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We had ended up agreeing that announcing my presence in the city was the best plan. During the meeting, we talked in circles until I made them call in Judah to join, and the fae had decided his bar would be the best location to announce my presence. He was able to quickly set everything up so we could do it on Tuesday.
The meeting would do two things: force the fae to behave or have to face me and put pressure on Laikynn to show himself.
It also painted a big target on my back for assassination but that was something I was confident in being able to deal with. Berry and I had been dealing with attempts for decades now. No one wanted a former human on the throne. If those in Faerie could not kill me, then they definitely weren’t going to succeed in the human realm.
“Are you sure coming here is fine?” Jason asked, glancing at the wall that hid the entrance.
“I already bargained for you.”
“What does that mean?” Foster asked.
“I had a talk with Judah about your safety. If you are to be hurt in his bar, he will pay the consequences.”
“Judah would never hurt us.” Foster frowned at the wall.
“You have made it this far not realizing he was fae, so I am inclined to agree with you. He won’t. But you do not know what the others will do.”
Human noses are weak. One sniff and they would have known Judah was fae. He smells spicy.
“Agreed. But humans do not go around sniffing others.” I smiled at Berry before ridding the entrance of its glamour and leading my party in. All three demanded to come with me, and I knew I wanted them with me. As time went by, it was becoming impossible to let them out of my sight. They were lucky I still let them work.
After this, that may not be the case. My weak spot was these guys and them showing up while we did this was baring that weakness to every fae.
The bar was packed. Judah did well in spreading the word. There was a small chunk of them who looked twitchy, obviously going through Faerie magic withdrawal. Others were warily watching them and trying to keep their distance. The divide was clear between the two.
Good, maybe the group would be a good example for the others to stay away from the nasty stuff. I was still waiting on the results from Judah, but I’d need a break down of those components soon to determine what exactly we were working with.
That goo couldn’t only be condensed magic. Something would be needed to combine them together. I wasn’t a science person, but even I knew that this new Faerie addiction was our way in. We could somehow use it to find Laikynn.
We found a little corner to hide in.
“Holy shit,” Jason said, eyes wide. I kicked out, hitting his leg to get his attention.
“Do not stare,” I warned.
“They are already staring at us.”
“Because you are human and they knew the moment we walked in. But if you stare, you may look at the wrong fae and cause a challenge. Then I will be forced to handle that challenge because no way in hell would you be able to. Do you want that? Want me fighting for you?”
That worked as Jason flinched and looked away, focusing on Berry instead, who had positioned himself between the room and us.
“No,” Jason said. “Of course not.”
I smiled, trying to soften the blow I gave him. “I know. It will take adjustment, but this is the world you are entering. I will make sure nothing happens to you, but I need your help in keeping you safe.”
“I understand.” Jason tried to smile, but it was tight.
The other two nodded their understanding and we settled into our seats. I exerted some magic to lessen the attention we gained. The weaker fae would look away. Those stronger wouldn’t. I could probably push my magic to force them all to lose attention, but too much magic wasn’t something I wanted to risk in the middle of a fae bar.
Judah was behind the counter talking with his bartenders.
“When are we starting?” Foster asked. He sat next to me, his hand on my knee. I held his hand, fingers interlocked, loving that he was touching me. It helped ease some of the tension. Since sleeping with him on Saturday, it had become impossible to not touch him.
“Soon.” I scanned the crowd, fidgeting with my bracelet. I had hoped this would rope Laikynn in, but my charm wasn’t going off. All I could hope was that he had a snitch here so that he’d be on top of what was going on. It’d make everything so much easier. That’d be too easy though.
“Think he’s here?” Foster leaned over and whispered.
“It’d be nice.”
“A plant then?”
“Someone here has to plan to report to him.”
“You coming out will complicate things,” Foster said.
“It will also simplify things.”
He sighed, hating that I was setting myself up. This meeting acted as an announcement to Laikynn. We had argued and talked in circles about that one fact all day.
A zing of magic traveled through the air. Everyone went silent; all mutterings ended. There was the sound of a glass being put down, but that was it. Judah smoothly hopped up onto the bar, his hands shoved into the front pockets of his black jeans. He put on an air of being relaxed, but there was a tension that stiffened his muscles, saying otherwise.
If anyone dared to do anything, he was ready to eviscerate them. Judah in action as a leading member of the fae community was amazing to watch. His badassery came out, and he wasn’t going to let anyone push him around.
“Shit,” Foster whispered.
I smirked as the reality of who Foster had been ordering all these years really hit home for him. “Exactly. Frankly, I’m surprised Judah has allowed himself to be bossed around.”
“We are the top investigation firm in the city.”
“And you don’t think he is capable of becoming a competitor?” I asked.
That left Foster quiet as he considered it. Judah could have easily become Foster’s competitor. I wasn’t sure if saying competitor was even worth it. Judah’s business would decimate Foster’s. That was why I thought Judah was even scarier. There was a high level of control needed for someone Judah’s caliber to remain only an employee working under a human.
That also left one answer too. Judah could be working toward taking over Foster’s business. That I would expect from a fae. Now, Foster was considering it as he reexamined his employee.
“If all your attention is not on me right now, expect to be leaving here missing an appendage.” Judah’s hard voice was enough to make sure everyone was focused on him and not my small group of humans. “Good. As you can see, our city has a problem. A new drug is circling around our fae community.” He tilted his head toward the group of already affected fae. “If you continue to take that shit, I will personally hunt you down. I and my cohorts have already dealt with a situation that has nearly revealed our world. We already know that the humans cannot deal with us, and in a world full of iron and metals, we are not strong enough to fight back against them. The rule still applies. Put our community at risk of exposure and you will be eradicated. I have already talked with the enforcers. We are tightening the rule while this drug is going around. If a fae is found causing a disturbance during these times, it is an instant death. We will not relent on this. This new rule will be in effect until we resolve it.”
Judah paused and let the fae have a moment to take in the new information. Mutterings rose until Judah cleared his throat and everyone went quiet.
“I hear your grievances. I do not care. A rogue fae has come over from Faerie. He hopes to destroy this world and all of its peace. It may sound like a good idea for him to succeed, but I can guarantee that if he does so, we will all perish. We will not live through it. We have been bred in the human realm. We only know the magic of this world. If Faerie magic makes it into our world, it will kill us.” Judah waved his hands toward those already addicted. “If you need a reminder, look to them. What will happen to us will make that look like nothing. Those of us who are older know exactly what I am talking about.”
“You talk of the Blood Wars?” an older man said, standing near the front of the room.
“I do. Three hundred years ago, a large amount of fae came over from Faerie. They were powerful, full of Faerie magic. They were hunted for that. You saw what their magic did to fae who had never tasted that kind of magic before. They did not last twenty-four hours. That was only a taste of the magic too. The rogue fae wishes to tear the walls down and flood our world with all that magic. It’s too potent, and it will kill us.”
More mutterings went around.
“What is he talking about?” Foster whispered.
“I only read about it,” I replied. “There was a powerful family that had been exiled to this world after committing treason. The fae here went after them for the magic that they held. I don’t know much about it. Only that if fae born here tried to utilize that new magic, it killed them. Think about all those mutterings about self-combustion. That was why those rumors began spreading among the humans. Because of fae falling victim to that magic.”
“Shit,” Jason muttered.
I agreed with him.
“I would like to introduce all of you to someone. Joslyn, if you will.” He motioned to me.
I painted on my queen-like smile and stood up. I did my best, putting on a show for all the fae to see. I practically floated to the bar, and then instead of jumping up like Judah did, I did a little trick that made it look like I blinked up there. I was walking to the bar, still far enough away, and then I was standing by Judah’s side the next breath.
Fae gasped as I dropped some of my glamour to show them who I really was. I knew what they saw, the golden swirls on my translucent skin, my pointed ears, smaller nose, rounder eyes, the long length of my hair.
“I am Queen Joslyn Naevana. I have come to find the rogue fae who has caused unrest with my people and has now decided to do the same here. If you know anything about Laikynn, I suggest you come forward. If you are found to be colluding with him in any way, you will forfeit your life. No mercy will be shown. Do not mistake what he is doing as anything but an attack on our kind.”
“Our kind?” Someone snorted. “Aye, we know who ya are. The human queen. Faerie must have gone retarded for putting you on the throne.”
The man was short and stocky, belly protruding out. Rolls of fat gathered around his neck and arms, his shirt stained with sweat. I didn’t know how much was glamour and how much of it was himself, and didn’t want to waste effort in finding out. He was still distasteful.
I would volunteer to bite him but he smells as bad as he looks. If one smells bad and looks bad, then he will taste bad too, correct? Berry jumped up onto the bar, gathering attention. Those closest to the bar stumbled away, taking in the way Berry’s fur stood up. He was doing his wolfish smile, displaying all his pretty teeth for everyone to admire. It dared them to get closer to get a better look, making it easier for him to bite them. Oddly enough, people had fallen for it in the past. Hands were apparently a delicacy that Berry’s kind enjoyed.
“Would you like to challenge me?” I asked in an overly sweet tone. “Should I show you what happens when all that useless magic inside of you is stripped away and you are left as nothing but a pathetic sniveling shell of a fae? I don’t mind.”
The fae muttered as he backed off.
“If you know anything at all about the man who has created the weak spots around the city or supplying the drugs to the fae, speak. Otherwise, stay the fuck out of my way and stay clean. If there is a disturbance again by the fae, then they and their loved ones will not live.”
Knowing I needed to make a show, I touched my charm bracelet, activating one of my storage units. A whirlwind of magic exploded out of me and slammed into everyone in the room. Cries echoed around as they fell to their knees. The only people safe in the room were the humans. They looked around mystified by what was going on. Even Judah was on his knees, though he was one of the few not fighting it. The more they fought against my compulsion, the more it pained them. I gently touched the top of his head briefly to show that I respected him.
“I am only expecting you to kneel once,” I said, my voice sounding like it was coming from all directions. “But it does not mean you are not expected to show me respect. I am the Faerie Queen. I have been chosen as our leader and I will act as so. I will not tolerate disrespect.” I released the magic. “You may rise.”
No one moved, their instincts telling them to stay put.
“Well, look at that. You can be taught.”
I motioned for my humans to join me and then jumped down. They were at my side by the time I made it to the door. Only when I was going through it did the mutterings pick up.
The moment I stepped out into the alley, my bracelet went off. A current of magic shot through my arm and I grunted.
What is it? Berry asked, pressing against my leg.
“Josie?” Jason was at my side, holding on to my arm as it spasmed. The others tried to surround me, but I pushed away from them and took off, the magic running through my veins, whispering its directions into my limbs.
The others called out, but all of me was too focused on narrowing in on Laikynn. He was close, so close. Was he at the bar? Did the bar’s protection magic block me from sensing him? The distance between us narrowed as I used magic to increase my speed, desperate to get him.
So close.
You sense him? Berry was at my side. He was always at my side so I shouldn’t have been surprised he’d be there with me now too.
“Yes,” I managed to force out, the compulsion of hunting him down too strong. The tracking spell was made a little too strongly.
I was going to get him. Finally.
