I laughed, leaning my head against hers for a moment. “I fantasize about the same thing. I’m pretty sure Camille does, too. I think I’ve got it the easiest of all of you. I don’t have to run a kingdom, I don’t have to be the princess of vampires. I can go on my own way, as long as the Autumn Lord is happy with what I’m doing.”
I paused, remembering that I had to fill her in on what had happened. “I need to tell you something before we head out to look for Shade today. Once he’s back, after we get married, we’ll be undergoing a ritual on Samhain. And then…it’s time for me to get preggers with the Autumn Lord’s child. He told me last month, before I went to Otherworld with Camille.”
Menolly held my gaze for a long moment, a faint smile spreading over her face. “Well, that’s going to be a change. I just hope we’re done with Shadow Wing by then. I’d hate to see you pregnant and worrying about the war.”
“Me too.” I fell silent as Camille entered the room, followed by Smoky, Trillian, and Morio. It was hard to look anywhere else but at her, because she was in full regalia. She was wearing a princess ball gown that was a swirl of purple, blue, and black chiffon with an extremely low-cut sweetheart neckline. The skirt swept out like an old-fashioned hoop skirt, reminding me of galaxies sparkling against the night sky. The crown on her head was different than the one I was used to seeing—she always wore a simpler tiara when she came over to the house to visit since her coronation, but this one towered on her head, a sparkling jewel-encrusted headdress.
Menolly nudged me with her elbow. “That’s a sight at five in the morning.”
I gave her a shake of the head. “Good gods, if that’s what she’s required to wear most of the day out here no wonder she’s so cranky. That crown alone looks like it weighs twenty pounds.”
Camille gave me a long look. “You do know that I can hear you from over here?” But she laughed. “I’m dressed for court. I always hold open court after breakfast, and today is no exception.”
“What’s that mean?” I hadn’t really thought about what she did out here.
“I make judgments, hand out punishments and give commendations, and basically do all the business that’s expected of me.” She paused, shifting her skirts as she sat down. “To be honest, there’s a lot for me to do, and the formalities can be irritating, but they’re a necessity. This is my job. You think I’m cranky now, you should see me with some of the trivial crap in court.”
As she took her place at the table, one of the servants took her order, then he consulted Smoky, Morio, and Trillian, and crossed to the buffet to fix their plates. The rest of us were expected to dish up our own.
“Perri instructed me to eat a hearty breakfast. You too, Trillian, Roz, and Nerissa. She said we’d need the fuel so that our bodies could sustain us as we travel through the Land of Wandering Souls.” I wasn’t complaining. Any instructions that led to a plateful of pancakes and bacon were good instructions. At least as far as I was concerned.
Nerissa delicately wiped her lips on a napkin. “When do we start? And is there anything else we need to bring?”
Perri had given me a set of instructions to pass around to the others. I handed them each a copy of the list. They weren’t involved, and there weren’t many, but they were explicit.
Eat a hearty breakfast. You will need to fuel. Don’t drink alcohol, or take any medication other than anything you have been prescribed. Inform us if you are on any prescription medications. Wear warm, loose clothing. Don’t wear anything binding, i.e.: bras, belts, shoes. Wear socks. Don’t bring any electronics into the laboratory. Leave your cell phones in your rooms. Go to the bathroom before you come to the lab.
“Well, that’s pretty forthright.” Nerissa glanced over the list. “Is there a safe place we can leave our jewelry? Like my wedding rings?” Nerissa wore two rings, one binding her to Menolly, the other to Roman.
Camille opened the tote she had carried in with her. A jarring juxtaposition in contrast with her outfit, it was covered with images of SpongeBob SquarePants.
I blinked, but said nothing.
“I’ll keep them for you.” Camille rummaged through the bag until she found a small coin purse. She handed it to Nerissa. “You can stow your rings in there, and anything else bigger can just go in my tote. This bag never leaves my side while I’m making my rounds. I’ll entrust it to one of my guards when I’m done.”
Nerissa placed her rings and a necklace in it. She handed it to me, and I added my ring that I wore that bound me to Shade, along with my earrings. Roz wasn’t wearing much in terms of jewelry, and so he passed the coin purse along to Trillian, who added his wedding ring to Camille into the mix, along with a simple gold chain with a “T” on it. Camille fastened the purse and returned it to the bag, setting the tote on the ground beside her.
“Are you ready?” she asked. “I wish I could stay with you today. I’ll come and visit as soon as I finish my duties for the morning. Did Perri say how long you’ll be in…stasis, I suppose you’d call it?”
I shook my head. “She didn’t say how long it would take. I don’t even know if we can make an estimate. I suppose it depends on how long it takes to find Shade. I also have no clue if time runs differently in the Land of Wandering Souls. If the realm stands outside of time and space, we may be awake within minutes, even if it seems like it’s been weeks to us. If not, then we might be out for several days or more.”
There were so many variations that it seemed impossible to speculate. Even though Perri had reassured me that they would do everything they could to make certain we were comfortable and healthy during the time we were out in the Land of Wandering Souls, it was difficult not to worry. Mostly I worried that we might end up trapped.
Rozurial caught my attention. “Delilah, we’re going to find him and return him to his body. Look at everything we’ve been through so far. Then just try to tell me that we can’t manage this. You know we’ll succeed.”
“Thank you,” I murmured, grateful for his reassurance.
Trillian popped the last bite of a muffin in his mouth. “With the connection you and Shade have, I imagine you’ll know exactly what to do once we’re there. I know the two of you aren’t soul bound like Camille, Smoky, Morio, and I are, but you have your own bond through the Autumn Lord. Call on that. Use it for all you’re worth.”
His suggestion made sense, when I thought about it. While we hadn’t been formally soul bound like Camille and her husbands, Shade and I were bound through the powers of an Elemental Lord. That had to count for something.
Feeling better, I finished my breakfast, adding one last waffle for the hell of it.
“I know Menolly’s going to be sleeping throughout the day, and Camille has her work, but what will the rest of you do today?” I was still nervous, and small talk made me feel like things were back to normal.
“Well, while Camille is holding court, and Trillian is off with you, Morio and I thought we’d go out to the house and start looking at what it will take to rebuild it. Camille’s going to send a team of construction workers with us, so hopefully, it won’t take long before we have the house back in order for you.” Smoky stood and stretched, his hair rising up behind him as it began to plait itself into one long, ankle-length braid.
Shade’s hair moved too, but it was shorter, given he was only half dragon, and he never did much with it other than whisk it back into a ponytail. He and I really weren’t into using it in sex play like Camille and Smoky did, especially after the one time I turned into Tabby and lunged for it, giving him a severe headache for a few hours, as well as a few scratches.
Vanzir flashed me a rueful grin. “Aeval has me taking parenting classes. I’m going to learn how to change diapers today.” He rolled his eyes, but I detected a hint of pride in his voice.
Iris and Bruce were feeding the twins. “I’m going to be talking to some of the educators here, about school for the children.”
Once again, my heart
sank. “It’s a long drive every day.”
“As I mentioned, we’re thinking of moving out here. For one thing, it’s safer. For another, once the twins are old enough to go to school, it would give them the chance to study among other Fae.” She gave me an apologetic shrug. “We love our house, and we’d like to keep it if you don’t mind, but it would be so much easier if we were close enough for the children to walk to school every day, and then spend our weekends out on the land.”
It occurred to me that I shouldn’t be surprised. Everybody had been making plans to move on with their lives. It was the way of things. I gave her a nod. “That makes sense. And you, Hanna? What are you doing today?”
“I thought I might observe the pastry chef. These buns are delicious, and I wouldn’t mind learning a few new recipes.” She flashed me a smile, as if to say, not all of us are running off.
I was hoping I might see Chase, but he was apparently busy with the other Keraastar Knights. They had their own wing in the Barrow, and were under heavy guard, considering they bore all nine spirit seals within a relatively confined area.
Finally, we ran out of small talk. It was time to go. Part of me was impatient and wanted to get under way as soon as possible. And part of me was terrified. I wasn’t sure if I was more afraid of the idea of getting stuck out in the Land of Wandering Souls, or of the possibility of not finding Shade. Silently, I gave Camille and Menolly a long hug. Nerissa did the same, kissing Menolly before she left. Trillian gave Camille a long kiss under the irritated eyes of the guards. PDAs weren’t exactly acceptable behavior in the Barrows, but Camille didn’t let that stop her.
Finally, we were ready. Waving to the others, we headed down the hall toward the laboratory, hopefully to find and rescue Shade.
Chapter 7
IN THE LABORATORY, we were each taken to a separate bed. We were dressed for traveling in warm, loose clothing. Perri had told us our clothes would translate to the appropriate gear once we made the shift over, including shoes instead of just socks, but it still seemed odd to see Nerissa with her hair pulled back beneath a brilliant blue bandana. She usually dressed for work—business casual—or for clubbing.
Shade was there, looking for all the world as though he were fast asleep.
Next to each of the beds, an IV stand stood, complete with bags full of pale pink liquid. I stared up at them, realizing that we were going to be jacked up to needles. I wasn’t afraid of needles, but I hadn’t expected this.
“Aren’t you going to just keep an eye on us after I contact the Autumn Lord?” I glanced over at Perri, who was consulting her notes.
She shook her head. “No. I found a recipe for a formula that will help the whole process. It’s a mixture of magical herbs and compounds. We have to administer it through an IV drip because if we injected this much liquid into you at once, you’d bloat up like a balloon. It will work best if we introduce it into your system at a certain rate. Otherwise, the solution might propel you out farther than you really want to go. There are some realms that aren’t safe to visit, out on the outer edges of the Ionyc Seas.”
“Other than the herbs and compounds, what else is in here?” Nerissa poked at the bag, suspicious. “There’s something about it that feels tingly when I get near it.”
“This has some of the actual energy from the Ionyc Seas in it. We recently discovered a method to materialize it into the physical realm, then make a powder from it. This is going to be revolutionary for teleportation spells and the like.” Perri sounded excited, her eyes were bright. I realized that a lot of the Fae and Elfin healers were actually scientists as well. It had never occurred to me before that they might actually try experiments to establish new procedures rather than simply relying on age-old remedies. I wasn’t sure why it seemed like such a surprise, but it did.
“You guys really are cutting edge, aren’t you?” The words slipped out before I realized that I had said them aloud. I blushed.
“Actually, we are. We’ve done a lot of consulting with the Elfin techno-mages, and have formed a new society—Healers for the Future.” She motioned to a door against the back of the wall. “If you need to use the restroom, please do so now.”
“What happens if we have to go to the bathroom while we’re under?” Roz asked, only half joking.
“We’ll take care of matters if you do. We have ways of tracking the bodily functions, so no worries there. If you need water, we’ll hydrate you. If you need food, we’ll add a nutritional formula to your IV drip. If your body temperature drops, we’ll warm you up, and so on. You’ll feel hunger and cold and heat while out on the other realm, but we’ll be handling those issues for your bodies here. Any other questions before we begin?” She looked at each of us in turn.
“We have to carry our talismans on our body that the Autumn Lord gave me. That’s a must.” I held up the charm. I had given each of the others their talismans as soon as we entered the laboratory.
“That’s fine. Just place them in your pocket. When you need them, you’ll find them in your pockets out there and you’ll be able to use them. But you need to remember where you put them—otherwise, you may think that you’ve lost them and we won’t be able to help you.” Perri motioned to each bed in turn, checking off our names. “Rozurial, please take the bed on the end. Nerissa, the next. Trillian, the third, and Delilah—you take the last.”
“The Autumn Lord said he’ll show up and help transport us once we’re ready and I summon him,” I said. “As soon as I’m in bed, I’ll touch the tattoo on my forehead that links me to him, and he should arrive. I’m just warning you all in advance. You know who he is, so please don’t antagonize him.” On one level, I didn’t think I had to ask. On the other hand, given Roz and Trillian’s natures, it seemed reasonable to remind them.
“We’ve got your back,” Trillian said. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
“What about weapons? We’re supposed to take them with us.”
We had brought our daggers with us, although Roz wasn’t allowed to bring his coat-slash-armory that he usually wore. Instead, he had chosen a sturdy short sword that looked so old that I wondered how long he had had it. He seldom fought with a blade, but it looked comfortable in his hand, and it made me wonder.
“I don’t think I’ve seen that before.” I settled on the bed Perri had assigned to me. The mattress was comfortable and firm but not so hard that it would give me bruises. I settled back against the headboard, holding my dagger on my lap.
Perri examined each of our weapons. “These will be fine. When you lie down, place them to your side on the bed, as though you could reach down and grasp it. We don’t want your hands clasped around them because it will cause muscle cramps if you’re in stasis too long.”
As we stretched out, a twinge of fear raced through me. I wished my sisters could come along. We had faced so many dangers together, everything from demons to vampires to gods. Visiting other realms was always tricky, even without the possibility of finding yourself trapped. You never knew quite what to expect.
When we were all ready, Perri motioned to me.
“All right. You can summon him. We’re ready, but we can’t insert the IVs until he begins the ritual. We don’t want to put you under before then.”
With my left hand, I reached up and brushed the black crescent scythe on my forehead, closing my eyes as I called out for the Autumn Lord. A shiver ricocheted through me as I sensed he had heard me. And then we waited.
One beat… Two beats… Three…
A gust of wind raced through the laboratory, carrying with it the scent of crackling bonfires and ripe apples and yeasty cinnamon rolls on a cool, chill night. The walls of the room seemed to reverberate, like water in a glass that was trembling. A mist rose up, rolling along the floor of the room, and then the Autumn Lord stood there, his dark glory filling the room.
Trillian gasped, along with Rozurial. Nerissa sucked in a deep breath of air—so loud I could hear her
from my bed. I started to sit up, but the tech standing next to my bed held me down.
“You are ready?” Hi’ran didn’t address any of the others, but looked straight at me. His words echoed through the room.
“Yes, we’re ready. They’re going to inject us with a compound of herbs and potions to help us transfer over. Will that interfere with the ritual?”
Hi’ran shook his head, a faint smile on his face. “No, it will actually help. I’m glad they’re keeping tabs on your bodies.” He turned to Perri. “You may begin the injections. As soon as they’re ready, I will shift the worlds so they move into the Land of Wandering Souls. I cannot bring them back, however.” He looked at the others at that point. “You are all aware of this, are you not? You must give me your permission. I will not send you out there if you do not want to go.” Hi’ran was deadly serious.
Nerissa was first to speak. “I’m still willing to go.”
Trillian and Rozurial joined in, each pledging their own assent.
“Then close your eyes. I will open the gate. When you see the mist and hear me say ’Jump,’ jump. I hope to see you back here, along with Shade. Good luck, and may the blessings of the gods go with you.” He turned to me. “Delilah, remember: you are my only living Death Maiden. You are to be the mother of my child. Return to me.”
As the healers began to insert our IVs, the Autumn Lord began to chant in a voice so low I couldn’t catch the words. But the tone was resonant, hypnotic and mesmerizing. I closed my eyes and felt the twinge of the needle go into my arm. It hurt for a second, stinging as though I had been pricked by a bee. Then a delicious flow of warmth began to flood my body as a mist rose up in my mind. I no longer felt the bed beneath me but merely the floor beneath my feet, as mist roiled past. I turned and saw Nerissa, and Trillian, and Rozurial standing there.
The Autumn Lord’s voice echoed throughout whatever chamber we were in, the words so old, so ancient that they meant nothing and yet they meant everything. Like a trail of sparkles, they were magic incarnate, caught into sound bites, waves that rang through me with every word that he uttered. The next moment, he thundered, “Jump!”