The Sidhe woman stepped out of the shadow and dropped her hood to her shoulders. She seemed to glow. Her skin was fair, the lightness made more translucent by the rosy blush over her cheekbones. I knew that wasn’t make-up, just the look that teenage human females strove for. Her green eyes were shaded by a fringe of tiny blond ringlets. The rest of her hair bound in a green silk band and braided.
Cate elbowed my ribs. I realized I was gaping. The woman gave a deep chuckle. “Don’t fear, girl, I have no desire for your man.”
“He’s not my man.” Cate blushed as she spoke.
“Who are you?” I asked. Then feeling really clumsy and stupid, I tried again. “I mean. I wonder which of the Sidhe would take the chance to meet with us. You must be someone quite important.”
She smiled and I felt like prey. “Astute. I am coming to like you.”
Cate snorted. “I don’t think he needs an ego boost. I am Cate Witherspoon. I was told you wanted to speak to me.”
“Cate, I knew your mother. She seems to have passed on her directness.” The woman turned to me and I could see she was old enough to be Fionuir’s mother. Not a line on her face, but ages reflected in her eyes. “You are Quinn Larson. I do not know anything else about you.”
“You asked for a meeting.” Cate took my arm. “Is there something you wanted to say?”
“I am Maeve.” She waited for something. I didn’t know what to say. “I see you are not clear on Sidhe history. I am the rightful queen. Fionuir took away my crown and installed her irresponsible court in my place.” Pain and bitterness spilled through her words.
“And you want us to help you take your crown back?” I guess it was one way to solve the problem.
Maeve nodded.
Cate looked at me then pulled me back a few steps. “It could work. We could stop Fionuir by replacing her.”
I knew that the Sidhe weren’t that straightforward. Maeve would exact a price for stopping Fionuir and it wouldn’t be getting her throne back. “And if Maeve is worse than Fionuir? If we are getting the devil we don’t know?”
“I am not a devil.” Maeve’s voice soothed my objections for a second.
I threw a charm to the ground between us. Maeve stepped back, as though it was a serpent. It was just a muffle spell. I hoped it worked on Sidhe.
I turned back to Cate, taking her arm and bringing her close to make sure we were both covered by the spell. “It all smells a bit fishy. Why would she have come to us now? And, why would she need our help?”
“I don’t know Quinn, but I think we should at least hear her out. It doesn’t have to be a trap.”
I couldn’t push away the feeling Maeve was going to cause us a lot of trouble. “She has had a chance to start telling us and yet she’s just playing with us.”
“Unless you have another plan, we should at least give her a chance to tell us what she wants from us.”
Cate was right, just hearing her out couldn’t hurt. And I might be able to figure out how to keep us safe while she was talking. There was no doubt we would come off worse in Maeve’s plans if we didn’t take care.
Chapter Twenty-One
When I cleared the muffling spell, Maeve said, “This is not safe. We need to go somewhere we can speak in private.”
“Do you have somewhere in mind?” I was not going to invite her into my home, and Cate’s place wouldn’t be in any shape for visitors no matter how hard Lionel had worked.
“As a matter of fact, I have. Come.” I could hear the royalty in her voice. That’s what worried me. Fionuir was a good example of the personality of Real Folk royalty and I wasn’t sure how different Maeve was in that department.
We followed her across the street and down into the basement of a hotel. I could smell the soap and boiling water of the laundry. Maeve led us down a long corridor and finally into a small room. Inside there were four armchairs and a table, on the table stood a bottle and three wine glasses.
“Will you join me?” Maeve poured herself a glass and sipped.
Cate nodded but I wasn’t taking a chance on being less than fully alert. Maeve poured then sat on a red leather chair. I remained standing.
“You want to know what I have to offer.”
Cate leaned against the wall and said, “Please tell us.”
“You are worried, Quinn, that Fionuir will bring the attention of the humans on the Real Folk.” She seemed determined to bring me into the conversation. I simply nodded. “And, Cate, I am not sure why you are involved”
Cate shrugged, and I admired her ability to seem so casual in Maeve’s regal presence. “I don’t like what is being done to the fairies. And, I agree with Quinn.”
Maeve paused and emptied the small glass before pouring another serving. “I have already told you why I wish things to change.”
“We are waiting for more information. Perhaps a plan,” I said.
Cate looked at me and I was glad I was standing too far way for her to poke me. She turned her smile on Maeve. “I prefer the direct approach as you mentioned earlier. Quinn is right; you have not given us any information other than your name. Do you have a plan?”
“You are in such a hurry.” Maeve gave that warm chuckle again. “Very well, I know where Fionuir has hidden the Gur amulet. If you take it, you can remove the spell. She won’t be able to replicate the spell without such a powerful battery as the Gur amulet. And, perhaps the fairies will be more careful of their blood in the future.”
“Where is the amulet?” Cate spoke before I could form the question.
“It is in her court, on one of the tables.” Maeve smiled. “Have you seen the Gur amulet before?”
I answered her, “I think it is stone. I haven’t seen it but I have heard it described as a small lump of stone with streaks of metal.
Maeve nodded. “It is sitting on the table in front of a tapestry of the Wild Hunt. I believe you have been in her court.”
“I have.” I tried to think where the tapestry was. I thought it was behind where Fionuir had sat. The amulet would have been within touch if I had known where to look.
“Yes, my friends are still talking about it. Very amusing.” Maeve smiled and sipped her wine.
“And how do you propose we get possession of the amulet?” Cate kept digging right to the heart of the question.
“You kill the guards and simply rush in and grab it,” Maeve said.
“No, no one dies,” I said.
Cate ignored me. “While we are doing this, what will you do?”
“I will not be there. If Fionuir suspects I am involved, she will use that to defeat me when we choose the queen.”
Ah, is this the catch? “Is that why you didn’t just bring the amulet here? That would have been the best approach.”
“Partly that, and partly because Fionuir has added a layer of spell that informs her if another Sidhe touches it.”
“Only Sidhe?” Cate asked.
“Yes, she is too arrogant to imagine any other Real Folk will be able to get to it.”
I still felt there was a catch. I don’t know if it was the plan, or the fact that she wasn’t going to help us any more than this. Or, because I didn’t know if she would be any better than Fionuir as a Sidhe queen. The plan was pretty good. The location of the amulet was our biggest obstacle. “Were you queen before Fionuir?”
Maeve smiled again, her gaze seeming to focus on something other than us and this room. “Yes, she took my crown and convinced so many of my followers to join her that I have been unable to rally enough support to challenge her since.”
