Back by… ok, not by popular demand, but by the demand of petros308! Blood and Pixie Dust is back!
*cyber cookie to petros308*
I feel like I'm for getting something… important… It's probably not important!
Pepper-If you want to get sued…
Shadow-So I'm a little rusty! Get back in your box Pepper. Right! Role disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Jane and Talin… and Fred the cat. Everybody else belongs to Jim Butcher. Occasional references to other works of literature, mostly the Brothers Grim and Alice and Wonderland… Other than that, I am just a poor retch who has a love obsession with dark chocolate and Pepsi.
Chapter 9
"Jane."
"What Harry?"
"Do you think that a kelpie has the power to cast that spell in your kitchen on its own?" he said watching the kelpie turn back to its queen for instructions.
"I doubt it. The beasts don't have the knowledge or power to even contemplate that spell. I don't even know if a new queen has the skill to craft it," she whispered back as they began to make their way over.
Harry showed no recognition on his face when he saw the kelpie from the garden sitting next to Lily. Not that ambushing them instantly proved that it was the bad guy but he seriously hoped that it was that simple. He took a moment and silently prayed that she was turning it in to them so the whole case could finally be over. Then again his luck had never been the good kind to begin with. He mentally prepared himself for a visit to Never Never just incase it tried to escape.
Over at the table the young Queen of Summer sat regally with a small glass of wine the color of sunshine. While Harry strode forward without pause Jane hung back gathering her courage. Even the floor seemed to tilt toward the women sitting next to the sneering kelpie, she most definitely did not want to be here. She almost jumped when Murphy came over to joint them.
"Harry Dresden, it's been awhile," said the Queen of Summer smiling up at him. In that moment she looked like a young girl for a moment welcoming a favorite uncle, but once the moment had passed a hiss from the kelpie brought back regal calm as she turned her gaze to Jane and Murphy. "I came with Summer's blessing to help in this investigation. I will try to answer what questions you have for me." She continued speaking with all the authority of her rank. The weight of her gaze fell on Jane for a moment freezing her in her place, after a quick breath Jane squared her shoulders and slowly unclipped the vial from her belt.
"Jane, this is Lily, Queen of Summer. Have a seat." Harry gripped her wrist holding the vial and maneuvered her to a chair. While she was getting settled Murphy introduced herself and started the interview.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice, we have a few questions we would like answered. Have you been in or near the Chicago Botanical Garden or along its lakeshore in the past three days?"
"Yes."
Jane clenched her fists but said nothing while Harry watched Lily more carefully.
"Have you ever seen or been in contact with either of these individuals?" asked Murphy pulling out case pictures of Todd and a pair of middle schoolers.
"No."
"Horse? What is your answer to the question?" said Jane turning to the kelpie. Equine eyes narrowed and he huffed even in the guise of a human.
"The questions are to be directed at me," said Lily sharply. Murphy sent Jane a warning look and continued.
"Have you given orders to harm to any of these three individuals in the past few days up until now?"
"Yes," was the soft reply. Harry had gone very still and was watching Lily fidget with her wine glass. She would not meeting anyone's eye.
"Why Lily? What happened to you?"
"I'm a Queen of Summer now Harry, not the little half fae you found in an ally. I have obligations now, can't you see that?" she said heatedly, but her eyes were searching their faces. The kelpie at her side glared at them and let a few of his canines slip past his lips.
"My Queen does not have to answer foolish questions, only ones that pertain to your hunt," it snarled.
"Right, lets get back on topic then," said Murphy pulling out more documents. Lily took a sip of her wine and looked away trying to regain her cool exterior while Harry put a hand to his forehead and sighed.
"I will answer your questions in anyway I can so long as it is about your investigation Harry." The wizard across the table just shook his head at her silently.
"Hold on for a minute. I have a question," said Jane holding up a finger. Harry moved his head only enough to glared at her.
"Jane, do us all a favor and shut up before you make things worse," he told her turning back to Murphy. Jane bit her lip narrowing her eyes.
"You wanted my help, this is what you get you great big English Giant!" she started gearing up for a fight but slid back into her chair when she saw the look in his eyes. "Let me see what I can do before you push me under the rug," she told him turning back to an unphased Queen.
"What color are my eyes?"
"Blue."
"What color are the bartenders eyes?"
Lily looked across the room at Mac who had stopped cleaning his glass and was watching them. They were clearly a dark shade of brown.
"I cannot say."
"What does this have to do with anything?" asked Murphy getting frustrated.
"I'm a part of this investigation. She can only answer questions that have to do with the investigation right?"
"So? Isn't that what we want?" asked Murphy baffled. Harry straightened in his chair.
"What if what we need to know is not formally a part of our investigation yet? Who even has the authority to set the parameters for a Queen?" asked Jane.
"Is that true? Can you only answer questions?" asked Murphy.
"If I could, why would I be inclined to tell you?" was the reply.
"Jane, I do believe we've found a loop hole. Questions for Questions it is then," said Harry.
"But how is knowing that going to help us?"
"She can't give us an answer but asking her own question isn't technically an answer. We just have to pay attention to her questions," said Jane settling herself in for a long talk.
"Whoever has the gag order on you is not too good with the fine print. Don't worry Lily, we'll figure it out." Harry sat back in his chair and tried to think of a good question.
"Who knows that you are here talking to us?" asked Murphy pulling out a pad of paper.
The little queen paused for a long moment.
"All those present here know that I am here." Murphy nodded and made a mark on her paper.
"What can you tell us about the victims?"
The queen watched Murphy for a moment wrinkling her brow and dropped her eyes trying to decide something. The eyes flickered over to Dresden and paused on Jane considering.
"May I have the photo's for a moment?" she almost whispered. Murphy pushed the small pile across the table. The kelpie grinned when it saw the old women's corpse and all but purred when it saw the Toby's picture.
The queen was very deliberately going through every photo and rearranging them into three piles, but the pictures in each pile were not all from the same crime scene. She had placed a picture of the young-old victim in a pile with a dining room clock showing twenty past midnight but put the pictures of Toby in another pile. Stranger still she kept going back to the middle-schoolers and finally put them in the middle pile along with an older picture of Toby's aunt and a digital clock reading 6:10.
"They are all human and my kelpie attacked them," she said enigmatically pushing back the rearranged stacks. Murphy and Harry shared a look then paper clipped the stacks and put them away for later.
"Could I take a sample of his hooves for comparison?" asked Murphy producing a small black box. The kelpie's sneer faded as his queen's hand reached for the box. It's almost equine ears twitched under its human hair, pinioned on Lily.
"Whatever is required for the investigation, I will mention that he won't think kindly of you for this," said Lily opening the box of soft clay. The kelpie shifted uneasily and rose from the chair like a new colt. His queen didn't look at him but held out the clay tablet and waited.
Jane inched further away from the table feeling a soft wind pull past her. Since her bargain with Lord Talin she had tried not to think about what it meant to be in the service of the fae, but this was a very biting reminder of what she had to look forward to. The kelpie gave a shriek but it's throat closed over the sound as it threw itself down on all fours. Jane clenched her fists under the table, she hated this part.
Somewhere between the fall and the landing he shifted and stood shivering with one scaly leg bent toward the clay that Lily held. Pressing lightly into the box she held he pulled back and took a snap at the closest seat. Murphy pushed her chair back out of reach and Harry's hand twitched toward his pocket.
Lily snapped the box closed and set it on the table. A whisper of sound escaped her and made the kelpie's muscles tense into immovable strands. Jane closed her eyes against the flare of light, not wanting to see the power of the kelpie's true name used to force it back into submission.
When she opened her eyes she saw the kelpie slumped against the table huffing in almost human form with the Queen of Summer calmly sliding the imprint back to Murphy. Jane shivered under her jacket.
"Can't even keep your beast's in line little Queen? How shameful."
Lily turned and scowled at the newcomer. The kelpie turned ever so slightly and growled at the metallic blue nail polish that was biting into his skin. The hand was removed but not fast enough to prevent the frostbite. Jane wanted to kill her on site. The dark hair and lashes were streaked in silver and white highlights to match her dangerously low shirt and equally revealing skirt. She looked like she had stepped out of the Christmas edition of Playboy as she sauntered up to the table and leaned her hip on the edge. Her outfit fit her like a glove, so well in fact that it was almost impossible for her to show any more skin and still remain 'decent'.
"My how we've aged. Have you rethought the offer of knighthood?" Harry set his jaw, his lips were a firm line in the dimly lit bar. "You could do so much better as a knight of Winter… Mab would be especially pleased, she might even forgive your little debt to her," she purred leaning closer.
"That is between Mab and I," Harry said cautiously. She shrugged and her sleeve fell down her shoulder to achieve the impossible. He noticed, and she noticed that he was not impressed. She began to pout but paused tilting her head toward the sound of knuckles cracking under the table.
"We were having a discussion before you so rudely interrupted," Jane said gritting her teeth. She felt a small amount of kinship when the kelpie growled something unpleasant at the Winter Queen. A dark brow was raised as she turned to acknowledge Jane and Murphy.
"What do we have here? A human knight and a Summer lackey? How trite. I was just coming over to say hello." Another snarl from the kelpie was cut short as shards of ice began to grow into its shoulder seeping brown blood down its arm and onto the floor.
"And that little girl is how you keep your pets inline," she continued smirking as she stood.
Jane's heart froze. Fred. Did she know? She couldn't, she had to be talking about the kelpie… please God let it be about the kelpie.
"Let that be a lesson to you," she said as the frost began to recede. When the kelpie huffed and almost fell off his chair she smirked and flounced off leaving as suddenly as she had come. Jane swore she smelled moist soil for a moment and caught sight of the lord that they had seen with Talin a few days earlier. He looked a little more haggard that she remembered but when she tilted back her chair to catch a better look she was elbowed by Murphy.
"Focus Jane. She just asked you a question." Jane turned to meet the eyes of a queen.
"Sorry, what?"
"Are you not well versed in your own histories? Why have you not turned your claddagh?"
"But I'm not, I don't have… you're not talking about a ring are you? Shit." Jane covered her face with her hand shaking her head. The kelpie began to sing "Ring around the rosies, pockets full of posies, ashes, ashes, you'll all be drowned!"
"What does it mean Jane," Harry asked quietly watching the bloodied kelpie smirk as he continued to hum.
"I've been a fool," she told the table. The kelpie chuckled and her spine straightened. "Two birds with one stone, Highness. Very neat of you, I have to go now if you don't have any more questions."
"Jane, wait! Why-" started Harry as she stood and pushed in the chair.
"Why is a raven like a writing desk Harry?" she asked with ancient eyes. "It's no good asking her. We have the rhyme, now all we lack is the reason. I have to go. I will see you both tomorrow," she said turning already beginning to forget them.
"Before you go, I have a gift for you to give and one for you to receive. Hold out your hands," said Lily pulling out a drawstring purse. Jane put her hands in her pocket.
"Something for your Lord and something for you from the Summer Court. It's nothing you haven't seen before," continued Lily putting it on the table. Jane snatched it up and stuffed it into her pocket turning again to leave.
"At least tell us what you're planning on doing?" said Murphy standing as well. Jane considered for a moment biting her finger.
"I think I'll take a page from Peter's book and try to sew my shadow up."
"Sounds like a plan. We'll be in touch," said Harry motioning for Murphy to sit.
Shadow- I have had a bit of inspiration and gotten back into writing…and this was the result!