“What,” Damon said, all his attention focused on Aubrey, “are ‘the ways’?”
Aubrey’s puzzled expression grew more confused. “You don’t use the ways here?”
I was as bewildered as she looked and the tension that Anton’s excellent food and booze had dissipated was returning with a vengeance. “Never heard of them.”
“That can’t be right. You’re learning Fae magic,” she objected.
“A fairly limited subset of it,” I said.
“But Cassandra knows about them. She hasn’t told you? Or you haven’t come across anything in the Archives?”
“We’re mainly focused on getting a good scan, rather than stopping to read,” I said. Sure, there were times when I got a little distracted by reading one of the books, but I couldn’t remember any of them mentioning anything called “the ways”.
“So the Cestis here don’t use the ways to travel through the realm?”
I spread my hands wide in a “I have no idea” gesture. “The door here has been closed for over a decade, so not lately. Whether they did before, you’d have to ask them.”
Cassandra had definitely never mentioned anything like that to me. She’d been more concerned about warning me not to go wandering around in there without Cerridwen or Callum.
Aubrey still looked confused, fingers drumming on the tablecloth. “I suppose I will.” Her accent was clipped again.
“How about you explain it to us?” Damon's tone was closer to an order than a question. She’d definitely caught his interest. And I didn’t like the idea of him traveling through the realm at all.
“If Cassandra hasn’t told you, maybe I shouldn’t,” Aubrey said.
“Cassandra probably hasn’t told me because it’s never come up,” I said. I wanted to know what they were. Now. Mostly so I could talk Damon out of using them. “She agreed to me going into the realm and learning from them. I doubt she would mind if you told us something that might come in useful.”
“It’s not something that’s widely shared,” she said. “You need to keep this to yourself.” She frowned at Damon. “I’m not sure I should tell you at all.”
Damon’s eyes narrowed, meaning there was zero chance he’d drop the subject regardless of Aubrey’s concerns. Not if it would help him get Jack.
“At this point, Cassandra thinks of him as an honorary witch,” I said, hoping that would reassure Aubrey and avoid Damon going into master of the universe mode to try to convince her to tell him.
“Or, at least, a useful human ally,” Damon added. “One who lives with a witch and is safer when I’m kept in the loop about what the hell is happening. Keeping humans safe is part of the Cestis job, isn’t it?”
Aubrey smiled tightly. “I see why you’re good at your job. You’re good at getting to the heart of the matter, aren’t you?”
“Comes with the territory,” he agreed. “So how about you explain these ‘ways’ to us?
She sipped water, considering. Then seemed to come to a decision. She put her glass down, shifting back on her chair. “You understand that time can move differently in the realm?”
“Yes, that’s one thing Cassandra made sure I knew.” I tapped the watch on my wrist. “It’s why I have this, remember, to keep track of the time outside. Plus I’ve read the stories, same as everyone.” There are plenty of fairy tales about people who think they’ve spent a night in fairyland only to discover years or decades had passed when they returned. Maybe the Fae couldn’t actually keep someone that long, but I knew better than to make assumptions about Fae magic. Or take unnecessary risks.
“Well, sometimes that aspect of the realm can work to our advantage rather than against us,” Aubrey said. “Time doesn’t have to go more quickly outside the realm than in. The reverse is also true.”
I could feel my head starting to ache trying to understand. “Time can go faster inside the realm?” That had never come up in Cassandra’s warnings. But I guess she was less concerned about me gaining time than losing it.
Aubrey nodded. “Yes.”
“That would mean you can travel faster within the realm than you can out here,” Damon said.
“Yes. And they call that using—or sometimes riding—the ways.” She tapped her fingers again. “We don’t know exactly how it works. They never explain when we ask.”
Typical. “That’s not exactly comforting.”
“What is important is that they can do it,” Damon interjected. “And I gather, they can move humans that way, too? Or you wouldn’t have mentioned it.”
“They can,” Aubrey said. “And sometimes they agree to actually do so.”
For what price? “Is it safe?”
“Hasn’t Cerridwen ever moved you around inside the realm?”
“Yes,” I said. “Are you saying she could zap me from here in San Francisco to a door that opens in Europe?”
Aubrey tilted her hand back and forth. “Not exactly. It’s a little complicated. Cerridwen can move you in her territory by shifting it to suit her. To travel from here to London you’d have to cross multiple territories. But using the ways, you travel at a pace that seems normal, when really you are moving faster. Like a…well, the best explanation is the magic of the ways folds the realm closer together, so you move faster while seeming as though you’re not.”
“Like a wormhole?” Damon asked.
“I’m not exactly up on the latest in astrophysics, but the theory is similar, I believe. I’m not sure if it’s exactly the same for Fae traveling alone, but when I did it, it felt like we traveled a good day in the realm but when we reached the door and came out again, only four hours had passed.”
“And you’ve done this?” Damon asked.
“Once,” Aubrey admitted, “when we were tracking someone from England into Lithuania. There was a tanai in danger, there was a ticking clock, and the Fae offered to help. Of course, it’s not as far from London to Vilnius as it is from London to San Francisco.”
“No. And you’re not crossing an ocean either,” Damon said. “Is that even possible?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. If the Cestis here don’t use the ways, then maybe there’s a reason. Maybe we should ask Cassandra.”
“Better to go straight to the horse’s mouth,” Damon said.
I blinked at him, startled. “You want to ask Cerridwen?”
“No,” he said, pulling out his datapad. “I think we’d have more luck with Callum.”
Callum? “Do you think that’s a good idea?” I squeaked.
“If he won’t tell us, he’ll just say so. He has no trouble saying no.”
“Or he might try to work it to his advantage,” I pointed out.
Aubrey straightened at that.
Dammit. We hadn’t told her about the favor yet. I wanted to keep it that way.
“He and I have an understanding. It shouldn’t be a big deal to explain something to us that clearly the Fae shared with some humans in the past,” Damon said, brushing off my concern.
Aubrey eyed him, her expression calculating. “The Fae take obligations seriously, though.”
Damon nodded. “I’m aware. But if this would get me and some of my team over there faster, then that might make the difference between catching Jack or not.”
“You really think it’s worth the risk of going through the realm?” I asked him, heart sinking. If he really made his mind up to do this, it would be hard to dissuade him.
Damon said, “We want to stop Jack. That’s my first priority.”
“Well, my first priority is your safety,” I said. “And I’d imagine if we asked Mitch, he would agree with me.”
Damon’s eyes narrowed. “We’re not going to ask Mitch.”
I gaped at him, and then snapped my mouth shut. “And how well do you think that will go over?” Mitch was uncompromising about Damon’s safety.
Damon shrugged off my protest. “No point worrying him until Callum tells us if it’s even possible. Then I’ll discuss it with Mitch, but we don’t have much time. The suborbital can be ready in two hours. If we can’t sort this out before then, I’ll just take that.” He hit a button on the datapad.
Callum must have answered because Damon said, “Hey, it’s me. Can you talk?”
I couldn’t really hear the response despite my best efforts.
“Where are you?” Damon asked, then, “Good. We’re at Perroni’s. Any chance you could drop by for a quick discussion? I just need a couple of minutes of your time, but I’m working against the clock.”
He listened for a few more seconds, then ended the call and pocketed the datapad, smiling with satisfaction. “He’s on his way.”
Crap and double crap. “Where is he?” I asked.
“Well, as luck would have it, he was already dining in the city.”
Interesting. Callum should be sticking close to home in the realm after what had happened yesterday. Had Cerridwen sent him out to look for more afrits? Or, being Callum, had he gotten bored and left? Unlike Cerridwen, he seemed to relish time outside the realm.
While we were waiting, Anton came back into the room. He must have sensed the change in mood, because his smile dissolved into something more concerned. “Is everything all right? Nothing wrong with the food?”
Damon waved him away with an apologetic gesture. “Everything was fantastic. It always is. I’ve just had an urgent matter come up.”
Anton rolled his eyes, looking exasperated. “You work too hard, Riley. You have two beautiful women dining with you and you’re going to do business?”
“Someone has to keep all the balls in the air,” Damon quipped. “You work just as long hours as me.”
“I don’t have thousands of employees to help me,” Anton countered.
Damon snorted. “The thousands of employees just increase the workload. A colleague of mine, Callum Dune, should be here any minute. If he asks for me, please show him in. Jake knows what he looks like.”
Jake was guarding our private room from the outside, sitting at a table near the door, no doubt ignoring Anton’s attempts to feed him.
“Very well,” Anton said. “Should I send Ana back to take your dessert orders?”
“I’m sorry,” Damon said, “but I think we’ll probably have to leave. Perhaps coffee? I promise you we’ll come back soon and make it up to you. I was looking forward to that Delizia al limone you were telling me about.”
Damn. No dessert. Anton’s food was all delicious, but his desserts were my favorite part. Damon had a fondness for lemon, but I loved the tiramisu. Because Perroni’s made it with real coffee. Which meant it was more expensive than any tiramisu had any right to be, but it was worth every penny.
“Just as well you’re a good customer,” Anton said, his mouth quirking. “Otherwise I’d be offended. But fine, I’ll send coffees in.” He turned to Aubrey. “Ms. Carter, how do you like yours?” She told him and he left, shooting one last troubled look at Damon.
A few seconds later, the door opened again, and Callum came in, followed by a male waiter carrying an extra chair. He slid it into position at the table and departed before Callum had crossed the room.
I studied Callum as he took his seat, trying to judge his mood. He didn’t look annoyed. Which hopefully meant he’d been at a business dinner, rather than on a date. The night we’d met he’d told me his family had interests in art and Pinky had confirmed that his family did indeed, have human-run businesses. Or tanai-run, more likely.
His clothes didn’t offer any clues. A very sharp, dark-blue blazer over dark jeans and a white shirt. Which would work for a date or a casual business dinner. He looked, as he often did when he was outside the realm, as though he’d just stepped off the pages of a male fashion magazine. Aubrey, who’d looked impressed with him in the realm, blinked as he removed the blazer, hanging it over the chair before he sat, a faint blush staining her cheeks. Hopefully, she knew better than to get entangled with a Fae, but that wasn’t my main concern right now.
“Good evening,” Callum said, nodding a greeting.
“Hey,” I said. “I hope we haven’t interrupted your evening.”
He waved dismissively and started to say, “No, it is no prob—” He broke off when the door opened again and Ana carried over a tray of coffees, including, I noted, tea for Callum. She must have caught him as he came in.
None of us spoke as she dealt with the drinks.
“Thank you,” I said with a smile when she stepped back with her now-empty tray.
“Anything else?” she asked.
Damon smiled in thanks. “No, this is perfect.”
She looked more dazzled by his smile than mine, but left us alone. Anton’s staff were all flawless at their jobs. Friendly, efficient, and able to read a room.
Callum reached for his tea. “And what have you summoned me for?”
Damon leaned in. “I just had a message from Mitch that one of our teams in Europe has a line on Jack. In Slovenia.”
Callum frowned. “That’s a long way away. Even with your modern transport. Are you going after him?”
Even by suborbital, California to London was six hours at least. Frankfurt or Rome would be much the same, though I wasn’t sure of the exact figure. Plus whatever it would take for the second part of the journey.
Damon shrugged, but the movement came off more tense than casual. “I’d like to, but as you said, time is of the essence.”
“And you need to tell me this, why?” Callum asked, his frown deepening.
“Cerridwen has expressed interest in finding Jack in the past,” I reminded him.
Callum’s expression turned vaguely wary. “Yes. Which is only to be expected given what you learned of him the last time he was here.”
“Aubrey thought you might help us use the ways,” Damon said.
Callum’s eyes sparked more gold as he turned his attention to Aubrey. “You know about the ways?”
“Yes,” she said, “from your far kin.”
He arched a brow. “It is not something we tell many humans about.”
She arched an eyebrow to match his. “I’m a witch, not a human, and I’m one of the Cestis. Sometimes the Elders who use the English doors have assisted us to move quickly when there has been need.”
That had him looking startled again. “You’ve traveled by the ways?”
“Once,” she said, “when we were dealing with someone who’d kidnapped a tanai fol. I was surprised to hear that Maggie hadn’t heard about them.”
Callum shrugged. “From what I understand, they are not often used here. There are not so many doors and the lesser ones are in locations not very useful for picking up a trail.”
Meaning doors in the middle of nowhere. The other doors in the States were mostly in places like national parks.
Aubrey stirred sugar into her coffee. “But theoretically, though, could you go from here to London, or—Damon, you said Slovenia, yes?”
Damon nodded.
“Then Ljubljana presumably,” Aubrey continued. “I assume there’s a door there somewhere.”
Callum’s expression turned distant a moment as though he was trying to remember. “I believe so, yes. And theoretically, it’s possible, but it’s not as simple as that. For such a distance, you would have to move through multiple territories.”
“Is that a problem?” I asked.
That earned me a fluid Fae shrug. “Crossing over into a territory that doesn’t belong to family, or allies, is not always simple.”
“I thought you could change the realm to your will,” Damon said.
Callum shrugged. “When we move our own territories, yes. It is considered impolite, at best, to do it in someone else’s without permission. Not to mention it takes a lot more power to countermand the magic of whoever rules the territory. That can slow down the travel somewhat.”
“You mean it would take as long as out here?” I looked at Damon, “You might as well just get on the suborbital, if that’s the case.”
Callum’s head shook slowly. “No, not so long as that. We could still make it faster, maybe get there in five or six hours of your time, but it wouldn’t necessarily be without risk. You’d be safe enough in Cerridwen’s territory, and she has other allies along the way, but we can’t get to the door we need without crossing some territories that are neutral at best and others that might be actively against us.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” I said. “If Cerridwen can manipulate her territory, can’t she just move it to be closer to the London door, and we could stay in her territory the entire time?”
“I am afraid it doesn’t work that way. Or life in the realm would be infinitely simpler. Territories are important to the Fae. They guard them closely. The door that your territory is closest to is the one that you have most influence over. Cerridwen came back here because she believes so strongly in the need for the door here to be anchored and for there to be guardians here against the demons. If she were to pull her territory away from this door, then—”
“She loses her influence here?” I said.
He nodded.
Well, damn. “Then people like Lord Padran might get to have their way and make life difficult,” I continued. “You think they’d take the door away again?” Cerridwen was determined to keep the Berkeley door open. She wouldn’t risk that.
“Perhaps not, but it’s not something the Lady would be willing to chance. After all, it took ten or more of your years for there to be an agreement to put the door back. Even though that may not be a long time for us, she’s not going to let all that work fail just to move you a little more swiftly.” He looked at Damon and hitched his shoulders apologetically, “I’m sorry, but she would not see it as a justifiable risk in this case.”
Part of me was relieved to hear that it was not actually a viable option, but Damon, instead of dropping the idea, was still looking thoughtful.
“And if we were willing to take the risk?” he asked.
Callum looked at him, “Are you asking for another favor?”
Aubrey made a startled noise.
Damn. She didn’t miss much. And she’d just learned Damon owed Callum something.
“Well, I assume I would need someone to escort me and whoever came with me,” Damon said before Aubrey had a chance to interrupt, “I’m not foolish enough to think I can do it on my own.”
“No,” Callum said, “that would be a near certain way to get lost in the depths of the realm. You need a Fae just to travel safely, let alone access the ways.”
“Someone who knows his way around multiple territories,” Damon said. “Which sounds like the kind of knowledge someone who hunts those of the dark must have.”
Callum acknowledged this with a displeased twist of his mouth.
“So you could do it?” Damon pressed.
“Could and will are two different things,” Callum said. “Neither the Lady Cestis nor your Maggie would thank me for putting you in danger.”
Damon sat back, considering. Callum sipped tea, watching Damon, his expression carefully neutral.
“Thank you,” I said to him mentally. “Try to make him see it’s a bad idea.”
Callum ignored me, focused on Damon.
“How does it even work,” I asked. “If the realm can move around, how do you even work out what territories you’d need to go through?”
Callum focused back on me. “Well, for one thing, the territories themselves don’t move that often. It does happen, of course, and there are a few clans that are more…nomadic, you might call it…but the more powerful ones tend to eventually settle near a door that they favor. But in answer to your question, there are boundary stones that link the points between different territories. They…make parts of the realm touch temporarily, so that you can move from one to another. So, using the boundary stones it’s not so complicated. If the right protocols are followed.”
Or perhaps if you had the knowledge of how to get around those protocols? I couldn’t see Callum stopping to ask for permission when he was chasing a target.
“Our maps show boundary stones, not necessarily the landscape,” Callum continued. “Though we know roughly what to expect in the more stable territories.” He grimaced. “However there are those who like to keep their domains more private. Like Lord Usuriel. He and his Nichtkin don’t welcome outsiders often.”
Nichtkin. Right. One of the bits of information that we’d found on Usuriel was that he was also known as Lord of the Nichtkin. Reading between the lines of the spidery handwritten note from a century ago, it seemed to confirm him as one of the darker Fae, though exactly what his Nichtkin were like wasn’t something whoever had written the notes had cared to divulge. Nor had I had a chance to ask Callum what he knew. That could wait until we returned.
“It sounds like that would make life interesting,” Damon said.
“It is not always so. Usually we have time to familiarize ourselves with the safest ways. And long lives to learn many of them.”
“So, you could get me to Slovenia faster than the suborbital? My team in Europe is already on the way,” Damon said.
Callum leaned back in his chair. “Why not let them just do this? Presumably, you have sent people with the correct skills to apprehend a man with possible connections to demonkind.”
Aubrey made a thoughtful hum, as though she hadn’t thought about that aspect of going after Jack.
“We have suitable resources, yes,” Damon said.
“Then it would seem more sensible for you to stick to your human transport and meet them there,” Callum said, his voice suggesting that he was being polite in not saying “don’t be an idiot.”
Damon’s answer was a scowl. He leaned forward, stabbing a finger at Callum. “Jack kidnapped me. Who knows what he was planning to do to me. He burned Maggie’s house down. I want to catch him myself. That way I’ll—”
He cut himself off, but I realized what he’d been about to say. That way he’d be certain Jack was no longer a threat. Fuck. If he’d decided the only way to keep me and the other people he loved safe was seeing to Jack’s capture himself, then there would be no convincing him to let his team handle it.
Callum looked from Damon to me slowly. “A matter of honor, then?”
Damon nodded, his face set.
“Honor worth risking your life for?”
“If Jack Miller goes free long enough, God knows what he’ll do,” Damon growled. “I’d imagine quite a few lives might be lost in the process. I’m not willing to let that happen. You understand promises. My promise to Maggie and my family and my employees is that they will be safe. I will keep them safe. Which includes stopping Jack fucking Miller. So, will you do it? Will you take me through the ways?”
“Say no,” I said to Callum mentally, heart pounding at the thought of Damon actually traveling through the realm.
“This is not your decision,” Callum replied, his gaze not shifting from Damon. “He must make his own choices.”
I controlled my urge to scowl at him, not wanting to give any hints we were talking. But if Callum wouldn’t help, I’d have to convince Damon myself. “He just said it’s dangerous,” I said flatly. “I agree. You should let your team take care of this. You can still meet them, once Jack is in custody, if you need to see for yourself.”
“It’s my decision,” Damon said, his voice as flat as mine.
Fuck. He’d really made up his mind. Master of the universe. Willing to risk his own stupid life.
“Your decisions affect me,” I said, trying not to panic. “You need to think this through. Call Mitch. Ask him what he thinks. You said you would, once you talked with Callum.”
Damon looked like he was going to ignore that suggestion.
“Call him, or I will,” I said, giving Damon my best “I’m not joking” face. “I’m sure Mitch could lock you up in whatever he has that works as a cell if I tell him this is a very bad idea.”
“It’s not that bad—” Callum started.
I turned my glare on him.
“No more talking until Damon speaks to Mitch.”
Callum held up his hands in surrender. “Very well.”
“Well?” I asked Damon.
He didn’t look happy, but he pulled out his datapad again and walked to the far end of the room. I tried to look casual, like I wasn’t trying to hear the conversation.
Callum leaned closer. “I could make it so that you can hear.”
“Not the best idea,” I replied, ignoring the sneaky part of me that really wanted to take him up on the offer.
I watched Damon instead, trying to judge how the conversation was going, hoping Mitch would shut the idea down. They were clearly arguing, though Damon had mastered the art of keeping his voice low on a call. Either that or he had some new tech to muffle the sound. But just when I was starting to relax, his expression turned from unhappy to fierce. “Good,” he said, sharply. I didn’t need to be any sort of lip-reader to understand that. “Then we’re going with Plan B.”
He ended the call and came back to the table.
“What did he say?” I asked.
“He doesn’t love the idea,” Damon said.
“So then don’t do it.”
“He doesn’t love it, but apparently there’s an issue at the sub-port. Everything’s delayed. Seems we wouldn’t be able to leave until early tomorrow.”
By which time his team would have already caught Jack or Jack would, once more, be in the wind.
“So let the team take care of it,” I said, in one last attempt to make him see sense.
But I could see he wasn’t going to.
“No. I need to go.”
I wasn’t going to change his mind. I bit my lip, wanting desperately to tell him “No” but knowing I couldn’t. Our agreement was that he let me do witch things he considered stupidly dangerous, so I had to let him take the risks he judged necessary as well.
Damon looked at Callum. “Will you take me?”
“Take us,” I said tightly. I looked at Aubrey. “He shouldn’t go alone, right?”
“No, that would be foolhardy, at best,” she said.
“And you’ve been there before. So you’d come with us?” I asked “You said Damon should ask the Cestis for help. Your Cestis, I mean.”
Damon nodded. “You did. So, Miss Carter, if I request your assistance to catch a wanted criminal, one who has magic and consorts with demonkind, will you help?”
She hardly had a choice when he put it like that and the way her knuckles whitened as she clasped her hands on the table told me she knew it. “Cassandra is not going to like it if you go,” she said, looking at me.
“Unfortunately, Damon’s not a witch, and I’m not Cestis,” I said, “so I’m not entirely sure she could stop me.”
“She could keep you in the Archives till you saw some sense,” Aubrey said.
“Cassandra is just as keen for Jack to be stopped as I am,” Damon said.
“Still,” I said slowly, “Aubrey is right. We do need to tell Cassandra what we’re planning. We can’t just disappear into the ether.”
I didn’t like the idea of telling her, but I liked the idea of not telling her even less. After all, the Cestis had done a lot for me, and even though, yes, they would agree that catching Jack was important, I wasn’t sure they would think this particular method was worth the risk.
Damon looked back at Callum. “But will you do it?” he asked.
Callum said, “I believe the Lady would want me to, so, yes, I will assist you.”
“For a price?,” Damon asked, eyes steely.
I opened my mouth to say “over my dead body” but Callum had apparently learned his lesson because he shook his head.
“You already owe me a favor,” he said. “This I will do for free.”