“I only need to know two things,” the Fennrys Wolf growled, stalking back and forth in front of the other Janus. “Where do you want me, and how do I kill whatever needs killing?”
“Well, that’s just it, Fenn,” Sonny tried to explain. “The answers to your questions are: We don’t know, and we don’t know.”
The Wolf rolled his eyes at that and retreated to perch on the back of a bench. The thirteen Janus had gathered after daybreak and a successful night’s hunting at Sonny’s request in a tucked-away bit of the park that offered enough seclusion for the Guard to assemble without the police thinking they were some sort of gang.
“By now, all of you have been made aware of the possibility that someone is trying to wake the Wild Hunt, right?” Sonny looked from face to face. “The likeliest suspect, of course, is Queen Mabh, although a visit I had from one of her Storm Hags seemed to indicate that it may have been a mistake on Mabh’s part to release the kelpie into this realm. Or maybe she’s had a change of heart.”
“Mabh doesn’t have a heart,” Ghost said quietly.
“Good point,” Aaneel agreed. “I can’t help but think that she’d just laugh and kick her feet with glee if such a thing were to come to pass.”
“Well…whatever game she’s playing,” Sonny said, “we’ve got more pieces on the board to worry about than just the Queen of Air and Darkness.”
Maddox snorted. “I’ll say. Tell ’em whom we stumbled across, Old Sonn.”
Sonny took a deep breath and said, “The stolen child.”
The circle of changelings stared blankly at him, as if he’d suddenly spoken in an incomprehensible language.
“Auberon’s daughter?” Sonny prompted. “The lost princess. The reason the Gates were shut. The reason for us. I know where she is.”
“Who is she?” Aaneel asked.
“She’s…seventeen,” Sonny said. “An actress. Sweet. Happy. And up until-well, up until I told her-she had absolutely no idea of what she is. Let alone who.”
“How is that even possible?” Bellamy glanced back and forth between Sonny and Maddox. Beside him, his sister’s brow was creased in a frown.
“She’s been kept well hidden with the help of a powerful talisman,” Sonny explained.
“Does Auberon know?” Beni asked.
“I didn’t tell him-”
“Don’t.” The interjection came from Cait.
“Why the hell not?” the Fennrys Wolf snapped, his pale eyes fierce.
Cait ignored him. “The poor girl! If Auberon finds out about her, he’ll want her back. The Unseelie Court is such a cold and joyless place.”
“Cait’s right, Sonny,” Camina agreed, the frown still shadowing her brow. Her eyes were troubled. “Don’t tell him.”
“Have you two gone insane?” the Wolf asked, pulling out a thin-bladed dagger from his boot and testing the sharpness of the edge against his thumb. “It’s the king’s bloody kid. Unless you’ve all forgotten, we serve at the pleasure of the king.”
“We’ve never had much choice in the matter,” Cait said, her cheeks coloring with emotion.
The Wolf scoffed at that. “We might not like it much, but that’s the way it is. Serve or die. I say let the bastard take her. Maybe it will end the nonsense of guarding this damnable Gate. And then we can all go home.”
“Home, Fenn?” Maddox suddenly rounded on him. “What is that exactly? Where is it? And when? We’ve none of us homes now but this. This here and this now. We had our homes taken from us.” He turned to face the rest of the Guard. “I’ve seen this girl, and she belongs in this realm. Would you have the Faerie king take her away from everything she has ever known?” He turned back to the Fennrys Wolf. “Would you honestly wish our fate upon her?”
There was a murmur among the circle of Janus, and Fennrys spun the knife in his hand and returned it to his boot. “All right, all right,” he said. “It wasn’t a serious suggestion. Bunch of whining-”
“Shut up, Fenn,” Godwyn said, fixing the muttering Janus with a warning stare.
“But what about the king?” Selene asked. “He’ll take his daughter back to the Otherworld, whether she wills it or no.”
“He hasn’t yet,” Maddox said. “Auberon knows about her-he already went to the theater where she works and spoke to her-but she’s still here.”
“Why?” Bellamy asked.
“Because he probably wants to make her think it’s her own idea when she does finally go,” Aaneel said.
“She’s not going anywhere!” Sonny snarled, surprising himself by the vehemence of his reaction. The one place Sonny did not want Kelley, he realized, was the Otherworld. He did not want her living her life among the Fair Folk, constantly exposed to their casual cruelty, their capriciousness and selfish nature. Sonny did not want Kelley to learn what it was to be like them, to become one of them. Especially not if he was still stuck in the mortal realm. Because, no matter what Fennrys might think, Sonny was not so convinced that Auberon would reopen the Gates and allow free passage between the realms if Kelley were to return with him-he too much enjoyed the tight control he had wielded ever since their closure.
Sonny took a deep breath. “Look, Auberon’s in for a surprise if he thinks this girl will meekly put her head down and fall into step.”
Beside him, Maddox chuckled. “I’ll say.”
“Even if he thinks what he’s doing is for her own good,” Sonny murmured, almost to himself.
“And why would it be that?” asked Aaneel.
Sonny hesitated; it was just a theory he had been mulling, but-as he’d told Kelley-he didn’t believe in coincidences. “I don’t think it’s just happenstance that the Wild Hunt is stirring at the same time as the king’s daughter makes a sudden reappearance. Queen Mabh has her spies in this realm. And she holds a pretty serious grudge against Auberon. What if she caught wind somehow that Kelley was alive-that she’s living in New York, but Mabh doesn’t know exactly where. Well, what’s the easiest way to eliminate one person in a crowd?”
“Eliminate the crowd,” Beni said grimly. “That’s harsh.”
“Not to mention messy,” Bryan agreed.
“Mabh likes a good bloodbath every now and then. She hasn’t had much opportunity to wreak havoc since Auberon locked her away. Now here is a perfect opportunity for a little fun and a lot of revenge.”
“It’s certainly not beyond the realm of possibility,” Godwyn said.
“Seems your little actress is in a world of trouble, Irish boy,” Fennrys laughed.
“Maybe we could stand a guard around her,” Percival suggested.
“We’re going to have our hands full as it is,” the Wolf protested. “Especially if this threat of the Wild Hunt comes to pass.”
“But we’re supposed to be watching out for people,” Percival said, bristling. “Keeping them safe. And none of this is her fault.”
“Perry’s right,” Aaneel said, rubbing at his chin. Then he turned back to the rest of the changelings. His next words were as good as orders. “We are a poor excuse for guardians if we sacrifice the few for the sake of the many in the course of our duties. The girl is blameless. She should be kept safe, if at all possible.” He turned to Sonny. “Hide her again, Sonny. And hide her well.”
“Where?” Sonny asked. “How?”
Aaneel thought about it for a long moment. The rest of the Janus stood by patiently and waited until he spoke. “Take her to the Green. She’ll be safe there. She can hide out until the threat of the Hunt has passed, and then it will be up to her to decide if she wants to go with Auberon. And if she doesn’t, then we’ll at least have the time to figure out a way to keep her hidden permanently.”
Sonny frowned but nodded. Aaneel was right. “I’ll need passage.”
“I can set you up,” Cait volunteered immediately. She flipped open the top flap on her leather messenger bag and began rummaging in its depths. “I have enough payment for two safe passages. I was going to go there myself for my next birthday but, really? The last time I went, I didn’t have such a very good time.”
“Why not?” Maddox asked. “I’ve never been, but I heard it’s something else.”
Beside Cait, Selene laughed. “One of the waiters there is an overfriendly garden gnome. Wouldn’t leave her alone.”
“The little fiend,” Cait muttered, and blushed crimson.
“He kept trying to look up her skirt and lick her ankles!”
“So anyway…” Cait glared at Selene as she handed over a red suede pouch jingling with coins. “Here you go.”
“Thank you, Cait,” Sonny said.
“Don’t mention it.” She smiled. “But do me a favor: If you see a gnome in a floppy orange hat carrying a tray of drinks about while you’re there?…Trip him.”
“Just for you.”
Back at his apartment, Sonny grabbed several hours of restless sleep, forcing himself to stay in bed long enough to recharge his weary muscles.
When he got up, he took a long, hot shower, only to find a surprise awaiting him. He saw, written in steam on his bathroom mirror, a time and place-instructions from Mabh on when and where he would have to deliver Lucky to her minions, the Storm Hags. Wiping the mirror clear, he shaved and changed his shirt three times, trying to decide on something that-if he was honest with himself-he thought Kelley would like. Then he set out to find his wayward Faerie princess.