Chapter Thirteen
“She sure speaks like a lady, doesn’t she?” Makyle muttered.
“Shut the hell up,” she said, barely finding the need to respond to Makyle and his snarky interjections.
With one arm holding the baby and the other free, she reached out and slid her fingers through the shiny, brown feathers with their golden highlights and weaves of red. They were soft like silk, but she could feel the muscle beneath the beautiful feathers. Uriah shivered as she caressed the newly healed down and feathers. Her finger slid deep to graze the skin that lay below the mass of brown. She did a full circle around him before stopping to stand before him, her head tilted back and her gaze locked on his. “You’re gorgeous, unique and perfect.”
He smiled down at her. “You’re taking this rather well.”
“Of course I am… I’m more jealous than anything. And honestly, you having wings, powers, and talking about this other world and all, makes it all a little more believable.”
Uriah chuckled. “This is more believable?”
She smiled. “Yes, you having wings and powers is much more likely than you being a lying asshole… I like this version better than the one my mind was creating. But how did she die and still have this little guy?”
Uriah looked to Makyle, who was leaning against the entrance arch into the living room. He shrugged. “She’s beyond death; she was with me and our brothers. Once Makiah was born, my brothers wanted to keep him as a child of the Underworld. She wanted something better for him. We were caught before she could get him into the sanctuary of her domain—”
“She was going to keep him from me?” Uriah interrupted.
Makyle shrugged. “There was no future that allowed him to be with both his parents. When she realized she couldn’t keep him, she told me to find you.”
His head tilted and his gaze fell to the large front window. “They’re here.”
“Who’s here?” Marie asked, trying to follow Makyle’s line of sight.
Makyle growled. “Vampires—they’re after the baby.”
“Vampires are real too?” she almost shrieked.
“Yes,” Uriah answered as he yanked the curtains closed. He turned to Makyle. “What now? Fighting with Marie and Makiah here is not a good plan.”
“It’s not a plan at all. We need to shield him so we can return to the Middle World.”
Uriah nodded. “You know any casters close by?”
Makyle smiled. “I know one, though I can’t guarantee she will help me.”
Marie smirked. “Woman scorned?”
Makyle shrugged. “I suppose one might see it that way.”
“We need to go.” Uriah ushered Marie into the kitchen. She grabbed the diaper bag, and they exited into the backyard.
Uriah stopped short, forcing Marie behind him. A sneer spread across the face of the man that stood in the backyard. Two sharp incisors pressed against his bottom lip.
“Get them out of here,” Makyle said as he stalked toward the vampire. Marie found her eyes locked on Makyle. Each step he took was that of a predator. He looked fierce and deadly. She made a mental note to keep on his good side.
The smile on the vampire’s face faltered slightly. “What’s an Immortal Ruler doing in the Human World? It’s beneath you.”
The air grew cold, and wind began whipping through the trees as a roar of thunder sounded above them. Uriah and Marie still hadn’t moved; both caught in the scene before them.
“Is he doing that?” Marie nearly shouted to be heard over the sounds of the storm.
“I assume so; I didn’t know he controlled the weather,” Uriah answered.
Makyle’s long, black hair whipped around as he turned his head toward Uriah, his diamond eye glowing. “Go!” he roared, then turned back to the vampire and smiled. “Fighting you is beneath me, so I’ll keep it short.”
“Hold on to him,” Uriah told Marie as he wrapped his arms around her waist and back and began lifting into the air. “I’ve got you, I promise.”
She nodded and buried her face in his chest as she did her best to shelter and calm Makiah, who was now screaming, the howling wind and crashing thunder waking him from his deep sleep.
Makyle moved with deadly speed, faster than the vampire could even track. He held the dark warrior by the neck a good three feet from the ground. “I was considering letting you live to send a message back to that worthless excuse of a leader of yours, but I have a better Idea.”
A crack of lightning hit the tree next to them; a piece of a thick branch broke off and fell next to them. Makyle let his wings free and lifted into the air, hovering a few feet from the sharp, smoldering base of the now-broken branch. He waited for the rest of the Dark Fae warriors to appear in the backyard. Six sets of eyes found them suspended in the air.
“The child is off limits,” Makyle growled before thrusting the vampire into the tree branch. Piercing his heart, Makyle waited for the body to shrivel and eventually turn to ash before looking down at the wide-eyed vampires below him. “Make sure your lord knows that.”
Makyle disappeared into the dark sky. The storm began to settle as he caught up with Uriah and Marie. “Follow me,” he shouted over the flapping of wings. Holding his palm out in front of them, he created a swirling portal. Uriah’s eyes widened as they moved through the magic and were transported to the skies above the Nevada desert, with Las Vegas sparkling just a few miles away. He was learning all kinds of new things about the Immortal next to him.
“You know a caster in Vegas?” Uriah asked as they landed in a back alley downtown.
“She’s not a caster; she’s a witch of sorts. She can shield him and, hopefully, me as well.”
Uriah narrowed his eyes. “What kind of witch?”
“She’s a witch. Let’s just leave it at that.”
“Is she human?” Uriah asked, not willing to let it go.
“She is now.” Makyle sighed.
“What does that mean?” Marie whispered to Uriah as they turned the corner onto Fremont Street.
“I think it explains why she may not be willing to help him.”
Makyle growled. “I saved her from the mid-levels of the Dark Underworld.”
Marie’s eyes narrowed. “So, she was like bad Fae or something?”
Makyle stopped walking to look at Uriah and Marie. “No she wasn’t like bad Fae. She was just too ruled by her magic. It was either let her rot in the Underworld or strip her of her Fae blood and send her to the Human World to live out the rest of her immortal life.”
“If she is no longer Fae, then she should no longer be able to practice magic,” Uriah said dryly. “You didn’t strip her of all her Fae blood.”
Makyle turned and continued to walk. “I took part of it… taking that part of her was bad enough, so I left her with her magic… then banished her to the Human World.”
Uriah shook his head. “I’m guessing you did that without telling us about your half-Fae witch in the Human Realm.”
Makyle scoffed. “You forget that I don’t answer to you and your brethren.”
“Well, that’s a dick answer, Makyle, as my brethren and I are responsible for protecting the humans.”
Makyle growled, and Marie stepped back. “Sam is of no concern of yours, and she is of no threat to the human race.”
Pushing, Uriah asked, “Then why was she headed to the mid-level of the Underworld?”
“Because she was a fucking genie and had no choice.”
Uriah stopped—a genie? The last known genie had died years ago. “Wait, Samira?”
Makyle nodded. “Yes, she mostly goes by Sam now. She and I met when I came to collect her soul. The thing about my job, Uriah, is that as someone dies, I see everything they have done. That’s how I know where to deliver them… There was little doubt that her powers were used for all the wrong reasons, but it wasn’t her choice. So I decided to change her future. Instead of taking her soul, I put it back in her body and banished her to the Hum
an Realm. She no longer lives at the whim of others. And I keep an eye on her. So no, I didn’t tell you or any of the warriors about her.”
“But she’s a witch now?” Marie asked.
“Well, that’s what a human would call her. She is still able to practice her magic, just not to the extent that she once could.”
Makyle turned down another alley. Along a darkened storefront, he placed his hand against the brick wall. The sun-beaten brick began to shimmer as his hand pushed through the once-solid wall. Marie and Uriah followed him into a stockroom full of herbs, candles, books, and tarot cards.
“Is this her store?” Marie asked as she studied the book titles: Encyclopedia of Herbs, Candle Magik, Invoking the Goddess, Learning Wicca, and The Solitary Practitioner.
“Yes. Stay here.”
Chapter Fourteen
Marie found a seat while they waited on Makyle. She adjusted Makiah in her arms to get a better look at his face; he was awake and thankfully content. His barely open eyes struggled to take in any details in the darkened room. Marie lifted him close to her face and smiled as he blinked at her. She laughed softly as he sucked on his tongue and seemed to focus on her moving eyebrows.
“What are you doing?” Uriah asked.
She kept her gaze on Makiah. “I’m playing with him.”
Uriah smiled. “By making faces at him?”
“My guess is that he has only bonded with his mother and possibly Makyle at this point. So he needs interaction with others.”
“Again I ask… by making faces at him?”
“Baby’s learn to mimic; he’ll eventually try to make the same faces back at me.”
Uriah liked the sound of eventually. It meant she still planned to stick around… for now at least.
Makiah’s hands landed on Marie’s cheeks, his fingers pressing and flexing against her soft skin. A small wail sounded as he moved his hands to her nose and finally to her lips. She kissed his fingers before pulling back and lifting him toward Uriah.
Uriah smiled. “You should keep him, just in case.”
Marie shook her head and stood up, placing Makiah in Uriah’s arms. “You’re his father. You need to bond with him. If the big baddies show up, you can hand him back to me, but for now, he’s in a good mood, so talk to him, play with him, and kiss his little face.”
Uriah smiled as he brought Makiah up to his eye level just as Marie had. “You look a bit like your grandfather.”
Makiah squealed before grabbing onto Uriah’s hair and yanking on it. Marie laughed as Uriah grimaced.
Makyle returned with a bemused look on his face. “The place is empty.”
“Well yeah, it’s closed. Do you know where she lives?” Marie asked as she helped Uriah free his hair from Makiah’s little fingers.
“She lives in the apartment above the store.”
Silver light filled the room. Uriah quickly handed Makiah back to Marie. He and Makyle turned to shield them and see where the light had come from.
The woman’s golden eyes flared with recognition just before she threw the ball of energy at Makyle. It hit him directly in the chest, forcing him to take a step back and groan. “Damn it, Sam, it’s me.”
The beautiful, fair-skinned, auburn-haired woman surged forward, her hand flying at Makyle to make direct contact with the side of his face.
“Why do you think I threw the energy ball?” she hissed before raising her palm to slap him again.
Makyle caught the flying hand this time and pushed her against the wall. “I didn’t expect a warm welcome, but shit.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t throw worse at you,” she snarled.
Marie’s brows rose as she leaned forward and whispered to Uriah. “I think maybe he was the asshat in their story.”
Makyle glared at Marie briefly before turning back to Samira. “If I let you go, are you going to attack me again?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Possibly.”
Makyle leaned in close, leaving only inches between them. “Don’t forget that I’m more powerful than you, and I can deliver you to mid-level hell. Now play nice, we need your help.”
She laughed sardonically. “You threaten me and ask for my help in the same sentence… Your arrogance never fails to surprise.”
Makyle grinned at her as he stepped back to stand next to Uriah and Marie.
Samira studied them, her gaze landing and sticking on Uriah. “What does an Immortal Warrior need from a nobody witch?”
Makyle sighed. Samira couldn’t see past the loss of her genie blood long enough to be grateful for the life she was still able to live. “You’re not a nobody witch. You’re a very powerful Immortal caster now.”
“I was a genie, Makyle. You took that from me!”
Makyle growled. “To keep you from the Underworld!” His patience was already waning. She was an infuriating woman.
“Whatever,” she said, turning from the group and heading out of the stockroom. “Follow me.”
Shrugging, Marie was the first to follow her out and up the stairs to the small apartment. Her eyes studying the area with interest; it was all so eclectic. Touches of nature spread throughout with pops of gold and green everywhere.
“Do you need anything for him?” Samira asked as she moved into the small kitchen and filled a kettle with water and placed it on the stove.
Marie smiled. “I think he needs to be changed and probably fed again here shortly.”
Samira grabbed a blanket from a small closet and handed it to Marie, “You can change him in the living room. I’m Sam, by the way.” She held her hand out and Marie took it, giving it a solid shake.
“Marie and this is Makiah; he’s the one who needs your help.”
Samira smiled. “Well, hopefully I can. See to him and we’ll talk.”
“You don’t much like Makyle, do you?”
Samira shook her head. “He dumped me here years ago with no explanation or answers. So I pretty much think he’s a prick, but I won’t take that out on a child. I figure if I help you all, then Makyle owes me one.”
Makyle scoffed as he and Uriah entered the apartment. “I think this actually makes us even.”
She glared at him. “Don’t start. I am willing to listen and try to help you, but don’t push it. You’ve done me no favors.”
“You’re still alive.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Do you really want to get into the details of my death?”
Uriah’s gaze flicked between the two as silence fell. The fiery woman had just shut an Immortal Ruler down. There was a good story behind the two, Uriah could feel it. He caught a smirk playing over Marie’s lips as she finished changing Makiah’s diaper and put him in some ridiculous brown monkey pajamas. She bent her head down to his belly and nuzzled him, eliciting a high-pitched squeal and what almost resembled a laugh. Samira walked into the kitchen to turn off the kettle and check the water temperature.
“Marie, it should be good for his bottle.”
Marie nodded, handed Makiah to Uriah, and left to get a bottle. While the others took seats in the living room, Samira kept her distance from Makyle, sitting as far away as the seating arrangements would allow.
“So let’s get to it—what do you need?”
“We need Makiah and I shielded from my brothers.”
She arched a fiery brow at him. “You want a cloaking spell for you and the child… from the Rulers of the Underworld, who always know where everyone is?
Makyle just stared at her, and she laughed.
“When you come looking for favors, you really go for the gusto, don’t you?”
“Can you do it?”
She smiled. “Of course I can. And I will if only for that precious little child. Whatever is going on in the Underworld, that child has no need to be a part of it.”
“Great, let’s do this.”
Samira laughed again. “It’s not that easy. The spell and potion will take time.”
Makyle looked around the small space. “How long?�
��
“I’ll have it for you by morning.”
“In that case, I hope you have room for overnight guests.”
Samira sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.
“This place is cloaked, is it not?”
She arched a brow at him. “You know it is. Which begs the question—how’d you find it?”
Makyle grinned at her. It held an arrogance and sex appeal that most women would cower to. Even Marie found it hot as hell, and she was mostly on Samira’s side… Makyle was a prick, a redeemable prick, but a prick nonetheless.
“I’ve always known where you were, Sam. Like it or not, your essence is engrained in my very soul.”
“You don’t have a soul, and your ass can sleep on the couch.” She turned to Uriah. “I’ll get the guest room set up for you, Marie, and the baby.”
****
“This conjuring thing is awesome,” Marie said as she laid Makiah down in the crib Samira had created for him.
Uriah nodded. “Holly can conjure too; it’s quite impressive.”
Marie lay back on the bed and sighed. “Who is Holly?”
Uriah lay back next to her. “Holly is Bain’s little sister. She also happens to be with Lothar now.”
Marie rolled onto her side to look over at Uriah. “How’s that working out?”
Uriah chuckled. “Bain’s protective, but Lothar is a good man and Bain knows that. Besides, he’s got his hands full with your sister.”
Marie nodded as she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth.
“What’s wrong?”
“Is Izzy safe? I mean, I thought Bain was a bad ass before I knew about the wings and the kickass warrior title, but is the Middle World safe for humans?”
Would it be safe for her, she wondered. Was Uriah planning to take her with him in the morning? So many thoughts bombarded her, and all she could think was that everything she wanted was in this room, and that her heart would break if she lost them come sunrise. It wasn’t like they’d talked about the plan or where she fit into it.
Uriah’s fingers grazed across her cheek to cup her chin. “Izzy is very safe there, just as you will be if you choose to come with us tomorrow.” He smiled at her. “Which I am very much hoping you will.”
Immortal Rapture: Immortal Heart Page 8
