Never More

by Dana Marie Bell

  He shook his head and stared out the window as Moira began to hum a funeral march.

  “What? Is he a scary mob guy or something?” Amanda laughed…then realized no one else was. “Are you serious?”

  “Oberon is…very powerful,” Duncan said cautiously. “I wouldn’t shorten his name without an invitation.”

  “One which no one has received ever. Not even Cassie, his bo—er, bride, shortens his name.” Jaden pulled to a stop outside the farmhouse. “Look, he’s my boss’s boss, and one scary-ass dude you don’t want to mess with.”

  “Plus, he’s family.” Ruby twisted in her seat so she could see Amanda as Duncan and Moira began untangling themselves in preparation for getting out of the car. “Cassie helped save Shane’s life. She’s a healer of sorts.” Ruby bit her lip, and Amanda knew she was trying to hide something from her. Ruby would never be a great poker player. Everything she thought was all over her face. “Please, Mandy? For me? Be nice.”

  As if Amanda would do anything to seriously embarrass Ruby. “Would I do anything to embarrass you?”

  Ruby’s eyes narrowed in irritation. “Jail.”

  “It was worth it.”

  “Devil dress.”

  “It got you Leo, didn’t it?”

  “Fine,” Ruby huffed. “Needle-nose pencil dick.”

  “Hey, now.” Amanda shook her finger at Ruby. “He earned that.” And besides, it was her fault that Ruby had gone out with the teeny-weeny-pricked asshole in the first place. Amanda was the one who’d double-dog dared Ruby to go out with Bobby in the eleventh grade, though she’d long since apologized. Ruby’s crush on the guy had sent her into hiding, and Amanda had only been trying to help her. Unfortunately, Bobby had done the unforgiveable. He’d bragged all over school that Ruby was a lousy fuck, humiliating Amanda’s best friend.

  In retaliation, she’d double-dog dared Ruby to put up some posters she’d designed all over school.

  That double-dog dare led to the Pencil Dick Poster Incident that had gotten Ruby two weeks’ suspension and a stag trip to the prom. That, too, had been worth it. Amanda had ditched her date and spent most of the night dancing with her BFF. Ruby had eventually forgiven her, and Amanda had done her best to use the power of the double-dog dare only for good.

  And Leo was very good for Ruby. Her friend glowed whenever Leo’s name was mentioned, and when Leo was in the room? Ho-boy. They could power a small town with the loving energy they generated.

  Now if only Amanda could find a guy who lit her up inside like Leo did for Ruby, she’d be one happy woman. It would be even better if that man was somehow related to Leo. She secretly wished that she still lived close to Ruby and could see her whenever she wanted. Phone calls and Skype were okay, but just calling her out of the blue for a shopping trip and a latte just wasn’t possible anymore. Amanda missed that, more than she’d thought she would.

  “Hey.” Ruby poked Amanda in the forehead. “Where did you go?”

  Amanda smiled, knowing it looked weak and sad. “Just…I miss you, yeah?”

  “Aw.” Ruby gave her an awkward, one-armed hug over the seat, almost strangling her. “Me too.”

  “Think Mrs. Dunne would be willing to adopt me?”

  Ruby laughed, the tone evil. “I have a better idea.”

  “Oh?” Amanda wiggled free, wondering what the hell Ruby was up to. “And that would be…?”

  “I double-dog dare you to ask Raven out on a date.”

  Amanda blinked. Since when did Ruby dare her? It was always the other way around. “Ruby…”

  Ruby sighed. “He has the prettiest eyes, doesn’t he? So blue. And he’s related to Robin, which makes him family.” Ruby shivered. “If I wasn’t so in love with my husband, I’d seriously take a ride on that bad boy.”

  Amanda gasped, trying not to laugh. “You naughty thing, you.”

  “Totally.” Ruby wagged her brows. “So. You double-dog dared me to snatch Leo. Now I’m double-dog daring you.” She leaned forward, her grin smug.

  “You know I’m not really into goth guys.” And Raven had goth written all over him, from the dark hair with a single, vibrant red streak right above his eyes to his black clothing and even blacker fingernails. Even his name was goth. Who named their kid Raven, anyway?

  “But none of the accountants and Vikings were working for you. Why not take a walk on the dark edge of midnight? See if Raven is everything you’ve been missing. Who knows? He could be your…” Ruby’s gaze turned misty. “Your everything.”

  Damn it, but Ruby wasn’t just right. She was echoing everything Amanda had been thinking about. None of the men she’d dated had made an impact at all. “Tell me this before you send me to swim with Mr. Sharky. Is he a good guy?”

  Ruby nodded, her expression turning serious. “Yup. One of the best. He may look all goth and emo and shit, but he’s actually a good person who’s had a hell of a life up until now. He’s come out of it stronger for it too. I trust him, and so does Leo.”

  “So he’s got the BFF stamp of approval, huh?” That actually raised Raven in her estimation a hell of a lot more than the French did.

  The blue eyes didn’t hurt, either.

  Maybe she should accept Ruby’s dare. She was only here for two weeks, then the wedding would take place and Amanda would be on her way back to D.C. and her boring, Ruby-less life.

  When she thought about it that way, there was only one answer she could give. “I accept.”

  “Yes!” Ruby’s fist-pump almost clocked Amanda on the jaw. “Leo owes me twenty bucks!”

  Amanda laughed and followed Ruby into the house, trying to hide the nervous flutters in her stomach. It was only two weeks, right?

  Raven waited until the car pulled away before ducking into the shadows provided by the police station. He pondered summoning his flock, but his ravens would be at a disadvantage at night. Their intelligence could make up for their lack of nighttime vision, but he wouldn’t risk them when he didn’t really have to.

  It was only three redcaps, after all. Nothing he hadn’t faced before. It would be almost too easy to take them down.

  Raven smiled as he allowed his claws to grow, becoming the talons of his namesake. When the redcaps moved, so did he, the dark swirl of feathers hiding his flight.

  Raven followed the car the redcaps piled into, right up until he’d confirmed that it was, indeed, heading for the Dunne farm. He grinned, eager for the battle to come. While chasing Oberon he’d barely been able to wet his claws, and by the time he found the High King…the High King had sort of found himself.

  Raven swooped, his sylph heritage allowing him to flow through the crack in the window. The overwhelming stench of overripe mushrooms filled his senses. If he’d been in his man form, he would have gagged.

  Instead, Raven did what sylphs do best. He sucked all the air out of the car, blocking the cracks and crevices of the vehicle so that no air could fill the vacuum.

  The redcaps began gasping, turning red in the face. Their hands went to their throats as they struggled for breath, desperately undoing buttons and zips as the last of the air was sucked out of the car. The car began to slowly crumple in on itself, the pressure of the air outside forcing it to buckle with a metallic screech.

  The driver lost control as the steering wheel tried to impale him. The doors became lethal combinations of metal and glass, striking the redcaps with deadly precision. Two of the redcaps were impaled immediately, the doors of the rear of the vehicle collapsing quickly until the car appeared to have a wasp waist.

  The redcap in the front passenger seat began desperately trying to squeeze through the glassless window, straining Raven’s hold. He allowed the redcap to depart, slamming air back into the car like a freight train.

  The driver gasped his last as the force of the returning air broke every single bone in his body.

&
nbsp; The redcap on the ground watched as the car lumbered to a halt on the side of the road, the tic-tic-tic of the cooling engine the only sound for miles.

  Raven slipped out of the deathtrap he’d devised, flowing together in a flutter of wings until he stood over the redcap. “Hello, Boneass.”

  “Bonearse,” the redcap grumbled. He slowly picked himself off the ground, shaking as he faced Raven. “Lord MacSweeney.”

  Raven’s brows rose. “Ah, I see you didn’t get the memo.” He grinned, allowing the flash of Goodfellow green to show in his gaze. “At my father’s request, I’ve changed my last name.”

  The redcap blanched at the mention of the Hob, but surprisingly he stood his ground. “You betrayed our queen.” The redcap clenched his fists, but Raven could scent the sweat that began to pour off of him. “You need to die.”

  “Not today, Boneass.” Raven swept his arms wide. “Think you can take me?”

  Probably for the first time in his life the redcap did something smart. He stood still.

  “No?” Raven sighed, lowering his arms. “I’m almost disappointed.”

  The redcap growled. “We aren’t the only ones she sent.”

  Raven chuckled softly. “I know that. You’re the cannon fodder. The real attack will come from someone whose brain cells don’t squeak when they rub together.”

  Bonearse took a step back. “We don’t take traitors lightly.”

  Raven took a step forward. “And I’m not as nice as my father.” Before the redcap could react, Raven struck. His talons sank into the soft belly of the redcap, pumping him full of the black ooze all of the Hob’s children held inside them.

  The redcap screamed, falling to the ground in unspeakable agony.

  Raven crouched next to him. “You should have stayed in the car.” He stroked the redcap’s hair back from his face as his body twisted and writhed. “You would have died more quickly.”

  Raven smiled sweetly as the redcap sputtered. Black-tinted blood foamed over the redcap’s lips, tinting them charcoal. “I can make this stop.” He crooned nonsense sounds, the chirruping sounds of his ravens coming easily to his lips. “Do you want it to stop, Boneass?”

  The redcap nodded, not even wincing at the way Raven mangled his name. “Pl-please.”

  “Aw.” Raven focused on the poison, slowing its course through the redcap’s body. Unless he willed it, the redcap would still die, but it would be a gentler death than the one he’d originally planned. Maybe he was getting soft, but if the redcap gave him what he wanted he’d let him die quickly. “Now, tell me who else she sent.”

  The redcap gulped. “If I do…”

  “You’re dead anyway, Boney. But you could die sweet, or you can die hard. Your choice.”

  The redcap pondered long enough that Raven was ready to send the poison boiling through his system once more. Before he could, however, the redcap caved, and the name sent a shiver down Raven’s spine. While Raven had never gotten along with his half brother, the two had been coldly polite to one another the few times they’d met.

  Sayyid Bapep was half Hob, half Djinn, and so feared in the Black Court his name was heard in whispers and only spoken when no shadows were present. Only Raven had as dark a reputation as Sayyid, and Sayyid’s was less than his only because Raven had taken on assignments no other dark fae would touch.

  Little did they know he’d been desperately trying to find a way to free both himself and his mother from the grasp of the Dark Queen. Taking those missions, while risky, had given him a chance to get away, to research ways he might be able to escape her grasp. It wasn’t until he’d met his father that Raven finally found the freedom he’d sought, but it had cost him dearly. In punishment, the Dark Queen had his mother killed and her remains shipped to him in pieces.

  And that was only the start of it.

  She was sending her best hunter after him, a man known for his cleverness and cruelty, and he wouldn’t just target Raven. He’d go after Raven’s newfound friends and family, making sure they all suffered before they died from horrific wounds to both their bodies and souls. Sayyid would love to get his hands on anyone associated with the Hob. He was the most bitter about their father’s so-called rejection, unaware of the lies the Dark Queen had spewed, poisoning his heart against everything Robin stood for.

  Sayyid was one of the ones Robin knew without a doubt would never turn to the Gray. He adored Titannia, viewing her as a mother figure and a goddess all in one. He would die before betraying her. Raven would have no choice but to kill him if he went after any of Robin’s patchwork family.

  He’d have to warn his father of who was coming after him. It was only fair. Robin would want to assign guards to his people, protecting those who couldn’t protect themselves. Michaela especially would be vulnerable. She might be Tuatha Dé Danann, but she was so new she still shone. Protecting her would be Robin’s number one priority.

  “Shh.” Raven reached down and pressed his hand to the redcap’s chest. “You’ve given, and now you shall receive.” He flexed his fingers, bringing a swift end to the redcap’s life. He stood, shaking off the feeling that he’d missed something vital.

  He couldn’t return to the Dunne farmhouse without first inspecting the car and its battered victims. It didn’t take him long to find the earpieces they’d been wearing. He swore softly, wondering who, if anyone, had heard his conversation with Bonearse.

  Raven plucked one of the earpieces out, loathing the thought of inserting it into his own ear but finding no other options if he wanted answers. He placed it into his ear, listening silently for any hint that there was someone else on the other end.

  Nothing. Not even static. The piece was either dead, or had been cut off.

  Raven gripped it hard, and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed the now-familiar number and waited for his favorite smart-ass to answer.

  If anyone could help him with this, it was Liam.

  “Yolo!” Liam spun in his chair and spoke to thin air. Who needed a cell phone when you could simply tap into the local cell tower?

  There was a reason he was called Big Red. As the head gremlin, Red had more power than any three gremlins combined. He could tap electrical impulses that had been turned off, make a GFI outlet spit out enough current to stop an elephant’s heart and make a race car go from zero to sixty without once touching the gas pedal. Or being in the car.

  Or the state the car was in.

  Hell. He could kill someone with his brain. Brain waves were nothing more than chemistry and electrical impulses. One zap, and it was bye-bye bad guy.

  Being a gremlin fuckin’ rocked.

  And then there were times when it didn’t, like now, when he was staring at the picture of a dead Sidhe lady. A prominent one, whose death would bring the White Court down on Oberon’s head.

  Whoever had done this was silent and lethal. A sword stroke that took off Lady Mei-Xing Zhuansun’s head cleanly, implying great strength was used. No signs of forced entry, no fae magic, and no witnesses to question. Just a decapitated fairy lady who’d been vocal in her distrust of one Raven Goodfellow, née MacSweeney.

  Needless to say, some obvious conclusions were being drawn, conclusions Li just couldn’t see. Raven was Gray Court now, sworn to Oberon and, more importantly, to Robin. Robin had asked Li to look into it for him, but so far Li was drawing a big, fat blank. Her ladyship had been home alone when she was killed; no Internet activity had occurred, no phone calls in or out until the one where her bondmate called in the Blades, much to the White Queen’s dismay. It seemed the husband did not share his spouse’s distrust of the Gray Court and wanted an impartial view of her death.

  Trying to keep the peace between two queen bitches definitely kept Liam on his toes. And now that King Oberon had mated Queen Cassandra, things were going to heat up big-time. Neither Court was pleased with Oberon’s decision to take an
other bondmate, let alone a truebond. Liam was thrilled for Oberon. Cassie was a strong siren, and more than capable of standing at Oberon’s side and facing both queens down. Seeing Oberon actually smiling? Far more worth it to Liam than all the electrons in the universe.

  Titannia had to be peeing purple kittens over the whole thing.

  Speaking of Raven, the man was trying to contact him. Li concentrated, and Raven’s voice filled his ears before he could say hello. “I have a problem, Li.”

  “Raven, my man, my main dude, my Edward in training. What can I do for ya?” Red spun until his monitors were once more in front of him and cracked his knuckles. “Have you met your Bella yet?”

  “They’re sending in the big guns to get me, and I can’t leave Nebraska.”

  Liam winced. “Ah. I was gonna head there in a few days myself. Who are they sending?” He began tapping keys, looking for any sign of Black Court activity. One name popped up, one that had him shivering in his canvas sneakers. “Sayyid is already in the area.”

  “Shit.” Raven sighed heavily. “Trace this earpiece I’m holding. I want to know who was on the other end.”

  “Was?” Liam tapped into his powers and followed the signal coming from their connection to the earpiece Raven held. “Ew, you touched a redcap’s ear?”

  “Liam.”

  “Fine,” Liam huffed. He found the faint ozone traces left behind by the electrical signal and followed it to a little B&B right off of…

  “You have problems. Big ones. He’s closer than I thought.” Liam’s tone deepened to the more familiar tones he used when he became Big Red, the pet gremlin of Robin. With Raven, as with Robin, he spoke in his Seeming’s voice, but with all others he was Red, the deep, gravelly voice who helped them crack databases and track down baddies. Not many would recognize Liam Kang-Dae Kwon, the Korean-American computer expert with the tenor voice and thick glasses. Every Blade the world over, however, was familiar with the deep, resonant tones of Big Red. “Sayyid is commanding the redcaps from a B&B in Omaha.” He began typing furiously. “Damn it. Did the ladies go out tonight?”