CHAPTER 11

"A dullahan?" Mike frowned. "I'm afraid I don't know the term."

"I'm yer friendly headless horseman, lad." The dullahan still held his own head in one hand, and was now swinging it back and forth like a macabre pendulum. "My job is similar to a banshees in that I deal with dead spirits, though I usually cut a more dashing figure on my horse. So I guess I'm technically just headless." The grin on his face was impossibly wide, his lips stretched nearly to his ears.

"I want to speak to the faerie queen, right now, please." Mike crossed his arms and stared down the dullahan. "How do I make that happen?"

"You certainly are an anxious sort." Sulyvahn swung his head in a circle and released it into the air. His body stepped forward and his head landed on his shoulders with a thud, scattering the inky mist in a perfect circle, much like a smoke ring. "In regards to Her Majesty, I can say without reasonable doubt that she has no interest in speaking with ye."

"Oh, really?" Mike stepped closer. "And how do you know that?"

Sulyvahn's grin faded. "Not puttin' yer best foot forward now, are ye lad? The queen has very little liking for your lot, humans to be specific, but she's a particular dislike of you. Says you sullied one of her own, and she sent me 'cause she has it on good authority you have no interest in seducing menfolk. Believes ye used some kinda dark magic to seduce our Cecilia. But no disrespect meant, just telling you what I've been told."

"Wait, hold up." Beth stepped forward, a grin plastered on her face. "The reason she sent you was so that Mike wouldn't sleep with you?"

"There's no shortage of banshees in the fae realm looking for work, lass, and many would be happy to come here. The mortal world isn't a friendly place for our kind these days, so when I was offered the position, I gladly accepted. Thought it could be fun to visit with the living and do something different for a bit, I'm less shy than my sisters are. As for an audience with the queen, I'm afraid my abilities are limited to patrolling the grounds and making sure you are sent proper to your final rewards."

"So you won't help me?" Mike lowered his arms.

"I see no desire to anger the queen on account of a man I just met, nothing personal. I've only been here a minute, and already yer asking me to bend the rules." Sulyvahn tilted his head to one side, causing the skin on his neck to split and spill out some more black smoke. "Not that I mind a little rule bending, but the queen is not one to be trifled with, and I'd like to be allowed to stick around."

Mike let out a sigh. He needed a different approach. "You know what? You're right. Feel free to have a look around. Don't mind the centaurs if they show up, they're friendly and tend to the grounds. Oh, and don't sit on the swing. It might break under you." It was a lie, but he couldn't bear to see Cecilia's replacement in her favorite spot.

"There's a lad." Sulyvahn patted Mike on the shoulder. "I appreciate the hospitality."

"You're welcome. Good night, Sulyvahn." Mike walked past the others and into the house. The others took a moment to greet the dullahan one at a time before filing back into the living room where Mike waited.

"So what's the plan?" Beth asked. "There's no way you would have backed down so easily unless you had one."

Mike smirked. The lawyer knew him all too well. "I don't trust the dullahan, not yet, anyway, but we don't need him. He's already given us the most important piece of information that he can."

"Like that Cecilia is with the faerie queen?" Beth raised an eyebrow.

"You got it." Mike looked at Reggie. "Odds that your rats can chew a portal into the faerie realm?"

"Hmm." Reggie's whiskers twitched. "We would need more information about where we were going, but perhaps."

"Okay, then, information is good, and I think I know a place." He winked at Sofia. "But we need to keep in mind that Sulyvahn may be an agent of the faerie queen. I don't get the impression he's here to harm us, but I also don't want to clue him in on what we might be doing. For now, the plan is to gain an audience with the queen and negotiate Cecilia's release. Until then, can I get someone to keep an eye on our guest?"

"I'd be happy to," Beth volunteered. "I have a way with people."

"I know you do." Mike fought the grin on his face. "However, make sure you're ready to go when we find a way to... whatever it is we're going to do. I would like your help with the queen. You're a much better diplomat than I am."

"I can do that." She winked and walked outside.

"Well, then." Mike turned to look at the others. "What do you say? Who wants to look through some books with me?"

--

Death looked up at them when they came into the office. Sofia stood behind Mike, and Tink had joined them. Reggie scampered in a few seconds later after speaking with one of his lieutenants.

"Mike Radley. You have brought odd company this night." Death sipped his tea.

"Sorry, Death, we aren't here for a visit. Got some house business, we're just passing through." Mike looked at the bookshelf behind the specter and grabbed the red book from the bottom. "Are we all ready?"

The others crowded in, and he searched for the right location on the shelf. Spotting the magic symbol, he slid the book home and the world transformed like a turning page. They now stood in a large chamber with impossibly high ceilings supported by massive columns. Not only did the columns contain entire rooms full of books, but each column was connected to the others with an intricate set of multi-story bridges that also doubled as book storage. Access to these stacks was nearly impossible from the ground without magical assistance of some sort, and Sofia had once warned Mike that she would occasionally find the skeleton of some poor soul who had snuck in and gotten lost before starving to death.

Sofia picked up her staff and tapped it on the ground. "I have a few reference sections we can check, but a lot of it is written in other languages."

"We'll make it work."

"Indeed." When Death spoke, Mike jumped. He turned around to see that Death had come with them into the Library. The reaper held a long tube that undoubtedly held the map he had been looking at earlier.

"Here." Sofia pulled the tube out of Death's hands. "I'll get this put back."

"Thank you, Sofia."

"He says thanks," Mike repeated, knowing she couldn't see or hear him. Once she had taken the tube from his hands, she had no idea where he was.

"Anytime." Sofia stared into the distance, waiting. Eventually a large floating carpet arrived, and they all climbed on. It lifted them up into the air and proceeded through the Library on a preset course.

"It would be best if we split up," Sofia explained several minutes later when the carpet landed on a platform four stories in the air. There was a hanging lantern by the entrance, and Sofia tapped it with her staff. The lantern filled with light, and she lifted it up and handed it to Tink.

"Follow the light," she told the goblin. "It will lead you to a group of books about the fae."

"Tink got it." The goblin slid her goggles over her eyes and took the lantern. The ball of light flew out of it and hovered several feet ahead of the goblin, leading her into the stacks. Reggie followed behind her, and their shadows disappeared between a pair of shelves just as the carpet lifted off again.

"You okay?" Sofia asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah." Mike realized that he stood with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. "I'm just ready to go get her back is all. I've been so worried, and now I'm concerned about this faerie queen person. I'm wondering how much ass we're going to have to kick, and I'll admit that I'm kind of working myself up." It also didn't help that he was tired. He had been planning to go to bed early and catch up on some sleep.

"Yeah, well, you need to keep a clear head and really think this situation through. How many times has everything gone to hell because you've jumped before looking?"

"I mean... I don't keep count." Mike frowned. "If it was you being held captive, I'd still approach it the same way."

"Maybe." Sofia turned away from him, her gaze on the distant columns. Her thick braid bounced around on her shoulders. "But I would still want the same thing from you. Don't just rush in. Think before you do, or speak. In the span of half an hour, you're now ready to take on a being of immense power, the queen of the fae, because you aren't happy with a decision she's made regarding one of her subjects. This isn't a problem you can just fuck or blow up."

He shrugged. "We don't know that."

"Well, I do. I'm no expert on the faerie queen, but I've heard plenty of stories. Fae music alone is greatly feared, and do you know why? You hear it once and it gets stuck in your ear forever, or you wander into their realm and never return. What if you go to the queen's court, and decide you never want to come back?"

"Is that what you're afraid of? That I may never come back?" A smirk crossed his lips. "Would you miss me?"

"You're not funny, Caretaker, nor are you taking this as seriously as you should be. There's a reason mortals have few stories about faerie kind that end well, and I don't want you joining that other number." The carpet came to a stop and she tapped on the lantern there. "These are books about dealings with the fae. Feel free to skim through them to get a better understanding of what I'm telling you. I know that you're doing this to help a friend, but think of the friends you might leave behind when you do so." She passed the glowing lantern to Mike. "Actually have a plan this time. Your usual tactics won't work here."

"You mean getting lucky at the last second?" He wanted to hear her response, but the ball of light burst out of the lantern and he had to chase it to keep up. The Library wasn't intended for casual browsing by visitors, and he was soon buried deep within the stacks, his eyes on the little glowing ball of light. It finally settled at the end of one of the rows, and then leapt back into his lantern.

"Hmm." He held up the lamp and scrutinized the covers of the books. They were written in another language, but under the lamp's light, the words swam in front of him and reformed into English. Sofia alone could activate the lamps, it was just one of her many abilities as the Librarian, and he was grateful for the magical translation. The moving letters did make him feel a little motion sick though.

"There are no maps here," Death said, and Mike jumped, nearly banging his head on the shelf above.

"Shit, I didn't realize you followed me!" He put a hand on his chest and tried to catch his breath. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"I did no such thing. I didn't wish to get left behind, so I rode with you." Death knelt down and gazed at one of the books. "I must admit I have contemplated learning to read."

"You don't know how to read?"

"The grim reaper has no need for books." Death slid a large tome out and opened it up. "Nor has there been any time for it."