Stealing Summer, Hunter

by Lexi Blake

  This woman was well loved. This woman was in control and knew the world would bend to her will.

  “I brushed my teeth, Mama.” A little girl walked in the room, dragging a stuffed animal behind her. She had dark red curls and was basically my mini-me. Well, my mom’s.

  My mother swung the girl up in her arms. “Of course you did, sweetie. You don’t want your teeth to fall out like your brother does. Rhys, you’ve got fifteen minutes before Trent will be here to drive you to school. Make sure you have that homework and your pencils and your notebooks. It’s not a good thing that Lee is more organized than you are. Well, good morning, Marcus. Danny should be here any minute.”

  “I’m here right now.” My father strode in and immediately went to my mom and sister. He placed a big hand on my sister’s head. “Good morning, baby girl.” He kissed the top of her head and then kissed my mom. “I’ll see you later, Z. Marcus and I have some plans we need to go over concerning Kelsey’s training.”

  My father. He was big and broad and looked…safe to me. I couldn’t remember many of the things I learned that day, but I remembered him. I remembered how he’d come for my mother when Haweigh was going to take her back to Tír na nÓg to stand trial for what she’d done. My father had torn through a whole building to get to her and I’d felt his love.

  I’d always wondered what it would feel like to be that loved. I’d remembered the ache in his heart as he’d named me. He’d looked at my mother and then to me and called me Summer.

  “Okay, I brushed my teeth,” Lee said as he walked back in.

  “I will smell your breath,” my mother vowed.

  Lee opened his mouth and made fire breathing dragon sounds that had his brother and sister in fits of giggles.

  “You know you should just do it the first time, son.” Dev Quinn walked in from the opposite side and smiled down at the boy who looked so much like him. “She always finds out.” He turned to my mother. “You want coffee on the balcony?”

  I could feel the love between them. I wasn’t sure how it had happened because the way I remembered it my dad hadn’t liked the faery at all, but they were a family. I glanced at Marcus, who stood with them, the one from his memory. It was odd how he could control this, but his mental powers seemed strong. The Marcus in his memory looked wistful, like he knew what it meant to be surrounded by love but to not be a true part of it.

  I knew that feeling far too well.

  The scene in front of me shimmered and was gone and I was again alone with Marcus in the big room.

  “Did my…Rhys get in trouble for not doing his homework?” I kind of wanted to stay in that scene though it felt like nothing truly important had happened. He’d simply been showing me what a day in the life of my parents looked like. It looked normal and amazing. I would bet there weren’t whole armies after the young Donovan-Quinns. They weren’t feared around the outer planes.

  “Your brother did not because moments after, I helped him complete the assignment. And Lee hadn’t done it either, so it was a lucky thing for them I happen to know a lot about history. Your other father is quite insistent that I bring you back to him,” Marcus said. “Your arm is healed and we have much to talk about.”

  I looked once more around that magnificent room on another plane of existence, in a life I might have had. “All right.”

  When I opened my eyes, I was looking into the emerald gaze of Dev Quinn.

  “I found your satchel, sweetheart.” He knelt down close to me and inspected my arm, which seemed perfectly whole now. “Marcus healed the wound? There won’t be any infection? Not that there should be. You should have been able to heal that wound yourself, Summer. I don’t understand what’s happened. You’re not supposed to be human.”

  He would have a lot of questions. He was the only one of the three who’d been there when I’d come into being. I still wasn’t sure I could trust him. I wanted to tell them my story, but I had to be sure.

  I looked to Dean. He was the only one who could really tell me what I needed to know. “Can I trust them?”

  Dean’s lips turned up in a slightly malicious grin. “Let’s find out.”

  I heard the crackle that came from Dean’s magic and then Quinn’s eyes went blank and I saw Kelsey fall to the ground like a puppet who’d had her strings cut.

  Marcus’s hands tightened on my arms and then even he went still.

  Dean might not be great with a crossbow but when it comes to this, he was a badass.

  I stood because we should have a few minutes. If these had been normal Fae or vampires from the Vampire plane, I would have said we had all day. Dean was young, but his skill with magic was far beyond his years, and his mental powers were amazing. He was inside their brains, reading their intentions. He’d tried to explain it to me once. He said when he worked this magic he could sense things about a person, sense whether they were lying or intended to hurt us. This bit of magic would give me time to figure out if I should risk letting him teleport me out of here. “What do you sense?”

  He grimaced. “I sense they’re going to be angry with me when they wake up, and that’s going to happen sooner than I would like it to. God, they’re all so strong. Where the hell did they come from?”

  I could already see a strain on Dean’s face I rarely saw. I wouldn’t have as much time as I’d wished. “I was hoping you could tell me. They say they’re from the Earth plane.”

  “Like my mom?”

  “Pretty much exactly like your mom. You know my parents were from Dallas.”

  “And my mom was born in Fort Worth. It’s why she gravitated to that area when she first found herself on the Vampire plane. She realized it wasn’t exactly the same place, but she looked for home and she found it.” Dean’s jaw tightened as though it was costing him more and more to work this magic. “Okay, the tall one is a Green Man and something else. There’s a peaceful quality to him, but he’s got more than one side.”

  “He’s ascendant. Do you know what that means?” I’d spent some time teaching Dean about Fae society, but he hadn’t spent a ton of time on Faery planes since they tended to try to capture me there.

  “Yep, the god’s there. But there’s something else. I don’t know. The god seems cool. He’s telling the man to calm down. Jeez, Summer. What’s it with you and the dual natured? The chick has a wolf in her, and the wolf is pissed and pretty much intends to rip my throat out. Violent much? But they both want to help you. They’ve said nothing untruthful to you. They believe everything they’ve said.” Dean panted and his whole body had gone rigid. “The vampire is telling me to pick up the sword and gut myself, and I want to do it. I want to do it so bad. It’ll feel good when the blood spills, and I shouldn’t stop. I have to do it.”

  Fear clenched my heart. Marcus. That was Marcus inside Dean’s head, whispering to him, taking his will. “Let him go. Let them all go.”

  Dean took a long breath and his shoulders relaxed.

  “What the fuck was that?” Kelsey was on her feet in an instant. “Look here, you asshole. Stay out of my brain pan. You got questions, ask them, maybe buy me a beer. You know you should always buy a chick a beer before you stick your fingers in her brain. God, I hope they have freaking beer on this plane, but you never do that to me again.” Then she frowned. “I can’t drink beer. I hadn’t even thought of that. That sucks.”

  “He was only trying to protect Summer.” Dev seemed far more willing to forgive. He stood up, brushing off his clothes. “Calm down.”

  Kelsey’s eyes narrowed and a menacing growl came from her throat.

  Dev put up his hands as though conceding. “And by calm down, I mean let’s all take a moment to think about how frightening this must be for Summer. Not calm down. You’re right to not be calm or logical. Damn it. Did anyone pack Advil?”

  Dev put a hand to his head.

  I wasn’t the only one who would need some healing touch today. Dean was good at what he did, but sometimes he wasn’t subtle. I had to hope tha
t would change as he matured.

  Dean was moving as I looked to Marcus, whose eyes had opened, but I noticed his fangs were out, too.

  That was when I realized I’d made a terrible mistake. Dean had released his hold on them, but Marcus hadn’t stopped fighting. Dean picked up the sword Kelsey had dropped and I screamed as he lifted it high and started to stab himself.

  * * * *

  Zoey

  The cat hissed and seemed to have far better senses than any feline should, but then this probably wasn’t an ordinary pet. This was Myrddin Emrys’s familiar, and she or he would be enchanted in some way.

  “What do we do, Mom? I think the cat knows we’re here,” my son whispered.

  “I think you’re right. How much have you tested this thing physically? Can it get in here with us? If we brush against it, can it claw at us?”

  “Well, I try to not do that because I figured it would get me in trouble, but once when we were trying to sneak Sean back to his bedroom we brushed up against Uncle Declan, but he thought we were a piece of furniture and Rhys had to stay really still because Uncle Declan put a beer on his head.”

  “Please tell me he didn’t have company.” My brother-in-law pretty much plowed through every female who would let him climb on top of her. Or behind her. Or in any position her flexibility would allow.

  “Nah. He was watching Lord of the Rings and making fun of Legolas and saying he could do all his arrow stuff while he was drunk and fornicating. What does that mean?”

  “It’s nothing you should think about at your age.”

  Lee nodded. “So Rhys was right and it was kissing stuff. Anyway, we pretty much ran the minute Uncle Dec took another drink and then we dropped off Sean and Uncle Dec was upset because he spilled his beer. He makes fun of Robin Hood movies, too, but I think he’s jealous because he's not allowed to shoot stuff on this plane.”

  I agreed with him, but that didn’t help us out of this situation. If we got too close, the cat would likely feel us and then know where to start clawing.

  Something soft brushed against my cheek and I realized Dannan was managing to float near my face. The pixie could definitely move in close quarters when he needed to. He was whispering something to me, and by whispering he was really shouting, but their voices are super quiet. Pixies can absolutely talk. It’s just hard to hear them.

  “Me. Me. I can do it,” he was saying.

  “I don’t think you should fight the cat,” I replied. “I’m pretty sure it would eat you.”

  Lee twisted around, somehow managing to keep the cloak closed while he moved. It made me wonder exactly how much he’d worked with the damn thing. “It can’t eat Dannan if it can’t catch him. Dannan is the best flier, and we all know that cats get distracted by shiny objects.”

  Dannan’s head was nodding and he held up his tiny sword as if to say he could take care of himself. He was a warrior and he had wings. That tiny face was resolute. He could take on the feline and give us time and space to do our job.

  “You are getting the best maple syrup. Straight from Canada, my friend,” I promised. Pixies like sweet stuff. Syrup was their favorite. If you ever want to befriend a pixie, take him to IHOP and let him try all those crazy syrup flavors. He’ll love you for life.

  I could practically feel the enthusiasm coming off the tiny warrior. He hadn’t had many wars to fight in. The world had been pretty peaceful lately, but I worried that was about to change and we would need all the help we could get. People tended to underestimate my tiny retinue. They saw them more as accessories, jewels that clung to my hair and made me seem more Fae than I am. Yeah, I’d heard that before. But they were so much more. They were my eyes and ears, and now one would be the distraction I needed.

  “Be careful, Dannan.” I gave him my blessing.

  “Dude, take that cat out if you can. He looks mean.” My son’s blessing was a little on the bloodthirsty side.

  Then Lee opened the cloak the slightest bit. It was odd because that slice of light was brighter than what we saw through the cloak. Like opening the veil and seeing another world.

  A memory pierced through me. It was stamped on my brain, that moment when the faeries had opened the veil that night so many years before and taken my daughter with them to their home plane. I remembered how vibrant that slice of another world had been. It had been night on our plane, but brilliant daylight had shone through that doorway. It had spilled out and illuminated her small body and the tuft of hair on her head. Summer. That light had loved my darling girl.

  Dannan flew out through the tiny break and Lee immediately closed it again. The world went back to the hazy shade of gray it was through the cloak.

  Talking to my father and son about Summer had brought back all of my emotions. I could bury them sometimes. It had been so long, and my days got busy. I would go days without thinking about her and then I would look at Evan or Rhys or Lee and guilt would swamp me because they got all of me and Danny and Dev and she’d had so little.

  I shook it off because Lee needed my attention now. Dannan, too. The pixie was doing his job. He flew straight at the cat, whose eyes widened, and a loud meow issued from him as he raised a paw to swipe at the invader.

  I held a breath, but Dannan easily evaded those claws and the cat took the bait. The feline completely forgot it had been guarding the hallway from something it couldn’t see and went after what it could. Dannan led the cat away.

  “We should get moving,” Lee said. “Dannan will be fine. He’s tough and smart. Where’s the book?”

  “It’ll be in his office.” I knew the layout well. “We’re going to the right. It’s at the end of the hall. I’m surprised you haven’t broken in and had a look around. Do I even want to know what you’ve done with this thing?”

  “Nothing as bad as that,” Lee said as we started to move carefully down the hallway. “Mostly we go down to Ether and hang out. It’s fun and there’s lots of weird stuff going on. Did you know Liv’s been meeting with the wizard’s girlfriend? Like a lot.”

  That was news to me. “Olivia Carey is spending time with Nimue?”

  “Yeah, but then they pretended like they didn’t know each other well,” Lee said. “I heard you introduce them the other morning when they came for breakfast, but they already knew each other. See, more information I wouldn’t have gotten if I hadn’t innocently used this cloak.”

  “We’re going to have a long talk after this is over.” I wasn’t sure if it would be a lecture about how dangerous what he was doing was or a debrief to find out everything he’d learned.

  Probably both.

  I needed Kelsey back because sometimes I think she’s the only one in the world who can truly handle Lee. He respects Kelsey’s authority in a way he did with no one else.

  I stared ahead and was surprised to see the door was open. There was a lock on that particular door, but it stood wide open now.

  Was he so arrogant that he didn’t think he needed to lock his door? Or did he simply trust that he was safe here in the Council headquarters? He had Daniel and Dev pretty much under control, and he thought I was useless at this point. It had been years since I’d really gotten in trouble. He might think I was past the age of stupidity.

  He was so wrong. I had a whole new generation of stupidity to do.

  We moved silently and made our way past the living area, which was decorated tastefully. My faery prince would have ensured that. It was awfully normal, with pretty couches and a big comfy chair that faced the large TV mounted over a fireplace. Very modern and not at all a space that screamed “I’m a couple-thousand-plus-year-old wizard who regularly conferences with Hell lords.”

  I heard something crash in the background and then the sound of a frustrated kitty cat, but we moved forward. The cameras would catch a pixie flying around trying not to get eaten. If Myrddin complained, I would simply state that even pixies get drunk and lose their way from time to time. Sorry about whatever got trashed.

  “
It’s cool, Mom. We’ll say Dannan got into the bourbon syrup and apologize. We’re almost there.”

  It was good to know we thought alike.

  We moved through the open French-style doors. This room was lovely, too, and made me worry I was missing something. There were lights on, soft ones from a table lamp and an antique standing light. There was an elegant desk and a modern laptop computer in the center. Books were stacked in neat piles, but they all seemed to be in Latin or some other old language.

  Was this really Myrddin’s office or was it the one he showed to the world? My father had kept two. Myrddin might do the same. Hell, as brilliant as Nimue was, his real office might be in some weird pocket universe I wouldn’t be able to find.

  This might have all been for nothing.

  Except Sarah told me she’d felt something. She was sure the grimoire was here.

  “Do you think it’s one of the books on the desk?” Lee asked.

  If it was, we couldn’t steal all of them. “I’m not sure.”

  “The top one is titled The Planes of Existence,” Lee said. “There’s one called Closing the Veil. I think two of them are in Aramaic and one is in German, but I don’t know either of those yet. I should have brought a notepad. I could write them down and have one of the academics translate for us. Then we would know what he’s been reading. That’s what Kelsey would do.”

  I felt my jaw drop because those titles hadn’t been in English. “Since when do you know Latin?”

  He shrugged. “Kelsey told me she wasn’t good with languages except wolf. She’s pretty good with growls. I thought I could help her out with that because she comes up against it a lot. Like that time she found the door in a witch’s house that said Beware of Dragon but she couldn’t read it so she opened it anyway and then it took Liv days to get her hair to grow back. I could have told her not to open it.”