Ghost Light

People were huddled in front of our office.  Some were wringing their hands, others were crying or comforting the more distraught, but they all had one thing in common.  Every one of the distraught clients was fae.  That was unusual.  We had a booming supernatural clientele since our role in finding Ceff and stopping the each uisge invasion of Harborsmouth, but fae, with the exception of pixies and pookas, tend not to gather in large groups.  A mob made up entirely of fae was odd.

What the hell was going on?

“Excuse me,” I said, approaching the crowd.  “Please form an orderly line.  I promise that we will meet with every one of you as soon as we can.”

As soon as the gathered faeries realized who I was, they pushed forward, all talking at once.  I lunged to the side, dodging grasping hands and pleading voices.  I held up my hands, letting the sleeves of my jacket slide down to reveal the silver and iron of my blades.

“Stop!”  I yelled.  “I can’t help you like this.”  Which wasn’t a lie.  If they all touched me at once, I was likely to end up a gibbering mess for days.  “Please form a line at the door and wait your turn.  I promise to do my best to help all of you.”

I swallowed hard and held my breath, waiting to see if they’d listen.  I wanted to run away and wait for the crowd to disperse, less chance of unwanted visions that way, but I didn’t want to leave Jinx alone with this mess.  I had no idea what had worked these fae into such frenzy, but whatever was going on it had to be bad.  I crossed my arms and waited.

A few fae bared their teeth, but they all stepped back and formed a line that stretched around the block.  It was then, as I examined the long line, that I noticed the items clutched in hands, tentacles, mouths, and paws.  Every fae held a child’s toy, blanket, or piece of clothing.

Mab’s bones, I had a bad feeling about this.

With the weight of each red-rimmed eye on me, I cleared my throat and strode to the office door.  I fumbled for my keys with shaking fingers, but Jinx came to my rescue.  She opened the door and hurried me inside.

“Sorry, I told them to wait outside and not to touch you,” she said.

Jinx looked pale, but she had showered and dressed in a clean, black and red, floral halter dress before coming to the office.  The place smelled faintly of air freshener, but I avoided taking a deep breath.  I pressed a hand to my mouth and stifled a sigh.  Running the gauntlet of clients had left my stomach unsettled.  If I smelled the underlying scent of vomit hiding below the air freshener, I’d probably foul my own wastebasket.

I dropped into the client chair facing Jinx’s desk, keeping the faces of anxious fae at my back.

“Do you know why they’re here?” I asked, hooking a thumb over my shoulder.

The phone rang, but Jinx let it go to voicemail.  She pulled her eyes away from the blinking phone lines and chewed a ruby red lip.

“Yeah,” she said, voice a whisper.  Jinx cleared her throat and met my gaze.  My partner didn’t just look hung over, she looked haunted.  “They are here because their children have gone missing.”

“Wait,” I said, gripping the arms of my chair with gloved hands.  “You’re saying that they are all parents of kidnapped kids?”

Jinx nodded.

“Dude, someone took them all,” she said, voice shaking.  “All in one night.  These faerie kids were safe in their beds and then, poof, they were gone.  How is that even freaking possible?”

I’d heard of faeries stealing human children from their beds, but not the other way around.  A mass kidnapping of faerie children didn’t make any sense.

“And the clients on the phone?” I asked.

“More children missing from their homes,” she said.  “I asked the parents to bring something from their kid’s room, something for you to touch.  The ones outside are the first to show up.  They came faster than I expected.”

I closed my eyes, dizziness making the room spin.  Stress and fatigue were catching up with me.  Jinx sucked in a breath and my eyes sprung open to see what was wrong now.  I hoped whatever it was could wait.  I couldn’t face much more without a strong cup of coffee.  I looked down at my wrist and sighed.  The reason for her gasp was evident by the glow rising from my skin.

“Crap, I don’t have time for this,” I said.

“You didn’t eat anything today,” she said.  Jinx tapped a long, red fingernail on her desk blotter and gave me the stink-eye.  Tap, tap, tap.  “You didn’t sleep last night, either.”

It wasn’t a question, but I answered anyway.

“Nope,” I said.  I released my grip on the chair, pushed hair from my face, and pulled it into a messy bun.  “Ceff’s bringing food, sleep will have to wait.”

There would be no chance for sleep until I’d interviewed every last parent standing outside my office.  I glanced out the window and sighed.  The crowd of fae wasn’t getting any smaller.