Rosemary and Rue

“Oberon was nowhere to be seen when my sisters and I were born. The year had turned; he was off tryst ing with his pretty Summer Queen. And neither of them raised a hand when their children, their perfect, pretty children, started hunting us down like dogs. We were my mother’s daughters, not Titania’s. They couldn’t be bothered.” Her smile was thin and bitter. “His law came down too late for us.”


“You’re Maeve’s daughter.” She was one of the Firstborn, the oldest denizens of Faerie, our foundations and beginnings. They’re all supposed to be dead or in hiding, not drinking Diet Coke in low-rent apartments in my hometown.

The Luidaeg smiled thinly. “And you’re Amandine’s. I was wondering how long it would take for a member of that line to bother tracking me down—although I’ll admit, your blood’s a bit thinner than I expected. Tried to fix matters on her own, did she? She always was brainless. Runs in the family.” She sipped her soda again. “Now you know what I am.”

“You’re no monster.”

“I was close enough for fairy tales.” The Luidaeg shook her head, and I realized I’d looked more deeply than she expected. Interesting. “I’m tired of this. What do you want? Tell me or get out.”

“You healed me.”

“And?”

“I know it wasn’t out of the goodness of your heart.”

“I hate debts.”

“Did you taste the curse?”

“Curse?” She grinned. “You mean that nasty binding the Winterrose slapped on you? Oh, yeah, I tasted it. That’s one of the meaner pieces of work I’ve seen this century. She really pulled out the stops on that one. Always was a nasty bitch, that one.”

“Is there a way out of it?”

“Sure. Fulfill it.”

“Is there any other way?”

“What, it wasn’t clear enough for you?” She cleared her throat. When she spoke again her voice was Evening’s, clipped and cruel: “Find the answers, October Daye, find the reasons and find the one who caused this, or find only your own death.” She paused, and her voice was her own again. “The Winterrose is good at what she does. There’s no loophole.”

That was exactly what I hadn’t wanted to hear. “So I’m trapped.”

“Yep.” She sat down on a rickety chair, crossing her legs. “I just can’t figure out how she got you to drink her blood. It wouldn’t be nearly this strong if you hadn’t done that.”

I winced. No point in lying now. “I did that on my own, actually.”

The Luidaeg blinked. “You were that stupid by yourself? Wonderful. Amandine’s line is going to die out all on its own. I won’t have to lift a finger.”

“I didn’t know,” I protested, filing her comment away for later examination.

“That you were cursed? Yeah, because that’s not something I would have noticed.”

“No, that drinking her blood would make the curse stronger.”

“They don’t teach kids anything anymore.” She took a long drink of her Diet Coke. “In my day, you’d never have lived this long without knowing how to make your enemies rot from the inside out.”

“There’s a pleasant image.”

“I thought so. What do you want from me? I can’t break a curse spun by the Winterrose. It’s against the rules.”

“I want information.”

That sparked her interest. She straightened, pushing her hair back with a hand that seemed to glisten. Her entire body was starting to gleam, like it was covered by a thin patina of oil. The changes were subtle, but they were happening steadily, her human disguise being shucked away. I was almost afraid to see what was underneath.“Information, huh? You should know I don’t work cheap.”

“That isn’t a problem.”

“What can you give me?”

I shifted the rose goblin to one arm as I dug into the pocket of my jeans, coming up with Evening’s key. The metal burst into sudden, rosy luminescence. I fought the urge to flinch. “This is . . .”

The Luidaeg stood, cutting me off mid-word. “A key to the summer roads. An old one.” She held out one hand, demanding, “Give it to me.”

“Tell me what I need to know.”

“How much?”

“Everything.”

She eyed me. “Three questions, three true answers, and you give me the key.”

“Four. All true, and you don’t count a question unless I say it’s part of the game.”

“Four, and you answer one for me.”