CHAPTER 93

"Hey, can I borrow that thing?" Kisa asked.

"Yes. I believe it is your turn." Death handed her the stereoscope, then turned his attention to the window.

She slid the new photograph into the stereoscope and then looked through the lenses. The three dimensional effect was immediate, and she looked at the group of men who were clearly celebrating in front of a wall that had been torn down. Inside, torches illuminated what appeared to be a large sarcophagus in the middle of the room. Treasure was piled along the sides of the room, and hieroglyphs were painted on every available surface.

Like magic, the torches appeared to flicker in place. Kisa held her breath as the shadows on the picture moved in time with the torches, and then the image moved in slow motion. It sped up gradually, and the silent revelers toasted each other and waved, then beckoned for the cameraman to come join them.

A woman stepped in front of the camera. She had long, blonde curls that poked out beneath her explorer's helmet, and she took one of the offered glasses and then turned toward the camera and gave a mock salute with the drink before slamming half of it. The men in the room were enamored with her, and they practically scrambled over each other to interact with her. There was no sound, so Kisa had no idea what was being said, but when the blonde looked directly into the camera, a long, low growl came from Kisa's throat.

"Are you okay?" Death asked.

"No," she replied, anger blooming deep in her gut. She knew this woman, but didn't know her name. She ripped the photograph out of the stereoscope and handed it to Death. "Do you know who this is?"

"Hmm?" He took the picture from her. "I am familiar with all of these men, actually. They died quite some time ago."

"Not them. Her." She stood on her tiptoes to point to the woman, but the picture had reverted to its original state. "Wait, where did she go?"

"I don't see anybody—oh! Oh ho ho!" Death practically dropped the stereoscope and rushed to the window. He pressed his long, bony fingers to the glass and tapped them in excitement.

"What are you talking about?" She followed his gaze and froze in shock at what she saw happening in the front yard.

Beth followed Sulyvahn away from the house and into the hedge maze. The aroma of flowers filled the air, and a small cluster of bees buzzed through the northeastern quadrant, their bodies laden with thick pollen.

"I'm surprised to see the bees are still around," Beth said. Outside of the property line, the weather in the neighborhood was chilly, and she wondered where the bees had come from.

"Oh, these belong to the centaurs. They lured in a queen shortly after moving here, they did, and now they be cultivating a hive," Sulyvahn told her.

"Where is the hive at?"

"With them. Here." He knelt down and pointed to a small wooden box hidden in the bushes. It was roughly the size of a deck of cards and had a pair of tiny holes in it. "The rats helped. Chewed a tiny little hole in the back. The bees be living in the greenhouse and can come here for pollen."

"Ingenious. I don't know that I would have thought to do that."

"Their chief be both wicked smart and a right beauty." He stood and picked up his bucket. "They mean to make a go at establishing their tribe in the greenhouse. She be wanting pollinators working full time for them, on account of all the food they want to make. They already be planting flowers on their side, and hope to harvest the seeds. Someone they have o'er there has plans to make hybrids of the lot."

"Interesting." She couldn't help but notice the small smile in the corner of his mouth. "You sure seem to know a lot about this stuff."

"I dinna have anyone to talk to, really. Ye and yer lot have been locked away, but the centaurs be friendly enough. Learned a lot from them, I have." He led her further into the maze and stopped at a large rose bush that was attempting to take over a small shrub.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Mike really didn't trust you."

"He dinna have a reason to. We'd only just met." Sulyvahn snipped away at the thicker vines that were attempting to strangle out the shrub.

"Even so...I'm sorry."

He smiled again, the skin around his eyes crinkling.

"So how did you get picked for this job?" she asked. "I mean, was it because you're Cecilia's brother?"

"In a way." He paused what he was doing and looked into her eyes. "Ye see, there be a special bond between a dullahan and his banshee. Unintended consequence of using wild magic and all that. I've heard rumors that mortal twins experience it, being able to feel one another across a distance. Sometimes I can feel what me sister feels, in regards to her emotions in her heart."

"Can you feel her now?" Beth asked.

He frowned. "It's hard. She be in the realm right now, so I be only getting glimpses, ye understand. Mainly I feel loneliness, but she be accustomed to it. She spent many years in this place in such a manner, just waiting for each Caretaker to pass."

"She was lonely here?"

He nodded. "Banshees are accustomed to loneliness, as are dullahan. We aren't exactly harbingers of happiness, are we? She were a constant reminder that mortality comes for us all, and she were largely ignored other than the occasional visit.

"But something changed with this last fellow. Something he said or did captured her attention right away, and I could tell right away that he be special to her."

"Is that why you came? To find out more about Mike?"

Sulyvahn clipped a couple more vines off and tossed them into his bucket. "In a manner o' speakin'. The fae and the human realm aren't quite on the good terms they used to be. On top o' the old ways being lost, there be no shortage of disrespect. Our worlds overlap, you see lass, and the things that people do end up affecting our queen's borders."