Radiant Shadows

Chapter 15

Ani was still shaken hours after she left Bananach—a situation only made worse by the fact that someone was following her. Perhaps Bananach let me leave only to find out where I’d go? Ani wasn’t sure. The Barracuda’s windows were tinted so dark that she couldn’t see the driver, but she could tell that her stalker was arrogant. To follow someone in such a sweet ride spoke volumes about the driver’s personality. In a faery, that sort of surety and egotism wouldn’t be surprising, but most faeries didn’t drive. It wasn’t an option with so much steel, and having a custom car made of faery-friendly materials was foolish.

There are a few though.

She tried to think over the rare faeries who’d found beautiful machines appealing enough to have nonsteel machines constructed. It was a small list. Mostly, faeries would ride a beast glamoured to look like a motorcycle or even have a car fashioned out of magic and earthen materials. They wouldn’t be able to create this. The engine growled with barely restrained energy, so much so that it appeared to shiver as it crawled after her.

She turned down the alley. No, not a faery. Odds were that a mortal drove the Barracuda; she could confront a mortal.

It turned in behind her. The typical heavy scent of exhaust was absent as the car eased up on her and paused. It sat—engine idling, body humming—but no one emerged. The windows stayed closed.

“Fine. If you won’t reveal yourself”—she stepped toward the car—“we’ll do it this way.” She was beside the driver’s door. Letting her fears and angers out on someone stupid enough to cross a daughter of the Hunt seemed pretty tempting, but she gave one more warning. “You really shouldn’t try me.”

The car didn’t back up; the driver didn’t get out or turn off the engine.

Ani grabbed the door handle—and froze. The material under her hand wasn’t mere metal. She looked inside the now-transparent windows. Empty. The car in front of her wasn’t faery-made. It was something far rarer, something out of children’s tales that she’d long since stopped believing in.

A riderless steed.

Under her hand the car pulsed, like a purr. It vibrated through her body.

“Mine?” she asked.

Each other’s. The words came unbidden into her mind.

It had a voice that she heard. Unlike when she rode another’s steed, hers was in her mind, a part of her.

Of course, I am. The voice was genderless. I am yours. You will not ride any other now.

“Never again. Just you.” She stroked the long sleek lines of the hood. It was everything a classic should be: power and beauty, strong lines and a great engine.

It shifted under her hand, becoming a black Ducati Monster with chrome-spoked rims.

“Daaamn.” Ani felt it laughing as she all but drooled on motorcycle.

Then it was a horse, a skeletal steed capable of trampling every creature in their path. It lifted and lowered one leg, cracking the already-broken asphalt under a steel-sharp hoof. Like the most perfect Dark Court denizens, it was beautiful in its horror. “You’re gorgeous.”

And lethal, Ani.

“Yeah. That’s what I said. Lethal is gorgeous.” She stroked its neck. After the terror of facing Bananach, there was little that could ease her anxiety. This could. This did.

You needed me.

“I did,” she whispered.

I felt your need to run and so I’m here. It closed its eyes and rested its head against her shoulder. We can go from here.

It had selected her, chosen her. She had her own steed, not Chela’s, but her own. Halflings didn’t have steeds; unclaimed steeds didn’t roam in the mortal realm. Yet, it was here.

Come, Ani. The steed became a car again. It opened a door. Ride with me. Away from here.

Ani slid into the driver’s seat. The engine turned over with a satisfying growl.

“Oh.” She breathed the word, and the car tore out of the alley with speed that made her heart race.

Take the wheel. I trust you, it assured her.

“Take it back if I fail you.” She’d driven an actual car a couple of times, but not enough to be certain she could handle it.

Always. I’ll keep you safe, Ani. Always. You’re mine now.

“And you…” She couldn’t say the sentence.

So her steed did. I am yours. Always.

After a few dizzying hours, Ani directed her steed into an alley near the tattoo shop. The riding had helped her settle her emotions, given her space to calm down, but Bananach’s demands weren’t something she could make sense of on her own. She couldn’t kill her king, even if she wanted to. She had no desire to give Bananach her strength or her blood. And, despite her dislike of Seth, she wasn’t sure she could kill him.

Would one of the three acts be enough to appease War?

Ani didn’t know, but what she was certain of was that Niall, her king, would not be forgiving of Seth’s murder. But if he didn’t know… The possibilities were there. Ignoring Bananach wasn’t a viable plan; she was crazy, dangerous, and powerful.

Could I kill Seth?

He didn’t really belong in the Dark Court. If he mattered to Irial, it would be different. On the other hand, he was of the High Court and loved by the Summer Queen. Angering them wasn’t a great idea.

Neither is angering Bananach.

The engine stilled, and Ani slipped out of the driver’s seat of the Barracuda and gently closed the door. It was a beautiful beast, but it was safe in the alley. The biggest risk was that it would eat some foolish mortal who tried to strip it or leaned on it, but the steed seemed tired enough that she didn’t really expect any blood on the grill when she returned.

She leaned down to the hood of car and whispered, “Be back soon.”

Its engine rumbled briefly, and then the interior lights shut off.

Ani walked up the sidewalk to Pins and Needles. She paused there. Once she crossed the threshold, there’d be questions. If she answered, there would be a lecture. Her brother hadn’t survived on the borderland between Dark Court and mortals without a spine of steel. He’d taught her what she needed to survive—and not flinched at the inhumanity in her or at the mortal sweetness in Tish. Somehow, he’d loved them both, despite their differences.

“You going to come in?” Rabbit stood on the other side of the front window. His goatee was a braid in black and a garish shade of orange. The bone plugs she’d carved for him after one of her first hunts were in his ears. His clothes were his standard thrift-store fare: dark trousers and a mechanic’s button-up falsely proclaiming him an employee of Joe’s Stop and Go.

Home.

She put her palms on the glass pane of the door, covering the hours he was supposedly open for business.

Rabbit watched her with his usual taciturn expression. He’d ask her too many questions later, but just then, he saw what she didn’t admit: she was afraid. Her brother had been the one to croon comforting words when she came home sobbing or raging; he’d taught her to cope with a world that confused her. He’d helped her come to the realization that the things that set her apart were strengths as much as weaknesses.

She opened the shop door and went into his arms.

He held her as carefully as he had when she was a little girl, and they’d thought she might turn out to be more mortal than not.

Like Tish did.

“Want to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Maybe.” She stepped away and wandered over to the red vinyl chair in the far corner.

Rabbit flipped the sign on the door to closed and threw the bolt. “Well?”

“I saw Bananach.” She picked at a loose thread caught under a piece of black electrical tape Rabbit had used in lieu of stitching one of the rips in the chair. “She wants some things from me.”

“She’s trouble.” Rabbit pulled down the shades so that any passersby wouldn’t see them sitting inside while the sign was turned.

“Aren’t we trouble, Rabbit?” Ani looked up at him. He looked like trouble; stereotype or not, her family looked like the sort who’d be fine bending or breaking a few rules. They had broken both mortal laws and faery traditions. He’d hidden them from the brute that killed Jillian, the High Court, and most of the Dark Court. He’d stolen mortals’ wills and freedom when he’d bound them to the Dark Court in ink exchanges.

“There’s trouble, and then there’s her.” Rabbit sat down cross-legged on the immaculate floor of the tattoo shop. Even out here in the waiting room, he kept it as clean as he possibly could. When she was a child, she’d built Lego cars and Popsicle-stick towns on that waiting-room floor at night when Rabbit worked.

“She wants me to do some things… and…” Ani folded her hands together and clasped them tightly and then forced herself to meet his gaze. “I don’t want to tell you.”

“We don’t cause trouble just for trouble’s sake. Not real trouble. There needs to be a reason. You get that, Ani, right?” Rabbit scooted over so he was sitting at her feet. “I can’t keep you safe now that you’re in the court. You exposed what you are, and they won’t let you live among mortals anymore… not for years to come.”

She tilted her head defiantly. “Irial trusts me.”

“So do I,” Rabbit said before glaring at the door. Someone was trying the handle despite the turned sign and closed shutters. He lowered his voice and added, “So think about whatever she asked of you.”

“I just… I’m scared. If I don’t cooperate…” Her words faded as she thought about drawing War’s anger.

“We’ll figure it out. Come on.” Rabbit stood and pulled her to her feet. “We can talk over dinner. I’ll make dessert.”

He draped an arm over her shoulder.

“Opening ice cream doesn’t count.” Ani tried to lighten her voice. It was what Rabbit did when there was stress: gave her space to relax while he teased out what was upsetting her. She took a steadying breath and added, “I want something you make.”

“Deal.” He opened the door to the private part of the shop, where they’d lived for most of her life. “I’ll call Irial.”

Ani stumbled a little. She didn’t want to tell Irial she’d seen Bananach. Which is why Rabbit’s calling him. Taking care of me. Her brother had always done what he could to keep her safe. That hadn’t changed. His ability to do as much might’ve changed, but the desire to do all he could was still the same.

“I’ll tell him, Rab.” She stepped in front of him. “You don’t need to get involved.”

Rabbit looked older than he usually seemed. “If she wants you in her plans, Irial needs to know. The new king needs to know… and you, Miss Impulsivity, need someone stronger than me to be by your side. You call, or I do.”

She leaned on the wall, took out her cell, and pressed 6. The phone rang only a few times before Irial answered.

“Hey. Long time no chat.” The nervousness in her voice was enough to let him know that it wasn’t a social call.

“Where are you?”

“Home.” She closed her eyes so she couldn’t see the worry on her brother’s face.

“Do I need to tell Gabe anything?” Irial asked.

“Not yet.” She heard Rabbit walk away; his footsteps were solid thuds on the floor. She didn’t open her eyes though; instead, she waited for the beep of the oven being preheated, the water as he washed his undoubtedly already-clean hands, and the cupboards opening and closing. Finally, she said, “I need to talk to you. There’s a… problem, I guess. Situation? I don’t know. I need help.”

“Stay at home. I’m coming.” Irial didn’t hang up the phone. He kept the line open, a lifeline she didn’t want to need, to talk while he headed her way. “Did someone hurt you?”

“I’m okay.” She sat down on the floor, her back to the wall as the fear she’d resisted started to overwhelm her. “I’m cooking dinner.”

“I’ll help.”

She smiled. “I’m not making something fancy like you would.”

“Did you hurt someone?” he asked.

“No.”

“Then it’ll be okay.” Irial’s voice was the voice that she remembered from her childhood terrors. He was her savior, the one who’d brought her and Tish to safety, the one who made sure they were hidden away from the cruelty of the High Court and whoever killed Jillian. “You’ll be okay.”

“I’m not sure this time.” Ani stood up and went to the kitchen. Rabbit kissed her forehead as she paused beside him at their tiny kitchen counter. “Bananach wants me.”