Shaded Vision: An Otherworld Novel (42 page)

“And now, for the elephant in the room.” I tossed the pencil onto the table. “We have a new demon general to deal with. He managed to steal one of the spirit seals. We all know he isn’t going to stay back in the Sub-Realms. He struck a blow for Shadow Wing here, and he’s going to be shipped right back here to wreak more havoc. And Gulakah…there’s no way we can take him down easy, especially when he combines his powers with Telazhar.”

Menolly floated down from the ceiling. “He’s the Lord of Ghosts. We’re going to have a long haul getting rid of him. Not to mention the freak-show cavalcade of spirits he’ll bring with him. Those motherfucking ghosts he trotted out tonight were probably the mere bullies of the party. I can’t wait to see him call up the big boys.”

I rubbed my temples. I had a raging headache. “There’s nothing we can do about that right now. We have to be satisfied with the fact that we took down Van and his cronies.”

Yugi knocked at the door, then peeked in.

Chase motioned him in. “What is it, Yugi?”

“Gambit is dead.” Yugi glanced over at us, looking grim.

“What the fuck happened?” Chase jumped up. “We had him in custody—he was going to stand trial and we were going to put him away.”

Yugi placed a series of photos on the table. “Here—these are printouts caught by the security camera. This man just…showed up in the cell block. We have wards down there to prevent magic, but somehow he got in. The next shots show
him in Gambit’s cell—with it still locked—and then, a blur, and then—Gambit’s dead and the man’s gone.”

We glanced at the pictures.
Trytian.

“Fuck—how did he get past your wards?” I slammed my hand on the table. “I’m not sorry that Gambit’s dead, but what’s this going to do to the hate groups? They’ll martyr him.”

“No, I don’t think they will,” Chase said. He handed me the evening edition of the
Seattle News
. The front-page headline read, Three More Women Report Gambit Raped Them.

“So, he really was a serial rapist?” I flipped open the paper. Sure enough, apparently three more women had come to the headquarters during the evening to swear out complaints, stating that Gambit had raped them, too. The
Seattle Tattler
had withdrawn its support of him, basically throwing him to the wolves.

And Trytian…had shown up and killed him.

“There’s no way to bring him in,” I told Chase. “We can’t arrest a daemon—he’d be out of here so fast that…”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll swear out an arrest warrant on John Doe, but this is one case that will remain unsolved. Once the DNA comes back—providing it proves it was him—the public isn’t going to mourn Gambit’s death. Good riddance, even though I can’t say so in public. At least not until I have the DNA proof in my hands.” He paused. “So, where does that leave us?”

I just wanted to go home and go to sleep. The past few days had been brutal, and we’d lost a hell of a lot. But we’d also gained allies, and support. And we’d taken out some of the bad guys. And maybe, just maybe, we’d started a movement to squelch the hate crimes that had been building in the city.

Camille laughed. “It leaves us…well…we prepare for the return of Gulakah and Telazhar. With Gulakah being the Lord of Ghosts, and Telazhar being an ancient necromancer, they’re well suited to work together. So…what next?”

I shook off the bone-weariness that had settled in my
body. “I supposed…we tell Queen Asteria we lost another spirit seal. We see about getting Wilbur out of the hospital so we can give Martin back to him. We build an alliance with Trytian. We tear down that wall below what remains of the Energy Exchange. We help Marion rebuild her café and help her and Douglas find a new house. Just a simple morning’s work.”

Snorting, I stood. “At least we got Van and Jaycee off the streets, out of the picture. No more Wolf Briar, at least for now. And Zach…” I told them about Zachary, as hard as it was. “He’s gone out of our lives for good, I think. But it’s his path. It’s what he needs to do. He’s running through the hills of Otherworld by now, free and healed.”

After a pause, where we all stared at the table, Shade grabbed my hand. “Before we take off for the night, there’s one more thing we have to address.”

I looked at him, unable to think straight. “If there’s anything else, I’ve lost track of it.”

“Delilah has conveniently forgotten that I asked her to marry me. And she said yes. Well, she said yes to
someday
becoming my wife.” He grinned, and as Camille and Menolly clapped, I blushed. While everyone was talking at once, I moved over to the window, staring out on the squad room. Chase joined me.

“Delilah,” he said softly. “I want you to know…I’m happy for you. Truly.” He offered me his hand and I took it, squeezing his fingers.

“Thank you. I’m content. It’s right. Shade and I…we fit together. We’re a match, in a fashion I never knew I could have.”

“I know you are. I can see it. I have some news of my own.”

“About your family tree?”

He shook his head. “I’m still not ready to talk about that yet. It’s all so new. No, this is something bigger than that. I asked Sharah if I could tell you.” He scuffed the floor. “Please, don’t tell the others yet. We didn’t plan for this to happen. But sometimes, things just…”

I looked at him, waiting.

He shrugged. “Sharah’s pregnant. I’m the father. She’s keeping the baby. Beyond that, I have no clue what the future has in store for us. But we’ll tell your sisters in a day or so.”

And then, before I could say a word, Camille and Menolly were hugging me and discussing wedding plans. I suddenly found myself crying. The stress of the past few days had taken its toll. But they were tears of joy as well as sorrow. So much had changed in so little time. And so much was still changing.

Linking arms with my sisters, we sailed out of the room, toward the parking lot, with the men following. Chase raised his hand as we left, and our eyes met. He was smiling at me, and I beamed at him. He was headed toward fatherhood. And, while he would always be our detective, I had the feeling that his path was leading him into so much more than that.

And me? I…I was headed…who knew where? But Shade would be at my side wherever I was going. And one day, when I was ready, I would become his wife. I didn’t believe in happily-ever-after anymore. There was always an “after.” My rose-colored glasses had been shattered—collateral damage in this war we were fighting. But I
could
believe in happy
for now
. And overall, considering what we were facing, that was enough. I was ready to face my future. And our lives were pretty damned good.

Black Unicorn/Black Beast:
Father of the Dahns unicorns, a magical unicorn that is reborn like the phoenix and lives in Darkynwyrd and Thistlewyd Deep. Raven Mother is his consort, and he is more a force of nature than a unicorn.

Calouk:
The rough, common dialect used by a number of Otherworld inhabitants.

Court and Crown:
“Crown” refers to the Queen of Y’Elestrial. “Court” refers to the nobility and military personnel that surround the Queen. “Court and Crown” together refer to the entire government of Y’Elestrial.

Court of the Three Queens:
The newly risen Court of the three Earthside Fae Queens: Titania, the Fae Queen of Light and Morning; Morgaine, the half-Fae Queen of Dusk and Twilight; and Aeval, the Fae Queen of Shadow and Night.

Crypto:
One of the Cryptozoid races. Cryptos include creatures out of legend that are not technically of the Fae races: gargoyles, unicorns, gryphons, chimeras, and so on. Most primarily inhabit Otherworld, but some have Earthside cousins.

Demon Gate:
A gate through which demons may be summoned by a powerful sorcerer or necromancer.

Dreyerie:
A dragon lair.

Earthside:
Everything that exists on the Earth side of the portals.

Elemental Lords:
The elemental beings—both male and female—who, along with the Hags of Fate and the Harvestmen, are the only true Immortals. They are avatars of various elements and energies, and they inhabit all realms. They do as they will and seldom concern themselves with humankind
or Fae unless summoned. If asked for help, they often exact steep prices in return. The Elemental Lords are not concerned with balance like the Hags of Fate.

Elqaneve:
The Elfin lands in Otherworld.

FBH:
Full-Blooded Human (usually refers to Earthside humans).

FH-CSI:
The Faerie-Human Crime Scene Investigation team. The brainchild of Detective Chase Johnson, it was first formed as a collaboration between the OIA and the Seattle police department. Other FH-CSI units have been created around the country, based on the Seattle prototype. The FH-CSI takes care of both medical and criminal emergencies involving visitors from Otherworld.

Great Divide:
A time of immense turmoil when the Elemental Lords and some of the High Court of Fae decided to rip apart the worlds. Until then, the Fae existed primarily on Earth, their lives and worlds mingling with those of humans. The Great Divide tore everything asunder, splitting off another dimension, which became Otherworld. At that time, the Twin Courts of Fae were disbanded and their queens stripped of power. This was the time during which the Spirit Seal was formed and broken in order to seal off the realms from each other. Some Fae chose to stay Earthside, others moved to the realm of Otherworld, and the demons were—for the most part—sealed in the Subterranean Realms.

Guard Des’Estar:
The military of Y’Elestrial.

Hags of Fates:
The women of destiny who keep the balance righted. Neither good nor evil, they observe the flow of destiny. When events get too far out of balance, they step in and take action, usually using humans, Fae, Supes, and other creatures as pawns to bring the path of destiny back into line.