Ghost Light

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 dramatic look—one that would allow her see and be seen. She’d added glitter to the dark pigment and ointment, and brushed it onto her entire eyelid in bold strokes.

The smell of clover was strong as she blinked away happy tears, showing off eyelids that looked like a starry midnight sky. I clutched the door casing, overcome by dizziness.

I sank into the memory of a long forgotten night, the heady smell of clover in my nose and my eyes on the stars. I was lying on a bed of clover, staring up at the star filled night sky. My father, Will-o’-the-Wisp, leaned over me into my line of sight.

I smiled, reaching my arms up for a hug. He lifted me into strong arms and kissed my forehead, then set me on his shoulders where I grabbed at the glowing fireflies dancing around his head. He carried me across the lawn and toward the house. It was the same house I’d grown up in with my mother and stepfather, but it looked brighter, cleaner, and larger than I remembered. Even beneath the night sky, flowers surrounded the house in full bloom.

We met my mother on the porch and I squealed as father pulled me from his shoulders. He pretended I was flying as he lowered me down to the freshly painted porch.

The house wasn’t the only thing to look refreshed. My mother was fully transformed. Until now, I hadn’t remembered her ever looking so happy. The perpetual lines in her forehead were gone and her eyes crinkled at the corners. For once my mother wasn’t frowning. Her smile was radiant.

Her face, and my father’s, began to blur. I tried to hold on, to make the memory last just a bit longer, but the happy moment was replaced by a second memory. This new memory was from a different day entirely.

“Please don’t leave,” my mother sobbed.

She was on the porch and I crouched inside the house, behind the half-open door. I could hear her voice shaking, but she stood just out of sight of my hiding spot. Her hands were the only part of her that I could see clearly.

My father was standing on the front lawn. He was holding a lantern that shone strangely and cast eerie shadows over his face. His shoulders were slumped and he looked like he was in pain. I wanted to run to him and ask if he was hurt, but something about the lantern in his hand frightened me.

I held my breath and listened.

“I must go,” he said.

He lifted the hand that held the lantern to his head, and lowered it with a frustrated groan. He raised the other hand to run fingers through his hair and let out a lengthy sigh.

“You…you can’t let it go, can you?” my mother asked.

Her hands shook where she clasped them together in front of her. I didn’t think I’d be able to look at my mother’s hands the same way again. The woman I knew was hard and solemn. She’d never looked so weak or upset before, but those hands, shaking and clasping each other over and over, spoke volumes. My mother was terrified.

My father demonstrated trying to set the lantern down, but could not. No matter what he tried, the lantern remained in his hand.

“I can’t be rid of the cursed thing,” he said. “So long as I hold this damnable lantern, I cannot escape the devil’s eye. I must leave you, or risk the attention of Hell. I won’t bring that on you and Ivy. I’d rather die first.”

He looked worn and haggard, as if he’d aged overnight.

“There must be another way,” my mother said. Her hands fisted. “What about the fae? You are a king. There must be others who can help.”

“I’m sorry, love,” he said. “Wisps are solitary, usually preferring their own kind. We are short on powerful allies. No, I must leave. But I promise to return when I find a way to break this fool bargain. Until then, I forbid you to speak of me. Forget.”

My mother’s hands fluttered, going limp, and the memory blurred. I thought I heard my father whisper, “I’m so sorry, Sarah, please forgive me,” but I couldn’t be sure. The memories, and the answers they may have held, were gone.

I blinked rapidly, leaning against the doorframe. Jinx hovered, eyes wide.

“Dude, you okay?” Jinx asked. “What did you touch?”

What did you touch? The words took a moment to make sense. Jinx thought I’d had a vision, but this wasn’t the result of my psychic gift. It was a memory, leaking past the magical barrier my father had cast on my mind. The spell had been unraveling for months, leaving my wisp abilities exposed. Now it was giving me a glimpse into my past.

“Ivy?” Ceff asked.

Ceff stood rigid, the knuckles of his fists gone white with the strain of holding himself back. He still wasn’t used to my lapses of reality and was obviously worried. He looked like he wanted to scoop me up into his arms, but knew enough to keep away. Instead, he studied my face intently.

“I’m okay,” I said. “It wasn’t a vision. I…I remembered something from my childhood. It was a memory of my father.”

I gently bit my lip and smiled. Ceff blew out a long breath and flashed a smile in return.

“A good memory?” he asked.

“Yes and no,” I said. I struggled to find the right words. “My father didn’t abandon us. He left to protect us.”

I explained what I had seen in both memories.

“Soooooooo,” Jinx said. She lifted a hand and ticked off each point with sparkly tipped fingers. “Your real dad made a deal with the devil that went south. He ended up cursed to carry some kind of tainted Hell beacon, and now he’s wandering the earth looking for a cure. And if he finds one, he’ll come back to you and your mom and maybe lift the memory spell.”

“Yes,” I said.

“So if your real dad comes back, what happens to your stepfather?” she asked.

“I have no idea,” I said. “I don’t know if my dad will ever come back, or find a way to break the curse. But now I know that he wasn’t some fae creep who used my mom for sex and tossed her away when he got bored with her. No offense.”

I aimed the last at Ceff.

“None taken,” Ceff said a wry smile on his lips.

I’d spent the last few months convinced that I had a deadbeat dad who’d used his fae powers to take advantage of my mother. But now I knew the truth. My parents had loved each other. We had been a happy family before my father made a bargain with Hell. I didn’t know yet if there was a way to break the curse laid upon my father, but one thing was certain.

I was prepared to do anything to get my family back.