Burning Bright (Ivy Granger) (6 page)

I scowled and lifted my gloved hands to the air.

“About time you guys showed up,” I said.  “I need an
audience with The Green Lady, stat.”

“Our Ladyship does not take orders from you, wisp princess,”
he said.

So, the carnival fae knew about my new royal status.  Apparently,
word gets around.  Good to know.

“No, but you take orders from her and I’m sure she’d like to
see me,” I said.  I took a deep breath and met his gaze.  “I owe her a
bargain.”

“Last I heard, you owed her more than the fulfillment of one
bargain, princess,” he said, a twitch of his lips letting me know he thought
this was amusing.

“Whatever,” I muttered.  “Just take me to The Green Lady and
let her decide if she wants to see me or not.”

The bard gestured and the
nagual
took the lead,
heading toward The Green Lady’s pavilion.  I took my place behind the shifter
on this crazy, freak show train and tried to ignore Delilah’s purr of pleasure
at my side and the bard’s arrows at my back.

I focused on the
nagual
, startled when I noticed the furry
tail sticking out of his deerskin pants.  That might explain why he had joined
the carnival fae.  Shapeshifters who can’t fully hold their human or animal
form are a risk to the secrecy that fae society holds so dear.  I guess he
wouldn’t have had much choice coming here, but it had to be hard for someone
who’s half wild animal to be penned up in an amusement park.  Judging by his
mangy pelt, I didn’t think the carnival life was agreeing with him.

I pulled my eyes from the pendulous tail and winced. 
Delilah matched my stomping footsteps with her rolling gait, doing her utmost
to sway her hips right up to her elbows.  The succubus caught my eye with a
wink, tongue darting out to suggestively lick her lips.

Mab’s bloody bones, I didn’t want to encourage the succubus,
but this might be my only chance to pick her brain.  I smiled, trying not to
reach for my blades.  Jinx was going to owe me, big time.

“So, um, Delilah,” I said, clearing my throat.  “I hope this
doesn’t sound rude, but could you describe your, um, feeding process? 
I’m…curious.”

“Ah, come find out for yourssself, wisssp princesss,” she
said, hands moving up and down her body to show me what was on offer.

I took one step to the side, putting more space between us,
but kept the smile plastered on my face.  It was all I could do not to run.

“No thanks,” I said.  “I don’t need a demonstration.  A
description will do me just fine.”

Delilah pouted artfully, but I just shook my head.

“I take away energy and in return I give pleasssure,” she
said.

The way she put it, a succubus feeding sounded like an equal
exchange, but I was pretty sure that wasn’t the case.

“What happens to the other person when you’re done feeding?”
I asked.

“They die,” she said.

Her eyes dilated and I wished I hadn’t asked.

“That is enough,” the bard said, placing his bow between me
and the succubus.  “Save your questions for Our Lady.  Now move.”

I took a hurried step before he could nudge me forward.  I
didn’t want to risk that bow touching my skin.  If that happened, I’d probably
end up a gibbering mess on the sawdust strewn pavement.

I flicked my eyes to Delilah and tried to smile.  She
mouthed “later” with her pouty, bee-stung lips and I nodded.  If I found out
that The Green Lady was harboring the incubus who’d fed on Jinx, I may need
Delilah’s help.  As a succubus and a carnival fae herself, Delilah might be
able to convince the guy to release his hold on Jinx, maybe.

It was a long shot.   Being nice to Delilah wasn’t without
its own risks.  I didn’t need a hungry succubus on my hands.  Encouraging a
succubus was playing with fire and, like the city outside, I didn’t want to go
down in flames.

T
he whir of
rusting metal punctuated by loud carnival music and human shrieks grated on my
nerves as we skirted a rickety, old tilt-a-whirl ride.  I shook my head and
followed the carnival fae toward a large, forest green pavilion.  I didn’t need
to fork over my hard earned money to feel the world spinning beneath my feet.  I
could get that gut in the throat feeling all on my own.

The
nagual
lifted the flap and Delilah sauntered
inside.  The bard waved his bow, gesturing for me to follow.

I stepped inside, the sounds from the amusement park cut off
as the shapeshifter dropped the heavy cloth to the ground.  The pavilion was
large, but it felt cramped with the hundred or so guards crowded inside.  They
each had at least one weapon trained on me and I froze.

I’d received the royal audience that I’d wanted, but
apparently The Green Lady had taken measures to make sure I stayed in line.  I took
a deep breath, wondering how to begin without pissing off the faerie queen.  I sucked
at diplomacy.  I was going to have to dig deep for the tiny bit of manners that
I had.

“Um, nice dress,” I said.

Okay, that was lame, but I couldn’t think of anything else
nice to say.  And the long, green, formal gown did cover up the glaistig’s goat
legs, making it an improvement over the dress she’d worn on my last visit.

“Whilst I appreciate your attempt at civility, I am guessing
that you did not come all the way here to compliment my dress,” she said.

Oh well, so much for playing nice.  Might as well say what I
came to say and try not to get killed in the process.

“I am here to fulfill our bargain, but on the condition that
you provide information that I seek,” I said.  I held my breath, waiting for
one of the guards to run me through with one of their pointy spears for my
insolence.  I counted to ten and, when no one tried to turn me into a pin
cushion, I continued on.  “Once I have the information, I’ll need a day and a
night to act on it, and then I’m all yours.”

“I see you have learned something of faerie bargains since
our last meeting,” she said.  Her lips curved, but the smile didn’t reach her
eyes.  At any moment, with the slightest twitch of her hand, she could signal
her guards to kill me.  It was a sobering thought.  “You offer me what is
already my due.  Why should I agree to your terms?”

“Because if you do this for me, I will fulfill my side of
the bargain—without fighting it,” I said.

More than one of the stoic guards let out a gasp and The
Green Lady shot me an incredulous glare.

“You would think to defy me?” she asked.  The faerie queen
rose in stature, gathering her power.

“It’s nothing personal,” I said with a shrug.  If she was
going to order her guards to kill me, there was nothing I could do to stop them
and if she twitched her nose, she could smack me into the ground with her magic
like an episode of Bewitched, just much, much bloodier.  I figured if she was
preparing to kill me, I might as well go down being a wiseass.  “It’s who I
am.  I just can’t help myself.”

To my surprise, she laughed.  The sound danced along my nerves
like shards of razor-sharp glass, but I held my relaxed pose.  Let her think I
faced down faerie queens every day.

“Yes,” she said, eyeing me up and down, scrutinizing me from
head to toe.  I tried not to cringe as her eyes glinted like the sun on a
guillotine’s blade, apparently liking what she saw.  “It is what you are—half
fae and half human.  It is in your very nature to fight the shackles of our
bargain, and shirk our traditions.  That might make you a useful tool yet.”

Mab’s bloody bones, I didn’t like the sound of that.

“So, um, do we have a deal?” I asked.

“Ah, I see you have also inherited impatience from your
human mother,” she said.

“What can I say, I’m a busy woman,” I said.  “People to see,
monsters to kill.”

Her eyes narrowed and I swallowed hard.  Okay, maybe I
shouldn’t have mentioned that last part.  The Green Lady may act like a
cold-hearted bitch at times, but the faerie queen cared deeply for her loyal
subjects.  Many of the carnival fae could pass for monsters.  Heck, for all I
knew she was harboring the incubus who’d fed on Jinx.  I snapped my mouth shut
and waited.

“Listen carefully, wisp child, for I will not say this
again,” she said.  “If you ever harm one of my people, I shall torture you for
eternity—no matter who your father is.”

Oh shit.  She was serious.  I nodded and tried to look
sheepish, which wasn’t all that hard.  I should really learn to keep my mouth
shut.

“Good,” she said.  “Now that we have that matter out of the
way, let us discuss our terms.”  I blinked and nodded.  Apparently, we were
back to bargaining.  “As it happens, I do have a situation that requires
someone of your particular talents.”

“That is…fortuitous,” I said.  Look at me with the big
words.  Hanging out with Ceff must be rubbing off on me.

She grinned like a
cat sidhe
eyeing a mouse.

“Yes, perhaps,” she said.  “As for this question of yours,
how do I know it is not worth a bargain of its own?”

“You don’t,” I said.  Her eyes narrowed, and I held up a
gloved hand.  “But I can assure you that I will do my best to fulfill my end of
the deal.  You can ask any fae who’ve come to me for help in the past.  I bring
results.”

“Fine,” she said.  The skin around her eyes looked pinched
and I wondered what kind of job she needed my help for.  If it was big enough
to have the glaistig worried, I probably wasn’t going to like the answer.

“And it’s information on one topic of my choice, not just
the answer to a single question,” I said hurriedly.

“Yes, alright,” she said, waving her hand.  “It is not like
this is the last of my hold on you.  You will still have a remaining bargain to
fulfill.”

Ugh, I was hoping she’d forget about that.  No such luck.

“So you give me the information I need and, after a day and
a night, I will come to you to fulfill one task of your choosing,” I said.

“I will agree to providing the information you seek, but not
to the delay,” she said.  “Do what you will with the answers to your questions,
but you must fulfill your side of the bargain immediately.”

I’d rather have a day to focus on saving Jinx, but this was
better than nothing.  I needed answers that the glaistig may have.  I nodded.

“Fine, do we have a deal?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said, a cold grin on her lips.

There was something hinky about the glaistig that I just
couldn’t put my finger on.  I had a bad feeling that she was somehow getting
the better end of our bargain.  Too bad I didn’t have the luxury of time to
come up with a better idea.

“Okay,” I said.  “I accept the terms of our agreement.”

I let out a yelp and staggered back a step as the changing
nature of our bargain settled across my shoulders like a yoke.

“It is done,” she said.  “What information do you seek?”

I took a deep breath, in through my nose and out through my
mouth, and met the glaistig’s eyes.

“Tell me about succubi and incubi,” I said.

The Green Lady raised an eyebrow at my question, but
steepled her fingers and continued on.

“Succubi and incubi are the result of the coupling of a
demon with a highborn fae,” she said.

“Sounds cozy,” I said.

“I can assure you, it is not,” she said, perfect little nose
wrinkling.  “To become impregnated with a succubi or incubi is a death sentence
to the mother, whether she be fae or demon.  From the time of conception, the
child relies on the mother for nourishment and therefore feeds on her life
essence.  To my knowledge, no mother, fae or demon, has ever survived the birth
of their succubi or incubi offspring.”

I swallowed the bitter tang that rose in my mouth and
flicked my eyes toward Delilah.  Succubi and incubi came into this world with
blood on their hands.  I knew they couldn’t help it, but it didn’t endear me to
the life-sucking temptress.

Which made me wonder, how had Jinx become seduced by an
incubus?  I’d made sure we’d been well stocked in crucifixes and holy water and
Jinx never went anywhere these days without a weapon.  I mean, she was only
human, and attracted to bad boys, but after all that we’d been up against in
the past year, I had my doubts that she’d just willingly throw herself at an
incubus.  Had he invited her back to his place?  How far had things gone?

Oh, Oberon’s eyes, if succubi and incubi were the product of
a demon and fae union, then—if a human survived the experience—what was the
result of incubi and human sex?  God, Jinx, what have you gotten yourself into?

Another slimy thought wormed its way into my brain, making
my stomach churn.  What would happen if a demon and a human did the horizontal
mambo?  When I’d caught Jinx and Forneus in the basement of Club Nexus, they
were just a few pieces of clothing away from sex.

Remembering Forneus’ appearance when he transformed into his
demonic form still gave me nightmares—the fact that he’d done so to save Jinx
was beside the point.  I was sure that if the two ever got together for real,
there’d be consequences.  And bouncy, little, essence-sucking demon babies
sounded like a possible deal stopper.

If Jinx ever remembered that kiss, she’d need to know the
risks of taking things further.  But I didn’t think The Green Lady would be
willing to toss that tidbit of knowledge in for free.  And I sure as hell
wasn’t going to make another bargain for it.  I’d have to get that information
elsewhere.  In the meantime, I’d have to pick her brain for information on
incubi.

“So what happens if a human and an incubus get…intimate?” I
asked.

“If the two had sex, the human would die,” she said.

“And how fast would that happen?” I asked, trying to ignore
the quiver in my voice.  “The dying part.”

I silently prayed that Jinx hadn’t already signed her own
death certificate.  If she’d had sex with an incubus, could that be why she was
losing energy?  Was she just dying a slow death?  If so, I wasn’t sure if
Kaye’s magic would be strong enough to keep her alive.  My chest tightened.  If
Jinx was dying, there may be nothing I could do except stand by and watch it
happen.