wouldn’t get in harm’s way.”
Olan flew at my face. I dodged and only got struck by a feather, but it left a shallow cut on my cheek. “Wizard, do not make this the fault of the humans.”
He was right. It was the Sidhe, not the humans causing problems; this time. “Okay, let’s both agree to stop trying to piss each other off and solve the problem.”
I waited for his response but he said nothing. I looked around for him and saw him strutting along the top of a bookshelf. “Olan?”
“Okay, I can see we are wasting time. A truce until we solve this.”
I wasn’t aware we were at war about anything but decided on discretion rather than trying to figure out what I had done recently that Olan might take affront to, other than the humans dying. “I don’t think Fionuir would go to all this trouble to spend time feeding a spell she cast.”
“No. She’s got to be giving her followers something for their trouble otherwise they wouldn’t keep it up.”
“The only thing Sidhe covet is power. All kinds of power.”
I removed the binding spell from Princess and lifted her onto the sofa. She would be fine there for a while. The sofa was soft enough not to leave pressure bruises.
“I’m hungry, let’s get upstairs.” It felt too odd to be discussing plans with a fairy passed out on my couch. She was like a life-sized doll that had been left behind after a tea party.
Olan flew up to my shoulder. I guess we were back to being on the same side in this fight. Unfortunately that wasn’t likely to continue. This fight had too many sides: Sidhe versus Fairy, Fairy versus Human, Morrigan versus Olan. And probably ten more I had no idea about.
I opened a can of soup and put it on the stove. Olan perched on the back of a chair and watched me prepare. “Did you already eat?” I asked.
“I am not hungry yet. Hurry up. We need to be on our way.”
“Where?” I guessed what he meant but it was time he took some responsibility for planning this fight.
“To the Sidhe court. It is time to talk to Fionuir.”
“Yes, but we can’t just barge in. First of all she’ll have guards set around to stop unwanted visitors.”
“You can handle that.” Olan walked back and forth along the top rail of the chair. I couldn’t help thinking of my old mentor in full lecture mode.
“Maybe, but I can’t handle Fionuir that way. She won’t just stop because we asked her. We need some leverage.”
“Well, we could threaten to back her opponent.”
I poured the soup into a bowl and took a sip. “I don’t think that will count. Even if all the Real Folk backed her opponent, the election is Sidhe business. She only has to convince enough Sidhe that status quo is better than promises of future changes and she’ll win.”
Olan continued to pace. “Do you think she is giving everyone access to the human’s spirit?”
“Maybe she’s offering it for votes.”
We sat quietly while I ate the rest of the soup. I grabbed beer from the fridge after I finished. “We don’t know enough to use leverage. What we think we can use is based on guesses and second hand information. Princess didn’t see the amulet, her lover did. She didn’t tell me who he was so we can’t ask him. Melbe’s information is probably right but Sidhe politics is convoluted and full of grudges from the time they lost Ireland to the Milesians.”
“My throat is parched. Pour some of that into a saucer.” Olan flapped his wing toward the beer. I did as he asked, or rather demanded. He sipped some of the amber liquid before speaking again. “What if we gave her something?”
“Who is this ‘we’ you mean?”
“That is, you. I don’t think they will want anything that I have. As a pixie, or as I am now.”
I just knew this was going to turn out bad for me, but Olan had a point. “It’s worth a try. I draw the line at giving her anything that will do harm, though.”
“You have things that will do harm?” Olan sipped some more beer. “I thought you were one of those spirit wizards. Do no harm, kind of thing.”
“I am. But, some of the things I have can do harm in enough concentration. You know that. You saw the belladonna in my workroom.”
“I don’t think she’ll ask for something she can get from the fairies for nothing.”
“No, but I have some amulets that shouldn’t get into her hands.” I’m not sure why we were arguing this point. It was up to me what I gave Fionuir. And, Olan had come up with a good plan, or as good a plan as I could. “How do we get an audience with Fionuir?”
Olan shrugged. “I think the best way is the direct one. Let’s go tap at her door.”
Chapter Eleven
It took me a day to get ready to visit the Queen of the Sidhe. I’m not usually prone to vanity, but Fionuir would expect me to dress as though I respected her position. I went to my barber and said goodbye to the scruffy magic geek look. A nice shave and a trendy haircut and I had to admit I looked better.
I had some court clothes in my closet, they were from the nineteenth century, but a good preservation spell had kept them in perfect shape. I couldn’t say the same for my body. Olan and I looked at the clothes hanging on back of the closet and back at my body. “It’s going to be close,” I said.
“Mayhap we should go shopping. I don’t like the idea that you suffocate because you can’t breathe in that waistcoat.”
“Even if I can fit in it, I don’t know that the Sidhe court is into the Steam Punk look.” I couldn’t help myself. I needed to try on the suit. I guess there’s a bit of vanity in my blood. If I could fit into the same clothes I wore almost two hundred years ago, I would feel good.
The shirt fit, and the waistcoat and jacket. From the waist up I looked mighty fine. Unfortunately, from the waist down, my body now stuck out where once it narrowed, so I couldn’t close the buttons on the pants. “Oh, well, I guess I’ll start exercising after we fix this little Sidhe problem.” The sound that a chickadee made laughing was not pleasant; neither was the sight on one rolling on the floor with hilarity.
I changed back into my regular clothes, and grabbed a roll of twenties from the stash of cash I keep on hand. I told Olan to wait for me at home because shopping with a talking chickadee was sure to raise eyebrows.
I returned with a black suit and pale green shirt, black shiny loafers, and an emerald green tie. It’s fortunate that I look good in the colors of Ireland. I hope Fionuir sees it as honoring her homeland,
“Okay, now I look the part, it’s time to arm myself.” We headed back to the basement. Princess looked cold so I threw a blanket over her.
“What kind of armament do you need?” Olan waddled along beside me as I pulled out two chests from under the counter. “I don’t think they will attack you.”
“Not with swords, but I’m not taking the chance one of them will try to stun me with a spell. After all, her best outcome right now is for me to be gone. So, I need a bit of magical protection.”
I took three amulets from the black chest and two from the gray one. The five amulets were made of precious stones: Jade, Obsidian, Opal, Soapstone, Coral.
“The Soapstone is from California. I’ve added a transmittal spell. If we can find a way to leave it there, we will be able to hear everything that goes on.”
“Handy.” Olan pushed the stones aside with his beak. “It is small enough that I can hold it in my craw. I will find a place to leave it before we exit.”
I nodded but didn’t pay attention to what he did with the soapstone. I was just glad he had something to occupy his attention while I dealt with the other stones. I took the opal and checked it carefully for flaws; no one wants a cracked opal. I renewed the oil that I had painted on it before storing. The stone was for attack. I wasn’t certain if the spell I had cast on it for attacking vermin would do enough damage to a Sidhe to distract them so I could run away.
The coral would absorb a spell, kind of like a shield but it would hold the energy for me to use later.
