LITMIR.BIZ

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very helpful. I had no idea what his story was, if he too was a cursed spirit. I’d never pressed for the details.

      His shining body settled upon my dresser. “Hey, Odile, what’s new? Why do you smell like sex? Did you get some? Why are we all here?” Too much exposure to my world and television had given him a better grasp of our slang than the others.

      I ignored the questions. “Hey, Finn, hey, Nandi.” The female spirit merely nodded in acknowledgment of the greeting. “So,” I said in my best boardroom voice, “I’m sure you’re all wondering why I called you here today.” None of them found that funny, so I just kept going. “Well, brace yourselves: I’m going to be paying you guys a visit. In the flesh. The real deal.”

      Nandi showed no reaction whatsoever. Finn leapt up in excitement. “Really? Truly? When? Now?”

      Nice to know someone appreciated me. I debriefed them, telling them the story. Volusian leaned against my wall, letting his body language convey to me what an utter waste of his time it was to have to hear this all again.

      Finn’s enthusiasm diminished a little. “Oh. Well. That’s ballsy but also kind of…”

      “Foolish,” said Nandi in her typically gloomy monotone. “It will end in despair. Dark, bitter despair. You will die, and I will never know peace. My suffering will be without end.”

      “Never thought I’d hear you two agree with Volusian.”

      Finn shrugged. “It is a good cause, honest. But you can’t really just walk into Aeson’s castle and take the girl. Not that I’m saying you aren’t tough enough or anything. You’ll just need a plan. A really good one. Yeah. What’s your plan?”

      “Um, well…to walk into his castle and take the girl.”

      Volusian sighed loudly. It was hard to tell with those red slits, but I think he rolled his eyes.

      I shot him an angry glance. “Hey, it’s a hell of a lot better than your plan. Would you like to share it with the rest of the class?”

      He did.

      When he finished, Finn said, “Now, that’s a good plan.”

      I threw my hands up. “No, it’s not. It’s a horrible plan. I’m not asking one of the gentry for help.”

      “King Dorian might help you,” offered Nandi, “although his help would most likely only offer a brief flaring of hope, which would then make our ultimate defeat that much more tragic.”

      “Stop with the maudlin crap, Nandi.” I wished they made ghost Prozac. “Anyway, it’s a moot point. We’re taking on Aeson directly. End of discussion.”

      I gave them the time and location of our meeting spot, binding them to silence about the plan. I had to take it on faith that Finn wouldn’t let the cat out of the bag, but once he’d reconciled himself to my possible demise, he seemed pretty stoked about the whole idea.

      “I have one more question for all of you before I release you. In the last week, three denizens from the Otherworld knew my name. What’s going on? How many of them know who I am?”

      None of the spirits answered right away. Finally, in a voice that sounded like he couldn’t believe I was asking, Finn said, “Why, everyone. Well, almost everyone. Everyone that counts. It’s all they’ve been talking about for the last couple of weeks. Odile Dark Swan is Eugenie Markham. Eugenie is Odile.”

      I stared. “Everyone’s been talking about this?”

      The three spirits nodded.

      “And none of you—none of you!—thought this was worth bringing to my attention?”

      More silence. Finally Nandi, compelled to answer any direct question, merely said, “You did not ask, mistress.”

      “Yes,” agreed Volusian dryly. “Had you summoned us and asked, ‘Is my name known in the Otherworld?’ then we would have readily answered.”

      “Smartass.”

      “Thank you, mistress.”

      “It wasn’t a compliment.” I ran a hand through my hair. “How did this happen?”

      “Maybe someone guessed,” said Finn.

      Volusian cut him a glance. “Do not be an even bigger fool than you already are.” The dark spirit turned back to me. “Not all creatures come to this world to fight you. Some may have spied. For someone quiet, discovering your identity would not have been so difficult.”

      “What are they saying, then? Are they all going to try to kill me?”

      “Some are,” said Finn. “But most of them are weak. You could probably take them in a fight.”

      “Unfortunately,” added Volusian.

      Great. This was not good news. Some part of me had been hoping only a few knew, but now it seemed my identity was the gossip du jour in the Otherworld. I wondered if it would be worthwhile to find a local witch and set wards around my house. I could also keep the spirits on permanent guard duty, but I didn’t really know if my patience was up for large doses of their idiosyncrasies.

      “All right, then. Get out of here. Come back at the time we set up. Oh, and if any of you hear anything that might be useful about Aeson and the girl, come tell me. Do not wait until I explicitly ask you.” Those last words were a growl.

      Finn vanished instantly, but Nandi and Volusian watched me expectantly.

      I sighed. “By flesh and spirit, I release you from service until next I call. Depart to the next world in peace and do not return until my summons.”

      The spirits faded into nothing, and I was left alone.

      Chapter Seven

      I couldn’t believe it when Wil told me he wanted to go too. Why did everyone suddenly want in on what was probably the most dangerous trip of a lifetime? I sure as hell didn’t want to go. Why did they? If only I could have given up my spot.

      “No,” I told him. “You’ll get yourself killed.” I sounded just like Roland now.

      “Yeah, but you said I wouldn’t actually go in body. Only my spirit would go.”

      “Doesn’t matter. The spirit is still your essence, still tied to your being and body. Someone does enough damage to it, then your body’s toast too.”

      He didn’t seem to care, which I found ironic for a guy who seemed to be so afraid of everything else. His final argument was that Jasmine would be scared and traumatized; his presence would comfort her in the face of being carted off by more strangers. He had a point, I supposed, but I warned him he would only be a reflection in that world, bearing little resemblance to his human self. She might not know him. Accepting this, he remained undaunted, and I decided if he wanted to get himself killed, that was his problem. So long as he didn’t drag me down in the process.

      I also made sure he paid me beforehand. Best not to take chances.

      When the appointed night came, I brought Tim with me. Since Wil would not be able to go physically, we’d need someone to watch his body. Tim treated it like going to summer camp, bringing a tent and a drum and everything. I told him he was an idiot, but he had grand plans for how he could later tell his groupies he went on a vision quest. The way he saw it, he would only be half-lying. I could have brought Roland and had a little less absurdity, but I didn’t trust him not to sneak in after me. So Tim it was.

      We drove outside of town, traveling winding roads that snaked through the desert. Wil waited for us in a secluded spot, away from some of the more public access areas. It was a beautiful night, with the stars and moon crisp in the sky and saguaros standing watch. There were a few other thin spots between the worlds I could have used, but I chose this one because I liked the privacy and because it was one of the strongest. I wanted to waste as little power as possible in the transition over,

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