* * *
“Z ola’s here,” I said, reading a text I must have missed while we were at the hospital. Foster gave me a nod.
“Did Casper help?” Park asked as we entered Death’s Door.
“She did,” Aideen said. “She confirmed what you’d already told us about the green blood. And she told us more; she told us the dark-touched are already here. As are Glenn’s soldiers.”
“Are you sure?” Foster asked as he glided into the room. He tilted slightly, and angled to land on Zola’s shoulder.
“It’s still speculation,” Aideen said. “But the witness we spoke to says a fairy used fire.”
“Many fairies can use fire,” Foster said, crossing his arms.
“This spell was enough to engulf a human,” Aideen said. “It was at a level of the Demon Sword.”
Foster almost growled. “They’re setting us up.”
“That’s no surprise,” Zola said. “We’ll see more consequences from Nudd’s stunt.”
“We’re already seeing more boots on the ground,” Frank said. “Tanks in Saint Charles, for fuck’s sake.”
“Yes,” Zola said. “And now those soldiers have been attacked by a power thought to be wielded only by the Demon Sword.”
“It’s brilliant,” I said. “In one ruse, he’s driven a wedge in to prevent an alliance with the commoners, and now Foster looks like a traitor to his own cause.”
“Gwynn Ap Nudd has seeded doubt,” Zola said. “All he needs to do now is let it grow.”
Park crossed his arms and took a deep breath. “A leader does not rise to power on compassion and understanding, at least not one who is a self-styled dictator.” He looked from Foster to Zola in turn. “I’ve seen warlords use similar tactics. They only need to fill people with fear of the unknown, fear of anything different. And those who the man would hurt worst, rushed to help him first.” Park looked like he wanted to spit.
Bubbles shuffled through the saloon-style doors, sniffing at the air before butting up against Park with her hip. When he didn’t pet her immediately, she bumped him harder until he had to catch himself by throwing his arms out on the counter.
“Persistent,” Park said.
“It is probably in your health’s best interest to pet her,” Aideen said. “She has been known to get … bitey.”
Park scratched the cu sith’s ruff while the rest of us watched in silence. Bubbles arched her back, smooshing Park up against the counter until the sergeant finally had to push her away to keep from being suffocated. Bubbles chuffed at him, and then slowly stalked away into the back room. Park smiled at her grumpy exit.
His smile fell when Bubbles vanished from view. “Why here? Why now?”
“Because this is a war,” Zola said. “Nudd does this to turn the commoners and the military into tools for his arsenal.”
“You’re saying that Nudd fellow … you’re saying he’s orchestrating this?”
“Yes,” Zola said. “That is exactly what Ah’m saying. Son, did you not just say your soldier saw a man bleeding green this morning?”
“Well, yes,” Park said. “But that’s different. I think. I’m not sure.” He frowned and his forehead crinkled as he turned away from the old necromancer.
“You’ve seen enough of Nudd and his people to understand this,” Zola said. “Damian, summon the water witches. You can use the disc to tell Nixie about this, but we need Alexandra or Euphemia here.”
“What do you mean to do?” Park asked.
“I mean to hunt them down,” Foster said slowly while sheathing his dagger, then slamming it back home, “and show them the true power of the Demon Sword.”
It was a rare sight to see Foster use all his powers. My most vivid memory was when we found the child killer’s van years before. Foster had turned it into so much slag inside a supernova of fire.
“So,” I asked. “Did Nudd create a new Demon Sword?” I paused, wondering if that was even the right way to phrase the question. I didn’t know much about how his mantle worked.
“No,” Frank said. “Foster’s still alive, so no one else can be the Demon Sword as long as he lives.”
Aideen nodded. “Frank’s correct. It’s much like the mantle of the Sanatio. While Cara lived …”
“Aideen,” Foster said. “If Nudd has declared a new Sanatio, could he bestow the mantle of the Demon Sword on another fairy?”
Aideen shook her head. “It’s possible he has bestowed some power onto a knight, but no one may take the mantle of the Demon Sword so long as you live.”
“How did you know that?” I said, eyeing Frank.
“It was a story,” Frank said. “One Cara told us. I think we were at the cabin.” He frowned slightly, and then nodded. “Yeah, I’m positive it was at the cabin. Sam was down there with us. You might’ve been elbow deep in a chimichanga.”
“You never did listen to her very well,” Aideen said, giving me a small smile.
“We know the fairy who attacked Park’s men was not Foster,” Zola said, “but Park’s men, they may be harder to convince.”
“Can you come with me, Frank?” Park asked. “You’ve met several of my soldiers. It may help to have you by my side while I’m briefing them.”
Frank glanced between me and the fairies. “If I go now, I won’t be able to help with the hunt.”
“We can handle dark-touched vampires and an idiot fairy,” Foster said.
“Why do you say he’s an idiot?” Park asked. “He did manage to kill off one of my squads.”
“He’s an idiot,” Foster said, “because now I have to kill him.” The savage grin on Foster’s face caused Park to take a step back.
“Oh yeah,” I said, “that look will breed all kinds of trust with the military.”
Foster’s grin widened, sending a chill down my spine.
Aideen raised her hand to cover Foster’s mouth, and it broke the somewhat creepy tension in the air. He tried to bat her hand away, but she held firm, the muscles in her forearm straining against his futile attempts to escape.
“Then it’s settled,” Aideen said. “Frank will go with Park, and the rest of us will go hunting.”
“Should we wait for nightfall?” I asked.
“No,” Zola said. “Contact the water witches. Then we hunt.”
“Zola’s right,” Aideen said. “They’ll be expecting us in the evening or after nightfall.” She let her hand fall away from Foster’s mouth, and he gave her a bemused look. “We’ll have the element of surprise by attacking in the daylight.”
“You’re more likely to be mistaken for the enemy in the daylight,” Park said. “Some of the soldiers out there have only been in the reserves a few months, and a lot of them came in during the enlistment rush after Gettysburg. Many of them are out for vengeance.” Park hesitated. “I don’t want them getting in your way.”
“Then we hunt,” Foster said, “and I will remind this imposter of the true power of the Demon Sword.”
* * *
I took the Wasser-Münzen disc with me to contact Nixie, and headed toward the Missouri River. It wasn’t dinner time yet, so the light crowds on Main Street weren’t that unusual. The tourists had been replaced by media, drawn to the military presence as much as the tourists had been repulsed by it. Our city had become a crippled, zombie-like version of its former self. It limped along, the media acting like some kind of symbiotic parasite.
I crossed the cobblestones and asphalt, finally reaching the riverfront. I hopped down onto the bank so I could set my feet in the river. The water was cold, and the chill reached out for my bones.
I crouched down and set the obsidian disc on the river rocks beneath the water. Almost a minute passed, and I couldn’t help the rising worry in my gut. Nixie was bouncing between Europe and the Obsidian Inn, violence with the queen had been escalating, and now we had evidence of the queen moving against humans. Nixie needed to know. We needed the water witches’ help.
The knot in my stomach loosened just a hair when the disc pulsed with a soft light.
“Damian,” a voice said, rising from the river. “What is it?”
“Alexandra or Euphemia with you?”
“No, they’re on a mission with the Obsidian Inn. Why?”
“We might need reinforcements.”
The water took on the rough shape of Nixie’s face, just enough that I could see her frown. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“The queen has attacked some of the guardsmen stationed here. One of them was in the hospital, bleeding green poison. Sounds like the queen’s troops were impersonating us, or at least Foster.”
Nixie cursed. “I don’t like this, Damian. The coincidence and the timing are too much.”
“What coincidence?” I asked.
“I can’t say over our connection. This isn’t secure enough. I’ll send someone to you when I can, but for now, use caution.”
I nodded. “I will.”
The light on the disc began to fade, but not before I heard her whisper, “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
* * *
Frank and Park were gone when I got back to the shop. The bell on the door jingled as it closed behind me.
“Alexandra and Euphemia are both on a mission with the Obsidian Inn,” I said, glancing between Zola and the fairies. “Nixie will send someone when she can, but I don’t know when that will be.”
“Good,” Foster said. “That gives us time.”
I started toward the back room to grab my backpack, filled with beef jerky, bullets, and other things that were essential to any mission. It was only then that I noticed Foster and Aideen were both in their armor, the intricate details of Celtic knot work flowing over their silver cuirasses and down their greaves. Foster held his helmet under his left arm while Aideen left hers resting between her feet on the glass countertop.
I scooped my backpack up off the shelf and patted Bubbles on the head when she stuck her snout out of her lair’s entrance. I thought about bringing the cu sith with us, but the pony-sized dog might attract more attention than we needed. I looked to the corner where I had often kept the demon staff before it tried to kill me. I still couldn’t break the habit of wanting to grab it when things were going sideways.
I pushed my way through the saloon-style doors and adjusted my backpack. “Ready.”
“Stealth,” Aideen said. “This is no time for theatrics.” She stared at Foster as she spoke, but he didn’t shy away from her words.
“Do you think that armor is low-profile enough?” I asked.
“No other fairy wears this armor,” Foster said. “Even if there is an imposter Demon Sword, there are some things he cannot duplicate.”
I wasn’t exactly sure how much I believed that. I’d seen some pretty crazy glamor put on by fairies. They were the kind of illusions human perception couldn’t pierce. But I didn’t think this was the time to pry.
“Are we driving?” I asked. “Let’s take the car.”
“Yes,” Zola said, “because your car is so low profile.”
We followed Zola through the back and out into the parking lot where my ‘32 Ford Victoria waited. Zola and I climbed into the front seat while the fairies took up a post on the dashboard.
“From what Casper told us,” I said, “it sounds like they were attacked right by the comic store.”
“Start there,” Zola said.
I turned the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot, swinging down onto the cobblestones for a moment before the road mercifully changed to asphalt. We followed Main Street until it merged into N. 2 nd Street, and the roundabout sent us off to the north. We briefly drove through a residential area before the buildings became strip malls. I turned right into one of the first of them, which held the local comic shop.
Aideen shifted the helmet in her hands. “We should leave these here. If one of Nudd’s court is the imposter, it may make it easier to find us. Or, at the least, see us.”
Foster let his helmet fall to the dashboard, the coif rattling as the metal slithered to a stop.
I stepped out of the car, and the fairies zipped over my shoulder, hovering just above me for a second before settling onto the roof of the car.
“Work toward the bridge,” Zola said. “You hear anything, scream.”
Zola was one of the most reassuring people I had ever known in a fight.
“We’ll be right above you,” Foster said. “If anything kills you, we’ll kill it.”
“If you don’t mind,” I said, “kill it before it kills us.”
Foster shot me a grin before launching himself into the air. Aideen followed.