Heir of the Dog Black Dog - Hailey Edwards Page 0,25
I hit the hallway leading to her bedroom, flipping on lights as I went, popping my head into the rooms I hadn’t checked yet. Empty. Dark. Empty. Dark. Her room was my last hope. I rested my hand on the knob, inhaled and pushed open the door. The glow from her plug-in air freshener cast a halo over her throw pillows. Resting atop one lilac-colored sham curled a single black feather.
Lifting my feet took more effort the nearer I got to her bed.
I pinched that feather between my fingers and turned to Raven. “What does this mean?”
He took it from me, his eyes narrowing. “Your mother has been taken.”
“First the birds on her lawn and now this,” I snarled. “Black birds and black feathers, Raven.”
“I know how this looks,” he said softly.
“It looks a hell of a lot like you’re behind this.” I shoved him against the wall and braced my forearm against his throat. “Tell me you didn’t do this. Give me your word, as the Morrigan’s son, or I’m dragging your ass in front of the magistrates right now.”
His breathing remained calm. “I vow, as the Morrigan’s son, I did not take your mother.”
My arm went limp, and I backed away as it fell. “How do you know she was taken?”
“There are carvings in the shaft of the feather.” He held it out to me. “They’re runes. The same ones used to operate the tether between realms. They were leaving you a means of following them.”
I snatched the feather and studied the foreign symbols. “They took her to Faerie.”
I had screwed up. I should have gone to the magistrates immediately. I had been too slow making up my mind about Raven’s offer, and now some asshat from Faerie had made it up for me.
I stormed through the house headed for my car. I tugged my cellphone from my pocket and sent Shaw a text to meet me at the office ASAP.
“Wait.” Raven grabbed my arm and took the feather. “Where are you going?”
“To the magistrates.” I shrugged him off me. “They’re the only ones who can get her back.”
He pocketed the blackened quill. “You overestimate the conclave’s influence in Faerie.”
“The magistrates are nobles.” One Seelie and one Unseelie, as every conclave outpost required. “Are you saying Faerie won’t listen to its own nobility?”
“Those who are sent to monitor this realm are outcast from their families.” Raven corralled me against the car. “In the eyes of the High Court, this is all they are fit to do. The consuls in Faerie couldn’t care less what magistrates here have to say. They are lesser nobles. Not benevolent ambassadors as you seem to believe.”
“I’ll have to take my chances.” I shoved him stumbling back and slid into the driver’s seat.
He caught the door before I slammed it. “I’m sorry, Thierry.”
I glared up at him. “Sorry doesn’t cut it.”
“The conclave can’t know I’m here.” He squatted to put us at eye level. “No one can.”
“I filed a report after you poached from the Morrigan.” I stretched that statement into a lie. “They know you’re responsible.”
“That is unfortunate.” He clamped a hand over my wrist. “That means your time is up.”
“What are you talking about?” Tugging against him got me exactly nowhere.
“If the magistrates know I’m here, they will be watching the tethers.” Urgency spiked his tone. “I can’t risk being trapped in this realm.”
He placed my hands on the wheel. Magic wound over my wrists and stuck my hands in place. He shut the door, circled the car and climbed onto the seat beside me.
I struggled against the invisible restraints. “What are you doing?”
“What I should have done in the first place.” He grimaced. “I’m taking you home to Faerie.”
Compelled by Raven’s magic, I drove straight to the conclave, which suited me just fine. We sat in the parked car, him peering through his window and me praying Shaw was racing up the drive behind us. Raven pursed his lips and squinted his eyes. Call me crazy, but I got the impression the glamours applied to this place slid right off before his eyes. No Word required.
All I saw and all I would see until I deactivated the wards was the glamour depicting a dilapidated farmhouse and the adjacent field.
“You can’t sneak past the guards.” I grunted while tugging on my hands. “You’re going to get caught.”
“I don’t think so.” He studied a point in the distance. “I’ve already done this once, remember?”
“You separated your consciousness and crossed the ward in pieces.”