Dark Deceiver

by Pamela Palmer

  “Enchanted,” Harrison said. “The son of a bitch.”

  Zander, Kaderil thought. Zander had the ability to send a shooting pain through his hands strong enough to drive Kaderil to his knees—a fire Kaderil had no doubt could kill an Esri if such destruction were not strictly forbidden. A pain no human could survive.

  “Sounds as if they’re not just going after Sitheen this time,” Charlie said.

  Jack sighed. “We don’t know what they’re doing other than terrorizing the city again.”

  Kaderil knew. Centuries ago, in the days before the gates were sealed, Zander’s mate had been killed by humans. Sitheen. Kaderil had always suspected his own resemblance to the mortals was behind Zander’s unreasoning hatred for him. Now he was sure.

  “Have we had any sightings of the Esri at all?” Charlie asked.

  “A few by the cops,” Harrison said. “None by us. Jack, Larsen and I have been patrolling the Dupont Circle area night and day, but we’re only three and it’s a big area.”

  As the discussion moved from one man to the other, Kaderil followed with his gaze, watching, listening, and marveled at the fact that they paid him no more attention than anyone else in the room. They thought him one of them, though he wasn’t. Never before had he blended in. One of the group.

  He enjoyed the novelty rather too well.

  “I’m back now.” Charlie grabbed another cookie. “I’ve been granted two-weeks leave.”

  “What about you, Kade?” Harrison asked. “How much time can you give us?”

  Kaderil jerked back from his thoughts and dug through his borrowed memories for an appropriate answer. “I have vacation built up.” He wasn’t certain that phrase even made sense, but Harrison nodded.

  “All right, then.” Harrison pulled a folded paper out of his back pocket, opened it and laid it on the table. “I’ve been tracking the locations of the suspicious murders and the few sightings from the police. They’re centered around Embassy Row. I’ve drawn up a new patrol schedule that includes Kade and Charlie. We’ll have to patrol individually to cover as much square footage as possible. Jack’s got the cops out there covering the streets we can’t. If anyone spots an Esri, keep him in sight and call Jack or me. We’ll get word out to the rest. Don’t try to take him. He may not be alone.”

  This wasn’t going to work. How could he possibly earn their trust enough to be shown the whereabouts of the draggon stone if he was off walking the streets alone? He’d foolishly thought infiltrating their group would be the difficulty. That part had been surprisingly easy. Getting them to trust him would not.

  He’d give it a few days. But if he’d made no progress by the end of the week, he would be forced to take stronger measures, using their very caring for one another against them.

  The thought was surprisingly disagreeable. He scoffed at the sentimental thought. He’d been sent to kill them and kill them he would, even if they had welcomed him warmly into their midst.

  Autumn would be the only one who would survive the slaughter, for she wasn’t Sitheen, thank the spirits.

  As Jack explained the Metropolitan Police Department, or MPD’s, unofficial role in the search for the Esri, Kaderil’s eyes slid to Autumn. Her gaze was on her lap where her fingers laced and unlaced, playing with one another as the talk went on around her. She glanced up without lifting her head, her gaze spearing his with perfect accuracy as if she were as aware of him as he was of her. A smile started on her mouth and rose to her eyes, causing a strangely erratic sensation deep in his chest. A sensation not altogether unpleasant.

  What would happen to that smile when his work in the human realm was done? Would it be forever destroyed?

  It didn’t matter. His only concern must be the fulfilling of his mission and the finding of that draggon stone. Nothing else mattered.

  But that smile eased into his pores. His longing to taste her again grew with every heartbeat until he once more feared he was the one being enchanted.

  “Autumn found some paintings,” Larsen told the group, breaking the spell. She nudged Autumn, forcing her gaze from his. “Tell them.”

  Autumn accepted the attention with a self-conscious shrug. “I’ve been looking for anything with a seven-pointed star. A couple of days ago, I discovered the star was used by a mid-nineteenth century Danish painter as his artist’s mark. He was a man who was known for his wildly fantastical subjects. I managed to get copies of two of them. The subject is a strikingly pale blond woman wearing the draggon stone.”

  The grunts of surprise and interest told him Autumn had impressed the others, and he felt pride warm him, as if he’d somehow contributed to the accomplishment himself. He watched as she pulled an envelope out of her purse and laid one of the pictures from it on the table. They all scooted forward or pulled their chairs closer to get a better look.

  Kaderil glanced at the picture, then started as recognition slammed into him. The place was Esria, the Forest of Light, with its blue thornewood trees and the sparkling rainbow mists. In the middle of the painting stood a young woman in a gown of royal emerald, her pale hair tumbling around her shoulders. She looked toward the distance, her exquisite face haunted with worry.

  “Princess Ilaria,” Tarrys gasped. “She must be. The royal gown and the green eyes. A Sitheen must have seen her in his dreams and painted her likeness.”

  “Hot damn.” Charlie breathed. “She’s gorgeous.”

  “She’s Esri,” Harrison snapped.

  Kaderil had only seen the princess once, many centuries ago, long before her banishment.

  “She’s the daughter of the old Esri queen,” Tarrys explained. She glanced at Charlie, then away, as if she were too shy to hold his gaze. “When King Rith seized power three hundred years ago, he destroyed the queen and imprisoned the princess in the Forest of Nightmares. She remains there still.”

  “She’s still alive?” Charlie asked.

  “Yes. All Esri would know the moment she died.”

  “But she must be…centuries old.”

  Tarrys met his gaze and held it this time. “The Esri are immortal, or virtually so. A normal lifetime spans many thousands of years. Princess Ilaria has likely aged little. Except…the Forest of Nightmares is a difficult place. It’s hard to know what she’s endured.”

  “Why doesn’t anyone rescue her?”

  A dread Kaderil understood all too well darkened the little slave’s eyes. “None can make it through the woods to find her.” It wasn’t called the Forest of Nightmares for nothing.

  “There’s another picture,” Autumn said. “I doubt you’ll think she’s so pretty, Charlie, once you’ve seen it.” She pulled a second photo from the envelope and set it on the table. In the painting, Ilaria stood in the human world beside a large oak tree, in the throes of power, the draggon stone glowing as brightly as her eyes.

  Larsen gasped. “That’s just how Baleris looked when he was raping all those young women—his hair flying above his head like a troll doll’s, his eyes glowing like Christmas bulbs.”

  “It’s what happens when an Esri gains or uses great power,” Tarrys said.

  Larsen looked up at him. “From what we managed to piece together—and Tarrys has confirmed this—Baleris was able to spot virgins on sight. Apparently they put off a glow some Esri can see. When a girl grows to womanhood, her body creates an energy that’s released the first time she has sex. If an Esri male is her first partner, he absorbs that energy, greatly increasing his own power. It’s one of the things that made Baleris so hard to catch. With each rape, his power grew, faster than we could keep up. Fortunately for the women he raped, he enchanted them first and none remember.”

  Kaderil nodded as if hearing the explanation for the first time even while the magnitude of the challenge before him hit him squarely in the chest. Even with all that added energy, Baleris had not been able to defeat these humans. Had he taken foolish risks? Underestimated their cunning and intelligence? Had they out-smarted him? Or truly overpowered h
im?

  He was going to have to be on guard every minute and take nothing for granted if he wanted to be the victor this time and not end like Baleris.

  Tarrys knelt by the table, pointing to the draggon stone around Ilaria’s neck in the second painting. “It’s glowing. It is said it only glows when it’s being used as the key.”

  “What do you mean?” Harrison asked.

  “I think I understand,” Larsen said. “The draggon stone is the key to opening the gates between the worlds. Or sealing them.” She looked at Tarrys. “Princess Ilaria was the one who sealed the gates and gave us the stones, wasn’t she?”

  “It would seem so.”

  Kaderil grunted. So Princess Ilaria’s was the hand that had swept the stones out of the Esris’ reach. Why? While Esria had not suffered too greatly without their power, the trees no longer bore fruit with the same abundance, the grass no longer grew on most of the slopes and hillsides, and the Esri themselves had found, over the years, a waning of their gifts. Power that was once sharp and strong had dulled and weakened. And would continue to do so. Why would the princess have disposed of the stones? Perhaps she’d become enamored of the humans and wished to keep the Esri away from them?

  “Too bad we can’t rescue the lady and get her to help us seal this last gate,” Charlie mused.

  “Don’t even joke about going into that hell hole,” Harrison said. He rose. “I’ve got to get going. I’ve made copies of the schedule.” He reached for a small pile of papers on the corner table and began handing them out, bypassing Myrtle, Tarrys and Autumn.

  Kaderil saw the way Autumn’s head dipped as Harrison passed her by. He felt her rejection as if it were his own. She wasn’t one of them, thank the spirits, or he’d have to kill her, too. But, like him, she lacked the blood heritage necessary to be accepted by her peers. He knew the feeling all too well.

  “I’ve put everyone’s cell-phone number on the list but Kade’s. Kade, why don’t you give us your number and we can add it to our lists.”

  Kaderil recited the number Ustanis had acquired for him, a number he’d yet to use.

  They all rose. Autumn crossed to him with a smile, making his hands itch to reach for her and draw her against him. The woman was becoming a weakness he could not afford.

  “I’ll take you home,” she said.

  “No.” It was best if none of them knew where he lived. The address he’d given Jack would check out, but it wasn’t where he was staying. And it was best if he didn’t see Autumn again. He didn’t need her any longer. Not for his mission. She’d led him to the Sitheen and any further involvement between them would not only complicate his mission, but would also put her at risk. And that was the last thing he wanted to do.

  “Okay.”

  He saw the hurt in her eyes and hated that he’d put it there. Words came to him. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  She smiled and he knew he’d chosen right. When they reached Autumn’s vehicle, he held the door for her. “Good luck finding your stones,” he said as she slipped inside.

  She looked up at him, those gray eyes soft and welcoming. “You can give me a call anytime.” She gave a small grimace. “Anytime you need to talk. I know this is all a bit much.”

  “Thanks.” He closed the door, shutting out the temptation to pull her into his arms, the temptation to kiss her until he forgot his mission, forgot why he was here. But no sooner did the door close, than the barrier dissolved with the lowering window.

  “Kade. You don’t have my phone number.” She turned away, then back, with a pen in her hand. “Give me the paper Harrison gave you and I’ll write it down.”

  Even here, in the muted glow from the bulbs lighting the parking garage, she shone like a brilliant fiery gem. As he watched her write the number, he felt her beauty like an ache in his chest. How was it possible he would never see her again?

  She looked up, meeting his gaze with her soft eyes, and handed the sheet back to him. “I’m glad you’re not Esri.”

  “Did you really think I was?”

  “No, not really.” A soft smile lifted her lips. “But I wasn’t sure. I’ve never dealt with magic before.”

  “I hope you never have to…. You shouldn’t be involved in this, Autumn. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I know.” Her brows pulled together. “But I want to be involved.”

  “Why?”

  She gave him a self-deprecating look even as her eyes began to sparkle. “Because it’s exciting and important. And fascinating.”

  He understood, he realized. This was her place, as the royal court was his. And like him, she struggled against the accident of birth that would keep her from being part of it. Perhaps he could help her. There was one small gift he could give her that wouldn’t compromise his mission or her own safety, but would give her a purpose. For now.

  “You keep talking about stones,” he mused. “Every time you do, I see the same picture in my head. I believe it’s from one of my dreams.”

  Autumn’s gaze sharpened. “Tell me.”

  “I can’t remember the details, only that there are six rocks.”

  “Six?” Her voice rose with excitement.

  “Yes. Pale green, about the size of a nickel, but of varying shapes.” He’d never actually seen the six lesser stones, and he certainly hadn’t dreamed about them, but he’d heard them described often enough to know what she sought.

  “Pale green,” she breathed. Her face lit up in a smile of such brightness it took his breath away and made him doubt his decision to not see her again. “Kade, this is wonderful! Now I know what I’m looking for.”

  “It was just a dream, Autumn. It might be nothing.”

  But her laughter filled him with pleasure. “The dream of a Sitheen is nothing to take lightly. You saw them, Kade. I’m sure of it. I’ll start researching as soon as I get home.”

  Sharp intelligence gleamed in her eyes as the excitement visibly bubbled within her, pleasing him immensely. What he wouldn’t give to pull her into his arms and taste the happiness on her lips.

  “You’re an amazing woman, Autumn McGinn. If anyone can find those stones, you will.” That thought, that certainty, gave him pause. Perhaps he shouldn’t have told her the truth about the stones. What if she really did trace them quickly? Surely even Autumn couldn’t locate six forgotten stones in this large world in less than two weeks. And by then, Ustanis would have followed their scent and tracked them down himself.

  “Thank you.” Her gaze turned soft and shy as she smiled at him.

  Every intent flew out of his head as the need to taste her became too great to fight. He leaned low into her window to capture her lips one last time and was blind-sided by the fire that leaped between them. Need rolled through him as her sweet taste caressed his tongue. He drank of her, reveled in the sweetness for a few stolen moments before forcing himself to pull away.

  “Goodbye, Autumn.”

  “’Bye, Kade.”

  As he watched her drive away, he knew he should be feeling relief that she was out of danger. And gratitude that she’d led him to the Sitheen. But all he could think about was that he’d just said goodbye to the woman he’d been waiting for all his life.

  Chapter 6

  Autumn trudged along the graveled path on the National Mall beneath a bright sun and a sky as blue as Kade Smith’s eyes. A week ago, she’d gone to bed with stars in her eyes, her heart racing with excitement over a brand-new crush, thinking that maybe her luck with men had finally turned. But Kade had never called.

  She knew it was time to forget him, to accept that he’d been every bit as out of her league as she’d feared, despite the way he’d looked at her, the way he’d kissed her. But the ache in her chest refused to go away. And she just couldn’t seem to quit coming out here every lunch hour to scan the pathways and sidewalks that Harrison had assigned him to patrol, hoping for a glimpse of the tall, dark and devastatingly handsome man who consumed her thoughts.

  Clearly, he
’d forgotten about her easily enough. Five days ago, she’d taken a chance and left a short, friendly message on his answering machine, but he’d never called her back. Obviously, the man wasn’t interested. If only she could say the same. Somehow she’d fallen prey to a ridiculous case of love-at-almost-first-sight. And it was ridiculous. She barely knew the man. But she couldn’t deny he’d turned her world upside down. She thought about him every minute, wondering where he was, wondering if he was okay. Wondering why she’d been so wrong in thinking they’d discovered some kind of connection.

  She buttoned her coat against the chilly wind, then shoved her hands in her pockets. At least meeting him hadn’t been a total loss. His dream about the six green stones was starting to pay off. Once she knew what she was looking for, she’d had little trouble picking up the trail. The stones had been part of the same estate as the draggon stone, but not part of the jewelry, as she’d expected. She’d found a picture of them set in the rim of an antique pewter cup, a cup no one seemed to have wanted. She’d tracked the cup to a local antique store where the dealer told her it had sat on his shelves for years until one of his neighbors had expressed an interest in the stones for his craft business, and he’d sold it to the man for next to nothing. She had a call into the neighbor, Jerry Robertson, now. It was too soon to call her search a success, but her hopes were flying high.

  It was about time, too. The death rate in D.C. was going through the roof and the vast majority of them were too odd not to be Esri-related. In the past four days alone, there had been more than thirty cases of apparent suicide—people walking in front of moving cars, jumping off bridges or diving out the windows of office buildings. Just yesterday, four tourists from Minnesota had drowned in the Reflecting Pool in front of the Washington Monument. The pool was three feet deep! They had to have been enchanted.