Imperative: A Quinn Larson Quest (6 page)

I turned my attention back to Olan. He was managing to fly from the floor to the window ledge and back without losing control.

We waited until dark and then headed for a section of the park where the nightshade fairies built their homes.

We stood in the shadow of a large pine. The nightshade patch was about forty feet away. I could see the fairies dancing around a small fire.

“It looks like the mating caught.” I said to Olan. Fairies knew when they were pregnant within minutes. “Let’s hope it encourages another pair to try.”

“It will. You know nightshades. They are happy to jump on any opportunity to mate.” Olan fluttered down from a branch. Throughout the evening he had been trying to fly from higher and higher points. He had managed to take off from a running start and flapped around for short distances, but no sustained flight, yet. I hoped he was successful soon. I hated to think of spending the rest of my life with Olan flying up and down everywhere I went.

I leaned sideways and saw two nightshade fairies standing just on the edge of the light. They were too far away to hear, but the body language was clear. She was telling him to get going. He was holding something in his hand, something small and shiny. “That’s gold in his hand. Okay I guess we have our target. That is unless they are planning something else.”

“Well you won’t find out by standing here. Just follow them and be quiet about it,” Olan said.

The nightshade boy was skirting the bushes on his way out of the park, his pale skin showing in the street light as he dashed across the street. I could see his left hand was clutching the gold tightly.

We trailed him to a bus stop. The next bus was due in about five minutes and I said a little plea that he wasn’t going to get on when it came. Any hope of being inconspicuous was out the door if I stepped on a bus with Olan on my shoulder.

“If we have to get on a bus, so be it. I’ll fly up to the top,” Olan said as if he had read my thoughts. “You get on and stay with the fairy.”

“Do you think he’s going to get on?”

“Maybe. Looks, he’s preparing a glamour right now.”

Olan was right. As I looked, the fairy shimmered and the glamour spell turned him from a three foot nightshade fairy to a four and a half foot blond surfer type. “Do you think the Sidhe is on the bus?”

I followed Nightshade as he continued around the corner of the last building on the street. He was going to a bar that I knew; it would be busy at this time of night. I looked at Olan and he fluttered up to the top of a street lamp. When he was settled, I pushed open the door and stepped into the noisy room.

I could see a space at the end of the bar but all the tables were crowded with people who were red-faced with alcohol. I slid in to the opening and made feeble attempt to get the bartender’s attention. I scanned the room, trying to look as though I wasn’t. The Nightshade fairy was sitting in a far corner with someone. The lamp on the table was turned low but I saw the telltale lock of fair curly hair and rosy face of a Sidhe. I knew this one — Iain. It would not be helpful to have him see me, so I slid behind a fat man who was shouting at his companions.

From my position, I could see Nightshade pass the gold to Iain and Iain pass a slip of paper to Nightshade. Good. Now we just had to intercept the paper. It was sure to lead us to the Sidhe waiting for the power.

I watched Iain leave through a back door. If Nightshade left that way I’d follow and hope Olan figured it out. But Nightshade headed for the front door. I peeled away from the bar when he opened the door and made it outside just in time to see Nightshade running up the street toward home. Olan swooped down onto my shoulder as I passed the street light. “Nice, you seem to be getting the hang of it,” I said.

He clacked his beak. “He’s going home. Do you think the meeting is tonight?”

“To quote you, how should I know?” It would complicate things if the fairy wasn’t going to get his reward tonight. I didn’t think we could keep following him for days. “Let’s just see what happens.”

We tracked him back home where he met his girl in the shadows. She kissed him and I heard a giggle. I tried to slip closer to hear what happened, but the girl handed him a while china jug and he turned and ran back into the dark. “We are in luck.” I whispered.

It was about two in the morning. Nightshade would have to find and enchant a human before meeting the Sidhe. We would need to get ahead of him if we wanted to interrupt, save the human and get a sample of the potion. A half hour later, nightshade had found a man outside a bar downtown. The glamour he wore now showed a tall thin girl. Olan had ventured a short flight down the alley. He reported back, “There is a Sidhe woman half way down wrapped in a black cloak.”

“What about Nightshade? He paid for the potion. I don’t think they will give him another go at it. That means his family can’t breed.”

I was surprised at Olan’s concern. “You are worried about the fairy?”

“I don’t like creatures being taken advantage of. He is only doing this because the Sidhe won’t let him breed. Breeding is no choice, it is a biological imperative. You know that.”

That’s a new side to the pixie. “If we get the potion, I can take a bit and give the rest to Nightshade. I won’t need much. The trick is going to be getting the Sidhe to drop it.”

“If I fly into her face, maybe she will drop it trying to protect her precious looks.” He puffed his wings up and tried to look more dangerous.

It didn’t feel like a good idea to change plans at this point. It would be too easy to lose the human while we attacked the Sidhe. Despite his initial reaction, Olan seemed confident so I pushed aside my concerns and started down the alley while Olan took to the air.

Nightshade was still working on getting the human into the alley. The man was reluctant to trust a stranger, but it was only going to be a matter of time before he was pouring belladonna down his throat. Olan was slightly ahead of me as I entered the shadows. His flying was erratic; as though he was drunk, but I was sure he could manage the attack.

I could see the Sidhe lurking in a doorway beside a dumpster. It amazed me that the normally fastidious Sidhe were willing to endure the smell and filth of the alley for a dose of human spirit. She was wrapped in a dark cloak as had Olan reported. The cloak was too small and I could see her hand clutching it around her, the white fingers almost shining against the dark fabric. The hood rested back from her face, framing rather than concealing. I could see she was really young. Her skin was almost translucent white except for the rosy blush of her cheeks.

Olan swooped at her from behind. She didn’t suspect anything until his claws pulled at the hood, exposing thick spiral curls of strawberry blond hair. Both hands flew up to protect her face. Neither held the vial.

I rushed forward to pull at the rest of the cloak. I hoped for a pocket, but didn’t get a chance. She saw me coming and spun away as I reached for her. As she did, the cloak swirled open and I saw the outline of the vial in the breast pocket of her blouse. Before I could grab at it she slipped out of arm’s reach.

Olan flew after her, and I chased her down the alley, but it was no good. After a few twists and turns, I could no longer see even a hint of dark cloak. Olan landed on my shoulder. “Good news, I can fly. Bad news, she’s gone.”

I could feel it all coming apart. “Can we get back to the Nightshade fairy before he kills the human?”

“Next right and we’re back in the alley where they were supposed to meet.” Olan lifted off my shoulder and flew over the roof tops.

When I got there, Nightshade was alone in the alley. At least there was no body on the ground. He looked up as I approached then shook his head.

“She’s gone. You should go home.” I felt sorry for him. The poor guy was just trying to have a baby.

“I know. Now I have to find more gold to buy a meeting. Dora will kill me.”

“You can’t just kill a human so you can have a baby.” I knew it wasn’t worth my breath to try to convince him but I couldn’t resist the urge.

The next night Olan and I were back in Stanley Park looking for another fairy to follow. The park was quiet tonight. Not a human in sight.

“I wish I could. Go ahead. I don’t think anything will start up here soon. Maybe you’ll find something going on. Try the Lily territory behind the tennis courts.”

While he was gone I checked the spell lines I’d cast earlier. I had a web of spells attached to everyone I knew. If Iain came into contact with them, I’d hear about it. It was weird that I hadn’t heard anything in the last two hours. Iain wasn’t exactly a hermit. Whatever Olan came back with, we were going Iain hunting later.

The shadows seemed to get darker; someone had joined me. It felt like my skin was crawling off my back. “What do you want?”

“Good to see you too, Quinn,” Iain said. “I hear you are looking for me. Or should I say I felt it.”

“Yes. I want to ask you a few questions.” I turned to face him. He was dressed in a black silk shirt and black leather pants. On him it looked normal.

“Yeah, so I heard. The problem is it no longer results in babies.” I tried to read his expression but he gave nothing away. “You know what’s going on.”

“You think so?”

I wondered where Olan was. Iain wasn’t into violence; or rather he wasn’t into doing it personally. I could handle Iain but it would be nice to have back up. “Yes, I saw you at the pub last night with the nightshade fairy.”

“If I don’t, it won’t work out for anyone.” I felt like I was the only one who could see how badly this would end for us Real folk. We call ourselves that but the humans are more real than we are and they were increasing in number while we were diminishing.

Iain sighed. “Leave it Quinn. You won’t be able to stop her. If she wants to pull power she will. If you try to interfere it will indeed end with someone dying. I like you, Quinn. Don’t be a fool.”

“I can’t help it. I remember the last time we ignored the humans. You should too. You loved Belinda.”

“Don’t bring her into this.” Iain spat the words. Even after all this time, the death of his vampire lover stung. “I can’t help you.”

He spun and faded into the shadows.

Olan practiced flying all the way home. It took a half hour to make it back and when we got there, I saw someone standing in the shadows beside the door; about three feet tall and skinny, probably a fairy.

“Olan, get up on the roof.” I shrugged him off my shoulder. “Leave the fairy to me.”

He landed on the roof of the porch and settled down as I made it to the first step.

The fairy rushed toward me and I put my hands out to stop him. A nettle fairy can attack with a tiny prick of poison that will fell you in a few seconds. It doesn’t kill, but it can leave you paralyzed for months.

“Stay there and tell me what you want.” I figured I knew but didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

“I want you to stop bothering the Sidhe. We need babies, and that is the only way.” The fairy trembled, his green skin flashing dark then pale with emotion. “Please. Stop.”

I was getting tired of pointing out the long term problem with that plan. Knowing fairies didn’t think in the long term didn’t stop me from hoping they would get it. I told him what would happen.