Eve of the Fae (Modern Fae Book 1)

by E. Menozzi

  “Yes, we live at Lydbury,” Aunt Vivian said. I silently thanked her for saving me while I remembered how to speak.

  “Ah, of course. The old manor house. I’m familiar with Lydbury. Old estates are such treasures.” My lips twitched. Who even talked like that, anymore? Posh young English guys, apparently.

  “Yes, it’s been in my husband’s family for years. Are you familiar with the Sauvage family?” Aunt Vivian had warmed to the conversation, and I could tell she’d completely take over in a minute if I didn’t get my brain back.

  He turned his focus toward her. “I am familiar with the name. Though, I can’t say I know of your husband. What did you say his name is?”

  “Oscar. Oscar Sauvage,” she replied. I discreetly nudged her with my elbow. “But I’m afraid I’ve hijacked your conversation. I should let you two chat and go find that book I wanted.” She arched her eyebrows at me and shot me a significant look before walking away.

  “Your aunt is lovely.”

  “Yes, she is,” I said. I wanted to slap myself. I finally had him alone again and that was the best I could manage for conversation. I’d clearly been out of the flirting game too long.

  “So, what do you say, can I take you to dinner?”

  I blinked at him. It was like he’d heard my thoughts. I couldn’t believe this gorgeous, well-dressed, and, by the looks of it, well-educated young man had just asked me to dinner. I nodded as I struggled to find the right response.

  “I’d be happy to drive out to Lydbury to pick you up. It would be no trouble. There are some lovely places out that way.”

  I swallowed and found my voice, finally. “Oh, you don’t need to do that. I could just meet you in town and we could go to a pub.”

  “Nonsense. Besides, there’s a much nicer pub near Lydbury. Let me take you.”

  I nodded. “Okay,” I said.

  “Brilliant. Shall I pick you up around seven?”

  My eyes went wide. He wanted to take me out tonight. I blinked. Maybe I hadn’t been dating much recently, but he seemed to be moving pretty fast. Still, what harm was there in having dinner with someone? Perhaps he could tell me more about the area. He seemed to already know something about Lydbury.

  “Sure. I can be ready at seven. You know how to find my aunt and uncle’s house?”

  “Certainly. Lydbury is legendary around here.”

  “You’re not asking me out just to get a closer look at their place, are you?” I crossed my arms over my chest and smirked at him.

  He took a step closer to me and lifted my hand. “It appears only one of Lydbury’s treasures has my full attention.” He bent to place a light kiss on the back of my hand, and my heart raced. He glanced up at me as his lips brushed my skin and met my eyes. “See you tonight?”

  My mouth had gone dry. I swallowed and nodded. “See you then.”

  He released my hand, and I smiled at him before walking over to join my aunt.

  “So?” she whispered to me when I stepped alongside her.

  “Oh. My. God,” I said.

  “Yes, he is godlike, isn’t he?” she whispered.

  I elbowed her in the ribs. “Let’s go.”

  She paid for her selection, and I attempted to browse book covers until she returned. Unfortunately, their history section didn’t hold much of interest. I resisted glancing over at Nigel until we were about to leave. When I did, he looked up from the book he was reading, met my eyes, and smiled. I waved and followed my aunt through the door.

  “Well, that was productive,” Aunt Vivian said. “I get my shopping done, and you manage to run into possibly the most attractive young man in the entire town. Did you get his number, or whatever it is you young people do these days?”

  “He asked me to dinner.” The cold air did nothing to chill my still warm cheeks. I tugged my hat over my head, hoping the earflaps might manage to hide some of my blushing.

  “Well, then. A gentleman who knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to ask for it. I like that. And you said yes, of course.” When I didn’t respond immediately, she clutched my arm with her free hand. “You did say yes, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.” It thrilled me that Nigel had been so clearly interested. I pushed away the tiny thought that something wasn’t quite right and blamed my hesitation on the fact that I’d had such bad luck with guys recently.

  “Good. Once we find you a boyfriend here, you’ll never want to leave.” She grinned. “When’s your date?”

  “Tonight. And I’m not looking for a boyfriend. It’s just one date.” Nigel appeared to have everything I thought I wanted in a guy, but I was nowhere near ready to think of him as a potential boyfriend.

  “Tonight? My. He certainly doesn’t waste any time, does he?”

  I shook my head. “My thoughts exactly.”

  “Did you see those biceps, though? And that hair?” My aunt sighed and fanned herself. “I wish my hair had half as much body as his does.”

  I giggled. He did have nice hair. Dark hair, cut in a sleek short and professional style, but thick on top and shiny. It made you want to run your fingers through it. Only, shiny probably meant product. Guys and hair product were not a good combination, in my experience.

  “What time is he picking you up?”

  “Seven.”

  “Good. We still have time to stop at a few more stores. Then I’ll get you home so you’ll have plenty of time to get ready.”

  “Will Uncle Oscar be upset that I’m not staying home with you two this evening?” I needed to be spending more time with him, not less. But one dinner out couldn’t hurt, so long as I could convince him at tea to let me help him, at least while Liam was away.

  “Oh, no, dear. He wants you to enjoy your visit. Besides, we’ll be home in plenty of time for you to have tea with him and catch up. Now, this may be a small village, but we happen to have an amazing bakery.” She started listing off more potential treats we might bring home for tea, but my thoughts drifted back to the temple ruins and the paper Liam had told me about. I was sure there must be a connection. Perhaps the legends had it all wrong and Godda had been some beautiful temple attendant whom Edric had met on one of his visits there. It was time to find out what my uncle had to say on the subject.

  Thinking of Liam made me feel a little guilty about saying yes to dinner with Nigel. But I reminded myself that Liam had no claim on me. So what if I’d kissed my uncle’s secretary? It didn’t mean anything. He’d left without saying goodbye. And, besides, Nigel looked like he was more my type.

  Mother felt stronger after resting most of the morning. I’d left her sitting up in bed, talking with Fiona, and stepped into the hall to find Arabella. Every minute I spent here was time I should be spending searching Oscar’s artifacts for something that would help us. I needed to get back to Lydbury.

  I found Arabella pacing outside Mother’s cottage.

  “Hey,” I called.

  Arabella stopped and turned to face me. “How is she?”

  “A bit better.” I sighed. “She insists that she won’t last much longer. Fiona is talking with her now.”

  “We’ll need her magic to destroy the artifact, once you find it. There has to be something that can help her keep her strength, even if it’s just for a little longer.” She crossed her arms and frowned.

  I ran a hand through my hair. “I know. I need to get back to Lydbury, but I don’t want to leave her.”

  “Go see your sire. Maybe he can help. If we can’t find something to help her hold on, I’m going to need you here to help me protect Fi.”

  I nodded. “Fine. Where is he?”

  Arabella shook her head. “I heard he’s been spending time near the Falls. But he may be on one of his pilgrimages again.”

  “All right. I’ll start at the Falls and see what I can find. I won’t be gone long.”

  I walked to the edge of the trees and concentrat
ed on pulling my magic up to the surface. There wasn’t time to waste worrying about being out of practice, but knowing Arabella was watching made me nervous. I closed my eyes and imagined my sire as I’d last seen him, standing in front of the glassy pool at the foot of Faerie Falls. When I opened my eyes, I was standing in front of that pool, but there was no sign of him. The magic cloaking this place was thick and newly patched. Other than that, there were no obvious signs that he had been here recently.

  Cahal, my sire, was possibly the most ancient Fae still alive. His magic linked him with water and healing, but his spirit was restless and he frequently traveled across England, drawing power from, and bringing life to, the country’s bodies of water. The Falls were his sanctuary.

  I stripped and waded into the cool, clear water until it lapped against my chest. Then I pushed off the rocky bottom and swam across the pool to the base of the falls, ducking under the wall of water. I surfaced on the other side and let my ears adjust to the crashing roar of tumbling water echoing against the rock before climbing up onto a ledge. It took only a thought to dry my skin and conjure my clothes back onto my body. Then I ducked into the cave entrance hidden by the waterfall.

  The falls blocked most of the light, and within a few meters, the darkness had enveloped me. I cupped my hands in front of me and conjured a ball of light. Then, with a flick of my wrist, I released it and let it float in front of me, illuminating my path. I nudged it ahead and followed the narrow, dripping corridor deeper into the cavern. Flashes of blue-green light at the far end of the cave were my first indication that I was not alone.

  In case the flashes were not something produced by my sire, I extinguished the glowing orb and transformed into my animal form, something I hadn’t done since before I’d set foot in Lydbury. Each of my kin could take a different animal form. Mine was a mountain lion. I hadn’t picked it—the form had picked me. But I loved the enhanced senses I gained: stealth, night vision, and a more refined sense of smell than my human form afforded me. I flexed my muscles and relished the increased strength, power, and grace compared to my human body.

  I padded around a bend in the cave wall. Another flash illuminated a hunched figure near the back of the cave. I approached on silent paws along a path that led to a ledge overlooking the cavern floor. I kept my senses trained on the figure as I paced to the overlook. When I reached the edge, a ring of sparking light rose from the figure’s outstretched hand, growing larger as it sped toward my face. I let out an instinctive, low snarl and shrank back, away from the light.

  “Come down from there, son.” The figure let its hood fall back to expose a mane of white hair surrounding a deeply lined face.

  I pounced from my ledge to a lower perch, then landed on the cavern floor.

  “You’re out of practice,” Cahal said. He’d gone back to fiddling with the object in his hands and didn’t look up at me, even after I’d transformed back into my human form.

  “I haven’t been using my magic,” I admitted. His scolding stung more than Arabella’s constant reminders.

  “Yes, I heard,” he said, still without looking up from his work. “You’ve been masquerading as a human. Living among them. What nonsense.”

  I sighed. “Sire, I didn’t come for a lecture.”

  “What did you come here for, then?” He glanced up from the object he held to glare at me.

  “Mother’s fading.” Tears stung the corners of my eyes, but I wouldn’t let them escape here.

  “I am aware.” He frowned and returned to his tinkering.

  “Is there nothing you can do?” I took a step forward and swept my arms out toward the cave walls. Anger replaced the sadness I’d felt moments before.

  He stopped and his head snapped up, his blue eyes blazing in the dim light. “Don’t you think I would have done something if I could?”

  I took a step back and dropped my hands to my sides. “I don’t know. You’ve been away so long…” I shook my head.

  “I have my responsibilities and your mother has hers. She knew that when we bonded.”

  “But, she’s fading. Aren’t you…don’t you want to…say goodbye?” My sire hadn’t lived with us, but I knew my parents loved each other deeply. I couldn’t understand why he would behave this way.

  “How do you know I haven’t already?” he asked, his voice low.

  “Have you seen her?” My heart ached at the way my mother had looked, so frail in her bed, just hours ago.

  “I’ve done what I can, as she asked me to.” He frowned.

  “She came to you?” Hope returned in a rush. She hadn’t given up.

  “You think you’re the only one who knows how to find me?”

  “I know she’s lived a long life, even for the Fae. But we need her to hold on just a bit longer. Just until we can end the Hunt.” We were so close. He had to understand that.

  “The Hunt.” He shook his head and returned to tinkering with the box in his hands. “And what makes you think you’ll be successful this time?”

  “We think the artifact anchoring Edric’s spirit to the living world is still at Lydbury. If we can find it and destroy it, we can banish him to the Underworld for good.” It sounded so simple when I put it like that.

  “I suppose this is why you’re wasting your talents and hiding out as a human?”

  “I was better suited to this than any of the others.”

  “Your plan will fail, and then what? I can’t hold her here forever. She deserves rest, peace.”

  “Our plan won’t fail. I’ll tear that manor to pieces before I let our plan fail. We will destroy Edric and his Hunters.”

  “You can’t even sneak up on an old man in a cave.”

  “You’re hardly an old man.”

  “If you’d been training, if you harnessed the power you possess, you could bring the fight to them. You don’t need an artifact, son. What you need is to accept your heritage.”

  His criticism stung. Maybe if there were more of us, he might have a point. “Then what’s your excuse? Why aren’t you helping us bring the fight to them?”

  He locked his blue eyes onto mine and scowled at me. “I am not Sworn. I’m an Elemental. My responsibilities are here. You know where yours lie. Not with those humans—those destructive animals who think nothing of polluting their world and make my work nearly impossible. The thought of you living among them disgusts me. You trained with me as a boy. You know what they do, what they’re capable of, and yet you’ve abandoned your post and your magic to pretend to be one of them.”

  No surprise that he wouldn’t approve of my interest in Evelyn, then. Not that it mattered. “I’m on a mission for the Court.”

  He snorted. “Whatever you need to tell yourself.” He aimed another flash of light at the box in his hand. The flash ricocheted off the box and slammed into the cavern wall. The box shook, and he poked at it again with the tool he held in his hand.

  “Being one of the Fae used to mean something. Being a member of the Queen’s Sworn used to be an honor.” I shook my head and began pacing. “Now it just means constant war over an ages-old grudge led by a madman hell-bent on slaughtering our kind.”

  “Then change it.” He grumbled and fussed with the tool.

  “I can’t.” I might be able to help stop the war, but our numbers were so diminished, even without the Hunt, I feared we wouldn’t survive.

  He shrugged. “Well, I can’t help you.”

  I narrowed my eyes and glared at him. “You stand there telling me I should be using my powers. You’re a healer. You should be with Mother now. Are you not at the service of our queen?”

  “Clever boy. You think you have me there, don’t you? Well, you know nothing. When you’re as old as me, you can tell me a thing or two. Until then, allow me to remind you, your mother is nearly as ancient as I am. She doesn’t need a healer. She needs to be allowed to fade. It is her right. Let her spirit return t
o strengthen the force that feeds our magic.”

  I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. “Sod it. I’ve had enough. If you won’t help, I’m leaving.” I turned my back on him and started to walk away.

  “Liam,” he said. I stopped walking but didn’t turn around. “If you really want to help your mother and find that artifact, use your magic. Stop acting like a human.”

  His words were like a punch to my gut. I stalked through the darkness down the corridor until I reached the cave entrance. Arabella had been telling me since I’d first volunteered for this assignment that I should just use my magic. Maybe my sire was right. And if he wouldn’t help me, then I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to destroy Edric now, before he had a chance to hurt any more of my kin. I owed it to my mother to avenge her sisters, to my cousins to avenge their mothers. But I would need to act fast. We were less than two days from the solstice, and once I used that type of magic in the manor, it would be like setting off a beacon. I would draw the Hunt directly to Lydbury’s doorstep. I wouldn’t have much time to find the artifact and destroy it, let alone protect Oscar and his family. And if I were wrong, if the house did not hold Edric’s secrets, I’d be putting Evelyn in the middle of a war I couldn’t stop.

  7

  Aunt Vivian served the tea in the library. I hadn’t returned to this room since I’d left Liam standing by the fire staring after me. Everything in this room reminded me of the look in his eyes just before he kissed me, the feel of his lips against mine, his hands on my hips. I wondered what would have happened if my aunt and uncle hadn’t come home. At least this way I had less to regret. Just a few kisses. It meant nothing.

  “Ah, there you are!” Uncle Oscar walked into the library carrying a stack of books and a small wrapped package. “I’ve made almost no progress this morning. I had to fetch all my books and papers myself. It appears I’ve become accustomed to my secretary.” He set the pile of books on a table and lifted the velvet-wrapped bundle off the top. “But all this messing about in my files did uncover one particular treasure.” He held up the bundle. “Evelyn, I have something for you.”