that I knew was Joe.
As I appeared on the street in the Tangle, Ceridwen spun, sword at the ready. She relaxed when she recognized me, turning her attention back to the scene behind her. “Well met, macGrey. I sensed the spear was in play but did not call it until I knew why.”
A thickened essence barrier stretched across the street. On the other side, three Danann fairies were letting loose a field of essence-fire. The barrier sizzled and burned like a fireworks display. “We’ve got the Queen’s Fianna and Archdruids in the city,” I said.
She surprised me by smiling. “Maeve knows how to bring a good battle. I look forward to her defeat.”
“They took out the Rowes Wharf Hotel,” I said.
Ceridwen sent a burst of essence into the barrier. “We anticipated that.”
“We? You coordinated a response with Eorla?” I asked.
She moved closer to the barrier. With the Hunter glamour hiding her face, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. “The hotel was an obvious target, as is the Tangle. I am protecting access to several evacuation routes.”
“Like the tunnel under the hotel,” I said.
The antlered helm turned toward me. I didn’t need to see her face to feel the confident amusement in Ceridwen’s voice. “One of many. The Dananns are trained to fight the Consortium in the open air.” She clenched her fist. The buildings to either side shuddered, their façades curling into the street, closing off access. The sounds of essence-fire became muffled as the barrier merged with the masonry. Ceridwen walked away. “They also have never encountered a place like the Tangle.”
“But what the hell is going on?” I asked.
“Maeve and the U.S. president made a joint statement as the attacks began. They are fighting the Consortium terrorists and their allies who destroyed the Guildhouse and endangered human lives,” she said.
She paused at the next intersection. “We are about to be cut off from my main force three blocks over. The Dananns are shifting in this direction.”
I lifted the spear. “Where to?”
She held out her hand. “Tide and Summer Street.”
I closed my eyes and visualized the street corner. A transport tunnel opened in my mind, a crisp image of the location at the opposite end. I took Ceridwen’s hand. We jumped and landed in the middle of a firefight.
An essence barrier had been erected across a side street as a bulwark along Old Northern. The barrier bowed outward, shielding solitaries and the Dead. Opposite them, Danann fairies ranged along the street, throwing an effortless stream of essence-fire at the barrier. A few hovered in the air, testing the limits of the barrier. None of them seemed particularly aggressive. “They’re not fighting very hard,” I said.
Ceridwen stalked behind her line of defenders. “I noticed that as well. More are coming down from the hotel.”
“That’s got to be a feint. Eorla is a primary target,” I said.
Ceridwen nodded with a satisfied gleam in her eye. “They’ve lost her. We never intended to hold the hotel, and now the Dananns are confused.”
“What the hell is this plan? Eorla wouldn’t tell me,” I said.
She swung the great helm toward me. “You should not be here. I am trying to draw the Fianna here so that they will leave Brion Mal’s headquarters with weak defenses. It will mean nothing if you are captured here.”
“Where is Eorla?” I asked.
“We don’t have time for this, Grey,” she said.
“Tell me,” I said.
Ceridwen ignored me, moving closer to the barrier. Sparks cascaded across the barrier, forming a curtain that rippled and bucked. Sections thinned under the stress, random streaks of fire breaking through. “We can hold these Dananns off, but they have numbers on their side. Where are the Fianna? I want the Fianna.”
The barrier was threatening to collapse. Despite the skill of the solitary defenders, the Dananns had firepower to match. All my abilities were defensive at this point, except the darkness, and I didn’t want to think about unleashing it again. Already, I could feel its pressure against the inside of my skull as it sensed the intense body signatures beyond the wall. I stood helpless with my sword. It was an offensive weapon and not long-range. I clutched the spear to my chest. We needed help.
I turned my thoughts inward, focusing on Eorla’s body signature. A tunnel spiraled open, the preternatural green glow of Eorla’s body signature dancing in the ether. The vision sharpened, and I saw her face. She lifted her head, staring at me through the tunnel. With a cutting gesture, she held out her hand. Essence flashed, and the tunnel collapsed.
I opened my eyes in surprise. I hadn’t considered that it was possible for someone to shut down the spear. Given what I had seen the spear do, I doubted many fey could. I got the message. Eorla didn’t want me wherever she was.
The barrier collapsed on one end, fairies pressing forward to exploit the advantage. A company of Dead surged into the gap, throwing themselves against lethal essence bolts. A ripple of essence burned along the pavement, and the street undulated as the asphalt and concrete heaved upward.
My skin shivered as a wall of stone and tar rose. It was troll work, and I recognized the body signature. I had the same essence, a residue from a troll named Moke, who had saved my life once. I sensed him beneath my feet, like a leviathan in the deep as his passage created the wall. I doubted it would hold long, but it was buying time.
Ceridwen rode the wave of stone. As the wall peaked, she let out a burst of essence, a spray of fire that pressed the Dananns back. They scrambled to reassemble, intent on taking her from her perch. Despite their abilities, they were facing an underQueen of the Seelie Court. In the past, I had watched Ceridwen take on ten times their number. She died only because Bergin Vize used the spear against her.
As the Dananns focused their attention on the barrier, solitary fey threw ineffective bolts of their own. It was obvious the Dananns were not concerned. The solitaries were chaotic and disorganized. The Dananns were a trained fighting unit. They needed their overconfidence poked.
I raised the spear and opened a short jump to the opposite side of the barrier. Landing near two Dananns, I swept their feet out from under them with the spear and jumped back. Joe danced in the air around me. “That’s flit fighting if I ever saw it. Not bad for someone so tall.”
The Dananns shifted away from Ceridwen’s barrier and toward me. I hesitated. My shield would protect me from the brunt of an attack, but I had to get close in for the spear to be any use. Time slowed as I took in the scene, the flashing of the essence-fire, the burnt-ozone odor in the air. I already had a sheen of sweat under my jacket, and my heart was beating with adrenaline. It felt good, like a long run after a night of drinking, the stink of alcohol oozing out of my pores. I felt alive like I hadn’t in a long time. I grinned at Joe. “Care to join me?”
He saluted me with his sword, and we jumped through a weak spot in the essence barrier. Flashing back into sight, Joe batted his sword on the top of a Danann’s head and blinked out before she saw him. She whirled in place, angry but confused, as I was too far away to have hit her. She raised her hand to strike. I ducked under the bolt, using the move to hit another fighter behind me. This time, I didn’t play nice, and jabbed him in the hamstring with the point of the spear. I jumped back.
The other Dananns moved in. One remained behind at the breach, drawing off Ceridwen’s forces while the rest concentrated their attack on a single point of the barrier. It crumbled, giving in to the weight of the strikes. Even Ceridwen couldn’t defend so many positions. One by one, the Dananns slipped the barrier, faster as the ones preceding them provided coverage.
“Watch and learn,” Joe said, and blipped out. In quick succession, he flashed in and out of sight behind the Dananns, hitting and stabbing. He reappeared by my shoulder, his face glowing with excitement. “Ready?”
I jumped. We crisscrossed our way through the attackers, hitting and swinging swords. They fought back hard, their deep training showing in the instant reactions to my appearance beside them. My head rang with sound, the clash of sword blades, the deflection of essence, and the whirring of jumping. I wasn’t Joe. I was tiring, my body no match for the constant jumps even with a shield protecting me from exposure. At least I wasn’t bleeding to death this time.
The dark mass in my head struggled against the faith stone as essence heightened around us. Pain flashed on and off, blotches of red and black appearing in my vision. The dark mass sensed the intense living essence. The
