked around the empty room.  Jinx was at the party and would be dancing with Hans until dawn.  I smiled a wicked grin, feeling giddy with excitement.  Ceff had given me the best gift ever.

I reached for the magic seaweed and turned off the lamp.

###

Also by E.J. Stevens

Spirit Guide

Young Adult Series

She Smells the Dead

Spirit Storm

Legend of Witchtrot Road

Brush with Death

Ivy Granger

Urban Fantasy Series

Shadow Sight

Blood and Mistletoe

Dark Poetry Collections

From the Shadows

Shadows of Myth and Legend

The Spirit Guide Series

She Smells the Dead

Yuki has a secret…she smells the dead.

"This series is like Nancy Drew meets the Winchester Brothers from Supernatural."

-I'd So Rather Be Reading

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Spirits of the Dead are coming...

"Part mystery, part adventure, part romance and all the things a reader wants."

-Read For Your Future

Legend of Witchtrot Road

Surviving agitated ghosts, irritated witches, angry werewolves, and the horrors of high school has never been so hard.

"I didn't think it possible to fall even more in love with this series (and the characters, oh the amazingly swoon-worthy male characters and the super snarky female characters), but after having read this book, the third installment of this series, I found that it is indeed possible."

-Avery's Book Nook

Brush with Death

Samhain was scary, but graduation is downright terrifying.

The Pirate Curse

When Yuki starts smelling salt brine and seaweed, she finds her summer vacation hijacked by pirates...the DEAD kind.

Will the ghost of Black Sam Bellamy, Prince of Pirates, lead Yuki and her friends to treasure or terror?

(Coming 2013)

The Ivy Ganger Series

Shadow Sight

Welcome to Harborsmouth, where monsters walk the streets unseen by humans...except those with second sight, like Ivy Granger.

"I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sarcastic wit, supernatural beings, a good mystery and one kick butt heroine."

-Paranormal Romance Guild

"If you enjoy Urban Fantasies, and especially if you’re interested in the fae, you should definitely check out this book."

-Now Is Gone

"If you're looking for a great urban fantasy read and love all things fae and enjoy the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire, then I highly recommend Shadow Sight as a great way to spend a few hours inside the well spun fantastical world crafted by E.J. Stevens"

-sfx555chick

"If you like the Kate Daniels magic series, you'll dig this one!!"

-Kris10karma

"Shadow Sight is well worth a 5 out of 5 rating...I enjoyed it even more than my beloved Hollows series by Kim Harrison."

-My Keeper Shelf

"Shadow Sight is a fun, quirky paranormal read that just leaves you wanting more."

-The Bawdy Book Blog

Blood and Mistletoe: An Ivy Granger Novella

Holidays are worse than a full moon for making people crazy. In Harborsmouth, where many of the residents are undead vampires or monstrous fae, the combination may prove deadly.

(Coming November 2012)

Ghost Light

Holidays are worse than a full moon for making people crazy. In Harborsmouth, where many of the residents are undead vampires or monstrous fae, the combination may prove deadly.

(Coming 2013)

Burning Bright

(Coming Soon)