32. Lily

Iwas just about to run after the girl when she suddenly appeared again…being held firmly in the grip of two large Fae males.

"Seldarin! Krynn!" I exclaimed. Relief washed over me and I realized how worried I'd been about them—the anxiety about their safety had been like a constant murmuring undercurrent in my mind from the moment I had run from the Quenching Parlor and left the Palace.

"Princess!" Sel exclaimed as they came in through the front door.

"My Lady—are you well?" Krynn asked anxiously.

"I should be asking you guys that," I exclaimed. "I was so worried about what Mordren would do to you!"

"Yeah, I had to threaten to call a thunderbolt down on his fucking head to get him to let us out of the Quenching chairs," Sel growled.

"And then our Markings led us to you," Krynn added, touching the side of his neck where the spider web tattoo was glowing faintly.

"I'm so sorry I had to leave you," I told them. "I was just worried that if I started er, drinking from either one of you I wouldn't be able to stop."

"It seems that your fears were well-warranted," Krynn said soberly. Nodding at Christopher's limp body he asked, "Is that your ex-mate? The one you told us about who hurt you so deeply?"

I nodded sheepishly.

"We, uh, had an argument and things kind of got out of control."

"Out of control, huh? I'd say that's a fucking understatement," Sel growled, nudging the body with the toe of his boot. "Looks like you drained him dry, Princess."

"I didn't mean to," I said earnestly. "I just got so angry with him. And then the, uh, Thirst just kind of took over."

"That is not at all unusual for a first Quenching," Krynn told me. "The Thirst is a ravening force within a Queen of Lolth's line."

"In other words, don't feel bad," Sel said. "You couldn't' help it. And from what you told us, this fucking bastard had it coming to him."

"But I do feel kindof bad about it," I said. "I mean, Christopher was an abusive asshole, but I'm mostly worried about his kids. What am I going to tell them?"

"Nothing tonight. For now, the body must be disposed of and this one here must be dealt with," Krynn said practically, nodding at Honey-bunny.

Up until now she had been standing there frozen, with Sedarin's big hands clamped firmly around her upper arms to keep her from running. But now, she began to cry—big, noisy, braying sobs that were as loud as her shrieking had been earlier.

"P-please d-don't give me to the vuh-vuh-vampire lady!" she cried between sobs. "I d-didn't mean to st-steal her husband! I'm suh-suh-sorry!"

"Hush now," Krynn said sternly. He came around in front of the girl and looked her in the eyes. "Quiet now," he said softly. "Be quiet, Mortal."

As he spoke, his own green eyes glowed more brightly for a moment and I felt the same low-level electrical surge that I'd felt the very first time Krynn had done magic around me. Back when he'd caused the protective plant cage to grow all around me when we were attacked on our way to the Palace. God, why did that seem so long ago?

To my surprise, his technique seemed to work because she shut off the waterworks immediately. Her eyes still looked red and tragic and there was a long runner of snot hanging from one nostril which she swiped away with her sleeve, but she had stopped crying as suddenly as she had started.

"How did you do that?" I asked Krynn. "Get her to stop crying, I mean?"

"That's just a little soothing magic," Sel answered for him. "Most Fae can do it."

"It's kind of a milder form of the persuasion and control magic which is Mordren's specialty," Krynn added. "I'm not nearly as good at it as he is—he has a natural aptitude for twisting the minds of others. But it's not hard to control a human—they're very weak mentally." He looked at Honey-bunny again. "What should I tell her?"

"Why not tell her that bandits and thieves broke in and murdered her male?" Seldarin suggested. "That way I don't have to dig a hole and dispose of the body."

"Bandits that drained all his blood?" Krynn sounded skeptical. "I don't think so, Sel."

"You got a better idea, then?" Seldarin demanded, frowning.

"I'm sure I can come up with something… I know!" Krynn snapped his fingers. "We'll bring the body outside and you can call a lightning bolt to incinerate it. Then I'll alter the human girl's memory and make her think his death was an accident." He looked at me. "That way you can't be blamed, my Lady. And his human children can be told that his death was an act of God—or the Goddess, whichever one you worship," he added.

"All right, that's actually an excellent plan." Sel nodded. "Give me a minute and I'll be right back," he added.

Handing the blonde girl over to Krynn, who held her elbow—but only lightly, since she seemed to be in a kind of trance—he bent and grabbed Christopher's body. Swinging it up over his shoulder, he took the limp form of my ex-husband out the front door, which was still standing open.

It occurred to me that it was a damn good thing the house was set back from the road and screened by privacy hedges. But before I could think anything else, there was loud crash of thunder and the outside sky lit up with a brilliant white flare. Apparently the big Fae wasn't wasting any time in putting Krynn's plan into action.

"Oh my God!" I gasped, startled by the noise.

Krynn didn't seem fazed.

"It's just Sel doing his magic, my lady," he said. "Don't be alarmed. He may need to call several more bolts to be certain that the human is thoroughly charred. That way the fact that there is no blood left in the body won't be detectable."

I was shaken by his blasé attitude. I had killed a man—not just any man but my ex-husband. And then Krynn and Seldarin had come in and immediately decided how to dispose of the body as though what I had done was no big deal. It was like they were in the Mob and I was their boss or something.

"How can you be so calm about this? I demanded. "Do you two do this often? I mean, dispose of dead bodies?"

Krynn shrugged.

"Not since the old Queen, your Mother passed beyond The Veil. But as officers of the Court, we must expect to help the Queen in any way that is necessary."

As soon as he finished talking there were two more loud Booms! and two flashes of brilliant light to go with them. Then Sel came back in the house, bringing the electric scent of ozone with him.

He dusted his hands together and announced,

"Well, that's done. He's nothing but a grease spot on the ground. Now it's your turn, Krynn."

"Very well." Krynn crouched down and looked into the blonde girl's eyes again. "Listen to me," he said, speaking quietly and gently. "You will wait until exactly ten minutes after we leave and then you will call the human authorities. The po-nice, I believe they are named."

"The police," I corrected him.

"All right, yes that's right—the police," Krynn said nodding and still looking into the girl's watery blue eyes. "You will call them and say that a terrible accident has occurred and your male has been injured." He glanced up at me. "What then, my Lady? Should I have her feel deep remorse for the way she helped your ex-mate to hurt you?"

"No, no!" I said quickly. "She's been through enough tonight. Just tell her to go back to her normal life. Oh—and tell her that she doesn't want the house, just in case Christopher left it to her in his will," I added.

I wanted to save the house for Amy, my daughter. And I promised myself I would call her soon and tell her everything. Well, no, not everything, I amended to myself. But I did want to be the one to break the news about Christopher's "accidental death" and to explain that I still loved her, even though her father and I had gotten a divorce.

I would talk to Chris Junior too, though honestly I wasn't as worried about him. He was wrapped up in his new wife's family and living on the Pacific coast. Losing his Dad suddenly would be rough, but he would weather it, I was sure.

I heard Krynn telling Honey-bunny what I had told him to say and I was about to tell him to let her go, when I remembered what I had come for in the first place.

"Oh, wait!" I exclaimed. "The necklace!"

I had Krynn lift her hair and I reached carefully around to unclasp the with its silver and Royal Purple gem pendant. As I touched it, the gem began to glow softly, as though reacting to my presence.

"The Jewel of Lolth!" Sel breathed as I pulled it free of her neck. "Is that why you came here, Princess?"

"Yes—I remembered you two saying it would help me control the Thirst," I said, nodding.

"Put it on at once and never let it leave your neck again," Krynn said quickly. "It's excellent that you have it—it will help you control and focus your power as well."

Sel helped me put it on, lifting my hair out of the way as I clasped it behind my neck. I sighed in relief and contentment as I felt the familiar weight of the pendant settle into the hollow of my throat. It made me realize that I'd never really felt happy or contented when I wasn't wearing it. When Christopher had insisted on locking it up in his safe, I hadn't liked it. The pendant felt like it was part of me—a necessary and important part which had been missing for a while but was now back where it belonged.

"There—now all is as it should be." Krynn nodded in apparent satisfaction. "Now let us go, my Lady. We need to return to the Palace."

"All right." I fished the keys out of my pocket and twirled them around one finger. "I'll drive."

"Sorry, Princess but I don't think Krynn and I can fit in your little human vehicle," Sel said dryly as we walked out the door and down the front steps together.

"Oh? Then how are we supposed to get back to the Palace?" I asked, deliberately keeping my head turned so I didn't have to see the "grease spot on the ground" that was all that remained of my ex-husband. Something told me I was probably going to have more guilt about that later, but I couldn't deal with it right at that moment, so I did my best to push it out of my mind.

"You can come back with us," Krynn told me. "We brought a big enough ride for all three of us."

"A big enough ride?" I asked, frowning suspiciously. "What exactly are we riding? Some kind of magic flying carpet or something?"

"Of course not," Sel said, leading us around the side of the house. "It's a?—"

But before he could finish, a perfectly enormous head came down on a long, snaky neck from among the tall oak trees where it had apparently been hiding and hovered right in front of us.