Chapter 1
Home.
There it was—waiting for us. Home, with smoke
drifting from the chimney and an array of multicolored sparkling
lights surrounding the porch. From the driveway, the three-story
Victorian shimmered like a beacon, both on the physical and on the
astral. Flares of energy shot up like sunspots. I leaned back in
the car, smiling. Home. Our haven against
the demons.
A dragon built from snow guarded the lawn and
driveway, rising stark and white out of the banks piled high around
the yard. My herb garden hid under the creature, nestled under
mulch until spring. Winter had claimed the land, full force, and we
were getting hit hard. La Niña held sway, and we were all her toys.
At least it wasn’t Loki this time. The Norse giant had brought
unnatural amounts of ice and snow with him a year ago, until we’d
dispatched his servant, a vampire named Dredge.
But as cold as it was, this was nothing compared
to the Northlands, from where I’d just returned. There, in the high
reaches near the top of the world, the winds had raged starkly
through the winter woodland, shaking the timbers and sending
avalanches down the mountainsides.
Up in the Northlands, life was harsh and often
short, and fire became a lifeline. The Northmen were as stoic as
they sounded, and they partied hearty—there might not be another
day to live, facing the dangers they faced.
As Smoky, Iris, Rozurial, and I had struggled
through the woods, ranging higher and higher toward the lair of
Howl, the Elemental Wolf Lord of the snow, more than once I thought
sure we’d end up as Popsicles, frozen to the rocks.
But the trip had been worth it. Iris had come to
terms with her past and forged a future for herself. She stood
clear and free, able to marry the man she loved. But she’d been
through hell, and now she, like me, faced a path that promised to
swallow her up, to force her into a position she wasn’t sure she
was ready to shoulder. And to mark the changes, she was now
sporting spiffy—well, beautiful—indigo tattoos that spiraled their
way across her forehead, down her cheeks, and across her back. Her
goddess had marked her, and marked her in the most ornate manner.
The gods seemed to like to brand us with divine ink.
The car slowed to a stop and Delilah turned off
the engine. The weariness of the past few months welled up in my
throat as I pushed open the door. So much had happened, and yet so
much still lay before us. We were barely a week from midwinter, and
I was facing initiation into Aeval’s Court, where I would willingly
hand myself over to the Dark Queen to learn her magic and the ways
of a priestess.
As I let out a long breath and climbed out of
the Jeep, a crisp wind swept through the night and I pulled the
elfin robe tighter around me. I was wearing the cloak of the Black
Beast beneath that, but even with both, they couldn’t fend off the
chill that had lodged itself in my bones and I wondered if I’d ever
manage to shake it off and feel the warmth again.
“You okay?” Delilah wrapped her arm around my
shoulders. She’d picked us up at Grandmother Coyote’s portal and
now all I wanted was a hot bath, a soft bed, and a lot of sleep. As
Smoky hopped out of her Jeep, then helped Iris to the ground, Roz
slowly hoisted himself out the other side.
“You’re a good sister,” I said, leaning against
her arm. “I’m just tired. The journey was harder than I thought it
would be. It was cold—so cold. And there were ice spiders—”
“Yuck.” She wrinkled her nose. “How’d it go? Did
Iris . . .”
I just shook my head. “It’s her place to tell
you about it, but, yes. She’s still with us, and Vikkommin is dead
for good. She survived and broke the curse. But the Northlands are
terrifying. I’d hate to be trapped there. It’s not a vacation home
in the tropics, that’s for sure. I don’t know if I’d have the
strength to face the raw elements without a lot of help. All I know
is that I don’t want to visit again for a long, long time.”
We headed toward the house just as Menolly came
racing out, the beads in her braids clicking in the chill night.
She was carrying my purse.
“Finally! I’ve been waiting at the door for you.
I just got a call from Derrick. We’ve got problems. Turn right
around and head for the cars. Sorry to do this to you, Camille, but
you need to be there.” She motioned toward my Lexus. “Hurry
up.”
“I don’t want to hurry anywhere. What the hell is going on?” My heart sank.
I was tired. I didn’t want to fight goblins or ghosts.
“Demon in the bar, demanding to talk to you.
He’s already mowed down an elf and Derrick’s got him in a standoff.
Iris, you, Roz, and Vanzir stay with Morio and Maggie. Shade and
Trillian are on their way—there they are!”
Shade, Delilah’s new love, and Trillian—my alpha
husband—rushed out of the house and clambered down the steps. Shade
was part dragon, part Stradolan—a shadow walker. Trillian was
Svartan: one of the dark and Charming Fae. They both wore jeans and
heavy jackets, and Trillian was carrying a serrated-edged sword
with which he’d recently taken up training.
“Demon? Asking for me?
How delightful. Not.” I didn’t bother
asking if they knew why he wanted me. I’d find out soon enough, and
probably—knowing my luck—I’d find out the hard way.
Menolly whipped around, barking out orders.
“Delilah—you and Shade take your Jeep.” She tossed me my purse and
keys. “Camille, here you go. You drive Smoky and Trillian. I’ll go
in alone.”
And once again, we moved to our respective cars,
off and running. There was no more downtime, anymore. Everything
had taken on an immediacy. With that thought, I put the Lexus in
gear and—as Smoky and Trillian jumped in—hit the gas and plowed out
of the driveway.
Holiday shoppers abounded and I groaned, looking
for a parking space as people rushed by with bags and boxes, shiny
paper and bows glimmering under the streetlamps. The Wayfarer Bar
& Grill wasn’t exactly located in an area that promised
shopping Nirvana, but there were plenty of small boutiques ready to
cater to the odd and unusual. Like Hot ’n Bothered, the sex shop
that had gone in next door. On one hand, it had proved to be a
bonanza of new clients for Menolly. On the other, a lot of seedy
guys came in, trolling for “dates.”
We pulled into a parking place that miraculously
opened up in front of the Wayfarer. With a quick nod to the parking
goddess, I forced myself out of the driver’s seat. Holiday season?
Open parking spot on one of Seattle’s city streets? Insanely hard
to find at best. But I seemed to have a knack for locating them,
and I embraced my luck. Hell, considering the rest of my track
record when it came to serendipity, I considered the smallest good
fortune cause for celebration.
As Trillian opened the door for me, I paused to
give him a long kiss. “I missed you,” I whispered, getting some
tongue action in while I could. He felt warm in my arms, and
smelled of apples and cinnamon. “I missed you a lot.”
“Tonight, we’ll see about wiping away those
longings.” He brushed my hair back from my face. “I never spend an
hour without thinking about you.”
Smoky grunted. “There’s time enough for that
later. Come. We have a situation to take care of. And Trillian, I
assure you, I took pains to make sure our wife didn’t miss you
or the fox too terribly.” He arched his
eyebrows in a knowing way, and two tendrils of his hair rose to
wrap themselves around my shoulders, tickling me as Trillian
glowered.
I bit back a retort. My three husbands were
constantly zinging each other, each one striving for the top place
in my heart, but I knew that beneath all the bluster and insults,
they’d developed a healthy respect for one another. None of them
would ever admit it, but I suspected they even liked each other—at
least a little. On more than one occasion I’d caught Smoky and
Trillian playing chess, or Morio helping Smoky carry in firewood
without being asked.
From the outside, the bar looked normal, but I
could hear the commotion from the inside. We trailed behind Menolly
as she slammed her way through the doors. She owned the Wayfarer
Bar & Grill, and it was a hangout for Supes from all
backgrounds, as well as the first stop on the journey for a number
of Otherworld visitors. And now, the Wayfarer also sported seven
rooms, a makeshift bed and breakfast.
It had proved extremely popular and was full up
almost every night. Menolly had hired a maid just to keep up with
the cleaning, and a second cook for the grill.
As we hit the polished wood floors, I skidded to
a halt, catching my breath. The bar patrons were crowded against
the back wall, huddled together, looking terrified. Some were
trying to edge toward a side exit, but for the most part, they
clung together in a little clump, afraid to move. I turned to see
what was holding them hostage.
At the front of the bar, a demon watched them,
his head bobbing back and forth like a cobra in front of a snake
charmer. There was no passing for any generic Supe with this
creature. He looked like the full-fledged demon of nightmares—with
smoky skin, and coiled horns rising high over his head. His skin,
leathery and taut, shimmered across muscle hard enough to beat a
sledgehammer against. He towered seven feet high on cloven hooves,
and his hands bore long, razor-sharp nails.
And he was standing over one very dead
body.
“Sure enough, that’s a demon all right . . . I
think.” For some reason, he didn’t seem to have quite the same
energy as most of the demons I’d met, but they weren’t all alike, I
reminded myself. And besides . . . if it looks like a demon, and it
fights like a demon . . . then it’s probably not a duck.
Derrick, the werebadger bartender, had wedged
himself between the patrons and the demon, a sawed-off shotgun
aimed at the creature. I bit my tongue. That gun had a better
chance of tickling the hell spawn than it did of hurting him.
Menolly gazed at the body on the floor and let
out a low whistle. “Yeah, that’s one dead elf, all right.”
I nodded. “And one freaky-assed demon.”
We were too late to help the elf, but with a
little luck, we might be able to prevent wholesale carnage. We
spread out, motioning for Derrick to move to one side. He waited
for Menolly’s okay, then nodded and stepped out of the way. As I
turned toward the creature, I wondered just what kind it was. There
were as many types of demons as there were spiders, it seemed.
Unfortunately, we’d become familiar enough with some to name them
on sight, but this one . . . I was clueless as to what we were
dealing with.
Vanzir could have told us what we were facing,
but I really didn’t feel comfortable having him and Smoky in the
same room just yet. Smoky still didn’t know what had happened
between us, and I intended to keep it that way, at least until I
could ensure he wouldn’t go wholesale whomp-ass on Vanzir.
Menolly snarled. “What the fuck are you doing in
my bar? Get your ass back to the Sub-Realms, and tell Shadow Wing
we said hello.” She strode forward, but the demon raised his head
and his gaze caught her full on. She let out a squeak and dropped
to the floor.
I rushed over to help her, but before I could
get there, she scrambled back up and shook her head, looking
stunned. “What the hell . . .”
Damn, this was not the time for Morio to be laid
up. Our death magic was far more powerful than my Moon magic, and
we might be able to corral the demon with a spell. But he still had
a long ways to go before he was healed up and would be out of
commission for at least three or four more weeks. The hungry ghosts
from our last skirmish had siphoned a dangerous amount of life
force off him and left him bedridden for now.
“Stand your ground.” The creature spoke. “I
bring you a message from Trytian.”
Trytian? Holy crap, this
thing wasn’t a demon—it was a daemon! No
wonder we hadn’t been able to tell what it was. Daemons and demons
tended to be enemies, and the daemons were not thrilled with Shadow
Wing moving in on their territory. They had formed an underground
resistance movement, along with some of the unhappier demons, and
were working against Shadow Wing the way we were, both down in the
Subterranean Realms and here, Earthside.
Well, they weren’t exactly following our model. Not so much. We tried
to avoid collateral damage. They didn’t give a fuck.
“What does he want?” I didn’t trust Trytian. Not
only was he a daemon, but he’d tried to blow us up when we were
fighting Stacia Bonecrusher, a lamia/demon general/necromancer
Shadow Wing had sent to destroy us. She’d turned rogue, but that
hadn’t meant she’d played things our way. Trytian had joined forces
with her till we squashed her flat. Now he and his forces weren’t
exactly on the best of speaking terms with us, but we’d reached a
rudimentary truce.
“You are the one named Camille?”
I nodded.
“I speak with you. Alone.”
Alone? No way in freaking hell was I cozying up
with this creature alone.
“Um. Can I just say, no
and are you out of your mind? Trytian has
to know better than that. Whatever you have to say, you can say it
in front of the others.”
I backed up, motioning for Delilah to get out of
the way. If he could knock a vampire off her feet with just a look,
I didn’t want to see what he could do against someone who was still
alive.
“You wish me to speak freely in front of all of
these patrons? You really want them to know about Shadow—”
“Stop!” I glanced back at Menolly, and she read
my expression.
We couldn’t let him talk about Shadow Wing. No
one in the general public knew that Earth was on the verge of a
demonic war. Yet. And we were inclined to
keep it that way in order to stave off panic. We were slowly
gathering our allies, but no way in hell were we prepared to fight
any sort of a demon army at this point.
“You can’t seriously be thinking about talking
to him in private? He’s already killed one person.” Menolly pointed
toward the dead elf. “Just what are we going to tell Queen Asteria?
Oh, she’ll believe us, but do you think she’s going to be
thrilled?”
“You have a point.” The Elfin Queen loved her
people. In fact, she’d always been fair and just, if not totally
aboveboard, with us, too. “But Menolly, I have to do what he
wants.” I lowered my voice so nobody but the nearest Supes could
hear me. “Can you imagine the chaos if any one of those Faerie
Maids over there huddled against the wall finds out there’s a
full-fledged daemon in the house? Demon, daemon, devil, they’re not
going to care. It’s just going to mean panic. Right now, they still
think this is some kind of Supe with a bad case of the grumps. We
need to keep it that way.”
Smoky glowered. “My wife is not going to snuggle
up in a room alone with you, beast. I insist that someone else be
present, and I claim the right.”
The daemon looked at him, sniffing. “Dragon.
Silver dragon—and white. A mix. The world
is full of half-breeds tonight, it seems.” He looked at Shade.
“Half dragon, half shadow.” Then, to my sisters and me, “And three
human-Fae girls. Interbreeding weakens the strains, you
know.”
“Irrelevant.” Smoky let out a loud hrmph.
The daemon cocked his head. “Now you, dragon,
you are a lord among your kind, half-breed or not. And I do not
play toad to royalty. There are reasons you will not be present, my
own skin being one of them.” His voice was harsh, like the vocal
cords had been burned long ago, and he kept moving his head in a
sinuous dance, as if he couldn’t keep it still.
“Then my wife will not attend you.”
“Actually, your wife will attend him.” I glanced at Smoky. “I have to—we
can’t discuss these matters in public.”
Turning back to the daemon, I added, “We’ll have our chat alone,
but in a place of my choice.”
It occurred to me that if we went to the safe
room in the basement of the Wayfarer, the daemon wouldn’t be able
to (a) teleport out with me, (b) shoot magic at me, or (c) bathe me
in fire. He could still break me in half, but if he’d wanted to do
that, he already would have.
I pointed toward the floor. “Menolly, we need to
use the room downstairs.”
She frowned, then her eyes lit up. “Oh,
that room. All right. Come, follow me.
Don’t hurt anybody and don’t destroy anything, either of you.
Daemon, I hold you on pain of death that you won’t hurt my
sister.”
“As Trytian would say, big fucking whoop.” The
daemon grunted. Then, with a suspicious look, he followed Menolly,
shaking the floor with each meaty step. I swung in behind. Smoky,
Trillian, and Shade followed, leaving Delilah and the staff to take
care of the dead elf and the frightened patrons.
Just what they were going to tell them, I wasn’t
sure, but I couldn’t wait to hear the story they concocted. As it
was, we were already in for a lot of damage control just from the
daemon’s appearance in the bar. Word would leak out, no matter what
we did, and we didn’t have cool blue flashy-flashy things like the
Men in Black did. We were lacking somewhat
in the mind-control department, and our glamour wouldn’t work on a
daemon.
Downstairs, we came to the safe room. No magic
could enter here, nor any creature teleport in or out. All natural
abilities were muted within the room. If a nuclear blast hit this
bar, the safe room would stand.
I gazed at the door, swallowing my fear. The
thought of being shut up alone with the daemon was daunting. Not so
much fun. Not so safe. But because the alternative was worse, I
gathered my courage and motioned for him to enter the room and,
with a scowl, he ducked his head so that his horns cleared the
archway. As I followed behind him, Menolly touched me on the
arm.
“One peep and we’re coming in. Don’t get near
him. He can’t work his magic, but he could tear you apart.”
“I know. Believe me, I know.” And, reluctantly,
I shut the door and turned to face the daemon, crossing my arms.
The best defense was to show no fear. “Trytian has a message for
me? Deliver it and then scram, hell spawn.” I didn’t bother asking
for his name—chances were he wouldn’t give it to me.
The daemon looked around. “A no-magic zone? Not
stupid—not so stupid as some.” A dark grimace crossed his face. “I
would relish a fight with you, girl. And your friends. But this is
not my battle to wage.”
I decided to let that one pass. No need to press
my luck. Letting out a long sigh, I asked, “What do you want? Why
did you kill the elf upstairs?”
“He got in the way. He had to be eliminated.” He
said it nonchalantly. Dare to interfere with
the daemon? Poof—you die.
“Again, I ask: What do you want?”
“I bear a warning from Trytian.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why would he warn us about
anything? He tried to kill us, for the sake of the gods.” Not only
that, but Trytian was rude. Very
rude.
“I bring only the warning. I have no other
answers for you.”
Hmm . . . I played out the reasoning in my mind.
The only reason Trytian would offer us a warning was if he
anticipated needing our help in the future, which meant we would
have a bargaining chip. Unless he’d suddenly sprouted wings and
become a cute little cherub. I sincerely doubted the latter.
“Okay, I’m listening. What’s so important that
Trytian sent you over here to stir the pot? And why you—why not
someone who can pass out on the streets?”
I leaned against the small bistro table that was
pushed against one wall. The room showed signs of occupation—Erin,
the daughter Menolly had sired into the vampiric life, was staying
down here during the day, sleeping in safety until her room at the
new Vampires Anonymous Shelter was ready. The bed was piled high
with comfy blankets; there were cards and books on the table, and
an empty bottle that had held blood.
“I was the only one available to send at the
moment. Trust me, I do not enjoy playing messenger boy. But Trytian
is my leader and I obey. Here.” He handed me a letter. “You will
understand why I did not want to be in the same room with your
husband when you read it.”
Oh hell. Something to do
with Smoky. I couldn’t imagine the daemon being that afraid of
Trillian, and Morio was at home.
Gingerly, I took the paper and opened it. The
writing was tight, neat, and precisely printed in red ink—at least
I hoped it was ink, considering the color.
As I began to read, I started to sink toward the floor, but one
grunt from the daemon and I straightened back up again. No dropping
my guard, not when we were alone together. No use asking for
trouble.
I glanced up at the creature. “Wait here,
please.” Before he could say a word, I slipped out of the room and
slammed the door, locking it behind me. He could hammer all he
wanted on it, he was locked in there till doomsday if we
wanted.
“What’s going on? Are you all right?” Smoky
leaned over me, looking for signs that the daemon had laid hands on
me.
“I’m fine . . . at least physically. He gave me
a letter from Trytian. If it’s true, then you and I are fucked.
Just plain and simple.”
“Read it.” Shade was staring at me, concern
creasing his face.
I cleared my throat and held up the paper.
Rumors are running rife through
the grapevine, but I assure you, this is no wives’ tale. A white
dragon was recently seen in the halls of the Demon Underground,
hanging out with a snow monkey. He is not welcome here, but no one
dares tell a dragon to leave.
Camille: Scuttlebutt is that
he’ll be marching in your direction soon. He’s made it known that
you and your husband are on his hit list. And frankly, though you
and I disagree on the method, all allies against Shadow Wing are
valuable at this point, and I may need to call on your aid at some
point. So be cautious and don’t get yourself killed.
Trytian
I shuddered, letting out a long breath as the
world crowded in too closely around me. Hyto was in the area.
Hyto had thrown a fit when he found out Smoky
had married me. It had driven the already dangerous dragon over the
edge, and now he had a vendetta going against us.
And now, he was on the rampage. A dragon as
lecherous and deadly as any demon ever could be, he’d tried to kill
Smoky’s mother for denying him. He’d decided I was to blame for his being thrown out of the
Dragon Reaches and turned pariah. And now, Hyto wanted both Smoky
and me dead—worse than dead. Hyto wanted
revenge.
Smoky’s pleasant demeanor drained away and his
eyes began to swirl. Very softly, very slowly, he spoke. “My father
has just signed his death warrant.”
“Crap.” Menolly leaned against the wall. “He’s
here, in Seattle? Not the news we needed right now.”
I fingered the paper. “What’s a snow monkey? Why
would he have an ape with him?”
“Trytian’s not talking about an animal,” Shade
said. “A snow monkey is slang for a monk from one of the upper
monasteries in the Northlands. Usually, snow monkeys are
rogues—having been either kicked out of their order or leaving of
their own accord. They’re most often mad as a hornet, and they
don’t give a damn about anybody but themselves. It’s not hard to
buy one of them off. And if one’s taken up with Smoky’s father,
then he’s bound to have been offered plenty of money. They’re
dangerous.” He gave me a sad smile. “I’d start watching my back if
I were you.”
“Like we haven’t been already.” Sighing, I
leaned against the wall, letting them talk around me.
Mad monks were bad enough, but the thought of
Hyto being so close—the thought of him actually being in the
city—made me want to run screaming home to Otherworld. But I
couldn’t do that, either. My father had exiled me from Y’Elestrial.
Oh, I could go back to OW, but I couldn’t go home again.
Smoky’s father . . . Hyto hated me. He hated my breath, my life, my very
existence. He had nothing to lose. He’d been cast out of the Dragon
Reaches, denied by his wife, disowned by his children. And he
blamed it all on me. The memory of his
hands on me the one time we’d had the misfortune to meet still gave
me the creeps.
My cell phone rang, and I flipped it open.
Caller ID told me it was Chase Johnson. I punched Talk and
answered.
“Camille—I was hoping you were back. I need you
down here. We’ve got a problem in Tangleroot Park, and I am pretty
sure it’s magical in nature. In fact, I almost pissed my pants when
I saw it. There’s some really funky energy running around lately.
I’ve got my guys blocking it off for now, but I’m scared to try
anything before you come have a look-see.”
“It? What are you
talking about? A monster or something?”
“I don’t think so. Honestly? I’ll bet you my
paycheck it’s a portal of some sort. And I can hear singing through
it. The voices call to me, Camille. I hate to say it, but I’m
afraid. I get near and all I want to do is run through it.”
My blood ran cold. Hyto was my big worry right
now, but he wasn’t standing here in front of me. First, if Chase
was right and there was a portal opening up in Tangleroot Park, we
could be in for big trouble of a different sort. Because the random
portals that had started showing themselves around the city were
rogue, and could lead anywhere—and could have anybody on the other
side, waiting to come through. Second, if it was calling loud
enough that Chase could hear it, who else might sense its
presence?
“We’ll get our asses over there right now.
Meanwhile, don’t let anybody touch it or go near it.” As I shut my
phone, it occurred to me that my life was quickly coming to
resemble a roller coaster, and right now, we felt at the peak,
poised to take a long, dark ride down the tracks.