"You're so funny, Gage," he said as his laughing died down. "Do you think I don't know where all the Towers are located?"

"How many?"

Chang's grin became positively evil as he held up eight fingers.

I slapped my hands over my ears and hunched over, trying to shrink into the other side of the bench. "Stop, Chang! I don't want to hear it! I've got enough f.u.c.king problems." Despite having my ears covered, I could hear him laughing at me, and I deserved it. If I stopped for one minute and thought about it, really thought about it, I knew that Chang already knew the locations of the Ivory Towers. The man had his hands on every interesting artifact, treasure, and doodad that had ever been created. Of course, he knew the locations! I just didn't want to know about him knowing.

I dropped my hands from the sides of my head and let them dangle between my legs as I stared at the ground, feeling as if I were worn down to the bone. Chang stopped laughing and grew silent beside me. He shifted on the bench and leaned forward to look at my face.

"Is that why you are here? Someone knows and you think I am buying the information?"

I sighed. "In all honesty, the thought didn't cross my mind until a minute ago. A different problem has brought me here today."

The old black-market seller clapped me on the back. "Gage, you can't afford another problem."

"No s.h.i.t," I muttered. With a grunt, I sat back against the bench and stretched out my legs in front of me. The peace of the garden was starting to seep into my soul, easing away some of the tension. I pushed aside thoughts of the Towers and their wayward secret. I suppressed worries of Reave and the havoc he could wreak on this world. Arianna's problem was what had dragged me to Chang's doorstep. I was focused on the Summer Court and would deal with the rest when I heard from Duff.

"What do you know about impregnating elves?" I asked.

For the first time since I had met him, Chang looked dumbfounded. His little face wrinkled up and his mouth hung slightly open as if he was struggling to formulate a good answer. I came to Chang when I needed something to undo a curse, some magical protection, or maybe just a little bit of weirdness for a tattoo. This subject was not a comfort zone for either of us.

"I've not made any elf pregnant!" he finally exclaimed.

A deep chuckle rolled from my chest before I could stop it. "Not accusing you," I said with a grin. Draping my right arm over the back of the bench, I turned slightly so that I was facing him. "My latest problem is with the elves. Particularly the Summer Court, though I wouldn't be surprised if they were all having this problem."

"Are you trying to have a baby with an elf?" Chang shook his head, looking worried. "This is not a good time, Gage. Maybe you should wait."

"What? No! No, I'm not trying to have a kid." I jerked back from him like I had been stung. "I've agreed to help the Summer Court. They're having problems reproducing."

"Oh!" Chang laughed with a clap of his hands, looking more than a little relieved as he slumped on the bench. I was with him on that one. I definitely didn't need a kid when h.e.l.l was breaking loose all around us.

"I've got Trixie checking with the Hearth Women for some herbal remedies," I continued, now that his mind was with me. "But I'm willing to bet they've tried most of that already. I've got a couple potions that I use to help keep people from getting pregnant, but I don't know any fertility potions or even spells. I was wondering if you had some kind of charmed item that might have been owned or created by some long-dead fertility G.o.d. Or how about a colored egg created by the Eostre? She was the G.o.ddess of fertility, right?"

"Yes, but that is not what you need." Chang frowned at me. "Creating children isn't easy business."

I arched a questioning brow that stopped him, causing him to think about what he just said.

"Bah!" He waved one hand at me in irritation. "Humans breed like rabbits because they are so fragile. I mean creating children isn't easy when magic gets involved."

"Why?"

He placed his scratched wooden cane in front of him and rested both hands on the curved end before looking at me. "Birth, babies . . . it's all a matter of old magic. Not that stuff those Towers use. Real old magic."

"You're talking the big bang, start of the cosmos, fabric of time, and breath of life magic," I said softly. Chang nodded and I heaved a heavy sigh. This was stuff that I didn't mess around with. No one did.

"Is it just one person who is having trouble or all of the elves?" he asked.

"It's one person that I'm trying to help, but it sounds like all the elves are having issues."

Chang scratched the top of his head, leaving some of his hair standing on end. "One Eostre egg isn't going to fix things. Not long term. Sounds like a spell. Bad spell."

"But what kind of a spell could do this? It didn't hit them all at once. It seems like they've gradually lost the ability to have children. Spells don't work that way. When one attacks a group, it's either all or nothing." I pushed off the bench and paced away a few feet with my hands shoved in my pockets as I fought against the growing frustration and nervous energy. "Besides, if it's a spell, I'm screwed. I'd have to find the person who created the spell if I hoped to unravel it. That takes time; time I don't have."

"Just because it's inconvenient doesn't stop it from being the truth," Chang said, stopping my pacing.

He was right. I might not like the answer, but that didn't keep it from being the truth. Unless Trixie found some strange change in the habits of her people, it made logical sense that the elves had been hit with some kind of infertility spell. Unfortunately, I wasn't skilled enough to know how to fix it. I needed a stronger witch or warlock or a big stack of spell books written by someone other than me. Gideon was out because he was too busy to bother with me. That only left Sofie, but since she was stuck as a cat, I wasn't sure how well she could instruct me in the construction of a fertility spell. And spell books were out. I didn't see the council letting me stop by to raid their library so I could perform magic I've already been forbidden to perform.

"I'm screwed," I grumbled, rubbing my hand roughly over my face as I tried to think of a way out of this hole.

"Maybe not," Chang said thoughtfully.

I looked up at the old man, trying to shove down the hope that was swelling in my chest. Whatever he thought of wasn't going to be cheap. Or easy for that matter. "You've got something? A little relic that knocks up women at fifty paces?"

"Not quite." Chang frowned at me, as if debating whether to tell me. "She doesn't like visitors. You must be respectful. If she says she can't help, you leave. No arguing. Do you understand?"

I nodded. "Sure. Of course. Who are you sending me to?"

Using his cane, Chang slowly rose from the bench and then withdrew his old leather wallet from the back pocket of his stained and patched brown pants. I watched as he opened it with slightly trembling hands and flipped through a pile of cards and folded bits of paper before he came to what he was looking for. He held out a white card to me while he shoved his wallet back into his pocket.

Flipping the card over, there was only one word: GAIA. Arching one eyebrow, I looked at Chang as he settled himself back on the bench.

"You're kidding, right?" I said before I could stop myself.

Chang extended a hand toward me. "If you don't want . . ."

I jerked the card back and even stepped away from him, which only caused the little old man to chortle. I wasn't sure that I quite believed in the existence of Gaia, but if Chang thought this woman could help me, then I wasn't willing to throw away the opportunity.

In truth, I didn't believe in the G.o.ds and G.o.ddess. I had a feeling that most were just powerful beings such as a witch or warlock, but not quite of G.o.d status. Or at least what I thought of as a G.o.d.

"So you're suggesting that I pay ol' Mother Nature a visit?" I said, turning over the card between my fingers. There was no address, no phone number, no Web site listed (not that I actually expected this Gaia to have a Web site, but you never know).

Chang grinned at me. "Can you think of anyone who might know more about life and birth?" He paused as if thinking of something and then gave a little shrug as he corrected himself. "Well, anyone you can actually talk to for answers?"

"Look, at this point, I'm open to trying anything. If you think she'll give me a hand with this, I'll pay her a visit."

Chang shook his head. "I didn't say that she'd help you. I just know that if anyone can fix it, she can."

"Fantastic," I muttered. Mother Nature would know how to help the elves, but it was all a matter of getting the old girl to give me a hand. This was certainly turning into one of those days when it would have been better if I didn't bother to crawl out of bed.

But it was a start. It was a direction to go in rather than spinning my wheels and wasting time that I didn't have. I sucked in a deep breath and straightened my shoulders. I could do this. Holding up the card toward Chang, I said, "There's no address. How am I to find her?"

"When you're ready to see her, she'll reach out to you."

"And what do I owe you for this?"

Chang's grin turned evil as it spread across his face and his eyes narrowed to thin slits. I suppressed a shiver as I looked at him, trying to remind myself that he was always fair. Of course, the little wrinkled man knew that I was desperate.

"Styx," he said.

I frowned, my stomach clenching. I told myself that it could have been worse, but I wasn't thrilled. A couple months ago I hanged myself so I could get to the underworld and obtain some of the water from the five rivers. Desperation had already forced me to trade Chang the water from Phlegethon, the river of fire, for a protection amulet-which I promptly lost. The River Styx was not only the river of hate, but it was also the river of death, as it was the main gateway to the other side. I wasn't yet willing to part with the Styx water.

Shaking my head, I shoved the card in my front pocket. "You've given me information rather than an item. Pointed me in a potential direction rather than given me a cure. The best I can offer is Cocytus."

"Cocytus? River of lamentation?"

"The water is supposed to be angel tears," I added, hoping this would entice him.

Chang gave a snort. "We both know how well using something from an angel worked for you," he said a bit snidely. I flushed but kept my mouth shut. You make one girl immortal using an angelic relic, and no one lets you forget about it. Of course, the entire ordeal had been a disaster, forcing me to commit suicide to get the Styx water in the first place so that her immortality could be cured. I'd learned my lesson and was now steering clear of anything angelic. "Cocytus and Acheron," the old man countered.

"Cocytus and Lethe," I challenged. Something about Acheron, the river of sorrow, made me nervous after seeing the swamp-like area while in Charon's ferry. I wasn't ready to hand that one over just yet either. Lethe represented forgetfulness, and while dangerous, it didn't send a chill through me like the Styx or Acheron did.

"Done!" Chang said with a thump of his cane on the ground.

"Can I drop it off in a few days? I don't exactly carry the waters with me."

Chang smiled at me and waved one hand as he pushed to his feet again. "I trust you. You'll drop it off. You're a good boy, Gage."

I followed as the little old man started back down the path that we had taken to the bench. Looking around, I couldn't tell how long I had been in his garden. This was no change in the intensity or slant of the light. Time seemed frozen here, and despite the garden's overwhelming beauty and tranquillity, I was ready to leave. But it was always like that when I visited Chang. He was an amusing little man, with a wicked grin and a gleam in his eye, but if you thought too long about it, you started to realize that he was probably the most dangerous thing on the planet and I didn't have a f.u.c.king clue as to what he really was.

Chang paused when the hallway came into view from the edge of the path. He turned and looked up at me thoughtfully. "It really is for the best," he said.

"What is?"

"You leaving your Tower," he said, leaning close as if he were whispering a secret. "You never would have been happy in a greenhouse. You have too much mischief in your soul." He reached up and lightly tapped a knuckle on the center of my chest as if he were knocking on my soul.

I smiled down at him. "Thanks." The small sadness I had felt earlier when I thought of the life I had left behind drifted away. I stepped around him as I continued toward the elevator and his two guard dogs. I never told Chang what I was or where I came from. The man seemed to always know, though it was only recently that he openly spoke of it. But then, I wasn't really surprised that he knew. The man knew everything and owned a little piece of everything. I figured that as long as I stayed on his good side, I didn't have to worry. If Chang was p.i.s.sed, the whole world was going to burn.

I paused at the doorway and looked back at the lush greenery and blooming flowers stretching out as far as the eye could see. Chang was right about me. I wouldn't have been happy for long in the greenhouse. When I was a child, I think I clung to it simply because it represented a safe haven away from Simon Thorn and the bleakness of my apprenticeship. Now I had a different kind of haven in the world, and it needed my protection.

But the first thing I needed to do was check in with a special cat to see if she could offer any insight on the elf procreation problem. If I knew it was caused by a spell, it would mean I could give this Mother Nature/Gaia something more to work with.

Two months ago, I discovered there was a Grim Reapers' union. Now? A real Mother Nature. I hoped this world didn't get any f.u.c.king stranger than it already was. My brain couldn't take much more.

17.

I PAUSED OUTSIDE of Diamond Dolls and glanced up at the sky. It was early evening, but it felt like it should have been later after the time I'd pa.s.sed in Chang's private garden. A woman gave me a dirty look as she walked past me, her narrowed eyes jumping from my face to the front of the strip club. I fought the urge to flip her off as I shoved my hands in my pockets and trudged down the street.

Yes, Diamond Dolls was one of the sleaziest, dirtiest, most run-down strip joints in the city, but it also happened to be the easiest entrance into Chang's. I might not be fond of the place, but I looked far less conspicuous walking into Diamond Dolls than through the other entrance in the dressing rooms at Layla's Bridal Boutique.

With Gaia's card tucked in my back pocket, I tried to relax with the rea.s.surance that I had a lead on how to fix the elves' little problem. Unfortunately, Chang's promise that the G.o.ddess would know when I was ready was gnawing on my a.s.s. I was pretty d.a.m.n ready now. Arianna's warning that time was running out had me worried. I wasn't in the mood to wait on Mother Nature when I had other problems weighing on me.

Traffic was starting to pick up as kids got off school and first-shift workers started heading home. I couldn't find any parking near Diamond Dolls, so I slid into a nearby lot about a block away. I didn't mind the short walk in the warm early-evening air, as it gave me a little time to think.

As I reached the corner and started to turn down the next block, an explosion rocked the area. The earth shifted beneath my feet and the concussive force slammed into my back, knocking me to the ground. I tried to catch myself, skinning my palms and banging my knees in the process.

There was a ringing in my ears and my body protested this constant abuse. As the ringing faded, I could make out the sound of screaming and desperate shouting down the street behind me. Turning to look the way I'd come as I got to my feet, I was thinking that it had to have been a gas leak at one of the shops. Or maybe a meteor fell from the sky. Clearly, I was in denial.

My heart jumped into my throat when I spotted the two witches and the warlock strolling down the street through the billowing smoke. They all held wands in their hands. With a quick flick of the wrist or a broad swing of the arm, a building would burst into flames. I backed up, ducking behind the corner of the nearest building so that I wasn't in their line of sight. Cars were overturned or simply stopped in the middle of the street, as the occupants preferred to beat a hasty retreat on foot, hoping to provide a smaller target for the magic users.

People tried hiding in the various stores along the street, which had worked in the past, but the deadly trio was blowing out windows, tearing off roofs, and setting structures on fire as they slowly progressed. A man darted out of one of the stores before it could be torn apart. He tripped and fell hard to his knees in front of one of the witches. Grabbing up her cloak in one hand, she gleefully kicked him in the head while the warlock landed a kick to his stomach.

Swearing a blue streak, I pushed away from my hiding spot. I didn't have my wand, but I had to do something. They wouldn't be permitted to continue causing this carnage unchecked through the city. Before I could step into view, a hand clamped down on my shoulder and swung me around until my back hit the wall I had been hiding behind.

I blinked in shock and found myself staring at Gideon. He was looking a little more pulled together than he'd been at our last meeting, but with him standing so close, I noticed that his tie had been pulled loose as if he were having a tough day at the office.

"What the f-" I started to shout, but Gideon cut me off.

"Shut up and keep hidden!" he ordered. I tried to push away from the wall as he leaned over toward the main street to get a better view of the carnage, but he immediately put a hand in the middle of my chest and pushed me back. "Stay here."

"Why? What the f.u.c.k is going on?"

"They're searching for you."

My blood ran cold in my veins with those words and I leaned against the wall for support. "Why?"

Gideon frowned at me for a second before he dropped his hand. "William Rosenblum came looking for you and he never returned to the Towers. Judging by your appearance, I'd say it's a safe wager that he found you but didn't survive the encounter."

I nodded. In truth, I was a b.l.o.o.d.y, ragged mess because of Reave, but that was beside the point. Wild Bill had come looking for me and got to chew on the front b.u.mper of a truck for his troubles.

"Rosenblum dies in Low Town, so these a.s.sholes decide to come to town and tear s.h.i.t apart. What the h.e.l.l!"

The warlock shook his head as he peeked around the corner. Whatever he saw made him pale, but he came back to me with his face wiped clean of expression and roughly grabbed my arm. He pulled me down the block until we could duck down another alley, farther away from where the trio was destroying the shops.

Gideon released me when we were far enough from the view of the witches and the warlock. He shoved one hand through his dark hair as he paced away from me. "Things are bad in the Towers. We haven't gotten a lead on the elf and there are a number of occupants screaming to destroy another city."

I pushed aside the twinge of unease and guilt and focused on the rampaging a.s.sholes. "But no one here knows what the Towers are looking for! h.e.l.l, people don't understand why this is happening at all. How can they help if they don't know?"

"Help? You think people would turn in the person who knows the locations of the Towers?" Gideon stopped his pacing and pointed back toward the street. "Those people are going to protect that elf and raise him up as a hero. And then they're going to take that information and try to destroy the Towers."

"But they can't. No one has the power to destroy the Towers."

He closed his eyes for a second and he looked ten years older. This life was wearing him down to an angry nub, leaving him with nothing. "I know that, but they can't let themselves believe it. You convince those people of it and you will have taken away their last hope."

"f.u.c.k," I said as I turned to stare down the alley, back the way we had come. "Fine. So the Towers are terrified that people will find their secret locations and do . . . something. Why come to Low Town and wreak havoc?"

"They have to blame someone. They don't know where the elf is, but several members of the Towers have been able to figure out that you're in Low Town."

"And they thought that by killing a bunch of people, they'd draw me out?"

"It's working," Gideon said in a low voice, his eyes narrowed on me. "You nearly charged out to meet them, unarmed. Since we've been talking in this alley, you've edged back down toward the street and I doubt you're even aware of it."