Page 98 of What Fools These Immortals Be
“What about us?”
“Are you together?”
“No.”
His eyes flick over to me. “Huh.”
“Why do you ask?”
Sam shrugs. “Seems like it would take a lot to lose a fae blessing. The Hunt is… Well, everyone knows. Everyoneusedto know. You don’t just get kicked out.”
No. I don’t know of anyone else it has happened to. We have lost a hunter here or there over the years, but even those are rare occurrences, what with how powerful we are.
“I cannot divide my attention,” I say. “I serve the Hunt.”
“Served.”
“Yes.”
We fall into silence again until the doors open and Spectra walks back outside, followed by a very reluctant-looking Sparrow.
“I’m sorry,” Sam says, and I frown at him. Does he mean Sparrow’s attitude? I’ve certainly dealt with worse before. “About your magic,” he clarifies, clearly reading the look on my face.
“Thank you.”
Sparrow scowls when they’re standing before me, crossing their arms over their narrow chest. “This is a bad idea,” they say, and I don’t argue because it is not as though they are wrong.
“It is,” I reply instead, giving them a smile I don’t feel. “But it’s the only one we’ve got.”
We head back to The Green Man, the pub where the two gancanagh were trying to lure Njáll outside. Sparrow pauses before we reach the door, staring up at the sign.
“This place is a shithole,” they say. “Your vampire came here before?”
“Yeah,” I reply. I didn’t know that, about this place. I came here the night Njáll did simply because Vlad told me I could speak with the fae here.
Sparrow lets out a dramatic sigh and rolls their lined eyes. “Comeon, then,” they say and push past me to make their way inside.
Instinct has me irritated, ready to push ahead, but when they glance back at me, I remember that I’m no longer in possession of my magic, and they actuallymayhave the advantage here.The thought vanishes when we walk inside, and I try to make out shapes in the shadowy, smoky space.
“We need to find out if he came here,” I say, and Sparrow nods sharply, but they don’t reply. They are cataloguing everyone too, glamour wobbling for a second, revealing eyes that are big and dark.
“Get a drink,” they say, gaze zeroing in on a fae in the corner. “For both of us. Then meet me.”
I grit my teeth—I don’t like this—but do as I’m told. Only the fact that this might get me to Njáll faster has me moving, and I order two whiskeys because I’m not even going to pretend to drink beer. The bartender watches me with no little suspicion, and when I realise there are other eyes on me, I feel, for the first time in a long time, the slightest trickle of fear.
Sparrow is finished with their conversation by the time I carry our drinks over. They are sitting next to a kelpie, rare in these parts, who looks me over with interest.
“I could have much use for him,” the kelpie says, but Sparrow shakes their head, plucking one of the glasses from my hand.
“No,” they reply, voice firm.
I hardly noticed their power when compared to Spectra’s, and I can’t feel it now, but there’s something in the way the kelpie ducks their head that has me frowning. Sparrow is more powerful than I thought, maybe, which is most likely why Spectra sent them with me.
“This vampire you’re looking for, then,” the kelpie says. She kicks out the chair opposite her and when she gives me a significant look, I sit down. Her smile widens.
Sparrow frowns. “What of him?”
“I know who took him, but you won’t find him.”
