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  The elves laughed.

  “I’ll wake up in another few minutes, I’ll be back in bed, and I probably won’t even remember that I dreamed about you!” Kayla said hotly.

  “I want this one’s blood,” a chill voice said from behind her. She turned quickly, to see the broad-shouldered elven man dressed in leather, with the red cap perched on his head. “I want this one’s blood to dye my cap!” he repeated, staring at Kayla with hungry eyes.

  She felt a chill run down her back. “Okay, I admit it,” she said. “This isn’t a dream, this is a nightmare. It’s an awful nightmare, a real, genuine, honest-to-God nightmare, but I’m going to wake up from it, any minute now.”

  There was another titter of laughter from the crowd, and the Unseelie Queen smiled. “What you believe and what will happen are two different things, child,” she said. “But, for the moment, you amuse me. So I will let you live, I think, at least for now.”

  “Look, lady,” Kayla said, starting forward. The sound of a dozen swords being drawn stopped her in her tracks. She glanced around nervously and then stepped back from the Queen’s throne.

  “You amuse me, child, but don’t push your luck,” the Queen said dryly.

  Kayla nodded, her mouth dry.

  “Now, tell me, how did you come here?” the Queen asked. “Did you conjure a doorway with your own magics between the human lands and our own? You look too young and unskilled to accomplish such a feat.”

  How do I explain what happened? And why in the hell should I explain anything to someone who’s only part of a dream?

  “You may think this is only a dream,” the Queen said, idly viewing the jeweled rings on her long, tapered fingers. “But I assure you that it is quite real, and if you defy me, you’ll discover the reality of it in a most painful and immediate way. So, answer my question: how did you come here?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about with doors and all of that,” Kayla began. “All I know is one minute I was in Los Angeles—well, Santa Monica, I think, but I’m not certain about that—and then all of the sudden I’m out here. I bet Shari and Nataniel think this is some kind of a great joke… .”

  As she said Nataniel’s name, she felt a sudden chill run through the crowd, a tension as the smiles froze on the faces of those graceful figures.

  “Let me kill it now!” the man with the red cap hissed.

  “In a moment,” the Queen murmured. “First, I would hear all of this one’s story. So, you admit that you are in league with Nataniel, who was banished many centuries ago to the human lands? I would have killed him for attempting to murder me,” she added in an undertone, “but he had too many loyal followers, and a war would have destroyed the Unseelie Court. Instead, I sent him and his followers to the human lands, where now, apparently, he is recruiting young humans to do his work for him.”

  “I’m not working with him at all!” Kayla protested. “Look, he kidnaped me, asked me if I wanted to work with him, I said no, and so he sent me here!”

  “I see.” The Queen was silent for a long moment, then spoke. “Despite your words of innocence, I cannot believe that Nataniel would have brought you here if you were not allied with him and somehow part of a plot to overthrow my rule. Therefore, my Lord Skullcleaver …” She gestured at an Unseelie in dark armor, who stepped forward with a sword raised, firelight glinting off the blade.

  Kayla swallowed. Even if this is a dream, this is getting way too real for me. She glanced at the Queen, who was sipping dark red wine from a crystal goblet, and felt a shock run through her. Something was wrong about the Queen, she could feel something was very wrong, and as the Queen brought the glass again to her lips, she knew what it was.

  “You’ve been poisoned,” Kayla said.

  The swordsman stopped in mid-step.

  The Queen stared at her. “What did you say?”

  “You’ve been poisoned,” Kayla repeated. “And there’s more of the poison in that glass. At least, I think it’s poison. I don’t know what it is, but I can see what it’s doing to you, eating away at your mind and body… .”

  The glass slipped from the Queen’s hand and shattered on the stone floor.

  “And how did you know this?” the Queen asked, all traces of amusement gone from her voice. A sudden silence had fallen over the crowd.

  “She’s a healer,” Catt whispered from behind her. “We saw her heal herself only a short while ago.”

  “Is that true?” the Queen asked Kayla.

  She nodded. “It’s what I do. I guess it’s what you’d call my magic. There’s something wrong with that goblet, I can’t tell exactly what, but when you drank from it, I could see the poison affecting you.”

  The Queen rose unsteadily from her throne, and the crowd parted instantly before her. She strode across the hall, toward an arched doorway on the far wall. “Bring the girl, Lady Catt,” she said without looking back.

  Catt pushed Kayla ahead of her, walking quickly. “Say nothing unless she speaks to you, if you value your life,” the woman said tersely to Kayla.

  Not a problem, I don’t want to get in that lady’s way, not when she’s got that “To hell with patience, I’m going to kill someone” look in her eyes!

  A moment later they were in the kitchen, walking past the greasy wooden tables and cowering servants dressed in rags who were kneeling on the straw-covered stone floor.

  “Who poured my glass of wine?” the Queen demanded, glancing around furiously at the terrified servants.

  No one moved or spoke.

  The Queen walked forward, her eyes moving over the servants’ faces, and stopped in front of a kneeling woman. She’s human like me, Kayla realized, seeing the woman’s normal ears showing beneath her tangled mop of dark hair.

  “I know what you did,” the Queen said dangerously. “What did you put in my wine?”

  “It wasn’t me, milady,” the woman wheezed, her face pale white beneath the grime. Impatiently, the Queen shoved her out of the way, searching through the items piled on the wooden table next to her, bowls and platters clattering haphazardly onto the floor. A moment later she straightened, something small and white clenched within her hand.

  “What is this?” she said, turning quickly to Kayla. “This is not of my realm. Do you know what this is?”

  No-Doz? What is a bottle of No-Doz doing here?

  “Uh, it’s pills, Your Majesty,” Kayla said, looking at the white plastic bottle. “No-Doz. They’re caffeine pills.”

  The Queen’s fingers whitened on the plastic bottle, and Catt made an odd choking sound. “Caffeine!” the Queen said in a voice like ice. “Heads will roll over this,” she whispered. “Heads will roll!” She turned quickly to Kayla. “Can you counter the poison, healer?”

  “I think so,” Kayla said uncertainly. “I mean, you didn’t drink very much of it, so there’s only a little in your system… .”

  “Even small amounts of pure caffeine is deadly to our kind,” the Queen said. “Work your magic, child. Heal me of this poison.”

  Hesitantly, Kayla touched the Queen’s pale white hands. In that instant, fire welled up from within her, blossoming around her. Suddenly she could see beneath that pale skin, the swirling patterns of power and lifeblood, and the darkening stain of shadow that was moving through her body. She could see the deadly effect of the caffeine upon the Queen, and before she could blink, the magic caught her up and plunged her into the healing.

  She coaxed the poison out of the Queen’s blood, changing it to something harmless that drifted away. It was more difficult than anything she’d ever done before, tracing those tiny molecules of death through the Queen’s body and changing each one. When she finished, she realized that Catt was holding her up, keeping her from falling onto the stone floor. The Queen was standing silently, sparks of blue fire still flickering over her skin.

  “Thank you,” the Queen said stiffly. Kayla thought that maybe she’d never said those two words before. “Thank you, child.” The
Queen glided away without another word, walking back through the kitchen. After a moment, Kayla felt strong enough to follow her. In the throne room, the Queen, calm and expressionless, seated herself without a word. The gathered courtiers watched her nervously.

  “It is true, what the human child said,” the Queen said at last. “I was poisoned.”

  The Queen’s eyes traveled through the crowd, glancing at one elven lord and then another, until they fixed upon an elderly, gray-haired elven man garbed in black velvet, who was watching her with a composed face but terror in his eyes. His lips twitched once, and before he could smooth his features into another mask of impassiveness, the Queen pointed at him.

  “He is responsible!” the Queen said, gesturing with a pale finger at the elderly elf. “Take him outside and make him pay for his treachery!”

  How … how did she know?

  The silent swordsman and the Redcap moved to the old elf. They had taken him by the arms and dragged him halfway across the hall before he reacted, shouting protestations of innocence and begging for mercy. The heavy twin doors of the hall shut upon his wild pleadings.

  They’re going to—they’re going to kill that old man!

  “Wait …” Kayla began, then saw the look in the Queen’s eyes, intense hatred mixed with a cruel satisfaction, and knew that she couldn’t say anything that would save the old man’s life.

  “Well, that’s that,” the Queen said, rubbing her hands together. She glanced at Kayla, who realized she was standing with her mouth open. “You have a question in your eyes, human child,” she observed. “What is it?”

  I don’t want to say anything to this lady, I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to know what they’re doing to that old man … how can she sit there, smiling, having just ordered those people to kill him?

  Kayla felt sick to her stomach, thinking of the look on the old man’s face. How can she be so cruel?

  She’s looking at me. I’d better say something, anything, before she gets angry at me… .

  Oh God, I hope this is a dream … this can’t be real, it can’t …

  “How … how did you know that he was the one who tried to murder you?” Kayla asked, hoping her voice wasn’t trembling as much as she was.

  The Queen shrugged. “I didn’t. But I had to punish one of them. That particular lord had no loyalty among the others, none who would fight for him. And it certainly impressed the rest of these useless traitors.” She gestured at the elven courtiers, who were casually but obviously making their exits from the hall. Only Kayla and the wordless guards remained close to the Queen, and Catt, who stood near the Queen, watching Kayla silently. “So, human child, the question remains of what I shall do with you,” the elf queen continued.

  Kayla thought about the elf lord who had just been dragged off to his execution and decided that maybe, just this one time, she wouldn’t make any wise-ass remarks. “Well, uh …” she started awkwardly.

  “Set your fears at rest, human child,” the elf queen said, smiling indulgently. “I owe you a debt, and I would repay it. What do you wish for? Gold, jewels, fine clothes?”

  These elves tend to think alike, Kayla thought, remembering a similar list that Nataniel had offered her. I wonder if she’s going to offer me a Mercedes next?

  “Actually, Your … Your Majesty, I’d really just like to go home. I didn’t want to come here in the first place—I mean, not that this is a bad place or anything, I kinda like the dead trees and the moldy castle and all, and it’s sure been … been interesting, but I’d really like to go home. You don’t need to give me anything else, that’d be more than enough.”

  The Queen nodded. “A wish that is easily granted,” she said. “Though I am surprised that you do not wish for anything more than that. I will draw a Doorway that will take you home.” The Queen closed her eyes, her fingers moving in an odd pattern. Pure white light began to appear around her fingers, lines and angles growing brighter and brighter.

  “Thanks. Thanks a lot.” Except, what’s home for me now? Not Suite 230—no, that really had never been home, and it sure wasn’t now, not after everything that had happened… .

  Maybe Elizabet’s would be home someday, but I never spent much time there, not enough to make me feel like I belonged.

  Another thought came to mind; she thought about someone else, the young man with laughing dark eyes and unruly hair, the way he smiled at her, the way he made her feel so happy and safe… .

  She yawned, feeling very sleepy. Not surprising after everything that’d happened, all she wanted now was a comfortable bed, someplace warm to curl up and go to sleep… .

  The room was very bright as the Queen wove her magic spell, so bright that she had to close her eyes against the light. She stood in the light, feeling the warmth against her skin and seeing it through her closed eyes.

  “Fare thee well, human child,” the Unseelie Queen said in a quiet voice, her words very faint, as though falling away. Kayla smiled and yawned again, pulling the blankets tighter around her. The bed was definitely warm enough, soft and comfortable. She snuggled up against the source of warmth, hearing an indistinct murmur in response. She smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

  Something awakened her suddenly, someone shoving her away. Kayla yelled as she felt herself sliding out of the bed, unceremoniously dumped onto the floor. The light switched on suddenly, and she saw Ramon, a blanket clutched desperately around his naked body, staring down at her in surprise.

  “Madre de Dios!”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Ramon, what’s wrong?” someone called from outside the bedroom, then the door was flung open. Roberta stood in the doorway, looking down at Kayla on the floor, and Ramon, wrapped in a blanket, on the bed. She began to laugh.

  “It’s not funny, Berta,” Ramon began indignantly. Carlos appeared in the doorway, looking over Roberta’s shoulder, his hair still dripping from the shower and a towel wrapped around his midriff.

  His eyes darkened when he saw Kayla, and she felt a shiver run down her back. This is going to be bad. He’s furious, I can tell by his eyes.

  “Where did you find her?” Carlos demanded of Ramon.

  “I don’t know, she just appeared, I woke up and she was here.”

  Carlos crossed the room, reaching down to grab Kayla by the shoulders and hauling her to her feet. “Where have you been, all this week? How did you get out of Luis’ house?”

  Kayla shook her head. Carlos’ eyes narrowed, and he raised one hand. “You will talk to me, girl! You’ll—”

  “Carlos, stop it!” Roberta caught Carlos’ raised hand, held it tightly in her own. He glared at her; to Kayla’s surprise, Roberta glared right back at him. “She came back, right? That’s all that matters. She is here now.”

  “But she’s—”

  “Carlos, you’ve dropped your towel,” Roberta observed tartly, and Kayla quickly averted her eyes. “Go put on some clothes.”

  With a last fierce look at Kayla, Carlos stalked away, slamming the bedroom door shut behind him.

  “And you, Ramie!” Roberta turned on him. “What were you doing with this girl in your room?”

  “Roberta, I didn’t do anything!” Ramon protested.

  Yeah, that’s the pity, Kayla thought. If he hadn’t yelled so loudly …

  “You didn’t do anything because you didn’t have enough time to do anything!” Roberta countered.

  “‘Berta, that’s not—” Everything blurred around Kayla, dizziness suddenly overwhelming her. She leaned against the wall, shaking her head.

  Roberta said something terse in Spanish to Ramon, then to Kayla, “Girl, you’re pale as a ghost. Come, I’ll make you some hot chocolate, you’ll feel better.”

  “Just a second … I’m not feeling so great …” Everything was spinning too fast. She closed her eyes and swallowed, wishing it would all just go away. She heard the sound of the bedroom door opening; Carlos and Ramon’s voices, speaking in quiet Spanish.

 
“Where has she been for the last week?” Ramon asked in English.

  “I want to know how she got into your room,” Roberta said, “when I know she didn’t come through the front door. How did she get up to the third floor and get inside without opening a window? The window’s still locked, Ramie, from the inside.”

  The dizziness cleared, slowly. Kayla straightened to meet Carlos’ level gaze.

  “She’s a bruja, she can do many things,” Carlos said, looking at her with expressionless dark eyes. “And now we have her back.”

  Kayla sat next to the living room window, sipping from a steaming mug of spicy hot chocolate, listening to Ramon and Carlos arguing in Spanish across the room. Roberta sat near to her, watching her intently.

  “Why did you come back?” the Hispanic girl asked suddenly.

  Kayla looked down at her mug, not answering.

  “I don’t understand it. I know you don’t like Carlos …”

  That’s the understatement of the century, Kayla thought.

  ” … and you never wanted to be here at all. So why did you come back?”

  I wish I knew. I must’ve wanted to come back here, or the Unseelie Queen would’ve sent me somewhere else. And what happens now?

  “It’s settled,” Carlos said, standing up. “Ramie will take you to the apartment. You’ll be safe there, safer than here. We’ll need to keep some homeboys there to protect you all the time.”

  “Listen …” Kayla began, then faltered, seeing the look in Carlos’ eyes. She marshaled all the courage she had—which isn’t much, she thought. “Carlos, can we … can we talk about this? I don’t … I don’t want to be a prisoner, locked up somewhere. I want to go home. Please. That’s all I want.”

  Carlos stood silently, looking at her with unreadable dark eyes.

  Ramon broke the awkward silence. “You don’t know what’s happened in the last week, querida. The bastardos have been coming around here all the time. None of us can go out alone. It’s very dangerous. I think Carlos is right, you should go to the safest place we know. There are many lives depending on you.”