Too late to leave a voice mail or a text, it occurred to me that no one besides Malvyn and perhaps Maritza knew where I was going. I gripped Bas’s wrist.
“I won’t bite.” He chuckled. “But do hold tight.”
Traveling through a portal was like being sucked through a huge tube while wearing a full-body blood pressure cuff. The trip lasted seconds before solid ground met my feet and the squeezing sensation released.
I gasped and wobbled in place, Alabastair at my side. A faint meow and the sound of hacking came from inside the canvas bag.
“Duck,” I said.
We had emerged in a far corner of the Flechette estate, somewhat hidden underneath the draping branches of a weeping cherry. The tree was one of four, if memory served, planted around a working fountain. A similar grouping of four trees and a fountain graced the opposite corner, one-quarter of a mile away.
In the center of this fountain was a scarily well-rendered likeness of a winged fairy caught by her ankle and anchored to a faux rock. Knowing what I did, I would bet good money the fairy was once a living being, now locked in place by Meribah’s misdeeds.
“We can see about freeing her later,” said Alabastair. “Right now, we need the cat.”
When I unzipped the bag, Jasper paused, hopped out, and switched into high alert. His tail straightened and lowered. He went into a half crouch and emitted a low growl.
I beckoned Bas closer. I didn’t want our voices to carry. “The witch who left him at our house said Jasper’s attuned to sensing Fae magic. I’m not sure exactly what she meant, but my kids told me the cat can ameliorate the effects of Fae poisoning.”
Bas nodded. “You seem to have a good rapport. What’s he saying?”
I had to stifle a snort. Reading Jasper’s body language was easy: Danger Ahead. “Exercise caution. That’s what I would say too. I was married to a man who grew up here,” I added. “And I hate this place.”
A cool, heavy hand patted my shoulder. “We all have our crosses to bear. Lucky you could drop yours and move on.” He sucked in his breath. “You said was married. I hope you’re implying you’re divorced now?”
“Gleefully divorced, Bas. And only recently discovered a lot of crappy things about him and his family, hence the reason behind why we’re here.” I stood, careful to not disturb the nearby branches. Alabastair followed my actions, while being forced to maintain a slight hunch to his shoulders. I asked, “Now what?”
He tapped his watch and read. “Missing Magicals. Hidden in plain sight. Mark locations. Free if possible.” He tapped the watch again. The glowing face disappeared, and he leaned closer. “Sounds like Malvyn’s prisoners are trying to exchange information for a lighter sentence.”
I agreed. “Any clues as to what type of Magical we’re looking for? Because we could start with the fountains.”
I pointed to the unmoving figure. Made sense to me the right spell could make anything look like it was concrete. Or marble.
Jasper agreed. Body hovering above the grass, tail streaming behind him, he dashed to the edge of the fountain and stopped. The rim rose about three feet off the ground. The cat hopped up and began to circle. During the day, water flowed out of the sculpture’s mouth. The late hour meant the pump and spotlights were off.
“Stay close.” Bas parted the slender branches and held them open for me.
Side by side, we followed Jasper’s path to the fountain. The cat circled once, then again, and began another round, stopping at the ten to our six. His eyes focused on the statue’s face, flickering from amber to a steady bright green. Jasper then hunkered down and spat at the fairy, over and over, firing saliva like it was a weapon.
Cracks split the air like a skater skimming over black ice. Except this wasn’t winter and the water in the fountain wasn’t frozen. A section of the statue fell off and plopped into the water. Jasper hissed again, coughed, and lowered his whiskered face to drink.
Bas and I crept around to the left until we faced the statue—the most delicate, living and breathing creature I had ever seen.
Chapter 14
“What is she?”
“True Fae,” said Bas. “Seelie Court. Usually more on the side of do-gooders than evil-mongers.”
All at once, the front of the statue shattered. Pieces rained into the fountain, splashing us. The last section to go was the clawlike hand clutching her ankle. Three fingers broke off, allowing her to fall forward into Bas’s waiting arms.
“Sister,” she murmured, her jaw trembling. “Free my sister.”
“I know where the other fountain is,” I said.
Jasper had plunged his face into the water as soon as Bas had the fairy and drank greedily.
“Jasper? You ready?” I dashed back to the canvas bag and grabbed the protein bar I’d packed. “It’s not fresh fish,” I said, crumbling the bar to pieces in my palm, “but it’s packed with protein.”
He chewed fast.
“Let’s go.” I dropped the rest into the bag.
I set the pace and led our foursome to the back wall of the property. A slow run got us to the other fountain without getting winded. I was dying for a closer peek at the Fae. Bas seemed determined to get her wrapped in his cloak, but she fought him off, pointing toward the statue and snapping her teeth.
“Okay, okay,” he said. “I get it. Sister first.”
Jasper repeated the same projectile spitting routine. The statue’s hard exterior cracked and fell. The sisters had a quick, wordless reunion then scrutinized the cat, the caped man, and me. Either the girls were planning an escape or getting ready to blink themselves to another dimension.
Look at me, traveling by portal and thinking in terms of Magicals occupying different dimensions.
“Wait.” I held up my hand. “Alabastair, do you think these two are it, or are there more trapped Magicals?”
Bas crouched. The fairies were slight. At his full height he could be intimidating, right up until
