Shadow's Light

by Nicola Claire

  Now, I was absolutely astounded. WTF? When had Michel been offered this job? What job? The Keeper was in charge of the Iunctio's power and the last I heard he was alive and well and tracking me like a bloodhound on a deer hunt in the Scottish Highlands. I say again, WTF?

  Later, Michel murmured in my mind.

  I swung my own gaze back to look at Sofiq. She was considering what he had said. She could of course keep me here and lure Lutin into a trap in Álfheimr. But, Lutin was well and truly under Isoleth's thumb in this realm and the chances of him coming after me and falling willingly into a trap were nil to none. Back in our world, he would be more likely to make a mistake. He would think himself too clever, too powerful to be captured. For the Dökkálfa to gain an important advantage in their war, such as holding Isoleth's pride and joy hostage, Sofiq would have to let me cross a portal to home. It was the only chance she would get and I didn't think she needed me to spell it out to her. She wasn't stupid.

  No. She was ancient, powerful, cunning and wise.

  But, even if she knew this all made sense, she didn't need to like it.

  “I'm not sure, vampire, if I should be angry with you or pleased with you, for your willingness to cooperate.” Her fingers drummed restlessly on the armrest of the throne. Clack-clack-clack. Her nails as sharp as claws.

  I held my breath. I knew she wanted Michel for herself. But, she'd had ten months to try to seduce him and had failed at every turn. My arriving in Álfheimr had allowed her the opportunity to corner him. To force his hand to a certain extent. Or more precisely, to have his body at her disposal for five days to torment and torture. But, he had not gone to her bed. Any woman would not want to place themselves in a position to be ridiculed. If she continued to chase him, she ran the risk of looking a fool.

  I had no doubt that she hadn't ruled out obtaining him somehow, but she would play the game for now and not fall flat on her face in front of her Court.

  “This is how it will be.” Her words were heavy, as though they held a weight far greater than mere words could possibly hold. As though this was the only offer she would make. There would be no further negotiation. Her words now, were final and we all knew it. “I shall return you both to your realm. Lucinda will lose the bracelet in order to lure and capture Lutin in your realm and will also be accompanied by a Grey Lord to guarantee the Ljósálfar Prince's safe delivery to the Dökkálfa. Michel shall ingratiate himself with the Iunctio to ensure the portals remain open. Should he fail, Lucinda will henceforth be charmed and shall immediately return to Álfheimr through the Síðastr Portal.”

  The Síðastr Portal was the one-way portal that remained open previously, when all the portals to Álfheimr had been closed. It allowed the Ljósálfar to continue to steal our human children. Swapping them with umskipti, or changelings, like Gabriel. The human children, such as Alerac, were then raised in Álfheimr, because they were mœðr. Sofiq was obviously sure that that one portal would be untouched by the Iunctio's power and I wasn't going to doubt her faith.

  She raised her hand as she said the last words, the words referring to the charm and I felt the weight of what was spoken seep in through my skin. Like a unseen branding. There, but not there. Part of me, but apart from me. I took a couple of deep breaths in to get used to the sensation, knowing there wasn't a blind thing I could do to dislodge it. Sofiq had charmed me and from previous evidence, it was clear her charms never failed. Michel had been captured by the Dökkálfa because of a charm Sofiq had placed on him almost five centuries ago. A charm that had worked exactly as she had foretold.

  If Michel failed to keep the portals open now, I would end up back in Álfheimr.

  I swallowed past the bile that had surged up into my mouth at that thought. Could Michel keep the portals open? Or were we just walking from the frying pan back into the fire?

  He showed no sign of unease, but then he was a master politician. This was his arena. He had battled on the political minefield that is the Iunctio for centuries. He had always said he never wanted to return to that life. A life of lies and false pretences. Relationships based on what they could provide, not whether he liked the person he worked with or not. Vampires have one rule that surpasses all others. Survive at all costs. The Iunctio Council takes that one step further. Do whatever is needed to ensure the survival of the Nosferatu race.

  The Council members are powerful, old and merciless. Michel had been like that once. A part of me cringed that he would be walking that path again. Because, even if he had been hedging with Sofiq just now, the charm she had placed on me sealed the deal. Michel would do anything to make sure the portals did not fail. And that would put him in direct opposition to the Iunctio Council's edict.

  That would put him in an immense amount of danger.

  But then, weren't we in that much danger now?

  “Do we have an understanding, vampire?” Sofiq asked, eyes hungry for Michel's capitulation.

  Michel fisted his hand across his chest and bowed. A vampire bow, not something I had seen the Fey do. It was a bow reserved for those a vampire respected. I think Michel appreciated how Sofiq had played this round. Me, I just thought we were totally screwed.

  “Yes, Queen Sofiq. We have an understanding.”

  With Michel's words the whole room erupted in chimes. I wondered if their musical display was excitement at the prospect of gaining Lutin in their war against the Ljósálfar and gaining someone on the inside of the powerful vampire governing body, the Iunctio. Or whether it was shock at seeing their Queen negotiate an agreement with a half-human and her vampire lover. Something beneath the Fey's supreme belief of their selves. Either way, it was delightful. Like the Ljósálfar, the Dökkálfa en masse were resplendent when still, despite their monochromatic colouring, but when also chiming, they were magnificent. A symphony of sounds unparalleled in our world.

  If I didn't hate them all so much, my heart and soul would have soared.

  The Queen looked equally as chuffed. She had turned her back on us both and started talking quietly with her three merry men. No doubt planning how they would use Lutin in their battle to make Isoleth bow. Or how they would use Michel in his position with the Iunctio. I felt so impotent. Sure, I would be the one to bait Lutin into a trap, but other than that, my fate was set.

  The Iunctio would demand my joining on returning to Earth. Granted, at least I would have Michel to join with again, but the choice really was out of my hands. I know, it was a ridiculous emotion to have. I wanted to join with Michel. I wanted it for me. But, the fact that I would have no choice. That the Iunctio expected it, craved it, for what it would provide them, put a dampener on my own desires.

  I was sick and tired of being controlled. For once in my life, I'd like my life to be my own. I'd like my destiny to be in my hands and not someone else's. Like the Iunctio. Like Sofiq or Lutin. Like Nut. For once I'd like to pick the path I travel down. But, I'd long ago given up that right. The moment I found out I was a Nosferatin, my life was no longer my own.

  Michel edged closer to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. He didn't take his eyes off the Queen or the room at large. I could feel the tension in his entire body as he stood snug against my side. He was as solid, as unforgiving, as the black stone that formed the Dökkálfa fort.

  Do you trust her? I asked in his mind, voicing it here seemed ill advised.

  No, but we had no choice.

  Is this my fault? Should I not have tried to bargain with her? I was worried that I had played this all wrong. That when trying to cover for Michel's obvious weakness, I had walked us into a trap.

  Not at all, ma douce. We needed to bargain for our escape and this was all we had to bargain with.

  Knowing Michel, he had already surmised that this would be the outcome. But part of me knew, he was not pleased with the charm.

  Can you stop the portals from closing? And what is this job the Champion has offered? I asked, a million thoughts and questions running through my mind. It was a mir
acle that Michel could hear my projected questions in amongst the cacophony of noise in my head right now.

  Do you remember when I visited Paris before Amicus was killed? he asked, his eyes still roaming the room for threats.

  I did remember his visit to the Iunctio's Palais and his meeting with the Champion. I had somehow managed to come to him, being pulled by his need for my support through the Bond we shared. We had never had that happen before and I could only think it did because I can Dream Walk. On that occasion, Michel could see me, so could the human donor he fed from at the time, but the Champion had appeared to not notice me materialise in her office while she chatted with Michel. Of course, knowing her, it had been a ruse. She probably had known I was there all along and chose to ignore me. The Champion and I do not get along.

  But, I was there long enough for her to demand that Michel give her an answer to her offer by the end of the week. I never heard what that offer was. And Michel never made it to the end of the week. Amicus 'killed' him and the Dökkálfa captured him when he 'died'.

  What offer did she make? I asked, scanning the crowd like him. Sofiq was still in deep conversation with her brother Terrin and the two younger looking, but equally as god-like fey men at her side.

  The Iunctio Council has taken a hammering recently. They lost the Creator and the Tempest in the attempt on the Champion's life. Yes, I remembered that, I had been there trying to protect the Champion. The Creator, a vampire who had originally replaced Michel in that role when he left, died defending her and the Tempest died because of a stake through his heart. My stake, placed by me through his heart. He had been trying to kill the Champion and was trying to kill me. But still, I was intricately involved in their demises. Michel went on, They also lost the Pandora when she came to New Zealand. And oops, that was by my hand too. No wonder the Champion was not my favourite fan. Two of three recent losses to her council members, members who had been around for centuries, died because of me. The Enforcer although not dead, has all but been lost to her too. Yes, Gregor was now the Master of Wellington City. Once again due to me. The Champion had sent him our way to fill a gap, but chosen him because she wanted to mess with my head. At the time, Gregor had been chasing me, trying to steal me from Michel. She had known just what a hornets nest she was creating, when she sent him to New Zealand. The Champion thought it fitting that I replace one of the members on the Council. A payback for our involvement, so to speak.

  I thought about that for a minute. It made sense, it was exactly how the Champion worked. And she had probably threatened my safety to get him to comply and then he went and got himself 'killed'. Now, I wondered if the position had already been filled. If it had, we were going to be in trouble. Michel needed to be back on the Iunctio's Council for him to have any chance at stopping the portals from being closed.

  Was it the Creator position again? I asked, thinking it would be the obvious choice, he had been the Creator once before, he had experience in that role. Unfortunately though, it was an easy position to fill and as such no doubt no longer available.

  Michel shifted slightly beside me. The first movement he had made in the past ten minutes, other than to continue to scan the environment for threats. I chanced a glance at his face to see what had made him uncomfortable, but his mask was in place. The one that said very little at all.

  Michel? I encouraged softly. He sighed.

  Ma douce, it was a unique position the Champion would only want me to fill. But, it will be a powerful one. One that allows me access to many tiers of the Iunctio's strengths. He looked at me then, ignoring, or so it would seem, the rest of the room. But, this was Michel and I was sure he was still very much aware of where every single fey stood. When I looked back at him though, his eyes were only for me. She asked that I become her personal spy and assassin. The title of which is the Emissary.

  Gregor had been her Enforcer. His role was to punish when Nosferatu broke the rules to such an extent that the final death was the only option left. Of course, most of the time Nosferatins did that for her, but the odd vampire would slip through the cracks and then Gregor would be called in. He was also called the Scout, but that role was only to scout out news of the Prophesy. The Prophesy I am part of. It has all but become defunct as the Prophesy has been realised and there is no further hidden objectives to be found. The Champion has never had a spy or assassin though. The description alone leads you to believe the deaths Michel would have to inflict, may not always be warranted.

  A spy could provide intelligence, but not necessarily the truth, yet she could instruct him to kill despite the legalities. I was sure the Champion was above all laws. The position would indeed be a powerful one. And a shocking one. To think the Iunctio, or more to the point, the Champion, had a killer at her beck and call. Someone old and powerful and quite capable of blending into the shadows and never being seen at all, was downright scary.

  And then there was Michel. How would he cope with that role?

  His hand came up and brushed my cheek. I'd obviously failed to hide my reaction on my face, or I was projecting thoughts again. Or maybe, he just knew what I would think.

  I can handle the Champion, ma douce. We have no choice.

  I wasn't so sure that he could handle her and he wouldn't be playing by her rules. The extent of how dangerous this all was left me numb with shock and fear. I was more scared of the Iunctio than I had ever been of the Fey. And considering what had happened over the past few days, that was saying something.

  We didn't get a chance to discuss it further, because the Queen had finished her discussions with her Grey Lords. I was guessing that was what the god-like merry men were called. She'd referred to one of her Grey Lords accompanying me on our return home. I saw the young one, the one who could quite easily have been her son, walk towards us.

  “Aliath will accompany you, human. He will ensure your compliance with the accord.” Sofiq's voice rang out crystal clear across the space between us. Although an accord between vampires requires a sharing of blood, I was picking the Fey considered the sharing of a charm equally as binding as a vampire's accord. It did nothing for my nerves that she had called our agreement such a thing. There was no escaping one of those.

  The silver haired younger version of Sofiq came to stand beside me, his vivid green eyes hard as they assessed my face. I was picking he didn't like the bargain we had struck with his Queen. I was picking that was why she was sending him as my guard. There didn't look to be an ounce of interest in his gaze. It was all hatred and mistrust. I noticed then, a power coming from him. I had not been able to recognise fey magic before, but I had always known when it was there. Aliath, as Sofiq had called him, was one extremely, super-powerful fey.

  I rubbed my naked arm absently against the sting of all that magic and he reached out in lightning speed and took hold of my wrist, right above Lutin's silver bracelet. He held on tight and turned to the Queen and bowed. She nodded slowly in return and then before I knew it we were standing on a concrete paved street in the middle of a hot afternoon.

  I noticed four things at once.

  One, the silver bracelet was gone and my Light had returned.

  Two, I was on the pavement outside my apartment building in Rio de Janeiro, but I had no idea how much time had passed.

  Three, Aliath still held my now naked wrist.

  And four, Michel was nowhere to be seen.

  Chapter 21

  Get Outta Dodge

  The first thing I did was wrap my Light around me as a shield. It was natural, instinctive and it felt so damn good. I almost laughed out loud at the feel of that familiar warmth and Light. But, then I thought of Michel. What was the Queen playing at? Had she kept him in Álfheimr? Was I that gullible to have believed her?

  But, it was an accord. She couldn't back out of it. She had said we would both be returned to our world. But, she hadn't said we would be returned together.

  “Where's Michel?” I demanded the fairy still gripping my wrist a
nd looking around us with wide, frightened eyes. Huh? Who would have thought the super-powerful fairy at my side would be overwhelmed by a busy street in Copacabana?

  “I have no idea,” he bit out between clenched teeth, his head whipping one way and then the other taking in all the sights. He seemed particularly interested in the skimpily clad bikini wearing young girls who were skipping along together on the other side of the street.

  I studied him for a moment and noticed he hadn't bothered to hide his fairy-ness. His hair was still a pure silver, not a natural tone, even dyed, in this realm. I sighed and dragged him off the pavement into my apartment building and out of sight of the ogling teenage girls across the street.

  The door swung closed behind us and he jumped at the sound. So much for his tough Grey Lord exterior back at the Dökkálfa fort.

  “How much time has passed here while I've been in Álfheimr?” Surely he had some sort of inner fey time sense that would at least tell me that.

  Aliath looked at me, his vivid green eyes still a little too wide to be natural. He didn't say anything, I might as well have been mute for all the good my questions were doing. The poor man was suffering from culture shock. I tugged him up the stairs to my apartment. There was just no telling how much time had passed, I had to hope my spare key was still hidden on the landing and that my landlord hadn't let my room out yet. Chances were I was about to break into someone else's home, but I needed a couple of things and there was no getting past it. I had to perform a little B & E.

  Although, it would only be E as I wasn't actually having to B, what with the key I had just found in its hidey-hole on the landing to my old apartment. Bingo! Now to check if the place was inhabited.

  No one answered the soft knock to the door, so I took a deep breath in and inserted the key pushing the door open when the lock unlatched. My apartment was exactly how I had left it. Memories of Avery and me back in this small space came flooding into my head. I resolutely pushed them aside. I had no idea if Avery had survived that little encounter with Lutin. I could only hope that my intervention in São Paulo had worked.