Whoever she was, whatever she was, no longer mattered. The only thing that I cared about was that Roman said she could help.

On the fourth ring she answered, her voice creaky like bare tree limbs rubbing together on a cold autumn night. “Menol y, so you now cal me?”

“Ivana Krask?”

“Yes, my dear. I’ve been waiting for your cal .”

“How did you know it was me?”

“Cal er ID, my dear. That and I don’t get many cal s. Not in many years.”

“Oh right . . . but you sounded like you were expecting my cal .” Suspicion was my right-hand man and I wasn’t about to let him run away.

Ivana laughed. “Roman cal ed me, dear, and told me to mind my p’s and q’s with you. So I shal .”

But even through the promise of her words, I heard something I hadn’t in a long, long, time. The sound of Elder Fae blood that hearkened back through thousands of years. The Elder Fae, the Wild Fae, were far more primal than Fae like Bluebel , a dryad now living on Smoky’s land, and more feral than Wisteria, the floraed we’d captured and final y managed to kil after she escaped from Queen Asteria.

Just by the tone of her voice I knew she was one of the Elders, the creatures from legend and lore that were so far from human nature they could never assimilate within the modern world: the Bog Man and Black Annis, the Bean Sidhe and Iron Jack. And Horse-Trol and Sleeping Uncle, the Washer Woman and the Flower Maiden . . . al throw-backs to a time in history when my father’s people had been living in smal vil ages and humans were just a blip on the map.

The Elder Fae hadn’t died out, but they were increasingly relegated to smal er areas, to high mountains and distant swamps and crumbling old castles and streams high in the mountains. But even though they were retreating in the face of the modern world, they were far, far more powerful and terrifying than most FBHs ever dreamed.

And Ivana Krask, whatever she might be, held the energy of the Elder Fae in her voice.

“I want to strike a bargain.”

“Roman mentioned you might. I might fancy a plump child or two to whet my appetite—it’s been so long since I’ve had bright flesh, you know.” She broke into a weathered laugh. “But to strike the bargain, we must meet. I make no deals over the phone. I wil see you first.”

Steeling my nerves—I was afraid of few things, but Ivana Krask was apparently one of them—I agreed to meet her. She set the place in Cedar Fal s Park, on the edge of Bel es-Faire, in an hour. I hung up, wondering what the fuck I was getting myself into.

Cedar Fal s Park was a welcome relief from the park in the Greenbelt Park District where I’d found the body. There was no sense, that I could notice, of ghosts or spirits here. Or if there were, they were keeping their mists to themselves. I found the bench that Ivana had indicated and gingerly sat on the edge, brushing the snow away.

As I waited, listening to the soft hoot of an owl cal ing through the trees, I had the feeling something was watching me. I slowly turned just in time to see a faint shadow on the edge of the tree line. I waited—no way in hel was I headed into the woods to meet one of the Elder Fae. She could come to me.

And then, the figure began to move. At first, I thought she was hunched over, some old woman beneath a bonnet and shawl and a crazy-ass patterned dress, with a basket on her arm. But the shadow blinked and was five feet closer. Only now she stood erect, and I could only see a dark cloak surrounding her shoulders. Another blink and a swirl of colors, a sickly green and dark purple, shimmered within the silhouette. Blink. She moved twenty feet without me noticing. As if we were in some movie filmed back in the days before the talkies, she jerked toward me.

Blink. She was beside me.

Slowly, I stood and stared at the woman. She was squat. My height at best, but I had the feeling her real height was far tal er. I gazed at the bony hand that reached out from the depths of the cloak and merely nodded. Not such a good idea to shake hands. She could claim I’d made a silent deal. The Elder Fae were bril iant about manipulating oaths and vows.

“Ivana Krask?”

“One and the same.” She pushed back the hood of the cloak and I gasped. Truly, Elder Fae.

Her face was distorted—or at least by my view. Terribly wide at the eyes, it narrowed to a sharp point at the chin. Gnarls dotted her face and neck, like old knots on trees, only created from flesh.

Her features were almost flat—her nose a pale little bump in the middle of her face. Wide anime eyes reminded me of the Cheshire Cat. Her lips were thin, almost non-existent, and when she smiled, bone-sharp teeth, like polished arrowheads, gleamed in a long row across her upper and lower gums. The woman could probably chew through metal with that set of choppers.

She cocked her head to one side, so much like an owl that I felt like a mouse hiding in the grass.

“Vampyr?”

She didn’t seem to be talking to me but reached out and put one long, jointed finger against my arm, then pushed. Hard. A shot of electricity raced through me—unpleasant, to say the least.

“Vampyr.” She seemed satisfied.

“Youch! What did you . . .” I stopped myself. It was not wise to ask unnecessary questions of the Elder Fae, that much I knew from my school days. And why she was shooting energy bolts through me wasn’t of particular interest right now, not unless it promised to prove fatal. “Ivana Krask, I presume.” No questions, just statements.

“Ivana Krask.” She tipped her head to the side again, and the owl I’d heard earlier flew down to land on her shoulder. “I am the Maiden of Karask. What do you want from me?”

Of course! The Maiden of Karask was one of the Elder Fae. She was famous for eating children, luring men to their grisly deaths on the moors, and turning young maids into old hags, but she had one other power that forced its way up from my memory.

The Maiden of Karask was able to vanquish old, powerful spirits. She could move them as wel , dislodging them from one dwel ing to take them to another distant haunt. In days long past, vil ages had offered up sacrifices of young children to her when they had a problem due to ghosts and spirits.

Now, I understood why Roman had put me in touch with her, but I’d have to be very, very careful.

One wrong slip, one misstep in word choice, could be deadly. And it would be a fight to get her to accept prime rib in place of bright meat, as she put it. I also now understood why Roman had warned me never to say thank you to her. It would bind me to her—the Elder Fae considered thank you to be a pledge of debt, even if the bargain had been struck and met.

I sucked in a deep breath. “I have spirits that need dispel ing. I offer you ten pounds of prime beef for one house, twenty pounds if you clear two spots. But there is to be no eating of any bright meat in the area, do you understand? No capturing, no eating, no maiming, no hurting, no claiming. Bright meat is off limits. The beef wil be tender and sweet, however.”

The Maiden of Karask stared at me, her eyes flickering, her irises round and yel ow in the wide curved white that glistened under the stars. She hissed, and the owl on her shoulder hissed. “No, I must have bright meat. It has been too long.”

“The world has changed, old woman. You cannot steal bright meat from humans or Fae or elves.

It is no longer the way, and you must change with it.”

“No—change the world may, but not the Maiden of Karask. I am Elder! I am beyond the rules.”

She straightened her shoulders, and I knew I’d better not argue the point with her or I’d be on her plate.

“Barring discussion. Back to the deal. Ten pounds of prime beef for one clearing. Twenty pounds of prime beef for a second. Are you wil ing to strike the bargain?” I crossed my arms and let my fangs descend to remind her she wasn’t dealing with any ordinary FBH or Fae.

Her eyes glistened with tears, tears I knew better than to trust. “You are harsh, dead girl. You are cruel. How can I keep my powers without the sweet, succulent meat I love so wel ? I am ancient past old and you would deny me my sustenance? Cruel you are, and vicious.”

“Perhaps I am, but this is my truth: Again, I offer: ten pounds of prime beef for one clearing.

Twenty pounds of prime beef for a second. Do we bargain?”

I gazed into those ancient, otherworldly eyes, wondering how long the Elder Fae would continue to accept the modern era. How long before they’d band together and drive their brutal natures through the lands again. They stil had their strength, and if they ever chose to work aligned, they could be bril iant and deadly in a way that creatures like my vampire serial kil er could only dream of.

But this was not to be the day. Ivana Krask inclined her head, and her owl mirrored the movement. “So wil it be. Twenty pounds of raw prime beef for two clearings. Where shal I meet you?”

I gave her the address of the deserted diner. “Here is the first place. I wil meet you there within the hour with your beef. Ten pounds to start, ten pounds when you finish clearing the second spot.”

She let out another hiss and twisted in a way that reminded me uncomfortably of a bug or a spider attempting to get a better view of me. After a moment she held up one hand, and I gingerly pressed my own against it.

“We have a bargain, Vampyr. Now go, and don’t be late or I take it in trade. And since I have never tasted vampire flesh before, it would be a new experience to which I would not be averse.”

And with that, she retreated into the shadows, and I hustled off to QFC—a regional grocery store chain—and soon my shopping cart was fil ed with twenty pounds on the nose of prime beef. One pound over and the Maiden of Karask would be offended. One pound less and she’d take it out of my skin.

Adding a couple extra pounds, wrapped separately, just in case they’d measured wrong, I carried the bags back to my Jag, wondering just what the hel I was thinking. But I didn’t want anybody else in danger, and I wasn’t about to let Delilah or Camil e come with me. As I headed toward the Greenbelt Park District, I realized that my life had become one freak show event after another.

Strangely, I somehow didn’t mind it so much.

CHAPTER 15

I sat in my Jag, across the street from the diner, staring at the darkened building on an even darker block. I real y didn’t want to go back in there. I didn’t want to meet Ivana Krask. I especial y didn’t want to go meet Ivana Krask in the diner. The concept of heading into the dark where we knew there were hostile, hard-to-eradicate ghosts with one of the Elder Fae by my side wasn’t my idea of a party. When I saw her scuttling down the street, I pul ed out my cel phone and cal ed Roman.

“Listen, I’m headed in to meet Ivana and take care of some of these freak-ass spirits. If I don’t check back with you in two hours, cal my home and tel them where I went and who I went with.”

I was grumpy. I hated feeling nervous, but this was a pretty gruesome situation, which was why I was doing it on my own. Camil e and Delilah would have my butt, but they’d be safe from both the ghosts and Ivana. And I wasn’t sure which was more dangerous.

I hauled ass out of the car and retrieved the grocery bags from the backseat. Carrying twenty pounds of beef was like carrying a feather for me as I crossed the street. A light touch on my cheek made me look up, and I saw that the snow had started to fal again—a light dusting that drifted down like powdered sugar on a gingerbread cake.

Ivana was standing in front of the diner, staring at it. As I approached, she held up one hand and I stopped, waiting til she turned her head first one way, then the other. After she’d listened for a few moments, she motioned me over.

“You have my payment?” She swiveled her head, staring at the bags. The tiny bump of a nose on her face twitched.

“Yes, twenty pounds of prime rib here.” I set down the bags and stepped back. “You get ten of it now, then the other ten after you finish the work.”

Ivana leaned over and lifted the bags, her sharp little teeth nipping at her lips. After a moment she grunted, sounding almost disappointed. “It is here. The bargain is sealed. Show me the spirits, girl.”

I held up one hand. “Wait.” And ran the second ten pounds back over to my Jag. I didn’t trust her, bargain or not. The Elder Fae knew how to twist words in uncannily astute ways.

When I returned, I walked past her to the diner. “Can you clear the spirits from this place? This is the first task.” As I yanked the freshly boarded-up door open, a soft yawn echoed from within. The ghosts were waiting. I could feel them circling within.

Ivana gazed at the open mouth of the building, and then with a deep laugh, she motioned for me to fol ow her. “Come, Vampyr. You wil perhaps learn a thing or two. Time to earn my meat.”

We entered the building and I could have sworn I heard a rumble from deep in the basement. I wished Camil e and Morio were here. Or Smoky. Smoky would be good. Not much could affect my dragon brother-in-law, and I could trust him. Unlike the freak show in front of me right now.

My feet made no sounds, but Ivana, three steps ahead of me, was stomping across the floor as if she owned the joint. She muttered something under her breath and held out one hand. In the sliver of light from the street, I saw a silver branch appear in her palm, about three feet long and looking for al the world like a tree branch. It glistened, and I realized I was seeing the glow emanating from it, rather than just the sparkle of the metal. Instinctively, I stopped in my tracks.

Silver: not so nice for vampires. But my Fae heritage loved it, and I wished, for the hundredth time, that I could stil reach out and hold it in my hands.

“What’s that?” I cautiously circled away from Ivana.

“Bah. You are Vampyr. You do not use silver.” She waved me away.

“I used to. I am half-Fae on my father’s side. But you’re right, I don’t use silver anymore.” I glanced at the counter as I backed into it.