Thorn Queen Page 0,22

know?"

"Instinct." Engaging Wil in conversation was always dangerous, but seeing as he never left the house or had much social interaction, I just had to ask the next question. "How'd you guys meet?"

"On a forum. We were both in this thread and kept arguing about whether there was a government connection between the overdoses of Marilyn Monroe and Heath Ledger, and then we-"

"Okay," I said, grimacing. "That's enough. Really."

We reached the basement door, and Trisha started to go down. "Don't," I warned. "You guys need to stay up here." I gave Wil a stern look. "Don't let her down there until we're done. You of all people know I'm not fucking around."

Wil blanched further-if that was possible-and gave a hasty nod. Wil had traveled with me to the Otherworld and fully understood the perils of my job. I could hear Trisha arguing with him as Kiyo and I descended the stairs, yet somehow, Wil managed to do his job and keep her away.

"I never thought it was possible," said Kiyo, once we were out of earshot. "He's found and fallen in love with someone exactly like him. I guess there really is someone for everyone."

"She's a little more assertive than he is, I think."

"Good. He needs it."

"On the bright side, this'll be cake. Kobolds aren't an issue."

Kiyo nodded his agreement but wrinkled his nose when we reached the bottom of the steps. "They're bad-smelling ones, though."

The basement wasn't finished and bore the usual clutter one found in such places. Lots of hiding spots for kobolds. I pulled on a hanging chain, and a bare bulb offered meager illumination. Taking out my wand, I extended my arm and swept the whole basement.

"By the earth and fire you serve, I command you to reveal yourselves."

Shamanic magic tingled from me, through the wand and its gems, and into the room. A moment later, three forms materialized. They were about three-feet high, male, and hardly resembled the big-eyed aliens popular in modern culture. These guys were wizened, with patchy yellow hair. Wil's comment about the paisley coats wasn't entirely accurate either. One wore plaid.

"Why did you call us out?" the one in plaid demanded in a high-pitched voice. "We haven't done anything to you. We haven't done anything to anyone."

"You guys, you can't stay here," I said. "Not in this house. It's not yours. This world isn't yours." I was a stickler for world ownership.

"We're helping," argued one of the paisley ones. "Do you know how messy these people are? Books and paper everywhere."

If Trisha's house had resembled Wil's before the kobolds arrived, I could well imagine it. Kobolds were kind of like benign goblins, originating in northern Europe and rarely given to maliciousness unless provoked. My hope was that they could simply be talked into leaving.

"That's really nice and all, but I mean it: you can't stay here. I've got to send you back to the Otherworld. Give me a hard time about it, and I'll make it the Underworld."

The plaid one scowled. "You're as cruel as they say, Eugenie Thorn Queen. We've done nothing to deserve this."

I tried not to scowl right back. Before learning about my gentry blood, I'd often conducted shamanic business under the pseudonym Odile Dark Swan. It was what Otherworld denizens had known and feared me as. I wasn't thrilled to know that no part of my identity was a secret anymore.

"You guys, I am not screwing around. You know who I am. You know what I can do, so stop wasting time." Wand still in hand, I began to channel an opening to the Otherworld. "You can't take on both of us, let alone one."

"No," agreed the other paisley one. "But he can."

"He-ahh!"

Furry hands reached around from behind me just seconds after Kiyo exclaimed, "Eugenie!"

Kiyo was normally on high alert but had been as cocky as me about dealing with the kobolds. His attention had been on them, and he hadn't sensed the other threat lurking in the basement. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Kiyo had scented this creature, if the odor emanating from its hands and arms was any indication. He just hadn't made the connection.

I still didn't have a good look at my furry-armed captor, seeing as I was still struggling to break free of its grasp. Kiyo was on it in a flash, needing no weapons save his own brute strength. His hands closed around the creature's arms, and he managed to pull them loose enough for me to slip out of its grip.