Late Eclipses
Page 53
“Is that so? Interesting. Are you here on the Queen’s orders?” His question sounded almost aimless. I knew better. Sylvester’s at his most dangerous when he sounds like he doesn’t care.
“Your daughter requested our presence, Your Grace,” Dugan replied.
“As I expected. She’s a good girl, but sometimes she rushes things.” Sylvester smiled, looking no less exhausted. “You’ll have to speak to the Queen before I let you remove my knight from my fiefdom. I’m sure you understand.”
“She’s a danger!” Raysel snapped.
“You’re not in charge yet, Rayseline,” he said, tone sharpening. “I appreciate your initiative. Now get your friends out of my knowe before I get angry.”
She stared at him before she whirled and stormed past me, the Queen’s men following in her wake. My fealty might belong to the Queen, but Sylvester was right; without either a direct order from her or his consent, they couldn’t take me.
“This isn’t over,” Manuel hissed as he left.
I held myself stiff as I watched him go. So this was the way they wanted it? Fine. At least we all understood where we were coming from.
It was only a few moments before Sylvester, Etienne, Quentin, and I were the only ones in the room. Sylvester sagged. “Toby, I’m sorry. I didn’t know she would . . . ”
“It’s okay,” I said. “You didn’t know, and she hates me. She always has.”
“I expected more from her.”
“I’m sorry.” What else was I supposed to say? Raysel was his only child, and his wife was dying. He wasn’t going to get another chance unless I somehow solved this.
“I know.” He shook his head. “Did you come here for a reason? Etienne seemed quite set that you should see me.”
“Yes, I did,” I said. “I think I know who’s behind this.” I tensed, waiting for him to fly off the handle again.
He just looked at me dully, and asked, “Oleander?” I nodded. Sighing, he said, “I assumed you’d try telling me as much. I’ve had Jin prepare a calming tonic to keep me . . . reasonable while this is going on. Is there proof?”
“More all the time. Someone poisoned the meat Tybalt feeds to his Court with pure extract of oleander flowers; several Cait Sidhe are already dead. The Queen’s men have Lily’s pearl. They found it next to an empty vial.”
“Poison?” asked Etienne.
“I think so. And . . . I went to see a Tylwyth Teg named Walther, who used to work for Lily. He ran some tests on my blood. I’ve been poisoned, too. Low-grade—it’s intended to confuse me, not kill me—but it’s still poison.”
Sylvester’s mouth thinned into an angry line. “You say these things and then expect me to let you go charging back into danger.”
I sighed. “Because I know you will. It may be Luna’s only chance.”
“You’re right,” he said, softly. “Toby, you can’t come here again. I’ll send Quentin or Etienne if I need you, but I can’t stop the Queen if you’ve been accused.”
“I understand. Go back to Luna; stay with her. If I can fix this, I will.”
“If you can’t fix this, she’ll die.”
“And so will I.”
“I know.” He turned away. I started to reach for him, but stopped myself, shaking my head. There was nothing left to say.
Etienne stepped up beside me, offering his arm, and I took it without hesitating. Shadowed Hills was no sanctuary for me anymore. In the end, there’s never a sanctuary. You run until there’s nowhere left to run to, and then you fight, and then you die, and then it’s over. That’s how the world works, and if there’s a way to change that, I hope someone’s eventually planning to let me know.
TWENTY-TWO
I WAITED UNTIL QUENTIN AND I were halfway down the hill outside the knowe before saying quietly, “Try to stay out of Raysel’s way. If she’s gunning for me, she may start gunning for you, too—out of spite, if nothing else.”
“Yeah.” He sounded subdued. The poor kid was practically worn through. If we survived this, I was going to take him to Great America and make him ride roller coasters until one of us threw up. Never doubt the restorative powers of a good amusement park. “I think she’s probably going to try.”
“If she accuses you of anything, run for my mother’s tower. It will know you from Jan’s funeral, but nobody else who’s not family will make it past the gate.” The dream I’d shared with Karen was still vivid in my mind. I needed to call her. Even if she didn’t know why she sent the dream, she might remember details I’d forgotten.
Quentin cast a sidelong look in my direction. “I still can’t come with you?”
“She’d add kidnapping to the list of charges, and I need you here so you can get Connor out, too. I don’t trust her not to hurt him.” He didn’t love her. With the way she was acting, that might be enough of an insult to let her justify punishing him for his insolence.
“You’re probably right,” Quentin said glumly. “What are you going to do?”
“It’s too soon to go back to the university—having me show up asking Walther for results will just distract him.” He hadn’t had time to get used to the way things speed up when people start trying to kill me. Hopefully, he’d live long enough to learn. “I guess I’ll head for Golden Gate Park, bring Tybalt up to speed on what’s been going on. After that—”
Quentin’s pocket started ringing.
He shot me an apologetic look as he pulled out his phone and flipped it open. “Hello?” He stiffened. “Oh.” Lowering the phone, he turned to me. “It’s for you.”
“What?” I plucked the tiny plastic oblong from his hand, bringing it to my ear. “Toby here.”
“Toby, you have to come home. You have to come home right now.”
May sounded panicked enough that it took a moment for me to recognize her voice. It felt like my heart froze solid. Putting a hand on Quentin’s shoulder—as much to keep me upright as to reassure him—I asked, carefully, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Spike. It won’t wake up.”
The frozen feeling in my heart just grew at that statement. With Tybalt’s Court in chaos and Luna still in a comalike state, the last thing I needed was for the poisoning to start following me home. “I’ll be right there.”
“Your daughter requested our presence, Your Grace,” Dugan replied.
“As I expected. She’s a good girl, but sometimes she rushes things.” Sylvester smiled, looking no less exhausted. “You’ll have to speak to the Queen before I let you remove my knight from my fiefdom. I’m sure you understand.”
“She’s a danger!” Raysel snapped.
“You’re not in charge yet, Rayseline,” he said, tone sharpening. “I appreciate your initiative. Now get your friends out of my knowe before I get angry.”
She stared at him before she whirled and stormed past me, the Queen’s men following in her wake. My fealty might belong to the Queen, but Sylvester was right; without either a direct order from her or his consent, they couldn’t take me.
“This isn’t over,” Manuel hissed as he left.
I held myself stiff as I watched him go. So this was the way they wanted it? Fine. At least we all understood where we were coming from.
It was only a few moments before Sylvester, Etienne, Quentin, and I were the only ones in the room. Sylvester sagged. “Toby, I’m sorry. I didn’t know she would . . . ”
“It’s okay,” I said. “You didn’t know, and she hates me. She always has.”
“I expected more from her.”
“I’m sorry.” What else was I supposed to say? Raysel was his only child, and his wife was dying. He wasn’t going to get another chance unless I somehow solved this.
“I know.” He shook his head. “Did you come here for a reason? Etienne seemed quite set that you should see me.”
“Yes, I did,” I said. “I think I know who’s behind this.” I tensed, waiting for him to fly off the handle again.
He just looked at me dully, and asked, “Oleander?” I nodded. Sighing, he said, “I assumed you’d try telling me as much. I’ve had Jin prepare a calming tonic to keep me . . . reasonable while this is going on. Is there proof?”
“More all the time. Someone poisoned the meat Tybalt feeds to his Court with pure extract of oleander flowers; several Cait Sidhe are already dead. The Queen’s men have Lily’s pearl. They found it next to an empty vial.”
“Poison?” asked Etienne.
“I think so. And . . . I went to see a Tylwyth Teg named Walther, who used to work for Lily. He ran some tests on my blood. I’ve been poisoned, too. Low-grade—it’s intended to confuse me, not kill me—but it’s still poison.”
Sylvester’s mouth thinned into an angry line. “You say these things and then expect me to let you go charging back into danger.”
I sighed. “Because I know you will. It may be Luna’s only chance.”
“You’re right,” he said, softly. “Toby, you can’t come here again. I’ll send Quentin or Etienne if I need you, but I can’t stop the Queen if you’ve been accused.”
“I understand. Go back to Luna; stay with her. If I can fix this, I will.”
“If you can’t fix this, she’ll die.”
“And so will I.”
“I know.” He turned away. I started to reach for him, but stopped myself, shaking my head. There was nothing left to say.
Etienne stepped up beside me, offering his arm, and I took it without hesitating. Shadowed Hills was no sanctuary for me anymore. In the end, there’s never a sanctuary. You run until there’s nowhere left to run to, and then you fight, and then you die, and then it’s over. That’s how the world works, and if there’s a way to change that, I hope someone’s eventually planning to let me know.
TWENTY-TWO
I WAITED UNTIL QUENTIN AND I were halfway down the hill outside the knowe before saying quietly, “Try to stay out of Raysel’s way. If she’s gunning for me, she may start gunning for you, too—out of spite, if nothing else.”
“Yeah.” He sounded subdued. The poor kid was practically worn through. If we survived this, I was going to take him to Great America and make him ride roller coasters until one of us threw up. Never doubt the restorative powers of a good amusement park. “I think she’s probably going to try.”
“If she accuses you of anything, run for my mother’s tower. It will know you from Jan’s funeral, but nobody else who’s not family will make it past the gate.” The dream I’d shared with Karen was still vivid in my mind. I needed to call her. Even if she didn’t know why she sent the dream, she might remember details I’d forgotten.
Quentin cast a sidelong look in my direction. “I still can’t come with you?”
“She’d add kidnapping to the list of charges, and I need you here so you can get Connor out, too. I don’t trust her not to hurt him.” He didn’t love her. With the way she was acting, that might be enough of an insult to let her justify punishing him for his insolence.
“You’re probably right,” Quentin said glumly. “What are you going to do?”
“It’s too soon to go back to the university—having me show up asking Walther for results will just distract him.” He hadn’t had time to get used to the way things speed up when people start trying to kill me. Hopefully, he’d live long enough to learn. “I guess I’ll head for Golden Gate Park, bring Tybalt up to speed on what’s been going on. After that—”
Quentin’s pocket started ringing.
He shot me an apologetic look as he pulled out his phone and flipped it open. “Hello?” He stiffened. “Oh.” Lowering the phone, he turned to me. “It’s for you.”
“What?” I plucked the tiny plastic oblong from his hand, bringing it to my ear. “Toby here.”
“Toby, you have to come home. You have to come home right now.”
May sounded panicked enough that it took a moment for me to recognize her voice. It felt like my heart froze solid. Putting a hand on Quentin’s shoulder—as much to keep me upright as to reassure him—I asked, carefully, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Spike. It won’t wake up.”
The frozen feeling in my heart just grew at that statement. With Tybalt’s Court in chaos and Luna still in a comalike state, the last thing I needed was for the poisoning to start following me home. “I’ll be right there.”
