I thought the best approach was to find a way for the fairies to breed. It seemed the least violent approach. And maybe Cate had found a way, some poultice or tea that would override the spell.
I called her but there was no answer so I locked up and walked to her house. It was three blocks closer to downtown than mine and about fifty years younger. I liked my house with its age and creaks and groans. It was a bit crooked and full of little built in cupboards. The basement was dirt when I bought it; I got to build my workspace the way I wanted. And the garden was mature and beautiful.
Cate’s place was functional and neat. Her garden was around back, but I could see a small portion of the side of it, as neat as the front. I went to knock on the door and it swung open at my first touch. “Cate?” I peeked inside, feeling good that she’d spelled the door to respond to me. I’m pretty sure I was being sent a signal. After this was over, I was going to definitely make my move.
“Where are you?” I stepped out of the foyer and came to a complete stop.
The living room was turned over. The couch was thrown against the wall, cushions torn and lying on the floor. The coffee table was broken in half as though someone had fallen on it. I cast a spell to try to bring up the shadows of power left behind, but nothing happened. This damage was done more than a few hours ago.
I sniffed the air and there was no blood. No one had been hurt, a least not in here. I made my way around the house. All the rooms were in the same state, food was thrown all over the floor in the kitchen. The bathroom was a mess of suds, bubble bath and shampoo combining to form a lavender and citrus cloud of bubbles.
The good news was that no one had been injured anywhere in the house. No sense of blood. Either Cate wasn’t here when it happened, or she got out before whoever it was did it. I couldn’t sense any taint of demon, but then Cate would keep control of any demon she summoned. So it must be something else.
I stepped into her garden and saw it was not touched by whatever happened in the house. It was also protected from nosy neighbors by a boxwood hedge. I pulled a seeking amulet from my pocket. I breathed on it and whispered “Cate.”
The amulet warmed which meant she was alive and within five miles of me. Five miles was a pretty big radius. I levitated the stone and asked it to point out her direction. It moved toward the park. I couldn’t really follow it to her since there would be people on the street. Following a floating stone wasn’t normal human behavior. I put it in my pocket and headed toward the park.
The park was empty of humans even drug dealers took dinner breaks, I guess. I looked at the trees where we were attacked last night. There was no sign that any fight had taken place. I don’t know why I thought there should be some sign, but it seemed wrong that nothing showed.
The amulet was still in my pocket. I had planned to use it as I got into town if there was an opportunity. No sign of Cate, so since no one around, I opened my hand and levitated the amulet an inch.
“Point,” I whispered and it floated toward downtown. Cate must have changed her mind about where she was going. I hope it wasn’t because she was under the influence of some demon.
“Quinn.” A voice spoke from the region of my hip. I looked down to see a sprite, oak I think, very young.
“Do I know you?’
“My cousin is Beacon. I am Bracken.” He beckoned me to a bench, looking around as we walked over.
“I am in a hurry to find someone.”
He pulled on my pant leg. “It will only take a minute. And maybe I know where your friend is.”
I knew if I argued, I would waste time and probably still end up listening to what he had to say. So, I sat on the bench and waited.
He stared at me for a moment before speaking. “You are doing something about this situation between the fairies and the Sidhe.”
“Yes.”
He nodded. “There’s rumors going around. Something bad is coming.”
I figured it was about last night but you never know. “What are the rumors about?”
He waved his hand dismissing the topic. “I couldn’t get any information on that.”
“They sprang a trap last night and we got away.”
“That is not why they are excited. It is not something they have done.”
I didn’t know what to do with that information. “I will be alert for something. Thanks, Bracken.”
“You are welcome, Quinn Larson. If I learn anything else, I will bring it to you.”
I rose to go.
He pulled on my jacket. “Wait, who are you looking for? Perhaps I have seen them.”
“Cate Witherspoon. She’s a witch.”
“Yes I saw her.”
My heart leaped and I looked around. “Where?”
“Not here, I saw her walking into Bank’s Bar.”
“That is good news. When did you see her?”
Bracken shrugged. “An hour ago.”
Sprites are not good with time so there was a good chance it could have been yesterday. And for that matter, the thing with the Sidhe could have been a week ago, or could have been when they were planning the whole fairy as murderer plan. “Thanks.”
I rose and started to leave when Bracken grabbed my arm. “Wait, Quinn. She was with another wizard. They seemed friendly. I think she is safe.”
Safe wasn’t the first thing that came to my mind, but tried to tamp down on the jealousy. I nodded my thanks and started toward Bank’s.
Chapter Twenty
It took me twenty minutes to get to Bank’s. Twenty minutes of alternating between relief that she was alive and whole, and jealousy of this other wizard. I arrived at the door on the jealousy side so I tried to get control of myself before I walked inside. I told myself I was successful and went in.
Mark pulled a pint for me before I got to the bar. I thanked him and picked it up then looked around. Thinking the cool beer would keep me cool.
I saw Cate sitting at a table against the back wall. She was laughing at something her companion said. It was a wizard, I couldn’t see who because he had pulled up the hood of his jacket.
The beer didn’t help.
I stepped toward the table running a mental rehearsal of what I would say. I wanted to be cool and professional. If she wasn’t interested, if I was reading the signals wrong, I would not let her see it.
“Hi. It’s good to see you are okay.”
She frowned up at me. “What do you mean?”
“Your place has been trashed. I was just there.”
She looked across the table at the other wizard. “Know anything about that, Lionel?”
Relief flooded me and I looked into my glass to cover my reaction. Lionel, of course she would be with her apprentice.
He coughed. “I don’t know. Umm. Well, I’m pretty sure I got the containment spell right on that mini hurricane. You did check it, right?”
Cate’s mouth thinned and I was glad I wasn’t Lionel. “I would have checked it if I knew you had a mini hurricane in my house. But if I knew that, I would have sent it back where you got it from. Why did you think you could summon one?”
Lionel seemed to miss the threat in her voice. “I was looking through the spells like you told me to. That seemed like a real easy one. And it was. I got it on the second try.”
She shook her head. “You know that you have to master containment before you summon. Well, no real harm done, I guess.”
I figured she was just trying to be careful of his ego while I was there. I stood up; it was time for them to be alone. “I’ll get you another glass of wine, Cate.”
She nodded at me then turned her full attention on Lionel. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
Mark and I watched the storm of words she lashed him with. We couldn’t hear because she’d cast a muffle spell as soon as I moved away. We could see Lionel looking down at the table, his shoulders were slumped and he didn’t say anything. I’d finished half of another pint before he stood and walked toward the door, face ashen. Cate beckoned me over and I took two fresh drinks with me. “It will get better,” I whispered to Lionel as we passed. I’m not sure he heard me.