She shook her head. “V’lane says concealment is the Seelie way of things. He says Unseelie get off on human fear. They ain’t hiding nothing. The Shades are still invisible to normal folks ‘cause that’s their natural state, but people can see all the other castes, far as we know.”
So, other humans could see their death coming, unless it was by Shade. They just couldn’t do anything about it. But if they were fed Unseelie, they would gain superstrength, like Mallucé, Derek O’Bannion, Fiona, and Jayne, and be able to fight back. We could capture far greater numbers, and wouldn’t it be worth it, even if it changed those who ate it on some fundamental level? I wasn’t sure exactly what changes it caused or how long-term they might be, but I didn’t feel worse for it. Fear of my own spear had been the greatest drawback. Wasn’t the survival of our race and our world the most important thing, no matter the means by which it was accomplished? In a “Your Pure Human Genes” or “Your Life” contest, I’d come down firmly every time on the side of life.
“IFP, Mac!” Dani exclaimed. “Dead ahead!”
I veered sharply, skidding around it. It was a small one, the circumference of a carnival calliope. We’d seen three so far. She’d laughed when I told her what I’d christened them. They were easier to see at night. When headlights hit them, they shimmered with thousands of what looked like tiny dust motes dancing on the air. The first—the swamp I’d driven through earlier today—had shimmered pale green; the last two had been silvery. I wondered if their color had anything to do with the landscape inside and what dangers they held, if perhaps similar colors came from similar parts of Fae realms. I made a mental note to begin recording as much as I could about them in my journal. I thought I might organize scouts. Pick half a dozen and send them out to learn everything they could about the Interdimensional Fairy Potholes. Were they gates to Faery? Was there some way to use them to our advantage?
It was quarter to eleven by the time we arrived in Dublin. We worked our way past abandoned wrecked cars, parked near Temple Bar, and got out, MacHalos blazing, weapons in hand.
My sidhe-seer senses were picking up a tremendous number of Fae in the city. I sensed thousands of them, spread out in all directions. Why so many? The city was eerily quiet and appeared to be devoid of human life. Wouldn’t Unseelie want to be wherever the most humans were gathered? It didn’t seem as if any were left here at all.
“Are you sensing a ton of Fae, Dani?” I asked.
“Uh-huh. S’part of the reason I kept coming in. Looking for you and trying to figure out what was going on. Was kinda freaky alone, though. I think Dublin’s, like, their official headquarters or something.”
I stared into the shadows, searching the night for Shades, glancing from dark alley to darker lane.
Dani didn’t miss it. “I think most of ‘em are gone, Mac. Last time I saw one of the creepy fecks in here was more than a month ago, and it was a really small one. I think they ate their way out and just kept going. Only ones I see anymore are in the abbey with us.”
I was still keeping my MacHalo on. She made no move to take hers off, either. “Where’s the boarded-up bar you said you saw?” We’d start there. Kill everything that was Fae. Try knocking sense into any humans stupid enough to be found there. “You know what to do if we get surrounded,” I reminded her.
“Grab you and get out fast,” she said with a grin. “Don’t worry, Mac. I got your back.”
Like I said: It was one of those perfect moments. We fought for hours, racking up the kills. With each Unseelie we “exterminated,” I felt stronger, more charged, more determined to track and destroy the last one, even if it took until my dying breath.
Dani and I punched and stabbed and sliced our way down the dark Dublin streets. Drunk on our own sheer kick-ass glory, we made up a song that would one day become the anthem of sidhe-seers around the world. But we didn’t know that. We only knew that shouting it kept us pumped up, feeling invincible.
We’re taking back the night!
Let there be light.
We’re not afraid anymore.
You took what was mine
And now it’s time
For you and me to settle the score
We’re taking back the night!
“Shh!” Dani suddenly hissed.
I froze, mid-lyric and mid-stab, dying Rhino-boy stuck on my spear, tusked mouth working soundlessly.
I couldn’t hear a thing, but I don’t have heightened senses unless I’ve eaten Unseelie, and thanks but no. I’ll survive with what gifts I have.