“Y ou died,” Alexandra said, narrowing her eyes as she focused on Drake. “Some of our people were there when you fell beside the Mad King.”
The smile that crawled across Drake’s face gave me chills. “Your kind live to be old enough and wise enough to know that what you see is not always what is happening.”
Foster exploded into his full-size form beside me, and Aideen immediately followed. Foster walked off to my left while Aideen circled toward the right. The wider our horseshoe formation grew, the farther away Drake stepped.
“I will kill you where you stand,” Aeros said. His eye lights flicked to me and then back to Drake. I wasn’t sure if he was looking for some cue, or if I had no influence over the situation.
“I’ve seen you strike,” Drake said. “You won’t catch me so easily.”
“Enough talk,” Aideen growled. She lunged with her sword, the attack so unexpected that I thought my eyes might be wider than Drake’s. He barely raised the sheath of his sword high enough to deflect the blade, sending it skittering along his armor to take a small piece out of his forearm. If he’d failed, that blade would have been sinking into his heart. Drake’s eyes flashed toward Foster and he launched himself skyward a mere second before the cobblestones rose to swallow him.
“I already told you, I’m too fast,” Drake said, slashing the air with his sword and slipping into the Warded Ways.
“What were you doing?” Foster asked.
“That strike was meant to kill him,” Aideen said.
“It’s unlikely that you would catch a knight that off guard,” Alexandra said.
Aideen nodded. “Yes, but that attack wasn’t without fruit. Drake, or this fairy who claims to be Drake, was wrapped in a particularly strong glamor. His armor deflected my sword a fraction of an inch sooner than I expected it to. He shouldn’t have been able to deflect that strike.”
“Meaning what?” I asked.
“Meaning the fairy we just saw,” Alexandra said, “was glamored to appear smaller than his true form.”
“Why bother to hide that?”
“Damian,” Frank said. He tapped my arm.
I turned to look at him and cursed. A squad of soldiers was swarming toward us down Main Street, and it wasn’t a casual patrol. The men moved with their rifles raised and trained on us.
“Get behind me,” Casper said.
“Bullets will kill you just as well as they will kill us,” Zola said. “Be wary.”
The squad moved like one long snake, slithering along the shop fronts, one soldier taking up a post inside the entryway of a shop while the rest filed around him. That rolling movement continued until the nearest stood only a dozen feet away.
The soldier in the front used the barrel of his gun to indicate the ground, while the others kept their rifles trained on us. “Weapons on the ground.”
“I don’t feel comfortable doing that at the moment,” I said.
“Weapons on the ground or you’re going on the ground. I don’t care which.”
I exchanged a glance with Sam. She gave a tiny shake of her head, as if she knew what I’d been asking her with my unspoken eyebrow raise. She wouldn’t be fast enough to take them all down before they got a few shots off. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to just flay these men alive.
I lifted the holster over my shoulder slowly, setting the pepperbox on the ground as lightly as I could.
“Then the swords,” the soldier said, training his gun on Foster.
“Right,” Foster said. He and Aideen snapped into their smaller forms and were gone. I suspected they were perched on Frank or Zola’s back, but I wasn’t going to go looking for them now.
“They won’t attack you,” I said. “We’re on your side.” I hesitated at my own words, realizing that I suddenly sounded like a bad 1980s action movie.
“You kidnapped Casper,” the soldier said. “Give her back, in the same condition you found her.”
“The same condition we found her?” Zola asked. “That would require us to injure your friend quite severely.”
Casper stepped out from behind me, and most of the guardsmen lowered their weapons.
“Casper?”
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Casper said. “Where’s Park?”
“We heard you were dying,” the guardsman said. His brow furrowed. “You look … alive.”
“Thanks to them,” Casper said with a nod toward us. “I thought you were going to shoot them just now. And, yes, I’m feeling much better.”
“Where are the fairies?” the nearest soldier asked. “We’re supposed to bring the one that attacked you.”
“You just missed them,” Sam said.
“That’s the vampire,” the bigger, louder soldier said from the back. “Keep an eye on that one.”
Frank slid in front of Sam, staring the guardsman down. Sam cocked an eyebrow at him, but didn’t say anything.
Casper walked out in front of me, and I muttered a curse when I saw Foster clinging to her back. “Not the best idea,” I whispered under my breath.
The fairy shot me a grin. Some of the shit that amused him seemed very strange to me.
“We just saw him,” the soldier said.
“No,” Casper said. “You saw my friend, Foster. His wife saved me. If not for them, I would’ve died.”
The soldier frowned.
“Foster,” Casper said, holding up her hand. “Do not shoot. Keep your weapons down, fingers off the triggers.”
Foster climbed up onto her shoulder and flexed his wings. He hopped over to Casper’s palm and said, “Hi!”
The louder man toward the center of the group raised his rifle and shouted, “There it is! Take it out!”
“Stop!” Casper said.
Two more soldiers raised their rifles. I took half a step forward and managed to summon a shield before the first shot rang out. The cobblestone street erupted an inch in front of Casper. She stumbled backward into me, dropping her hand as Foster launched himself into the air. Bullets whined as they ricocheted off the vertical cobblestones left standing from our encounter with Drake. A booming voice said, “Surrender your arms or die.”
“Aeros, don’t,” I said.
“Kill them,” Alexandra snarled.
“No!” I said. “Everybody put their goddamned guns down. And don’t you get any ideas about drowning people,” I said with an eyebrow raised at Alexandra.
I studied our group and didn’t see any injuries. I also didn’t see Aideen.
“Where’s Aideen?” I asked.
A soldier shouted, and Foster vanished too.
“Drop the wall,” Zola said to Aeros. A cacophony of shouts and screams rose from the other side of the cobblestone wall. Two more gunshots sounded. Metal echoed and rang out as it fell to the earth, and I didn’t need to see it to know that someone had dropped their guns.
“Drop the wall now!” Zola shouted.
Aeros did, the cobblestones returning to their original position, leaving no trace of the wall that had been there a moment before. All the soldiers were still standing, and I was worried that meant Foster or Aideen might have been hurt.
Casper stormed forward. When she reached the larger loudmouthed man from the center of the group, whose uniform proclaimed him Stacy, her elbow flashed out, catching the man in the neck and sending him to the ground.
“What was that?” one of the soldiers shouted.
I jogged after Casper and slowed when I saw what was on the ground. Foster and Aideen had cut the guardsmen’s M16s to ribbons, strewing the barrels and sights across the cobblestones.
“Oh man,” I said, “I hope I don’t have to pay for that.”
“I don’t care if I’m not in uniform,” Casper said. “If I give you an order, follow it.”
“Where the hell is Foster?” The horrible scream of a fairy being sucked back into a ley line was nowhere to be heard, so I knew he was at least alive. And Aideen, too.
“Up here,” a voice shouted.
I glanced up, and found Foster and Aideen perched on top of the Talayna’s Pizza sign. Relief washed over me. I glanced at the angry guardsman squaring off against Casper. I nodded to the fairies and turned my attention back to the confrontation.
“Where’s Park?” Casper asked.
“On his way, sir,” the young private said, coming to attention.
Casper looked back toward Aeros. Her eyes strafed our group. “Frank, come here.”
Frank looked at Sam and then hurried forward. “What is it?”
“This is Park’s most trusted advisor when it comes to the Fae,” Casper said. “You opened fire on a valuable liaison. A known ally. And that doesn’t even begin to approach the topic of the fact that you nearly shot me .”
“Sorry, Casper,” a few of the privates muttered in a ragged chorus. By the downturned eyes of some of the soldiers, I didn’t think this was the first time Casper had words for them.
In that moment, I was very happy not to be one of those guardsmen. I thought Casper’s iron gaze might flay the skin from their faces.
“You’re green,” Casper said, “but if you don’t learn to handle a weapon, you’ll be relieved of it.”
One of the soldiers looked down at the ribbon-like remains of his M16, but was wise enough not to comment.
“Park is here,” a voice said as a shadow turned the corner of the street behind us. My hand went for the pepperbox, which I remembered was still laying on the street. I walked back and scooped up the holster, nodding to Park as he assessed the scene before him.
“Why aren’t you in fatigues?” Park asked, eyeing Casper.
“I apologize, sir,” Casper said, coming to attention. “I was in a bit of a hurry trying not to get dead.”
“As you were,” Park said. I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but his demeanor was stiffer than usual. Though I was fairly certain that had been a very dry joke with Casper, none of the other soldiers reacted.
“And where is the fairy?” Park asked.
One of the guardsmen pointed to the sign, and Park turned to look up at Foster and Aideen.
“Glad to see no one murdered the wrong fairy. I do have a request, Foster. If you and Aideen could be so kind next time, would you please only relieve these weapons of their triggers? They would be much easier to repair.”
“We’ll try to be more precise next time your soldiers decide to shoot at us,” Aideen said.
Park pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Up on the sign,” Stacy croaked out, his throat clearly damaged by Casper’s attack. “Take them out. They’re all murdering pieces of shit.”
Foster placed his hand on his hilt, and Sam creeped up in front of Frank. It was subtle, but it put her close enough to strike if needed.
“Private,” Park snapped, drawing the attention of the newly conscious Stacy.
“They need to be put down,” Stacy said. “They all do. We owe it to Philly.”
Park eyed Stacy for a moment, and then nodded to himself. “Take Private First Class Stacy into custody. Put him in the brig to cool off. The rest of you, return to base. I’ll be reporting this to your unit commander. Dismissed.” Park’s closing words acted like the crack of a whip, and the soldiers scattered, two of them lifting Stacy and helping the injured man walk away.
Park kept his eyes on the retreating soldiers until they reached the next block and vanished up the street. Only then did Foster and Aideen glide down from the sign. Aideen settled on one shoulder, while Foster took up a perch on Park’s other shoulder, like the fairy version of an angel and a devil.
“I’m sorry for that,” Park said, the commanding tones in his voice giving way to exhaustion.
Aeros took a few steps forward, each footfall grinding and scraping on the stone street. “You need not apologize for the actions of soldiers of whom you were not in command.” The Old God crouched down slightly so he was nearly eye to eye with Park.
“They’re my soldiers,” Park said. “Everything they do is my responsibility.”
“It was more mine,” Casper said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to do more.”
Park nodded. “Stacy shouldn’t be on patrol in this area anyway.”
“And why is he up for a promotion instead of a big chicken dinner?” Casper said under her breath.
Park frowned. “I’m afraid we both know the answer to that.”
“Would you care to enlighten the rest of us?” Zola asked. “Seems like it may be important to the people he tried to kill.”
I flinched at the venom in Zola’s words. It wasn’t undeserved, but I didn’t want to anger Park when he was one of our only military contacts. But we’d saved Park’s life, and Zola was an artist with guilt.
“He’s from Philadelphia,” Park said. “He lost everyone. Enlisted right after Gettysburg.”
“You shouldn’t have brought him here,” Sam said.
“No,” Park said, his voice solemn. “It wouldn’t have made a difference. Half the battalion has a story just like his.”
“How many other loose cannons do you have?” Frank asked.
“They don’t concern me as much as the officers with the same sentiments.”
“Officers?” Casper asked. “I think you mean the brass.”
“Not all of them.”
“Stacy’s a mess, sir.” Casper crossed her arms and slouched just a hair. I realized she must’ve been exhausted from the healing. And yet she was still on her feet, still had enough energy to put Stacy on the ground.
“I know.” Park’s gaze flicked between Frank and Casper. “Casper, I need you to worry about the boots on the ground. Let me worry about the brass. I’ll do what I can, but five more commoners vanished outside Falias today. The brass is skittish, and looking to act, looking for answers.”
“Casper needs rest,” I said. “That level of healing takes it out of you. It’s like you’ve had the flu for a solid month.”
“Is that what’s wrong with me?” Casper asked. “I was beginning to think some of the poison was still inside me.”
Thunder boomed in the distance, and a strong breeze rustled some junk mail in the gutter, carrying the scent of rain.
“Before we go,” Park said, “I need to tell you something.”
Casper was once again standing at attention. The woman had more stamina than I ever did.
I nodded at Park.
“We’ve done a great deal of surveillance in the area. And I believe we may have found the Fae’s base of operation.” He eyed Casper for a moment, perhaps taking in the small tremor that ran down her left leg as she grew less stable. “It’s not far from here. And I shouldn’t say more about it in the open. You need to be aware there are forces amassing within striking distance. If anything, we think the attack on Casper’s squad was a probe, a test to see how we react.”
“To see if you’d come and kill Foster and Aideen,” Alexandra said, her voice low.
I blinked at the water witch. “Are you okay?”
She frowned at me. “I’m quite okay. I’m also quite familiar with what happens when a military force comes to exterminate an entire people.”
“That won’t happen,” Park said.
“You already said the top brass want us dead,” Alexandra said, taking a step toward Park. “You might not be able to hurt me and the other water witches, but my friends are not so invulnerable. Any of them—”
Frank rushed forward and stepped in front of Alexandra, holding his hands up. “We need Park.”
The serenity I was so used to seeing on Alexandra’s face was gone, replaced by a cold rage that sent ice lancing down my spine. And for a brief moment, I remembered the history of the water witches, their merciless affinity for drowning people. Alexandra took a deep breath and nodded. “I will not stand idly by when the killing begins.”
She fell back, leaving Park behind Frank, and taking up a post beside Aeros at the back of the group. The Old God exchanged a nod with her, which told me all I needed to know about his thoughts on the local military.
“Christ,” Park muttered. “I need all of your help. Casper, I wanted to avoid it, but I need you to take a squad into the base.”
“That’s a suicide run,” Foster said.
“I know,” Park said.
“You sure as hell aren’t doing it without us,” Foster said.
“You’d support Casper and her squad when they infiltrate the Fae’s base?”
“Yes,” I said plainly.
Casper’s tremble grew into a shake, and she stumbled to her left, where Sam caught her and helped her stay upright.
“We should probably take our leave,” Zola said, “or Casper is going to collapse.”
The first drops of rain started as the thunderheads moved across the sky. Park glanced up and sighed. “I’ll contact you again soon. How long will Casper need to recover?”
“Twenty-four hours,” Aideen said. “Perhaps a bit longer. In our experience, a long sleep can help a human’s brain understand that its body has been healed.”
“Thank you,” Park said. “I’ll get her back to our base.”
“We can drive you,” I said.
“I’ll take them,” Sam said, volunteering. I didn’t like the idea of Sam being on the military’s radar, considering how much they already knew about our little group, but I was pretty sure all the vampires were on the military’s radar.
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“Anytime, Demon,” Sam said with a small smile. She scooped Casper up into her arms. At first Casper protested, but she gave up after about ten seconds. Park followed them to Sam’s black SUV. Frank helped open the doors, and they all piled in. No one said anything until the red taillights vanished up the next block.
“Strange day,” Aeros said, tilting his head up to catch the rain as it started to crash down onto us. “I will return to my post, guarding the streets.”
The cobblestones beneath him roiled until they had swallowed him completely.
“Back inside,” Zola said. “You too, Alexandra.”
“Ooo,” Foster said. “Somebody’s in trouble.”
“That’s helpful,” Aideen said, smacking Foster in the back of his head.
Alexandra eyed the old necromancer for a brief time, letting the rain start to soak into our clothes. “I hope you’re prepared.”