Free changeling chronicles 03 - faerie realm by emma l adams

floor seemed so close. The woman walked on all fours, making the figure approaching appear tall enough to blot out the full moon.
    The green light grew brighter. Then a torrent rushed towards me like a bullet, and everything went black.
    I blinked back into my own body. Well. That was instructive. I hadn’t got a close look at the killer, but of course it was someone with faerie magic.
    First, I cleaned up the spell circle’s remains, leaving no traces. Using a person’s blood in this way was technically a form of necromancy, but the necromancers themselves never dabbled in crime investigation. They preferred to have long uninteresting chats with their ancient masters over the veil, and avoid any real-world responsibilities at all… wait a minute.
    Crap. Of all the times to get myself excluded by the necromancer guild. They might have actually been able to call up the shifter’s ghost to ask her who the killer was. Here, away from the Ley Line, the level of spiritual interference was low enough that ghosts could be called back from Death without triggering the apocalypse.
    I sure as hell wouldn’t try a summoning circle myself. I didn’t have the right equipment, for a start, and I’d had enough close calls with death already. Maybe Vance or one of the other mages would be able to make Lord Evander listen to reason.
    My phone buzzed in my pocket. Oh, crap. I’d misjudged the time. My date with Vance was in less than two hours.
    His deep voice sounded in my ear. “What’ve you done now?”
    “Nothing,” I said guiltily, deciding to play it safe and not mention my little excursion. “I heard from Henry—you know, my neighbour—that someone left the shifters’ gate unlocked last night. You might want to send someone to patrol around the area.”
    “Did they find the missing shifter?”
    Damn. He knew? “Yes. She’s dead, horribly. A half-faerie did it, but nobody knows who.”
    Guilt choked me, urged me to explain what I’d found. But if he came over here, the shifters would turn on both of us and it’d be doubly hard to find out who’d done it. Confronting them wouldn’t help, especially now they were enraged. We’d come back and question the shifters when they were in a more peaceable mood.
    “I’ll ask one of my mages to have a look. Don’t go there alone.”
    I chewed on my lip. I’d sworn to stop lying to him, if just because it wasn’t a healthy way to start our relationship. “Already went there. I’m on the way home. Nobody saw me.”
    “Ivy.” He spoke my name like a command, somehow conveying both concern and exasperation.
    “I’m not the one who’s lying dead by shifter territory, Vance. I’m fine.” I checked behind me just in case, but to most people, I was the scary person lurking in the alley with a sword. “I’ll tell you everything when I’m home.”
    “I want you to be safe. That’s all.”
    I melted a little. “Yeah, I got it. Just you know. Independent by necessity here. I pay my bills by poking around.”
    “You don’t need to do that anymore.”
    “Maybe I do,” I muttered. “Can the necromancers come and call up the shifter’s spirit? It’d be the easiest way to find out who the killer was.”
    “They can, but they won’t. The shifters will never allow it.”
    I growled in frustration. “For crying out loud.” I pulled the phone away from my ear. Someone rounded the corner, heading right for me. Susie.
    “Call you back,” I whispered quickly, and ducked out of sight.
    Susie passed by the alley, stopping beside where I stood. She wore the expression she did when she was sniffing out for someone, but a second later, she resumed walking again. I breathed out, waited thirty seconds, then returned to the street, putting enough space between us so she wouldn’t smell me. I’d need to take off my disguise first, but this was my chance to reason with her, and Henry. Once we were back at the flat, at least.
    I kept my distance, watching her heels beat