Cute to the Bone

by Zenina Masters

  She beckoned to Tom, and Aeric caught on. He grabbed his brother by the arm and shoved him into the shadow. Tom resisted and then was pulled away from him.

  Aeric lifted his light. “If I jump the same way, you will disappear.”

  She inclined her head, and a nimbus of light wrapped around the shadow of her form. The shadow got darker and smaller, but it was easier to see her. Aeric nodded, crawled toward her on his knees, and then pitched into her darkness.

  He spun in the darkness, and a hand grabbed his. He was pulled through the shadow and into the light.

  * * * *

  She fought the scream as the first of the shifters ripped through her aura. Sireno hated this part.

  She reached into her chest and pulled the first of the brothers out. He slid across the mossy ground cover and rolled to a stop, his phone still projecting light.

  Her shadow was on the way back with the other one. She stood in the light and strengthened her shadow. The light Aeric was carrying was making the transport difficult.

  She had to surround him with shadow inside shadow. It was tricky, but when she managed to pull him out, he landed with a thud and flipped over to stare at her. The onlookers helped him to steady himself, and she sighed as she was done worrying. She pulled her shadow inside again, took a step forward so she could see it, and reached behind her to put out the light with a flick of magic. It was enough brightness for one evening.

  Sireno sat down under the crystal as everyone let their eyes adjust to the darkness, and she mourned her dress. Magic wasn’t kind to silk.

  Selari knelt at her side. “That was amazing!”

  Sireno smiled. “Thank you. This wasn’t what I had planned for the evening, but I am pretty happy with the result. Someone should call the guild and let them know they are fine.”

  A woman came up with long black hair and brilliant green eyes. “I will let them know. Thank you for your quick action.”

  She nodded. “Thank you for allowing the hole in the wards. I would have scraped them to bits otherwise.”

  The woman chuckled. “Thank you for asking. I am Dira, by the way.”

  “Sireno, the half-born.”

  Dira’s eyes widened. “You are all grown up!”

  “That happens with age, or so I have been told.”

  “Your parents have a request for a balance ceremony as soon as they are authorized. I think it is sweet.”

  Sireno chuckled and ran her hands through her hair. “That is why I am here. As soon as I find my mate, they can come here and complete their union.”

  “Why have you been held hostage?” Dira crouched easily next to her.

  “My parents fell in love before it was allowed by both guilds and definitely before either the fey or the mages could come here and prove their union.”

  She sighed. “My family are the ones who have suffered. We are neither Mage Guild nor underfey. So, we sell our skills to both. But, my siblings and I have been homeschooled and tutored by family members who were willing to risk the wrath of the guild or court.”

  “But, your skills are not typical for either mage or fey. You use both magics.”

  “True. My siblings and I have had to create our own halfling methods. We can’t call on the full power of the world beneath, but we also can’t pull all of the energy from those around us, so we pull it from ourselves and ask the stars and winds for help.”

  “I have never seen a shadow fey using light like that.”

  Sireno grinned. “Family skill.”

  “Well, your stay is now on me. Are you sure you want to remain at the Grotto?”

  Sireno looked around at the dim light that illuminated the people who were helping the two shifters and alternately staring at her. “Yeah. This feels like where I am supposed to be.”

  Dira grinned. “Excellent. I insist on getting you a new dress at the seamstress.”

  “That, I will accept, though while we have been talking, Selari has done an amazing job on my dress. It looks better than it did when I put it on.”

  Selari had been crouched next to her with a fold of fabric between her fingers, and the domestic magic that she wielded had done a lovely job.

  Selari blushed. “It is my pleasure.”

  Dira smiled at her. “I look forward to how you feel after your first guest leaves with her mate.”

  Selari smiled. “I can hardly wait.”

  Sireno chuckled. “Well, now that they are safe, I am going to crash for a while. That took it out of me.”

  Selari helped her to her feet and kept a hand under her arm. “I will assist you back to your room.”

  “Thanks.”

  Selari walked her past the others, and no one even looked at them. It was the brownie skill for being unnoticed. Sireno enjoyed being invisible for the moment. She had just pulled two very tall and robust men from inside her, and that was enough attention and activity for any young woman, fey or not.

  She chuckled as she walked along, and she saw her shadow against the walls. Her hair was also five times normal size. It was definitely for the best that she chose to simply recover. There would be time for conditioner and hairbrushes in the morning.

  * * * *

  Aeric let the folks around them help them up, and they began a slow walk out of the cool and dimly lit Grotto. “Where are we?”

  A man with dark hair and black eyes smiled. “You are at the Crossroads.”

  The woman supporting his other side said, “Welcome.”

  He looked around as they exited the building that he had appeared in, the soft evening of the Crossroads wrapped around him. They were a slight distance from the main thoroughfare, but slow steps got both Aeric and Tom down the pathways and under the archway that he had heard about but never seen.

  “The Meditation Centre?”

  The woman with white hair laughed. “Yes. We went to the open roof after the fey mixes and primes kept blowing the roof off.”

  “Oh. Wait, where is the woman who helped us out?” He looked around, but it was only him and Tom being helped toward what he guessed was the transport point.

  “She’s gone to lie down. It took a lot out of her.”

  “Why isn’t she coming back for treatment?”

  The man on his right smiled. “Oh, she is a registered guest of the Crossroads. She’s here to find a mate.”

  “She’s a mage?” Aeric blinked and tried to stay awake.

  “Sort of. She’s a halfling.”

  “Half what and half what?”

  The woman with the white hair smiled. “You are going to have to come back and find out.”

  Her mate blinked. “He is?”

  The woman nodded. “He is. But, first, he needs to be checked out. Come on. Lean on your brother. You are heading to the guild. They are waiting for you.”

  Aeric nodded and headed to Tom. They stood back to back, and light swirled around them as they were whisked back to the guild and medical care. He felt like crap.

  The scent of sun and eucalyptus wafted over him, warning him of his visitor.

  “What the hell were you doing?” The dulcet tones of his mother’s accent rippled over him. “Idiot.”

  The sharp smack to the back of his head brought him out of his restful silence. “Ow, Mom!”

  “How could you be so stupid? Why were you and your brother down there? Why didn’t you call us?” Each question was punctuated with a smack.

  “We had limited air, and we only had enough time to call for help and then save our batteries. I know you were worried after the fact, but we are fine. They got us out with only a little effort.”

  His mom sat next to him, and as he looked around, he noted the familiar look of a recovery room at the guild. “So, I needed some work?”

  “There was a severe lack of oxygen. You two were barely moving when you got here.” She stopped smacking him and pressed a cloth to his forehead.

  He didn’t remember
it, but helpful hands and soothing words were a blur in his memories.

  His mother blotted at him for a bit and then asked, “Who got you out?”

  “Do you remember the shadow that broke open the Bormil case?”

  “Yes.”

  “Her.”

  “It’s a woman? Thomas didn’t say that.”

  “He didn’t see her, so she was just a shadow. She was the one they called on to get us, but I still don’t know how she found us.”

  “I’m sure they will tell you.”

  He sighed. “I’m just as sure that they won’t.”

  A healer came in with long layers of vests over her robes, and she smiled. “Ah, so you have finally woken up. Your brother is very worried.”

  The woman came over and took his vitals.

  Aeric glanced at his mom, and he smiled. She looked so happy that her boys were getting along.

  “What did he say?” Aeric knew what was about to happen, but he needed the laugh.

  “Don’t leave me with Mom, you bloody adorable bastard.” The woman made some notes on her clipboard and smiled. “You are free to leave.”

  Aeric got out of bed on the opposite side from his mother. She was building up to another scream, and she let it out with force. “Thomas Markum, when I get a hold of your marsupial ass, I’m going to make you wish that you had been born a kiwi!”

  She stormed out, and Aeric exhaled softly.

  “So, your mother is volatile?”

  “She has raised three boys who became very tall men. She is aggressive out of self-defence.”

  The medic looked him up and down and nodded. “It might be warranted. So, you are on light duty for the next ten days and have to be monitored at regular intervals. Do you have any idea where you would like to be?”

  Aeric paused. “Is this a setup?”

  “No. Do you have a place you want to be?”

  “I do but not for the normal reasons.”

  The medic looked up with a smile. “The Crossroads?”

  “Yeah. Before my mother gets back.”

  “Lean on my shoulder. Speed is your ally here.” The medic waited until he had a grip, and then, they walked into the hall where the sound of Hailey Markum’s rants rang through the air.

  The medic turned the opposite direction and helped him move at speed until they were in the transporter’s office.

  The medic explained the situation, added the checkup rider to the contract, and then left him on his own.

  The transporter smiled. “So, a sudden rush to find a mate?”

  “No, but I suppose it is time. I need to talk to the shadow mage, and she is at the Crossroads, so that is where I am going.”

  The transporter blinked. “The shadow mage?”

  “Yes.”

  “And what kind of shifter are you?”

  Aeric groaned and fought the rolling of his eyes. “I’m an exotic of Australian origin. A quokka.”

  “What?”

  “Q-u-o-k-k-a. I am an adorable marsupial about the size of a cat.” He grumbled it out.

  The transporter simply nodded and typed in the information. “Do you wish to be released after a certain period of time, or are you going to stay until you find someone?”

  “I think two weeks would be appropriate?”

  “Fine. But do know that you will not be allowed to engage in sexual congress with any of the women at the Crossroads. They are for mating, not toying with. If you want to speak to your shadow mage, keep your focus on her.”

  “You know who I am talking about?”

  “Of course. There is only one.” The transporter smiled. “Now, how will you be paying?”

  Aeric made the arrangements, and before he could ask when the portal was available, he was wrapped in light and on his way to the Crossroads.

  * * * *

  Hailey Markum walked into the room just as her youngest son disappeared. “Is he gone?”

  The transporter nodded and smiled. “He is.”

  “Switch the payment to this card. We get points.” Hailey smiled. She knew when one of her boys was falling in love, and this one wasn’t going to be easy. Two encounters were enough to have him hooked, and he had only seen her face for ten minutes. His fascination ran deep, and he needed to meet her to actually figure it out.

  Dira had been most accommodating.

  Chapter Five

  Sireno sat up and looked around. Her room was lush, low light was everywhere, and there was the soothing ripple of water nearby. She smiled as it reminded her of summers at her grandparents’ home. Her father was one of a growing number of fey who insisted on his parental visits. The Mage Guild had to give in when her mother had no objection.

  The low light and scent of fragrant moss always made her think of her grandfather. He would love this place.

  She got up and walked to her wardrobe, wearing only the heavy fall of her hair. Sometimes, she wished she could cut it, but it was alive and part of her. It didn’t like being cut and reacted a little violently if someone tried.

  She picked a dress with fluttery sleeves and a frothing effect at the hem. It would make her look shorter. That would help with the shifters. From her few experiences with those who walked through the human world, they preferred their females to be shorter than six feet tall. Luring them in with that illusion was how she managed to learn the ins and outs of dating.

  She held the dress up against her and nodded at how the green darkened her gaze into a pure amethyst. Yeah, that would work.

  Sireno took a shower under the waterfall, and her hair straightened itself out while she patted herself dry.

  When she was dressed in flat sandals and her frothy dress, she left her chamber to find Selari.

  The central space now had a round table, and there was a sideboard with a number of exotic and familiar dishes.

  Selari came out with another platter of flatbreads with a smile. “Oh, good. You are looking better.”

  “Thank you for helping me to bed. If not for you, I would have slept it off in a hallway.”

  “I have never seen the shadow magic used that way before. I have seen it used to grab, to hold, but never to transport.” Selari smiled in admiration. “I made enough food for you and your shadow.”

  Sireno chuckled. “And quite a bit more. I will do what I can to appreciate your generosity.”

  Sireno walked to the sideboard, picked up a plate, and loaded it. It was going to take a lot of hunger to make a dent in the quantity of food, but she was willing to try.

  She was onto her third serving when she asked, “So, why did you come to the Crossroads as host?”

  “I am not simply the host; I am the designer.” Selari smiled. “But, I was asked by the High King to assert an underfey presence here.”

  “Why?”

  “Possibly because they want to mix more of the high and low fey halflings into the shifters and mages?” She shrugged. “I wasn’t given an explanation.”

  “Of course not. What did you do before you designed the Grotto?”

  “I engineered human-style homes with a fey touch for fey who want to live in the human world. It took a while to get the hang of plumbing, but now, I can manage to tie into existing city lines if needed.”

  “How do you go about designing a home? My mom is a mage, and my father is an underfey, so when they finally are able to have a nicely balanced union, I think a house with underfey sensibilities might be nice.”

  Selari leaned in. “Tell me what you want and where you want to put it, and I am in.”

  Sireno grinned. “I will work on the plan. It just seems like such a neat idea.”

  “What about when you find a mate?”

  “Well, after I find out what kind of creature he is, we will take it from there.”

  “You are firm on the sex of your mate?”

  “Yeah. I am not as fluid as some of my relatives. My sister is a sucker for redheads.”
She grinned. “I just like to look them in the eye, horizontal or vertical.”

  Selari laughed, and breakfast concluded. It was time to explore the Crossroads. “Selari, how long was I out?”

  “Three days, miss.”

  Sireno nodded. “Of course. Thank you.”

  “Management has been checking on you. I believe they will be relieved to see you up and about.”

  “I will go and reassure them. Thank you again. I will see you this evening.”

  Selari chuckled. “I certainly hope not.”

  Sireno nodded and headed for the entry, letting the exterior light into the slightly dimmed interior. The air outside was dry, but the sun was bright.

  She was nearing the bar when she realized that someone had been talking about her. Heads were turning as she walked to the Crossed Star, and she had never been more desperate for a drink.

  Sireno was five steps into the bar when she heard the clattering of glass on wood. A familiar face at the bar was smiling brightly at her, and she really needed that drink.

  The server walked up to the bar nearest her. “What can I get for you?”

  “Do you have any Suntory whisky?”

  The bartender’s eyes brightened. “I have just the thing. Thank you, by the way. I have had that waiting for someone for quite a while.”

  The bartender took down a faceted glass, and then, she pulled out a squared bottle with a glass stopper. The pour was meticulous, and the hand over of the glass was reverent.

  Sireno lifted it, inhaled deeply, and took a sip. “Oh, you have saved my life.”

  The woman grinned. “You are the shadow fey I have heard so much about.”

  “Only half, but yes. Pleased to meet you.”

  The bartender looked to Sireno’s left, and she slowly turned to meet the dark chocolate gaze of the blond with the close-cropped hair and the jaw that looked like it could crack iron.

  “Hello. Did you recover all right?” She sipped again.

  He smiled. “Thanks to you, and faster than you as well. I thought I had missed you, but Teal and Tony assured me that I hadn’t.”