Seanan McGuire - Rosemary and Rue

For my mother, Mary Mickaleen McGuire, who never made me stop reading.

There were a lot of people involved in making this book come together. Huge, huge thanks to my crack team of machete-wielding proofreaders, whose tireless efforts took care of a lot of bad grammar and more than a few misplaced commas; without them, I would make a lot less sense. My agent, Diana Fox, knew exactly what to ask for, and my editor, Sheila Gilbert, knew exactly how to make me answer. Here at home, Chris Mangum and Tara OShea organized my Web site, while Kate Secor and Michelle Dockrey organized everything else.

Finally, thanks to Rebecca Newman and Amanda Weinstein for logging countless telephone hours dealing with the details, and to Tanya Huff, for assistance above and beyond the call of duty. The errors in this book are mine. There would be a lot more of them without all the people who helped me get it done.

Bannick: ban-nick. Plural is Bannicks.

Banshee: ban-shee. Plural is Banshees.

Cait Sidhe: kay-th shee. Plural is Cait Sidhe.

Candela: can-dee-la. Plural is Candela.

Coblynau: cob-lee-now. Plural is Coblynau.

Daoine Sidhe: doon-ya shee. Plural is Daoine Sidhe, diminutive is Daoine.

Djinn: jin. Plural is Djinn.

Glastig: glass-tig. Plural is Glastigs.

Gwragen: guh-war-a-gen. Plural is Gwargen.

Kelpie: kel-pee. Plural is Kelpies.

Kitsune: kit-soon. Plural is Kitsune.

Lamia: lay-me-a. Plural is Lamia.

The Luidaeg: the lou-sha-k. No plural exists.

Manticore: man-tee-core. Plural is Manticores.

Nixie: nix-ee. Plural is Nixen.

Peri: pear-ee. Plural is Peri.

Piskie: piss-key. Plural is Piskies.

Pixie: pix-ee. Plural is Pixies.

Puca: puh-ca. Plural is Pucas.

Roane: ro-an. Plural is Roane.

Selkie: sell-key. Plural is Selkies.

Silene: sigh-lean. Plural is Silene.

Tuatha de Dannan: tootha day danan. Plural is Tuatha de Dannan, diminutive is Tuatha.

Tylwyth Teg: till-with teeg. Plural is Tylwyth Teg, diminutive is Tylwyth.

Undine: un-deen. Plural is Undine.

Will o Wisp: will-oh wisp. Plural is Will o Wisps.

THE PHONE WAS RINGING. Again. I turned my attention from the rearview mirror and glared at the cellular phone that lay jangling in my passenger seat next to a bag of Fritos and one of Gillys coloring books. It had been less than ten minutes since the last time it rang, and since there were only three people who had the number, I was pretty sure I knew who it was. Id only had the damn thing for a month, and it was already complicating my life.

These things will never catch on, I muttered, hitting the flashing call button. Toby Daye Investigations, Toby Daye speaking, what is it now, Cliff?

There was a long, embarrassed pause before my live-in fianc asked, How did you know it was me?

Because the only other people who use this number are Uncle Sylvester and Ms. Winters, and they know Im on a stakeout, which means theyre not calling. Ive never been good at being mad at Cliff; the words might be irritated, but the tone was purely affectionate. Call me a sucker for a man with a great ass who knows how to bake a macaroni casserole and can tolerate six hours of Sesame Street a day. Shifting the phone to my left hand, I reached up and adjusted the mirror to keep the front of the restaurant in view. What is it this time?

Gilly wanted me to call and tell you she loves you and hopes youll be home in time for dinner, and that you should bring back ice cream. Chocolate would be best.

I suppressed a smile. Shes watching you make the call, isnt she?

You better believe it. If she wasnt, I wouldve just called Information. But you know how she gets. Shes got ears like a rabbit. Cliff chuckled. Our affection for each other didnt come close to our love for that little girl. Thats from your side of the family, you know.

Most good things are, but yes, she gets her hearing from me, I said, fiddling with the mirror. Was that a figure or a fingerprint? I couldnt tell. The man I was following was so far out of my league that he could be strolling naked down an otherwise empty street and still keep me from seeing him.

Abandoning my efforts to make the mirror behave, I pulled a spray bottle full of greenish water out of the glove compartment and liberally misted the glass. Call it experience or call it intuition, but I know a good dont-look-here spell when I fail to see it. A very good dont-look-here spell, if I had to break it with a marsh water charm. Thats the sort of trick the purebloods disdain as being practically beneath the humans.

Beggars cant be choosers, and it didnt matter if the charm was cheap, because it worked; as soon as the water hit the mirror, the reflection of a tall redheaded man snapped into focus, standing just in front of the restaurant Id been staking out for the last six hours. A valet pulled up in a sleek-lined sports car painted that particular shade of red peculiar to expensive vehicles and hookers lipstick.

The valet could see him, yet I hadnt been able to: he was only blocking himself against fae eyes. He knew he was being trailed.

Damn, I whispered and dropped the bottle. Cliff, the guy Im after just came out of the restaurant. I gotta go. Tell Gilly I love her, and that I promise Ill stop for ice cream on my way home.

You dont love me? he asked, mock wounded.

I love you more than fairy tales, I saida ritual phrase that had long since replaced good-bye for usand hung up the phone, throwing it into the backseat. It was time to get to work.

The man tipped the valet, got into the car, and pulled away from the curb, merging into passing traffic. His snazzy red sports car stood out among the more workaday vehicles like a cardinal in a flock of pigeons . . . at least until he took the first corner and disappeared, leaving the reek of smoke and rotten oranges in his wake. The smell of magic can cut across almost anything else, and since every caster has their own magical taste, it also serves as a signature of sorts. The scent confirmed that I was following Simon Torquill and not some paid double. Which was good to know, except for the part where Id lost the man.

Swearing, I grabbed the pot of faerie ointment off the seat beside me and smeared it around my eyes until it started running down my cheeks. The car reappeared ahead of me in a hazy outline, like I was seeing it through water. Wont be losing you again, you asshole, I muttered and pressed down on the gas.

Dont-look-here spells are trickier than true invisibility; Simons car was still there, and the drivers around him avoided it automatically, making him safer from traffic accidents than he would have been without the enchantment. Peoplemortal peoplesaw him; they just didnt acknowledge it. At the same time, anyone with a drop of fae blood couldnt see him without outside assistance. It was a nice piece of work. I might have admired it, if it hadnt been interfering with my job.

It was almost unfair. My own abilities barely extend to a few charms and parlor tricks, while the man in front of me was causing an entire city of humans to act like he wasnt even there. Thats Faeries genetic lottery for you. If youre a pureblood, you get it all, but if youre a changeling, well, I hope you have good luck with that.

Simon turned the wrong way down a one-way street, taking advantage of the semi-invisibility I didnt share. Swearing again, I hauled my own car into a hard left, beginning a pacing maneuver along the next block. As long as I didnt hit any traffic lights, Id be able to catch him at the other end. I wasnt going to let my liege down. Not today, not ever. Im not that girl.