Faerie Blood: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Changeling Chronicles Book 1) (21 page)

“You could have come to me,” I said. “We have a dozen new tracking spells ready.”

“Something in the faeries’ magic is blocking them,” he said. “Every one. We’ve already requested help from the coven and found nothing.”

“Seriously?”
Dammit.
“Isabel and I have DNA from the second changeling, from the necromancer family’s house. We were going to track it down.”

“You planned to use the tracking spell now?” He looked over my shoulder into the flat.

Oh, all right.
“You can come in, but we’re not activating anything in here.”
My heartbeat quickened inexplicably as he followed me inside. The flat looked even worse than yesterday, if possible.

Vance raised his eyebrows at the sight of a dozen spell circles set up on the floor surrounded by various spell ingredients. “What’s this about?”

“Tripwires,” I said. “I’d watch your footing in here. We’re making anti-faerie defences for the flat. I was thinking of something that makes their testicles fall off.”

“Wouldn’t just killing them be a deterrent to the others?”

I smirked. “That wouldn’t leave anyone alive to tell tales, would it?”

“You’re more vindictive than I gave you credit for,” he said. “What’s that?” He indicated the map I’d left out on the table.

“A possible connection. We might have a theory on the pattern of the disappearances.”

“Show me.”

“Still forgetting to say ‘please’?”

“Two of my people are missing,” he said, his jaw tight with anger. He leaned over the map and studied it. “The Ley Line. The factory lies over a key point.”

“You know about those?”

“Of course. Doesn’t the Ley Line give you the ability to use magic? That’s how it goes for witches.”

I didn’t miss the accusation in his tone. A reminder of the lies I’d told him.

“I guess. I’ve never been away from it, so I wouldn’t know. It doesn’t give you
your
power, right?” That’s why I’d thought he didn’t know. Mages were the only magic users who could use their ability whether they were near a Ley Line or not.

“No, but I find it useful to keep track.” He pointed to the factory on the map. “Like this. A key point is a place where enough energy can be hidden that even the necromancers couldn’t tell someone was summoning the dead.”

“And… and hiding someone from a tracking spell?”

“Perhaps,” he said. “My plan is to take a team over there today to search for my people.”

“And what the Lady of the Tree said? She implied someone could have opened a gateway to Faerie right there. I didn’t think it was possible, but if you can hide someone…”

Could the children have been there in the factory the whole time? The Lady had said they’d already left this realm…

My phone went off. Larsen. Of all the timing. “My boss is calling me.”

“Make it quick,” he said. “We’re leaving now."

“Might not have a choice,” I muttered.

Vance clearly wasn’t going anywhere. I moved away from him, phone in hand. “Larsen.” I didn’t quite succeed at packing the word with menace the way Vance could.

“Your changelings escaped,” said Larsen, his voice practically vibrating with anger.

“I know,” I said. “Somebody sent fire imps after me and moved the protective wards outside my house. Know anything about that?”

A pause. “Bring those changelings in tomorrow, Ivy, or you’ll regret it.”

And he hung up. I stared in disbelief. “Fuck me sideways.”

Vance raised an eyebrow. “What happened?”

“My boss blamed me for the changelings,” I said. And apparently overreacted like hell. He’d set the faeries on me for this? “I’m in the shit if I don’t catch them.”

“That’s what you planned to do with the tracking spell?”

“Yeah.” I groaned. “Do you want to take one of the others? You can go after your people and I’ll deal with this.” Finally, an ironclad excuse to get rid of him.

So why did the idea of heading after the changelings without Vance being there fill me with trepidation? I worked alone. That’s how I operated best.

Vance studied me. “I can send someone to assist you, if you like.”

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine with Isabel.”

Vance gave me a long look I couldn’t read, then swept off.

Isabel and I set up the tracking spell outside the house this time, not willing to turn the place into Faerie Central again.

“Did he have any theories?” she asked, walking around the circle. It’d burn a hole in the lawn, but I’d rather that than burn a hole in the carpet instead. The lawn was wrecked anyway, thanks to those fire imps.

“Only that the energies around the key point on the Ley Line might have been hiding his missing people,” I said. “The Ley Line must be the connecting factor. It boosts necromancers’ powers, too, and faeries and half-bloods can’t
survive
away from it.”

It had to be the place to open a gate into Faerie. But was that the faeries’ plan? If the children were in Faerie already, it didn’t sound like opening a door there was their ultimate aim.

Unless they’d set their sights on bigger things. Like bringing every faerie from the Grey Vale to Earth.

Enough paranoia, Ivy. First things first.

The lines of the spell circle flared up and Isabel stepped forward, hands outstretched. A frown puckered her forehead as blue light danced up and down her arms. Then she moved back.

“That can’t be right,” she said. “The spell says the changeling’s just around the corner from here.”

I stared a moment. “Are you sure?”

“The spells never lie.”

“Great.” I drew in a breath. “Better get ready for another fight.”

“I’ll make sure the wards are functioning,” she said. “There are some nasty tripwires if Larsen comes back.”

“Well, that’s something,” I muttered, going back inside. Weapons. I needed weapons, and offensive spells ready for battle. If this was another trap, I’d be prepared this time. I’d rather take out the threat before anything else tried to torch our house.

“You ready?” I asked Isabel, sheathing two more daggers at my waist. “If I ever find out how the faeries got our address, I’ll kill whoever gave it out.”

“Same here,” said my normally chilled out best friend, who wielded an impressive collection of explosive spells. She slid on two more armbands, both for protection, and joined me at the door.

Once outside the flat, I immediately spotted the blue light flaring like a beacon from behind the house on the road’s corner.

“Damn. Your spell was right.”

I ran ahead, readying Irene. The blood of last night’s imps had barely dried and the blade gleamed wickedly as I prepared to fight whatever Faerie threw at us this time.

I’d kill Larsen. If not for him, the faeries wouldn’t have found out my address.

A familiar smell slapped me in the face. Decay. Death. Faerie blood.

Dread wrapped itself around my body like a net choking the life from me. My legs locked into place, my skin going clammy.
No. Not here.

“Ivy?” Isabel waved a hand in front of my face.

“Hang on,” I croaked. “Let me go first.”

She gave me an odd look, but apparently my expression convinced her. I moved in front, pushing my legs to walk as normal. My whole body tensed at the sight of blood spattering the pavement.

The first body lay by a parked car. The changeling had been torn in two, its pointed teeth hanging from its gaping mouth. Blood dripped over the pavement’s edge into the road.

Isabel swore. “Someone else got here first.”

“No kidding.” I made myself step forward. The other two changelings’ bodies lay beside a five pointed star roughly chalked onto the road.

“Oh fuck,” I said.

As though in response to my words, the star’s edges lit up in blue and a giant furry body leaped out, landing on four giant paws. Its huge head swept to either side. Sniffing out human prey.

“Oi,” I yelled. “Over here, you great hairy bastard.”

I had an explosive spell at the ready, but the hellhound leaped into the air before I could throw it. I took up my blade instead, slicing across the dog’s thick hide. Blood spilled out, but not enough. I lunged for the throat and felt it give way, crimson spattering the road.

“Ivy, run!” yelled Isabel.

The explosive spell flew past my face towards three other hellhounds which had materialised in the road. The spell had begun to spark already, ready to deliver some serious pain.

“Run!”

Wisely, I ran, as the spell detonated with the force of a firework. Not only did it send the hellhounds flying back, it blew an impressive chunk out of the tarmac, too. The summoning circle disappeared beneath, blue lights swallowed up in smoke. I blinked, trying to see through the haze. Bloody pieces of hellhound littered the road. Had she got them all?

Isabel screamed. I whirled around and the stinking breath of a hellhound hit my face. Teeth snapped inches from my nose, and I brought the sword up, slicing its forehead open. As I swung my blade, a blast of icy fear froze the breath in my lungs.

The hellhound snarled. My body locked up, breath coming in sharp gasps, throat going dry. Isabel made a choked sound and dropped to the pavement, shaking all over. She’d never been hit by a fear spell before.

But I had. Rage rose inside me
. Oh no
. I was not going to let these blasted faeries control me again. Or hurt Isabel. No way in hell.

Blue light flared from my hands, pushing against the wave of fear. I inhaled, icy air filling my lungs, and shoved back, blue tendrils of light swirling into patterns and filling me with a fresh wave of strength. I flung myself at the hellhound, my knife carving bloody furrows in its face until it plunged into the beast’s eye.

The hellhound fell.

The road lay quiet, but the carnage remained. Clean-up were going to have a situation on their hands.

“I’m getting the impression someone’s fucking with me,” I said.

“No kidding.” Isabel limped over, wincing. “I think one of them bit me.”

Shit. Faerie dog bites could be poisonous. “Come on. You need a healing spell. We’ll leave this for Larsen to clear up.”

Unless he’d caused it. The changelings were dead. Had he sent me after them on purpose? Considering he’d almost got me killed once already, maybe I wasn’t being paranoid.

Right. I’d help Isabel first, then go after my soon to be ex-boss.

As the smoke cleared, a blue pinprick of light showed me Isabel’s tracker spell, discarded on the ground.

“Hang on.” I crouched down beside it. “This thing’s still active.”

Without stopping to think, I held my hand over it and let the hellhound’s viscous blood dribble into the spell circle. Fresh blue tendrils of light fanned out from the spell to my hands, and images drifted into my head.

Familiar images, of a place I’d seen recently. A graveyard behind a fence.

“They came from the necromancers’ headquarters,” I said.

“What?” Isabel stared, then stumbled, her face chalk white. Blood seeped down her leg, red tinted blue from faerie blood.

“Never mind. Let’s get you out of here.”

My heart beat a steady rhythm in my ears.
They’ll pay for this. I’ll kill them.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Isabel looked like living death by the time I’d helped her back into the house and onto the sofa. Worry fluttered in my chest, tempering my growing fury at the necromancers. And Larsen.

My hands shook as I knocked spells everywhere in an attempt to find the first aid kit on the side table. We always kept it well stocked and within easy reach, but I’d never treated hellhound poison before.

“This one,” said Isabel, grabbing at a small bottle. Her skin had gone so pale, it was almost translucent, veins standing out on her hands.

I grabbed the bottle and applied the salve to the puncture wounds on the side of her leg.

“Why didn’t you tell me it bit you?”

“Because another one was trying to eat your face at the time,” said Isabel shakily. “Everything’s gone blue.”

“Oh, shit.” That probably wasn’t a good sign.

Isabel giggled. “You’re blue, Ivy.”

“Try to hang on.” I set the salve down. The wounds still looked an angry red colour, and blood continued to ooze, though it began to clot. I set up a healing circle next, snapping the spell around the sofa, while Isabel snickered to herself.

“Blue, everywhere. You look like one of those half-bloods.”

I shivered. Could she temporarily have the Sight? I’d heard of it happening, but I’d thought the faeries’ poison was gone. Some of the colour had come back into her face, anyway.

It’s fine. It’ll be fine.
I’d done everything I could. Once she was back to her usual self, Isabel was the healing expert. She’d always taken care of me, not the other way around.