And mate of the local Alpha werewolfJesses father, I told her. I could hardly tell her that Samuel was singlethat was a little too obvious. I saw that it mattered to her that Samuel didnt belong to me.
You were going to I was so caught up in matchmaking that I almost flubbed it then and there. I shut my mouth and grabbed Jesses hand.
help us find Gabriel. Jesse completed my sentence for me.
Ariana didnt move like a human at all when she came back to where we sat, with her chair in hand; she moved like a . . . wolf, bold and graceful and strong. Without a glance at Samuel, she sat down.
Ask her about the thing the fairy queen wants, I told Jesse.
Zee said she wants the Silver Borne, Ariana said. That is the object of power I built for my fatheralthough it never quite worked as the one who commissioned it would have liked. For many years I thought I had destroyed all my magic by making it. She closed her eyes and smiled. I lived as a human, except for my long life span. I married, had children . . . She glanced at Samuel, who was looking over our heads and out the window. His face was composed, but I could see the pulse beating fast in his throat.
Ariana continued her story quickly. It took me nearly a century to make the connection between my lack of magic and the Silver Borne.
She gave me a wry smile. I know. I had no magic anymore, and the last thing I made was something that was supposed to eat magic. Youd think Id have made the connection. But all I knew was that it wasnt finished . . . and I couldnt remember how far Id gotten when my father called the wolves. After a while it was not as important to meit was only a broken thing that did nothing. Someone stole it, and I thought, good riddance. I left it to them, and after a few months my magic returned. It was then that I first understood Id succeeded, in part. It does consume fae magicbut mostly just the magic of the person who currently possesses it.
Why would a fairy queen want it, then? I asked, then added a belated, Jesse?
It eats fae magic, Mercy, said Zee. How easy to change a formidable opponent to someone more vulnerable than a humanat least a human knows he has no power. Dueling is still allowed among the fae.
Or maybe she doesnt really understand what it does, suggested Ariana. She could believe it does as it was built to do: take power from one fae and give it to another. Ive heard the storiesand I do not bother to correct them. Now I have answered a question, I have one for you. Mercy, did Phin give that book to you?
I took in a breath to answer, and Jesse clamped her hand over my mouth and jumped in. It would work better if you ask me, she said. Then it would be less likely that Mercy breaks her word. She dropped her hand. Did Phin give you the book?
But what does the book have to do with it?
Glamour, said Samuel suddenly. By all thats holy, Ari, how did you manage to do that? You disguised that thing as a book, and you gave it to your grandson?
He is mostly human, she answered him without looking his way. And I told him to keep it locked away so it wouldnt eat the magic he has.
What if hed sold it? I asked. Jesse?
It is my blood that it was born in, Ariana said. It finds its way back to me eventually. Jesse, please ask her. Did Phin give you the book?
No. I might have bought it if I could have afforded I stopped talking because she slumped down and put both hands over her face.
Im sorry, Im sorry, Ariana said, hiccuping and wiping her face with her hands. Samuel surged toward her, then stopped where he was. Shed flinched, just a little.
Its just been such a . . . I was so sure Phin was deadthat theyd killed him trying to get it, and it would be my fault. She wiped her eyes again. Im not usually like this, but Phin is . . . I adore Phin. He is so much like my son who I lost a long time ago . . . And I thought he was dead.
Now you know he lives? Samuel asked.
In fire or in death, Jesse said, understanding it before any of the rest of us did. Thats what the fairy queen said. That if she killed Mercy, or if they burned it, it would reveal itself. But if it still belongs to Phin . . .
If they had killed him, the Silver Borne would have revealed itself to them, Ariana agreed. They wouldnt still be looking for it.
Why did you make it that way? asked Jesse.
Ariana smiled at her. I didnt. But things of power . . . evolve around the limits they are given. Thats why, even though I thought it did nothing, I kept it with me. Because even unfinished, it was a thing of power.
How did you figure out that it . . . Oh. There was comprehension in Jesses voice.
Right. Its a very old thing, and many of its owners have died in various ways. The fire thing came later. Her face grew contemplative. And quite spectacularly.
Arent you its owner? Jesse asked.
Not if I want to keep my magicIm only its maker. Thats why its called the Silver Borne.
Ariana means silver in Welsh. Samuel sat down on the floor and leaned against the end of the nearest metal shelving unit. Hed had a rough couple of days, toobut I hoped that Arianas obvious fear of him wouldnt send him sliding back into despair.
Jesse, I said. Ask her how we find Gabriel.
What did you bring me that belongs to this young man? Jesse handed her a white plastic bag. Its a sweater he loaned me when I was cold.
Phin told me that his magic was that he could sometimes feel things from objects, I said. Things like how old an object is. Psychometry.
Something he inherited from me. Ariana pulled the sweater out and put it against her face. Oh dear. This wont work.
Why not? Samuel asked. It is his. I can smell his scent on it from here.
I dont work off scents, she told him, her eyes on the sweater. I work off ties, the threads that bind us to those things that are ours. She looked at Jesse. This sweater means far more to you, as a gift of love, than it did to him when he wore it. So I can use it to find you, but not him. She hesitated. Does he feel the same way about you?
Jesse blushed and shook her head. I dont know.
Give me your hand, said the fae woman.
Jesse reached out and Ariana held itand smiled like a wolf scenting her prey. Oh yes, you are a lodestone. She turned to look at Zee. With her I can find him. He is that way. She pointed toward the back of the garage.
* * *
WE LOADED INTO ADAMS TRUCK BECAUSE ZEES TRUCK wouldnt hold us alland Zee drove. Ariana sat in the front and Samuel sat behind Zee, as far as he could get from her in the big truck.
The sound of the big engine brought a smile to Zees face; he appreciates modern technology more than I do.
Adam has good taste, was all he said.
Looking for Gabriel was frustrating because it took us a while to figure out that we had to cross the river, and the roads didnt always lead where she was pointing. Adam had a map in his jockey box, and Samuel used it to figure out how to work our way around to the most likely destinations.
We ended up in an empty, flat meadow up a winding dirt road (not marked on Adams map) that might have been an hours drive from the Tri-Cities if wed known where we were going in the first place. There was a fence around the field wed all had to climb over. Maybe ten years ago it might have held in livestock, but the barbwire drooped and T posts were tipped over. Near where wed parked the car were the remnants of someones old cabin.
Ariana, looking out of place in her cardigan and stretch-knit pants, stopped in the middle of the field between a thatch of bunchgrass and a couple of sagebrush.
Here, she said, sounding worried.
Here? Jesse said incredulously.
I took advantage of our halt to start picking cheatgrass out of my socks. If Id realized wed be running around out there, Id have worn bootsand a thicker jacket.
The fairy queen has set up her Elphame, Zee observed soberly.
Thats bad? I asked.
Very bad, he said. It means she is stronger than I thoughtand probably she has more fae at her command than we suspected if she still has the ability to build a home.
How could she have done that here? asked Ariana. She must be able to tap into Underhill to create her own land. The gates to the Secret Place have been lost to us for centuriesand Underhill never was in this land.
I looked at Zee. I couldnt help it because Id been to Underhilland then sworn to silence.
Underhill was wherever it chose to be, Zee said. The reservation is no more than ten miles away as the crow flies. Most of the fae who live there arent the powerful among the faebut there are a lot of us, more than appear on the governments rolls. There is power in that kind of concentration. He was careful not to say that the reservation had reopened a path or two to Underhill.
Ariana held her hand out, palm down, and closed her eyes briefly. Youre right, Zee. There is power here that tastes of the Old Place. I had wondered why she bothered to keep Phin alive when killing him would have been the most logical path for her to take. She outsmarted herself when she took him to Elphame.
Fairy queens follow rules, agreed Zee. Mortals who are taken to the Elphame cannot be killed or permanently harmedits part of the magic of building a place apart.
Ariana gave him a little smile. My Phin must be too human for her to kill. I wonder if she knew that when she took him to her lair? If he is human, she cannot, of her own volition, release him for a year and a day.
Does that mean she cant kill Gabriel? Jesse rubbed her arms to keep warm. And that we cant get him for a year and a day either?
She cant kill Gabriel either. It was Samuel who answered. That doesnt mean she wont hurt or enthrall them. Fairy prisoners can be rescued by stealth, by battle, or by bargaining.
Bargaining? Like in the song The Devil Went Down to Georgia but with a fairy? I asked. It seemed to me that Id heard a similar tale with fairies in it.
Right, Samuel agreed. It can be a contestusually musical, because fairy queens tend to be musically talented. But there are stories of footraces or swimming contests. My father has a wonderful old song about a young man who challenged a fairy to an eating contest and won.
How do we get in? asked Jesse.
The only way I know of getting into Elphame is by following the queen in, Ariana said.
I might be able to open a way, said Zee. I think I can manage to keep her from knowing what Ive done. But Ill have to stay here and hold the door openand I wont be able to keep it open forever. An hour at most and you have to be out. If the door closes . . . As it does in Underhill, time passes differently in Elphame. If the door closes, even if you manage to escape, there is no telling how much time will have passed when you get out.
Okay, said Jesse.
Oh, no, I said. Not you, Jess. No.
Ill be the safest person there, she told me. Im strictly a mortal humanthey cant kill me.
They can make you want to be dead, said Samuel.
You need me to find Gabriel. Jesse set her chin. Im coming.
I looked at Ariana, who nodded. The Elphame is entirely under the control of its maker. If we want to find your young man quickly and get him out, well need her to do it.
Then let me call Adam and get the wolves. I should have stopped at Sylvias to pick up something that Ariana could have found Gabriel with that wasnt living. I didnt want to cause Adams pack any more trouble than I already hadbut I wanted even more to get Gabriel and Phin out of the fairys hold and still keep Jesse safe.
Ariana sucked in a quick breath. I am sorry, she said. Samuel is . . . I could not do it with strange werewolves. If it were just fear, I would do it. But the panic attacks can be dangerous to anyone around me. She looked at Zee. Could they find them without me, do you think?
No, said Zee. If I have to stay out here, then they will need you to keep them from being lost. Moreover, I think that the wolves might be a mistake. Samuel is old enough and powerful in his own rightI think he could resist the will of one such as a fairy queen. But all of the wolves . . . The chances are too great that she would turn our own against us. If she turns you or Jesse, Ariana and Sam can still get you out. If you go in with the pack, even one wolf who turns would mean death.
Its all right, Mercy, said Jesse. Im not helpless, and I . . . Would you be able to wait out here if it were Dad in there?
No.
Are you ready? asked Zee.
All right, I said, painfully aware that Adam would not be happy with me, but Jesse was right. She was probably the safest among us. Lets get them out of here.
Good, said Zeeand he dropped his glamour without fanfare or drama.
One moment he was the tallish skinny old man with a little rounded belly and age spots on his neck and hands, and the next he was a tall, sleek warrior with skin dark as wet bark. Sunlight tinted his hair gold. It hung in a thick braid that flowed over one shoulder and hung lower than his belt. The last time Id seen him, his pointed ears had been pierced many times, and he had worn bone earrings in the piercings. There were no decorations at all.
His was a body that didnt belong in the jeans and plaid flannel shirt he still wore. The clothing fit him as well in his current shape as they had in the one I was used to. I supposed that made sense because it was the Zee I knew who was the illusion and this man, and his clothes, that were real.
Zees true face was uncannybeautiful, proud, and cruel. I remembered the stories Id found about the Dark Smith of Drontheim. Zee had never been the kind of fairy who cleaned houses or rescued lost children. Hed been one to avoid if you could and to treat very, very courteously if you couldnt. Hed mellowed a little with age and didnt disembowel anyone who displeased him anymore. Not that Id seen anyway.
Wow, said Jesse. You are beautiful. Scary. But beautiful.
He looked at her a moment, then said, I have heard Gabriel say the same of you, Jesse Adamstochter. It was meant as a compliment, I believe. He turned to Ariana. Youll have to leave the glamour behind. The only glamour that works in Elphame is the queens, and if you wait until the Elphame rips it from you, it will alert those inside that they have an intruder.