Witchling

I glanced outside. Dawn was breaking in the east, and I could see the glimmer of sunlight on the horizon. Though clouds were coming in, we wouldn't see rain for a few hours. "First light! Menolly, you have to get downstairs. Go, and make sure you barricade the doorway."



She stroked my face. "I wish I could help you today, but I can't. Be careful, all of you. I'll see you tonight."



As she disappeared into the kitchen, Delilah sat next to me as I clutched Trillian's hand. I might be making a huge mistake by getting involved with him again, but damned if I'd give him up to his ancestors without a fight.



"I called Iris," she said. "She'll watch the house and Maggie while we're gone today. The shop can stay closed for once."



I nodded, unable to speak. Morio slid down on my other side and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Wearily, I leaned my head against his chest. As we sat there, watching Trillian's breath grow frail, the sound of sirens echoed in the distance. Help was on the way, but would they be too late to save him?



Chase came rushing in, an OIA emergency team behind him in a scene that was beginning to look all too familiar.



I forced myself to move so they could examine Trillian. One of the medics, a youngish elf whom I recognized as being Sharah, a niece in the elfin high court, patted me on the arm. If she felt any distaste over treating a Svartan, she kept it well hidden.



Morio and I told them what happened. One of the medics looked over the skinwalker, while the others concentrated on Trillian. I stood back, watching with a muted sense of horror as they stripped off his robes and jabbed his arm with a syringe full of a shimmering blue liquid. The elixir would keep his heart going while his body fought against the neurotoxin.



As I glanced over at Chase, I saw that his arm was around Delilah's waist. Neither one noticed me looking at them, and I suddenly felt very much alone. If only Menolly could have stayed up longer. Just then, Morio edged in next to me, and I reached for his hand as we watched the frantic scurry to save Trillian's life.



Finally, one of the techs sat back and wiped his forehead with a cloth. "He's stable enough to transport, but we have to get him back to OW immediately. If we don't, his condition will deteriorate, and he'll die. He received a lethal dose of the skinwalker's poison. If he wasn't so strong, he'd already be dead." The medic glanced at the rest of us. "Did anybody else get cut? Even a minor scratch?"



Morio shook his head. "I got bruised up, but no cuts. Not that I know of. Camille? Delilah? You were both attacked. Are you all right?"



Dazed, I glanced down at my body. My neck was tender, but I had no idea whether I'd received any gashes from the skinwalker.



"I don't know," I said.



"Come on." Delilah broke away from Chase and held out her hand. "Let's go in the other room and we can check each other for cuts."



I gave one more look at Trillian, whose eyes were closed in deep slumber, before letting her lead me away.



In the bathroom we stripped and looked each other over carefully. A few scratches on my shoulder, but those were from Delilah in kitten form and were almost healed. No new gashes, cuts, or anything that looked like an abrasion. I slid back into my nightgown, which was now shredded, and slumped on the edge of the tub as Delilah pulled on her pajamas.



She sat down next to me and took my hand. "They'll save him. He'll be okay once he gets back to Otherworld."



"If they treat him right when he gets there. Svartans aren't looked on highly, you know." I stared at the floor bleakly.



"The healers don't all answer to Court and Crown," she argued. "He'll be okay, Camille. He's tough. And he's in love with you. Why else would he come back? Svartans never go back to their lovers, but he came back to you."



I shook my head. "No, I'm not going to convince myself of something that might not be true. Especially when his life hangs in the balance. I can't let myself believe that he loves me. If he lives, then we'll figure this out." But in the silence of my heart, I begged the gods to let him live. Even if I never saw him again, I didn't want him to die.



Delilah pulled me to my feet. "Come on. We'd better get back out there so you can… so you can say goodbye to him before they take him away."



As we headed back into the living room, I wondered if it would be the last time I'd ever see Trillian alive.



Once the medics had attended to our bruises they took Trillian and the skinwalker with them. Sirens screaming, they headed for the Wayfarer. They'd have to take him through the most accessible portal, and while Grandmother Coyote could lead them to her portal in the woods, the trip through the undergrowth might be enough to kill Trillian before they got there.



When the medics had gone, Delilah and I went upstairs to change. We left Chase and Morio to clean up. As I brushed my hair, I glanced over at Delilah, who had swapped her PJs for jeans and a sweatshirt. I dressed in a cotton gauze walking skirt, a cami top, and then a gossamer-weave jacket over everything. As I buckled my ankle boots, I looked up to find Delilah smiling gently.



"What is it?" I asked. Her smile had startled me, reminding me so much of Mother's. And right now I wanted nothing more than to run home, to leave Earth and the demons behind, and cuddle in the bosom of my family. But Mother was dead, and we were duty bound to protect both this world and our own.



"I was just thinking how pretty you are. You know, you remind me of Aunt Rythwar."



Aunt Rythwar was one of the Court and Crown beauties. She was more securely placed than Father, having married up in caste, but she was also unpredictable, and I'd heard that she'd killed more than one lover who displeased her. No proof, however, meant no charges. And even if they'd had proof, she might have been excused if the Queen thought she was justified. Her current husband was well-behaved and never raised his voice in complaint.



"I haven't seen her in ages. Thank you, by the way. I consider that a compliment. So tell me, how do you think you'll handle Chase now?"



Delilah shook her head. "What's to handle? We had sex. We may have sex again. We may not. I don't think it gets much simpler than that."



I shook my head. Bone-weary to the core, I dreaded the rest of the day. "Don't be so certain. One thing I've learned the past few days is never to say never. Especially when it comes to friends and lovers."



Grabbing my purse, I headed for the stairs. Delilah followed, backpack in hand. When we reached the living room, the mess had been cleaned up and the furniture was back in place. I smelled something good coming from the kitchen, and we peeked around the corner. Chase was frying up scrambled eggs and bacon, while Morio was feeding Maggie. Touched by the gentle way in which he patted her as she lapped up her cream, I knelt beside him and gave him a quick kiss, which he returned without hesitation.



"For everything, thank you." I said. "Without you we would have died."



Morio held my gaze. I couldn't read what was behind those ancient eyes, but he winked at me. "My pleasure to be of service. Anything you need me to do… anything… just ask."



Chase held out his arm to Delilah, but she just wrinkled her nose and blew him a kiss. "Food, man. Give us food. That smells wonderful, and I'm starved."



Looking mildly confused, he turned back to the range. "Not a problem. I figured we might as well get an early start, especially after what just happened."



Delilah and I set the table.



After we ate, Chase pushed back his plate. "I received notification from the OIA headquarters today. They've officially acknowledged that three demons broke through the portals. They do not, however, acknowledge that Shadow Wing sent them."



I slammed my fork down. "Fools. They'd better get off their asses and smell the brimstone. So what do they recommend we do about this situation?"



"They want you three to track down the other demons and terminate them. However, they specifically told me that they have no official resources to offer you at this point. And that's all they said."



Chase offered me another slice of toast. I shook my head, and he handed it to Morio.



"Did they say anything about Tom Lane and the spirit seals?" I asked. "Do you know if they heard anything about what the Corpse Talker said?"



"They didn't mention it, so I'm betting the answer is no."



"So… our assignment calls for us to wipe out the demons that aren't supposed to get through the portals in the first place?" My bet was that until we had the spirit seal in hand and rubbed their noses in it, HQ would chalk the whole thing up as a fluke. But Father had dealt with Bad Ass Luke before. And Father already suspected something was drastically wrong.



Chase shrugged. "Sounds like it. They made it abundantly clear that going through the official channels won't do us any good."



"Right," I said, staring at my plate.



Delilah carried our plates to the counter. "So, did you find out anything more about Tom Lane and where he lives? We were at a dry well when I left last night." She flushed, a smile creeping to her lips.



Chase ran his gaze over her in the way he had been running it over me, but with less "letch" and more "like." "Yeah, actually I did. I slept for a couple hours, then woke up early and hunted through some old databases. There's a Tom Lane that lives just outside the national park. His house is located a half mile from Goat Creek, although from what I can ascertain, it's more of a shack than a house. He doesn't seem to have a regular job, but he's not on any of the welfare rolls or food stamp programs. That's about all I know."



"At least it gives us something to go on," I said.



Chase pointed at the calendar. "We're deep into October, and by now, a good share of Rainier's roads are closed. We'd play hell trying to get through the park, so I'm hoping we find Lane where we need him to be."



A knock at the door told us Iris had arrived. She radiated concern and compassion, and just being in her presence made me feel better. Through those brilliant blue eyes, she'd seen a lifetime of misery, war, and famine, yet she still maintained her love of humans, for all their foibles.



Chase had arrived in a big old SUV so that we could travel together. While he and Delilah loaded it with supplies and—I assumed—discussed their tryst together, Morio and I showed Iris how to feed Maggie and keep an eye on the house. Despite her stature, Iris was more than capable of bringing down an assailant, and since she was of Faerie blood, she was adept in defense magic at a startling level of skill. As we finished up, I took one last look around the house, hoping that it would still be in one piece when we returned—and Menolly still as alive as she'd ever be.



Jocko's diary was still on the table. With all the excitement over the skinwalker, I'd forgotten all about it. I jammed it in my tote bag before heading out the door. We clambered into the SUV. Chase and Morio sat up front and Delilah and I behind them, as we set out on our quest to find Tom Lane.



* * *



CHAPTER 12



Along the way, we told Chase about our mysterious visitor and the notebook we'd found in his jacket pocket. He pulled to the side of the road when I flipped the notebook open to the picture and handed it up to the front seat.



"Shit, is that a dragon?" He looked ready to jump out of the car and, in the infamous words of the Monty Python clan, "Runaway!"



"Chase, your powers of observation astound me." I shook my head. "Of course it's a dragon. What did you think it might be? A gecko?"



Chase flashed me a scathing look. "I've changed my mind. I like your sister better than you. She's not so abrasive."



"She slept with you," I said, snorting. "Of course you like her better."



"Hey, I have ears, you two!" Delilah said, blushing. I realized that her nonchalance over Chase might just be a put-on. She had that smitten look in her eye, and so I flashed her a smile to let her know I'd been kidding.



"The dude beside the dragon's a big muthah," Chase said. "Faerie?"



I shrugged. "Hard to tell. Doesn't look like it, but that doesn't mean I'm right. Or, he could be just human."



"Okay then," he said, handing the picture back to me and starting up the car again. "Say, what happens if we come face-to-face with the big lizard? How do you subdue one, anyway?"



I groaned. None of us were ready to take on something of that size. "You don't, unless you happen to be a powerful wizard or witch. And I'm not nearly strong enough, even if my powers weren't subject to short-circuiting. If a dragon attacks, your only hope is to either beg for mercy, outrun it, hide until it gets bored—which may be weeks—or kill it."



Morio cleared his throat. "Killing a dragon is bad luck. Its kin will know who did it, and they will hunt you down for the rest of their lives. The only way to stay in one piece after you've slain a dragon is to vanish. Change your name, go undercover, and hope that you're lucky."



I leaned forward, peering around the headrest to look at him. "That's true, especially with Eastern dragons. They're a different breed than Western ones. Some of them aren't as bad-tempered, but they're all arrogant." Turning to Chase, I added, "Remember this: do not tromp on a dragon's ego. Bite your tongue, let them insult you, whatever they want. Just don't challenge them, because that's the quickest way to become a crispy critter."



He glanced at me in the mirror, then at Morio, who nodded. "Point taken. I won't forget it. Tell me, do you think the dragon's mixed up with the demons?"



"No," I said, settling back in my seat. "I doubt it. Dragons eat lesser and minor demons for lunch. If we could cajole one onto our side, we'd have no problem until we ran up against Shadow Wing, but I'm afraid we don't have much to offer. Dragons are mercenary creatures. You have to make it worth their while to help you."