“There had to be leftover magic,” I quietly said. “The delusions were created by magic, and they didn’t set off the wards.”
“But I was so careful.” She reached out, took Catcher’s arm. “We were so careful. We did everything right.”
I could feel her ire rising, watched her work to control it. Muttering to herself, Mallory walked to the gate, shoes scuffing through the snow, then back again.
“We nailed her alchemy,” she said, pointing at each of us in turn. “Nailed it to the wall. But maybe, while we were on the roof, she snuck in some kind of hidden code. A worm or Trojan horse she added at the last minute, something we couldn’t detect . . .
“Oh my God!” she said, and thumped her palm against her forehead. “It’s so obvious. So freaking obvious.” She looked at Catcher. “That’s why our spells got stuck—why her magic blue-screened. Because of her little magical Trojan horse. We unwrapped the alchemy, but instead of the magic disseminating across the city, there’s—what?—a fog of it stuck here?” She looked at Claudia, who merely inclined her head.
“Why can’t we feel that magic?” Ethan asked. “The buzz?”
“Because it’s spread over a large area,” Mallory said. “Not strong enough to feel, but still there. Still waiting.”
“And the wards were created after Towerline,” Catcher said, nodding as the pieces fell into place for him. “After the magic had been released. That was the baseline the wards were created against. Only new magic by Sorcha above that baseline would trigger them.”
I looked at Claudia, considered the glow of her skin, her new green-land visitation rights. “You’ve been affected by that magic.”
She didn’t bother to look at me, but kept her gaze on Mallory. “My tower is magicked; it’s how I stay here, and alive. I suspect it has absorbed that power, and I have reaped the benefits.”
“And the delusions?” Ethan asked.
“Maybe the magic settled in pockets,” Catcher said. “Jeff has confirmed all the humans who fought us last night were near Towerline when the battle went down. And two dozen more—humans and sups—have been arrested in sporadic outbreaks, most of which have been downtown.”
“This land is poised at a precipice,” Claudia said. “Whether it falls or not I cannot see; that will be for you to determine, your battle to win.
“Win it,” she said, and with that final demand, she turned and walked through her lines of fairies, who’d stood motionless in the snow for so long that flakes had gathered on their shoulders. They gathered behind her like a train, then disappeared down the walk and through the gate, steps fading into silence.
“Take the House off alert,” Ethan said. “For now.”
Luc nodded to Juliet, who headed to the basement to make the arrangements.
“Was it real?” he asked quietly, stepping beside Ethan. Luc wasn’t the type to have reservations. “Were we there?”
“She took us to the green land,” Ethan explained.
Mallory’s brow lifted with interest. “Really.”
“The green land isn’t part of our world,” Ethan told Luc, putting a supportive hand on his shoulder. “But it’s as real as anything in it.”
Luc ran a hand through his hair. “I’d have stayed forever. She could have dropped me off and walked away, and I would have stayed a million years and never wanted anything else.”
“That is the power of fairy,” Ethan said. “There’s a reason fairy tales exist. They are not love stories; they are warnings.”
“If she keeps enough magic to visit the green land,” Catcher said, “she’ll change supernatural power dynamics across the world.”
“If she gets the opportunity, she’ll use it against us,” Ethan agreed. “But for now, we must deal with the present.” He cocked his head at Catcher. “Did you come here to help?”
“And to research,” Mallory said. “I wanted to borrow your library, do some research on the magic we’re seeing. Maybe it will ring some historical bell.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Or historical Bell?”
“Naming pun,” Catcher said dryly. “Very clever.”
“And here’s something else clever,” I said. Seth’s suggestion—and Claudia’s visit—had given me an idea. “I think we should go to the source.”
“Meaning?” Ethan asked.
I looked at Mallory. “This started with a voice. I think it’s time we take a listen of our own.”