Page 32 of Queens Will Play

“Dragons hold their gems close to their chests,” Bran said. “I know.”

And with that, he took his leave, and I silently readied myself to visit Carter, petting Berry and her siblings as they sprawled across the massive bed.

Trillian, Morio, and I picked up Delilah before heading to Carter’s. Smoky stayed home to take care of some business, and Shade stayed home to watch his children. He doted on the girls as though he was their true father. Since the Autumn Lord had used him as a proxy to get Delilah pregnant, he was actually Chamiya’s father, in a way. Both girls called him Da, though, and they loved him as much as he loved them.

The afternoon was cloaked in clouds. Seattle was a beautiful city, whether in the gloom or the sunlight. The needles on the trees were still dripping with rain from the morning, and the deciduous trees were barren, waiting for the shroud of winter to embrace them. Everywhere was the vibrant smell of petrichor, that earthy scent that blossomed when rain met the soil. It was ever-present in the Pacific Northwest, as familiar as the scent of brine and seaweed near Elliot Bay.

The entire Salish Sea was a forest of kelp, and while that didn’t fully extend into Puget Sound or the Strait of Juan de Fuca, it did find its way into the many bays and bogs around the area. The water was as alive as the land here, and both elements had taken hold of my heart. The longer I lived here, the harder it was to imagine moving anywhere else.

“Carter’s expecting us?” Trillian asked, smoothly changing lanes.

“Yes, he specifically instructed for us to go see him,” I said. I wanted to drive, but Trillian had insisted.

“That doesn’t bode well,” Morio said.

Delilah, who was sitting in the back beside Morio, said, “Well, it does in that he found something. But finding something isn’t always the best of news.” She frowned as she stared out the window.

We arrived at Carter’s shortly before two and headed down to the basement apartment. He was waiting for us. As his maid ushered us in, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. We gathered in the living room. After the maid had brought tea for us, along with the requisite scones and other goodies, she withdrew.

After a few moments of small talk, I grew impatient. “You said you found out something?”

Carter nodded, pulling out a folder. He opened it and passed out photocopies of what looked like an encyclopedia entry. I glanced at it. The picture looked like it had been captured by some sort of infrared camera or something similar. I began to read aloud as the others followed along.

Shandigoes: The shandigoes are a race endemic to the astral realm, but are considered rare even there. It takes a specific set of circumstances for them to be drawn into our world, and once they appear, the only way they can be cleared is to kill them.

A form of psychic leech, the shandigoes seem to be a cross between reptile and cephalopod in looks, but are, in fact, neither. They’re pure astral energy, so dense that they are able to manifest on our realm. The more energy they draw, the more solid their form becomes. When they’re close enough to manifest in our dimension, they’re then capable of physical attacks as well as astrally based ones. And the closer they get to physical form, the more violent their attacks become.

Hermaphroditic, every shandigo is capable of laying eggs, and those eggs can be laid in both the astral and physical realms. When they hatch, the young seek out whatever hosts they can find. On the astral plane, it’s easy enough to spot them once they’re partly grown. If they’re on the astral, the young can latch onto a host in the physical plane and slowly drain them without being noticed. The host may seem more tired than usual, and as they slowly weaken, the shandigo may seek to transfer to a new host.

Considered parasites, the shandigo aren’t easy to eradicate. They’re immune to most magic except death magic, but on the astral level weapons can be used against them. On the physical level, it’s difficult to work against them, given their resistance to most magic. Death magic can work against them, but they do have a chance of resisting the attacks. They’re also an important component for some spells used by necromancers. All in all, the shandigo are annoying pests. They can be deadly, but they can be destroyed.

I thought for a moment. “That doesn’t seem so bad. I know who to contact, too.”

“The shandigo aren’t the creatures I was concerned about,” Carter said.

I paused. “Then…”

“I found out more about Desanguas,” he said. “Rumors are that he’s looking for something—an ancient charm. I’m not sure what it is, but if he wants it, the news can’t be good. There are many artifacts from the ancient worlds, from before the Great Divide. They’re scattered around Earthside and Otherworld, and the Sub-Realms. The Keraastar Diamond was one.”

“Do you think he wants the diamond?” I asked, fingering the gem around my neck.

“No, I honestly don’t. But informants have discerned that he’s coming our way—and by our way, I mean the Greater Seattle metropolitan area—and that whatever he’s looking for is somewhere around here. As I said, we’re looking into the matter. I’ve got several people working on it.” Carter sighed. “I worry about what will happen if he doesn’t find it.”

“What do you mean?” Delilah asked.

“He can turn people into demons. The longer it takes him to find what he’s looking for, the more he’ll create helpers for himself. Obviously, I don’t want him to have it, either. Whatever it, is. But we’re screwed either way. Anyway, I thought I should tell you in person.” He crossed one leg over the other, placing his hands on his knee. Carter was deliberate in his movements, and even with his limp and his cane, he always came off as elegant and seamless.

“So…we need to find out what he’s looking for, stop him from getting it, stop him from turning a bunch of people into demons—what kind of demons, by the way?” I asked.

“Minor demons for the most part, but they’re all bound to him, and—just like a pyramid scheme, he gains power off of his minions. Now and again, he’s been known to create a more powerful one, but usually the person in question already had powers.” Carter sighed. “That the Moon Mother warned you, Camille, is troublesome. As are all the nightmares you’ve been talking about. This means that Desanguas’s presence has more ramifications that simply dealing with a chaotic demon. There’s more behind it, though I don’t know what. Not yet.”

“How long do we have before he arrives? Can you give us some sort of timeline?” Trillian asked.

Carter glanced over his notes. “I can’t give you a date and expect it to be accurate, but I will say—the Blood Moon next month has deep ramifications when you look at the stars. From what the astrologers say, something is likely to happen that will forever change the world, though it might not be evident at first.”

He closed the folder. “That’s all I can tell you.”

“At least we have some idea about the shandigoes,” Morio said.