changeling chronicles 03 - faerie realm (11 page)

Oh.
“I didn’t know,” I said honestly. “But the Sidhe killed millions of other humans. The half-bloods are mostly innocent people trying to live their lives. This killer’s using their magic against them.”

Henry growled. “Fine, speak to him. Neither half-faeries nor mages are welcome in our territory. Nor necromancers, either.”

“Right.” That was that. I’d do whatever necessary to solve the murder, even if it meant alienating him. I was past caring by now.

I found Isabel further down the road, vomiting into a bin. I stopped beside her, fighting a fresh wave of nausea.

“What the fuck is the matter with people?” she said. “How could anyone—”

“Faeries,” I said. “They don’t have morals. Humans are like toys to them.”

Isabel pulled a tissue from her bag and wiped her mouth. “Ugh. What now? Going to see your boss?”

“I should probably call him first.”

“Do that. Last night was weird. I don’t think he’s mad at you. He’s worried about you. There’s a difference.”

I sighed. “I wanted a date, not a dead body.” Welcome to my goddamned life. I pulled out my phone and hit Vance’s number.

“Vance,” I said. “I’ve been—” The sound of a dial tone interrupted me. “What the hell?”

“He’s not there?”

“Nope.” I hung up, fury beginning to simmer. “Damn you, Vance. Fine. I’ll go it alone.”

Isabel caught up with me as the high fences of shifter territory ended, giving way to houses and gardens. “Go where?”

“The necromancers. If I’m going to be sensible and not hop over the veil, I’ll have to do it the legal way. Otherwise known as the bloody impossible way, because Lord Evander hates me.”

Isabel chewed her lip. “Not alone. Let me come with you.”

“To the necromancers?” I hesitated. “I suppose they’re less dangerous than the half-bloods or shifters. But bring salt. Lots of it. They’ve had trouble controlling their undead lately.”

“Yippee,” said Isabel, in such an accurate impression of me that I laughed.

“Come on.” I led the way home, leaving the shifters behind. En route, I tried to call Vance twice but went straight to voicemail. Giving up, I gave him a recorded message telling him to call me back.

When we reached the flat, Isabel ducked inside and returned carrying several containers of salt.

“Good,” I said, taking one of them. “Last time I went there a half-faerie ghost showed up, so watch out.”

“You can see the dead?” She stashed the salt container in her handbag.

“Not usually. Only when the veil’s thin.” I made sure my own salt shaker was secure in my inside pocket.

“All right,” said Isabel. “I’m glad you aren’t turning into a full-fledged necromancer. No offence, but they’re creepy as hell.”

“Gotta agree with you there.”

And on that note, we headed to see the necromancers.

CHAPTER NINE

I fidgeted on the doorstep of necromancer HQ, casting an uneasy glance at the locked gate to their back yard. I half expected the half-faerie ghost I’d met once to show up—or another, worse ghost. Chills raced across my skin, and the squat, jet-black building seemed to push the sun’s rays as far away as possible.

The door opened. My heart sank. I’d hoped the leader of the necromancers wouldn’t answer the door in person. No such luck. Lord Evander—short and slight, dressed in a smart suit that made him look comical rather than frightening—glared at me. “Ivy Lane. I thought I informed your boss that you aren’t welcome here.”

I let my dignity slide away. “I wish to hire a necromancer. I’m investigating a murder and require your services.”

“Absolutely not,” said Lord Evander. “The last time you were near a summoning circle, people died. Specifically, you
killed
one of my apprentices.”

I swallowed. “He was possessed. I acted in self-defence. I didn’t mean to kill him.”

“I don’t think you do anything by accident, Ivy Lane.”

I kept my expression neutral, with difficulty. The dick was asking for a punch to the throat. “Whatever you think of me is irrelevant. I’m asking you in a professional capacity.”

“Then let me hire you,” said Isabel, stepping forward. “I’m investigating this murder case, too. I’m happy to pay your rates, whatever they are.”

Lord Evander scowled at her. “Witch, are you?”

“The Laurel Coven’s Second,” said Isabel. “I’ll bring in our leader, if need be.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

I gaped at little. Isabel of all people didn’t threaten anyone. I was the sharp-tongued one.

“Well?” I asked.

“Yes, come in, then. I’ll ask one of my apprentices to assist you. Ivy Lane, you aren’t to go within a metre of them.”

“I have our spell equipment,” I said. A lie, but I wouldn’t let Isabel go in there alone. “I’ll watch from the side. I won’t touch anything.”

“Fine.” He swept into the hallway, gesturing at us to follow.

The gloomy hall led into a wide room with an open space in the centre. Chalked onto the shiny metal floor was the outline of a big circle. Scorch marks covered the walls and ceiling, which had no lightbulb. Instead, candles burned in tall carved sconces on the walls, while unlit candles surrounded the chalked circle at intervals.

“Why’s the room made of metal?” I asked.

“Iron,” said Lord Evander. “It was once believed that iron repelled spirits in the same way that it does faeries. Not true, of course, but our ancestors built this place on their own beliefs.”

Huh. Iron and spirits? That one, I hadn’t heard before. I guessed it could keep half-faerie ghosts out.
I hope.

Two other black-clad figures looked at us from the room’s corner. Maybe ‘lurking creepily in corners’ was part of necromancer training.

“Colby,” said Lord Evander, gesturing towards a short, unshaven young man who’d walked in through one of the three doors on the circle’s other side. “Your assistance is required.”

The man gave me a wary look. He looked hardly out of his teens, actually—far younger than me. An apprentice. His gaze rested on the sword at my waist.

“We need you to contact a spirit,” said Isabel. “A man named—” She looked at me.

“Perry,” I said. “A shifter. He was murdered last night. We wish to question his spirit.”

The apprentice swallowed, throat bobbing nervously. “Okay. If he was killed violently, though, his spirit might try to attack us. He might not know he’s dead.”

“It’ll be fine,” said Lord Evander, in a surprisingly reassuring tone. “The spirit will remain caged within the circle. He won’t be able to get out.”

The apprentice shuffled forwards. “Okay. You two… stay away from the circle while I’m doing the ritual.” He mumbled the words, like he wasn’t used to giving orders, and crouched down. Pulling a box of matches from his pocket, he leaned in to light one of the candles at the circle’s edge. He then moved around the circle, lighting the other candles. Twelve in total.

The apprentice began to chant in a language I didn’t know. Sounded vaguely like Latin. The candles burned brighter, their yellow flames turning to green then blue and settling on a dark shade of reddish-purple. Lights flared along the entire circle, enclosing a rapidly growing patch of grey smoke.

The veil.

Shivers ran down my spine. The room was like a refrigerator anyway, but the icy wind billowing out from the circle made it feel like the candles exuded coldness, not warmth. Isabel’s teeth chattered next to me, while a sudden draft of cold air from behind announced the arrival of several other necromancers. They’d obviously come to watch the show.

The apprentice necromancer, Colby, walked right up to the circle. Even from a safe distance, I could tell he was shaking. He spoke again in that strange language, and then said the name
Perry.
He must be calling the shifter’s spirit.

The grey smoke began to swirl, picking up speed like a miniature tornado contained within the magical boundaries of the summoning circle. Dizziness swept through me, but I couldn’t look away.

The smoke thinned out, turning into fine mist. The outline of a man appeared, indistinct and blurred, but recognisably human. Last I’d seen of him, he’d been a corpse. I closed my eyes against a wave of nausea, and when I opened them again, he’d moved to the circle’s edge, placing his hands against it like against a glass door.

“What—what is this?”

Oh, boy.

“Shit,” said the apprentice. “It worked. Um. There’s someone who wants to talk to you…” He gestured towards me and Isabel.

I stepped forward, Isabel next to me. “Hey,” I said. “I’m Ivy. I wanted to ask you some questions about last night. It’s important.”

“Last night?” His forehead scrunched up. “What happened last night?”

“You tell me. Do you remember what you did yesterday evening?”

“I was… I went for a walk.”

“Before shifting?”

“I didn’t—” He broke off, looking vaguely puzzled.

Crap. He definitely didn’t know he was dead. Well, this would be fun.

“Tell me everything you remember about last night,” I said. “Did you see… a faerie?”

“Faerie?” He stared into the distance. “Why is everything grey?”

“Because, er. We’re underground.” Great job there, Ivy. Well, it was the necromancers’ job to reassure the newly dead. Not me.

“Why? How did I get here?”

I shot a desperate look at the apprentice. He gaped at the circle as though he couldn’t believe he’d actually manage to conjure up a real spirit.
Seriously.

“Answer our questions and I’ll tell you,” I said. Hell, I didn’t have to stay. The necromancers could deal with the fallout if the guy turned violent and hysterical.

“Who
are
you? You’re… blue. There’s blue light all around you.”

My heart plunged. He wasn’t Sighted—unless he’d had faerie blood in the first place, which I doubted. Could the dead see faerie magic? Or was it because
my
magic was tied to Death?

“Never mind,” I said, wishing the necromancers didn’t have to hear all this. “Someone was murdered yesterday. I have reason to think you might have seen the killer. Did you see any faeries last night?”

“Aside from you?”

My heart performed a sickening dive. “What?”

“You’re glowing like her.”

A sick feeling rose in my throat. “I—what? She… the killer was a woman?”

“The last thing I remember…” He stared into the distance, then shook his head. “Not you. There was… green light. Everywhere. She—I didn’t see her face. What…?” He trailed off. At the same time, the smoke rose to surround him again, his whole body misting over. “What
happened
to me?”

I opened my mouth but couldn’t speak. I thought back to what I’d seen of the killer. They’d seemed tall, and their figure suggested they were female.

A suspicion took hold of me.

Wait, Ivy.
I needed to check with Vance before I did anything rash. Because I knew one female faerie with magic who hated humans…

“Did you see what her face looked like?” asked Isabel. She’d moved back a foot or so behind me, clearly freaked out by the ghost’s appearance. “The woman.”

“Beautiful.”

“Like a tree?” I asked. I hoped
not,
but the coincidence didn’t feel right in my mind.

“Maybe. Light everywhere… it hurt.” He seemed to fold in on himself, his form becoming even more indistinct. “Where am I?”

“It’ll be okay,” I said, even though it was about as far from okay as possible. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything else?”

“No. I don’t know.”

“Was the woman carrying anything?” Dammit. I didn’t dare mention swords in front of the necromancers. They wouldn’t react well to the idea of a powerful talisman with the power to open the veil being hidden somewhere in this realm. Maybe even near here.

Dammit. Where’s a magical tracker when you need one?
I could track
people,
with a witch’s spell, but nothing else. Especially something packing a high amount of power. You’d think there’d be a way to hone in on it.

“She had… no. She didn’t carry anything.”

Crap. Did the killer need the object to commit murder? Most likely not, if she’d drawn on its power already. But
where
could it be? If this faerie was really drawing from its strength, she’d need to hide out right next to it. Which meant surely someone would have seen her around. Even if she’d used glamour, half-faeries could see through it…

“Why are you looking at me like that?” asked the shifter. “I answered your questions. Tell me where I am. I don’t remember…”

“Be glad you don’t,” I said quietly, thinking of his dismembered body. “You’ll be okay. Guys, help me out here,” I added to the necromancers. “At least tell him the truth.”

The apprentice seemed to have frozen into a statue. Lord Evander, meanwhile, was somewhere on the circle’s other side.

Fine.
“You’re dead. Sorry. You were murdered last night.”

The shifter stared at me a moment. Then he started shaking his head. The smoky miasma surrounding him spilled over, agitated, beating against the circle’s boundary.

“I’m
not.”

“Enough,” Lord Evander said loudly. “Colby, close the circle.”

The apprentice snapped back to life, stumbling to his feet. “Yes, sir. I—what are the words again?”

Lord Evander made an impatient noise. “You practised every day for the last three years. Say the words.”

Colby tripped over the strange tongue, and the smoke churned within the circle. The ghost vanished like a light snuffed out, but the smoke thickened. Grey light filtered through, and seemed to focus on me, like I stood right in the centre.

Light, like the path to a tunnel entrance.

A familiar tunnel, with a forested path waiting at the end.