4 Tiddly Jinx Read online

  “It’s not stupid.” It wasn’t stupid at all. This could be our first legitimate lead to where the Pole will be before it gets there.

  “How could that happen?” she asked. “The human population will go berserk. You know how they are about zombies.”

  “Zombies?”

  “You know, like,” she held out her arms in front of her and her mouth went slack as she groaned, “zoommmmbiiiies.”

  I nodded, though I had no idea what she was talking about—but legions of undead, that was something that was currently all too possible. “We have been tracking a weapon of sorts that would make something like that possible. Is your source reliable?”

  She laughed. “I don’t have a source. I listen to what the people who come through my club say. Only one guy was talking about it last night and no one believed him. I know that humans aren’t under your protection, but something like that would expose us all.”

  “Did he say which cemetery?”

  She dropped down into a chair. “Nope. You seriously believe this could happen?”

  “I do. Do you have the man’s name?”

  “No, but I can probably find that out for you.”

  “Please. I’ll let the others know.”

  She nodded. “Cheney, if you ever need my help, just ask. I’ll do what I can.”

  Keeping my half-sister as far away from this as possible was the best thing I could do. If it was true and an entire cemetery of undead rose, there would be lots of questions and we would all take the fall. Lily didn’t need any part of that. “What you’re doing is perfect. Just keep your ears open.”

  “For what? The strange and impossible?”

  “For right now, yes, actually. The strange and impossible sounds about right. The weapon we’re looking for can open passageways between worlds. Anything is possible.”

  She stopped twirling her hair. “You lead a much more exciting life than I would have given you credit for.”

  I laughed. “When you have his name…”

  “I’ll bring it.” She waved as she left.

  Perhaps the mountain was a test run. Maybe the person wielding the Pole didn’t expect anyone to find out about it so soon. That could be why they choose what they thought was a secluded area. The new moon was in three days. We had to be ready.

  I had been putting off meeting with the council for too long. I owed it to them to talk to each person who had given their time and input individually.

  The dwarf, Beleg, was my first stop. In our last meeting he had brought up the idea of elections, and out of everyone I assumed he would be the most pleased with the news. Dwarves notoriously lived and worked within the ground. The door to his mountain home was like a riddle carved in stone. The symbols were hidden to those who didn’t know how to find them and even then to read them one had to know the particular dialect of dwarfish to follow the instructions. Obviously, they weren’t fond of unexpected guests. However, I had been forced to learn the languages of the kingdom growing up, though my skills were now rusty. It took three tries before the door opened with a scraping moan of rock against rock.

  The city in the cavern was unexpected. While I had learned other languages, my father had thought it beneath us to visit the homes of the other races. If they needed us, they would come to us, he always said. I stepped inside and was met by two guards wielding battleaxes.

  “You are unwelcome, elf,” one of them snarled. “We do not invade your homes and cities yet you presume to come to ours without invitation.”

  I nodded. “I apologize for my rudeness. Could you let the regent, Beleg, know the Erlking is here to see him? I would be happy to wait outside.” Despite the grand scale of the cavern it still felt enclosed to me. I felt an intense desire for the outdoors, open skies, or at the very least, windows.

  The guard scoffed. “You must think us fools. No Erlking has ever lowered himself to grace the mighty halls of the dwarves.”

  “My father was wrong to ignore the great dwarves.” I struggled to keep my tone even. The dwarves and their constant need for puffery absolutely drove me crazy. “Please, let Beleg know Cheney is here,” I repeated, and turned and stepped outside as the door shut behind me.

  With so much animosity between races within our own kingdom, how would we ever survive? Perhaps splitting would be best for everyone. Thousands of years of offenses and resentments were not going to somehow just disappear. I breathed in the fresh air and quiet. Being a prince had given me the freedom to travel and to explore as I pleased. Being Erlking kept me trapped in the castle or nearby. There was always a problem or complaint that needed to be dealt with. While my father hadn’t always been a good or lenient man, he had accepted his duties and responsibilities without complaint and worked tirelessly for the kingdom—something I wasn’t sure I was ready to do. I was young for an Erlking. Perhaps too young.

  The door opened and Beleg rushed out. When he threw his arms around me and said, “My friend!” I nearly passed out. Had he taken leave of his senses? I patted his back firmly nevertheless.

  He released me and stepped back, smoothing his long beard. “I apologize for the reception you received. Please do come inside. You are always welcome here, my boy.”

  My eyebrow popped up at the endearment. I was older than Beleg by at least a hundred years, perhaps more, but I did not comment. I followed him back inside, and we made our way through the long cavern hallways, deeper and deeper into the mountain. Dirty faces popped up and stared at us as we walked. It was difficult to distinguish the male dwarves from the females. Beleg pointed and gave me historical tidbits as we went past areas of interest, though much of what he described looked the same to me. The air felt thin and dusty. How did they breathe in here?

  Finally we came to his personal, humble chambers. He invited me to sit and I took a chair, deciding to jump right in to the point of my visit. “I apologize for being so late in visiting you. By now I am sure you have heard rumor of my announcement…” I waited for his acknowledgement.

  “I have. I have. When I suggested it I never thought you would value my opinion enough to follow my advice. The man who doesn’t want to lead is the right man to do it. You have the support of the dwarves, Erlking.” Beleg bowed as low as his large stomach would allow.

  I wasn’t sure what to say. It was Selene who convinced me to have the election, but Beleg was happier than I had ever seen a dwarf. Correcting him now seemed cruel. “I was serious about stepping down. Sebastian nominated us without my consent.”

  Beleg stroked his beard. “He was right to do so. Leaving now would be more harmful to the kingdom than helpful.”

  “I leave for concern for the safety of my wife, not for the benefit of the kingdom.”

  “Will your wife not be in more danger if your father is reelected?”

  A heaviness filled my chest. We’d never made a formal announcement about my father’s death. No one knew. “My father has passed. He cannot be elected.”

  Beleg’s hand paused. “I was not aware. Was he unwell?”

  “No.” I stared at the coarse wooden table, trying to decide how much I should reveal about recent events. “At least not in a physical sense. It seems his mind had been sick for many years. He put a curse on our bloodline and it backfired, taking his life.”

  He clapped a hand down on my shoulder. “I will not mourn his loss, other than for the pain it caused you.”

  I nodded once.

  “You may find, Erlking, that you run uncontested. You have proven yourself a capable leader. The dwarves will not put up their own nomination.”

  I thanked him instead of voicing my frustrations. Why did no one respect my wishes? “You’ll come to the wedding?”

  “Of course,” he shook my hand.

  The meeting with the goblin king Turig went much the same way as the meeting with Beleg, only the goblin was naturally more genial. Adan, the high-elf, knew more than anyone about the night Selene went to purgatory, but he was of the same mind as the rest t
hat we should not give up the crown without a fight, telling me I underestimated Selene’s strength. He believed whole-heartedly she could win over the people given time and patience with everyone involved.

  The final council member, the fairy queen Alanna, was imprisoned the night my father passed. Word was sent to her people, but I had not gone to see them in person. It was not a visit I looked forward to.

  The fairy kingdom was located in a valley between two hills covered with bright purple flowers that produced the loveliest scent you would ever smell, but one sniff of the odor and you found yourself tangled in a web of illusion that was nearly impossible to escape. Between the two hills was a river as blue as the core of an iceberg with a perfect waterfall feeding the waterway. To enter the kingdom one had to row against the current—a nearly impossible feat without the help of magic—through the center of the waterfall. On the other side was a safe haven for all fairies. Twinkling lights, impossibly large flowers, and glittering homes were waiting on the other side.

  I had been there many times after Selene became a changeling while I was dating Alanna. It had been my haven as well during that short time, an escape from my pain and troubled thoughts. Alanna’s imprisonment was in part my fault. I hurt her, and she never fully recovered. She’d fallen in love with me when my heart always belonged to another. That thought made me think of Selene and Corbin. Alanna’s love turned her into my enemy. What would Corbin’s love turn into when he couldn’t have Selene?

  I headed to the palace. Though it looked different every time I came, it was always in the same location. Fairies could be fickle. No one knew what the real palace looked like, but the illusion was always breathtaking. This time it appeared to be made from clouds and evening sky. The clouds passed over the walls, giving hints of the starry sky behind it, and the light of the moon glowed through all the windows despite the fact that the sun was high in the sky overhead outside.

  “The Erlking to see the Fairy Queen,” I told the door.

  After several minutes, the enchanted door opened and a sprite led me to the new queen. She had hair the color of spun silver that pooled on the floor at her feet, giving the impression that she stood on a pool of liquid metal. Her deep purple eyes regarded me coolly. “Are you the one I have to thank for my promotion?” she asked in a quivery voice.

  “Alanna has been imprisoned, but she has not been sentenced yet.”

  “She is not likely to be freed, though.”

  “No.” There was no point in lying or withholding information. If I had it my way, Alanna would never see the light of day for her infraction.

  “But you cannot guarantee it if you are not Erlking. Your successor could free her.”

  I nodded. I hadn’t considered that. Honestly, I hadn’t considered Alanna at all since that night.

  “But you have reason to assure she never knows freedom again.” She looked me up and down. “I would not like to lose my position, and I think you should not like to have a powerful enemy such as her. If you promise to end her reign however you see fit, I will promise you the support of the fairies.”

  I shook her hand. I hadn’t planned on killing Alanna, but if she were free she would never stop coming after Selene and me. If I left office, she would need to be taken care of. The list of people who needed to die to make the life I wanted possible kept growing, and each one weighed heavily on me.

  She waited to see the understanding of what she wanted in my eyes before she smiled. “I think we can work together, Erlking.”

  “Call me Cheney.”

  She fluttered silvery eyelashes at me. “Auromina.”

  I stopped by my office on my way to find Selene. A small card decorated with tasteful flourishes lay in the center of my desk. I picked it up. Selene’s father and the heads of “concerned” houses were going to stop by tomorrow to meet with me. I tucked the card into my breast pocket and went to check on the progress the others had made. Katrina and Edith were at the table in the archive, deep in conversation, and Selene and Sebastian were sitting on the floor reading.

  “Could the Pole raise the dead?” I asked the room, getting their attention.

  “I don’t see why not if the wielder knew how to use it,” Selene said. “But we really don’t know much about its power. It could be hard to get the right souls in the right bodies.”

  I went over to stand next to her. “It’ll be used in New Orleans on the next new moon. Lily heard someone talking about a cemetery where the dead will be brought back to life. It sounded like the Pole to me.”

  “Which cemetery?” Sebastian asked. “We can’t keep this hidden if that happens. People will start to ask questions that are bound to get harder and harder to answer without implicating Selene.”

  “She didn’t know. Lily is looking for the name of the guy who she heard talking about it.”

  “I know which one,” Selene said. “The spirits wanted the Pole for a reason. What better reason than coming back to life, but why the whole cemetery? Seems like overkill.”

  “Maybe they just want to show that they can,” Katrina said. “They have this all-powerful Pole thingy. Raising a few bodies up isn’t going to be enough. They are going to want the world to know what they can do. Why do people drive $100,000 cars when they can get a $20,000 car? To show that they can. It’s about status and power. Once those spirit people are back, I bet they have something else they want. Something they intend to take by force.”

  “The new moon is in three days,” Sebastian said. “Ten of us cannot find an entire army of undead.”

  “We’ll be ready.” Determination settled in on Selene’s face, hardening her jaw. “They aren’t going to raise anyone. If we know where the Pole will be, we don’t need the spell to find it.”

  “So we don’t need Frost anymore?” Sebastian asked.

  “No we still need her to close any tears the Pole creates and maybe to help stop whatever they’re going to try to do. I wish I could read that book. If someone’s wielding the Pole of Charon, I don’t know that we are strong enough to take it back, even with dark magic.”

  I took her hand. “Have you talked to Corbin?”

  Selene shook her head. “I will tonight.”

  I wasn’t entirely sure how to bring this up, but it needed to be said. We had too many people with questionable alignment within our circle at the moment. Something was bound to go wrong. I decided to just be blunt. “He is loyal to you, but perhaps not to the rest of us. I think we need to tread lightly with his involvement. Tell him only what he needs to know.”

  She sighed. “I’ve been reading up about vampires, and I have some questions for him about his bond, but I think it could work in our favor. The books did confirm that he will do what he can to save me—probably not the rest of you. I won’t tell him everything.” She rolled her neck and climbed to her feet. “Katrina and Gram are working on finding the binding spell, and Sebastian is reading about necromancers.”

  “Actually, we gave up finding anything. We’re writing a new spell,” Katrina said. “That way it can be as restrictive as it needs to be and hopefully harder to break.”

  “It will be ready in time,” Edith added. “I’ll make sure of it.”

  Sebastian cleared his throat. “As far as I can tell, necromancers can be killed as easily as any human so long as you don’t touch them. Those who have a mastery of their magical abilities are more dangerous and harder to kill, but if you cut them, they will bleed. We should be able to dispatch the necromancer without too much trouble.”

  Selene frowned. “I haven’t seen Frost all day. Surely she’s awake by now.” She glanced at her watch, worry filling her eyes. “For that matter, I haven’t seen Jessica, either.”

  I HAD NO IDEA where Corbin was or how to find him without resorting to using magic, but I had a theory. Corbin had been able to feel my physical pain when we were in the underworld. Could he still? I sat in the garden with a knife in front of me. I pinched my arm hard enough to leave a mark several time
s and then waited, focusing on my need to see him. He didn’t come.

  Licking my lips, I picked up the knife, nimbly twirling it in my fingers. I didn’t really have much choice. I plunged it into the palm of my right hand and pulled it out, hissing at the pain. It burned and stung as I wrapped a towel around my hand and clutched my arm to my chest, eyes watering.

  “Should have waited a tad longer, pet,” Corbin’s voice came from the darkness. He stepped into the light, flexing his right hand. “I can’t get around as fast as you. You keep this up and I will be forced to move closer to you. Let me see.” He reached for my wrapped hand.

  “It’s okay. Cheney will heal me. I needed to see you.”

  He took the hand anyway and applied pressure to the wound through the towel, making me grimace. “I gathered.”

  “So how does this work, Corbin? Exactly what feelings of mine do you share?”

  He shifted. “Mostly just physical, but if I’m paying attention when the physical sensation comes through I can pick up traces of other things. I knew you wanted to see me.”

  I nodded. “I need a favor.”

  He lowered himself down beside me with the grace of a wolf, never releasing my hand. “A favor you were willing to harm yourself to get.”

  “I needed your attention.”

  “Let me assure you that self-mutilation is unnecessary. You have my attention with or without it, love.”

  “I didn’t know how else to find you.” Even sitting three feet away from him, he was unreadable. “I need you to make friends with Frost.”

  He blinked. “Why?”

  I struggled to my feet, taking my hand from him and pressing it against my chest. “Walk with me.” Corbin fell in step with me. “I’m asking her to use quite a bit of dark magic, and the thing is, it can change people—harm them. Even if I did trust her now, which I don’t, I can’t be sure the magic itself isn’t going to change her for the worse. She won’t talk to me and I can’t tell if the magic is affecting her. Katrina can read auras, but not to the degree to tell if a necromancer is good or evil—not that she would open up to or trust anyone in my coven. So, I need you to be her friend. Get her to confide in you and let me know if she starts to take a turn so I can be prepared.”