Twilight Siege

23

“What’s not possible? You’re scaring me, tell me what’s going on.” “These three crescent moons symbolize the dark magic of the Shadow Fae, and the circle in the middle represents the sun and light magic. This design indicates that the two types of magic have been somehow woven together in this pendant, but that’s impossible. Light and dark magic are repellant, they can’t coexist.” His words started out casual but became more assertive by the end of his explanation. “What about the sword though?” I asked in confusion. “What about it?” “You said it’s made of iron and yet infused with light magic, even though that should be impossible.” He stared at the pendant intently for a long moment. “It would seem our friend Merlin has found a way to accomplish what was unheard of.” He let the pendant fall back to my chest and I could feel its warmth from his touch. His features blanked as he sat back against the couch and I started to grow wary again. “Why didn’t you tell me about the design on the back?” His words were not accusatory but I felt scrutinized under his hard gaze. “I didn’t realize it was important, and I was scared that the more people knew about the necklace, the more attempts there would be on my life.” He leaned his head back, closing his eyes. “And those druids, have you told them about the necklace?” “I didn’t know those people!” “Yet you happened to ask about druids not long ago, I don’t tend to believe in coincidences and that would be a big one.” “You think I would sabotage my own breaking and entering escapade by telling a bunch of crazy druids what we had planned?” I knew I was manipulating the truth a bit, but the intent behind my question was valid. I had not intended the druids to show up and attempt to stop us. “I don’t presume to know anything about you.” “Well, you know more than most, not that I’m all that complicated. Or at least I didn’t used to be complicated. Now that we have the sword, what will you do with it?” I asked quietly, hoping to move our discussion into more neutral waters. Without opening his eyes, he spoke through his fatigue. “I’ll make certain the Hunt has no more traitors in our midst, and if we can find another individual who was involved in the portals, we can use it to interrogate them for answers.” His injury was rapidly depleting his energy stores and he needed to rest. Hoping he would sleep, I moved to a chair across the way and pulled my knees into my chest. We got the sword but at the expense of the Hunt learning about the druids. Not only that but Lochlan seemed more convinced than ever that I was some type of mutant Fae. Was it not enough that I was becoming Fae? I was the mule of Fae, a cross-breed in every way. What would Guin do if she found out I was different than other Fae? The night sky out the small oval window was brilliant with twinkling stars and I concentrated on them to help quiet my mind during the short flight home. Two of Lochlan’s fellow huntsmen, Michael and Liam, met us at the airport. I had met both previously on my first visit to the Huntsman, although I spent more time talking with Liam because of his outgoing personality. Michael was more reserved and from what I had gathered since that time, Lochlan was closer to Michael than any of the other guys. Liam took Lochlan back to the club for treatment and Michael escorted me home. When I walked up to my front steps, I found Knight lounging placidly behind the garden wall in almost the exact same place I’d last seen him. “Come on, boy, let’s go to bed,” I called to him softly. As if he understood, he got to his feet and followed me inside. On my way up the stairs to my bedroom, I texted Ashley again. She had never responded to my previous text but I was too tired to put much energy into worrying. I showered quickly to rinse the blood and grime off me and fell into bed exhausted. OceanofPDF.com 8 Saturday came and went in a series of naps, only to be broken up with periodic raids on the refrigerator. My batteries were in a desperate need of recharge and mindless television between bouts of sleep was exactly what the doctor ordered. I texted Ashley again and yet again received no reply. It wasn’t totally unheard of for one of us to have a packed schedule and not check in, but it wasn’t our normal protocol so I was growing more worried. On Sunday I decided a phone call to Ashley was in order. Her phone rang seven times before voicemail picked up. It felt like an eternity between each ring, my stomach growing more and more sour with each unanswered tone. Neither of us had any family in New York and aside from a few friends, we had been on our own. I texted the few people who might have seen Ashley but none of them had heard from her in the last several days. Her office was closed but I planned to call in the following day in the hope that I could track her down and settle my overactive imagination. I hated to go straight to the police if she had simply broken her phone and not had a chance to buy a new one so I would see what Monday brought and go from there. With that decided and nothing more I could do for the moment, I turned on my laptop to try to distract myself. Lochlan had said that the symbol on my necklace indicated ties to both the light magic of the Seelie and the dark magic of the Shadow Fae. I had gathered basic information about the Seelie and Unseelie, but I knew very little about the Shadow Fae. If my magic had its roots in Shadow magic, it would be smart to learn what I could about the Shadow Fae as well. What I found was less than reassuring. Back when Ronan was still pretending to be a well-adjusted person, he had told me a few tidbits about the Shadow Court. He had said they were a savage caste of Fae who had dark magic and couldn’t bear to be touched by light. I scoured the internet for almost an hour, each bit of information more depressing than the next.