Cimmerian Shade: A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy Collection

by Kiki Howell

  Morrigana pushed the fold of money into her pocket; I’ll take a look at it when I go on my last break. Though I can’t imagine what Mr. Tall, Dark, and Pushy could possibly have to say to me before we meet this evening.

  Shaking her head, she moved on to her other customers.

  .

  Chapter Three

  KHEELAN WATCHED THROUGH the diner window as Morrigana shoved the fold of money with his note into her apron pocket and moved on to help her other customers. He had no doubt that her curious nature would ensure she found the time to read it before they met. Kheelan only hoped the news wouldn’t change her mind about their meeting. He knew he was about to shatter Morrigana’s world and he wasn’t sure how she was going to take the information he’d left her about herself and her past, though he was willing to bet money that it wouldn’t be in a good way. She was sure to have a lot of questions in the very least.

  He watched her for a few more minutes, then shook his head and made his way down the street. He still had four hours to kill before he would see her again and it was time he stopped avoiding the inevitable; he needed to check in with his father. The king was getting impatient, as were the rest of his clan, and Kheelan needed to soothe the beast. The Dréggors Clan preferred their young to carry out their warrior training missions in their own fashion, except Kheelan wasn’t just one of the run-of-the-mill warriors that had left the mound to prove themselves to their king. Being the son of the king came with its share of burdens; though reporting to his father often while being out in the human realm was probably the biggest pain in the ass. Kheelan had decided when the king had approached him with his training assignment that he didn’t want to spook his target; however that wasn’t going to help settle the feathers of the disgruntled king. The information he had to give her was bad enough on its own; to just casually run into her and blurt it out would make it that much worse.

  Stepping inside the bathroom at a convenience store down the road from the diner, Kheelan checked the stall. Seeing that it was empty he quickly returned to the door and locked it. Standing in front of the mirror he reached out his right hand, barely touching the surface. Kheelan called to his magic, holding it close like a lover. Taking a deep breath, he released his magic into the mirror, bracing himself for the conversation ahead.

  He supposed he could have used his cell phone to contact his father but the ruler of the Dréggors Clan preferred his warriors to speak with him face to face. Regardless of whether they were in the mound or out in the rest of the world. The best way for Kheelan to do that was to use his magic on a reflective surface. The king’s image slowly replaced his own as the magic began to take hold.

  “What news have you, my son?” Hefeydd demanded before the picture was even clear.

  Kheelan felt the tension claim his shoulders at the father’s tone of voice before he answered. It would do him no good to argue with Hefeydd about the way he was running his mission, regardless of the clan’s ways.

  Nor would it do any good to show the clan’s leader his frustration, so he left the tension building in the back of his neck and shoulders while smiling grimly at the mirror, “I have spoken with the girl, Father. I have a meeting with her this evening to discuss everything.”

  Hefeydd looked at his son, disappointment clearly written on his face, as he growled, “You have barely spoken with the girl today? You’ve been out in the human realm for six months! What have you been doing all of this time among them?? Don’t tell me that you are following in your brother’s footsteps. Do I have need to worry about losing my remaining son to those filthy humans? Are you in need of a reminder of how the Dréggors Clan feel about them?”

  Kheelan made sure to lower his eyes, a subservient gesture that was expected when his father was in a bad mood, which was often when it came to his youngest son, and answered as humbly as his growing anger would allow, “No, Sire, there is no need to remind me of how our clan feels about humans.”

  Keeping his eyes on the floor he could feel the anger beginning to tremble through his frame, Like I could ever forget.

  Oren had left the mound to partake in his own warrior training assignment as he was next in line to the throne, and their father had been grooming him since birth, except he had never returned. He had met a human woman while running his assignment and lost all interest in finishing it. Oren had called Hefeydd to say his goodbyes, clueing their father in on the woman who he claimed understood him. He had informed their father that he would not be returning to the mound nor would he be finishing his mission and then closed off all communications. Hefeydd had been furious and became that much harder on Kheelan, deciding it was time to groom his youngest even if the boy had always been a disappointment.

  While Kheelan felt that falling in love with a human wasn’t damning, their father looked down on any Fae for choosing a human over their own kind. Hefeydd felt everything that had been going wrong with their people was due to so many of Faerie falling in love with humans. They left the clans to live as a human instead of bringing them to live within the mound.

  That was a fine idea for most of Faerie however the warrior clans were a blood thirsty lot and frowned on that. They felt that mixing their blood with a human was beneath them. Kheelan’s father was the worst of the bunch, but their clan was the strongest amongst the entire warrior Fae. Kheelan didn’t hate his brother for finding his true love, he didn’t understand it but he wouldn’t condemn it either; he only wished that Oren had informed their father in a better way.

  His father’s angry voice tore him out of his musings, “Daydreaming again, Kheelan? I knew sending you out on this assignment was going to be a bad idea. I could have chosen any of the eager young men in our clan to complete this mission but I chose you. With the way this conversation has been going, I’m beginning to believe that I made the wrong decision.”

  Kheelan cleared his throat before answering, “No, Father I’m not daydreaming. I am trying to put my thoughts in order so I can explain to you the reasons behind my decision to wait so long to approach the girl. First and foremost, I would like to ease your mind by letting you know that I’m not following in Oren’s footsteps. There isn’t a single human that I’ve dealt with in this realm that I find attractive, much less deem worthy of my seed. So please breathe a little easier knowing that.”

  The look on his father’s face grew darker as he rushed to finish his explanation, “Secondly, I felt it would be better if I approached the girl slowly and explained her lineage to her calmly. We may not care for humans however we must remember that she has lived her entire life among them. She knows nothing of our world or who, what, she really is. I don’t feel it wise to spook her unnecessarily as we may still have need of her.”

  Kheelan knew the instant his father’s mouth tightened into a thin line that he had misspoken and that The King was beginning to feel challenged by his son. He tried to salvage his situation by lowering eyes quickly, bowing his head as he did.

  “You dare to question my memory? You presume to tell me what I must remember? Listen to me, boy. This assignment that you are on was handpicked by me so there is no need for reminders from you. Do you hear me, Kheelan?” Hefeydd bellowed, shaking the mirror in its frame.

  Kheelan looked up at the image in the mirror, trying hard to keep a humble look on his face while he answered, “Yes, Father, I hear you. I didn’t mean to come across as I was challenging you in any way. I apologize for the insinuation that your memory is lacking. As I said earlier I’m meeting with the girl in a few hours to go over everything she needs to know to get started on her mission. I will be spending that time plotting my next move.”

  Hefeydd nodded shortly, “What more is there to plot? Just give the girl the information about her lineage, show her the direction she needs to go and make sure she finishes her own mission. Then bring her home to her people and prove to me, to our clan, that I made the right choice by sending you out to the human realm to collect this girl. The Valsten Clan needs to know
how strong her powers are and if she is the one they lost twenty years ago. You are aware of their current situation. Just remember that this mission is time sensitive and the sands in the hourglass are running out fast, my son. Don’t disappoint me!”

  With that, the mirror returned to its reflective surface and Kheelan was left standing, staring at himself. While he didn’t want to argue with his father’s logic he knew that it wasn’t going to be as simple as telling Morrigana her lineage, clueing her in on a mission that she should have gone on when she turned seventeen and then watching her complete it. Returning her to a people that she didn’t know might prove to be the easiest part of his assignment. Looking in the mirror, he could clearly see the tension running through him and knew his father had too.

  Kheelan pushed away from the wall, slamming his hand onto the sink, Damn it! I don’t need him to remind me that I’m running out of time, or how disappointed he is in me!

  He could feel his barely contained anger leaking out as he continued to stare at his reflection. All the years of frustration trying to gain his father’s approval were beginning to weigh on him and the only way out was to get his assignment finished; prove to the man who had raised him with an iron fist that he had what it took to be the leader of the Dréggors Clan. Kheelan wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to do that but he was willing to try; if only to take the throne. His people needed a leader who was more tolerant.

  He could never understand why his father had always been so hard on him however he had a suspicion it was because his mother had decided to keep him. Hefeydd wasn’t his biological father although Kheelan had never known any different until he was fifteen.

  While Oren had never treated him as less than a brother there had always been whispers through the mound as to Kheelan’s paternity. When the lesser Fae would visit the court of the Dréggors Clan they gave Kheelan wide berth, as if they were afraid of angering The King just by being around him. Being the spirited child that he once was, Kheelan would take great pleasure in antagonizing the children of their visitors, always starting fights with those that whispered the loudest.

  His brother had always tried to keep him out of severe trouble, but the day of his fifteenth birthday found the young teen in a situation even his brother couldn’t help him get out of.

  Pulling his mind out of those hurtful memories Kheelan turned from the mirror and unlocked the bathroom door. He slipped outside, looking both ways to see if there was anything out of place.

  .

  Chapter Four

  MORRIGANA TOOK THE last break of her shift and placed the water pitcher she was carrying on the counter as she went out the rear door. She leaned against the wall, pulling a stack of money from her apron pocket. Morrigana began counting it, to see how much she’d made in tips, when a slip of white paper fell to the ground pulling her attention away from the stack of green in her hands. Bending down to pick it up, she remembered the tall, dark, and handsome stranger she was supposed to meet after her shift and how he had hidden the paper between the dollar bills he had left on his table. She shrugged while shoving the green paper into her pocket with a soft rustle and unfolded the piece of white paper.

  As a show of good faith, I thought I would tell you what you really are. You’ve been feeling different than the people around you, right? Don’t have many, if any, friends? You keep to yourself; going to work and returning home, never going out on a girl’s night or even a date. You bring men home just to have them make excuses before entering the house or, if they’re brave enough to enter, you kick them out right after having sex. You live alone and people go to great lengths to avoid you whenever they can.

  Would you like to know why that is? I can tell you. I know we’ve already made plans to meet after your shift however I felt you might like to know the answer to the question that burns brightest in your mind; If only to give you some time to prepare yourself, maybe jot down any questions you might have. I’m afraid this note will make you change your mind about meeting with me, but it’s a risk I’ll have to take. We’re both running out of time. It’s of the utmost urgency that you know ahead of time what you are, who you are, so this note will have to be the way that I lower that particular hammer.

  I just pray to the Gods that I will still find you in the rear parking lot of the diner at seven this evening.

  You’re Death, a Grim Reaper, Morrigana, your very name means Death and that’s why people avoid you. That’s why you’re always alone. Humans can sense the ‘otherness’ about you, even if they aren’t sure what is so off-putting, and that is why they give you wide berth.

  Except there are other beings out in the world that can be around you; Hells, there are even some who would give their right nut to share your bed just for the thrill of being with Death and coming out alive on the other end. There are others still who would kill to be with you on your journeys; to see the world the way you see it.

  I’ve said enough for now. As I said, time is of the essence and I wouldn’t blame you for not sticking around to keep our appointment, however I must insist that you meet me at your vehicle after your shift this evening so that we can discuss all of this in length and I can tell you why I’m here.

  Kheelan

  Morrigana looked up from the note and scanned the lot of the diner. There was no one around, and her break was ending soon, so she folded the note up and returned it to the pocket on her apron with her iPod. She made her way into the kitchen from the rear door; not sure whether to laugh at the insanity of the situation, or cry because she sensed that there was truth in Kheelan’s words. She moved through the kitchen in a daze, unsure of whether she would be keeping her commitment later that evening.

  Morrigana almost bumped into Carly, causing her to spill the stack of plates she was carrying, “Hey, watch it will ya?”

  She snapped out of her daze, muttering an apology and getting on the floor to help the other waitress pick up the broken pieces that the fallen dishes had turned into.

  Carly watched her colleague for a few minutes, not sure what was going on with the girl and not entirely positive she really wanted to know. However, since they had to work together, and Carly was nosy, she figured it’d be better to know; she reached out and touched co-worker’s arm tentatively, “Hey, Morrigana? Are you okay?”

  The younger woman looked up from the broken dishes she held in her hands into the curious stare of her colleague, “Oh yeah. I’m golden, just a bit spacy right now. You remember that hunky guy that was sitting in my section this afternoon?”

  Carly let her hand fall away from her Morrigana’s arm, “Mr. Waffles with a Side Order of Strawberries and Whipped Cream? How could I forget? He was an extra special stack of yumminess.”

  Morrigana let out a small laugh, “Yep that would be the one.”

  The other waitress stood, “What about him? You know what? Hold that thought. Let me go get the broom and dustpan so we can sweep this mess up.”

  Morrigana sat back on the balls of her feet and watched her co-worker move off to the closet where they kept their cleaning supplies.

  Once Carly had returned and had started sweeping, Morrigana cleared her throat and continued, “Well-l-l I happen to be meeting him after my shift.”

  She stood up; carrying the broken dishes she had gathered from the floor and made her way to the trash can in the corner. Morrigana could hear the sharp intake of breath from her co-worker and braced herself for a lecture.

  Except it wasn’t a lecture she received as Carly let out a small, excited squeal, “That’s fantastic, Morrigana! You’re finally going to join the rest of us and start dating. I often wondered why you never seemed to have a boyfriend. I always assumed it was because you were just being picky about who you shared your bed with, but now I’m sensing you were just waiting for your Mr. Right instead of trying out the Mr. Right Nows. Am I right?”

  Morrigana shook her head and held up her hands, “Woah! Slow down there, Carly. In case you hadn’t noticed in the last t
wo years we’ve been working together, I happen to be a very private person. Not to mention the fact that we’ve never been close enough to discuss my sex life, let alone yours. However, I can’t control other people and you always seem to have some sexcapade or another to discuss with anyone listening, so I’ve learned to deal with it. Look, not everyone is as open about sex as you are and I don’t think I will ever be comfortable enough to discuss it with you. Besides, I’m not so sure that he’s boyfriend material. We’re just hanging out; let’s see what progresses from there shall we?”

  Carly shook her own head as she emptied the dustpan into the trash can that her colleague was standing next to, “Hold up. What do you mean ‘not boyfriend material’?! That man is all of that and a bag of chips and you know it. Let me tell you, girl that man is really into you.”

  Morrigana let out a bitter laugh, “If only it were that simple. There’s so much more at stake here. Besides, what if I’m not that into him? Really, Carly, don’t you ever think with anything other than your lower anatomy?”

  Carly gave a wicked laugh, “Why should men be the only ones who think with that part of their bodies?”

  Morrigana let out a frustrated sigh, “Just because men do it doesn’t mean that we have to. Look, I’m going to go check on my customers and see if any new ones have popped in while we have been here in the kitchen gossiping like a couple of teenage girls.”