The bloodsuckers tended to collect into sort of family groups, often with a queen at the center, though sometimes they started with a king. Most of the time the women decided they wanted to nest and that’s how things started. Generally they collected at least thirteen members of a blood harem to feed on, so either there were more waiting back at their den or they were recruiting. Maybe both.
LeeAnne and the female vampire exchanged words. Abruptly the vampire woman threw her arms around LeeAnne in a quick embrace, let her go, and swept away, heading for a bank of elevators at the back of the lobby that hadn’t been there two minutes before.
“How did she do that?” Mal asked out loud.
“She’s a housekeeper. It’s what she does.”
Mal started, glaring at Edna, who’d materialized in the chair beside her. She appeared to have come through the events of the night before okay, though quite a bit faded. Relief loosened the bands clamped around Mal’s heart.
She smiled. “It’s like you think that answers the question.”
Edna shrugged. “You are a witch. You do witchy things. She’s a housekeeper. She keeps the house of Effrayant.”
Mal turned her attention back to LeeAnne, who’d been called over to the front desk. So she could put an elevator where one hadn’t been? Did that mean she could rearrange the entire place just as easily? That actually made a lot of sense. With so many different kinds of magical guests, the spaces and accommodations would have to be fluid to take care of all the various needs.
She turned back to Edna. “Are you okay? Is everybody else okay? What happened?”
“We are fine, though we need replenishment. Particularly Merrow. That’s what I’ve come to tell you. We’ll be at the stations today, restoring ourselves.”
“Whathappenedto you?”
Edna stared off, clearly seeing something in her memories.
“Law discovered that the kidnappers had taken the Leshiy children into the wildwood. Except it turned out that they didn’t take them; they just dumped the children.” Edna’s lip curled. “They expected the wildwood to do their dirty work. They never wanted anyone to find the children or identify who took them.”
Mal had never seen the ghost so angry. She vibrated with her rage. “The kidnappers stole the leshonky from their bower and tossed them over the wildwood border like tossing away garbage. Law was able to re-create the moment with a spell, though he could not see the perpetrators. They covered their tracks.”
She looked down at her hands, folded neatly in her lap, her legs bent primly. “We went into the wildwood, all of us, and began to search. But it is not safe for anyone. Not ghosts, not even a housekeeper.”
“But the wildwood is within Effrayant’s boundaries. LeeAnne has nearly absolute power here. So does Law.”
Edna shook her head. “She guards its boundaries, and she keeps others from stumbling over its borders, but Tazho alone rules there. Law only serves Effrayant.”
Which meant Law and LeeAnne, as powerful as they were, had walked into serious danger. Wildwoods were places of primordial magic. The laws of normal magic didn’t work there, making it dangerous to put even a foot inside. Only the spirit of the wildwood could command and control its power, and most of the time, those spirits weren’t particularly sane, though Tazho seemed to be an exception.
Mal might have lost Law.
At the thought, everything inside her contracted from the possibility. All the same, the raw truth of it rubbed against the sharp spikes of knowledge. She couldn’t pretend she didn’t know.
Her mouth twisted in a smile. Turnabout was fair play. She was always freaking Law out by putting herself into life-and-death situations. She could hardly complain when he did the same. Except that she totally would.
“Here you are.”
Law settled a hand on Mal’s shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze before sitting across from her. Meanwhile, Edna had vanished. He waved to the waiter to bring coffee before settling his gaze on Mal. His eyes were bloodshot and surrounded by dark circles. He ran a hand over his jaw. He hadn’t come to bed the previous night, but he must have gone back to the apartment to shower and shave, because his jaw was smooth, and his hair was wet.
Her relief at seeing him made her stay silent as she absorbed him. She had no idea how she’d managed to stay away from him for six years. She had no idea how she’d managed to stay away for him for five minutes, in all honesty.
“Have you seen Elliot?”
Mal blinked, not expecting the question. “He was in the apartment when I left. What’s he done now?”
Law blew out a breath “Nothing that I know of, but I’d sure like to corral him before the pixies arrive.”
The corner of Mal’s mouth quirked. “Are you afraid of whatthey’lldo to him? Or whathe’lldo to them?”
Law grimaced. “Both, or worse, that they’ll figure out a way to work together.”
“Oh, shit.”
