Rituals (Cainsville 5)

She nosed the door lintel then lifted her head, sniffed, and made a noise in her throat, more rumble than growl, as if she wasn't quite sure what lay beyond, either, but she wasn't dead set against further exploration.

I eased the door open more and...

Snow.

A drift of snow blocked the hall. I walked in and bent to touch it, to be sure of what I was seeing. I scooped up a handful and squeezed it into a snowball. I could feel the icy cold, but it didn't melt.

Lloergan moved past me and snuffled the snow, snorting when she got a noseful. Then she pushed through the drift and continued on into the living room.

"Safe enough?" I said.

"I suppose so," Gabriel murmured.

We walked into the next room and...

Ice. Snow and ice. That's all I saw at first. A room decorated with snow and ice. A room made of snow and ice.

Walls of ice with what looked like a blue sky and bright sun above, the sunlight making the snow glitter and gleam. Snow drifted into every corner, waves of it, like a white desert. And in the center, an Arctic oasis--sheer ice over a water hole.

As I watched, a seal swam beneath the hole. A white seal. I raced out for a better look and nearly face-planted on the ice. I thudded onto one knee as Gabriel caught me.

Under the ice, the seal looked up. Huge brown eyes met mine. Then it gave a start, and I pulled back.

"I think we should go," I said.

Lloergan and Gabriel both made noises of agreement. As I turned to leave, a crackle sounded behind me. Then, "Matilda?"

I turned to see a woman rising from a hole in the ice. She had long, graying blond hair, and she was naked from the waist up, her lower half still seal.

When Gabriel turned away quickly, she chuckled. "Is this better, Gwynn?" A cloak of sealskin appeared over her shoulders as she rose. Her voice had a rasp to it, and while she didn't look much older than my mother, she moved carefully, like a senior citizen worried about slipping.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," I said.

The selkie smiled. "You're curious. You're fae. I suspect you aren't supposed to be here, but you're quite welcome--"

The room stuttered. Snow swirled, and the selkie vanished behind it. When I blinked against the wind, I opened my eyes to find myself in an empty apartment. An ordinary apartment.

"Mmm, I don't think this is your place, Liv," Patrick said. "Has it really been that long?"

I looked over to see him in the doorway, with Ida glowering behind him.

"I'm sure you find this very amusing, bocan," Ida said, "but I'll strongly suggest you attempt the impossible and keep your mouth shut before it gets you in more trouble. Now get out of there. Both of you." She looked at Lloergan. "All three of you."

"It's not Patrick's fault," I said. "After what happened this morning, we needed answers."

"You're not allowed them until you open negoti--"

Gabriel cut in. "The terms of the contract do not prohibit Olivia from obtaining answers on her own. You cannot punish her--or claim contractual violation--if she does. We needed to determine the nature of Grace's building in order to better understand what we experienced this morning."

"It's a nursing home, isn't it?" I said. "A place for old fae to live in their natural environments and make them comfortable at the end of their lives."

"Are you ready to tear up our contract, Olivia?" Ida asked.

Gabriel's voice lowered, words enunciated carefully. "I hope I'm misinterpreting, Ida. Otherwise it might sound as if you are using what happened this morning as leverage. Allowing Olivia's life to be endangered, so that she must terminate the contract for answers. May I remind you that the end of the contract means the beginning of Olivia's choice. Between the Tylwyth Teg--who have blocked and manipulated and lied to her--and the Cwn Annwn--who have been as honest and forthright and helpful as they can be. You have a serious misunderstanding of human nature if you believe this is the proper time to hasten her decision."

"She doesn't," Grace said, walking in and fixing Ida with a beady-eyed glare before turning to me. "Yes, Liv, this is where we give sanctuary to fae at the end of their lives."

I glanced at Patrick, who confirmed it with a discreet nod.