“That was them setting a trap, and you got out of it with just a bit of damage.”
“You think they killed that woman just to set a trap? This has gone way beyond a play for power.”
Olan shook his head, or waggled it and I took it as a shake. “They didn’t kill her, it was an illusion. It was a trap.”
It was a relief to know there wasn’t a dead woman waiting to be found. I tried not to worry about how I missed the fact that she was an illusion. “If they are setting traps, we must be causing problems.”
“If that’s how you want to look at it, so be it.” Olan hopped over to me. “We can’t have secrets if we go on the offensive. We need to know what obligation you agreed to.”
“I can’t tell you that. We can just make a plan.” I figured since I couldn’t do any harm as spirit wizard, the obligation would not come into play.
Olan flapped his wings, I took it as annoyance and kept talking, “What kind of plan did you have in mind?”
He paced across the table clacking his beak.
Yep, annoyance. “Olan, I can’t understand you. Speak human.”
“We could take Fionuir captive. We could hold her until she gave us the amulet and the reversal spell?”
Hmm, kidnapping. “Not a bad plan if you can figure out how we get to her and hold her. And, if we do get that far, what’s to say she won’t just wait us out. Eventually the fairies will band together to rescue her if they can’t breed.”
He chirped agreement and asked, “But it won’t interfere with your obligation?”
I wasn’t going to fall for such a blatant trick. “It won’t interfere with my spirit oath either. But that doesn’t mean it is a good plan.”
He flew up a few feet and then settled down. “How do I know what to suggest if you don’t tell me what you promised her?”
“Olan, we can’t know what will happen. We just need to make a plan that doesn’t violate my oath and not worry about anything else. Cate might be able to help. Her oath is different from mine.”
“You do know that if we break your promise to Fionuir, even by accident there will be problems.” He returned to the pile of crumbs.
“Yes.”
“I worry that we are missing something important or ignoring something obvious. It be a good idea to include Cate in this, she has a sensible head on her shoulders.” Olan clacked his beak again and flew past me to the door, so close I had to dodge. “You will be sorry. I can tell you that. If we don’t have all the information at hand, we won’t succeed.”
Chapter Nineteen
I couldn’t say I disagreed with Olan but I knew what would happen if I told him I agreed to do no direct harm to her or any other Sidhe. I would find myself on the sidelines. That wasn’t where I intended to be. I knew, I don’t know why, but I did know that this was my job.
I thought the best approach was to find a way for the fairies to breed. It seemed the least violent approach. And maybe Cate had found a way, some poultice or tea that would override the spell.
I called her but there was no answer so I locked up and walked to her house. It was three blocks closer to downtown than mine and about fifty years younger. I liked my house with its age and creaks and groans. It was a bit crooked and full of little built in cupboards. The basement was dirt when I bought it; I got to build my workspace the way I wanted. And the garden was mature and beautiful.
Cate’s place was functional and neat. Her garden was around back, but I could see a small portion of the side of it, as neat as the front. I went to knock on the door and it swung open at my first touch. “Cate?” I peeked inside, feeling good that she’d spelled the door to respond to me. I’m pretty sure I was being sent a signal. After this was over, I was going to definitely make my move.
“Where are you?” I stepped out of the foyer and came to a complete stop.
The living room was turned over. The couch was thrown against the wall, cushions torn and lying on the floor. The coffee table was broken in half as though someone had fallen on it. I cast a spell to try to bring up the shadows of power left behind, but nothing happened. This damage was done more than a few hours ago.
I sniffed the air and there was no blood. No one had been hurt, a least not in here. I made my way around the house. All the rooms were in the same state, food was thrown all over the floor in the kitchen. The bathroom was a mess of suds, bubble bath and shampoo combining to form a lavender and citrus cloud of bubbles.
The good news was that no one had been injured anywhere in the house. No sense of blood. Either Cate wasn’t here when it happened, or she got out before whoever it was did it. I couldn’t sense any taint of demon, but then Cate would keep control of any demon she summoned. So it must be something else.
I stepped into her garden and saw it was not touched by whatever happened in the house. It was also protected from nosy neighbors by a boxwood hedge. I pulled a seeking amulet from my pocket. I breathed on it and whispered “Cate.”
The amulet warmed which meant she was alive and within five miles of me. Five miles was a pretty big radius. I levitated the stone and asked it to point out her direction. It moved toward the park. I couldn’t really follow it to her since there would be people on the street. Following a floating stone wasn’t normal human behavior. I put it in my pocket and headed toward the park.
The park was empty of humans even drug dealers took dinner breaks, I guess. I looked at the trees where we were attacked last night. There was no sign that any fight had taken place. I don’t know why I thought there should be some sign, but it seemed wrong that nothing showed.
The amulet was still in my pocket. I had planned to use it as I got into town if there was an opportunity. No sign of Cate, so since no one around, I opened my hand and levitated the amulet an inch.
“Point,” I whispered and it floated toward downtown. Cate must have changed her mind about where she was going. I hope it wasn’t because she was under the influence of some demon.
“Quinn.” A voice spoke from the region of my hip. I looked down to see a sprite, oak I think, very young.
“Do I know you?’
“My cousin is Beacon. I am Bracken.” He beckoned me to a bench, looking around as we walked over.
“I am in a hurry to find someone.”
He pulled on my pant leg. “It will only take a minute. And maybe I know where your friend is.”
I knew if I argued, I would waste time and probably still end up listening to what he had to say. So, I sat on the bench and waited.
He stared at me for a moment before speaking. “You are doing something about this situation between the fairies and the Sidhe.”
“Yes.”
He nodded. “There’s rumors going around. Something bad is coming.”
I figured it was about last night but you never know. “What are the rumors about?”
He waved his hand dismissing the topic. “I couldn’t get any information on that.”
“They sprang a trap last night and we got away.”
“That is not why they are excited. It is not something they have done.”
I didn’t know what to do with that information. “I will be alert for something. Thanks, Bracken.”
“You are welcome, Quinn Larson. If I learn anything else, I will bring it to you.”
I rose to go.
He pulled on my jacket. “Wait, who are you looking for? Perhaps I have seen them.”
“Cate Witherspoon. She’s a witch.”
“Yes I saw her.”
My heart leaped and I looked around. “Where?”
“Not here, I saw her walking into Bank’s Bar.”
“That is good news. When did you see her?”
Bracken shrugged. “An hour ago.”
