Ghost Light (11 page)

But that train of thought was a dead end.  The pins indicated activity around both cemeteries and graveyards.

“Yes and our kidnappers don’t have an aversion to hallowed ground,” I said.  I pointed to two church graveyards marked by a cross.  “That rules out any demon involvement.”

Some demons have a taste for human flesh.  It was rumored that human children were a sought after delicacy.  Knowing demons weren’t involved was a relief, but it didn’t bring us any closer to catching the kidnappers.

Harborsmouth was a huge, old city.  There had to be hundreds of graveyards and cemeteries.  Even using the app to focus on the most concentrated areas of kidnappings, we were left with too many locations to search.

I growled and slammed my fist on the counter.

“I know,” Jinx said.  “I spent forever dipping crossbow bolts in holy water.  Why can’t it ever be demons?”

My roommate was pouting because she wasn’t going to get the chance to hurt some demons on this case?  Some things never change.  I ducked my head and stifled a laugh.

I took a deep breath and looked up into Ceff’s handsome face.  He tilted his head to the side and blinked at me, fork paused halfway to his mouth.

“You wish for demon involvement?” he asked.

He gave a slow, disbelieving shake of the head and this time I did laugh.  Ceff wasn’t aware of Jinx’s love hate relationship with demons.  She loves to hate them, especially one demon in particular.

“No, I’m glad we’re not dealing with demons,” I said.  “But if Jinx is going to fight something, she’d prefer it had pointy horns and a forked tail.  You should see her at target practice.”

It was true.  Stick horns on the target and Jinx nailed it every time.

“You never know when a demon might walk through your door,” she said, eyes gleaming.  “It’s best to be prepared.”

Jinx patted her back where a crossbow was slung over her shoulder.  The weapon looked incongruous with her frilly apron, but then again, that was Jinx all over.

“Yes, but we don’t shoot clients, right?” I asked.  “That was the deal.”

Jinx shrugged one shoulder and cleared our plates off the counter, dumping them into a sink of soapy water.  One of these days Forneus, a demon attorney and sometimes client, and Jinx were going to kill each other.  I couldn’t always be around to break up their fights.

I just hoped the demon didn’t pick today to come through our doors.  Jinx was tired, hung over, and heavily armed.

I yawned and stretched.  It was time to get back to work, but where to start?  I flipped through the case file one more time.  Nothing helpful there.  If only I could narrow down the most likely burial grounds for a wisp hideout.

“Perhaps our theory is flawed,” Ceff said.  He was still looking at the map displayed on my phone.  “We know that the wisps acted as bait, luring the children away from their beds, but we haven’t asked why.  What motivation would they have to bring them to a cemetery?  There are many stories of your people tricking foolish travelers, leading them deep into bogs and over cliffs, for their amusement, but why capture so many young faeries?  Once at the cemetery, what do they do with the children?”

It was a good question, one I had no answer for.  I sighed and ran my hands through damp hair.

“I don’t know,” I said.  “There’s too much I don’t know about wisps.  I’ve read everything I can get my hands on, and those stories involve either treasure or trickery, sometimes death, but nothing about kidnapping.”

“Wisps don’t eat kids, do they?” Jinx asked.  “You know, like ghouls.  No offense, Ivy.”

I sure hoped wisps didn’t feast on little kids.  It was hard enough getting used to the idea of having faerie blood running through my veins without being related to cannibals.  I placed a hand on my stomach, wishing I hadn’t eaten an entire plate of toast and eggs.

“No, wisps are not child eaters,” Ceff said.  “It would seem that these wisps are either stealing children for monetary reward or amusement.”

“Reward?” I asked.  “As in, working for someone?”

“Yes, it’s a possibility,” he said.  “Wisps are attracted to treasure.  With your father gone, and no one to tell them differently, it’s possible these wisps may have bargained their services for gold.”

My chest tightened, as if a crushing weight had settled there, and I curled my hands into fists.  If I had found my people and assumed my role as princess sooner, this mess may never have happened.  Those children would be home safe with their families instead of huddled somewhere scared, or worse.

“So who would want a bunch of faerie children?” Jinx asked.

I shook my head.  Who indeed.

Feeding on children went against vampire law, but I didn’t trust bloodsuckers.  For the long-lived undead, the blood of faerie children would be a potent delicacy to break the boredom of immortality.  I wouldn’t put it past a hungry vampire to use hired help as bait, if they had the means.  And most of the dust bags I’d met were loaded.  I’d have to pay a visit to the head of the local vamps.  Oh.  Joy.

As for fae who may wish to steal a bunch of kids, I was stumped.  Faeries were known for abducting human children, not their own.  The victims included both Seelie and Unseelie fae, so it wasn’t a case of one court attacking the other, and the list of fae races represented by our clients was vast.  I couldn’t see how kidnapping such a diverse group of kids would aid in any political maneuvering, but with the fae nothing was as it seemed.  I’d have to ask around, just in case.  Kaye said local fae leaders gathered at Club Nexus.  Maybe things would seem clearer after a trip to the club.

But I’d have to wait until dusk to interview any vamps or fae royalty.  That left searching the homes where the children were abducted and nearby burial grounds.  I picked up my phone and scanned the map.  A large number of faeries who live in Harborsmouth reside on Joysen Hill.  Many of these families were targeted by the kidnappers, and there are two large public cemeteries and three small graveyards on The Hill.  With its close proximity to Club Nexus and the entrance to the head vamp’s lair, it seemed like a good place to start.

I was going back to Joysen Hill.  Hopefully this time I could avoid the attentions of deadly fae and a run in with the law.  With my track record, I wasn’t so sure of that.

Chapter 11

T
wenty-four hours ago, I’d juggled an armful of shopping bags while Jinx shopped on The Hill.  Now I walked Market Street again, Ceff at my side.  He was a lot more fun to look at than my roommate.  My kelpie king boyfriend climbed the hill in a fitted dress shirt tucked into dark blue jeans that showed off some of his most attractive assets.  I licked my lips, pulse racing.  How did I, a grouchy half-breed, end up with such a dreamy guy?

I shook my head and turned my attention to The Hill and its inhabitants.  I took a quick double-step forward to bring myself alongside Ceff.  Walking behind him, and his gorgeous butt, was a distraction I couldn’t afford.

We both scanned the streets for clues and any sign of Melusine, wisps, or the cat sidhe.  To passersby we probably looked like a couple out trolling for fun before hitting the bars.

I let my arms hang loose, alert to any threats.  My leather jacket covered the throwing knives strapped to my wrists and the stakes tucked into my belt.  I had additional anti-fae charms securely stashed in my pockets and an iron dagger in my right boot.

Ceff was also armed.  Before leaving the loft, I’d asked for a closer look at the weapon he had strapped to his leg.  He’d pulled up his pant leg and slid the weapon from an ankle sheath that looked suspiciously like it had been crafted from thick seaweed.

I’d been correct earlier.  Ceff’s weapon was a trident, a deadly three-pronged spear.  With a flick of Ceff’s wrist, the piercing end had shot out from a telescoping handle.  The weapon, like the man, was impressive.

Now Ceff walked the street with sinuous grace, his weapon and the speed of a race horse at the ready.  I pulled my phone from my jacket pocket and double-checked the map.  We were close to the first home on our list.

“This way,” I said.  I nodded to the street approaching on our right.  “Two kids were taken from homes on Baker’s Row—a bean-tighe and a nixie.”

I started to turn down Baker’s Row, the smell of bread and sweets making my mouth water, when I realized that Ceff was no longer at my side.  I turned to see him halt mid-stride, an incredulous look on his face.

“A nixie, here?” he asked.

Nixies weren’t known for city living, especially not high atop a hill away from any bodies of water.  Nixies, a type of water nymph, typically lived in freshwater streams, brooks, or rivers.  Joysen Hill was an unusual location for any water fae, but one of the families who called in a missing child had reported their address as the water fountain on Baker’s Row.

“Yes,” I said.  “I think they live in the water fountain at Merrion Square.”

We came to Merrion Square first.  Narrow Baker’s Row widened where it intersected with Grant Street, opening onto a small park.  Parks were rare for this part of town and shoppers took advantage of the space.  Every bench was taken, filled with people sitting with coffees and baked goods or shifty eyed men making dubious business deals.  The fountain sat directly ahead at the park’s center.

“Might as well take a look around,” I said.

I sighed and walked the park’s perimeter.  It was doubtful we’d find anything helpful.  Too many people had passed through the area since the kidnapping.  When the perimeter search turned up nothing, I started pacing the park, working in a classic grid pattern.  Aside from discarded paper cups, condoms, and cigarette butts, I found nothing.

I joined Ceff beside the fountain where he spoke in burbling whistles and trills to a beautiful, naked woman.  Long, green hair hung artfully around her body like waves, partially covering her breasts.  I tilted my head, letting my own hair fall to cover my face.  I could feel my cheeks and ears burn red.

In other circumstances I might have been jealous, but the blue skinned, green haired woman was crying and wringing her hands.  We had found our nixie family.

No one batted an eye at the naked woman standing in the fountain.  I stole a glance from the corner of my eye and confirmed what I’d suspected.  The nixie was hiding behind a glamour that only Ceff and I could see through.  To passersby, the nixie was just a foamy spray of water from the fountain.

Ceff speaking to thin air in the trilling, nixie language was bound to look strange, but maybe people just thought he was making bird calls.  Then again, we were on Joysen Hill.  It probably didn’t matter what people thought.  Even during the day, people tended to mind their own business.

“She says that her child was safely beneath the water when she went to sleep last night, but this morning when she awoke, the child was gone,” he said.

I nodded.

“That matches what our other clients have reported,” I said.  “Ask if she’s noticed any suspicious activity lately around the park.”

Ceff trilled the question and the nixie flapped her hands, pointing to groups of men who were obviously up to no good.  When she finished, she tugged at her hair and moaned.

“She said that the humans here always act suspicious, but she thought her family was safe since they were carefully hidden behind a glamour,” he said.  “No human would have been able to steal her child, and the fae who live on this part of The Hill tend to keep to themselves.  She wasn’t aware of any danger.  She thought the child was safe.”

“Tell her that we’ll do our best to bring her child home,” I said.

My chest tightened as I walked away.  I had promised to bring these kids home, but so far, I had no helpful leads, only questions.  I checked the angle of the sun and sighed.  The day was passing much too quickly.

Ceff drew up beside me, matching my stride as I hurried to the next address on our list.  I wasn’t running away from the crying nixie, really.  Maybe if I kept telling myself that, I might even start to believe it.

“Did you find anything?” he asked.

“No,” I said shaking my head.  “This place is too public.  If the kidnappers did leave any clues, they’re long gone.”

Searching the park and questioning the mother had been a bust.

“We must find the children,” he said.  He clenched his fists at his sides, eyes filled with emotion.

“Let’s take a look at the bean-tighe residence,” I said.  I blinked rapidly and pulled out my phone to check the address.  I already knew the address by heart, but it gave me an excuse to look away.  Meeting Ceff’s gaze hurt too damn much.  He had suffered the loss of his own children and I was feeling guilty for not claiming the wisp throne in time to stop these kidnappings.  “This way.”

We walked the next two blocks in silence, which was fine by me.  I used the time to practice the breathing exercises Jenna had taught me.  Whether battling monsters or my own emotions, the series of inhalations and exhalations helped to focus my mind and calm my racing pulse.  I couldn’t afford the complication of glowing skin right now.  I managed to escape unnoticed yesterday, but I didn’t expect my luck to hold.

I turned into the mouth of an alley that ran perpendicular to Baker’s Row.  Unlike most alleys on The Hill, this one was swept clean and smelled like strawberries.  This was definitely the place.

The bean-tighe family lived on the third floor in a small, efficiency apartment accessed by a fire escape bolted to the brick wall.  I was pretty sure that having a fire escape as the only entrance or exit was against code, which meant the building was probably owned by vampires.  Vamps are prolific landlords on The Hill and their rental properties tended to be just as cold, dusty, and decayed as their owners.

The one thing vampire landlords care about is bleeding their tenants dry.  The bloodsuckers didn’t bother to keep their buildings up to code.  If renters fall to their deaths due to a shortage of safety features, the vamps are quick to sweep the incident under the rug—and feed the body to one of their pet ghouls.

If vamps were keeping tabs on the property, it was possible that a vamp saw something the night of the kidnappings.  One more question for the vampire council.  Of course, if a vamp was behind the abductions, the council wasn’t likely to pass along any helpful witness accounts.  Vampires were experts at pulling strings and making problems disappear.  Their Machiavellian machinations were legendary.  I’d have to use caution when it was time to question the vamps, or they may decide to make me disappear.