“What’s up?” I shrugged out of my jacket and hung it and my purse on one of the hooks next to the hall closet in the foyer.
“Trenyth called from the Whispering Mirror,” Nerissa said, looking up as we entered the kitchen. “I took the call.”
The Whispering Mirror had been a gift from the OIA when we first came Earthside, which we had modified to our own use. It was a device that allowed us to communicate with Otherworld. It was set to connect with Elqaneve—the Elfin city. We had worked with the Elfin techno-mages to modify the mirror so that we could connect with the bureau back home in OW. Voice activated, the mirror’s settings were modulated so that only those with permission could take or send calls. At this point, everybody who lived on our land had that capability.
I leaned over Morio’s shoulder. “Maps?”
“Yeah, maps.” Morio looked up to give me a quick kiss on the cheek, then went back to poring over an area that looked to be up north a ways from Seattle.
Trillian wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed me on the forehead. “Brace yourselves for big news. Have a seat.”
Hanna brought over several pots of rustlewood tea—a specialty from Otherworld—and a plate of chocolate chip cookies. “You’ll be wanting this.”
“What’s going on?” I lowered myself into one of the chairs, and Delilah followed suit. Menolly joined us after getting a bottle of blood from the fridge, which she warmed in the microwave. It smelled like hot chocolate, and tasted like it, thanks to Morio, who had figured out how to charm the bottled animal blood into other flavors for her.
We gathered at the massive oak table that could seat twelve comfortably, fifteen if we scooched in, and every meal that we could. We also used it for war meetings.
Rozurial leaned back, a grave look on his face. “Trenyth knows where the last spirit seal is. He sent us the specifics on it.”
Instantly, we all stopped talking and stared at the maps.
“So it’s finally happened,” Delilah said softly, breaking the silence.
We had been searching for the spirit seals for almost four years and had gone through so much pain and loss to find them. After all this time, after so many deaths, could we really be facing the final chapter?
EONS AGO, BEFORE the worlds were separated, a demon lord had risen up, intent on subjugating both humankind and the Fae. The ancient Fae Lords had fought among themselves about what to do. Some wanted to confront the demon lord directly. But others rebelled. They wanted to separate the worlds into three distinct but parallel worlds—Otherworld, Earthside, and the Subterranean Realms. A massive battle ensued and the separatists won. Using all of their magic combined, they had driven through the worlds, ripping them apart like some great juggernaut. That time became known as the Great Divide. The massive disruption had sparked off volcanoes and earthquakes, global floods and land shifts.
After the worlds were separated, the separatists created the Spirit Seal, an artifact so powerful that it was able to prevent the worlds from intersecting except for the vortexes that formed here and there—known as portals. Yet, the seal also provided the key to reuniting the worlds.
To keep the division from breaking down, the Fae Lords split the Spirit Seal into nine pieces and sent them out to the nine Greater Elemental Lords and Ladies. But even the Immortals lose track of things, and over time the spirit seals—each containing a different gem—had found their way into the world of mortals. Anyone who could reunite all nine could either unite the three worlds again—which would cause as much destruction as the Great Divide had. Or…they could watch over them and keep the spirit seals and the portals safe.
But the division of worlds wasn’t natural. Rogue portals began to form, tearing at the threads keeping the worlds apart. Another great demon lord rose. Shadow Wing the Unraveller began sending envoys to gather the seals, intent on opening the portals to flood both Otherworld and Earthside with his armies of demons. And that’s where we came in.
After a long four years, we had managed to retrieve eight of the spirit seals. Once we had the ninth, we hoped to forestall his war forever, because I was destined to be in charge of bringing together the Keraastar Knights, the guardians of the portals. But it was still a long road until then, and there was much to be done.
MY BREATH CAUGHT in my throat. “The last seal. It’s been almost four years since the demonic war dropped in our laps. Where is it?”
Roz motioned to Morio, who pointed to a place on the map. “It’s on Camano Island. Or should I say, in the waters surrounding Camano Island. One of the Elder Fae has it. K’thbar the Unyielding. He’s sleeping in Puget Sound.”