Chimes at Midnight

“Help me get Nolan into the back,” I said, dragging the unconscious Prince the last few feet toward the car. “Dianda, can you ride with him?”

“Sure.” She eyed Tybalt speculatively as she opened the car door. “Where’s he going to ride? In the way back?”

“He’s not going to ride at all,” I said. “He’s going to take the Shadow Roads to Muir Woods and find out what’s happening there. That way, we’re not walking in blind.”

Tybalt shot me a look that was half gratitude, half annoyance, grabbing Nolan’s knees and helping me hoist him into the backseat. “When were you intending to tell me I was doing this?”

“When you saw the car and realized you were too tired to deal with this shit.” I guided Nolan into a seated position, fastening the belt across his waist. He slumped sideways. Dianda, who was in the process of getting into her own seat, pushed him upright again. “Taking the Shadow Roads alone shouldn’t be too tiring. You can meet us at the parking lot with an update.”

Tybalt eyed the car for a moment. Then he sighed. “I suppose some early reconnaissance would not be amiss. If she,” he indicated Lowri, “proves to be another turncoat, please dispose of her before she can dispose of you.”

“I promise,” I said, and shut the car door. “See you in Muir Woods.”

“Indeed.” He turned and walked away, vanishing into the shadows at the edge of the parking lot.

I turned back to the car to find Lowri watching me. I shrugged. “He gets protective.”

“It’s not that,” she said. “It’s . . . I’d heard rumors that you were involved with the King of Cats? But I didn’t credit them. Not because you’re a changeling,” she added hurriedly. “I’ve just never known a Cait Sidhe monarch to court outside the, um, well, Court.”

“We’re a special case,” I said, getting into the car. “Do you know the way to Muir Woods?”

Lowri nodded.

“Good. Then drive.”

It was late enough that the beginnings of the morning commute were trickling onto the roads, making the freeway a hit-or-miss proposition. I handed the flagon and cruet back to Dianda, telling her how to use them to treat her iron poisoning. Lowri drove like a native, choosing side streets and back alleys over congested intersections, and I closed my eyes, starting to relax. I was exhausted. Maybe some people can suffer a mortal wound, use a hope chest on themselves, get iron poisoning, and manipulate someone else’s magic in a single night without getting tired, but I’m not one of them.

“Is this woman’s claim to the throne really legitimate?”

Lowri sounded anxious enough that I opened one eye, and replied, “Yes, it is. She’s King Gilad’s daughter. She looks like him. His knowe opened for her. She’s the real Queen in the Mists, and she’s claiming her crown. The guy in the back is her brother. He’s been asleep for a while, thanks to the lady you used to serve. Taking him was sort of the last-ditch attempt to make Arden back down.”

“She has the support of the Undersea,” said Dianda. “In case that matters.”

“I served the current Queen because my family died in the War of Silences,” said Lowri. “I lost my liege, my home, my family . . . everything. I had nowhere else to go. But I never gave her my loyalty. Just my service.”

“We’re not the ones you have to convince,” I said. “As long as you don’t drive us off a cliff, I’m good.”

“We’d hit the water, so I’m good either way,” said Dianda.

“I want my normal sidekicks back,” I said.

She smirked at me in the rearview mirror. We kept driving.

Lowri turned off the road leading to the Muir Woods parking lot as the first rays of dawn were starting to tint the sky. True to his word, Tybalt was waiting at the gate, which was standing open for us. He stepped aside as Lowri pulled into the first available space, and she killed the engine just as the sun crested the horizon and dawn slammed down on us like a hammer. All the air went out of the world, taking the illusions that made us seem human with it. In that moment, we were defenseless.

I scrabbled for the door handle, finally managing to open the door and lean out into the fresh morning air. It had the distinct ashy taste of dying magic, but that didn’t matter; it was a little easier to breathe, and I was willing to take what I could get.

Then dawn passed, and I could breathe again. I pulled in a great whooping gasp, choked, and did it again, more slowly this time. “Everyone all right?”

“I’m good,” said Dianda. She left the flagon and cruet in the back as she got out of the car. I nodded my approval. I didn’t want to risk them getting broken when we might need them later.

“Yes,” said Lowri.

“There are human rangers in the gateway building,” said Tybalt. “I’ve found another route through the woods.”

“Oh, yay,” I said flatly, and got out of the car. “Tromping through the woods carrying an unconscious man is my favorite way to start the day.”

“That’s good, because that’s what you’re about to do,” said Dianda.

I sighed. “And apparently, the Undersea doesn’t have sarcasm. All right. Let’s move.”