The club was down a back alley and through an unmarked metal door. Unmarked to the casual observer that is. For all of us with clairvoyance, there was a large sign which read: Lights Out. I grinned at the obvious play on extinguishers and glanced at Abby, who fidgeted with excitement beside me like a puppy waiting at the door for his daily walk. We'd been to this club once before when we were both eighteen and had just given our vows to become Extinguishers. It had been a crazy, tequila-soaked night filled with debauchery, and I was both scared of and hoping for a repeat.Brendan rapped on the door sharply and it was only a few moments before it swung open to reveal a large Irish man in your basic bouncer attire; black muscle T and black jeans. He looked us up and down and then stepped aside. Abby grinned wider at me and took my hand as we went in. I glanced back at Brendan, but he seemed to have learned his lesson from his failure in the limo and had adjusted his behavior. He waved m

"That man is not a good match for you," Tiernan said as he moved smoothly through the wicked web that was also known as the streets of San Francisco."We're not talking about Brendan," I said impatiently. "Or my job requirement of marrying another extinguisher.""It's a job requirement?" He looked at me aghast."Pretty much." I closed my eyes and rubbed at my forehead. "But, as I said, we're not discussing it.""Fine, we'll discuss how I'm going to be stuck to your side until we figure this whole thing out.""Excuse me?" I opened my eyes to stare at him in shock. "Who named you my guardian?""The High Council of Fairy," he proclaimed serenely."They did not." I smirked at him."Not in those exact words, no." He never lost his cool. "But they told me to discover the truth of these events, and I intend to do so.""And you think I'm going to somehow lead you to the truth?" I laughed."Yes, I do." Tiernan barely glanced to the left before he zipped into the other lane."You driv

The San Francisco Council House was in an uproar when our cab pulled up in front of it. First, Brendan had returned without me and then a huge magical discharge had been felt emanating from somewhere over San Francisco Bay. The Extinguishers and councilpersons alike were in a tizzy. Then I walked in holding the hand of a fairy and looking as if I'd been rolling around in a battlefield; frolicking with him in the blood and muck. I thought my father was going to burst a blood vessel."There he is!" Brendan pointed an imperious finger at Tiernan. "He must be the one responsible for that magic.""He's not," I growled, "and I'm fine, Brendan; thanks so much for asking. Don't worry, this blood isn't mine.""Extinguisher Seren." One of the councilwomen approached us. "Would you please tell us what happened tonight? It appears that you may have first-hand knowledge.""That I do." I grimaced and let go of Tiernan's hand reluctantly. Oh, that reluctance was not a good sign."Allow me." Tier

The first step is the hardest. Yeah, you could say that. As soon as we crossed over into the Fairy Realm, I was saturated by a wave of magic so strong that the breath fled my body. Magic seemed to burst through all of my cells; permeating my very DNA. Like saltpeter set to flame, it sparked and popped beneath my skin; an explosion of pain. A scream clawed its way up my throat, and I convulsed in Tiernan's arms until he laid me down on a soft patch of grass. I heard the slam of a door and then Aideen's face was added to his above me."Seren?" Tiernan wrenched off my helmet and cast it aside so he could run a gentle hand over my face. "Why is she having this reaction?" His distraught gaze shot to Aideen who immediately looked away."I don't know." Aideen's eyes were fastened on a golden door to her left. "But we can't stay here. The Sluagh will be right behind us. I have a place where we can hide her.""Lead on." Tiernan picked me up, and I groaned, but the pain seemed to be over and

"Okay." Tiernan held up his hands as he and Aideen backed away from me. "Then why did that just happen? Why did your body react to the magic when you crossed into Fairy? Why did magic overtake you right at twilight and then transform you into this?""I don't know," I whispered."Those unseelie fairies who came after you," he began again. "My soldiers. We believe the Unseelie King ordered them to kill you. They, as well as the Sluagh, took you high into the air so you couldn't levitate. I'm guessing that your gifts are stronger when you do so. Am I right?""I..." I thought about it. "Yes, I guess my psychic abilities seem stronger when I levitate.""Because you're touching Fairy when you tread the in-between; connecting to the source of your magic," Tiernan explained. "The path from the Human Realm to Fairy is a very powerful in-between place. Your dormant fey blood was awakened when you passed through it. Then, with the arrival of twilight, you transformed fully.""I'm not a fairy," I