Grave Visions Page 9

  Falin lifted his hands, palms outward in supplication. “My word, I have no part of this and no knowledge who is behind it.”

  He couldn’t lie. The queen knew he couldn’t, but she didn’t immediately lower the blade. She stared at him, the blade pressed against Falin’s flesh. My hand crept to the slit in my gown. My fingers brushed the hilt of my blade. It buzzed against my flesh, emitting a confidence that we could take the queen. I had my doubts, enchanted blade or not. Falin’s eyes flickered to me, and I wasn’t positive, but I thought he gave the smallest shake of his head.

  The queen took several deep breaths and then stepped back. Her blade dissolved into mist and she rolled her shoulders, taking on a regal posture once more. I eased my hand away from my own hilt. Ryese was watching me, a knowing look in his eyes.

  I ignored him.

  “That is reassuring, I suppose,” the queen said, and from her tone, you’d never known she’d just considered slitting the throat of her knight. “Then we’ll have to move the body. I don’t want anyone to see it. Pack it as discreetly as you can.” A large leather knapsack appeared at her feet. “Be quick about it.”

  I glanced at the knapsack and then at the skeleton. A chill that had nothing to do with all the ice around me ran down my spine. I pressed my lips together and turned to Falin.

  “She wants us to . . . ?”

  “I’ve got it,” he whispered, scooping up the bag.

  In another situation I might have insisted on helping. Not this time. Losing my lunch on the queen’s throne wouldn’t be helpful. So I relinquished the job to Falin, with only the slightest tinge of guilt at leaving him to the grisly task. Not surprisingly, none of the council members made a move to help Falin.

  As Falin approached the corpse, Ryese pushed away from the pillar and turned to the queen. “Dear aunt, are you sure about this? Perhaps we should destroy the body. If rumor of this . . . display were to be whispered about court, you will look weak. And there will be no keeping it from other courts if even one whisper escapes.”

  “Would I not look weaker letting this action stand? I will find who is behind it and make a very public example of them.”

  Blayne’s eyes cut to me, the move slow and exaggerated. “What if she cannot get that information for you? She is . . . untested. Is it worth the risk?”

  As if her gaze were tied to his by a string, the queen looked at me. The frown that tugged down her red lips was uncertain. Half of me wanted to defend my credentials as a grave witch, but another part knew that getting tied up in this likely wasn’t good for my continued health and freedom. Unless, of course, I could swing this to my advantage.

  The queen clenched her fist again and began to pace, just as she’d been doing when we’d first entered the snowy clearing. Her movement was jerky, her anger and worry barely contained. Her lips pursed, and she turned at random moments and just stared at me. I straightened my shoulders, trying not to squirm under her assessing gaze.

  Finally her pacing brought her directly in front of me, and she stopped. “Can you do this, Lexi? You can question this corpse if we take it to the mortal realm?”

  It took all my will to keep my gaze locked with the queen and not let it wander to the skeleton Falin was packing away. A skeleton I couldn’t actually feel.

  “If it’s real, I should be able to raise a shade.”

  “Should?” Her perfect eyebrow arched.

  I left that alone. I’d never actually raised a fae before, not a full-blooded one at least, but I knew it was possible. “As long as the corpse is really a corpse.”

  The frown tugged her lips down farther, until it dragged at the edges of her eyes, but she nodded. The body looked real, but Faerie often accepted glamour as real. If it had never truly been alive, there would be nothing I could do.

  She started to turn away, but I took a step forward. I pasted on a smile I didn’t feel, trying to look confident. Not an easy task in the froufrou gown. Still, I was about to take a gamble, and confidence was key.

  “Of course, you’ll have to hire me to raise the shade.”

  “Hire you?”

  “That is how these transactions occur.”

  She stared at me, her frown giving way to a scowl, but it was Maeve who asked, “Are you threatening to refuse to question this corpse for her majesty?”

  And onto thin ice already. “No, I’m simply trying to negotiate the terms.”

  The queen crossed her arms over her chest and the abrupt silence in the room told me Falin had stopped bagging the body to listen to our conversation. The council members also watched with a little too much interest. Inside my head I cursed Maeve, but I held my tongue, and kept my chin lifted.

  The Winter Queen’s eyes widened. She was shorter than me, but somehow came off as looming. It would have been a neat trick, if it weren’t so freaking frightening.

  “I am the queen and you are in my territory,” she said, her voice cutting through the suddenly frosty air.

  I acquiesced with the smallest nod. “Yes, and as the law requires, I came to your summons. But if you would like to employ my skills, we must negotiate a fair bargain.” Or, at least, that was my understanding of Faerie law. I’d had a crash course over the last few months, but the finer points escaped me.

  The queen studied me for a long moment before giving a hiss of disgust and dropping her hands. “What is it you desire in exchange, Lexi?”

  “Independent status.”

  “No.”

  She said it with rigid finality, and the hope inside me deflated. I needed to create a bond to Faerie for my own and my friends’ survival, and I’d thought I’d been handed a way. Two little letters crushed that chance. I tried not to let it show as I gave her a small shrug.

  “Well, then, I wish you the best of luck discovering who is behind this.” I waved in the general direction of the skeleton.

  “You cannot walk away now. Negotiations have already begun. We must continue until they are complete.”

  Crap. Seriously? I glanced to Falin for confirmation I didn’t actually need—it wasn’t like the queen could lie. He gave a small nod and shoved a long bone into the bag. I tore my gaze away.

  So we were locked in negotiations now. And that was why it was dangerous to jump into a situation with the fae when you only halfway understood how things worked. I sighed and considered my words carefully. Fae couldn’t lie but they could twist the truth so backward it was a near thing, and they always tried to get the better end of a bargain.

  “So then, little planeweaver, what is your next offer?” the queen asked, smiling at me in the way a predator might grin down at cornered prey. And I doubted the fact she’d dropped the false-familiar nickname she’d given me was a good sign.

  From the other side of the room the rustle of the knapsack closing was loud in the too-quiet space. Falin joined us a moment later, the bag slung over his shoulder. The tanned material bulged in odd places, and it was too small. If I hadn’t known a body was in there, I wouldn’t have guessed, but I did know, and the half-masked shapes pressing against the edges made my stomach sour.

  “We are ready,” he said, heading for the doorway.

  The queen shook her head. “No, we are in the middle of something.”

  “Your majesty, can it not be discussed on the way?” he asked without pausing. He passed through the doorway and vanished a moment later.

  The queen frowned after him for half a moment, but seemed reluctant to let the corpse get too far. “Come along,” she said before hurrying out of the room as well.

  By the time I made it to the hall, the queen had taken the lead, Falin several steps behind. I caught up to him and fell in step beside him.

  “Is she always this unpredictable?” I whispered the question as quietly as I could and have any hope he’d hear, but the look he shot me told me I shouldn’t have chanced sayi
ng anything.

  I didn’t think he’d answer, especially when his gaze darted back to where Ryese and Lyell trudged along several steps behind us, but after a moment he whispered back, “No.”

  I glanced at him, but he was staring at the queen’s back, and his features held both caution and concern. I didn’t really understand his relationship with the queen. He’d been her lover once, I knew that, but from what he’d said, that time was long past and he held no love for her now. There must be something between them though—his expression was too complex for him to care nothing about her. I hated that realizing that fact made my chest constrict, ever so slightly.

  We turned a corner and reached the corridor with the carved ice pillar. The world fell from focus as we stepped between Faerie and the Bloom, and my steps became heavier, the world darkening slightly. It wasn’t bad though. Noticeable yes, but not even so bad as leaving the pocket in my father’s house.

  Which was why I was completely unprepared for actually reentering mortal reality.

  When I stepped through the door leaving the Bloom I stumbled, gasping under the weight of reality as it slammed down on me. The world spun, my knees locked, and I pitched forward. Falin caught one arm, the startled-looking bouncer—a green-skinned goblin—caught the other. They were the only reason I didn’t hit the wooden floorboards headfirst.

  “What is wrong with her?” the queen snapped.

  I couldn’t see her, my vision hadn’t cleared yet, but she sounded close.

  “She’s fading.” Falin’s hand supported me physically, but his words were hard, unemotional.

  My vision was clearing—at least to the point it ever did in mortal reality, I always missed the clarity of Faerie after leaving—so I had no trouble seeing the queen as she stormed over to Falin and grabbed a handful of his hair, pulling him down to her height.

  “And this is the first I’m hearing about it? Why did I even bother sending you to watch her?”

  Well, I guess that explained why the queen had gone from preventing Falin from speaking to me to ordering him to live with me. Not that it was any great surprise; I’d assumed he was there to spy for her.

  I stepped out of the hands supporting me. I nodded to the goblin, but I didn’t thank him. You didn’t thank fae. Now that I’d gotten used to the achy exhaustion that had crashed on me upon reentering reality, it no longer seemed so crippling. I rolled my shoulders, already growing accustomed to the feeling.

  “Are we going to do this thing?” I asked, moving for the door.

  The queen hadn’t released Falin yet, so he stooped at what looked like an uncomfortable angle as she studied my face. Anger still flickered around the edges of her features, but there was concern there as well. I wasn’t foolish enough to think it was concern for me as a person, more concern for her potential asset. If I faded she couldn’t have her own pet planeweaver.

  Her lips pursed, as if she was about to say something, but then her gaze slid to the short goblin who shuffled nervously in her presence. She released Falin and stepped back, smoothing her dress. “Yes. Knight, take us somewhere we will be undisturbed.”

  Chapter 9

  As we walked to the parking garage where Falin had left his car, I wondered if the queen or any of her council members owned a car and if it was parked in Nekros. Maybe she’ll just conjure a minivan from glamour. Because seven people and a body in a knapsack were not fitting in Falin’s car. I was almost disappointed to learn the FIB kept a small fleet of cars in the garage for instances when fae who didn’t spend much time in mortal reality decided to pass into Nekros for a visit. We split up with the queen, Ryese, and me riding with Falin, while Lyell, Blayne, and Maeve followed in a loaner. I tried to arrange for the skeleton to go with the councilors, but the queen wouldn’t let it or me out of her sight. Which meant I was stuck with it, and now that we were out of Faerie, I could feel the body, my grave magic having to be held in careful check to keep it from slipping into it.

  The car ride was uncomfortable, in more ways than one. I hadn’t bothered trying to call shotgun, and wasn’t the least bit surprised when the queen slid into the front passenger seat. That left Ryese and me in what there was of a backseat. When I’d first met Falin, he’d driven a flashy red sports car that had gotten totaled during our first case together.

  This car could have been that one’s twin.

  Unfortunately, when it had been designed, the backseat had clearly been an afterthought, with absolutely no consideration for legroom in the event someone actually wanted to sit there. So, I ended up with my legs practically pressed to my chest and the knapsack of gruesome remains wedged between Ryese and me. Even the arrogant fae couldn’t make the seating arrangement look comfortable, and he scowled at the back of Falin’s head for the extent of the ride. At least Falin left the top down and the wind roaring by pretty much prevented any extended conversations.

  The house would have been the most private place to conduct the ritual, but I refused to have a body lugged into my bedroom so we were headed for the forest just out of town. The drive wasn’t long—the Quarter gave way to the suburbs and then out into the wilds. I’d hoped that the trip would give me time to form an argument that would force the queen to grant me independent status, but no brilliant revelations had hit me while crammed in the backseat with a bagged body pressed against my thigh.

  We found a small clearing far enough off the road that we couldn’t be seen, and I used my dagger to draw a circle for my ritual. The huge skirt made the task difficult, and I used several colorful curses as I tripped on the hem for the third time. If the gown hadn’t been ruined before, it likely was now, though Falin’s glamour still hid the damage. By the time I completed the circle, I was breathing hard, mostly from fighting with the damn layers of tulle in the skirt.

  The queen frowned at me. “Do you have the energy to complete this task?”

  “Today? Yeah, but I apparently need a tie to Faerie sooner rather than later. I request independent status in exchange for this ritual.” Okay, I’d been turned down once, but if I refused to ask for anything else maybe I’d wear her down, right? Probably not.

  “I could offer you a place of honor in my court. Riches. Power. A place on my council. A union with my beloved nephew.” She motioned to Ryese.

  I resisted a groan, but it was a near thing. The council members began chittering at the queen’s words, likely at the idea of adding me to their lot or perhaps about the proposed marriage to Ryese. I didn’t care which. I wasn’t interested in either, but especially not the latter. I pointedly avoided looking at Ryese. Still, I could imagine the haughty look on his face that was part a dare to accept the offer and part anger already guessing I wouldn’t.

  “I will accept nothing less for the ritual than independent status.”

  The queen frowned at me and we stood in silence for several minutes, glaring at each other. She took a step closer. I had the urge to back away, but I held my ground.

  “Find out who killed my subject and created that monstrous display in my throne room, and I will grant you independent status for a year and a day,” she said, and I nearly laughed in a mix of relief and surprise—I’d demanded it three times, but I guess I hadn’t really expected her to grant the request. She wasn’t quite done yet. “During that year and a day, you will agree to continue to reside in my territory and at the end of it, you will inform me before swearing allegiances with any other court.”

  I almost blurted out “deal,” but bargains with fae are binding, so I forced myself to examine the conditions she’d laid out. A year and a day wasn’t much time in the grand scheme of things, but it was more time than I had now and I was unlikely to get another Faerie monarch in the position of needing a favor from me before Rianna and I had faded out of existence. The extension would give me time to arrange something more permanent. And while she’d stipulated that I inform her if I’d be joining a court other th
an hers, she hadn’t said I’d need her consent. Of course, if she learned I was leaving her sphere of control, she might just have me killed when I told her, but what was my choice? Die now or die later? At least I’d have time to try to come up with a better plan.

  I nodded and held out my hand. “I agree to your terms.”

  “It is settled then.”

  “Witnessed,” Falin said from where he stood. Each council member also repeated the phrase. It was a formality, as I could already feel the small binding our agreement had created. The queen pressed her palm against mine in a surprisingly firm but not crushing handshake. I realized it was the first time I’d ever touched her and her skin was cold, even to my low body temperature.

  With that settled, I focused on the matter at hand again, namely the ritual I had to perform to finish this deal. I motioned for Falin to place the knapsack in my circle. He was frowning, but he said nothing as he placed the bag where I’d indicated. He opened it, clearly intending to lay the skeletal corpse out.

  “Just leave her in there,” I said, glancing away before I caught sight of the ghastly bones again.

  “Her?” The queen asked.

  I nodded. Now that we were back in mortal reality and I was once again in touch with the land of the dead, the corpse sang soft lullabies just outside my range of hearing, as if tempting me to listen in and learn all her secrets. Without even thinking about it, I could feel that she had in fact been female. Usually I could guesstimate the age a corpse had died at as well, but not with fae. The body felt old, very old. But what did that mean for a fae? Two hundred years? Two thousand years? I didn’t have the experience to gauge how long she’d lived before someone had done . . . Well, whatever had happened to her.

  Falin retreated, leaving me alone beside the bag. I glanced around, ensuring the thin line of the circle hadn’t gotten scuffed or broken. It looked complete, and I tapped into the raw magic stored in my ring, channeling it into the line in the grass.