by Amy Sumida
“Wherever you wish and in whatever manner you wish it, my love,” Declan purred into my ear. “I will take you there and give it to you.”
“I think I like sex stones,” I murmured.
Declan laughed hard enough to send most of our cloud cover drifting away. I saw that we were drifting slowly down toward the Sgàthan Sea, and I lifted a brow at him.
“I love the ocean, but it's nothing new for us,” I said. “Don't you want to try something different?”
“It will be new when the need for air isn't an issue,” he promised.
We slipped beneath the waves and continued down and down until we hit the sandy floor. I could feel the water on my skin and the soft sand beneath me while I watched my hair undulate through the gentle tides, but I could also breathe easily and see as clearly as I do on land. Despite the depth, it was bright enough for us to enjoy every vibrantly colored fish and crustacean, every emerald-green swath of seaweed and sunset-orange anemone, and all the magnificent sea creatures around us. I sighed in wonder as the beauty of the ocean was revealed to me as it had never been before.
“Is this new enough for you?” Declan asked, and even his voice was crystal clear.
“Thank you, Declan,” I whispered sincerely.
His expression went soft, and he stroked my cheek tenderly as he said, “Nothing I do for you could ever compete with the happiness you've given me. I would give you the Moon if you asked it of me. In fact...” Declan got that mischievous look in his eyes.
“No.” I held his face within my hands. “Let's enjoy this for now. You can take me to the stars next time.”
“As my lady commands,” Declan purred and started moving more swiftly inside me.
I laid back on the seabed, staring up at Declan's handsome face; framed in the dancing ribbons of his auburn hair and backlit by the sunlight shifting over the surface of the water far above. It was one of the most profoundly beautiful moments of my life.
Yes; the stars could wait.
Chapter Six
Later that evening, I was walking (perhaps wobbling) through the Alexandrite Castle, heading to the dining hall to meet Declan, when I ran into Torin's mother. Duchess Ceana was an alexandrite fairy, and like most powerful shining ones, she lived in the court aligned with her stone. So, it wasn't a shock to see her striding down the hall toward me, her long legs carrying her much faster than mine took me—not that I was thinking of running away or anything. I just wasn't prepared to have it out with my ex-boyfriend's mother.
I froze, standing my ground like I was facing an oncoming army alone. Ceana was only half fairy; her other half was witch, and it showed. She was thicker than the willowy, shining one ladies; more muscular and curvier. She was also exceptionally attractive due to that mixed heritage. She had a fierce beauty; blue-black hair, pale blue eyes, and honey-oak skin. There was a lot of her in Torin, which made her especially hard for me to look at currently.
“Elaria,” she said sweetly as she enveloped me in a hug.
I stiffened for a moment, shocked by the warm reception, and then hugged her back.
“Hey, Ceana,” I said; unsure how to proceed.
“I'm so sorry about what happened.” She eased back but kept her hand on my upper arm. “I want you to know that we don't blame you. King Declan told us what that witch did to you; how he cast his spell upon you, and now you must have multiple lovers.”
“He did?” I blinked in surprise and the barest bit of embarrassment.
I mean, how awkward was it that my new boyfriend had told my old boyfriend's mother about my sexual needs? So very; that's how awkward.
“Of course,” she said. “King Declan knew we'd be wondering what happened between Torin and you.” Ceana sighed deeply. “I raised my son differently than other shining one mothers and sometimes I regret that. This is one of those moments.”
“What? Why?” I asked in shock.
“Because if he were more like most shining ones, he wouldn't have a problem with your situation,” Ceana said. “I made him want fidelity from his lovers because I demanded it from his father, even before we were married.”
“Ceana, our issues are not your fault,” I said gently.
“Thank you.” She kissed my cheek. “But I think we both know that Torin is being stubborn about this, and Torin's stubbornness comes from me. Regardless, I want you to know that we are with you both in this. I know Torin will change his mind; he loves you too much to let a spell keep you apart. Just give him some time, Elaria.”
“I wish I could,” I said sadly. “But I don't have any to give. I only have two months to find another lover or the spell will start to die, and I will die with it.”
“Oh, great gems,” she whispered in horror. “Did you tell that to Torin?”
“I did.”
Her face fell. “He didn't want to help you?”
“Torin learned that I loved Banning and Declan all along, and it made him furious,” I admitted. “He saw it as a betrayal, even though I had been faithful to him up until the spell hit me. I think he was too angry to allow the possibility of my death to sink in. He just refuses to believe it.”
“I will speak with him.” Ceana clasped my hand urgently. “Don't give up on Torin, please.”
“I had to take action, Ceana, I'm sorry.” I shook my head. “I just don't have the time to wait for Torin to figure things out.”
“What do you mean? What did you do?”
“I had a spell cast for me,” I murmured. “To draw my soul mate to me.”
“Soul mate,” she scoffed. “There is no one person who is right for you. All of us can have several great loves in our lifetimes, if we so choose.”
“Yes, I know,” I agreed. “But we also have loves that are destined for us. I think Banning and I were always meant to be together; our souls found each other even after I died. The witch elder who helped me, Vivian, believes there is another soul mate searching for me... one for this lifetime. So, she cast a spell to bring us together.”
“But what of Torin?”
I shook my head sadly, my heart clenching with the possibility that Torin and I were over.
“He will come around, Elaria,” Ceana said fervently. “I know my son.”
“I'm sure I don't know him as well as you,” I said gently, “but I can't see Torin coming back to me after I take a third lover.”
“Then don't,” she pleaded.
“The spell is cast, Ceana,” I whispered. “I can't undo it.”
“Oh, Elaria.” She hugged me. “May the stones guide you and bring you back to my son. Another lover is not the end of the world. Torin will understand eventually.”
“No; I don't think he will.”
Chapter Seven
I was just taking a seat beside Declan when my contact charm chimed. A contact charm is a piece of barite—a gemstone with communication properties—that has been empowered to be used to relay voices like a cell phone. It was generally made from clear barite with one end shaped into a cone to fit into the user's ear, and the other end with a hole in it so it could be hung from a necklace or belt. Mine had been a gift from Torin, and it was special; the wider end was naturally formed into a rosette.
I slipped it out of my bodice, pulling it up by its gold chain, and stuck it in my ear. “Hello?”
“El!”
“Cerberus?” I got up and moved back, closer to the alexandrite wall so that I could hear him better.
The note of panic in his tone worried me. Cerberus Skylos had once been a guardian of Hades—both the place and the god. He'd been fired, but that didn't make him any less badass. Cer had gone to the Human Realm to make a new life for himself, and that's where he had met me. He wasn't just a powerful god, Cerberus was also smart; he had taken stock of my skills and figured out how we could form a mutually beneficial relationship. I became a fixer because of him, and we made a lot of money together. Cerberus only called me in when he couldn't handle a situation himself, and even then, he ne
ver got spooked. There wasn't much that could scare a god who shifted shape into a monstrous, three-headed dog just for funsies.
“What's wrong?” I asked him.
“I need you in Vegas—now!” Cerberus shouted. “There are olgoi khorkhoi attacking the Vegas Strip, and they're headed straight for Freya's club.”
“Mongolian death worms?” I was aghast. Then I remembered who I was speaking to. “Cerberus, if you're fucking with me—”
“Fucking Grabboids, Elaria!” Cerberus screeched. “Grabboids are burrowing up through the gods-damned desert toward the love of my life, and she's refusing to leave! Now, get your fucking spellsinging ass over here and help me defend my woman!”
“I am a goddess,” I heard Freya huff in the background. “I can defend myself, and I'll be damned if I let a bunch of worms destroy what's mine.”
“Where are you?” I went deadly calm. “Which of Freya's hotels?”
“The Vanguard,” Cerberus started to sound calmer too. “You can travel straight into her suite. You remember it, right?”
“Yes. I'll be there in two minutes.” I pulled the contact charm out of my ear and let it drop back down my bodice.
“What's happening with Cerberus?” Declan had left his royal guests to join me. “Do you need me to go with you?”
“There are olgoi khorkhoi in Las Vegas,” I said with wondrous shock. “I have no idea what's going on.”
“Death worms in the Human Realm?” Declan scowled. “Didn't the Beneath deport all the monsters who weren't capable of cognitive thought?”
“Yeah, over two hundred years ago,” I said. “I've never even seen a death worm, have you?”
“A small one once,” Declan whispered. “Sweet stones, there's going to be chaos among the humans. Widespread panic.”
“I know,” I said grimly as I pulled out my traveling stone. “I could probably use all the help I can get.” I held my hand out to him. “Feel like lending me a hand?”
“I'm going to fight death worms!” Declan called to his steward as he took my hand. Then he nodded to the shocked royal guests sitting at the high table. “Please enjoy the meal; we will speak with you more about our peace treaty tomorrow.”
Chapter Eight
“Precious Persephone,” I whispered in awe. “It's fucking Dune.”
“Grabboids,” Cerberus insisted.
“Cer, I keep telling you; Grabboids don't spit electricity,” Freya said. “Elaria's right, they're more like sandworms.”
“Sandworms didn't actually spit electricity either,” Cerberus growled. “Wormsign is a static charge created on the surface of the desert by the worm's passage.”
“Are you three seriously geeking out over movies while a fucking herd of Mongolian death worms makes it way down the Las Vegas Strip?” Declan snapped.
“She started it,” Cerberus mumbled, his massive shoulders drooping like puppy ears. “And I don't think you call a group of worms a herd.”
“Maybe Elaria did start it,” Declan offered, “but we are going to end it. We need to get these worms back to Torr-Chathair.”
“Torr-Chathair.” Cerberus grimaced. “Why's it always got to be Gaelic?”
“In this instance, it's because the Shining Ones found the planet for you beneathers, and then we helped you move your monsters there,” Declan said smoothly. “Now, are we going to do this or what?”
“Declan, if I can lure the worm in, can you open a portal to Torr-Chathair?” I asked.
“Large enough for them to travel through?” Declan looked down the street skeptically.
We were all standing on one of those rigs window washers use. Freya's balcony was too high for us to cast our magic on the worms effectively, but the street would be far too dangerous. The humans were fleeing like lemmings, all headed in one direction—ours. And then there were the worms; I had no intention of getting in their path. So, we decided to lower ourselves down to the second floor via the rig. This left us at the perfect level to reach the worms without being trampled by the stampede or gobbled up. I didn't feel all that great about dangling over the strip in a metal basket like bait, but it was the best option available. It also gave us a great view.
The death worms were tearing up the asphalt, chunks of blacktop blasting through glass walls and crushing vehicles the humans had abandoned. The worms themselves were redder than the sandworms of Dune, more cinnabar than beige, but they had the same serpentine body and a nearly impenetrable hide. They were thankfully much smaller than sandworms—maybe one to two meters long—and their mouths didn't open like ferocious flowers either. Olgoi khorkhoi had one, toothless orifice for a mouth that undulated like the gills of a fish. They were a streamlined monster; everything they could consume went in one end and then flowed out the other... which made them perfect for fertilizing farmland. However, they were a bitch to battle. Not only were their hides tough, they were coated in a deadly substance; one touch could kill you. And that wasn't all.
Lightning flashed from their mouths, electrifying their victims and cooking them within seconds. Like I said; they were a streamlined monster, not just in appearance, but also in functionality. They moved fast, ate even faster, and digested in seconds. From what I'd read about them, they hibernated for years on end, but when they woke, they could wipe out entire civilizations. To deal with them I'd first need to ground their lightning, and then I'd have to lure them through a portal... if Declan could make one big enough to fit the death worms.
“Declan?” I prompted.
“I should be able to,” he finally answered. “But with all of these people here, some may fall in with the worms.”
“Do what you gotta do, Alexandrite,” Cerberus growled. “We don't have too many options here.”
“Maybe I can hold them off long enough to give the humans a chance to clear the streets,” I muttered as I flipped through the playlist on my iPod.
“Cerberus and I will help with that,” Freya said as she reached a hand down toward the running masses.
The people calmed and started to escape instead of simply run blindly.
“I don't have that kind of juju, Freya,” Cerberus said. “I can scare them, but that's already been taken care of.”
“Then just stand there and look pretty, Cer,” I teased him as I stuck my earbuds in. He tried to say something back, but the song was already starting. “I can't hear you!” I shouted as people do when they have earphones in.
Cerberus made an irritated face at me, and I laughed. But then Bishop Briggs' “Dark Side” drew me in. The trembling guitar strengthened into smacking drumbeats, and then a rolling lure. I opened my mouth, and the magic poured out of me. It was the song of a woman giving in to her darker emotions and tempting her lover with them... among other things. But I needed the greedy call of darkness itself; the literal threat in her words. So, I shifted the meaning just a touch, altering the thrilling wickedness into something more sinister. I cast out the leeching lyrics and felt them hook something within the worms—then I reeled it back. And yes, the irony of fishing for worms, instead of with them, did occur to me.
A horrible screeching vibrated through the air as the night went white. Not only had I stolen the death worms' lightning, I had also taken all the electricity of Las Vegas itself. It funneled before me—a blinding cone of light—and then grounded itself, leaving only scorched and crumbling sidewalk behind. Darkness descended on Las Vegas, and the worms floundered without their electric defenses.
Then Declan's elegant hand shot out. I continued to sing as a portal opened before us. Normally, the edges of a portal wouldn't be visible, but in such a complete black-out, the magic glimmered. The worms couldn't see it—mainly because they didn't have eyes—but they could sense it, and they headed toward the portal without any urging. A wounded animal will head for shelter if it's offered, and the olgoi khorkhoi knew home was nearby.
I softened the song then, calming them and easing their journey home. Their retreat had made me realize that th
ese creatures hadn't gone to Earth willingly; they'd been stolen from their environment and released in a world that must seem alien to them after so many years. The worms had reacted in fear and confusion, as any beast would. So, as they crawled into the portal, I released my hold on their electricity. They gave soft, soughing sounds of relief as I made them whole again. The worms slipped through the portal, back to Torr-Chathair—the Citadel Realm—and as the last worm disappeared, the lights of Vegas flickered back to life.
It looked as if the world had ended.
Chapter Nine
There was no way to cover up an olgoi khorkhoi attack on Las Vegas. The leaders of the Beneath had freaked out just a bit. But it turned out that we didn't have to cover up anything. Humans will accept any explanation that allows them to sleep at night, and the humans in charge will provide that explanation just to keep the masses calm. So, the news reported that an earthquake had devastated parts of Las Vegas and the surrounding desert.
