The Keraastar Knights were a society that Queen Asteria had formed, composed of some of those who had possessed the spirit seals. She’d summoned them to Elqaneve and taken them in to train with her mages. For what purpose, we weren’t clear, and she wasn’t taking questions. My sisters and I didn’t think it was such a good idea, but till now, we hadn’t questioned her plan.
“Do you really think this is wise?” Even though it was a serious breach of protocol to express doubt, I couldn’t help it. “Queen Asteria, we’re worried. The spirit seals corrupt—they aren’t evil, but they corrupt and twist the mortals who try to wield them.”
Camille gave me a frantic look but then came to my defense before the Queen could speak. “Please, don’t be angry. But Delilah’s right. We are worried. You, yourself, told us that the spirit seals aren’t trifles or baubles, and they should be hidden away. We’ve seen what they can do—”
“Stop.” Asteria held up her hand. “No more doubt. Trust me, my girls. Trust me and have faith. And…for what it’s worth, rest easy. The true nature of my plan…that is hidden from everyone, regardless of what you think you know. There is no one to betray me because no one except the Hags of Fate knows the truth of the matter.”
That meant that King Uppala-Dahns and Queen Tanaquar didn’t know as much as they thought they knew.
Camille gently shook her head at me. We’d expressed our concerns. And that was all we could do.
“We have to leave soon. We just needed to warn you. Keep watch to the Goblin lands, and to the other Cryptos. Who knows what the Tregarts have been up to?” I stood, looking for Chase.
“Your detective will be out shortly. Fear not. We will keep the watchtowers lit and active. And the grapevine runs in my favor. Now go home and do your best to corral this new threat. I will send more guards to watch over your house.”
As Chase reappeared, a bemused and easy look on his face, we stood. After we made polite leave, Trenyth escorted us out and back to the portals. But I couldn’t help but feel that giving the spirit seals to the knights instead of locking them away was a huge mistake, and I knew Camille thought it so.
As we hugged Trenyth good-bye and stepped through the portal, I hoped to hell that the Queen wasn’t making a mistake that could bring down both of our worlds.
Chapter 21
Chase wasn’t talking about his experience yet. I was curious, but Camille and I’d agreed we wouldn’t push him. There was so much for him to accept. First with the Nectar of Life, and now this. He’d never met his birth father, but now he’d met the father of his family line, the line through which his mother was born. And that had to be huge.
By the time we got home—Chase accompanying us—it was nearing sundown. We had time to eat and rest for an hour or so before heading out.
Hanna was cooking dinner and Marion was helping her. Marion confirmed that all her kids were fine, which was a relief, and that she and Douglas had talked it over and decided to rebuild after all the mess was cleaned up. She glanced at me, and I saw in her eyes that all thought of divorce was gone. Somehow, the threat to their lives had rekindled whatever it was they thought was lost.
“We’re not letting the Koyanni push us out.” She gave me a cold smile, and her teeth suddenly looked sharp and vicious. “I’m not a pushover. They killed Trixie, they took my house, they burned my café. It ends here.”
I patted her arm. “I understand. Hopefully, it will end tonight. Meanwhile you are welcome to stay here as long as you need to.”
“I’ve got all your gear ready. Go take showers and get dressed.” Roz had laid out all our weapons in the living room.
After we showered, Hanna put dinner on the table. Her cooking wasn’t as good as Iris’s, but she made a mean pea soup—thick and hearty—with smoked sausage that had been fried up with onions and garlic.
We gathered around the table. Morio started to set up the computer, but Hanna shook her head. “Food first. You have time after you sup to go over your plans. Now—sit. Eat.”
I snickered. Hanna was getting more comfortable in her place with the family, and now that Iris was on her honeymoon, she seemed to be blossoming out. When Iris was around, Hanna was careful never to step on toes—she respected Iris’s place in the hierarchy. But now, she seemed to be growing into her place in our home.
Trillian laughed. “The cook makes the rules.” He winked at Hanna and she blushed. Her hair was the color of spun wheat, pulled back in a braid that reached her shoulders. Though she showed her age—and maybe a little more—from the years serving Hyto, she was still an attractive woman. She would have been close to forty if she’d been human, and her eyes were a warm hazel.
Hanna reached for the breadbasket, but Roz jumped up and took it from her. “Let me help you.” He touched her arm, lightly, as he took the breadbasket from her and set it down on the table. She gave him a shy smile, and he returned it. It was almost as if…no…they couldn’t be sleeping together. Could they?
Roz was an incubus; he wasn’t capable of sticking to one woman. But then again, Hanna didn’t seem interested in settling down, either. In fact, she was learning new traditions, trying to adapt to a world unlike any she’d ever seen before.
I gave Camille a long look and flickered my gaze to Hanna and then to Roz. She furrowed her brow, took a quick peek at both of them, then lightly shook her head at me. But she was smiling.
As we finished dinner, Menolly entered the kitchen. We filled her in on everything that had happened during the day while we helped Hanna clear the table. Afterward, while Hanna and Marion started on the dishes, Morio pulled out the computer and called up the blueprints.
While he was fiddling with them, Menolly floated up to the ceiling—she liked life at the top of the world. “Asteria won’t even think of discussing the spirit seals?”
I shook my head. “We expected Queen Asteria to shoot down our concerns. She’s going to do whatever she wants. Even if it fucks up the portals further, there’s not much we can do about it. And really, what can we do? Steal the spirit seals back and hide them…where? They’re probably safest where they are right now.”
Camille paced back and forth, gesturing toward Menolly. “The problem is, they aren’t being protected—not the way she promised. When we took her the first one, Queen Asteria promised to hide them away, to keep them under lock and key. If they’re out and about, they could be targets.”
“And again—what can we do about it?” I paused, not wanting to bring up a sore subject, but we had to address it. “What about Father?”Menolly cleared her throat. “So you say our dear pater is on the outs with Tanaquar? She must have found another lackey who’s more useful. But I’m surprised she didn’t just add a paramour. It’s not like we’re naturally monogamous.”
Camille ignored her, turning to me as she shrugged. “What about him?”
“Do you…did you want to talk to him?”
“Just because he’s no longer dipping his wick in Tanaquar’s pussy? You think that because she dumped him, I’m going to be all touchy-feely? That I’m going to excuse what he did? Until he comes begging me to forgive him, until the day he admits he fucked up and that he’s sorry, you can bet our father isn’t getting a free pass from me.” She dug in the cupboard and pulled out a box of cookies, biting into one before tossing the package to me. Obviously this was the wrong avenue of discussion to focus on.
“Right.” I caught the Oreos and pulled out a handful, passing them around. “Let’s focus on tonight. Morio’s got the computer ready. Let’s plan out our raid.”
We gathered around the computer.
“Okay, somebody has to stay home. We need Morio and Camille together, for their death magic. And Smoky and Shade. I’m going, and Menolly.” I looked around. “That leaves Chase, Trillian, Vanzir, and Rozurial.”
Menolly shrugged. “With the extra guards, I’d say we can get away with just Trillian and Chase here. Chase, would you mind hanging out for the evening?”
Chase let out a sigh. “Always the babysitter. Ah well, I haven’t seen Maggie for a while. And if a call comes in—if somebody blows something else up—I’m going to need to head out anyway, so sure. Trillian, you up for a game of chess?”
Trillian rolled his eyes. “I can beat you with one hand tied behind my back, Johnson.”
“Bring it on.” Chase lifted Maggie out of the playpen and cuddled her as Trillian started to set up the chessboard on one corner of the table. Maggie pinched Chase’s nose and licked his face. He laughed and tickled her tummy and then sat down with her in the stove-side rocking chair and began to sing a lullaby to her.
The rest of us went over the plans. The Energy Exchange had several hidden rooms in the back, as well as the connections to Underground Seattle. It was hard to tell from the schematics whether they had cordoned off a part of the underground tunnels for their private use, but it seemed likely.
Morio pointed out the route to get there, which ran through parts of Underground Seattle. Back in the late 1880s, a glue pot caught on fire and the resulting blaze destroyed twenty-five city blocks. When they went to rebuild, they decided to (a) build out of stone and brick rather than wood and (b) regrade the streets one to two stories higher than they’d been. The resulting tangle created a maze of buildings; some that had escaped the blaze were now two stories belowground, reachable only by ladders. So as the new roads were built, the businesses relocated to the new street level and what had been the storefronts and streets now existed hidden, below the main city. Part of the labyrinth was still reachable via an underground tour, but a great deal of Underground Seattle had been forgotten, left to the Supes who made it their home.
“So, do we go in the front or come in from below?” Morio asked.
“If we go in the front door, they’ll have time to escape.” I stared at the plans. “The only thing is…the ghosts. We may have to face ghosts down there again. Ivana Krask couldn’t have gotten all of them. Could she?” I turned to Menolly.
“No. She got the ones around the area where we were chasing the serial killer, but that was it. I doubt if she’s been back down there on her own.” She glanced at Morio. “You okay with going back there?”
Morio shivered. “I admit it, I’m not that thrilled about the idea, but I’m not about to shy away. I’m not going to panic.”
Vanzir was leaning against the doorjamb. “We should take Shamas. He’s a sorcerer.”
“Good thinking. He should be home soon, but I’ll call him.” Camille crossed to the corner where she could phone him without our chatter interfering.
“So, we go in from below. We sneak through the tunnels, come up the back way. Which means we’ll get a chance to see their dirty secrets first. But we have to be prepared for guards.” I held up Lysanthra. My blade shimmered and sang to me. She was sentient, alive, and tingled in my hand. The longer I’d been a Death Maiden, the stronger my connection with the blade had become.
Menolly glanced at the clock. “We should head out. Any word on Shamas?”
“He’ll be here by the time we’re out to the cars. He was just turning into the driveway when I called.” Camille pulled her hair back in a ponytail. She was wearing an Emma Peel catsuit, with a leather bustier over the top and a short skirt that wouldn’t impede her movement. Her ankle boots were grannies, laced up, with kitten heels.
I’d changed into a pair of well-worn jeans that bent easily with my movements, and a V-necked tee, over which I pulled a denim jacket. My boots of choice were a pair of steel-toed hiking boots. Menolly wore her usual black jeans and long-sleeved turtleneck, and Doc Martens.
The guys were decked out in their usual fare; Roz flashed us with his freshly stocked duster, and it looked like he had a bunch of new toys in there.
“I swear, you’re a walking time bomb. Someday, someone’s going to piss you off and you’re going postal on them.” I picked up the printouts of the Energy Exchange. “I guess we’re ready. Let’s go.”
Camille, Menolly, and I stopped to kiss Maggie good-bye. “Take care of her, Johnson,” I whispered as I tousled the fur on her head.
“Come back, Delilah…all of you.” Chase gave me a solemn nod.
As we headed out the door, I stared into the darkened sky. The rain had let up, but it was threatening to return. A sliver opened in the clouds and a single star shone through. I held on to the glimpse like a lifeline. A promise that this time, we’d all make it through unscathed. Superstition? Maybe. But sometimes wishing on a star was all we had to hope for.
The drive down to the Energy Exchange was quiet. We took Morio’s SUV and Camille’s Lexus. Morio drove Shade, Vanzir, Menolly, and me. Camille took Smoky, Roz, and Shamas. We had decided to go in from a block away. There was an entrance to Underground Seattle near there. It looked like an old sewer grate, but it actually led down to the tunnels.
We’d come prepared this time with gloves. The rungs were iron and would hurt Camille and me. Iron burned Menolly, too, but she’d heal from it a lot faster than we would. But with thick fleece gloves, we were able to climb down the ladder into the tunnels without a problem.
Underground Seattle was a spooky place, filled with cobwebs and memories of times long gone. The tunnels were cool and damp, and they smelled like an old tomb—musty with a tang of mildew. The floor and walls, unlike the sewers, were brick and wood, with nooks that had once been the basements of shops. We’d gone down two stories in this area, a good fifteen to twenty feet.