Birthright

By E.J. Stevens

BTS Red Carpet Award winner for Best Novel, finalist for Best Cover, PRG Reviewer's Choice Award finalist for Best Urban Fantasy Series, and winner of the PRG Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Urban Fantasy Novel.

Being a faerie princess isn't all it's cracked up to be...

Ivy must go to Faerie, but the gateway to the Wisp Court is through Tech Duinn, the house of Donn—Celtic god of the dead. Just her luck.

Unable to share her secret with Jinx, and with Jenna called away on Hunters' Guild business, Ivy must rely on Ceff and Torn to lead her to Death's door, literally, and back again. As if that wasn't dangerous enough, there's no saying what horrors lay in store within the Faerie realm. Too bad the Wisp Court is the one lead Ivy has in the search for her father—and possible salvation.

Maybe hiding away and dodging sidhe assassins isn't so bad after all...

• Language: English
• Publisher: E.J. Stevens
• Release date: Jul 14, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310617287

Book preview

Introduction

Welcome to Harborsmouth, where monsters walk the streets unseen by humans…except those with second sight.

Whether visiting our modern business district or exploring the cobblestone lanes of the Old Port quarter, please enjoy your stay. When you return home, do tell your friends about our wonderful city—just leave out any supernatural details.

Don’t worry—most of our guests never experience anything unusual. Otherworlders, such as faeries, vampires, and ghouls, are quite adept at hiding within the shadows. Many are also skilled at erasing memories. You may wake in the night screaming, but you won’t recall why. Be glad that you don’t remember—you are one of the fortunate ones.

If you do encounter something unnatural, well, you are currently out of luck. Normally, we would recommend the services of Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective. Unfortunately for you, Miss Granger is recently deceased.

Perhaps, we can interest you in local real estate. With Miss Granger dead, it is likely you may become one of our permanent residents. We kindly direct you to Harborsmouth Cemetery Realty. It’s never too early to contact them, since we have a booming housing market. Demand is quite high for a local plot—there are always people dying for a place to stay.

Chapter 1

I grimaced at the noodles currently taunting me with their salty broth and rubbery texture, and pushed the steaming bowl away with gloved hands. My stomach growled, but I ignored its rumbling and grabbed a mug of coffee instead.

Girl, if you keep drinking that sludge without any food in your stomach, you’re just asking for total coffee rot gut, Jinx said, leaning a hip against the counter and pointing a red lacquered fingernail my way. Eat your dinner.

Jinx wasn’t my mother, but sometimes she acted like it. Normally, I put up with her bossiness without too much grumbling. Well, maybe some grumbling, but when it came to eating, I usually did what she said. Jinx was my best friend, which was why we were roommates and business partners.

Until recently, Jinx was also the only person in my life who cared if I lived or breathed—or so I’d thought. So when she fussed over me, I secretly felt all warm and fuzzy inside. I wasn’t a touchy-feely person, being saddled with the curse of psychometry made sure of that. Over time, objects, including people, collect psychic residue and all of those strong emotions—mostly traumatic—sit there just waiting for someone like me to reach out and make contact.

So normally, that meant I ate what Jinx put in front of me, no questions asked. Not today. If I had to eat one more bowl of ramen or plate of mac and cheese, I’d puke.

I’d rather wrestle with a smelly, pulsating jincan queen, I muttered.

Well, you won’t be wrestling with the fae anytime soon, she said. Not with you being dead and all.

I sighed, and glared at the bowl of ramen noodles, but ignoring Jinx didn’t make what she said any less true. As far as the fae were concerned, I was dead. Last month, the faerie courts sent their assassins, the Moordenaar, to terminate me as my punishment for crimes against the fae. It was against fae law to go around letting the general public know about the existence of Otherworlders.

Faeries are immortal, but they can still be killed if the human masses became aware of the monsters in their midst and decide to take up arms against them. It was why the ability to glamour ourselves was so important.

So when it came to the faerie courts’ attention that I was breaking their law, intentionally or not, they ordered my execution at the hands of the Moordenaar. The Moordenaar are very, very good at their job. They’d shot poisoned arrows into my heart, kidney, and liver, and then left me to die.

Humphrey was one of the reasons my assassins hadn’t waited to witness my death, and therefore weren’t around when my friends force fed me a magic apple that brought me back to life. I’d have to thank him for that someday, though I didn’t like the idea of being in a gargoyle’s debt. Talk about a rock and a hard place.

Fine, I’ll make you a box of mac and cheese, she said, rolling her eyes. But just so you know, we’re out of milk and butter. It’s probably going to taste nasty.

No, don’t waste it, I said. I’ll eat the mac and cheese tomorrow.

I had no intention of eating another box of the stuff tomorrow, or ever, but Jinx didn’t know that. Mab’s bones, I’d rather starve.

I have a protein bar in my bedroom, I said with a one-armed shrug.

That’s not dinner, she said, eyes narrowing.

Neither is this, I said, pushing the bowl farther away. You want it?

Jinx stared at the bowl, lip twitching.

Hells to the no, she said.

I snorted, and shook my head. Jinx had been oohing and ahhing over her meals all week, but she was just as sick of ramen as I was. My best friend was tricksy like that.

Sparky! I yelled. You hungry?

The little demon came tearing out of our bathroom, streaming toilet paper from his long ears, and climbed the rungs of the barstool beside me. With a gleeful squeak, he hopped onto the counter and danced a squirmy little jig.

Yes, yes, yes, yes! he sang.

I reached for the package of plastic cutlery we kept on hand for Ceff—my boyfriend the local kelpie king—but Jinx shook her head.

Wait, she said. She narrowed her eyes, and aimed a ladle at Sparky. What have you been up to? Have you been playing in the toilet again?

Forneus claimed that Sparky would someday grow to become a massive demon lord, but that was hard to believe. The little guy was the size of a potbellied Chihuahua and got into just as much mischief. Last week he’d started tossing treasures into the toilet to be salvaged by Sparky the great spelunking explorer. Unfortunately, one of those treasures was Jinx’s toothbrush.

Nooooo, he said.

He blushed and gave Jinx a shy smile.

Then how did you get toilet paper strung up in your ears like garland? she asked, reaching over to pluck the paper from his ears.

No toilet, silly, he said. Trash can!

I rubbed a gloved hand over my face, and tried not to laugh. Sparky had found the wonders of the bathroom trash can. Oberon save us all.

Oh my God, ewww! Jinx squeaked, dropping the toilet paper as if it scorched her fingers.

Ewww! Sparky yelled, smiling as he parroted Jinx.

If it’s anything like his game with the toilet, he was probably putting the toilet paper into the trash can, not the other way around, I said. The toilet paper is most likely clean.

It also meant that he’d probably been adventuring inside the trash can, sifting through who knows what with his bare hands. Apparently, Jinx had come to the same conclusion.

Go wash your hands, she said, pointing to the bar sink. And no more playing in the bathroom.

Then food? he asked.

Then you can eat Ivy’s ramen noodles, she said. Now hurry up, before they get cold.

Sparky skipped over to the sink. He leaned out to turn on the faucet and pretty soon he was playing under the running water as if running through a lawn sprinkler. Jinx scowled at the mess the demon was making of her kitchen, but I shook my head and smiled.

Let him have his fun, I said. We can always heat the ramen up again later.

You shouldn’t feed him all that salt, she said. If he were a dog, he’d have hypertension by now.

I shrugged. The kid looked fine, not that I could tell if he had high blood pressure or not. His skin was always tinged red.

He’s a demon, I said. That food will probably kill us before it does anything to him.

I eyed the bowl of ramen as if it were about to reach out its noodle tentacles and attack.

If you want to eat real food again, we have to start making some money, she said. Either that, or we dip into the emergency fund. Oh wait, we can’t do that. Someone already spent it.

I sighed. She wasn’t entirely wrong to be angry with me, but I hadn’t had a choice.

You know I have to find my father, I said. He’s the only hope I have of gaining control over my wisp powers and clearing my name with the faerie council.

Until I could prove that I wasn’t a walking menace to fae society, I had to remain dead. Something we soon discovered meant a huge blow to our income. It’s hard to work cases when you’re supposed to be six feet under the ground.

Let me start taking cases, Jinx said. I can do the legwork, and you can consult from home. If I need your magic touch, I know where to find you.

I shook my head, and waved my hands.

No way, I said.

Look, I’ll just meet with the clients and get the deets on the job, she said. If I wear faerie ointment, I’ll be able to see if they’re not human.

The ingredients to make faerie ointment were expensive. If Jinx was willing to use up the last of her ointment, I knew she was serious about landing a job. That made arguing with her that much more difficult.

Not that I was willing to give up yet. What Jinx didn’t know, what I was forbidden to tell any human, was that I had a key to one of the secret gates to Faerie. The only pathway to that gate revealed itself on the summer solstice—a date that was fast approaching. If we took a job now, I’d only be able to help work the case for a few more days. After that, Jinx might be without backup, permanently.

Faerie ointment doesn’t work on the undead, I said.

Vampires have their own glamour, one that faerie ointment doesn’t penetrate. I let out a deep, gratifying sigh. I was sure to win this fight.

I’ll only do business during the day, she said.

Crap. I hadn’t thought of that. I cleared my throat, trying to think of another reason my best friend shouldn’t put herself at risk. I was pretty sure that telling her food is highly overrated wouldn’t work.

It’s dangerous, I said.

She lifted her chin, eyes shining, and shoulders back and leaned toward me, her palms spread out on the counter.

Let me do this, she said. Please.

Damn it. I slumped forward, and put my head in my hands. It was the please that did it. Over the past month, Jinx had been trying to prove that she was the same tough-as-nails woman she was before her attack. The fact that she’d show any sign of weakness now, proved how much this meant to her.

Okay, fine, I said. But I’m not letting you do this alone. No meeting with clients without me.

We’d have to work overtime to meet my solstice deadline, but it wasn’t like I hadn’t worked a case round-the-clock before. So long as Jinx kept pumping me full of coffee, we might wrap up a job before I did my disappearing act.

You can’t come to the office, she said with a frown. It’s too dangerous.

Then I guess, I’ll just have to make sure nobody sees me, I said.

Chapter 2

I elbowed myself in the kidney and winced. I’d insisted on accompanying Jinx to Private Eye for her meeting with a client. Too bad our office was small and there weren’t many places to hide. I shifted my weight, catching my ass on a loose screw that protruded from the wall of the cupboard I was currently crouching in. I frowned, hoping the sharp metal hadn’t snagged my jeans. The last thing I needed right now was to be dragged down into a vision.

I sighed. I should have thought this through a bit more. I was wedged in here so tight, I already had a crick in my neck and my legs were going numb. Another twenty minutes of this and I wouldn’t be able to move at all, which meant that if some big, bad supernatural nasty came striding into our office, I wouldn’t be much help. Maybe the cupboard wasn’t the only thing with a screw loose.

I was being paranoid, and I knew it. Jinx had met with our clients in the past. She was good at flying solo, that bossy streak of hers keeping the meetings on track and a steady cash flow into our bank accounts. But she’d never done this under the guise of running the place herself.

That’s the part that worried me. She’d always been my paper pushing partner, the helpful administrative assistant. Now she was putting herself out there as a psychic detective—a job that attracted its share of nut cases. Walking in my shoes might just put her in danger, a fact that had me wishing she’d stick to answering phones and bossing me around. Was food so important that we really needed to swap jobs?

Jinx’s role in the office wasn’t the only thing that had changed recently. Until last summer, our clientele had been mostly human. But after a battle with flesh-eating faerie horses that made kelpies look like My Little Pony, our client base had shifted. The fae now knew that I could be a valuable ally, or a powerful enemy.

Unfortunately, they also thought I was dead. That left my human partner on the front lines with some potentially deadly nasties, monsters who thought she was here without backup. I was just about to extricate myself from my self-imposed prison when the bell above the office door rang out.

I held my breath, and tried not to move a muscle. If we were lucky, Jinx’s client would just be some helpless human here with a mundane job. The bell over the door only chimed once, which meant we were likely dealing with only one opponent, um, client.

Welcome to Private Eye… Jinx said, voice faltering. I couldn’t see anything through the narrow crack that I was squinting out from, so I inched the cupboard door open further. I shifted my weight, preparing to come to her aid—or at least fall on her assailant—when the next word out of her mouth stopped me in my tracks. Dad?

I’d never met Jinx’s father, but from what I could see, he was a large, burly man with a dark beard and more tattoos than his daughter. He pulled a baseball hat from his head, running grease-stained fingers over a bald spot, and sighed.

Sorry to bother you at work, he said. Especially after all that’s happened. I’m sorry for your loss, sweetheart.

Jinx froze, and blinked at her father, for once at a loss for words. I’d known that going into hiding and perpetuating the story that I was dead would be hard. What I hadn’t planned on was what keeping that secret would cost my friends and loved ones. Jinx paled and looked down at her desk, straightening the pens and stacks of paper that were already lined up with military precision.

Her father mistook her discomfort for grief and closed the distance between them, pulling Jinx into a hug. My friend stood there, face going red, and I knew I needed to do something. Unlike the pureblood fae, humans can tell lies, but that didn’t mean that lying to her father would be easy.

Um, that’s okay, she said, gently pushing her father away and putting her desk between them. Is that why you’re here?

This was my mess. I had to do something to fix it.

Jinx continued to stare at her desk and I eyed the door, wondering where our client was. Someone, or something, had asked for a morning meeting. Maybe if I was fast enough, I could reveal myself to Jinx’s father, give him a quick explanation of my current situation, swear him to secrecy, and wedge myself back into this tiny wooden box before our client arrived. Okay, it wasn’t good odds, but I couldn’t just leave Jinx hanging out to dry.

Actually, sweetheart, he said. I’m your ten o’clock appointment. He rolled his hat in his hands and blushed, nose going bright red. I need your help.

With a crash, I tumbled out of the cabinet and onto the floor at Mr. Braxton’s feet. It wasn’t a graceful entrance, but then again he seemed more concerned with the fact that a dead woman had just rolled out of our office cupboard.

I winced and came to one knee, waving to Jinx’s dad. I glanced at the large window that faced the street, but there were no monsters lurking there, and the desk kept me mostly hidden from view. I pulled back the hood from my sweatshirt and stuffed my gloved hands into my pockets, but I kept my face turned away from the windows that faced the street.

Pardon me if I don’t shake your hand, I said. It’s nothing personal.

No offense taken, he said voice shaky. My daughter told me about your…affliction.

Good. If Jinx told her father that I was a psychic and he believed it, then he might be more receptive to what I was about to tell him.

Jinx, can you pull the shades and lock the door? I asked.

Sure, she said, eager to have something to do to keep busy.

I’m sorry that I was eavesdropping, but I didn’t know who would turn up for this meeting, I said. And I couldn’t leave Jinx on her own. There are dangerous people out there, monsters who don’t value human life.

These dangerous men, they why you’ve been playing possum? he asked.

I nodded, taking in the man’s muscled body and grease stained coveralls. There was dirt under his fingernails and his hands and arms were crisscrossed with tiny scars. He was a man who worked with his hands, but the most impressive thing about him was the intelligence in his sparkling, blue eyes. I imagine it would be easy to underestimate a man like that, if you didn’t look him in the eye. Judging from his size, most people probably didn’t.

I smiled and gestured for him to take a seat.

There are people who want me dead, I said. It’s better if they think they got their wish, for now anyway.

People wanting you dead usually put you in such a good mood, Miss Granger? he asked.

No, I said. I’m just happy to finally meet Jinx’s father. Coming out to your business hasn’t really been an option. Old and used things have a tendency to bite me in the ass, so to speak.

He chuckled and took a seat, slapping his tree trunk-sized thigh with his hat.

And here I thought you just didn’t like junkyards, he said.

Only for their complications, I said.

A scrap yard filled with the detritus of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lives left me shaking in my boots. Some people fear death, but me? I was terrified of the potential for madness that lurked within old items, the memories of their previous owners waiting to pounce and claw away at my sanity.

Okay, Dad, Jinx said, taking a seat behind her desk. She’d locked the door, and dropped the shades. So why are you here? What’s wrong?

Someone’s been breaking into the junkyard, he said with a frown. And I don’t think they’re human.

I brushed paper dust and toner from my jeans and rocked back on my heels. We’d hastily removed the shelving and office supplies from the cupboard this morning, but hadn’t bothered to wipe it down before I crawled inside. I frowned at a dark spot on my jeans. That smudge of toner was going to be a bitch to get out.

Too bad that wasn’t all I had to worry about.

Chapter 3

"Why don’t you think the thieves are human?" I asked.

The question was directed at Jinx’s father, but as he pondered the question, I raised an eyebrow at his daughter. She mimed fangs and horns with her fingers, nodded, and shrugged. Apparently, she’d shared some of her knowledge of paranormal creatures with her father. While I could commend honesty, that kind of information was dangerous. Most of the fae and undead would go to great lengths to guard that secret, and many of the long-lived weren’t bothered with things like morals or consciences. They’d snap Eben Braxton’s neck, and pat themselves on the back for a job well done.

I’d need to remind them both of that, but for now, I had a job to focus on, one that I was already beginning to dread.

Wait, can you repeat that? I asked.

I said, they lured my night guard away with some kind of floating lights, he said, scraping a hand through his hair. It was unnatural.

I bit my lip, trying to ignore the churning in my gut. I told myself that I’d had too much coffee and not enough food. That was all. But a tiny traitorous voice inside my head was already drawing connections between the unnatural floating lights and my wisp brethren.

I shook off the growing sense of dread, and focused on the job. Any number of things could cast strange lights throughout a junkyard. It was probably just moonlight reflecting off pieces of metal, or lightning bugs, or a trick of the weather. It was breezy yesterday. Maybe the winds had shifted some of the junk, making the light bounce and dance.

How long has this been going on? I asked.

Around about two weeks, he said.

Well, that ruled out the recent windy weather. But that still didn’t mean we were dealing with wisps. There are other nocturnal creatures that enjoy toying with humans.

It all started when Bruce’s dog went missing, though we didn’t put two and two together until what happened later, he continued.

Bruce? I asked.

Dad’s best night watchman, Jinx said.

You sure this Bruce isn’t in on it? I asked. Maybe he staged the loss of his dog, and lied about the lights?

No, he said with a shake of the head. He’s a good man. Plus, I got no proof any thieving’s been going on. It’s beyond peculiar.

Nothing has gone missing? I asked.

Due to all the scrap metal in the junkyard, I’d been starting to suspect we were up against gremlins. I’d never dealt with the pests myself, but from what I’d heard they were one of the very few fae races that could handle iron. Some people claimed they even had a love for technology, or at least the airplane engines of the early twentieth century. More than one