the stepstool that he used to raise himself up high enough to talk to his customers, and leaned his elbows on the counter.
“Good, I’m glad you made it.” He glanced over at the television set on the wall, which was tuned to the news with the volume turned down. Once again, the station was showing attacks by the vrykos around the nation. “What the hell’s going on?” He nodded at the screen.
“That’s what we’re here to talk about. Leave it until parley, old man,” Herne said. “There are things that are better off spoken of in private.” He glanced around the bar. “Have you heard of any trouble over here on the Eastside?”
“No, but we don’t always get wind of problems when they first start. Unless they’re political, that is. Then, we’re usually first on the list for information. Let’s go. The parley awaits.” Without further ado, Ginty led us over to the right side of the bar, where a staircase was cordoned off with velvet ropes.
The crimson ropes were actually creatures, guardians who protected the way into the portal leading to safe haven. If someone attempted to barge through, the ropes would turn into massive snakes with extremely sharp fangs. Their venom was lethal, and all it took was one bite to stop an intruder in their tracks.
Ginty said something over the ropes and passed his hand over them, and then unhooked the velvet and moved it aside, allowing us to pass through. He swung in behind us, once again hooking the rope across the staircase.
As we headed up the stairs, we arrived at the first landing. The staircase turned to the left as mist shrouded our passage. It was a magical fog, marking the entrance into another dimension. We went by feel, touching the walls as we took one step at a time until we came out into a long hall. There, the staircase turned to the right, leading to yet another floor.
But Ginty led us down the hall to the first door on the left. It seemed to be the conference room where we always met the Fae Queens, and I wondered if it was specifically kept for them and their various parleys. In fact, I wondered how many parleys they had and how many people met with them here.
As he opened the door, we entered the conference room. There was a U-shaped table front and center, with chairs around the outside. As always, Saílle sat to the left, and Névé to the right. They usually brought an entourage of bodyguards and advisors with them, and today was no exception. Ginty, Herne, Viktor, and I took our seats at the cross table that divided the two factions.
Saílle and Névé were—as usual—decked out in full regal attire. Saílle was dressed in yards of slate blue satin and her hair flowed down to her ass, waving rivulets of shining black strands against the muted material. She wore a crown of sapphires and diamonds, and a necklace of amethyst. Her eyes were the color of ice, and she sat unmoving, like a pale statue carved out of alabaster.
Névé was her opposite, and in this—the season of summer—Névé sparkled. But we were past the summer solstice and so her luster had faded a little bit. Her hair was platinum, and her eyes were a rich coffee color. She wore a gown of green and gold that flowed over her like a gossamer dream. Her tiara sparkled with emeralds and diamonds, and her matching choker was the largest emerald solitaire I had ever seen.
I nodded at both, but said nothing. Decorum dictated that Ginty begin the parley before anyone spoke. He stood, holding aloft a golden wand. The smoky quartz on the end glittered as he wove the magic around us. An oath taken under parley was an oath that bound us before the gods, even the Fae Queens.
“I hereby declare the Lughnasadh parley of the Courts of Light and Darkness, in the year 10260 CFE, open. Under this mantle, all members are bound to forswear bearing arms against any other member of this parley until the meeting is officially closed and all members are safely home. I also remind the Courts of Light and Darkness that they are forsworn by the Covenant of the Wild Hunt from inflicting injury on any and all members of the Wild Hunt team, under the sigil of Cernunnos, Lord of the Forest, and Morgana, goddess of the Sea and the Fae. Let no one break