and he was moving on, we had managed to stay friends.
“Ready?” Ceff asked.
I nodded, stepped into the stream, and tried not to blush. My skin had tingled the first time Ceff pulled water from the air. What would happen when he tapped into an entire stream?
Ceff lifted his hands to chest level and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his eyes shone bright green in the darkness of the streambed. Water rushed from the ground to Ceff’s hands where it spooled into a large sphere.
I stood, mouth gaping, as he wove the water using his kelpie magic. With a flick of his wrist water rose from the sphere to cascade over me, my own private rain shower. I snapped my jaw shut and tried to remain still, but it was hard not to fidget. The water pouring over my body made my skin heat and left me breathless.
I met Ceff’s glowing gaze and he winked. A flush ran up my neck and face and I bit my lip. I think we just discovered a way to get past our inability to touch. Too bad we were too busy to explore our options further.
Ceff lowered his hands and the water returned to the stream. I sighed and shook off, shedding water like a dog. Fun time was over. It was time to bag some bad guys.
I looked over my clothes and frowned. I’d need to wipe excess moisture off my leather jacket and give it a rubdown with mink oil, but it was salvageable. The t-shirt and jeans were soaked through. I pulled at the clothes, but the shirt stuck to me like a second skin and the jeans chafed as I stepped out of the stream. There was no way I could run or fight in these clothes.
And I still smelled like ghoul guts.
If I was going to make a trip to Club Nexus tonight, I needed to keep that appointment with my shower and a bar of soap. I sniffed my hair and winced. Make that a case of soap and bottle of shampoo. I turned to Marvin and waved.
“Thanks, Marvin,” I said. “We have to run, but I promise to bring some honey next time I stop by.”
“Find children?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “I gotta stop by the loft for a change of clothes, then a trip to Club Nexus. But we’ll find them.”
Marvin nodded and I turned to leave. When Ceff and I made it to the top of the hill, I turned to see Marvin ducking under his bridge. It was then that I realized he was still holding the baseball bat.
A lump formed in my throat.
“I won’t let bad things happen to any more fae kids,” I whispered. “Not in my city.”
I tightened my fists and dug the wet toes of my boots into the scree that covered the embankment. I was going to find those kids and I wouldn’t let anything get in my way.
Chapter 18
Ceff and I hurried back to the loft as fast as we could move without attracting the wrong kind of attention. I was no longer covered in rotting blood and chunks of corpse flesh, but if a cop came too close they might notice the smell, and the fact I was soaking wet and carrying an arsenal of weapons. It’s hard to keep weapons concealed when your clothes are sticking like a second skin.
The brisk walk in wet jeans had chafed the skin around both my thighs and the backs of my knees. The raw skin burned in the shower. Good thing I wasn’t staying under the hot water for long. There was a hell of a lot more to do tonight and long showers weren’t on the list. I dumped an entire bottle of shampoo over my head and rinsed fast.
I pulled on a clean t-shirt and stepped into a dry pair of jeans. My legs burned when I moved, but that was okay. The pain would help keep me awake and focused. I blew dry my hair and let it hang down over my shoulders to finish airing out.
Before stepping in the shower, I’d wiped down my boots, removed the insoles, and stuffed them with dry towels. I pulled out the soggy towels, tossed them into the tub, and aimed the blow dryer inside the boot shaft. The heat would be hell on the leather, but right now I was more worried about my feet. I pulled the boots on with a tug and wiggled my toes. They were damp, but if I was going to face an angry lamia, a piper with an enchanted demon flute, and a dancing ring of the animated dead, I wanted steal toes and a place to hide my dagger.
My weapons came next. I strapped a forearm sheath to each arm, and slid my throwing knives in and out, testing that they were secure, but could be pulled easily. If I needed my blades, I wouldn’t have any time to spare. Every wasted second could mean my death, or the loss of someone I cared about. I thrust a dagger into my boot and shrugged on my leather jacket.
I stood and looked in the mirror. The face staring back at me didn’t look at all like a princess, but it would have to do. At least I no longer smelled like rotting flesh.
I stepped out into our loft apartment and stopped dead in my tracks. While I’d been in the shower, Jinx had transformed. I may be the faerie princess, but I looked like a thug in my jeans and leathers. Jinx, my totally human best friend, was just missing a crown.
Jinx stood in a short, sequin-covered shift that reflected and caught the light in hundreds of sparkling rainbows. Her black hair was held up with wooden hair sticks that could double as stakes and she’d abandoned the matching sequined clutch for a velvet bag which she’d slung over one shoulder. The bag was large enough to carry a crossbow and a hip quiver packed with iron bolts.
Jinx had foregone matching accessories for weapons? That could only mean one thing. Jinx was going with us to Club Nexus.
My heart did a flip-flop of joy and fear. I was secretly pleased that my friend was willing to go with me, but she was only human. I didn’t know what would happen to her once we stepped inside the club, or if they would even let her through the doors. I started to shake my head, but Jinx raised a hand and put the other firmly on her hip.
“I’m going with you,” she said.
“But…” I said.
“No,” she said, shaking a finger at me. “There is no way you’re leaving me behind on this one. I am not missing my best friend’s introduction to fae society.”
I flicked my eyes at Ceff, who had the sense to take a step back.
“I am sorry,” he said. “I thought Jinx should know where we were going, in case she needed to contact us. I didn’t realize that she would wish to attend your coming out ceremony.”
I narrowed my eyes. Ceff was so busted. Jinx would never miss a party. I was pretty sure that my boyfriend was well aware of that, but had told her where we were going anyway. Thing was, I had no idea why.
That made me more nervous than the thought of battling Melusine or The Piper. If Ceff thought I needed Jinx along for backup, then maybe there was more to this faerie royalty thing than I realized. But what other choice did I have?
The children were still out there somewhere. I had to find those kids tonight, but there were too many graveyards and cemeteries where The Piper could be hiding. We had to narrow down the search.
And I needed leads on Will-o’-the-Wisp. I had to track down my father if I wanted to continue taking any cases that involved leaving my apartment. I’d been lucky so far, but I didn’t expect that luck to hold out. If I didn’t find a way to control my wisp powers and learn to create a concealing glamour, the faerie courts would have me executed for treason—whether I was a princess or not.
I sighed.
“Okay, but I can’t guarantee they’ll let you inside the club,” I said.
“Yes!” Jinx exclaimed.
She squeezed her eyes shut and did a little happy dance. Even her eye makeup looked fit for a princess. Jinx had applied faerie ointment so that she would have the ability to see through most faerie glamour.
Unlike Jenna who usually slathers the stuff on like petroleum jelly, Jinx uses a makeup brush. Jinx normally adds a bit of dark pigment to the ointment and uses it to line her eyes, but tonight she was going for a more
