"There it is," she said as she swooped lower.
"Should we cloak ourselves?" I asked as I wondered how much of my magic was available to me at this size.
"Nope. They're all in a tizzy about American Idol and when we fly fast we look like humming birds. Besides, most of them will be drunk on Fairy Juice."
The Palace was grand and beautiful. The rest of the park might be in sad disrepair, but The Corrine's home was pristine. It shimmered in the late day sun. It was all white with solid gold trim. Graceful turrets rose high into the air and poked through the clouds. A crystal clear river circled the Palace and I spotted wildly colored fish swimming in schools. Lavender ivy climbed the walls and masses of blood red roses complemented the perfectly manicured lawns. Hundreds of vicious looking guards also covered the grounds and they didn't appear to be intoxicated at all. Shit.
"Are we going through the front door?" I asked as I hovered high in the air next to my kooky friend.
"Hell no. Do you have a death wish?"
"It was just a question, Asswad," I snapped.
"Well, it was a dumb one, Boobs McGee."
"You clearly don't value your life."
"Why would you say that? I'm fabulous," she trilled as she turned a few flips.
"Because if you call me that again, I'll give you a third nipple and acne." I smiled and turned a flip myself.
"So noted. You see that open window?"
"Nope. There have to be hundreds of windows on the front side alone," I said as I scanned the windows of the Palace.
"Sixth row ten over from the right. It's not open really wide, but there's enough of a crack that we can fit through."
I looked again, but got discombobulated counting windows. "I'm gonna trust you on that."
"Take my hand," Susu instructed. "Keep your eyes open and pull your feet forward when we get close to the ledge or we'll bash into it, which hurts like a motherfucker. Ready?"
"Um…no, but let's do it."
We flew at a speed that unnerved me. I was tempted to shut my eyes, but I wanted to keep my head. With Susu's hand firmly in mine, we made it and landed gracefully.
"Holy shit," I muttered as I peeked through the glass. The room was empty of people, but it looked like a tornado had ripped through it. Expensive furniture, lamps and paintings were broken and lay strewn in pieces all over the place. "Looks like they could use a new cleaning service."
"Hmmm…something is very fucking wrong here. The Corrine is a neat freak. She would never allow this," Susu said as a frown marred her pretty face.
My stomach dropped. The wreckage of the room was clearly from a struggle. The question was, who was struggling? I needed to get in there now. I wedged my little body through the crack and floated around the room. I scented Fairies. I smelled no Vampyres and no Demons. Ethan and his son had not been part of this altercation, thank God…but—oh shit.
"The Kev," I gasped as I wildly looked around the room for clues. "I smell The Kev's blood. Do you know the layout of the Palace?"
"Yes, but it's been a long time," Susu said as she wrung her hands and flew right on my heels.
"What is this room?"
"This entire floor is filled with sitting room and bedrooms," Susu said.
"Follow me. I can feel him. He's not far."
Every instinct I had was buzzing. My hair flew crazily around my head and teeny tiny sparks shot from my little hands. Very few immortals could take The Kev down, but were there Fairies that could? From the scent of things, I'd have to say yes. Fuckbuttdickballs.
We darted from room to room and found nothing but more blood and more decimated furnishings. This battle had been large, but they hadn't used magic…It seemed as if only brute force was used. Odd.
"No magic residue. Why?" I wondered aloud.
"They must have something on him. They have something he can't live without and they threatened him with it, but I could be wrong. Plus, The Corrine would shit a cow if they blew up the Palace with magic."
"Good to know," I muttered as I imagined causing this fucker to go up in flames. "What could they have? Gemma's in Hell."
"What about you, Ethan and the Baby?"
"I'm basically unkillable, but the baby and Ethan can be killed," I ground out as I flew faster through the rooms, looking for any clue to The Kev's whereabouts. It wasn't until we came to a locked door that I knew we'd hit pay dirt. He was in there, but I had no clue what shape he was in.
"Under the door," Susu said as she yanked me to the floor.
"I was going to blow it out." I told her as I tried to pull away.
"Absofuckinglutely not, even though it would be all kinds of awesome to piss off The Corrine." She slapped her hands on her hips and put her finger in my face. I was tempted to bite it, but I wanted to hear her reasoning. "No announcing our presence. I only sense one Fairy on the other side of the door, but I am not going in all vigilante. There's a reason I'm over seven thousand years old."
"Good point. Well made," I said. I was glad I didn't bite her. "Let's crawl."
It was a tight fit, but we managed. What I saw made me want to scream, but I held it in. I wouldn't be helping The Kev if I called attention to our rescue mission. He was bound in thick iron chains. Iron for Fairies was like silver for Vamps. He'd been beaten within an inch of his immortal life and the iron kept his body from healing itself. If I didn't know it was The Kev by his scent and aura, I would have bet money that this was not my friend and mentor—he was almost unrecognizable. Fury built inside me at the injustice. They would pay for this and I would be collecting.