E J Stevens - [Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective 01] Page 22

  With a sigh, the horse laid its head on the ground. It looked like he was settling down to go to sleep—until he started changing. Muscles rippled and contorted beneath the skin, and limbs moved to accommodate a human form, as he shapeshifted. Within seconds, Ceffyl Dŵr was crouching on the ground in the shape of a man—a very naked man.

  I spun away, blushing so hard I thought my face would melt from the heat. I heard something fall to the ground and a rustling of fabric.

  “You can turn around now,” he said. His voice was deep and smooth, like a river that had worked itself deep into the earth. I shook my head. This was no time to be admiring his voice. The man was injured, having suffered abuse at the hands of the each uisge and hours of fighting the merrow against his will.

  I turned slowly to see a tired man wrapped from the waist down in a white tablecloth. He had industriously appropriated it from a nearby café table. The makeshift kilt covered the manly bits, but did nothing to cover his wounds. His bridle, I noticed, was wrapped tightly around his well-muscled bicep.

  What was wrong with me? I must be more exhausted than I thought to be daydreaming about a faerie king who obviously needed help. I lifted my chin, determined to stay focused.

  “You’re hurt,” I said. “Here, sit down and I’ll see what I can find to clean your wounds.”

  “My people heal quickly,” he said. “I must return to battle.”

  “You can return when your wounds are tended to,” I said. I could be just as stubborn. “You won’t do anyone any good if you pass out or die of iron poisoning. There are probably iron flakes in those cuts that are festering. Take a seat and I’ll be right back with clean water—and don’t even think about running away.”

  Okay, that was bossy, but his wounds looked terrible. And I had to admit, I wasn’t ready to be rid of him yet. I wanted more than thirty seconds with the kelpie king before he went off and got himself killed.

  I ran into the abandoned café and grabbed bottled water and a stack of freshly laundered cotton napkins. Beneath the sink in the kitchen, I found a box of disposable gloves. Returning outside, I was shocked by the battle that continued to rage all around. For some reason, when talking with Ceffyl it had all seemed so far away.

  He remained sitting where I had left him, tablecloth wrapped around his waist. I quickly set the water and napkins on the table. Next, I slid the pair of plastic gloves over my leather ones with a snap and set to work. For someone who was touch phobic, I was a pro at tending to injuries. Jinx was always getting hurt, so I had lots of practice.

  “Why are you wearing two pairs of gloves?” he asked. He slumped in his chair, chin-length hair falling forward to cover his face. “You are willing to help me, and yet…”

  Oh crap. He probably thought I didn’t want to touch a monster. I had seen him in the form of a towering water horse, and had witnessed the terrible acts of violence he’d committed while under each uisge control. The truth was that I wasn’t afraid of big bad kelpie cooties, and the horror I felt when remembering him tearing merrow limb from limb was reserved for the kelpie king himself, and his victims. I couldn’t risk touching him because I didn’t want to relive his torture at the hands of the each uisge, or see his evil wife toss his child into the flames, again.

  “Have you heard of psychometry?” I asked.

  Most people haven’t, but it was worth a shot. Faeries know more about magic and psychic ability than the average human. I was halfway through cleaning his wounds, which were flecked with iron that had flaked off his chains and burned into his skin. I didn’t have time for a long explanation. When I finished cleaning his wounds, he’d be gone.

  “The ability to receive visions from touching an object?” he asked. “It is a rare gift.”

  “I wouldn’t call it a gift, but it is rare,” I said. “I don’t think I’d mind the visions as much if I could control them—turn them on and off like a tap. But the way they come crashing in to invade my mind feels like a violation.”

  I felt my cheeks burn. I hadn’t meant to say so much, but I was tired and I felt better having shared a piece of my own burden. It had been a very long night.

  A shadow crossed over his already dark eyes, like a cloud eclipsing the night sky.

  “No, you are right,” he said. “Some visions would not be a gift at all.”

  I wondered if I should tell him that I’d already had some nasty visions from his past, but decided to wait. If we ever talked to again, I could tell him then.

  Chapter 26

  Ceffyl returned to the battle and I tossed the napkins and empty water bottles in the trash. For the few minutes that we had talked, I had felt safe. Call me crazy. Like I said before, kelpies have been known to eat people, but when I looked at the kelpie king I didn’t see a murderous beast. I saw a man who was worried about his people and struggling with the weight of his own troubles. He was like staring into a mirror fogged by the steam of a shower. Until I wiped the mirror clean, we looked so much alike.

  The fighting continued throughout the night. I ran to wherever I was needed, often running messages for Kaye who couldn’t leave the casting circle. Everywhere that I went, screams rang in my ears. We may win this fight, but it would leave scars.

  At least Ceffyl Dŵr no longer fought alongside the enemy. He too would have mental wounds from this night, guilt was a nasty burden, but at least he now stood a chance at redemption. Though his injuries must have pained him, the kelpie king led the Hunters in their defense of the waterfront. I was sure that he wouldn’t let himself rest until every each uisge was dead.

  At dawn, the magic of the casting circle faltered. The green glow surrounding the magic seaweed fluttered then went dark. The transition from night to day dispelled all of Kaye’s magic and no one, including Kaye, had enough power left to begin a new casting. That meant no more easily targeted seaweed, and no magic barrier keeping the city safe in their beds.

  As the sun rose over the ocean, a fiery red ball on the horizon, shell-shocked humans began to appear. They would shuffle forward, pale faces frozen in fear, or run flailing their arms in terror and shrieking madly for help. A few dropped to the ground to rock back and forth as they pounded the ground with impotent fists.

  I can’t imagine what they must have thought. How could their brains process so much horror? Sunrise and blood stained the waterfront red. A dozen each uisge continued to fight tired Hunters, who were now weighed down with ropes of seaweed. It was a horrible, confusing sight.

  These humans had come innocently to the waterfront to check on storm damage. Instead they learned that monsters really do exist outside our nightmares. That was knowledge best kept secret—for their sakes and for ours.

  The kelpie king and the Hunters raced to finish off the remaining each uisge. There were only a few of the enemy left, but those creatures just would not give up—and for every Hunter carrying captured seaweed that fell, a dozen or more each uisge were released to rejoin the battle.

  A whinny carried on the breeze and I glanced out toward the bay. Fading rose hues shone on gleaming gray coats and long, lustrous hair. Ceffyl must have put a call out to his people. More than one hundred kelpies cut though the waves, finally willing to fight and eager to take down any surviving each uisge.

  They had had days to worry for their king, so much so that they had hired a demon and a psychic detective to help locate him through his missing bridle. Now they had an outlet for all of that pent up emotion.

  Hundreds of hooves struck land in a thunderous cacophony that drowned out all other sound. The Hunters retreated to allow the kelpies their revenge. Kelpies surrounded the each uisge and when they returned to the water minutes later, the only thing left of the enemy were smears of blood.

  One last kelpie remained standing on the edge of the pier, his silhouette dark against the rising sun.

  “Safe travels, Ceffyl Dŵr,” I whispered.

  “Safe travels, Ivy Granger,” his voice whispered in my skull.

  The b
attle was finally over, and we had won, but it was too early for celebrations.

  Members of the casting circle tried to calm civilians, moving first to those who were doing themselves harm. Some were pounding their heads against the ground while others tried to gouge out their eyes. The appearance of the kelpies definitely hadn’t helped to quell their terror.

  Then the vampires arrived.

  Leathery hands ghosted over warm skin and fangs sank into human flesh as vamps came out of the shadows to feed. I stepped forward, pencils and lighter somehow already finding their way into my hands, but a Hunter stepped in front of me, blocking my way. It was the sentinel with the bright red hair styled into a cute pixie cut. She was probably the one person on the docks whose hair wasn’t in snarled, blood spattered disarray.

  I knew it was petty, but that really pissed me off.

  “Get out of my way,” I said. I was breathing hard and at the brink of unconsciousness, but I would take out as many vamps as I could before I gave up. I blinked away the shadows creeping into my vision and pushed past.

  “Wait,” she said. “It’s not what you think.”

  “Those leeches are feeding on humans,” I said, gesturing at a vampire leaning over a woman like an engorged tick. I swayed, nearly falling over as I lifted my hand. I was practically asleep on my feet. “What is there to think about?”

  “I know, it’s…unfathomable,” she said. She blanched and a wrinkle formed between her eyes. Even that was cute. Bitch. “It goes against every oath I have taken and everything that I believe in, but this one time we have to walk away.”

  “Why the hell would I do that?” I asked.

  “Because they are erasing their memories,” she said.

  Oh. My own memory was sluggish at the moment, but that sparked something I knew about the undead. Venom, released from their fangs while feeding, altered memories. It was probably an evolutionary adaptation to keep the fiery mobs away.

  With no one left to save, I went off to find Kaye. We didn’t need to speak. There weren’t words that could change the things we’d seen. She just directed me to a spatter-free stretch of ground where I sat, thinking to rest my eyes for a moment.

  I slept like the dead.

  Chapter 27

  According to Jinx, I slept for three days. During that time, she had meticulously taken down the information from over fifty prospective clients.

  While her roommate screamed and thrashed in her bed, Jinx had answered every call. She didn’t take a break, never leaving my side, and her penmanship was as perfect and precise as ever. I needed all fifty of those clients, since I was going to have to buy her that pair of dream shoes.

  The each uisge invasion may have left me with a plethora of bruises and a vast array of permanent nightmares, but it was damn good for business. There was a void in the supernatural community for someone with my skills. Now that the faeries and undead knew I was trustworthy, and up for the job, I was suddenly in high demand.

  I was also, most definitely, on vacation.

  Jinx agreed to pencil me in for some down time until the end of the week. During that time, I wouldn’t see clients. She even told Forneus that he would have to wait.

  I had an appointment with the demon for first thing Monday morning. Our contract specified a mandatory meeting to settle accounts. I usually enjoyed talking with clients at the end of a case, giving a final accounting before locking the file away. But Forneus was a fiery pain in my butt. I wished that he would just put the check in the mail, but demon contracts are binding. I had to face him for one last meeting.

  I’d rather be pixed.

  I did make one exception to my week in hiding. The phone had rung again, but I knew that my roommate would pick it up. I was on vacation from the world. I heard Jinx talking excitedly and assumed it was one of her friends until she came in and handed the phone to me with impish glee. That set off all of my alarm bells.

  “Hello, Private Eye, Ivy Granger speaking,” I said. Jinx had been taking business calls all day, so I played it safe and answered in office mode. Maybe she had been excited about a proposed case. I knew she was thrilled at our newfound popularity.

  “Miss Granger,” Ceffyl said. “I am not sure if you would remember me, under the extreme circumstances of our meeting, but my name is Ceffyl Dŵr.”

  I knew who it was as soon as I heard his voice. A voice that I didn’t think I’d be hearing again. Forneus was handling the final matters of the case for the kelpies. Why had Ceffyl called? And why did he sound so unsure of himself? Did he continue to worry that I would treat him like a monster?

  “Hi, Ceff,” I said. Was it okay to be so familiar with a kelpie king? There were probably faerie rules about that sort of thing, but at the moment I didn’t really care. I just wanted to put the guy at ease. He had been through hell. We all had, but Ceffyl more than most. “Everything alright?”

  “Yes, there is no pending emergency,” he said. “I just wondered…would you meet with me this evening?”

  Before my brain could catch up with my mouth, I answered him.

  “Yes,” I said.

  I hung up and grinned from ear to ear. For the first time since the each uisge attack on Harborsmouth, I was smiling.

  I had plans tonight with a sexy kelpie king. Jinx looked like the cat sidhe that ate the canary.

  Chapter 28

  The night air felt chill as it danced along my legs and face. I shivered and buried my gloved hands deep within my coat pockets. The heat wave was finally over.

  The weather had turned cooler as soon as the each uisge had been defeated. Kaye had explained it at length, using arcane terms that went over my head, but her final statement on the subject had made sense.

  “It is all about balance, dear,” she said, with a grin and a shake of the head. “Good and evil, earth and water, fae and human—all things must maintain equilibrium. When something throws the world out of balance, everything is affected, even the weather.”

  Life had been completely out of balance lately, but now, all around me, there were signs that Harborsmouth was returning to normal. Like the weather, the city was finding its equilibrium again.

  I stood on the street corner wondering if my decision to come tonight had something to do with maintaining balance. I had agreed to see the kelpie king, but wasn’t really sure why I had said yes to the meeting. It wasn’t because of pity, that much I knew, but I did feel something when I thought about Ceff. And, I had been doing a lot of thinking about him.

  We had shared an experience that night on the waterfront and now were meeting here again. Maybe coming full circle would bring things into balance. That would make Kaye happy, I thought with a smile.

  My life had been chaos these past few days, but everything finally seemed like it was falling into place.

  An extremely handsome man walked up from the pier, melting out of the shadows. He was smiling, but I wondered if his shoulders were hunched from more than the cold. Faerie kings probably didn’t face uncertainty very often, but it must have been difficult for Ceff to come back to this place. I wondered, for the hundredth time, why he had called.

  I didn’t have to wait long to find out.

  “You look beautiful,” Ceff said. His gaze lingered on my legs and I blushed. I knew I shouldn’t have let Jinx talk me into the skirt. He smiled and his eyes sparkled like a reflection of the moon on ocean waves. “Have dinner with me.”

  “Are you asking me out…on a date?” I asked incredulously. Okay, that was one possibility I hadn’t prepared myself for. A sympathetic ear or a comrade in arms sure, but not a dinner date.

  “Yes,” he said.

  “Let me get this straight,” I said. “You want to go on a date with a human?”

  It was too farfetched to be true. He was Prince Charming and I was the Fairy Godmother’s bumbling apprentice. I didn’t get picked to be on anyone’s team in school and I had never been anyone’s date.

  “No,” he said. “I want to go on a date
with you.”

  What the heck was that supposed to mean? No, I definitely do not want to know.

  “You’re not really answering the question,” I said, thrusting my chin out. “Why would a kelpie king want to date a lowly human? You have your pick of gorgeous immortals. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  Ceffyl may be the hottest guy I’d ever seen, but I didn’t trust him. Call me paranoid, but making bargains with the fae, even agreeing to go on a simple dinner date, wasn’t something I accepted lightly. There was one thing I had learned during my limited time around faeries. If what they were offering seemed too good to be true, then it probably was.

  I’d made a lot of mistakes dealing with the fae, but I was learning. Huh, maybe you really could teach an old Black Dog new tricks.

  “You think this is a trick,” he said, sighing.

  “Well, yes,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “Occam’s Razor; the simplest explanation is most likely the correct one.”

  “There is nothing simple about this, Ivy,” he said. He looked serious, and tired. “Can we go someplace to talk? I need coffee and you need answers.”

  “Um, sure,” I said. I thrust my hands deep into my coat pockets and turned to face the shadowed street. It was easier to think when I wasn’t distracted by his handsome face and gorgeous physique. “There’s a twenty-four hour Starbucks up the hill.”

  I heard a snort behind me and turned to see Ceff striding up the hill.

  “What?” I asked. “Got a problem with corporate coffee?”

  “No,” he said. He came closer, matching my long strides as we moved deeper into the city, leaving the wharf behind. “I was just thinking that no one in my court would believe I had taken a date to Starbucks. I’m not usually such a cheapskate.”

  “This isn’t a date,” I said, eyes narrowing. “It’s coffee. In the human world, at least, there’s a difference.”