by A and E Kirk
“How long have you been out of the coffin?”
“Don’t know that either,” Kiara sighed. “I only remember the last few years at Nightmare Mansion, but I know it’s been longer than that. Not sure how I know, but I know. How about giving me a range, Leontes? Did you unearth me out of the coffin between three and five years ago? Five and ten? Ten and twenty? More than twenty?” She put on a reasonable cockney accent. “Come on, mate, give us a hint!”
Leontes turned on the windshield wipers as the rain had started again. “We can talk later, but now is not the time to—”
“Discuss it,” Kiara finished tiredly. “What a surprise.”
“Hold on. The ambassador broke you out?” Jaeger grinned wide. “Well, well, well. You have hidden depths, my man. How did you find her? Where was she?” When Leontes remained silent, Jaeger said, “Not talking, eh? Okay, fine. Do you know who put her in there? Wait, how old are you? Did you put her in the coffin? Is that how you knew where to find her?”
“Enough,” Leontes said in an overly calm voice and glared into the rearview mirror, ready to give the boy a much needed thrashing. He knew this was a terrible mistake. “Kiara, return the weapon. No guns. That is the rule.”
“You seem to have a lot of those where she’s concerned.” Jaeger ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back. His golden curls appeared silver in the moon’s light filtering in through the rear window. “You her daddy? Is that why you broke her out?”
Leontes’ grip on the steering wheel tightened. “I am her guardian. She is under my care.”
“More like under your thumb,” Jaeger said.
Kiara snickered.
Leontes gave her a stern sideways glance. “The gun. Now.”
Kiara knew pouting would not change his mind, but that did not stop her from trying. When it proved useless, she sighed and rolled her eyes too. Leontes pretended not to notice. She did one last reassemble of the gun and handed it back between the seats. When Jaeger did not take it, she turned around. With his face in shadow, Kiara could not read his expression.
“You always do what he says?” Jaeger asked.
“Of course,” Kiara said. When Leontes snorted, she added, “Well, most of the time. It’s a—”
“Rule,” Jaeger cut in. “Yeah, I get it.”
He reached out, took the gun she offered with one hand, and held her arm with his other, turning her wrist up. He leaned forward, their faces close.
Leontes gave him a sharp look. “What are you doing?”
Shimmering in the dark, his honey gold eyes locked onto Kiara’s. Jaeger’s hand slid down her arm to her wrist. His thumb caressed the tender skin just below her palm.
“You survived centuries in a coffin and yet…you’re warm,” he said softly. “And you have a pulse.”
He moved his thumb aside and dipped his face low. His mouth only a sliver away from the inside of her wrist, Jaeger inhaled deeply. Kiara felt the flutter of warm air on her skin as he exhaled through parted lips. “And you smell absolutely delicious.”
Kiara’s eyelids suddenly weighed several tons. Breathing seemed impossible. A dreamy smile drifted over her lips. She wondered how his touch and breath on her skin could ripple so many pleasant tingling sensations up her arm, across her chest and down low through her belly and thighs.
Leontes shoved a brutal elbow into Jaeger’s ribs, sending him flying back into his seat. “That is enough. Stay back there. Kiara, turn around.” He nudged her. “Kiara.”
“Yeah, Kiara, follow daddy’s rules. For now.” Jaeger gave her a roguish smile and playful wink. “I’ll help you break them later.”
For a dangerously long while, Leontes’ eyes bore into the rearview mirror. “I know what you are doing, and if this shifter vampire liaison has any chance of success you had better desist. At once.”
Jaeger shrugged and perfected a look of innocence. “What am I doing?”
“Yeah,” Kiara said in a loud whisper. “What’s he doing?”
In answer, Leontes’ teeth ground a symphony of irritation and his foot leaned on the accelerator. Kiara faced forward with a silly grin and put her hand over her wrist, which still tingled. As did many other things, in a warm, delightful way. Until suddenly…
She felt cold. Her bottom lip quivered. She murmured, “Black ice.”
“It is only rain,” Leontes assured her. “And not cold enough to freeze. There is no ice.”
She turned to him, eyes unfocused, but her words were clear. “Black ice, black ice, black ice.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Jaeger asked.
“I do not know. Kiara?”
Leontes looked at her with worry, then focused his gaze out the windshield. Headlights reflected back only fog and rain and the black night surrounding them on all sides. He could not perceive any danger.
“Kiara?” he said. “Is it a memory? Or—”
“Black ice,” she repeated quietly.
“Kiara, I do not understand. What are you—” Then Leontes saw it.
Up ahead, a thin sliver of vertical white light where there should only be darkness. Leontes slammed on the brakes and yanked the wheel to the left, squealing the car into a three-sixty degree skid that ended with them facing their original direction, but in the wrong lane.
As the vehicle rocked on the chassis, they watched the destruction unfold.
CHAPTER 28
In the middle of the road, the sliver of light parted, opening like a curtain to another world. One of blinding white glare. A cold wind burst through. Snow flurried in the beam of the car’s headlights. Any moisture on the road instantly froze.
Black ice.
Traveling at full speed, the two SUVs in front of Leontes hit the ice. They both lost traction and spun like gears in an out-of-control contraption. The drivers frantically fought to maneuver and keep the trucks apart. But the two vehicles collided in a crunch of metal and a deafening crash. Locked together, they slid sideways, off the street and into the woods. Tires spit up dirt and rock. With a thundering crack, the cars slammed into the thick collection of trees.
The two SUVs, which had been behind Leontes, flew past. Seeing the crash ahead, they tried to slow. Both skid onto the invisible ice and immediately lost control. They twirled like slow motion ballerinas in a child’s music box, racing forward, spinning in opposite directions. One crashed nose-first into a ditch on the side of the highway.
The other car headed for the white light of the opening that had appeared in the street. It crossed the threshold. White powder exploded as it plowed through a snowbank, which only moments ago had not existed. Halfway into the new world, it collided head-on into a boulder-sized chunk of ice.
The impact shook the ground. The truck’s front end crumpled. The black exterior immediately frosted over with a pale sheen of ice. Plumes of smoke shot up from under the hood with an angry hiss.
Through the opening, the light cleared enough to reveal a vast winter landscape. In this other world, near-blizzard condition flurries fell fast, adding to what looked like several feet of snow. The clearing rolled along for several miles and eventually led to a low rise of wooded hills in the distance.
Kiara leaned forward. “It’s beautiful.”
“What the hell is it?” Jaeger had squeezed up between the front seats for a better look.
“Trouble,” Leontes said.
Kiara started to open the door, but Leontes stopped her. “Remain here. We must see how many they have sent.”
“How many what?” Jaeger said. “Sent by who?”
As he squinted against the bright light, darks shapes broke through the beams. In fast motion, they jumped into the air from the other side and flew over the mangled SUV.
One by one, the group landed on the road. Six men and six women, wearing ice skates, glided on the frozen black ice surface with the ease of Olympic figure skating champions. They all wore pale, gauzy outfits that fluttered as they moved, with tiny crystals that caught the moonlight lik
e stars twinkling in the night.
The ensemble spun and leapt, putting on quite the show of strength and grace. Men and women lifted and tossed each other in impressive acrobatic fashion amid the flurry of snow coming through the breach and a haunting classical tune that carried in upon the rushing wind.
Finally, they grouped together in a single line and spun in unison, blurring so fast, they almost seemed to disappear. Then, in absolute sync, they stopped, as perfectly still as flash-frozen ice sculptures.
They held the pose for several moments, then dipped into a collective bow before standing and waving like they had just performed before a stadium of thousands. Then, again in unison, they turned with hands behind their backs to face Leontes, Kiara, and Jaeger.
“Who are these jokers?” Jaeger asked.
“They are hardly a joke,” Leontes said. “The case could be made they are among the most dangerous creatures of any world.”
“Ah, crap,” Jaeger said. “You don’t mean…”
“Indeed, I do.”
CHAPTER 29
Kiara stared, mesmerized. “Haven’t you ever seen fairies before?”
“Not in person, and I’d rather have kept it that way,” Jaeger said. “I’ve heard the stories. What do we do?”
Leontes shrugged. “After their performance, I am afraid we are obligated to engage them in conversation.”
Jaeger shot him a glance. “That’s never a good idea.”
“Yes,” Leontes said. “But these are winter fey, which means Mab has sent them, and she is nothing if not a stickler for etiquette. Failure to engage them would cause too great an insult and give her leave to retaliate. We must follow the proper political protocol and hope she does the same.”
“Well, that blows,” Jaeger said. “I hear Mab’s a right bitch.”
“Crude, but accurate,” Leontes agreed. “And, I would add, she is a right powerful bitch.”
Jaeger ran his fingers through his blond hair. “What do you think they want?”
“Oh, that is simple,” Leontes said. “They want Kiara.”
“Why?”
“Because, you imbecile, everyone wants Kiara.” Leontes tried his phone. “Nothing.”
“Mine, too,” Jaeger said. “And my dad’s people don’t seem to be moving. Looks like we’re on our own.”
During the exchange, Kiara remained entranced by the twelve fey who stood still and quiet, unaffected by the torrent of wind and swirling snow.
“Give me the gun,” she said. “I’ll talk to them.”
“Absolutely not.” Leontes gripped her arm. “There are too many. We cannot fight our way out of this one. Jaeger and I will go.”
“Me?” Jaeger said. “Okay, sure. I’m good, but shouldn’t we utilize the legendary assassin?”
Leontes ignored him. “Kiara, remain in the car. Unless things go wrong. Then get away. Under no circumstances let yourself be captured. Understood?” She nodded, but Leontes gave her a doubtful look. “You defied my orders at the werewolf compound. This time I need your word that you will honor my wishes.”
Keeping her eyes on the fairies, Kiara told him, “I won’t get captured.”
Still looking unhappy, Leontes opened his door. Outside, the freezing wind buffeted hard. Leontes kept his hands to his side and walked ramrod straight, seemingly as unaffected by the harsh weather as the fairies. It was not wise to show weakness of any kind. He wished Jaeger would emulate the behavior, but instead the werewolf stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets and hunched his shoulders.
As they approached the twelve silent fairies, Jaeger leaned in close to Leontes so he could be heard without shouting. “So what do we say to them?”
“We say nothing. I, and only I, will do the talking. Otherwise, God knows what havoc they will wreak upon your life.”
“Aw, didn’t know you cared.”
“I care about shifter and vampire relations. If you lose yourself to fairies because of a misstep in language, I am sure to be blamed. If you provoke them, I am sure to be blamed. I brought you along only to show a cooperation between factions. An alliance. Strength. Something to give them pause.”
“So I’m kind of like the muscle?”
Leontes glanced sideways. “Sadly.” His sigh could not be heard over the wind. “So for all our sakes, kindly shut the hell up.”
“Right. You’re a talker, not a fighter. Not a word from me. I’ll let you do your famous silver tongue thing while I just…” He made a show of locking his lips and throwing away the key.
“If only it were that easy.”
“Got a quick question, though.”
“Of course you do.”
“I know you said I’m the muscle—”
“Actually, you said that.”
“Right, but if this does go south, you can go all ninja vampire on them, right? Take out a few while I take care of the others?”
Trudging through the snow, Leontes missed a step. “Ninja vampire?” He took a moment to stare at Jaeger, eyebrows raised. Then he shook his head and walked on. “You watch entirely too much television. Simply remain silent. And no fighting, ninja or otherwise, because the fey are the last creatures we want to start a war with.”
“Gotcha.”
“One can only hope.”
Leontes stopped a fair distance from the rigid group and waited. The twelve men and women looked exceedingly similar. Bodies slender and toned. Smooth, pale skin. Sharp bone structure. Grey eyes and grim, expressionless features. White blond hair cropped short, almost military grade. As was their bearing. Which Leontes found highly disconcerting. Despite their artistic presentation, these were soldiers.
One of Alpha’s men extricated himself from the SUV, which had crashed just inside the snow-covered world. Squinting against the blizzard conditions around him, Alpha’s guard aimed his gun at the fairies and opened fire.
Once again in sync, the twelve fairies each raised a hand in a graceful, casual movement. Behind them, a two-foot thick wall of clear ice rose from the ground. The bullets pounded into the frozen slab, but could not penetrate, leaving them stuck and looking like dead bugs on a window.
Alpha’s guard emptied his weapon into the ice and reloaded quickly. As he finished, someone jumped through the portal. The shifter aimed at the new arrival, who spun in mid-air and reached out an arm. Snowflakes swirled from his fingertips.
A flurry of white spiraled around the guard. The gun dropped from his hand. His body stiffened. Then his torso made a violent twist around until his upper body and head faced backwards, while his lower body from the hips down still faced forward. Spine completely severed, the shifter crumbled to the ground. His deformed body convulsed as he screamed in agony for several seconds, then became still and quiet.
Jaeger choked in horror and lunged forward. “What the f—”
Leontes dropped a steely arm in front of the werewolf, stopping him in his tracks. The twelve fairies’ stance changed almost imperceptibly, but a defensive posture was clear.
“Leave it,” Leontes said quietly to Jaeger. “There is nothing to be done. For now. Unless you wish us all dead.”
“That bastard practically snapped him in two!” Jaeger shouted. But he quit fighting against Leontes and stayed put, a low growl emanating from his chest.
The new arrival, a man dressed in similar pale attire as the other fairies, finished his aerial spin and landed lightly on the ground. After a satisfied nod at the guard’s mangled body, he skated powerfully down the ice-covered street. He raced closer to the wall of ice, but did not slow. Instead, his legs pumped harder. Two strides before impact, he launched into an effortless quadruple flip.
And spun through the wall of ice as if it was not even there.
He sailed over the fairies’ heads, landed and skidded to a stop in a spray of shaved ice. Then he tossed an arm up and slapped it down on his thigh.
“Hey, mates! What a bloody freakin’ riot that was, eh!” The tall, lean man grinned broadly and spoke in an
accent from a nineteenth century Victorian London slum.
He doubled over with laughter, flashing a huge diamond stud in one earlobe. The rest of the fairies joined him. He gestured toward Leontes and Jaeger.
“You two, looking so serious. Like we’s about to go all fisticuffs on ya. Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to give the wrong impression. We come in peace.” He tilted his head to the side as his grin grew wider.
Leontes looked pointedly at the four crashed and smoking vehicles and Alpha’s fallen guards.
“Oh, yeah,” the man said, glancing over his shoulder at the demolition. He waved his hand around in a disregarding fashion. “That’s not our fault really. It’s a tough gig to know right wheres we be landing when we come through the veil. Gots to say, we misjudged that one. But not on purpose. And then theys the ones who started shooting. Had to defend meself. Besides, them are shifters, right? They’ll heal.” He grinned broadly at Leontes. “Great to see you again, mate. It’s been too long!”
Jaeger eyed Leontes. “You two know each other?”
The fairy slapped Leontes on the shoulder. “Me and his nibs here? We go way back, don’t we, guv.”
“Unfortunately.” Leontes looked pained.
“Aw. Don’t be like that,” he pouted at Leontes, then turned a brilliant smile on Jaeger. “Pleased to meet you. Let me proudly introduce meself and me crew, affectionately known as The Dirty Dozen.” He offered Jaeger his hand.
Leontes brushed him away. “What do you want, Callahan?”
Callahan’s limpid grey eyes jumped everywhere, then, as if could not stand his body to be still for very long, he pushed off and began skating in a slow circle around Leontes and Jaeger. The fairy glided over the ice, smoothly spinning this way and that, easily transitioning between skating forward and backward. His motions were liquid and somehow predatory, like a shark circling its prey, calculating the best moment to strike.
“The Vampire Ambassador and the Werewolf Prince,” Callahan said in a slight singsong manner. “Sounds like a children’s story, don’t it? All that’s missing is the pretty damsel, and funny enough, there she be, right in the car just over yonder.” He waved at Kiara. “She don’t get out much though, do she? Must be a real treat for her, this is. Can we meet her?”
