I woke up the next morning sore and mad. Before I crawled into bed last night, I had set my two broken fingers and bathed my hand in a mixture of rosemary and witch hazel. The bruises were diminished and the swelling wasn’t as bad as I feared. The pain, however, was unbelievable. My hand throbbed so badly I thought I could see it ballooning up and down.
I turned on the kettle and poured dried willow bark into a mug to steep while I changed from the suit which I had left on when I hit the sack. I was going to owe the dry-cleaner a bundle for getting out the stains from the fight and deep wrinkles from a night in bed.
I made oatmeal and took it to the coffee table. As I stepped forward to put the bowl down, I put my foot on something sharp. Great, I had a bum hand and now I broke my foot. The human race would have to take care of itself because Quinn Larson was on a path of self-destruction. I picked up the rock, and saw it was my transmittal charm.
I put it on the coffee table; I’d ask Olan what happened later.
As I swallowed the last spoonful of oatmeal, I heard a racket in the backyard. It sounded all too familiar. I went to the window and as I watched Olan and the Morrigan circled and jabbed. Tiny as he was, Olan seemed able to hold his own with the Morrigan. He flew at her and she spun away. Then she attacked from above and Olan back winged to avoid a lethal swipe of her beak.
I groaned and slid my feet into my boots and went out the back door. I wasn’t going to let these two ruin my garden. I had planted every form of magical plant that would grow in the Northwest and I didn’t want to start all over again.
“Stop it now,” I used my command voice. “Take your fight where you will do no damage to my garden.”
Both birds flew apart and perched on branches of opposite trees.
“Better.” I pretended to believe they had obeyed me. “What is this about? I thought you were in a truce.”
Olan swooped down and landed at my feet. “I don’t know what is wrong with her. There I was flying reconnaissance and she came at me from nowhere.”
The Morrigan flickered between shadow woman and crow. That was not a good sign. Whatever had set her off was big enough to make her lose control. I started to believe Olan. I’m not sure he could have made her that angry without knowing exactly how.
I bent down to whisper. “If she is on the other side of this fight, we are going to need reinforcements.”
Olan laughed. “There are other fights in town. She need not be on Fionuir’s side. But yes, if she is against us, we are in trouble.”
I felt the air shift and stepped back. Olan was already in flight.
They came together and feathers flew. I wrapped my fingers in a handkerchief and picked up a few of the small ones that fell from the Morrigan; big power there. I kept my eye on the two birds. Neither was getting an advantage. This could go on all day without resolution.
The screeching and squawking was getting unbearable. I started to think of spells that would separate them for a while when I heard a door slam across the lane, then a gun shot, then another. The two birds flew apart. The Morrigan disappeared from view across the neighbor’s roofline.
“Damn birds,” the old man shouted. “See how you like the taste of shot.” He slammed the door and everything was quiet again.
Olan landed on my shoulder, I noticed he had trouble folding his right wing into place.
It was close to dinner the next day by the time we entered Bank’s Bar. The Real folk had been frequenting Bank’s for sixty years. Before that, the same troll had been running River Run Bar and before that, Mud Hole saloon. It changed every fifty to sixty years, depending on when the humans found it and decided it might be a good place to drink.
The door was marked with a rune in shadow ink, only Real Folk could read it, but it required too much energy to keep the aromas of a bar inside when we entered. Entering wasn’t the problem because we could make sure no humans were around. Leaving was the problem; you just never knew who was outside the door. Now, with the non-smoking rules we were especially careful of letting out the atmosphere. Mark, the proprietor, had asked me to find a spell that could filter the scent of various substances being smoked inside. His idea was to charge a small energy fee to keep the spell working.
I handed him a lump of amber when we arrived. “This will absorb the smoke for about six months. I’ll replace it then.”
“Thanks, Quinn,” Mark’s voice rumbled like ancient stones grinding. “You drink for free now.”
“Thanks, I’ll try not to abuse that. It doesn’t need much power to keep it running, so you don’t have to charge much.”
Mark poured my Kilkenny and looked at Olan before pouring some fifty-year-old scotch into a saucer. Olan looked at me before sipping.
I nodded to Mark and said, “I’ve got it.” Then I told Olan, “From now on you find the payment before you get it poured.”
Mark rumbled a laugh at that. “Some people never have money. I guess there’s some advantage of being stuck in the body of an animal.”
I sipped my beer and glanced around the room. It was difficult to see clearly much beyond a few feet between the slight fog of smoke which was now drifting toward the amber and the candle light which flickered annoyingly, the details faded into the background. We couldn’t wait until the smoke cleared. “Mark, have you seen Cate Witherspoon or Beacon Reed?”
“In the corner, underneath the Shield of Charlemagne.” Mark jerked his head in the direction of the table then left us to attend to a couple of Sidhe waiting at the other end of the bar.
I picked up Olan’s saucer with my good hand, and placed it on top of my pint so I could carry everything to the table. Cate Witherspoon and I were trained by the same mentor, and we’d had a friendly rivalry as students. I had made a move on her fifty years ago and been rejected outright. We had been friendly since, but my heart still sped up every time I met her.
I saw three people at the table as we approached. Cate was in animated conversation with a young wizard I had never met. Beacon, the sprite was observing the conversation while he puffed on a twist of brown tobacco. I smelled sour smoke rising and was doubly glad I remembered to bring the amber.
The young wizard looked up as I approached and then jumped out of his chair as though coming to attention. At his reaction, Cate spun in her chair hand raised to cast a spell.
Beacon roared laughter and choked on the smoke.
I held my hands up in surrender, at least as much as I could since they were full. “Peace. I mean no harm. I just want to talk to you.”
She smiled and pointed to the empty chair. “Hah, Quinn, one day you will creep up on the wrong witch.”
“Pretty girl,” Olan croaked in my ear.
“Shut up bird.” I didn’t need Olan butting in to the conversation and screwing up my reputation with Cate any more than it already is.
“You know Beacon, I think.” I nodded and then she pointed at the young wizard. “This is Lionel; I’ve taken him on as an apprentice.”
I put down the drinks and shook hands with Lionel. “Wow, I didn’t know you were looking for apprentices.”
“Why? Do you think I can’t teach someone?” Cate was on the defensive. I didn’t know if that was good or bad. I really didn’t know if I wanted it to be good or bad.
“No, I just meant it was a lot of work. Anyway, I need to talk to you, in private.”
Beacon started to rise. I waved him to sit back down. “No, Beacon, you and Cate.” I waited for Lionel to take the hint, but he just looked at Cate.
She shrugged and looked at me. “He’s my apprentice, what you say around him will be under that oath.”
The apprentice oath was strong and Lionel would lose substantial power if he violated it. Still, he looked young enough to regain any power loss if he misspoke. Unfortunately, that was also young enough to open his mouth at the wrong time. I figured if Cate was vouching for him, I should accept it. And I wanted to just take her word, but this was more than life or death. “Lionel, this is important. Do you recognize that the oath you took as apprentice covers any information you learn while in the presence of Cate?”
I saw his Adam’s apple bounce then he nodded and said in a voice that was still breaking. “Yeah, I do. I’ll take another oath if you want.”
“No need. I wanted to make sure you understood the importance.” I looked at Cate and Beacon. “I need you to agree that you won’t speak of this after.”
“You are very serious tonight, Quinn,” Beacon said. “I trust that your words will merit this weight you bring to them.”
“Okay, Quinn, just get on with it. As long as you aren’t planning to kill someone I’ll keep quiet. If you plan to kill someone, I’ll report you to the council.”
I settled back in the chair and took a long gulp of the beer. “Have you noticed anything odd about the fairies lately?”
Cate shook her head. “The fairies are odd all the time. I haven’t noticed anything different.”
“They are tense,” Beacon said. “They are keeping to their own patches of garden. When they come out into the world, they are furtive and nervous.”
“I’ve noticed they have been hanging around the Sidhe,” Lionel blurted. “They don’t usually do that. Even if they are kind of related, the Sidhe treat them so poorly that the fairies just avoid them.”
Cate glared at him and his face flushed a bright red. I guess being her apprentice must be difficult. To be fair, being anyone’s apprentice is difficult. He looked at me from under downcast eyes. “Sorry. I should not have spoken.”
“That’s okay, Lionel.” I don’t quite know why I felt it was important to undermine Cate, but he was closer to the truth than she was, so he should get to speak. “You’re right. The Sidhe are up to something.”
I told them what I knew and Olan added his voice to answer their objections. After they were convinced I was right, we sat in silence. I got up and refreshed their drinks and noticed that the amber had done its job when I was able to see clearly from the table to the bar.
We got halfway through that round before anyone spoke. I had promised myself I wouldn’t be the one to speak first. I was surprised when Lionel was the one to break the silence.
“What is it you want us to do?” He asked after looking at Cate for permission to speak.
“We need to stop them.” I waited for them to agree. Lionel was the first to nod, he looked at Cate and she smiled at him before saying, “He’s right we can’t let the Sidhe destroy our world over a political dispute.”
I looked to Beacon. My plan only needed one other person to help, but if he was willing to join, we would be stronger.
Beacon sighed and then swallowed his cider. Wiping his lips with the back of this hand he stood. “I do not wish to die in a fight with Fionuir. I carry an obligation to her. If I actively oppose her, I will wither and die within two days. Thus far I am safe, if I go further with your plan, I will not be.”
He threw some coins on the table. “I thank you for your hospitality wizard, but I will pay for my own drink just to be safe. Do not worry. I think keeping the secret so far will not imperil my health. If I could I would wish you luck but that might be going too far.” He winked at me before walking away to join a table of Kobolds.
Olan hopped on the back of Beacon’s vacated chair. He didn’t waver at all, that bird sure could hold his liquor. “Are you in, Witch?” He asked.
Cate frowned, I knew that look. She was weighing the alternatives. For her there were always more than two choices. Within a few moments, she nodded. “I am in, but Lionel is not.”
Lionel sputtered his objection and she waved her hand in a silencing spell. “It is too dangerous to you and us to have an untrained wizard at war with the Sidhe. You will go now and wait for me at home.”
I could see the fight in the boy’s eyes as he slowly unfolded himself from the chair. He stood at least six foot three but the oath he took to become an apprentice forced him to obey. Cate took some mercy on the boy. “I will let you become involved if I feel you have the skills. While I am here with Quinn, you can study the second level spells you have been eying.”
Lionel’s eyes shone and he opened his mouth but no sound came out when he tried to speak.
Cate laughed. “Try not to blow up the house in your studies.”
We waited for Lionel to leave the pub before speaking. When the door shut behind him, Cate leaned forward. “Do you have a plan, or do you need someone to take this to the next level as usual?”
Olan cawed his laughter. “She’s feisty, Quinn. I like her.”
I rolled my eyes and pretended to ignore him. “I have an idea. But, the details are still fuzzy.”
“As usual. I remember when we both had to learn and perform the hunting spell. You had a general idea how to go about it but couldn’t be bothered with the details. As I recall you ended up successfully hunting a rock.”
“I’ve learned since then.” I guess there was no way we were going to be more than rivals. I tried to make my peace with that. “I don’t know enough to create a detailed plan. That’s where working together will be better.”
“So, what’s the idea? I know you aren’t going to kill her. Even you know that will be a violation of your oath as a spirit wizard. And you can’t order me to do it either. Just because I’m an earth witch doesn’t mean your oath is bypassed.”
“I don’t want anyone to die. There have been enough killings already. We need to stop this, not participate in more deaths.”
“Just tell her your plan,” Olan said. “Stop the mating fight and get on with business.”
Cate blushed at that and I pretended I didn’t hear him. “Fionuir has somehow cast a layer of spells on the Gur amulet. If we can find the amulet, maybe we can remove that layer.”
“Makes sense.” Cate looked at the bottom of her wine glass. “How about another round?”
I signaled to Mark who called over the sprite waitress. Olan winged his way to the front door which opened as he approached. When the drinks were deposited and the empties removed I leaned closer to Cate; she smelled of flowers and citrus. I said, “We need to know two things to accomplish the plan. What she did to the amulet because that is important to reversing it, and where the amulet is.”
“If you can do that, what guarantee do you have that Fionuir won’t start again?”
“The Sidhe only change queens every fifty years. If she remains queen through this cycle, she won’t need to give extra power to her followers. If she loses, she won’t have to campaign for queen for another thirty or so years.”
“So, it’s just buying time.”
“A lot of time. And hopefully enough to find a way to discourage this kind of thing in the future.”
“Okay how do you think we can get either piece of information?”
That was the detail I hadn’t gotten to. Cate was right; I wasn’t good with the details. “That’s your area of expertise. Where do you think we should start?”
She chuckled and I felt the vibration in some very private places.
“See, I knew you would get stuck on the important stuff. Talk this through with me. There are only three places we can touch this. The fairies, the other Sidhe and Fionuir.”
“Fionuir won’t give us anything. I tried.”
“So the fairies and the other Sidhe. Oh, and I guess the rival for queen. Someone knows something.”
I told her what Princess had said.
“It’s unlikely we’ll find the mate of a shunned fairy, unless you’ve gotten much better with the hunting spell.” She raised her eyebrow.
“We probably want to leave that to the last resort.”
“Okay. So the fairies know how to contact Iain. It must be something fairly straightforward otherwise they wouldn’t be able to do it.”
“Do you think catching a fairy will be the best way to get the information we need?”
“No, I think the best way to get that is to find Fionuir’s rival. She’ll know something, or know someone who knows something.”
Maybe this would get easy once we got the information we needed, but getting the first piece of information was going to be a killer. “I think I can craft a spell that will track Iain without him knowing.” I said.
“Okay. I can add something that will make a fairy talk.” She pulled a notebook out of her pocket. “When we get the fairy, we find the information that gets us to other Sidhe. They will probably be on Fionuir’s side. But we can try to get information out of them about the rival.”
I saw where this was leading, we made a good team. “Shall we go to your place or mine?”
“Quinn, I didn’t know you cared.”
I blushed. “I mean to put the spells together.”
“Yeah, I know.” I thought I heard a twinge of regret in her voice. “Your place will be better. It wouldn’t be fair to Lionel to kick him out just as he was getting into the second level spells.”
“Yeah, about him.” I couldn’t contain my curiosity. “Why did you take on an apprentice? I thought you said you would never burden yourself that way.”
“It’s not as bad as I thought it would be, you should try it. I find myself stretching to keep ahead of his appetite for learning. I remember the feeling that Master Vollont was holding me back. It’s about keeping pace not keeping secrets.”
“Okay, but why did you take one on?”
“Master Vollont said I should. He brought Lionel to my door a month ago. He said it was the next step in my development.”
“That answers my next question, why him. Why have you been hiding him? How good is he?”
“Well, I haven’t actually been hiding him; he just likes to study a lot. And yet, sometimes I despair of teaching him anything he seems so dense. Then he’ll find a whole new insight into a spell and I’m in awe.”
I noticed the shine in her eyes as she talked about teaching. Perhaps Master Vollont was right, it was her next step. I dreaded the thought that he would show up on my doorstep with an apprentice I didn’t have time to teach.