Chapter 8

The next morningI was nervous. I was supposed to meet Briar to give him an update, and seeing the Fae Lord was the last thing I wanted to do. Charles called. He had emailed me all the notes he could find about the sluagh. I thanked him, told him we’d see him next week, then hung up and checked my email. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much in his notes that I didn’t already either know, or that I could use.

Killian was out back, mowing the lawn. He mowed his parents’ lawn too, though it was small given we’d only sold them a small part of the backyard, keeping the rest of the land for ourselves. But he liked being able to do things for them, and I didn’t complain about the extra time he spent there.

I stared at myself in the mirror. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I wanted everything to be just right when I met Briar. My hair was neatly pulled back in a ponytail, and I was dressed in a V-neck jersey top with three-quarters sleeves. It was lightweight, hunter green, and comfortable, yet it looked nice. I had paired it with a black gauze skirt and a pair of walking sandals. I added hoop earrings and my makeup was a little overdone, but it made me feel more confident. I checked my purse. My phone, a notebook, my on-the-go meds for my headaches, a bottle of water in the side pocket of the leather tote, keys, and wallet were all there.

“I guess I’m ready,” I murmured. Briar had asked me to forge deep into the woodland. Well, probably a twenty-minute walk. He’d be at a crossroads, waiting for me. “Okay, don’t be nervous. Nervous never won any awards.”

I wanted to take somebody along with me, but Briar had said to come on my own, so I decided to follow directions, get in there, hear him out, and get out again while I was still safe.

I picked up the maple walking stick that Killian had carved for me. He dabbled in woodworking, and the staff wasn’t the first one he’d made. It was golden brown, smooth, and splinterless. The handgrip was leather, as was the loop at the top of the stave. The handgrip was fastened to the wood by bronze grommets.

“Okay, let’s get this over with,” I said. I turned and made my way out of the bedroom, into the kitchen. It was time to go.

* * *

The Mystic Woodwas alive with energy. The nature spirits were out to play, I could tell, and the Woodlings were active. I’d grown used to their energy and though I seldom caught a glimpse of them, I knew they were around. It rankled me that they were slaves to the Fae, but it wasn’t in my power to change that, and the Fae world wasn’t my world.

Killian paused in his mowing as I stopped on my way toward the Mystic Wood. “Hey love, I’m going in.”

“I wish you would let me go with you,” he said, his eyes shining. His wolf was close to the surface, I could feel it.

Shaking my head, I said, “I wish you could come, but I don’t think Briar would be pleased.”

I was the first to admit that I was afraid. Every thread of common sense was telling me not to go, but the truth was, I had to show up. The Fae did not deal lightly. Bargains were sacred to them, and when I made a promise, I showed up to seal the deal. Briar had helped us, more than I expected, and I had given him a vow. As Judge Judy was fond of saying, you can’t eat the steak and then refuse to pay. And we had eaten the steak.

Killian held my hands for a moment, then kissed me soundly. “If you’re not back soon, Briar will have me to deal with, and an angry wolf is a dangerous wolf.”

“No doubt,” I whispered, leaning against his chest. “All right, I’d best get moving.”

As I headed for the trailhead, I glanced back. Killian was watching me carefully. I blew him a kiss, then vanished into the thicket.

* * *

The momentyou entered the Mystic Wood, you could tell that you were in the depths of magic. The forest’s heartbeat thundered through the woodland. Silent but vibrant, it reverberated with every leaf falling from the trees, with every hush as the wind played through the branches. The heart of the forest permeated everything that lived within, every stone, root, or blade of grass. And now, the lifeblood of the forest entwined around me, my heart matched its heart, and I, too, became a living avatar of the woodland.

I took the main path to a fork in the road, which veered to the left, deeper into the thicket. I was silent on the dusty path. The soil was compacted, but given there had been little rain lately, the dirt had loosened a bit and a light powder rose as I steadily followed the path.

The walking stick Killian had made for me was handy in more than one way. Besides offering a steadying force, I used it to bring down any spiders crossing my path, to push aside brambles so I could navigate around them, and to tap on the detritus that carpeted the forest floor. The woods in western Washington were cushioned with layers of leaves, tree needles, fir cones, and brambles that had built up over the years and it was easy to twist an ankle if you stepped into it wrong.

After about ten minutes, I came to two trees that overstretched the path. Their branches were entwined, but the trees themselves looked like dead wood. But that was yet another illusion. The trees were alive and buzzing with energy. Witchblood could feel it, and so could others with the Sight.

I paused by the side, waiting for a moment. Then, after cycling around, the faint lines of a web showed up in the center. The lines were glowing, and I waited as they cycled through a series of colors, starting with red and moving through the chakra hues to indigo. I wasn’t sure when to cross through, or if it would make any difference, but as I watched, the cycle shifted and swung around for the second time. Taking a deep breath, I decided there was no time like the present. Procrastinating wouldn’t do any good. I exhaled, plunging through the portal, hoping it wouldn’t lead to my ruin.

* * *

Portalsin the Mystic Wood led to yet more areas in the Mystic Wood, ones that you wouldn’t find by simply strolling through the forest. This portal opened into a clearing near a large knoll, tall enough to be a small hill. The mound was as tall as a two-story house, and it spread out to cover an acre of ground at the least. As I stared at it, a shimmer appeared on one edge of the hillock and the next thing I knew, Briar stepped through the side of the mound.

Well, that’s different, I thought. I cleared my throat, straightened, and waited for him to walk over to me. I hadn’t realized there were faerie mounds in the Mystic Wood.

He was as gorgeous as I remembered, tall and lanky with long black hair and ice blue eyes ringed with blacker-than-ink liner. Or at least it looked like he was wearing guyliner. For all I knew, it was the way he was born. His chiseled features were set in alabaster skin, and his lips were full and lush. All in all, he combined the beauty of Jack Sparrow with the intensity of Marilyn Manson.

He was wearing a pair of indigo-colored jeans and an olive-green poet’s shirt that laced up the front. The laces were open at the top, showing a hint of his chest. He had on black leather boots that reminded me of a higher-heeled motorcycle boot, and a gold hoop shimmered off one of his slightly pointed ears.

“You came,” he said.

“You summoned me. I owe you a debt. So here I am.” I didn’t want to say anything that might get me in trouble, so I had decided to stick to answering exactly what he said or asked.

“Walk with me.” He motioned for me to follow him, and so I did. We walked past the barrow and I was surprised to find a rose garden beyond. It was well tended, with benches scattered here or there through the multitude of roses. The flowers were everywhere, hundreds of bushes in every color I could think of. Even though it wasn’t quite May, the temperature felt warmer here, and the bushes were all out in full bloom. I stopped short when I saw a true blue rose.

“Oh,” I said, staring at it.

“You like this?” Briar asked, reaching out to stroke the petals.

I nodded. “We don’t really have blue roses. The color doesn’t exist in the rose family. How do you grow them?”

“We have our magic,” Briar said, picking off one of the roses and handing it to me.

I lifted it to my nose. The scent of rose was overlaid with the scent of something else. I couldn’t identify it, but it smelled like dusky summer nights and moonlit walks. I started to thank him but caught myself.

“This is beautiful,” I said, staring at the rose.

“Please, sit.” He motioned to a nearby bench and I gingerly took my seat.

Briar sat near me, but not close enough to make me uncomfortable. “So, how is the search for the sluagh faring?”

“Well, I think I know where it’s hiding. And I’ve learned several things about its nature.” Before I could stop myself, I added, “It would have helped if you would have given me a dossier on it, you know.”

Briar grinned—a slow, easy grin that caught me off guard. “Ah, but where’s the fun in that? You’re a tenquitara, you should be able to find out these things.”

“I’m a witch, but that doesn’t mean I have access to all the documents in the world. But I do know that it’s going to be a battle fighting the sluagh. They’re dangerous. It’s already killed two of our townsfolk and injured a third.” I shook my head. “How did it get loose? Do your people—the Overkings—keep control over all of the sub-Fae?”

Briar sprawled against the back of the bench. He was cocky, arrogant in the way people have when they’re born and bred to not only think, but know, that they’re better than others.

“Eventually, if negotiations go right, you’ll know more about us. We need to enter the ways of the world, even to a minor degree, and the best way to make that entrance is to work with witchblood. And so, we negotiate for an even footing on which to do so.” He straightened. “If negotiations falter, there will be trouble.”

I stared at him. He was deadly serious now. “Trouble? Like what?”

“Just hope that the negotiations conclude successfully. We’re in the later stages but until we strike the bargain, anything can upset the cart.”

“Does my grandmother know about all of this?” I was truly curious. She hadn’t said a thing to me.

“Yes, but you are not to question her. She won’t give you an honest answer, because she’s not allowed to, regardless of your familial connections. But back to the sluagh. You say you know where it is? And it’s truly neither male nor female. They’re hermaphroditic, and they can reproduce without a mate. Hence, you’d better capture it before it spawns eggs, because it can fertilize them as well. And be aware, bullets will not work against them. Only cold iron.”

I blinked. “That’s not good. And yes, I think we know where to find it. I’m going to call my coworkers and, hopefully, go hunting for it this afternoon. Now that I know it can reproduce on its own, there’s a time crunch. The last thing we want is for more of them to be running around.” I paused, then decided to ask a question I’d been thinking about. “This will take care of my debt, I assume?”

Briar gazed into my eyes and I could feel him pulling me in, so I turned my head, studying the vast array of roses around me.

“Do you want it to?” he said softly.

“Quit toying with me,” I said, keeping my gaze focused on the rose in my hand. The tea I had drunk was kicking in. I could now feel the charm he was working on me, and I could resist it.

After a moment, he let out an exasperated sigh. “Then yes, it will. Destroy the sluagh and you are free from your obligations.”

I almost said thank you, but once again, caught myself. I shook my head as I stood.

“How the human world is going to manage interacting with the Fae, I have no clue. I just hope the negotiations include a damper on those little ways you have of entrapping people into unintentional obligations. Anyway, if you have nothing more to say to me, about the sluagh or anything else, I’ll be going.” I stood. “Oh, when I’ve managed to destroy it, should I send word through Rebecca?”

Briar looked none too pleased, but nodded. “That will work. I’ll see you again, I hope. Allow me to walk you back to the portal and help you through.”

Again, I refused to thank him, merely nodded. He walked me back to the pair of trees and, without a word, I stepped through them and back into my world. I let out a sigh of relief to see Rebecca there, standing beside a large lovely gray wolf.

I knelt beside the wolf, throwing my arms around his shoulders. “You were worried about me!” The wolf nuzzled my neck, then licked my face as he searched my eyes. “I’m all right,” I said. “Honest. It wasn’t that pleasant but…” I paused, then looked down at the rose in my hand. It shimmered in the forest light, and then vanished into a wisp of blue smoke, as though it had never been there.

Rebecca, chatting about the weather, guided us back to the trailhead, where she slipped into the bushes. Killian and I walked back to the house together, where he changed back into his human form.

I told him what had happened. “I need to call the others. It’s imperative we catch this thing now, before it lays eggs.”

“I agree, on one condition,” Killian said.

“What’s that?”

“I’m coming with you and the others. You’re not going into Devil’s Gulch without me.”

And this time, I couldn’t find a reason to say no.