Page 24 of Queens Will Play

Obediently, I headed for the bedroom, hoping to hell he was right.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Trillian woke me. “It’s midnight,” he said. He was still up. Smoky was sleeping on one side of me and Morio curled at the bottom of the bed in fox form. I slid out from beneath the covers, trying not to wake them. Trillian held out my robe. I slid into it, belting it around my waist. I followed him into the dressing room.

“I want to come with you,” he said. “I don’t want you and your sisters going out there alone.”

I nodded. “That’s fine with me, and I doubt that Marion will object.”

He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a black sweater. Except for his silver hair and the whites of his eyes, he could camouflage in the dark without a problem. He held out a black skirt and top for me, and he had my old black cape that I could afford to get dirty. He also had my granny boots ready. They had kitten heels and I could run in them. As I dressed, he brought out my tiara.

“No,” I said. “I can’t take care of business wearing that thing,” I added. “We may have to get physical, and I’m not wearing a fucking crown if we do.”

He laughed. “I love you, you know that?”

I softened and leaned into his arms. “I know you do. We’ve traveled a long road from the day we bound ourselves together with the Ritual of Eleshinar.”

He kissed my forehead. “That we have. I’d do it all again, if offered the chance. I’d disown my family again, I’d leave everything behind again, to be with you.”

“And I’d incur my father’s wrath again, for you. I was an idiot to think I could ever escape you,” I said. “Thank you for following me Earthside. Now, let’s get a move on. Did you leave a note for the others?”

He nodded. “Your advisors are going to be pissed that you snuck off, you know. Your guards will get into trouble.”

“I don’t give a damn,” I said. “Well, I do—I’ll make sure the guards don’t take the blame. But I’m not living by outdated traditions just because they’ve always been like that. Come on, let’s go.”

Menolly was waiting for us, dressed in tight jeans, a turtleneck, and stiletto boots, and the three of us headed out the back door. I’d sent my guards out on long errands so they wouldn’t be around, and nobody had thought to cover their places. As the three of us hurried into the night, Trillian drove. Menolly sat silent in the backseat, and I leaned back to rest a little longer.

Trillian was a good driver. He’d been coming over Earthside since before we met, about a decade before. Now, he wove in and out of the light traffic, managing to hit the lights right when they turned green. Most traffic lights were synchronized, so once you got into the right pattern and kept the same speed, it wasn’t that hard to make it through without stopping, unless we were into rush hour traffic.

First, we drove out to pick up Delilah, who was waiting for us. With her in tow, we headed toward northeast Seattle, where Marion and Douglas lived. Menolly met us there.

“I’m worried about Marion,” I said. “I don’t know what’s invaded her house, but I think it’s more dangerous than even she thinks.”

“Do you have any idea about whether it’s a spirit or a creature?” Menolly asked.

Delilah shrugged. “We need to see it in action to know for sure. If it’s a spirit, I might be able to tackle it, or maybe Morio and Camille. Either way, I hope we can take care of it.”

“I hate to bring up an uncomfortable thought, but now that another Demon Lord is on the move—and one that specializes in chaos—do you think activity’s going to ramp up again? If he’s focused on our realm…” Trillian left the thought unfinished but I knew what he was proposing, because it was on my mind, too.

“I was thinking the same thing,” I said. “Sometimes I think it’s like Coyote…wherever the trickster walks, chaos follows. And since Desanguas is chaos incarnate, the energy’s sure to respond. I think we have to expect more creatures and spirits to be attracted to the area, and that means we’re going to be facing more events.”

Trillian hesitated for a moment while turning onto Segway Street, then said, “He’s not going to show himself at first. You know that, right?”

“I know,” I said.

Demon Lords didn’t land in the middle of a crowded street and announce, ‘Honey, I’m home!’ Nope, he’d show up to stir the cauldron and keep himself hidden for as long as he could. Shadow Wing hadn’t been too bright. From what I understood, Desanguas was—in addition to being incredibly charming—also incredibly intelligent.

“Are we near?” Menolly asked.

I nodded. “Turn left on Berry Lane, two blocks ahead. Douglas and Marion bought a new house after their old one burned. They rebuilt, but Marion kept getting the creeps every time she thought about what happened. So they sold the new house and bought something else. I don’t know much about it, except that their addy is 11328 West Berry Lane and it’s an urban farm.”

“I hope for her sake we can cleanse it.” Trillian added, “I ate the last of the cinnamon rolls you brought home.” He sounded sheepish.

I laughed. “That’s fine. We can order more. Okay, there—turn left right there. The house should be two houses down from the corner, on the left-hand side.”

As the house came into sight, I saw that the living room lights were on. We parked behind the Toyota Camry in the driveway and slid out of the car, dashing through the rain up to the porch, which was covered. I rang the bell, Menolly, Delilah, and Trillian by my side.

Marion answered. “Come in,” she said, stepping back. “I’m so glad you could come.”