The cat hissed and seemed to have far better senses than any feline should, but then this probably wasn’t an ordinary pet. This was Myrddin Emrys’s familiar, and she or he would be enchanted in some way.
“What do we do, Mom? I think the cat knows we’re here,” my son whispered.
“I think you’re right. How much have you tested this thing physically? Can it get in here with us? If we brush against it, can it claw at us?”
“Well, I try to not do that because I figured it would get me in trouble, but once when we were trying to sneak Sean back to his bedroom we brushed up against Uncle Declan, but he thought we were a piece of furniture and Rhys had to stay really still because Uncle Declan put a beer on his head.”
“Please tell me he didn’t have company.” My brother-in-law pretty much plowed through every female who would let him climb on top of her. Or behind her. Or in any position her flexibility would allow.
“Nah. He was watching Lord of the Rings and making fun of Legolas and saying he could do all his arrow stuff while he was drunk and fornicating. What does that mean?”
“It’s nothing you should think about at your age.”
Lee nodded. “So Rhys was right and it was kissing stuff. Anyway, we pretty much ran the minute Uncle Dec took another drink and then we dropped off Sean and Uncle Dec was upset because he spilled his beer. He makes fun of Robin Hood movies, too, but I think he’s jealous because he's not allowed to shoot stuff on this plane.”
I agreed with him, but that didn’t help us out of this situation. If we got too close, the cat would likely feel us and then know where to start clawing.
Something soft brushed against my cheek and I realized Dannan was managing to float near my face. The pixie could definitely move in close quarters when he needed to. He was whispering something to me, and by whispering he was really shouting, but their voices are super quiet. Pixies can absolutely talk. It’s just hard to hear them.
“Me. Me. I can do it,” he was saying.
“I don’t think you should fight the cat,” I replied. “I’m pretty sure it would eat you.”
Lee twisted around, somehow managing to keep the cloak closed while he moved. It made me wonder exactly how much he’d worked with the damn thing. “It can’t eat Dannan if it can’t catch him. Dannan is the best flier, and we all know that cats get distracted by shiny objects.”
Dannan’s head was nodding and he held up his tiny sword as if to say he could take care of himself. He was a warrior and he had wings. That tiny face was resolute. He could take on the feline and give us time and space to do our job.
“You are getting the best maple syrup. Straight from Canada, my friend,” I promised. Pixies like sweet stuff. Syrup was their favorite. If you ever want to befriend a pixie, take him to IHOP and let him try all those crazy syrup flavors. He’ll love you for life.
I could practically feel the enthusiasm coming off the tiny warrior. He hadn’t had many wars to fight in. The world had been pretty peaceful lately, but I worried that was about to change and we would need all the help we could get. People tended to underestimate my tiny retinue. They saw them more as accessories, jewels that clung to my hair and made me seem more Fae than I am. Yeah, I’d heard that before. But they were so much more. They were my eyes and ears, and now one would be the distraction I needed.
“Be careful, Dannan.” I gave him my blessing.
“Dude, take that cat out if you can. He looks mean.” My son’s blessing was a little on the bloodthirsty side.
Then Lee opened the cloak the slightest bit. It was odd because that slice of light was brighter than what we saw through the cloak. Like opening the veil and seeing another world.
A memory pierced through me. It was stamped on my brain, that moment when the faeries had opened the veil that night so many years before and taken my daughter with them to their home plane. I remembered how vibrant that slice of another world had been. It had been night on our plane, but brilliant daylight had shone through that doorway. It had spilled out and illuminated her small body and the tuft of hair on her head. Summer. That light had loved my darling girl.
Dannan flew out through the tiny break and Lee immediately closed it again. The world went back to the hazy shade of gray it was through the cloak.
Talking to my father and son about Summer had brought back all of my emotions. I could bury them sometimes. It had been so long, and my days got busy. I would go days without thinking about her and then I would look at Evan or Rhys or Lee and guilt would swamp me because they got all of me and Danny and Dev and she’d had so little.
I shook it off because Lee needed my attention now. Dannan, too. The pixie was doing his job. He flew straight at the cat, whose eyes widened, and a loud meow issued from him as he raised a paw to swipe at the invader.
I held a breath, but Dannan easily evaded those claws and the cat took the bait. The feline completely forgot it had been guarding the hallway from something it couldn’t see and went after what it could. Dannan led the cat away.
“We should get moving,” Lee said. “Dannan will be fine. He’s tough and smart. Where’s the book?”
“It’ll be in his office.” I knew the layout well. “We’re going to the right. It’s at the end of the hall. I’m surprised you haven’t broken in and had a look around. Do I even want to know what you’ve done with this thing?”
“Nothing as bad as that,” Lee said as we started to move carefully down the hallway. “Mostly we go down to Ether and hang out. It’s fun and there’s lots of weird stuff going on. Did you know Liv’s been meeting with the wizard’s girlfriend? Like a lot.”
That was news to me. “Olivia Carey is spending time with Nimue?”
“Yeah, but then they pretended like they didn’t know each other well,” Lee said. “I heard you introduce them the other morning when they came for breakfast, but they already knew each other. See, more information I wouldn’t have gotten if I hadn’t innocently used this cloak.”
“We’re going to have a long talk after this is over.” I wasn’t sure if it would be a lecture about how dangerous what he was doing was or a debrief to find out everything he’d learned.
Probably both.
I needed Kelsey back because sometimes I think she’s the only one in the world who can truly handle Lee. He respects Kelsey’s authority in a way he did with no one else.
I stared ahead and was surprised to see the door was open. There was a lock on that particular door, but it stood wide open now.
Was he so arrogant that he didn’t think he needed to lock his door? Or did he simply trust that he was safe here in the Council headquarters? He had Daniel and Dev pretty much under control, and he thought I was useless at this point. It had been years since I’d really gotten in trouble. He might think I was past the age of stupidity.
He was so wrong. I had a whole new generation of stupidity to do.
We moved silently and made our way past the living area, which was decorated tastefully. My faery prince would have ensured that. It was awfully normal, with pretty couches and a big comfy chair that faced the large TV mounted over a fireplace. Very modern and not at all a space that screamed “I’m a couple-thousand-plus-year-old wizard who regularly conferences with Hell lords.”