The Shadowed Path

8. Reine-1

8

Reine

Sir Raleigh met us at the door of the hotel in his cat form. He let out a low, "Mrrrrowrl" and lashed his tail.

"Yes," Ellerin replied.

"You can understand him?" I followed him and the grimalkin through the lobby and up the stairs.

"You can't?" he shot over his shoulder.

"Well, sometimes, but not like you. He's good at getting his point across."

"Then maybe that's all you need."

Sir Raleigh let out a huff, and I almost echoed it. Did he feel as frustrated with my inability to communicate with him as I did? And why couldn't I if Ellerin could? A unique bond often existed between a Fae who summoned the creature and the creature itself, and Sir Raleigh did seem to be bonded to the older Fae. That brought up yet more questions I thought I knew the answer to, but knowing the answers didn't necessarily mean I knew the reasons behind them.

The cat led us to the room where we'd left Kestrel and John, and we found a distraught John standing in the hallway.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's Kestrel. She's glowing."

"Let me in."

He stepped aside, and Sir Raleigh and I entered the room. A soft golden radiance filled the space, and the source of it sat on the bed reading a book.

I didn't want to interrupt her before I could catalog my own reactions, so I remained silent for a moment. So did Sir Raleigh. It was time for a Fae medical exam.

First, I inhaled to catch the scent of the glow. An assortment of warm floated through my nostrils—fresh-baked bread, sun on marble, the sharp tang of tomato stem when you pick the fruit at high summer, humid tropical storm. The latter led me to the feel of it—a roiling turbulence underneath in spite of its steadiness, like the depths of the ocean or wind in a hurricane. It all had the sense of something that had been contained for a long time struggling to be set free.

Kestrel looked up from her book. "Are you coming in or not? You're creeping me out just standing there and staring at me."

"Nice glow." I approached and noticed how the energy seemed to swirl around her the closer I got. I placed a hand on her forehead. "No temperature, though. When did this start?"

"About half an hour ago." She looked down at her book. "I didn't do anything to start it, and I can't make it stop."

"Are you sure you didn't do anything?"

"Well, I may have tried scrying in the mirror. It didn't work, but this happened."

I filed that piece of data away for later.

"Do you remember when we were attacked by the black lightning bugs?"

She nodded.

"Well, your eyes were glowing, but then they stopped. This may be something that happens when you're in physical contact with magical objects or creatures."

"But not Sir Raleigh."

"He's different."

"And not you."

"Maybe it has something to do with engaging with the magic. Or trying to."

"I did feel like I should be able to do something about the bugs, but I couldn't figure out what." She huffed. "And you were going to tell me about my glowing eyes when?"

I sat on the bed beside her and took her hand. The energy of the glow ran beneath the surface of her skin and made my skin tingle where we touched. "When we had a moment. Like now. I didn't want to alarm your father."

She rolled her eyes. "He's constantly alarmed. When I started glowing and couldn't make it stop, he ran downstairs and tried to get some of the hotel employees to help."

"Well, one of them did come and get us." Probably more to shut John up than to help Kestrel. I couldn't imagine that a glowing guest would cause much alarm unless they were about to explode, and Kestrel wasn't.

"Can you make it stop? I mean, it's kind of cool, but it's going to be hard to sleep with the light behind my eyelids, and I'm guessing I'll need my rest."

She put on a brave face, but the quaver in her voice let on how scared she was.

"Give me both your hands." She did, and I sandwiched them between mine. "Good, now close your eyes and tell me what it feels like to you."

She complied and wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, like an electrical current, but alive, like a million electric eels swimming under my skin." She opened her eyes, and this time fear shone through them. "That's not helping."

"Shhh, it's okay. Close your eyes again and see if you can catch hold of one of them."

"How? You have my hands."

"Yes, that's the point. You need to use your internal hands, or if you want to continue the sea creature analogy, one of your spiritual tentacles."

"That's gross." But she relaxed and smiled. "Okay, I'm reaching out, trying to snare one. They don't want to be caught, but… Oof! Now what? It's wiggling?"

"What is its name?" I had a suspicion, but I couldn't manipulate her into giving me the answer I expected.

"Oh… They're changing colors. They all have names. This one is wind."

The air in the room stirred, and she tried to draw her hands back, but I held them fast.

"All right, let wind go. See if you can find one named light."

"There are too many."

I pressed her hands between mine. "You can find it. It's going to be right at the surface. You're an octopus. Swim toward the glow and you'll find it."

"Okay…" Her skepticism came through her voice and her hands, although she complied, her brows close in concentration. "All right, there it is. Argh, it's big and slippery, but I've got it."

"Tell it you see it. Thank it. You'll call upon it when needed."

The room went doubly dark as the glow blinked out to be replaced by its after-image. Now the only light in the room came from the streetlamp outside, which cast flickering orange across the walls and furniture.

Kestrel opened her eyes and slumped back. "I did it."

"Yes, you did." I squeezed her hands again and let go.

"But what does it mean?"

The words, “That you're unusually powerful for a human,” tried to cross my tongue, but I wouldn't let them. What did it mean that she had all these abilities simmering below the surface? She couldn't be an ordinary witch. So, then what? She wasn't a high Fae, for whom that level and variety of magic would be normal. Could she be the missing daughter of dark Fae, Princess Desdemona? No, she had human parents, and changelings had been outlawed.

Yeah, and Fae paid attention to laws.

She was a mystery, and I could answer honestly without thinking about a way to twist the words. "I don't know yet."

She looked at her hands. "I'm a freak, aren't I?"

"No, you're interesting and special. Which means you're going to be in danger. You're going to need to stick extra close to me. Don't go anywhere without me, Ellerin, or Sir Raleigh."

She nodded, her eyes wide. "I understand. What kind of danger?"

"I don't know yet," I said again. The answers eluded me, and it frustrated me. I looked down and saw the bag on the floor with my dessert in it. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Yes, but I'm hungry again."

"Not surprising. Hang on, I'm going to slip out and order something for you, and then we can have dessert, and I'll give you a present."

"Okay."

"Sir Raleigh, you stay here."

The cat jumped on the bed and curled up on Kestrel's lap. His purr rumbled through the air, and she rubbed his ears.

I walked into the hallway and found John and Ellerin waiting for me. "Ellerin, wait here. I need to have some words with Doctor Graves."

Ellerin's response was an uncharacteristically meek, "Yes, Princess."

"Doctor Princess right now," I replied with a smile to take the sting from my words. "John, follow me."