Sacrifice of Mercy

by Shannon Dermott

  The stewardess' lips parted, and she begged. “Please, please… I just came to offer you a refreshment.”

  But the demon inside me took no prisoners. She moved my lips within inches of the other woman. “Thank you,” McKayla said as she began to suck the living life force from the woman. Our lips didn’t touch, but the woman froze as the vapor essence of her soul filled me with strength and power.

  I seized control as McKayla relished the power that filled us. I slammed back into the driver’s seat and yanked away from the human woman before I had any part in stealing her life.

  She dropped like a rag doll, but I caught her before she hit the floor. Easily, I hauled her to the chair and let her sag there. I’d taken more than I should, thankfully nothing that her body couldn’t repair over time. That was assuming no other soul predator on the plane took from her. I would have to talk to Mia and Flynn about what I’d done. I certainly wasn’t looking forward to that conversation.

  I barreled out of the room striding by the table of laughter and found the area where the drinks were held. Methodically, I opened drawers and cabinets until I found a can of orange juice. Dumbly I grabbed it, thinking it was what they gave people to drink after a blood donation. I knew in my head it wasn’t the same situation; however, I felt the urge to do something. I strode back hearing the whispers.

  It wasn’t surprising when Mia and Flynn were on my heels when I entered the room.

  “What happened?”

  I popped the top on the can and said, “McKayla happened.”

  “Who’s McKayla?” Mia asked at my back as I directed the drink to the woman’s lips.

  Flynn took charge. “I’ll explain later. Do you think you could do that thing again and make her forget coming into this room?”

  “Sure.”

  “I can handle it,” I growled.

  Positioned as I was, I easily caught the woman’s gaze. “You came to ask if I wanted a drink and found me sleeping. Flynn,” I pointed at him, “Flirted with you. He suggested you looked tired and should get yourself a drink. Agreeing with him, you got a can of orange juice and took a seat for a second back here when no one was watching. Only we found you. You’re embarrassed and don’t want to be fired. So you will head back to work and mention this to no one.”

  The woman blinked, and with a horrified expression glanced at each one of us in turn.

  “I’m so sorry. Please don’t tell anyone. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  She scrambled to her feet and hurried out of the room. Mia turned to me.

  “Nice, Mercy.”

  Flynn straightened and turned away, saying nothing to me. He exited the room as Mia gave me a thumbs-up before following behind him. I closed the door and fell across the bed. I was no longer tired, but I forced myself to try to sleep.

  It was for the best. If Mia could save Flynn, I should do the unselfish thing and let him go. Maybe it was for the best that I was with no one.

  When I closed my eyes, I dreamed of little Finn and his blue streaked face and his curly Mohawk.

  Chapter Six

  A gentle shake of my arm woke me from my slumber.

  “Em, we’re landing.”

  I sat up and glanced at Maggie’s worried expression.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked while trying to get the cotton feeling out of my mouth.

  She slumped in the chair across from the bed. I lazily rolled to get off and sat opposite her while the plane descended. At least she waited until I was settled before drilling into me.

  “It’s just that I don’t think Flynn is okay. He’s acting like everything’s fine, but I can tell something is wrong.”

  I longed for a glass of water as I wiped the sleepies out of my eyes. I exhaled a breath before speaking because my hackles had gone up. “He’s not interested in any help from me. I don’t know what I can do.”

  “Em,” Maggie pleaded with me. “What happened in Fairy that you’re not telling me?”

  My stomach dropped and had me sucking in air as we continued our descent. Her plea deflated some of my anger. I tried to rein in mine.

  “Mags, I love you, but not now. I don’t need the third degree. We’re here to help Brent and Tom. Flynn has Mia to help him with whatever is going on in his head.”

  “You’re in love with him,” she said with wonder.

  “And that’s a newsflash,” I snapped.

  “And Luke?”

  I pushed at the tendrils that had come loose from my ponytail and glanced away.

  “Oh my gosh, that ring.”

  Absently, I’d begun to twist it on my finger. “Luke gave it to me.”

  “When?”

  I met her eyes hoping she could read my turmoil.

  “Before prom.”

  She stared at me in disbelief before she shook her head slightly. “How did I not notice?”

  “Probably because it was prom, and so many other things were going on.”

  Her eyes narrowed like she saw the puzzle take shape. “Like how you and Flynn were pretending to be together to fool Nina?”

  I wanted to tell her it wasn’t all pretend. Even though I didn’t know it then, I’d wanted Flynn. I had been fighting my feelings because of Luke. So I didn’t answer.

  Her eyes almost began slits as she glared at me disapprovingly.

  “Now you’re pretending to be Tom’s girlfriend.”

  I shrugged. “Fate has a way of making me the butt of its jokes.”

  She leaned back and folded her arms in her lap.

  “So what’s really up with the ring?”

  I was tired of all the secrets, and I needed my best friend in the worst way. We were alone and who knew if we would be able to talk freely at Tom’s grandfather’s place. I spilled my guts about everything from marrying Luke, to our one and only night together, and all I hadn’t told her about Fairy and facing my feelings for Flynn.

  “Oh my god, you did it with Luke and didn’t tell me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Out of everything I said, that’s what you’re focused on? I’m married to Luke not legally, but still. I’m mated to Flynn, and his life hangs in the balance if we don’t consummate our mateship. And I’m betrothed to Sebastian, who has his sights on revenge against me.”

  “Well, putting it that way, it is a lot.”

  “A lot,” I ranted. That was a serious understatement.

  The plane bounce as the wheels touched ground. I was held back in my seat, and Maggie was pulled forward as the brakes were applied.

  “Em, stop with the badatude. It’s not like it’s a fate worse than death. Sebastian is hot as sin. Luke is a freaking heavenly hot, and Flynn, well there are no words for his hotness. He has to be the hottest guy on the planet.”

  “Mags, you do realize how many times you used the word hot?”

  “That’s what I’ve got. Those boys are drool worthy, H-2-T gorge.” She shrugged.

  She’d seriously been watching way too much TV. It was good she was getting out because apparently she’d overdosed on teen series while I was gone.

  “It’s not even that. Sebastian’s saved my life too many times to count. But I’m not in love with him. Instead, I’m in love with best friends. How messed up can I be?”

  Maggie gave me a sympathetic glance. “You didn’t ask for it. I know you. You didn’t set out to fall for both of them.”

  “Yeah, well, what am I supposed to do now?” I asked, sitting straight while holding my hands palms up.

  Her deadpan glare stabbed me in the eye. “Choose.”

  I deflated in my seat, and the plush leather did nothing to comfort me. The door swung open, and Tom popped his head in. “It’s time.”

  Maggie gave me a small smile. “Okay,” I told Tom, and he closed the door.

  “We don’t have time to debate my love life right now. We have to figure out what’s going on with Brent and help Tom. And don’t think you’re off the hook. You owe me some explanations about what happened to Brent whi
le I was gone.” I leveled a finger at her chest.

  “I know. I’ll tell you later.”

  “You will?”

  She nodded. I held up my fist. “Girls rule. Boys drool.”

  “Oh, I like it.” She bumped my fist, and we headed into the main cabin.

  Tom held my bag and extended his hand out to me. I chanced a quick glance at Flynn, but his eye flicked away before I could see his face. It stung knowing he didn’t want to look at me. I forced a blank face trying to conjure Amanda’s haughtiness. If I was going to pretend, I would be someone else, easier to separate everything in my head.

  We held back as everyone disembarked before we did.

  “Ready?” Tom asked.

  I nodded. We walked forward, and I had an odd moment of feeling like I was Cate Middleton and Tom was Prince William. We stepped to the door, and I saw a group of people waiting not too far from the bottom of the stairs.

  Tom waved, and I did as well hoping we wouldn’t be hit with paparazzi flash. Thankfully, the grim group just waited until we reached the bottom. Then, I recognized one of them. A girl eagerly stepped forward. Immediately, I placed her face as the girl who’d come to Flynn’s house once when we were all hanging by the pool. What stood out was she hadn’t gotten in. She sat around with her eyes glued to her phone the whole time.

  “Tom, and here I thought you played for the other team.”

  She glared at us, eyes dragging up and down our forms, and pausing at our clasp hands.

  “And weren’t you the girl with a boyfriend? Blonde, hot surfer type. Or was it him?” She pointed at directly at Flynn without passing go. “I smelled the attraction between you both. Yet, here you are with Tom. Odd isn’t it?”

  Her claws didn’t have to come unsheathed for her to make her threat known.

  “Riona,” Tom warned.

  “You were supposed to be my Clyde to my Bonnie. What can this girl even do for you? What is she?”

  I had enough. Her level of bitchiness grated on my already frayed nerves. Tom brought me for a reason, and I intended on coming through for him.

  “Tom,” I purred as I gazed up at him. I rolled to the balls of my feet and pressed my mouth to his. It wasn’t a kiss. Not really. I could have done what I wanted without contact, but this accomplished more than one task.

  When he responded, I flicked my tongue across his lips, so he would part them. His surprise at my boldness took care of that. I tugged at a thread of the decadent life force coursing through him and sucked it inside me. I didn’t take much, just what I thought I would need to achieve my task. Done, I slowly pulled away and faced my adversary with predatory eyes. Boldly, I let go of Tom and advanced to face her.

  She responded before I could. In a burst of energy, she shifted. That wasn’t all. She leaped at me. And I used the fighting lessons I learned and prayed it would work. I stepped forward and reached out with my hand as claws burst from my misshaped fingers. I caught the lioness around her throat and lifted her off her feet. I captured her gaze and whispered words only she and I could hear.

  “You will be calm. You will not be a threat to me or mine. Or I will finish you.”

  If I hadn’t known any better, I would have thought that McKayla had all the control. But this was all me.

  I set her down. She’d been heavy, but I managed not to let the others in the group see me sweat. Riona stepped back eyeing me the whole way. The group of girls with her, dressed casually like most girls at my school, gave me weary glances. When I tried to capture their gazes, they were smart enough to look away. And it wasn’t because of what I was. In the shifter world, it was a sign of respect. They acknowledged me as the most dangerous threat among them.

  Smiling, I was pleased with myself. “Shall we go?” I asked Tom, who seemed amazed. Either that or he was working through the effects of me snacking on a little of his power.

  “Nice.” He placed his hand on my lower back, and we walked by the group. He nodded to them, and they bowed their heads low to their future king. “Ladies,” he acknowledged as we passed. They said nothing, just kept their heads lowered.

  There were a couple of black SUVs parked behind the group. As we drew near, drivers sprang out of both. Brent’s crate had already been moved. They’d placed it in the back of one. With a third row of seats removed to make room for that, Tom and I were the only ones who could get in that first SUV. The others hopped in the second one.

  I’d been unable to steal a glance at Flynn for fear that Riona and her crew would see our connection, especially due to Riona’s claims. I had no idea how pissed he was at what appeared to be a kiss between Tom and me. But I’d felt Flynn’s eyes.

  “That was great babe,” Tom said, and I almost laughed.

  As many times as Tom had made it absolutely crystal clear, he only saw me as a friend, it was comical to hear him calling me by a pet name.

  “I can’t wait to show you more when we get to our room,” I teased. I laid it on thick for the driver. I wanted no questions about our status. The more I convinced people earlier on, the less I would have to do later to prove what was, in fact, a lie.

  Tom wasn’t the greatest actor as he looked rattled every time I spoke. He managed to recover quickly. He stroked his hand down my arm. “We don’t have to wait.”

  “You know I don’t care if we have an audience or not. But this is the first time I’m meeting your family. Maybe I shouldn’t come off as a total slut.”

  He laughed and hard. I wasn’t sure if it was because I tried to sound sexy or what I’d said.

  “You’re right. We’ll wait until later, and you can use all your claws on me. You know how I like that.”

  I let my fingers play through his hair before I laid my head on his shoulder. I wasn’t sure I could continue without giving myself away. Tom threaded his fingers through my free hand. His felt somewhat clammy. Maybe he was more shaken up from the energy transfer than I guessed. But I couldn’t ask him about it.

  Chapter Seven

  Ireland was stunning. The long ride took us over lush green lands and pretty stone bridges. As we drove through a tunnel of twisted and tangled branches, I fumbled with my phone so that I could get a picture. I snapped one right before our seemingly ordinary drive changed to something else when we exited out the other side.

  A thick patch of fog blanketed everything obscuring our view. I had no idea how the driver could see. I tightened my hand in Tom’s, feeling very uneasy considering the number of enemies I had that wished me dead.

  “It’s okay Mercy. You’re meant to want to turn around and leave. It’s one of our security measures.”

  I relaxed a bit, but not completely. The need to flee was still strong. I wondered if that was what our wards felt like to predators attempting to enter our home.

  Soon enough, the fog cleared, and the tightness in my stomach eased. However, the landscape in front of me had changed dramatically. Before, it felt like summer. Where we were, winter ruled reminding me of my time in Fairy. Snow covered the trees and the ground on either side of the road. I glanced at my bag and contemplated the Winter Queen’s scepter hidden inside.

  The thought was lost when a larger than life castle, complete with turrets, came into view nestled between the peaks and valley of snowcapped mountains.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  I’d seen several castles before, one in Fairy and the one Sebastian called home. Still it didn’t cease to fascinate me. The structures had lasted centuries longer than I would ever live.

  “Home,” Tom murmured more to himself than to me.

  The winding road crossed a long bridge that led to darkness below. I couldn’t see the bottom even as I pressed my nose to the glass like an excited puppy.

  We eventually pulled to a stop at an iron gate set in stone. Just like in medieval times, the inner sanctum of the castle was protected by guards in formal uniforms. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought I’d driven up to a tourist attraction.

 
; The driver rolled down his window and spoke to a man.

  “Dia dhuit. Ní fhaca mé le fada thú.”

  I turned to Tom and asked, “Is he speaking Gaelic?” while the man continued in a foreign tongue, I didn’t understand.

  He smiled. “Sort of. In Ireland, we pronounce it Gaeilge, not Gaelic. More commonly we refer to the language as Irish. But to answer your question, it’s similar to Scottish Gaelic, but not the same.”

  By then, the iron gate rose, and we pulled forward through a tunnel and emerged on the other side. We didn’t stop in the courtyard. We continued to drive up a narrow lane, which would prove problematic if someone came at us. There was no room for another vehicle to pass.

  “You speak Irish then?” Tom had no accent what so ever.

  He nodded. “Conas atá cúrsaí leat?”

  The words flowed off his tongue beautifully and sounded as if it were his native language.

  “What does that mean?”

  He smiled. “I asked, ‘How are you’?”

  I took the opportunity to answer.

  “Honestly, overwhelmed. I should be in school, and I’m in Ireland. That’s pretty cool.” His grin increased as did mine. “And then we changed seasons, from summer to winter. What’s up with that?”

  His smile turned mischievous.

  “Although we’re in Ireland, we’re no longer in Ireland.”

  I gave him my are you kidding me look for his not so good explanation.

  “It’s almost like Fairy. Although we are still technically on earth, we are on another plain. If a human were to stumble through the wards, they wouldn’t see a castle. They would see an empty valley. If they continued to walk, they would never come across the castle at all.”

  I nodded and watched as we made our way up until we finally reached another gate. Only that time, the SUVs parked. Tom got out first and then helped me out but didn’t let go of my hand. It took a fleeting second for me to remember my cover.

  A narrow gate rose, one that wasn’t made for a big SUV, and we walked through. My bag was taken by what appeared to be a servant. The scepter was inside, and I really didn’t want anyone else to handle it.