something I wanted to contemplate. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice. I’d made a bargain with him, and now I owed him an enormous debt. If he’d come to collect, I was bound by magic to grant him what he requested. The Mender’s interest certainly explained why Death had sought me out despite his intent to stay away—I’d made the bargain and taken the debt to ensure Death’s freedom.
“When?”
“Soon, now that you’re back in a plane where we can find you.”
Crap. I nodded. I didn’t thank him—I didn’t need any more debt floating around—but I think he understood that I appreciated the heads-up.
“Be safe, Al,” he said, and I could see in his hazel eyes there was a lot more he wanted to say. But it was better for both of us if he didn’t. He gave me a small smile. Then he vanished.
“I try,” I whispered after he was already gone. Then I turned, looking first at the two fae who were watching me skeptically, and then down at the bodies laid out on the hill. I couldn’t raise the shades, and the souls were gone, so I couldn’t question the ghosts. There was absolutely nothing I could contribute further besides offering extra hands to help move them—which was hardly unique or irreplaceable.
“I hate to do this, but . . . can I leave these bodies for you two to take care of?” Now that was a sentence I never thought I’d utter. I lifted my skirt, starting down the hill even as I spoke. “You can get them back to Faerie, right? Don’t leave them on the hill for my roommates to find.” Another sentence that I shouldn’t have ever had to use. “I have to go. Something’s come up.”
Then I turned and ran toward the castle, hoping I could change out of my gore-streaked dress before my meeting with the single most powerful being I’d ever met.
Chapter 17
The Mender hadn’t appeared by the time I made my way through the castle to my rooms, so I snatched a pair of clean clothes from my dresser and hurried to the bathroom. I only planned to change, but a glance in the mirror convinced me a shower was essential. My hair was a tangle of curls and pine needles, I had mud and things I didn’t want to think about on my arms from my fall in the woods, my skin was sticky from dried sweat, and I had an overall feeling of ick after over a day without a shower. I peeked back at my room—it was dark and empty. I turned the shower on, jumping in before it had a chance to warm up.
I’m normally one to relish my showers. Not tonight. While I wanted to scrub myself pink, I didn’t have time for more than a quick wash. It probably was one of my top five fastest showers of all time. Then I was out and pulling my clothes on over my still-damp body. Getting caught naked by the Mender was not something I wanted to happen.
I stepped out of the bathroom, towel-drying my hair, and stopped in my tracks. The door to my sitting room stood open. I’d definitely closed it when I’d walked through. I tossed the towel back in the bathroom and walked from my bedroom to the sitting room attached to my suite. The room had been empty when I passed through earlier. It wasn’t anymore.
The Mender sat in one of the overstuffed lounge chairs in the center of the room. For a being of incredible power, he wasn’t an imposing figure. Not currently, at least. His rounded shoulders dipped as he leaned forward, thin arms on knobby knees, and his balding head tipped to examine the books scattered across my coffee table—the one surface in the entire castle where I’d convinced Ms. B to let me enjoy my clutter. He picked up a book, examining the spine and nodding silently to himself, as if agreeing with some conversation only he could hear. His face had deep wrinkles and well-etched smile lines, and the impression was that of a kind old grandpa who would regale me with tales of his great-grandchildren.
I wasn’t fooled.
By the time he looked up, he appeared younger, hale and strong. The wrinkles had faded to lines of definition. The change happened so subtly that I didn’t realize his features had changed until it occurred to me that he looked different. And they kept changing as I entered