The Queen emerged from a row of trees. Her dark hair was twisted into elaborate braids and strung with glistening jewels around her head. Although she wasn’t a tall woman, her countenance seemed to cast a shadow over everyone before her. She wore purple silks that changed to different shades as she moved. The train of her gown flowed behind her like a shimmering stream as she glided to her throne.

  When she sat, she drew her pale fingers to her colorless face, allowing her long sleeves to drape over the armrests of the throne. Her pitch black eyes locked onto where Jack and I were, and I could see the slightest upturn in the corner of her ruby lips.

  “Jack Frost,” Queen Mab said in a quiet voice. Although she was several feet away, it felt as though she were whispering directly into my ear.

  Still in his arms, I could feel every muscle in Jack’s body tense. He placed me on the ground next to him and bowed his head. “Yes, my Queen?”

  “We do not require such an audience. Be a good lad and remove the humans, won’t you?” As she said this, her eyes remained on him with unwavering intensity.

  At first, I worried what Mab meant by ‘remove,’ but Jack gave my hand a squeeze before he closed his eyes and crossed his hands over his chest. The only thing I could do was kneel down with the others and trust him. With his head bent down, Jack was clearly focusing all of his strength.

  Kneeling on the other side of me, Lilith said to me, “Don’t worry, he only accidentally freezes people to death when he’s feeling emotional.”

  From where I was kneeling, I could now see the tendons in Jack’s thin neck protruding as he strained his entire body. Nothing seemed to happen. I looked over at the blond woman cowering near the coffins and she seemed unchanged. Then I felt something cold land on my arm. White, fluffy specs began to pick up speed falling to the rooftop. In minutes, plants were coated with white, and people were holding their arms to warm themselves. Almost on cue, the streetlights and the gas lamps on the rooftop turned on to illuminate the snowflakes as they drifted through the air.

  Jack relaxed and then slumped in the same way he had when we were walking through the heat. A snowstorm during the summer in the South was a feat I never thought achievable. When I looked back at the woman who had been with Pete, she was lying on her side with her eyes closed, the same for the middle-aged man who luckily had managed to get his pants back on. I was also relieved the snow didn’t appear to have any effect on me.

  “Jack Frost,” Mab said, “Lilith Collette, rise and approach.”

  They followed Mab’s instructions. The way she said their names was reminiscent of one of the few times I ended up at the principal’s office when I was a kid. I learned very early on that if you were going to break the rules, don’t get caught.

  “What is my detective doing here?” Mab asked.

  There was no way for me to know if it was the sudden snowstorm or the obvious indignation in Mab’s voice that sent a shiver down my spine.

  “Jack brought her here,” Lilith answered with an eyebrow raised to show how pleased she was to be the bearer of the news.

  If Mab was annoyed over Jack’s hypocrisy, there was no way to tell. The slight smile I had seen earlier had faded and there was no emotion on her pristine face.

  “Hailey O’Malley.” Mab suddenly looked at me, and I was startled. “Hold up your right arm.”

  I did as the Queen commanded. She eyed me for a moment and then in a booming voice that felt as though it shook the entire building: “Who did this?! Who injured my detective?!”

  Covering my ears instinctually, I realized there was nothing I could do to block the sound. It was as if she was yelling inside my head. I was also perplexed by what she saw. The mark on my arm from Pete’s attack was completely healed. How did she know he bit me?

  “M-m-my Queen, if I may…” Pete said in an attempt to explain the situation.

  Queen Mab stood up from her seat and glared down at Pete. As if hit by an invisible force, his face contorted to expose his large front teeth. Lurching forward, his eyes bulged and he looked at his hands as they began to fall to pieces. It reminded me of a nature documentary I had once watched with a time-lapse video of a swarm of ants devouring a hotdog on the side of the road. It went from Pete having fingers, to having a million specs of dust that were finger shaped, and then they sort of floated away leaving nothing behind.

  It wasn’t long before the same thing happened to his arms and his chest. Bit by bit, Pete was reduced to specks of glittery dust until the specs blew into the breeze and vanished. By the high pitched wail that escaped Pete’s mouth and the expression of terror on his face before it was gone, the process did not appear to be painless.

  The faeries watched in horror until Mab sat back into her chair and carried on as if nothing had occurred. I had heard that Mab could “unmake” her creations, but I hadn’t put much thought into the actual process. I tried to look grateful, but I knew Mab had not put the production on for my sake. Pete had defied her. He likely didn’t even know who I was, but that didn’t matter to the Queen. She obviously felt he had outlived his usefulness except to remind her court to fear her.

  “Now then, Jack, tell me about the unnaturally deceased humans turning up all over the city. Certainly none of the fair folk would take part in such an audacious display?” Mab asked.

  Jack opened his mouth to respond but then faltered. He was obviously shaken by the graphic demise of Pete. He looked over to me for help, and I nodded at him reassuringly. His eyes drifted to the sky as he devised what to say.

  “Of course, you are correct in all things, Your Majesty,” Jack said, “My hired associate can elaborate.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “By your hired associate, you mean my detective, the one you swore you were better equipped to acquire information than?” Although she betrayed no hint of emotion, it was obvious she was gloating.

  “Yes,” Jack said, “There was no rule against me using all tools at my disposal.”

  “Very well, Hailey O’Malley, please present the evidence you have uncovered.”

  My heart began pounding in my ears again, and I couldn’t help but hold my breath. I stepped forward between Jack and Lilith. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Lilith smiling, believing she won. I bowed my head before speaking.

  “As your Majesty wishes,” I said. “The deceased were victims of suicide.” If this were a court I’d be saying ‘presumed’ without tangible evidence, but when speaking to the Queen of the Faeries, it didn’t help to sound uncertain. “Each deceased used the same type of ceremonial blade purchased by a Lutin at De LaClare’s Fortunes.”

  Lilith’s smile grew larger. Her hands were now on her hips and her chest was puffed up confidently.

  “But, we were unable to track down the particular Lutin because they are all over the city assisting Fae and non-fae alike. In this particular case, the Lutin was purchasing the blades for use in a cult that meets at a church on Pirate’s Alley. Each of the victims was struggling with addiction and, unfortunately, the cult took advantage of them and used mercury as well as lead to alter their minds.” Even though I stated it as a fact, I wasn’t certain about any of the information. I knew the first victim struggled with addiction and when Jack indicated to me that the woman on the missing poster was also a victim, it led me to my hypothesis.

  “You have no proof of this!” Lilith blurted out, unable to contain herself.

  “I don’t, but you do,” I said. “Inside Lilith’s purse, you will find a steel box. Fae are not big fans of steel, so I wondered why Lilith would request a small steel box from an admirer. The reason is that steel and iron are considered relatively safe for containing mercury, and between the two of them, any Fae would choose steel.”

  Jack approached Lilith and put his hand out, waiting for her to relinquish the steel box. Before she could refuse, the Queen nodded at her, giving her no choice. She popped open her golden clutch and shook the contents out onto Jack’s open hand. A steel container fell into his palm.

  “Inside, you will find a coin that the cultists give to their initiates, similar to AA chips, but it will likely have ‘AAS’ on it instead. I’m guessing it is made with mercury.” I said.

  Jack opened the box and held up five green coins with a silver center to them. It was more than I had expected. Evidently, Lilith had been collecting them. By this point, Lilith was biting her lip so hard there was a small trickle of blood running down her chin.

  It wasn’t definitive proof that the Fae had no involvement. But, the Fae would not need to resort to chemical poisoning to cause humans to lose their minds, and they often stoked the flames of addiction as opposed to stifling it. All the faeries I knew wanted humans to embrace their darkest inner desires.

  “Good. Jack Frost is forgiven for misspeaking. He is known to put his foot in his mouth,” Mab said. “It is apparent he has recognized his error in deciding to utilize my detective to clear the Fae of these deeds.”

  Lilith’s hands were balled into fists on either side while she stared daggers into Jack. I was certain Jack would be jumping for joy if he weren’t so exhausted.

  Mab leaned onto her knuckles once again as if she had grown bored with the entire interaction. After watching the snow for a moment she said, “The matter is finished. Jack may return to frozen lands where he belongs.” When she rose, all the kneeling Fae ducked their heads. Jack and Lilith immediately went to their knees as did I.

  The Queen of the Faeries turned abruptly. The glittering diamonds strung throughout her pitch black hair were difficult to differentiate from the now melting flakes of snow. The long trail of her dress made a winding track through the snow on the ground like a slithering snake as she walked toward the bushes. Before she left, she turned so that the side of her face was visible and (as far as I could tell) winked at me. Then the wind caught up around us and the branches that were once her throne reached out towards their dirt beds and replanted themselves. They grew to heights taller than before until Mab was behind them and then gone.

  All around us the Fae on the roof were getting up and collecting their belongings. Something about their all-powerful Queen showing up and disintegrating one of their own likely took them out of the partying mood. The snow was now letting up and the chill was going with it. I watched as the blond woman woke up and glanced around the vicinity. She then made an expression that I couldn’t quite place. Like the others, she got herself up and went towards the exit.

  “You shouldn’t have helped him,” Lilith said through clenched teeth. “He deserved what was coming to him, even worse.”

  “Guess you’ll have to find another way to kill me.” Jack stretched his arms into the air and yawned.

  Then Lilith got close to me. I could feel the warmth of her breath on my cheek as she whispered, “He’s the one you need to look out for. Get as far away from him as you can.” Her heels clicked across the roof as she sauntered away, A thwarted yet not conquered lioness.

  Jack remained on the roof gazing up at the sky and breathing in his victory until everyone had eventually left that area of the roof. After I cleared my throat, it still took him a moment to look at me as if he had forgotten I was there.

  “Oh, Hailey, you did it!” He threw his arms around me and scooped me up into the air.

  “Woah!” I squeaked.

  He was holding me uncomfortably high and swung me around in a circle like a ragdoll. I’m guessing my face was turning green, because he set me down almost as quickly as he had put me in the air.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  “It’s OK, I’m just not a fan of heights and we’re already on a roof,” I said, thinking that I would likely choose the box again over being swung around like that.

  “No, I mean I’m sorry for everything I said about you, and all that’s happened to you because of me. If there is any way I can make it up to you…” he said, peering down into my eyes and brushing loose strands of my brown hair out of my face.

  “Paying for my plane ticket out of here would be a good start,” I said, refusing to give his handsome face the attention he clearly wanted. My finger still felt uncomfortably heavy, so I said “oh and you can take your stupid ring back.”

  With my right hand, I gave the ring a tug. It didn’t budge. Unfortunately, as I tried again, the ring grew tighter. After everything I had done for Jack, the ring was still stuck on my finger. Dread washed over me when I wondered if Lilith was right. How long would Jack keep me trapped?

  “You bastard!” I yelled and slapped him hard across the face.