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In Which I Uncover a Cabal
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Dragons are not only nonmagical, but they—and their eggs—seem to emit a magic-deadening field of influence. How far this field extends from the living dragon seems to be variable. Perhaps even within consciouscontrol?
~Big Book of Fairyland, “Flora andFauna”
Itried tokeep Rogue’s position fixed in my head, but the ballroom doors, also mirrored, had been closed, leaving me bereft of that landmark. The crimson spiral should have given me a clue, but it broadened with each loop, finishing in a wide border that circumnavigated the ballroom, making all angles look the same.
“Are you quite all right, Sorceress?” Fafnir inquired.
“Actually, I feel a bit faint.” I seized on the excuse. “Perhaps I should return to Lord Rogue.”
“No, no—you must sit immediately. I well recall how weakening your condition can be.” Full of solicitude, he found me a chair near the mirrored wall and coaxed me to sit. I craned my neck, searching for Rogue. Fafnir made a signal and a dragonfly girl brought me a glass of something so strongly alcoholic, I nearly gagged on the fumes.
“Try that,” Fafnir urged. “You’ll find it most invigorating.”
“Oh, I can’t. It’s bad for the unborn child. Would you bring me some water?” I asked the girl. She bounced off happily and Fafnir sat beside me. “I’m terrible company, General Fafnir. I’ll rest a moment and then find Lord Rogue. Please go enjoy yourself. Find another partner.”
“I’d much rather sit and talk to you, Sorceress. Remember how I mentioned I have a story to tell you?”
“Perhaps another time?” I started to stand and he put a restraining hand on my arm, hinting of that terrible strength all fae possessed, his eyes flat as a snake’s, the pattern on his face glittering. Scales, not snowflakes. Abruptly I knew what his animal must be, that could slither so handily through a break in the stones. “Should I be insulted, Sorceress? I thought we had something of a friendship.”
Where was Rogue?
Chasing after my doppelgänger, no doubt. He wasn’t far, I felt that much through the cords between us. If only I dared reach for him in thought.
I sent a question to Darling Hercules, who should be nearby, aiding the dancing with his anesthetic skills. He answered with a distractedHmm?I asked him to send Athena to me. If anyone overheard that, it should seem innocuous enough.
“We are friends,” I assured Fafnir.We cannot afford to alienate anyone at this time.“I am just overcome by the press and all the excitement. Do tell me your story.”
I resigned myself to it. Even if Rogue did watch a copy of me instead of my actual self, what harm could it cause as long as I stayed safe? Rogue knew my internal self as well as, if not better than, my external appearance, so he couldn’t be fooled for long. The greatest danger would be if someone wanted to grab me and use an imitation to distract Rogue. But I wasn’t without weapons of my own. I readied several defensive wishes, accepted the glass of water from the dragonfly girl who reappeared, and forced myself to relax.
“You knew I meant to visit the Inn of Seven Moons and pay my respects to Cecily’s resting place.”
“Right.” I believed he had loved Cecily. I hoped, for her sake, that he had. “How did that go?”
“I took into account your cautions that the proprietor would be frightened to see me, so I went in disguise. Mistress Nancy is unusually sharp for a human.”
“Yes, she is.” I smiled in fond memory of the Cockney-accented innkeeper from the 1800s who’d also ended up in Faerie. Not a sorceress, she boasted other gifts that allowed her to prosper far better than our native human counterparts here.
“She quickly recognized me anyway, though I did not recall her at all—something she also seemed to intuit. Right away she asked if you’d sent me.”
Smart cookie, indeed. Nancy would have known that Fafnir would have no reason to come back on his own. She thought he’d murdered Cecily and left without a backward glance.
“I told her yes and she sends her regards. She also asked me to tell you two things. If there’s to be a wedding she’d love to assist.”
“Ah—I appreciate the message.”
“I asked her to show me Cecily’s grave and for the story she’d told you. She wasn’t surprised, saying you wouldn’t have sent me if I hadn’t been bespelled at the time. Apparently the fact that I did not recognize her played a part in her confidence.”
“I’m glad you were able to at least pay your respects to the grave.”
“Yes, and retrieve the body. She’s rather decomposed—mortality is so disconcerting, I don’t know how you manage it—but I can work with what’s left.”
The food I’d stuffed myself with rose in the back of my throat and I took a moment to swallow it down and make it stay there. I so did not want to ask. But I had to.
“Does Mistress Nancy know you took Cecily’s corpse?” I eased my way into the treacherous waters.
