“Holy crap,” I said.
“Usually shit isn’t religious,” Remy teased as he re-entered the room.
“Ha, ha. You are so funny, Remington Blake,” I said. Heck. I couldn’t even remember if he and I had sex last night, and I wouldn’t normally forget that kind of thing. “Did we, um, do something last night?”
“Why, Grace, I am offended. No woman has ever forgotten when I’ve taken them to bed,” he smirked.
“Damn it, Remy. Something is wrong with me,” I said. For a moment, I saw a flicker of worry on his face, but he quickly recovered.
“No, Grace. We didn’t do anything. You were too out of it. I don’t take advantage of women. I have no need. They usually beg me for the privilege,” he said with a grin.
“Oh, please. Just bring me a cup of coffee. Maybe that will clear my head,” I said.
“Coming right up,” he replied.
“Don’t you have work today?” I asked.
“No. I called them and told them I was taking a personal day,” he said from the other room. He’d never taken the day off for me before. Perhaps there was more to this relationship than I thought.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I insisted.
“When was the last time you had a hangover?” He raised his eyebrow.
“Right. Next to never,” I replied.
“Exactly. You need me,” he smiled.
“I’ll let you keep thinking that,” I laughed. “I need to get out of this house though. Get some fresh air.”
“Alright. Where do you want to go?” he asked.
“Anywhere as long as I don’t piss off the Sanhedrin,” I grubbed.
“Yes, let’s avoid their ire for a while. Why don’t I take you to my house?” he asked. He had never invited me to his house.
“What?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll give you a tour,” he said. “Get your lovely ass up and get dressed.”
“Okay,” I said somewhat reluctantly. If I didn’t know better, Remy was up to something. Or hiding something. Maybe something happened last night and I had embarrassed him or myself. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Not yet.
6
Remy
While Grace showered, I made a few phone calls. One to my good friend in New Orleans, Niles Babineau. We were from the same stock. Native American Star Folk.
The First Peoples had worshiped us from the beginning of time as they remembered it. Some interpreted the stories to be representative of aliens. I supposed in some ways it was the truth. We weren’t of the earth but above it. No different than Grace being from below it. The Star Folk’s power waned with the introduction of theology to the New World. I could conjure a few tricks, but nothing like what Grace or her kind could do.
The phone rang, and Niles answered with a deeper New Orleans accent than I had.
“Babineau,” he answered.
“Niles, it’s Remy,” I said.
“Well, hello, Remy. How is that new girlfriend of yours?” He asked.
“She’s awesome, but I need a favor,” I said.
“Uh-oh. Time for a little adventure?” Niles asked.
“Yes, we need a distraction for a few days. Do you think you could help me out?”
“Certainly. My normal fee applies,” he said.
“I wasn’t asking for a freebie,” I smirked.
“No. You weren’t, but I know you, Remington Blake. It was implied,” Niles teased.
“I am not a cheapskate,” I protested.
“No, you just spend all your funds on women. This one must be a keeper,” he said, knowing very well that I never had a girlfriend for long because of my wife.
“She is, but I don’t think I’ll get to keep her.”
“Now don’t talk like that, Remy. You are a good-looking man. What more could she ask for?” he said turning softer.
“She’s a fairy queen. She could ask for a lot,” I sighed.
“Fairy Queen! Remy, you better watch yourself with that one,” he warned.
“It’s too late for that,” I said.
“God bless it,” he said then hung up the phone.
If I was going to spend the rest of my time with Grace in a lie, it might as well be a fun one. Niles Babineau and I had been on a lot of adventures together. So much so that he started his own company where he built adventures for his clients. He also built houses, but that was just a side job. Among others.
Taking Grace to my house was a risk. Once we got inside, it would be safe from my wife. She couldn’t get past the wards that I paid another witch to raise for me. They specifically targeted my wife so that she couldn’t get inside. Niles would start our adventure from there. He would also drain my bank account for it. It didn’t matter. I wanted to make the rest of our time together memorable. Then, she could hate me. And she would.
“Why do you keep looking behind us? You seem so antsy. We don’t have to go to your house, Remy,” she said.
She sat next to me in a tight pair of jeans and a tank top. So plain. So fucking gorgeous. Her lips twisted sideways with a smile. She knew I was admiring her. I loved that she knew what she had and wasn’t afraid to flaunt it. Some men would be afraid of such confidence. Most women hated it and called her all sorts of names. But she paid no attention to any of them. She marched along to the beat of her own sexy drum.
“Just nervous taking you to my house for the first time,” I said, as we drove back toward town. My house sat on the bank of the local lake. It was grand by most scales. I didn’t want her to be intimidated by it. Lawyers are expected to have fancy homes. Just part of the prestige and stereotype that I didn’t mind. We had all sorts of bad connotations following us around, and most of them didn’t bother me. I wasn’t in it to make money. Most of the time I ended up taking the case of a wayward fairy or other supernatural that got tangled up with human law enforcement because very few non-special lawyers would understand. Plus, it was better that I help them than allowing them to make a deal with the Sanhedrin. I wish I had known Grace before she made her deal with them. I was afraid of what they would do to her when she slipped up.
“Why would you be nervous?” she asked.
We turned into the drive leading up to my house. Two iron gates opened for us as they sensed the mechanism in my car. She stopped breathing for a moment, then gasped as the house came into view.
“What the hell, Remy?” she asked.
“I’m a lawyer. I have a nice house,” I shrugged.
“That is a freaking mansion,” she exclaimed.
“No. You just live in a trailer, so it seems like it. It’s a perfectly normal 4 bedroom, 3 and a half-bath house,” I said.
As we pulled around to the garage, she added, “With a three-car garage.”
“I have three cars,” I sighed. I had hoped she wouldn’t look at all of this and think it was me. It was just the role I played. I would be happy in a house in the suburbs or even in a small cabin on a farm. I don’t think I could manage a trailer in that comfort zone, but if Grace was in it, I could imagine it.
“Rich as fuck,” she said.
“Language,” I scolded.
“Like you have virgin ears,” she scoffed.
“I’m pretty sure I don’t have virgin anything,” I said.
“Me either,” she smiled.
“Come inside, and I’ll show you around.” I climbed out of the car, beckoning her to come with me. She took my hand and we stepped inside my heavily warded home.
7
Grace
One thing was for sure. The wards on the house were extremely powerful. I felt them reaching out to me with tendrils of power, caressing over my skin looking for certain attributes. Obviously, I wasn’t what Remy was keeping out. I didn’t question it, because beings like us who lived on this earth for so long made lots of enemies. I could only imagine the kind of enemies that a lawyer would have.
I needed a ward to keep Jeremiah and his brothers out of my trailer. It would piss him off which
would delight me greatly. Making a mental note to look into it, I walked with Remy into a gigantic kitchen with granite countertops and rich honey wood colored cabinets. I’d never seen anything like it. I didn’t frequent the houses of the rich and famous in this human world.
“This is beautiful, Remy,” I said in awe.
“Thanks. Come with me,” he said, tugging me along to a great room the size of my bedroom back in the Otherworld. A stone fireplace rose to the ceiling. A plush sectional sofa surrounded it.
I took two steps down into the living area admiring the decor as well as the view out of the windows to the rear of the house. The lake shimmered in the sunlight just beyond a deck and very green yard. What was it with rich people and perfectly green yards? It was as if they all had Summer fairies tending to their grass. I’d settle for a hot guy with a lawnmower. I didn’t care if the grass died.
My senses tingled. Instinctively I stepped toward Remy as he tensed.
“What the…” he muttered as four forms emerged from different parts of the room. “Who are you?”
“We aren’t here for the woman. Just you,” one of the men said. Each one wore a black hoodie shrouding their faces in shadow. Flicking to my sight, they glowed a deep green indicating that they were Summer fairies, but on the darker side. Apparently, they didn’t know who I was.
“Look, guys. Who sent you?” Remy asked.
“And how did you get past the wards?” I asked. Remy looked at me with surprise. As if I hadn’t detected his wards. It occurred to me then that the ward was very specific and it wasn’t to keep me or the Summer fairies out.
“Our boss wants to have a few words with you,” the spokesman said.
“Who is your boss?” Remy asked.
“You know who he is,” he replied.
“If I did, I wouldn’t have asked,” Remy snorted.
“Perhaps smart-ass remarks aren’t your best option, Remington Blake,” the leader said. The others stood silently as this one continued the conversation. “Now, you can come with us the easy way or the hard way.”
“He’s not going anywhere with you,” I said as the tattoo on my arm flared to life with the power of the Otherworld.
The leader’s eyes shot to the tattoo on my right arm. He trembled for a moment then proceeded to front.
“Looky here, boys. We’ve got us a bonafide winter fairy queen. Last time I checked there was only one of those. I’m pretty sure there is a bounty on your head, too. Take them both,” he ordered.
The other three rushed us. With his hand, Remy motioned toward one of them. Glittery powder flipped out of his hand smacking him in the face. He squealed as the glitter blinded him. He grabbed at his face trying to regain his sight.
I turned to another unleashing a blast of winter power. The rush of wind and freezing snow smacked him in the chest, forcing him to tumble backward.
The third hit Remy squarely. They tumbled across the floor, and I was afraid to blast them. I didn’t know what my power would do to Remy.
“Get off him, you bastard,” I screamed. Then I realized the leader was watching the fight. Turning to him, my power flared. My hair turned from brunette to platinum blonde. He took two steps back from me as I moved quickly toward him. Before he could run, I wrapped a cold hand around his neck. “I am Gloriana, daughter of Oberon, King of Winter, and you will let him go!”
The command shook the house. I heard the two men behind me stop their grappling for control.
“Grace,” Remy muttered.
“I’ve got this, Remy,” I said, squeezing the Summer fairy’s neck. He was starting to turn blue.
“Gracie, let him go,” Remy urged in a light tone as he stepped into my peripheral vision. “They will leave now.”
“You are going to leave?” I asked the leader. He nodded emphatically.
When I released him, he scrambled away from me along with his still conscious friend and the blinded man. The one I had knocked out was lifted by his comrades as they hustled out of the house.
“Grace,” Remy urged touching my cheek with his hand.
“What?” I snapped. The power I’d used had me keyed up.
“Let it go, baby,” he coaxed.
I looked down at the glowing tattooed stone on my arm, and I realized how close I was to the darkness of my power. Shaking my hands violently, tears rolled down my cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered.
“Gracie, you were protecting me. That was a good thing, not a bad one,” he assured me.
I didn’t feel assured though. It had been years since I called power to myself to hurt someone.
A cold darkness lurked inside of me, fighting to get out. Seeing Remy in peril triggered that power. Perhaps Jeremiah and the Sanhedrin were right. Having a long-term relationship was a bad idea. Who knows what I would do to protect someone that I loved? If I was even capable of love.
As the power in me melted, I felt his strong arms around me where I hadn’t noticed them before. I refused to allow myself to lean into him.
“Who were they?” I questioned. My voice came out dry and quiet.
“I’m not sure. I’ve got enemies just like you,” he said, looking into my eyes. “I’m glad you were here.”
“You could have handled it.”
“I would have had to go with them to handle it. I have a few magical tricks, but my power isn’t anything like yours,” he said.
“Use your magical tongue to get out of it?”
“You should know.” He grinned like a possum eating a sweet potato.
“Oh, I do,” I replied.
“Sure you don’t need a reminder?”
“I could probably use one.”
“I’m happy to oblige.”
8
Remy
After reminding Grace of my tongue skills along with a few others, I watched her sleeping in my bed. I never imagined I’d ever have her here in my house. Now that she was here, I didn’t want her to go, but I knew the moments were numbered. It was only a matter of time before she would find out about my wife or find out about my game. She might even remember Jeremiah erasing her memories.
I needed to call Niles and tell him to tone it down a bit. The last thing I wanted was for her to dust one of his guys. They looked pretty scared when they left last night. It was enough to get me aroused looking at her go after them. Knowing that she wanted to protect me. Perhaps that made me a weak man, but I didn’t give a fuck. She was sexy as hell.
She curled her body toward me, and I wrapped mine around her. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement.
I jerked up in the bed. She moaned.
“Who is there?” I asked.
“You are paranoid,” she said.
“He is not,” a woman’s voice hung in the air.
“No,” I muttered. “No, no, no.”
Grace raised up on one elbow. “What’s wrong with you?”
“She is here,” I rasped, grabbing my pants as I jumped out of the bed. I started searching the house, but my wife was nowhere to be found.
Grace stood outside my bedroom door wrapped in a blanket looking confused.
“I’m sorry. After yesterday, perhaps I am jumpy,” I admitted.
“Are you coming back to bed?” she asked.
“No, I’m up now,” I said.
“I’ll get you up,” she quipped.
I sighed because, with just the tone in her voice, my dick jumped to attention. “I need a drink,” I muttered as I walked back toward the kitchen.
She followed me, so I poured her a glass too. She took a sip and grimaced.
“What is this?”
“Brandy,” I said.
“You would drink alcohol named after a woman,” she smirked.
“I love women,” I admitted.
“Have you never settled down?” she asked.
“No,” I said quickly. This was a conversation I did not want to have.
“Me either,” she said. “This is awful. Give
me whiskey.”
It just so happened that I had a bottle of her favorite. Fit for royalty even if it was Canadian. I slurped down the last of the brandy in her glass, then poured the whiskey.
She hummed as she sipped it. “Much better.”
“How do you make everything sexy?” I laughed. “Even drinking whiskey.”
“It’s a talent,” she laughed.
“It’s a gift,” I said tugging on the blanket wrapped around her. She didn’t say a word, just lifted her eyebrow. So, damn sexy.
9
Grace
At first, I thought he’d lost his mind searching the house earlier, but then I heard it.
“I can’t believe you are doing this to me, Remy,” a female voice echoed through the house.
“Go away!” he yelled.
“Remy?”
“It’s a witch. She drives me crazy,” he huffed as he climbed out of the bed again. He jerked on his pants and pulled a t-shirt over his head. “Come on. We’re leaving.”
“Witch?”
“Grace, please. Get some clothes on. I never thought I’d hear myself say that, but yes, please. It’s time to go,” he said.
“The wards are for her,” I surmised.
“Yes,” he muttered.
“But she can get her voice through it?”
“Apparently. She’s powerful. Please, Grace, let’s go,” he pleaded. Exasperated, he stood with his hands on his hips waiting for me to get out of the bed.
“What did you do to her? Love her then leave her? Witches are a nasty business,” I said. I’d run into a few over the years. None of them were nice, and they always seemed like they had something to prove.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Grace,” he groaned.
I could be a pain in the ass, but there was something in his tone that warned me away from smarting off to him or making this difficult. This witch had done a number on him. Made me wanted to show her real power. Once again, my darkness flared with the desire to protect what I…
Relics and Runes Anthology Page 135
