I sniffed. Oh s.h.i.t, I knew what she'd done! She'd swiped one of Roz's garlic bombs and she'd just stuffed it into Dredge's mouth! The next second, Delilah shifted into her black panther form in a brilliant spray of light as the room echoed with her roar.

"What the-?" Dredge looked confused for a moment, staring at me, his eyes bloodred, before he suddenly started to choke. Clawing at his throat, he groaned, and I could see the pain etching its way across his face.

"Hurts, huh? But you like like pain!" I strode over, ignoring the garlic, ignoring the disorientation the scent was causing me. I had one focus, one task: to eliminate the enemy. That was the only thing I had to do. pain!" I strode over, ignoring the garlic, ignoring the disorientation the scent was causing me. I had one focus, one task: to eliminate the enemy. That was the only thing I had to do.

"Then maybe you'll like this this!" I aimed for his stomach, kicking as hard as I could. The blow slammed him against the wall. Arms outstretched, he thundered against the stucco finish, cracking it with a long furrow. The room quaked again as he slid to the floor. He struggled to get up but Delilah landed at his feet, biting through one of the legs of his leather pants. She dug deep, I could see the bone as she ripped away a huge chunk of flesh.

"Delilah, get back. He's mine," I said. She gave me a questioning look, then padded away. Dredge was struggling to his feet as I raced in. I brought the stake down with all my force, driving it into Dredge's heart. "Die, just f.u.c.king die!"

He pulled away, staring at the wooden spike that was skewered partway through his chest. Why didn't he go poof? Was something wrong? And then I saw the shadow beside him. The form of a man, bathed in fire, holding a wolf leashed by a humongous chain. Both man and wolf stared at me, almost taunting me. But then, with a laugh, Loki turned to Dredge.

"Time to pay the piper," he said, his voice echoing through the room, a cacophony of drums and raging wind.

"No, no, not yet-not yet-" Dredge fumbled for the stake, trying to pull it out.

"No you don't!" I lunged forward, heedless of the scene that was playing out before my eyes. Grabbing the end of the stake, I fought with Dredge, fighting against his strength with all my might.

"This isn't the end," he whispered, staring up at me with those gorgeous, haunting eyes. "I'm not done with you yet."

"Haven't you ever heard of divorce, motherf.u.c.ker?" I gave one last shove and fell against the stake, ramming it with my hands. The tip slowly slid the rest of the way through, piercing his heart, coming to rest against the floor beneath him. Loki let out a short bark of laughter, and Dredge gave one last scream before his body, born a thousand years before, burst into ashes that floated to the carpet. I tumbled to the side and came up in a crouch before the demiG.o.d.

Shaking my braids out of my face, I slowly rose to face Loki. He was holding an orb of energy in his hand. Dredge's soul Dredge's soul. I swallowed, backing up a couple steps. What the h.e.l.l was going to happen now? But Mr. L. merely ran his gaze over me, from head to toe, then winked. I could hear Dredge give one last scream as Loki, his wolf-child, and his vampire child vanished.

"Camille, can you stand up?" Delilah had returned to normal. She crawled over to where Camille lay on the floor, the calves of both legs bleeding at a good clip.

"Where is he?" Morio was first through the door. The barrier had disappeared. He took one look around the room, saw the b.l.o.o.d.y stake, and reached his own conclusions. "Is everybody okay-Camille? Camille!" He rushed over to where Delilah was trying to fashion bandages out of a sheet to stop the bleeding.

Roz and Chase were right behind him. Roz pushed both Delilah and Morio aside. "Let me. I brought a healing salve, just in case. It will at least stop the bleeding until we can get her medical aid." As he rubbed the ointment on her wounds, she grimaced.

"Oh Great Mother, that stings," she said.

"Payback for the st.i.tches," he countered, smirking.

"So he's gone? Dead?" Chase glanced around and whistled. "You sure did a number on this room. Cracked the walls, burned down the bed, scorched the carpet, broke the windows... You're not ever staying at my place, that's for sure."

I snorted. "Thank you, Mr. Wise a.s.s. Camille invited a lightning bolt to come and play, which started the fire, and then she put it out with a few buckets of rain. I'm the one responsible for the cracked wall."

Chase stared at us, then began to laugh. "Just another day in the life of the D'Artigo sisters, huh?"

I knelt by the stake, staring at the pile of ashes. The wind blowing through the window caught them up, set them spiraling, and then carried them away. Roz joined me as we gazed out into the chilly Seattle night.

"I don't know how we did it. I honestly don't know how we managed to kill him." I told him about the fight. "We're good... but are we that good?"

"Apparently so. But perhaps... perhaps you had a little help?" Roz picked up the stake and stared at the bloodied end.

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe Loki was ready to make Dredge pay his debt. Maybe not. Whatever the case, I'll bet you the winter dies down in a few days." Roz shook his head. "I can't believe it's over. I've followed his tracks ever since he killed my family. For seven hundred years I've traced him across plain and over mountain. And now, at the end, I didn't even get to look in his eyes as he died."

I hung my head. "I wish you could have been here with us. He's gone. But the rest of the Elwing Clan still lives." I glanced at the window. "They're out there, somewhere."

"And he was their leader. If he treated them like he did you, you'll be their savior." Roz wiped the stake on a blanket and stuck it in his jacket.

"And if they worshiped Dredge... they'll come after me. Eventually." I stood up and dusted my hands off on my b.u.t.t. "I'll be ready for them."

"Now what?" Roz asked.

"We go home. We bind up Camille's wounds. We figure out what the next step is in our war against Shadow Wing." I turned to find Morio, but Roz reached out and caught my arm.

"I'm going with you. There's something you need to hear. About Shadow Wing. About the demons."

I started to ask what, but he moved too fast and before I knew it, he was gone, out of the room and down the hall. As we gathered up whatever we could find that had belonged to Dredge, I asked Morio to go explain what happened to Exo Reed and send us a bill for the damages.

Just what did Roz know about Shadow Wing, anyway? And what about Dredge? He was toast, but what was that grin and salute from the lord of chaos?

As I lifted Camille to carry her down to the car-it was easiest for me to carry her, and the blood seeping from her leg didn't even make my nose twitch for once-I realized that a little part of me would always be afraid that Dredge might find a way to return. Some wounds are forever, I thought. Even when you drop the baggage, the claim ticket's still burned into your soul.

CHAPTER 20.

Iris was waiting in the kitchen. She looked up as we entered and burst into tears. "You're alive," she started to say, but then she saw Camille's legs and gasped. "Oh my stars, what happened? Let her rest on the sofa and I'll get the first-aid kit."

As she bustled out of the room, Tim looked up at me. "Is he dead?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Dust and shadows. All that's left of Dredge is a memory..." But as I spoke, I thought that there was one thing left of Dredge-his soul, locked forever in the grasp of someone even more s.a.d.i.s.tic than he had been. The karma police in action? Maybe. Or maybe just the universe, having one last laugh at his expense.

I glanced at the clock. Three-thirty. I'd visit Erin the next night. For now I was so exhausted, I just wanted to hide out in my lair, to shut out the world. But there were things to attend to first. I headed to the living room, where Iris was st.i.tching up the gashes in Camille's calves.

"They'll heal better with a bit of thread," she said.

Chase watched, his face greenish. "Do all you women have a way with needle and thread?" he asked.

"I'm better at it than the girls. Comes from years of attending to the Kuusi family. No doctors near enough to fetch during times of emergency. And I could always heal wounds better than they could anyway." She bit through the thread and tucked the spool away. "Now, ointment, a bandage, and you should be just fine in a week or so. You'll have scars, but they'll be faint."

Camille shook her head, grinning. "They'll match the ones on my arms," she said, glancing up at me. "Irony, huh?"

"Irony like that, we can do without," I said, wondering when to tell her that Trillian was hurt, too. She wouldn't be too happy when she found out I'd kept that news from her, but it no longer mattered. "So, is Roz here?"

"He is now," Roz said from the doorway. He slipped out of his duster and carefully hung it over the back of a chair, then sat down, his pants tight around his legs in all the right places. His T-shirt was nice and form fitting, too, and I found my thoughts wandering in a direction I never thought they'd meander. Perhaps Roz would would make a good playmate, at least for someone like me. I dallied with the thought, then pushed it aside. Perhaps... but not anytime soon. make a good playmate, at least for someone like me. I dallied with the thought, then pushed it aside. Perhaps... but not anytime soon.

"So what is it that you have to tell us?" I asked.

"I brought someone with me." He motioned to the door. I jumped to attention. Who the h.e.l.l had he invited over now? But as a cloaked figure stepped through the arch, I recognized the energy. Elfin blood. Heavy, ancient Elfin blood. Not Trenyth this time.

Camille squinted, then gasped. "Your Majesty!" she said, struggling to stand up.

Iris pushed her back on the sofa. "I don't care if it's the Queen of Hearts, you just sit back down and don't move. You don't want to rip those st.i.tches."

The figure pushed her hood back and I jumped, along with Delilah.

"Your Majesty! Great Mother, what are you doing over here?" I almost expected the world to implode. Asteria, the Elfin Queen, had made a trip to our home? What the h.e.l.l was going on? "Is everything okay?"

"Father-has something happened to Father?" Delilah burst out, managing to drop into a curtsey and break into tears simultaneously. I hastily followed suit, sans tears, motioning for Morio and Chase to bow.

"Enough with the amenities," the ancient queen said, waving off our genuflections. "I don't want to be away from Elqaneve for long. But there are things we must discuss and better I come to you than wait for you to visit my city. Tell me first, though-what of Dredge?"

We filled her in on the fight, and the fact that he'd been aligned with Loki, not Shadow Wing. She took everything in stride, nodding quietly as we unraveled the chaotic mess he'd left in his wake.

"Dredge has always been steeped in mayhem and delighted in causing confusion. I had hoped that Jareth could help him, but no wonder it didn't work. With Loki behind him, it's a wonder Jareth survived the ordeal. None of us knew. He managed to fool us all until the end." She paused, looking over at Camille. "My girl, you've been wounded. Does Trillian know? I was so sorry to see him hurt-"

"What? Trillian's been hurt?" Camille managed to get to her feet. This time I shoved her back on the sofa.

Iris broke in. "He's going to be fine. He just won't be running to OW anytime soon, especially seeing that he's been outted as a spy." She stood, hands on her hips. "He's tucked away in your bedroom. You two can convalesce together, and may the G.o.ds take pity on you both. I certainly hope they do on me because I'm going to be the one stuck waiting on you." She rolled her eyes.

"That's why I'm here," the Queen said. "I wanted you to hear what I have to say directly from my own lips." She motioned to Roz and he moved to stand beside her.

"Rozurial is my new message runner. I didn't expect Trillian to be hurt, but since he's injured, Roz will take his place for now. And he will be my go-between for things I choose not to entrust to the Whispering Mirror. It's too dangerous to send Trenyth to you now-my aide is far too important to me to put in jeopardy."

"The war is truly so dangerous?" Delilah asked.

Queen Asteria shook her head. "War is always hazardous, but no... that's not the only reason. I've had my scholars busy studying the ancient texts. And I a.s.signed several seers to the task."

She paused, then let out a long sigh. "Listen to me carefully. It appears most-perhaps all-of the spirit seals somehow found their way into the general area around Seattle and the vicinity. The area you refer to as the Pacific Northwest. But why the convergence? Are there forces here of great power that can amplify the seals' natures? And there are more portals-portals we didn't know existed-that have suddenly been opening up in Otherworld with no one to guard them. Do the demons know about these? Can they find a way to use them to infiltrate Earth and Otherworld? So many new questions, and no answers as of yet."

As I struggled to grasp the implications of what she was saying, Roz broke in. "There's something else. The third spirit seal-the third part of the ancient talisman-is hidden somewhere here in Seattle. Right now. The only thing I could discover is that there's some connection between it and a Raksasa."

Camille let out a low whistle and sat up straight. "They're dangerous."

"What are they?" asked Chase.

"Earthside demons. Persian," Morio said. "Very powerful."

"Is the Raksasa working for Shadow Wing, then?" Iris frowned at Camille, and once again, my sister dropped back on the pillow.

"I don't know." Roz rubbed his nose. "But it's up to you girls to find out and to retrieve the third seal. And there are several other things..."

"Which we don't want to hear, right?" I gazed out the window at the snow-filled night. The clouds were parting and it looked like the snowstorm was letting up. Maybe Loki did did take the snow with him. take the snow with him.

"Most likely, young woman," the Queen said, a faint smile on her face. "We managed to capture one of Shadow Wing's spies. The beast no longer lives, but before he died, he told us that there's a network of spies living in your area. We believe Shadow Wing knows that all the seals are to be found here. That's why he's sending his scouts through the local portals and not elsewhere."

s.h.i.t. "Then he knows what we know."

"For the most part, yes. So the race is on, and time and knowledge are no longer on your side. Dredge was a hideous monster. Shadow Wing makes him look like a schoolboy."

"What else?" Camille asked.

Roz snorted. "The Cryptos are up in arms back in OW... They have withdrawn from supporting anybody in Y'Elestrial's civil war and there are rumors that something's going on in the Windwillow Valley. Something to do with the Dahns unicorns. We have no idea what it could be at this point-"

"Not all of us are in the dark," Queen Asteria said, standing. "Be prepared for a messenger from the unicorns to arrive in a few months. It will take time for certain events to play out back in OW, though, so don't fret and don't ask questions." She arranged her cloak and turned to Roz. "And now I must return to Elqaneve. My guards await me. Rozurial, accompany me to the portal."

Rather unceremoniously, she turned and exited the room before we could say good-bye. Camille immediately began to demand Trillian's presence, as Chase, Morio, and Delilah spun into a frenzy of talk over the spirit seals. I headed toward the kitchen and to silence.

Maggie was playing in her pen, and I picked her up and snuggled her on my shoulder. So much had happened that I scarcely knew how to take it all in. In the blink of an eye, I was no longer aligned with my sire, I'd defeated the person I hated most in the world, and I'd been thrust into motherhood-of a sort-all within less than a week.

Iris joined me. "Are you all right?"

I shook my head. "More or less... no... yes... I don't know. I don't know what to think or do. I'm very confused right now."

She hopped up on her stool and leaned her elbows on the table. "About Nerissa?"

"About Nerissa and Jareth-I made love to him when I thought I could never stand a man's touch again. And then there's Erin. I'm a mother now, Iris. I swore I'd never sire another vampire and I did. And one of our friends, at that."

"You didn't kill her, Menolly. You saved her from death-at least the kind of death humans don't usually get up and walk away from."

"I just don't know what's happening to me." I stared at the little calico girl curled in my arms and chucked her under the chin, kissing her softly on the nose before I set her back in her playpen.

Iris frowned. "Sometimes people come into our lives for a reason, and when that reason is done-they leave. Rest your worries for now. Don't force yourself to make decisions you aren't ready to make."

I thought about Nerissa. Her skin had been tender, her touch healing. And Jareth-long ago, he'd loved a vampire. I'd given him a taste of that memory to cling to even as he gifted me his blood.

"Once Camille asked me if vampires dream. I gave her a simple answer to a complex question. Now I have a question. Can vampires love? Can I love? Have relationships like my sisters?" I waited, but no answer appeared, not even a whisper, to guide me.

"Menolly, you're not the same girl who stood in this kitchen last week." Iris pushed herself off the stool and started arranging cookies on a plate. "You've been through so much. How can you expect to know who you are or what you're capable of until the dust settles?"

"I guess I can't." I shook my head. "Dredge made me fear ever loving anybody again-from the beginning he tried to use me to destroy my family."

"And now he's gone. And you're still here," she said, her eyes glittering.

"Yes, he's gone. And I'm here. But what does that mean?" I asked softly.

Iris dusted her hands on her ap.r.o.n. "The world could end tonight, my girl. Deal with your fears one at a time, if if and when they arise." and when they arise."

And then everything was okay again, and I laughed, feeling lighter than I had since the day of my death. "First light's coming, sweet friend. I'll see you tonight."

"Be at peace in your dreams." Iris waved as I slipped through the pa.s.sage to my lair.

As I undressed for bed, I glanced down at the scars lacing my body. Dredge had marked me forever, but he was gone. Dust and ashes. My sisters and friends were safe. Like it or not, I had sired a daughter. And I'd received the greatest gift in the world-I was free, my nightmare shattered.