“Say the words and let’s see.”
“You don’t fear being so close to death?”
“I’ve been the emissary of death far too often. It’s not healthy to fear what at times you are forced to deliver.”
Is it just me or is that simply a fancy way of admitting to homicide?
“We don’t have dominance fights, technically, although there are some who will only abide by our old ways. It’s difficult to accept, but to maintain my position, it is unavoidable.” He leaned in even closer, his lips curled into a lazy smile. “It’s not death I fear, it’s loss of control.”
Which explained his position on Ian. I wanted to send him back to the Veil, but Asher wanted a more permanent solution.
“Okay. You probably should lie down,” I suggested.
“I’m fine.” Shifters are a strange group, I decided. Or maybe it was just Asher. No, I won’t lie down, I prefer to collapse on the concrete.
I whispered the words, my lips brushing his as I spoke them. Then I pressed my lips lightly against his. Nothing. The words flowed from me again, just to make sure. Nothing. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. The distinctness of their magic baffled so many. Neither one of us moved. The heat of his body wrapped around me. His warm breath breezed against my lips.
He leaned in closer, pressing his lips harder against mine. It was time to move. Move, Erin.
I stepped away and smiled weakly. “I guess that answered the question.”
“Which one? Are my lips as soft and sensual as they look, or if you can borrow magic from a shifter?” He flashed me a smile.
“Just wondering if you could be any more arrogant. I was so right,” I countered, sneering at the smirk on his face. This guy.
His smirk didn’t waver.
Breaking the uncomfortable silence, I studied the items in the room again. “I have two other sources,” I informed him. “I’ll let you know what I find.”
CHAPTER 8
Simeon looked away from the deer he appeared to be engaged in an intense conversation with when my car moved up his driveway. I guessed that when you are a person with the ability to communicate with animals, you stand in front of your porch and just do that. I waved from my car, but a weak smile was all that he offered.
Although Simeon had offered me the use of his library, he probably hadn’t expected me to follow through with it. He preferred the company of four-legged animals, so I didn’t take it personally.
The large cabin in the middle of the dense wood was exactly what I expected. Tree stumps remained as a vanguard surrounding the home, edged by verdant woods. To the right, a slow-moving river flanked the walkway and curled around to the back of the home to form a bay where a person could fish. I doubted Simeon fished; he likely opted to use that time to talk with the animals. Oak, dirt, and muddy water inundated the air.
Kai was off at a distance, cutting down a tree, his shirt clinging to his sweat-drenched body and his face flushed from effort. Frenetic bursts of energy accompanied each swing. If I stepped closer, I knew I would feel the hum of magical energy coming off him like a live wire.
An ocelot startled me as she ran past me to Simeon, chirping at him. Smiling, he moved into the house and returned. He stroked her back before he dropped something I couldn’t identify in front of her. She devoured it and made a contented mewl before darting back into the woods.
“Friend of yours?” I asked.
My comment didn’t even earn me a twinkle of amusement. Regarding me with cool indifference, he stepped aside to let me in.
“You want to use the library, right?” he asked, keeping me on task. Clearly we weren’t going to have coffee and pass the time in mundane conversation.
Hiding my surprise was impossible when I entered his home and saw the stark contrast to the naturalistic architecture of the exterior. Except for the hardwood floors, the home was modern. Black stainless-steel appliances in his farmhouse gourmet kitchen. A double-sided stone fireplace divided the kitchen from the great room, wood piled neatly next to it. The great room was simple in design, with just two large sofas and what looked like Amish wooden chairs. In the corner squatted a large wood writing desk. The legs were the trunk of a tree. If it was a replica, it was exquisite.
There wasn’t a TV in sight, but I wasn’t convinced he didn’t have a high-tech contraption where he pressed a button and one rose from the hardwood floor. I schooled my face to neutral so it didn’t show what I wanted to say: hypocrite. After the derisive remarks he’d made to Mephisto about his home, I’d expected something more simplistic.
“Did Kai lose a bet or something?” I asked. From my spot in the house, I could see him cutting away at the tree with determination.
“No, he asked.” Simeon looked out the window, a small smile curling his lips as he watched Kai finding pleasure in something most people wouldn’t.
“Why is he using an axe instead of a chainsaw?”
He shrugged. “Because it’s Kai,” he said. He didn’t elaborate. I assumed in their circle, that answer sufficed.
“The library is this way.”
There weren’t many rooms, but each one was large. His bedroom door was slightly ajar as we moved past it and I only got a glimpse of a king-size bed in the middle of the room that would take up half the space in my two-bedroom apartment. A natural stone fireplace had a large rug on the hearth in front of it. Sage-colored walls gave the room an inviting, earthy feel. The oversized window provided a serene view of the lazy river. In front of the window was a meditation cushion. Oversized potted plants were placed in each corner.
What was meant to be a quick glance turned into a full stop as I took in the room. Beautiful and calming. It was a serene space that made the room I used for meditation pale in comparison.
“That’s my bedroom, not the library,” he offered softly.
Really? I guess the bed in the room should have tipped me off.
He nudged me, his steps quickening and moving with the same ethereal grace and fluidity that Mephisto no longer hid.
Simeon’s home was beautiful, but the most impressive thing about it was the library. Ceiling-to-floor built-in bookshelves lined each wall in the massive room. There was an oversized chair in the corner, with a small table, and in the middle of the room, a table made of reclaimed wood. It was an odd choice to complement the white shelving, but it fit.
“Kai?” I asked, pointing at the table.
Simeon nodded. “How did you know?”
After seeing him wield an axe to cut down a tree, it wasn’t an illogical leap to assume he was a craftsman.
“This is the section you will be most interested in.” Simeon pointed to a section of weathered-looking books and tattered binders with papers and journals.
Three hours and I didn’t have any more information than I had before. There were many accounts of the Veil. I was referred to as a Naut—one who could move between the Veil with ease—unless I was a Pars, who had some restrictions in parts of the Veil. I hadn’t navigated the Veil enough to determine which. Was seeing the entire Veil possible, or was it equivalent to trying to see the entire world? Sers could see the Veil but couldn’t go through it. I wondered what Elizabeth was; she had extensive knowledge of the Veil. Had she resided there? The more I learned about the Veil, the more I wanted to explore it . . . until I remembered people like Malific were there. And Ian. He was desperate to return although I didn’t know why.
Despite a thorough search, I couldn’t find a single spell to lift a person’s inability to return to the Veil.
I raised my forehead from its position on the table when the scent of cedar and mint wafted into the room. Staring at me from the doorway was a silent Kai, freshly showered and dressed. His dark hair was damp and disheveled. Cognac-colored eyes ran along the length of the table, taking in the crumpled bags of chips, candy, and nuts that I’d been munching on. His eyes jumped to the trash can in the corner, then to my pile of garbage on the table.
“Y
ou’re messy.”
Note to self: Kai is a neat freak and a little rude about it.
“Hi, Kai,” I sang in a cloying voice.
Kai’s eyes didn’t move from the pile of mess until I gathered it up and moved past him toward the trash can. I could feel the live wire of magic pulsing off him, beckoning me in a manner that was hard to ignore. Quickly dumping the trash, I made it back to the chair and locked my feet behind the legs to root me in place. Kai took several steps back, perhaps because he saw something in my face that made him want to remove my urge. It didn’t, because I suspected that, as with Mephisto, I could borrow Kai’s magic without dire consequences. And I wanted it so badly that it was becoming distracting. I jerked my attention from him to the books.
“What are you looking for?” Kai asked, his gaze going to the books open in front of me.
“I’m not sure. A way to get into the Veil, maybe?”
“But I thought you can.”
“With Mephisto’s magic, I can. But I need to get someone else in there and make sure he can’t get out.”
Hopeful interest sparked on Kai’s face, but he tamped it down quickly. It confirmed what I suspected: They also wanted to return to the Veil but couldn’t. I hadn’t figured out if they were kicked out and cursed never to return. They didn’t have the same markings as Ian, so I had no idea what was keeping them from doing it. Mephisto had told me he was restricted, but he hadn’t offered anything more.
“How was he restricted?” Kai asked.
“Elizabeth did a spell using the Xios. It’s a single use object and was destroyed in the process.”
His brows pinched together. “The destruction of the Xios sealed the spell, so how did the person get out?”
“I don’t know,” I lied, watching his face carefully to determine if he could detect the lie. If he did, he didn’t show it. “He’s upset and wants it removed so he can travel between here and the Veil as he did before.”
“What is he? Fae? Witch? Mage?”
“Fae. And it’s becoming a huge fae problem. He has his sights on Neri and Adalia’s position.” I could hear the annoyance edge its way into my voice. This wasn’t just a fae problem; it was a shifter, STF, and my problem. I suspected Ian’s thirst for power and domination wouldn’t stop at just having the fae under his control. If I didn’t get rid of him, more people would become curious about his escape and the Veil. Obviously, the Veil’s existence wasn’t a secret, but I was comfortable with it not being widely known. Curiosity often creates a relentless desire to satisfy it. I didn’t want another Ian escaping.
“Not just any ‘fae’ problem, you have an Ian problem,” Mephisto corrected, entering the library in a graceful sweep of movement and taking a seat next to me. His dark-blue professional attire was in stark contrast to the casualness of Kai’s white shirt and dove-gray sweats.
I took a steadying breath. The large space was overwhelmed by magic.
“How is that different?” I asked.
“Ian is an old fae and believes that simply existing longer than most entitles him to rule. He and his acolytes were defeated during his first attempt at a coup in the Veil. He was ironbound and imprisoned for forty years as penalty. After his release he made a deal with a demon, and his immunity to iron is a result of demon magic and an ancient spell. Once the demon satisfied Ian’s request, Ian rewarded the demon by killing it and thereby ending any means of finding a reversal.”
The frisson of contempt in Mephisto’s eyes gave me the impression he thought the punishment should have been more severe.
“It’s not a natural immunity.” Relief flooded me. Spells could be undone. Bindings could be unbound, and even curses could be lifted. I had options for defeating Ian.
“He’s here. I’m not sure why he wants to go back or needs to be able to move between here and the realms,” I said.
“Here he has the upper hand and options not available to him in the Veil. Here, shifters don’t have an immunity to magic, so they can be controlled by his magic. He can’t do that in the Veil. And it appears that the fae are much weaker on this side of the Veil.” Kai frowned at the observation.
The more I learned of the Veil, the stronger my desire was to find a way to make sure no one passed through. The worlds should be kept separate, but I wasn’t selfless enough to make it a priority. I would do it after I satisfied my agreement with Mephisto and had his magic.
Simeon had entered the library while Kai was talking, and I was highly aware of being surrounded on all sides by the “otherness” of their magic. Kai in front, Simeon to my right, and Mephisto to my left. The pages of the book I was searching creased under the pressure of my hold. Mephisto’s hands covered mine and removed them from the pages. Then he smoothed the creases in the pages.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
A look passed between the men, then Kai and Simeon left me and Mephisto alone. He slid the book he’d taken from me across the table. The extended silence became uncomfortable as I realized he was inching toward a conversation I didn’t want to have.
“I need a way to send Ian back and make sure he never returns,” I said. “The last thing we need is him here.”
“No, the last thing we need is for him to join forces with the Immortalis. They also want to get back into the Veil. Ian wants the freedom to travel between the worlds, whereas they just want to free Malific.”
“Even more reason to send him back as quickly as possible.”
“Have you spoken with your parents?” Mephisto asked softly.
I busied myself pulling another book toward me and flipping through the pages. When he repeated the question, I shook my head without looking up from the book that wasn’t nearly as interesting as the magic Mephisto was giving off. His long fingers were gentle as they hooked under my chin, guiding my face up to look at him.
“Is it because you already know the answer?”
“Because it doesn’t matter,” I disputed, although I knew that couldn’t be further from the truth. Their confirmation would change things. Irreparably change my life. I would no longer be Vera and Gene’s daughter but a god, or demigod, or whatever. And not just the daughter of any god but one so terrible she’d been locked away. “I don’t care. I like my life as it is and I’m perfectly fine not having a psychotic god at the family reunion.”
“It doesn’t bother you to not know how they got you? Were you abducted from Malific, saved from her wrath, or kicked out?”
“Saved from her wrath?”
“You’re her daughter. You share a blood bond.”
I had her blood. In the magical world, familial blood—especially that of offspring—was just as valuable as having her blood.
Mephisto’s dark eyes were pools of curiosity, and his concern wasn’t selfless. I didn’t know how to respond because he was asking the same questions I had posed to myself. What did this all mean? If released, would Malific come looking for me? If so, why?
He leaned in and asked, “Don’t you wonder why you are her only one? The only child she has?”
This question disconcerted me the most. Stories of gods’ children’s blood being the only thing that could hurt them or, worse, the child’s life being the only thing that could save them. Nature versus nurture filled my thoughts as well. Based on the stories, Malific was horrible—malicious, violent, and power hungry. She violated the basic rules of engagement, attacking shifters during their transition, drowning them and killing their allies because they dared reject her demand that they be her personal attack animals. Ian was doing the same: forcing shifters to fight against their will. The anger that I’d managed to control blazed suddenly with a ferocity I couldn’t control.
My business made me tolerant of a certain level of violence. It wasn’t my first choice, although I was never categorically opposed to using it, but like most people, I adhered to the rules of engagement. Some behavior was beyond a display of power and strength and was sheer brutality and cruelty. Ian had crossed that line.
>
“I do,” I admitted softly. “Most gods have more than one child, don’t they?”
“They do. But Malific has always done things differently. Most gods do not exert their power on others. Living alongside fae, shifters, witches, and mages and knowing that their power is greater, but not their numbers, makes them vulnerable. Malific didn’t share those beliefs. She believed in dominion and was willing to do whatever it took to achieve that. Which is why she created the Immortalis, an army that would give her that.”
“She wanted to subjugate the other gods, too?”
“Her despotic nature made people cautious. And I do believe that if she had the ability to do it, she would have. She wanted to divide the Veil, taking the most desirable land and dividing it among the gods. The parts of the Veil I showed you is how most gods choose to live.”
I cast my mind back to the scenic views of snowcapped mountains, clear blue water, animals coexisting unaware of which was predator and which was prey.
“It’s a way of life that she doesn’t understand. A way of life that she couldn’t comprehend. Her thirst for domination and her refusal to be reasoned with is why she was imprisoned.”
In desperate need of a topic change and a distraction, I pushed the hair that had uncoiled from my bun out of my face. The more I learned of Malific, the more I needed her not to be my mother and everyone’s assumption to be wrong.
“Is it true that the magic in the Veil has been protected? A penalty for—” I didn’t want to say murder. Thinking it, planning it, and even considering it as an option was one thing, but saying it aloud seemed crude.
He nodded. “The penalty for the murder of those who reside in the Veil is loss of magic.”
“If the fae kill Ian, they lose their magic?”
“Only the person who kills him. The same would be true of Asher, if he did. He’d lose his ability to shift and ultimately, he’d lose his position as the Alpha. I think the price of Ian’s demise would be too great.” A small smile curled his lips. “I see you two are playing nice once again. How fortuitous for him that you’re in his corner prepared to fight for his pack.”
Silverfall Page 9
