by Shania Tyler
Genius plan.
Except for the fact that if he so much as touched her, he wouldn’t stop at a pint… and he might not stop at blood. He found her attractive as well. Beyond so.
He tried to remember the last time he’d been this attracted to anyone and his mind went blank… before it was filled with her smile.
Home, a voice in his mind whispered.
He frowned, wondering why he’d associate her with his house. The only people who belonged in his house were the Rebels. His parents had been murdered when he was young and his sister had died fifty years ago. The only family that mattered to him was his distant cousin Ronan and the wonderful woman who’d raised him. His aunt Berna.
Sadly, Berna was a leader on the council, so she was not welcomed here, but Theo would always be grateful to her for what she’d done for him. She’d taken care of him, and when he’d come of age, she’d given him his birthright. The Morwen Mountains and all the stone and ore that came from them. Admittedly, he believed that Berna had only been selected for a seat on the council because she’d been in control of young Theo’s lands. They thought she’d keep them. She’d proven them all wrong. He loved her, but couldn’t abide the slavery of the elves.
Was Piper really an elf? How had she come back to mind?
He was a mess. He couldn’t go to the banquet hall. He’d simply have to have Mason or someone else give him a report.
He lifted his pen once more and dipped it into the ink.
He stared at the jumble of words and numbers before him. He couldn’t work. The thought of not seeing her was too distracting. He put the pen down again, closed the ink, the book, and left the office, all the while calling himself every sort of demented. Why did he ache to torture himself with her presence? Only a madman would know.
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3
CHAPTER
THREE
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“Hold him,” Maurice instructed Ethan.
His brother knelt on the tied-up man’s back without question. He liked that.
Ethan met Maurice’s eyes. “Is this really necessary?”
Or maybe not.
Maurice pushed his hair back from his face, pulled a blade out of his boot, and knelt by Cayn, making sure the metal was visible to the man’s eyes.
Cayn’s dark brown eyes widened. “What are you doing, Maurice? I’m one of you.”
Ethan jumped up and held out his hand. A frown appeared on his face. “Hold up, man. I didn’t sign up for this. What are you doing?”
Cayn rolled onto his back in his storage room and began to shuffle backward with his butt and feet, the only parts of him that were free to move. His hands rested on his chest and were tied around his knees in a way that Maurice knew he’d never break free of.
Ethan moved in front of Maurice. “What’s up, man? Why are you doing this?” For someone who looked so much like him, Ethan was nothing like Maurice. Same piercing blue eyes and blond hair, though Maurice’s was darker. He attributed that to the fact that Maurice was vampire and Ethan elf. But what drove Maurice hard were the looks and questions. So many questions and always with his heart on his sleeve. Thankfully, Maurice had learned to fight, but his brother was still a little punk in Maurice’s eyes.
He supposed it was what happened when you were raised by two loving parents. How unfortunate for Maurice.
“Cayn is a traitor. I’m just taking out the trash.”
Ethan’s eyes widened, but he calmed down and said, “Are you sure?”
“No.” Maurice then pointed his blade toward Roud, who was tied up at the other end of the room. He was a little worse for wear, since Maurice had already taken his fist to the man’s face. Fist first, questions later, he always said, “It could be him.”
Ethan’s gaze became irritated again. “So, you’re not sure? What the heck have you dragged me into?”
Maurice pushed Ethan out of the way, then walked over and dragged Cayn back to the center of the room. He screamed as he went, and Maurice was disappointed in the fighter. He’d been a good man and with a little rope and the flash of a blade, he’d been reduced to a little girl. Maybe a pincushion by the end of the night. That would be better sight.
“Maurice.” Ethan stepped in front of him again. “You can’t just go around tying people up and killing them because you’re unsure.”
Maurice lifted a brow. “I can’t?” He dropped Cayn and snapped the fingers on his free hand in a way that said, ‘shucks’. “Oh, well.” Then in one single action, he spun around and sank his blade into Cayn’s thigh.
The man screamed.
“You a traitor, Cayn?” Maurice shouted over his sobs.
Ethan dropped down to Cayn as the blood began to pool around the wound. “Oh, my god. Oh, my god, what did you do?” He looked up at Maurice as though he didn’t know him.
And that was just it. Ethan didn’t know him and probably never would.
Maurice snatched the blade out.
Cayn cried again.
“Cayn,” Maurice called.
The fighter turned to him, shaking and sweating and knowing that death was at his front door. Maurice couldn’t remember how many times he’d seen this look on someone’s face, but he remembered his first victim.
It had been easier than he’d expected. Ending a life.
“Are you a traitor, Cayn?”
Cayn shook his head, though it was hard to read with all the shaking he was ready doing.
“Maurice,” Ethan called in warning.
Maurice continued, ignoring Ethan, his eyes never leaving Cayn. “You see, the thing is, I don’t believe you, Cayn. I think you and Roud are both traitors.”
“I’m n-not,” Cayn said quickly. “I’d n-never betray the R-rebels.”
“Never?” Maurice asked. From the corner of his eye, he saw someone look through the window and frowned. He turned to Ethan. “Fuck, Ethan. You brought your girlfriend? This is an assignment.”
“I didn’t think you’d be doing this!” Ethan shouted and stood.
Maurice stood as well. “What else would I have called you for? To hang out?”
“Maybe!” Ethan said.
Maurice’s eyes went wide. His brother was an idiot. “I called you out to the supply room to hang out.”
Ethan shrugged and then grabbed the back of his neck in the way Abercrombie and Fitch models did that always irritated Maurice. “Sorry.” Then he headed toward the door.
“No, Ethan, don’t open that— Fuck sake, Ethan, don’t bring her in here!”
Meg stood at the entrance with a startled look in her green eyes. Her wild red curls tumbled down one of her shoulders. Her hands were folded over her chest, and she looked like a delicate bird with all the flowing of her multicolored skirts around her. A scared, delicate flower. This was no place for a girl like her. She did not belong around him or this world. Maurice had told Ethan that before he and Kelly had brought their friend, but did they ever listen to good ol’ Maurice?
No.
They, well at least everyone but Piper, were from nice safe neighborhoods with picket fences and friendly faces. Maurice was not. Maurice was so far removed from what they knew that for all of Ethan’s muscles and honor, Maurice knew he would break if he ever knew the truth.
Gods, but he hadn’t wanted her to see this.
Ethan said, “Meg, this is my brother. Maurice, this is Meg.”
He knew who she was. “Get her out of here.”
Meg frowned. She looked at the man on the floor. “What are you doing?”
What was with all the questions? Couldn’t a man hack a guy in his supply closet without being harassed? Ah, the good old days. “We’re have a tea party. You’re not invited.”
Meg frowned further. “What did these men do?” She had a voice that was so calm and quiet that it made people want to whisper back.
Maurice raised his voice. “I don’t know yet
. They could be traitors.” He hadn’t meant to tell her, but the truth was out.
Meg walked farther into the room.
Maurice’s eyes widened and he backed away. “What the heck are you doing?”
Ethan rushed after her. “Meg, you shouldn’t—”
Meg squatted by Cayn, and her skirts billowed about her. She asked, “Are you a traitor?”
Cayn shook his head at her.
Meg smiled and said, “Well, you see, I have this special gift, Cayn. If I touch you, I will have dreams about you and those dreams will reveal the truth. My dreams reveal many truths, perhaps some that you’d rather someone not know. Dark and horrible things.”
Cayn’s eyes widened. “Don’t touch me.”
“I won’t if you tell me the truth.” She was so gentle as she spoke. “But if you’re lying, I think Maurice might hurt you really bad.”
“That’s affirmative,” Maurice said. “I’ll gut you like a fish.”
Cayn’s eyes widened.
Meg said, “And I’ll reveal every horrible thing that I see. I’ll ruin you, even after death.” Her green eyes held no emotion as she stared at Cayn.
Maurice couldn’t have taken his eyes off her at that moment if he’d wanted to. Was she serious? She was more kickass than he’d originally given her credit for.
She continued, “But if you tell us the truth, we’ll let you go.”
“What?” Maurice shouted. “I didn’t agree to that!”
“Tell us the truth,” Meg told Cayn. “Tell us the truth before it’s too late.” She reached out toward him.
Cayn crawled back. “No, wait, okay! It’s Roud! It was all him. I saw the notes to Isabella in his room. I know where he keeps them.”
Meg frowned, her hand still raised. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“He gave me a portion of his earnings.” He watched her hand with greater fear than he’d watched Maurice’s blade, and Maurice could only think of the sick things Cayn had done in his life. What did he possibly have to hide?
“Maurice!” Ethan shouted.
Maurice spun, pulled his sword, and blocked Roud’s strike. The sound of their blades meeting echoed in the room. Maurice smiled in the swollen face of the traitor. He had no idea how Roud had gotten free, but he was glad. He’d needed a fight. It was why he’d chosen the supply closet. Eventually, he’d have let one of them fight for their lives and then watched them die with the small amount of honor they had left.
Roud pulled back his blade and the fight was on.
His opponent must have been storing up energy for this, because he was quick and light on his feet, fighting like a man who knew his end was coming. He slashed at Maurice wildly and Maurice circled back, leading Roud away from Meg. He didn’t want her hurt.
Meg backed into a corner.
Ethan knocked Cayn out and then started to make his way toward Maurice, blade out.
Maurice grinned, moved, kicked Roud behind the knee, and spun him toward Ethan.
His brother looked wide-eyed at him, but when Roud’s disoriented mind clear and he brought his blade down, Ethan caught it with his own and fought.
Maurice backed away and leaned against the wall to watch the fight. This, he thought, he would remember. Team work. It was moments like this that Ethan made him proud. He’d become a great fighter.
Roud hissed when his swinging arm was cut into, but the walking dead man kept up the fight.
“You’re enjoying yourself,” Meg said with disapproval in her voice.
He looked over at her to find her green eyes stuck on Ethan, but she didn’t flinch with the blows like Kelly had when she’d first witnessed the fighting months ago and that had only been during training. “Your ability. It is real?”
Meg looked over at him, and Maurice noticed the gold spun through the green of her eyes. She lifted her hand.
He went still, but didn’t move away.
She smiled. She’d seen his slight jerk. “What are you afraid of? Are you hiding something dark, too?”
“No,” he told her. “Just trying to save you from nightmares. You don’t want to see the things I’ve done.”
Meg stared at him for a moment and then put her hand down.
Maurice let out a breath.
“Maurice!” Ethan called.
Glad for the distraction, he gave his sword a turn and headed for the fight. “You might want to go inside the house now,” he told her. “Because it’s about to get bloody.” And then he refused to look at her again. If she stayed, she’d get an eye full, but it would be on her.
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4
CHAPTER
FOUR
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The banquet hall took up the entire third floor of the mansion, allowing them to sit every man Piper had seen out on the field. The candles that flickered on the table and the single chandelier in the center of the room made the settling almost romantic, if one ignored the grunting and rough laughter of the men.
Everyone seemed to be in good spirits and Piper was glad to be among them, though she didn’t understand a word.
She sat on the end of a long one in the back of the room and far from the main entrance. She learned that it was the table for the leaders and since Piper and Meg were their guests, they’d been given seats with the other men. An exotic-looking woman was also at the table a few seats away, talking animatedly with Kelly. She’d been introduced as Fedora, but Kelly hadn’t told them much else about her.
“How long do you think it will take us to learn the language?” Piper asked.
Meg, who was sitting next to her, said, “Kelly told us that if we requested, she would stop speaking English to us if we really wanted a fair shot at knowing Chebar.”
Piper frowned, remembering the offer. Chebar was not like Earth languages, but was a magic language that came up from their earth. Kelly said it had only taken her days, but the chick was a goddess, so her timeline wouldn’t work for Piper or Meg.
Large hands came to rest on either side of her on the table, and Piper turned to find a man with striking blue eyes staring down at her.
She backed away and blinked, wondering what he was doing. He was blond with a stone in his left ear the same startling shade as his eyes.
He backed away and turned to Mason and shrugged. “E monte’ou wonte a elf.”
She’d only caught ‘elf’ in all of that.
Mason stared at Piper for a moment and then nodded his head toward Meg. “A e Te’?”
The guy looked at Meg, but didn’t move toward her.
Another hand blocked him, and Ethan made an appearance. “Fele’ouna e te’ a ote’ouna.” Ethan looked ready to commit murder.
With the men standing so near, Piper saw similarities in their faces and builds. Her eyes widened as she recognized the guy from Ethan’s stories. This was Ethan’s long-lost brother, Maurice. But why had he been leaning over Piper?
Ethan look at Meg. “E te’ elf.”
Piper turned to Meg. “What just happened?”
Meg was staring between all the men and then turned back to Piper. “Apparently, we’re elves.”
Piper narrowed her eyes. “What?” Then she shook her head. “Wait. How do you know?”
Meg looked sheepish and said, “I asked Ethan to start speaking Chebar to me a few months ago. So, I’ve caught some of it.”
Piper gasped. “So, I’m the only one who’s lost?”
Meg’s cheeks pinkened. “I didn’t catch everything exactly.”
“Well, what did you catch?”
Meg sighed. “Maurice said you smell like nothing but elf. Then Mason asked, ‘and her?’ talking about me. Then Maurice looked at me, but Ethan said, ‘Touch her and die,’ but that’s all I caught.”
Piper blinked. “You caught the entire conversation it sounds like.”
Meg looked away.
If she was an elf, i
t meant that her parents had been elves, and Piper wasn’t sure she wanted anything to do with the people who’d abandoned her when she was two. She’d been left at the city fire station nineteen years ago with nothing but a note that read her birthday. Not even her name had been left to her. Instead, the social worker who’d picked her up had named her and the name had stuck after no one tried to claim her after a year.
Her situation made her think of Kelly, who had been abandoned as well, but her mother had been a goddess and had in some magical way arranged guardians for her, but no one had thought to do the same for Piper.
She’d met Ethan, Meg, and Kelly in second grade and it had taken her three years before she’d finally admitted why she’d never invited them over or why she never went to their houses. She’d told them about a group house she lived in, but it wasn’t one with a foster mother. Instead, it was a center called Happy Faces run by group of faculty members that never stayed long enough for Piper to form attachments.
She remembered the first time she’d been able to visit Meg’s home and spend the night. She’d been ten and Meg’s parents, who worked on the city council, had written letters until they’d been given permission to take Piper for the weekend. She’d loved every minute of that first visit. She remembered eating turkey sandwiches by the pool and watching cartoons while eating waffles the next morning. It had been the best day of Piper’s ten years. It was still in her top three.
After that day, Piper had spent almost every night at Meg’s, only returning to Happy Faces when it was mandatory. She’d hated Happy Faces. She remembered the kids who came and went from there. The younger ones were sometimes adopted. For a long time, Piper had even wished she looked more like Kelly. She’d been sure that if she’d been petite and blond with bright blue eyes she’d have been adopted, but instead, she’d been lanky with dark hair and forgettable brown eyes.
