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Texas
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HOLDING HER HOSPITAL gown closed with one hand and the bloody keys with the other, Asha trotted down the hall. She could feel the fae energy coming from the inmate even before she stopped at the door to the cell. Going up on her tippy toes, she peered inside to see a beautiful, black-haired fairy wearing a silver dress. Dark blue eyes zeroed in on her and she saw Emelia’s relief to see what appeared to be a friendly face. “Are you going to let me out of here?” the warrior asked dryly.
“What did she say?” Leroy asked.
“She asked if we were going to let her out of the cell,” Irindal replied.
Asha fumbled for the keys, but the ghost rolled his eyes and passed through the door and into the cell. He tried to reach for the fairy, but a spell zapped him, making his hand tingle. “Damn it, woman!” he complained, shaking his hand. “Do you want out of this cell or not?”
Eyeing him warily, she inclined her head. “I apologize. It isn’t easy for me to trust strangers.”
“You should know by now that I’m one of the good guys,” he said with a grin that showed off his gold tooth. He could understand her being jumpy after being locked up by the humans. He reached for her again and he wasn’t repelled this time when he used the veil to free her.
“Where is Rudy?” Emelia asked, looking around with a frown.
“He killed a human and has gone rogue,” Irindal told her.
“Who are you?”
“Her name is Irindal,” Asha said. “Irindal, this is Emelia. She’s a Seelie warrior.”
“Well, she’s obviously not an Unseelie warrior.”
“You can tell the difference just by looking at her?” Leroy asked.
“If she was an Unseelie fairy, she would have tried to kill us by now.”
“The leprechaun has killed a human?” Emelia asked in horror, returning to their main quandary. “Where is he now?”
“He’s still in his cell,” the spirit told her.
“I suggest we leave him there. If he gets out of this place, he’ll cause untold havoc.”
“Is he really as evil as he feels?” Leroy asked with a shudder.
“Believe me, he’ll be far worse than whatever your link to him indicates,” she confirmed.
“We can’t just leave him here,” Asha protested. “They’ll kill him when they see what he did to Dr. Parry.” Not that she’d seen the carnage for herself yet. Leroy’s description as they’d headed for Emelia had been vivid enough for her.
“Why don’t we break Pru and Harley free, then come up with a plan?” Leroy suggested.
“The humans were caught as well?” Emelia asked, but she didn’t seem surprised.
“They’re on the floor below us,” Asha replied. “Leroy should be able to take us there.”
“Now I know how Rudy feels,” the phantom complained. The leprechaun sometimes joked that he was everyone’s teleporting puppet. He touched Asha and Emelia and shifted them to a hallway on the floor below. Irindal was drawn along as well since she was sitting on Asha’s shoulder.
Two orderlies were on patrol. Seeing the two women and a pixie appear out of thin air, they turned to run. One of the men reached for his radio, but Emelia used her supernatural speed to catch up to them. The spells in the building and the bracelets that had been placed on her might have sapped her of her supernatural strength, but she still had her deadly skills. She slapped the radio out of his hand before he could use it, then knocked their heads together hard enough to split their skulls open. She felt no regret at killing them. Anyone who worked in this facility deserved whatever they got for what they were doing to the inmates.
“Emelia?” a voice called from somewhere nearby. She turned to see Harley with his face pressed up against the window of his cell. “Can you get me out of here?” he shouted, unaware that she could hear him quite clearly.
He started back when Leroy stuck his head through the wall. “Hey, bro. How’s it hanging?” the phantom asked.
“Did you find Pru?” the kid asked as relief unlike anything he’d ever felt before flowed through him that he was being rescued.
“The girls are looking for her now,” the specter replied, then reached out and shifted the young hunter into the hallway.
“She’s in here,” Asha said, standing in front of a door just down the hallway. Leroy zoomed over and extricated the witch from her room.
Straightening her frumpy brown dress, Pru tried hard not to burst into tears at seeing the team gathered together. “Where’s Rudy?” she asked, realizing someone was missing. “Who is that?” she added, pointing at what looked like a pixie sitting on the dryad’s shoulder.
“Her name is Irindal and we’ll explain what happened to Rudy when we get out of here,” Emelia replied, then turned to Leroy. “Can you use the veil to transport us back to Scotland?”
“Not while Rudy is wearing the ring I’m bound to,” he said regretfully. “I can only take you a mile away from him.”
“You’re trapped here just as much as Rudy is,” Asha realized.
“What’s going on?” Harley asked.
“Get us out of this facility,” Emelia said to the spirit. “Then we’ll talk.”
With a mental shrug, Leroy did as she asked. They appeared in a small grove almost a mile away from the building that was now hidden behind the wards again.
“Tell us what’s happened to Rudy,” Pru demanded.
Now that Emelia had access to her power again, she shattered the bracelets that had dampened her strength. The metal broke apart and fell to the ground in several pieces.
“He killed a human and went rogue,” Irindal said helpfully. She switched her glow on so the humans could see everyone clearly.
“Who are you exactly?” Harley asked.
“She’s my friend,” Asha said, then introduced everyone to the pixie. She then returned to the main topic. “You managed to get me out of the facility, but now Rudy is stuck in there. It would apparently be a bad idea for us to let him out of his cell.”
“It would be catastrophic,” Emelia corrected her. “There’s a reason why leprechauns don’t kill. I haven’t seen one go rogue since long before most of them were imprisoned by the mad witch four eons ago.”
“What exactly happens to them when they kill?” Harley asked.
“They become twisted, malevolent and deadly,” Emelia replied. “They go on a killing spree, sparing no one from their intent to cause harm. The more beings they destroy, the longer the effect lasts before they eventually return to normal, if they return to normal at all.”
“How long will it take to wear off if he’s only killed one person?” Asha asked.
“It’s hard to say,” the fairy hedged. “It could be days, weeks or months.”
“We can’t leave him in that place for months,” Pru protested. “God only knows what they’ll do to him when they realized he killed their boss.”
“I might have a solution,” Emelia said uncertainly. “But I’m not sure if you’ll approve of it.”
“Lay it on us, she-honky,” Leroy invited.
“I can create a cell like the one he is currently locked in, but in a location of our choice. The gnome’s house should be a suitable place.”
“The spells will dampen his magic so he can’t get out?” Asha asked and received a nod of confirmation.
“It sounds similar to the cell Jake created to hold spirits,” Pru mused.
“It is similar,” Emelia agreed. “But this one is specifically intended to hold rogue leprechauns.”
“Let’s do it,” Harley said, then turned to Leroy. “Can you guard Rudy until we return for him?”
“They’ll have to go through me to get to him,” the phantom replied grimly.
“Won’t you be caught in the ghost trap when you enter the building again?” Asha asked.
“Not while Rudy’s rage is so strong,” he told her, tapping his temple. “It’s enough to keep me focused and not to fall for the snare again.”
“I can take the rest of us back to Scotland,” Emelia said. “We’ll return for you and the leprechaun as soon as I’ve constructed the cell. It could take a few hours.”
“I’ll be waiting,” he said grimly, then vanished, presumably returning to Rudy’s room to keep watch over him.
“Thanks for helping us escape,” Asha said to Irindal. “You upheld your end of the bargain, so you’re free to go now.”
“That isn’t so,” the pixie replied unhappily. “I agreed to help all of you escape. The leprechaun is still being held captive. Until he is free, I am still bound to you.”
“Welcome to the team temporarily, little lady,” Harley said, wondering what Jake would say if he was here to witness this. Missions sometimes went sideways, but this one had been stranger than most.
“Are you ready?” Emelia asked, politely waiting for them to brace themselves, then whisked them back to their base.
