I repressed the desire to clap my hand to my mouth and forced myself to keep on topic. "What about the dreams?"
"They come several times each week. Images, mainly, of demons—huge demons with horns, others are bloated and squat. Still others look like we do—like humans—but I know they're not. And they drive a wall of death and destruction before them, tearing up the land, crumbling cities in their wake. They destroy the planet, and us with it. The government responds by setting off nuclear weapons. The world goes up in flames."
Tears were flowing down his cheeks now. "I'm so tired. I can't think anymore. I just dream, and when I try to stay awake so I won't, they pump me full of drugs to make me sleep. Help me. Help get me out of here? I thought I could hide here, but I can't, and now I can't get them to release me. My family's keeping me locked up."
His voice was so plaintive that it made me want to cry. I stared helplessly at Morio. What could we do? His family would pitch a fit if they knew we took him out. But what if he were to run away—to just vanish? Would his family care? They might sue the institution, but they didn't want him back in this shape, that much was obvious.
"We'll do our best, Benjamin," I said. "I promise you—we'll try. Thank you for talking to us."
"You aren't human. You're angels… guardian angels. I don't care what anybody says about the Fae. You're sent from the hand of God." Benjamin shook himself as if he was waking up. "You'd better leave now, or they'll get suspicious. My family never stays more than fifteen minutes."
We stood up and motioned to the attendants, who came over to escort us back to the main building. They led Benjamin off to his room. As I glanced over my shoulder, I could see him—head down and shuffling—as he allowed himself to be led away. There had to be a way to help him.
After a quick and charming reinforcement to Nurse Richards that my visit had been good for Benjamin and that she probably shouldn't mention it to his parents, should they come by, we left with an invitation to come back as soon as we could.
On the way home, we ran over and over his story. The sword—the cave—the dreams… My thoughts kept running back to the conversation between Morgaine and Titania about Aeval. Could the Unseelie Queen be the woman Benjamin had seen trapped in the crystal?
As we drove north back to Seattle, and finally hit the Belles-Faire district, I swerved off the road when we passed by the Tucker's Chicken stand. Tucker made the best fried chicken I'd ever tasted. I loaded a twenty-four-piece bucket, some coleslaw, a chocolate cream pie, and a box of biscuits into the back. Then I hit the drive-through Starbucks for an iced quad shot caramel venti mocha. Morio stared at the drink, which was sporting a rounded cap of whipped cream, and shook his head.
"How can you eat so much? You never gain any weight." He ordered a tall coffee with cream and sugar.
"I'm no stick figure, that's for sure. But our metabolisms run faster than the average human's since we're half-Fae. We have to eat a lot." I sucked on the straw and smiled as the soothing iced flavor of caramelized sugar and slightly bitter coffee raced down my throat. "Yum. Love it."
I switched lanes, frowning. Rush hour traffic had started, and we were caught right smack in the center of the Belles-Faire end-of-the-day jam. I needed to get in the left lane before too long, or we'd miss our turn.
"I assume you're eating dinner with us?" I asked, guiding the car cautiously between a Hummer and what had once been a VW van but now just looked like a pathetic survivor from the sixties love generation. It must have had at least ten coats of paint on it, with patches flaking off here and there to give it that psychedelic edge, and it was emitting enough exhaust to choke a horse.
"Of course. I'll eat dinner at your place and stay the night," he said.
As he spoke, Iris's cell phone jangled. Morio retrieved it from my purse and flipped it open. "Yeah? What? Okay, we're on our way. We're in rush hour traffic, so we'll be there in about twenty minutes if things keep moving like they are." He closed the phone and slid it back in my purse.
"More trouble?" All we needed was another batch of creatures come through the portals. I didn't know if I could take another goblin fight—or troll fight—or anything fight. At least not until tomorrow.
"Maybe. I don't know. Iris went out to take Feddrah-Dahns his dinner, and he's gone. The pixie is missing, too. Neither one said anything about leaving, and there appears to be some blood on the grass near where the unicorn had settled down. Iris thinks it's unicorn blood," Morio said softly.
I groaned. "No. The Crown Prince of the Dahns unicorns absolutely cannot have gotten hurt at our house. It just can't happen. I don't want his father coming out here to rip us a new one for putting his son in danger."
"Maybe he just cut himself on some baling wire or an old nail and went to look for help?" Morio was trying to be helpful, but I knew—because in my life, the worst-case scenario always seemed to be on the menu—that the answer had to be worse than that. There was no way we could get off so easy. The Hags of Fate seemed determined to make us sweat every inch of this journey.
"Something's wrong; you can bet on it. Did she mention whether the wards were broken or not?"
Morio shook his head. "No, she didn't say anything about the wards."
I pushed the pedal to the floor as we came to the junction leading to our house. I was about to turn into our driveway when a siren from behind me whirred to life. "Freakin' A, just what we need now."
I slowly coasted over to the shoulder of the road, unmasking my glamour as I did so. By the gods, there was a limit to how much one person could take, and I'd reached mine twenty seconds ago. I rolled down my window and looked up into the face of the officer who had pulled me over, prepared to charm the pants off him and fuck him under the table, just so long as he didn't give me a ticket.
"Hey gorgeous, you realize you're dangling so much sex appeal in my face that your sister just might have reason to scratch your eyes out. I'm only human, for God's sake." Chase was standing there, leaning in my window, a hungry grin plastered across his face.
Unsure whether to hit him or kiss him, I just shook my head and lowered my glamour. "Come on, you idiot. Get your butt up to the house. We need to report a missing unicorn and pixie."
As Chase laughed again and sauntered back to his car, I glanced at Morio. "Not a word, buster. Not a single word."
Chapter Twenty-two
Our driveway was long and winding, leading through a stand of alder and fir. As I drove past the boundaries signifying our land, I could feel the wards shrieking. They'd been broken. Somebody had been here, unwelcome and probably up to no good.
I put the car in park and left it running, jumping out to check on the warding circles that stood sentinel over the entrance to the drive. I slowly approached the boundary line, which was marked by two tree trunks, one on either side of the graveled road, both surrounded by a circle of quartz spikes.
Some great force had broken through. This couldn't have been just the goblin and Sawberry Fae. They wouldn't have the power for it, even if one of them happened to be a shaman. No, the faint scent of demon lingered in the air.
Running back to the car, I hopped in. "Wards were broken. The demons were here. By the faint odor, it's been awhile. I'm praying they didn't come after Iris called us."
Morio's face darkened, and his eyes began to shine. "They may still be here. We'd better get ready, just in case."
"Oh gods, Chase. Hold on." Once again, I jumped out, hurrying back to Chase's undercover Ford Taurus. I pounded on the window, and he rolled it down.
"What? What's wrong? I noticed you looking at the stumps back there. What's up?"
"Demons have been on the land. They might still be here. You need to be careful. When we get to the house, stay in your car and lock the doors until we make certain they aren't hiding inside."
"Demons? Delilah and Maggie! Hurry up!" He rolled up his window as I raced back to the driver's seat and leapt inside. It was going to be hard getting him to stay in his car, now that he was worried about my sister. I slammed on the gas and took the rest of the drive at a shaky fifty miles an hour—as fast as I dared, given the bumpy curves in the road.
As the house came into view, I turned off the ignition, looking around. There was no sign of any disturbance or destruction that I could see. Everything looked as peaceful as it usually did. But if Iris had found the unicorn missing, then there was a good chance that the demons had nabbed Feddrah-Dahns and the pixie. But why wouldn't they take on the house, too?
I cautiously stepped out of the car, pausing to listen. Chase leapt out of his Taurus, and I whirled around. "Get your ass back in that car and lock the door. I can't afford to be worrying about saving your butt if the demons are inside. Face it. Chase, right now you'd be a liability in there. Fighting goblins is one matter. Demons are a whole different ball of wax."
He scowled but obeyed. Morio and I slipped up to the window that looked into the kitchen, and he boosted me up as I peeked inside. There, Iris and Delilah were poring over a map at the kitchen table. Maggie was in her playpen, and all looked well with the world. Frowning, I motioned for Morio to let me down.
"Looks okay," I whispered. "I'm going around back. You stay here."
I slipped around the back and quietly edged up the steps leading to the back porch. As I opened the door, it creaked, and within seconds, Iris was poking her head out.
"Camille? What are you doing sneaking in this way?" She looked perplexed.
I frowned. "Is everything okay in there? Nothing amiss?"
"Everything's fine, except for Feddrah-Dahns and Mistletoe being missing. What on earth has gotten into you, girl? You're as pale as Menolly." Iris started to bustle me inside, but I paused.
"I'll come through the front door. You lock the back door and the porch before you go back in the kitchen. I'll tell you why in a moment." I clattered down the steps and ran around front. Morio was waiting there. "I need you to cast a Dispel Illusion spell on them, just to make sure they aren't the Raksasa and his crony in disguise. Can you do it from out here?"
Morio frowned. "That would be difficult. Let's go in, and I'll have one prepped. If they are demons…"
"Then we're about to get our butts whipped. Ready?" I inhaled deeply and gathered energy from the air, from the sky, to form a barrier. Then I pulled out the unicorn horn. "Mistress of Flames," I murmured and instantly felt her stir within the crystal spire. "Be ready to strengthen my barrier." And to my surprise, I heard a faint voice whisper, "I am ready, Lady Camille."
"Let's go," I said, heading through the front door.
Morio was right on my heels, and the moment we barged into the kitchen, he held up his hands. "Be seen!" A flash strobed the room, and Delilah and Iris both yelled and covered their faces. As the flickering light died away, they peered out from behind their hands.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Iris almost never swore, and to hear her use the F-bomb was a surprise, although a welcome one, given she hadn't shifted form into a demon of any sort.
"It's you. It's really you," I said, dropping into a chair with relief. "We have to check the house. Now."
"What are you talking about?" Delilah said, squinting. Her eyes always took longer to adjust, considering that she was part cat.
"Demons," I said hoarsely, not putting away the horn. "Demons broke through the wards—they've been on the land. We thought the Raksasa might be here—that you might be…"
"One of his illusions," Iris said softly. "I understand now. I never thought to check the wards when I was out looking for Feddrah-Dahns. I was so worried. Damn it, how could I have been so stupid?"
"Me, too," Delilah said. "All I could think about was where the pair had gotten themselves to. And then I wondered if they'd been chased off by wild dogs or something."
"Far worse than wild dogs," I said. "Did you smell demon energy down by Birchwater Pond?"
Delilah shrugged, looking ashamed. "I didn't even try."
"Morio and I'll head down there. You go out and get Chase, help him bring in dinner. He's probably peeing his pants, worrying about you. Iris, come with us and show us where you found the blood."
While Delilah and Chase searched the house. Iris led Morio and me down to Birch water Pond. The path through the forest seemed darker than usual, but the birds were singing, and we saw a squirrel darting up a tree. A good sign. If demons were still prowling the woods, the animals would have been silent.
On the way, Iris told me what happened. "Feddrah-Dahns and Mistletoe were down by the pond. Feddrah-Dahns gets a little claustrophobic around buildings. When they didn't return for lunch, I began to worry. Delilah came home—by the way, she and Chase are no worse for the wear, considering they were poisoned—and she and I went down to fetch them."
"Good deal. I meant to ask Chase how he was feeling, but things are spiraling out of control, and I'm not exactly on top of my game at the moment."
I was tired. Bone-weary. I wanted nothing more than to hit the bed and sleep for a week, but I had a feeling it would be a long time before I'd have a chance for that luxury.
We turned the bend in the path and came out near the pond. Surrounded by a ring of cedars and firs, Birchwater Pond was in a clearing in the center of the wood. The pond was on our land and had become our home away from home—reminding us, on a much smaller scale, of Lake Y'Leveshan back in Y'Elestrial. Huckleberries and fern crowded the banks, and on one side, a grassy knoll where we held picnics. We'd started holding our rituals down here, and when I needed to talk in private to the Moon Mother, I'd meander down the path under her light and sit on the edge of the dark water that glistened in the oval-shaped crater.
