Remington: Queen’s Birds of Prey: Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  “Basil’s wife and his brother. Their son too. I believe his name was Sorrel.” Remi said that was it. “She’s a monster, but that boy of hers is worse than anything that has ever been born if you ask me. You asked me why? Well, I came here to raise you after your father died. He wasn’t a great man, but he was good to us. Almost as soon as I got here with you, Juniper nearly tackled me at the airport. He tried to kill me and you. If he had succeeded, he would have been able to suck all our magic from us. So I had to hide us. This was why I came up with me being insane and you being out on your own, without the knowledge that you would have had about the two of us.”

  “You took my memories.” She said it was necessary for her to keep him alive. “I understand that, but…I’m working with him now. We’re partners in this deal that…you’re my mother.”

  “I am.” She changed then. Her face smoothed out. Her hair darkened to look as fresh and new as his own. “I can return those to you now if you wish. I have been, in my own way, keeping up with the others. They’re in trouble.” She looked at Remi. “You’ve done that, haven’t you?”

  “My family and I have. Yes. We’re the queen’s birds. I’m the vulture.” Grandma—or he supposed he should call her Mom—said she’d figured that out. “Also, Harlin is my mate. We’re a couple now.”

  She was surprised by that but in a very happy way. After hugging them both several times, she held him at arm’s length as she looked into his eyes. Mom had tears in her eyes as she watched him, and he brushed one of them away when it fell over her smooth, warm cheek.

  “I love you so much, Harlin. Your father, he would have been so very proud of you. He was killed by Juniper. He and Rosemary, they were fooling around one afternoon, and he caught them. As he was on his way to tell the king, they cornered him and did unspeakable things to him. Then they tossed his broken body on my doorstep and said I’d better be watching myself.” He told her he was sorry for that. “That wasn’t the end of it. Several days later, as I was hanging out the wash, I had you in a small crib. You were enjoying the sunshine. When I turned, I saw that Juniper had you in his arms with a knife at your throat. I was terrified that he was going to kill you. The next day, I left home and came here. After that, I made it so you had no memories of this place or your life from New Town that someone could use against you. It was the hardest decision I’ve ever made, but one I’d do over again to keep you as safe as I could.”

  “There are a few things I need to tell you, Alma. One of them is that the two of you are immortal. More so than you were before. Nothing can kill you. The removal of your head would be impossible, and nothing can penetrate your heart. The reason I’m telling you this is that we’re about to have company, in the form of Sorrel. Just do as I say. Oh, the second thing is, you’re both able to shift into a bird and fly away.” Remi went to the window and opened it up. “I’m sure of that since you’re part fae, correct?”

  “Yes. Both of us are.” Remi told them they needed to get out of there now. “I don’t know if I can fly again.”

  “Fake it then. Get out of here while I deal with this fucker.” He went to the window and watched his mom as she shifted to a beautiful fae creature he’d never seen before. “Give him his memories, Alma. I’m assuming the memory of flying will be there for him.”

  Mom touched her hand over his heart, and he felt like she’d hit him there. But almost as soon as the pain touched him, it was gone. All his memories of his father and mother were brought back to him in a single moment. Remi said once again they had to leave.

  “I can’t. Not without you.” She asked him if he knew how to use his newfound magic. “No. I guess not. But you will be careful.”

  “I will. Now go. I can’t kill this fucker while worrying about you.” He felt the shift take him and didn’t have time to look at himself as he was literally tossed from the window, laughing when the wind picked him up, and he soared over the skies. It was the explosion of something entering his mom’s room that had him turning back.

  Don’t, Harlin. She was correct in sending you away. Come. We’ll go to the trees and find shelter there. He didn’t want to. His mate was there and could be hurt. She can’t die, Harlin. And if you’re there, she will get harmed trying to protect you. Remi has been a warrior since long before you were born and will be the only thing that comes between you and being hurt forever. We’ll hide. Then when she’s dealt with the issues, we’ll meet up with her again.

  They landed in the trees not far from the nursing home. He couldn’t see what was going on and thought that was better. If he could see her getting hurt or even in trouble, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stay away. His mother spoke to him as they waited for Remi to come back to him.

  Your father was fae. A powerful man in his own right. When we wed, there was much celebration. Basil was ill even then, but he was still a hardy man. Rosemary, his wife, wasn’t a nice person, not when compared to the man he was. However, he was doing a good job of keeping the fae out of harm’s way. When Rosemary got pregnant, the man was besotted to the point of being sappy about the prospects of a child. Harlin asked her how he’d found out the child wasn’t his. He didn’t know, not then. I’m supposing he knows now. But it was said that his wife died in labor, taking the newborn child with her in death. Then the rumor surfaced that she’d killed Juniper for some misdeed he’d done to her. I never knew what that was. But no more than three days later, I saw the two of them with a newborn child. I knew it was a dangerous thing to try and approach their kind about it. The household, too, was in on things going on. They were loyal to only Rose and kept the secret from him. I do believe they might have had a hand in his near demise as well.

  Iron. He was being given the iron that was in his body when the birds went to see him. Mom nodded, and he looked at the nursing home window again. The screams being heard were not that of a female. She saved us and the king. I don’t know who took the iron from his body, but it had to be one of the birds to have done it. Remi told me it was the size of a ball, so much had been given to him. I wonder what will happen now.

  Just then, he saw people racing from the nursing home. Then the fire alarm was sounding. As the people below them raced as far as they could away from the building, Harlin saw the middle of the building burning. Just then, an explosion blasted, hard enough to rock the tree they were in, and he saw Remi flying from the window and past them as the place burned hotter, engulfing the entire building.

  He was ready to go after Remi when she landed in the tree beside him. She was her vulture, larger than he was as his fae, but she didn’t look harmed. When she asked him if he was all right, Harlin nodded, then asked her if she was as well.

  This is going to be trouble. Not for me, but for Basil. We’ll have to go back home today and let him know that the man who was supposed to have been his son is no more. Mom asked her how she’d killed Sorrel. I took out his heart. Then I removed his head. He vanished in seconds, so there will be no trace of him being there. However, with the cameras in the place and them seeing him enter with his weapons out, he will be thought to have caused the fire and was killed in it. Harlin asked her again if she was all right. I am. I swear it. I wish I’d had time to make him suffer as he had so many before, but with the fire rolling through the building and the people needing to get out, I thought taking my time would have cost more lives than not. Mom thanked her. We’re going to have to go now. I’m sorry, but we’d better get ahead of Juniper and Rose before they make it home.

  Do you know why Sorrel came here? Did he know what I was or anything like that? Remi told him that he knew his mother was here, and he knew in some way that she was involved in him not being able to get any money. He would have tried to kill her.

  No, he would have killed her. He was the son of the queen of fae, no matter who fathered him. Until Basil disowns her or kills her—what I’d do if I were him—then he was the heir to the throne. Now Rose is if anyt
hing should happen to Basil. But it won’t. He’s been healed by one of us and is now as immortal as we are. He’ll be so happy to see you two. Mercy told him that we’re on our way there. He didn’t know how that worked, but Remi flew off the branch and into the sky. We’ll make good time flying like this. It will take us a while, but I’m used to flying. If you need to rest, just let me know, and we’ll stop to rest. Otherwise, we should be home by morning.

  Harlin struggled for the first hour or so, not in need of a rest but getting the hang of flying again. The memory was there of him knowing how to do it, but it was only a memory and not something he’d practiced. Even taking off and landing was giving him fits until he watched his mom do it a couple of times. She confessed that she’d been flying at night when the place was closed up. He was going to have to get more practice if he was going to keep up with his mate.

  I didn’t want to tell your mother, but Sorrel brought other men with him when he came into the nursing home. I couldn’t save all the residents but as many as I could. A few of the people were caught in the crossfire when things started to go down. He asked her if his mom had been friends with any of them. Doubtful. She’d been keeping to herself for some time now. I’m sure she knew a great many of the residents, as well as knew what was going on at the other place. As soon as we can, we’re going to have to talk about some things. Mostly what you got from me when we came together, and the things I got from you. I can feel the power you have. And when your mother gave you back your memories, I felt even more of it come to me. Your father also had some for you that you got when your mom let it go.

  I don’t have anything, Remi. I mean, the very little I had when I was working went to take care of my mom. I don’t know what it is you have, but it’s all we have at the moment. She told him that neither of them would have to worry about money. I worry about money all the time. It’s not a pastime for me, but it is high on my lists of worries.

  We’re billionaires, Harlin. More than that, we’re billions of dollars times infinity wealthy. And we continue to make more money every day. What I have is now yours. What the birds have is now yours as well. The six of us, we share everything. When I make a buck, we all make that buck. The same with the others. I promise you, you are going to be just fine. And in that, so will your mother. He flew for a while, thinking on what she’d said about money. Don’t worry about it. There are more important things that we have to do first. Like finding us a home so I can fuck your brains out. That is what you should be thinking on.

  He did and nearly fell out of the sky. Her laughter, strong and happy, made him smile. Harlin did wonder about a couple of things, one of them being what he wanted in the way of a house. Now that it was planted there in his head, he wanted to have a large home where his mother could live with them, as well as a houseful of children. But only if Remi wanted them. He knew better than to put any kinds of restrictions on a woman and her body. He wasn’t stupid.

  Chapter 4

  Rose knew her son was dead. It had nearly torn her apart when she felt the removal of his heart. She could still almost hear it beating when his head had been removed as well. Whoever had done such a thing to her only child was going to pay. She looked out the window of the airplane they were on and tried to control both her sorrow and her temper. When Juniper put his hand over hers, she wanted to jerk away, tell him to leave her alone, but she didn’t.

  “He knew they were around. Why he didn’t stay with us, I’ll never understand. There is safety in numbers. I’ve told him that a thousand times.” Rose nodded at Juniper but bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. Starting an argument now would only cause more trouble between them. They’d been warned once already by the stewardess. She said the next time, they’d land and take them off the plane. “He was going after that woman again, wasn’t he? I could only feel his death, but it was painful enough that I missed the face of the person who did it. Was it the queen’s bird? The one that kept us from our home?”

  “It was.” She turned and looked at Juniper and slipped her hand from his, pretending to wipe her face. “He was killed quickly. I know that too, but it makes it no less painful for what happened to him. He was our only child, Juniper. I don’t know what I’m to do now. He’s gone.”

  “Yes. But we got the money from him first.” Turning away again, she put her hand in her lap and wanted to draw on her magic to give herself a weapon. She wanted to kill Juniper where he sat. But making it so they had identification so they could get on the plane had cost them so much. Rose hadn’t looked in the mirror yet, but she could almost feel her age taking her beauty away. “Just think, we’ll be home in four hours. I bet things haven’t changed a bit, don’t you? I mean, I know they were working on the castle when we left. I’m sure it’s no better than it was before. Who would have been on top of the workers? No one, that’s who. And I’m betting that Basil is near death by now. I have tried to contact the staff we had in place, but they seemed to have been cut off from me.”

  “Do you think them dead?” He asked her who would have had such strength to kill them all. “I was thinking the very same bird that killed my son. She had to be powerful in order to have killed him like she did. I’m telling you right now, Juniper, I’m going to make her pay for what she’s done.”

  With a pat on her leg, he told her that things would work out. There were so many questions going through her mind right now that she wanted to scream. How did he think things were going to go better? They were without their child. Didn’t he feel that as she had? What did he think was going to happen when they arrived there? That they’d be welcomed with open arms? She’d bet anything that they’d be met at the gates to New Town, or even the fae lands, by the birds. Not that it was any of their concern what happened in their world, but the very fact that they had already stuck their feathers in where they didn’t belong made her think they were a short plane ride from death. So long as she was able to extract payment for the death of her son, she’d willingly have her own head removed.

  Pretending to be asleep, she thought of a dozen or more plans and tossed them out. Rose knew some things that Juniper didn’t. Like the queen’s birds would and could kill whoever they wanted. Even all the humans in the world if they felt like it. Even, she thought sadly, her own baby boy.

  When the plane came to a jerky stop, she waited until everyone on the plane was off before she stood up. They’d had to fly coach and not what they had wanted. If it had been up to Juniper, he would have charted them a plane to go home in with just the two of them on board. It was just dawning on her how much he was worthless when it came to saving money. She’d bet anything that had she not taken the money from him when she had, they’d not have two coins to rub together. Much less enough to fly home. Rose hoped there was someone there that would end her misery and kill Juniper as soon as they landed. But it would never happen that way. She’d have to deal with him forever. It took her a long time to remember why she’d liked him at all.

  Rose had begun to hate the other man. Wondering if there had ever been a time when she loved him, she stared at him while he waited on the line of people to leave so he could get their carry on. It was only an empty bag with a few magazines in it, but he had acted like it needed its own overhead compartment when they’d gotten on this morning.

  It had taken her a while to figure out the money system with the humans. It wasn’t like they had at home, where bartering was the way to go when a family or a person needed something. Even work was done in a way that no one would have to exchange dirty money or coins to have it done. Human money was dirty too. Nasty, as a matter of fact.

  Credit cards had given her so much trouble she’d finally cut them all up and carried money around when she could. It was cumbersome, but it kept her from overspending and having to pay off a bill each month when it arrived. That was what had gotten them into deep trouble when the cards were presented to them—the realization that they’d have to be pai
d off. That there wasn’t an endless supply of money on them that you never had to worry about. To this day, Juniper still had trouble with it. That was why she handled all the money. Or when she could, she made sure she had it before Juniper did.

  Disembarking, she was hit with the smell at first. Nothing smelled cleaner than the air out here. As they were making their way up the ramp, she thought of the million and one things she needed to do yet. One of them was to contact Basil and see if he’d forgive her. She wanted out of this mess with Juniper in the worst kind of way. When her name was called with Juniper, she looked up at the man and woman standing there. While she didn’t know them, the magic coming off them was so strong she was ill with it. It wasn’t until he spoke that she found herself down on her knees and bowing her head.

  “I’m happy to see you have retained some manners, Rosemary. You’ve been causing a great deal of trouble for those you left behind. I do hope you’re willing to reap what you have sown.” She said she was sorry. “I’m afraid that sorry does not cut it. You and Juniper are going to pay for your crimes and do so without complaint. Basil is going to join us at my estate.”

  “Basil?” She didn’t look up to see if anyone answered Juniper. But since he spoke again, Rose figured they had. “I last heard he was on death’s bed, your lordship. I’m sorry. But I don’t believe I know who you are. You have the magic of someone powerful, and I do wish to submit to you, but I don’t believe we’ve met.”

  “This is my wife, Queen Judith, Wife of Duncan Neal Dante, Queen of Duncan Castle, Lady of the Realm. I am King Duncan, only son of Queen Dante, Queen of Dante Castle, Lord of the Realm.” Rose did glance at them then. There was no way this was Dante’s child. She never had any children. “And yet, here I stand. Rose, you would be better off thinking better thoughts than how you will kill one of my birds. I will deal with you and your husband directly. For now, you will be put in arms and taken to my castle.”