by Deanna Chase
Then I looked toward the opening on the other end of the portal, which was about a short city block away. A crowd that looked to be over a hundred, gathered there. Could this be right? I looked at a blurry Dodd, who motioned them to start filing through, unfazed by the number of people.
They were short, tall, fat and skinny. The only thing they had in common was they were all very normal looking. I wouldn’t have given them a second glance if I saw them on the street. Some eyed me warily as they passed, and I could tell it was abnormal to have someone standing in the portal, but nobody remarked. That was until a haggard woman, who was a hundred if she was a day, stopped next to me. Her crazy grey hair shot out in every direction.
“You look familiar,” she said.
“I don’t think I know you.”
“I didn’t say I knew you.” She looked me overly intently, and then walked away, disappearing into the group.
I could see, even from inside the portal, as the crowd paused and then exited the room. That’s when I felt it; a pair of eyes on me, my skin broke out in goose bumps. My eyes darted to the door to find Cormac standing there, hours earlier than I had expected him to make it back. His face was unreadable, but his eyes bored into mine as he ignored the crowd of people that parted around him as he walked forward.
I watched as the last few people stepped out of the portal, and I followed them out. Dodd closed it up shortly after I did, but I barely noticed. I kept Cormac in my peripheral vision to the deficit of everything else.
“Hey, watch where you’re going,” I heard, as I bumped into someone right in front of me.
“Sorry,” I said as I looked at a tall lanky, middle-aged man and backed up. I turned back to see if Cormac had noticed and saw his gaze still followed me. He couldn’t do anything, I told myself. I was the key to him keeping this operation together.
I waited and watched as the last few people walked through the door. I stood there waiting while I watched Cormac, hand on the doorknob, eye Dodd and tilt his head toward the hallway.
“It wasn’t…” Dodd started to say something that I think was going to be in defense of me, but Cormac shook his head and Dodd’s voice died midsentence. He hung his head and exited.
He shut the door behind Dodd almost too softly, and I listened to the click of the lock find its home.
“What were you thinking?” he asked, as he paced the room no longer staring at me.
“I think that’s obvious isn’t it? I was buying you time.”
“This could have gone very badly. I can’t believe you got Dodd to go along with this.” He ran his hand through his hair.
“It wasn’t his fault. I twisted his arm. Don’t come down on him for this.”
He suddenly stopped pacing and looked at me.
“How I handle Dodd isn’t any of your business. This,” he motioned to encompass the whole room, “is none of your business.”
“You say that now, but that’s not exactly the truth. You dragged me into this,” I made an equally dramatic sweeping gesture that was mocking as well. “I wanted nothing to do with this.”
“When I brought you in, I didn’t think for one second you would do something this stupid. You could have killed all of them!” He paced angrily across the room, like a lion caged in a pen, his prey just out of reach.
“But I didn’t.”
A sudden unexpected turn had him inches from my face. His finger pressed just below my collarbone.
“You. Didn’t. Know. That.” He punctuated each word with his finger.
“And like I said, it worked out fine.” I punctuated my own words by shoving his hand away from me.
He grabbed me by the shoulders, my back pressed against the monolith, his body pressed against me, holding me there.
“You could have killed yourself.”
“When did I become indispensable? Last time I checked, whether I lived or died wasn’t of any large significance.”
He didn’t say a word, but he also didn’t budge. I wasn’t sure if he was going to strangle me or kiss me, and I didn’t know which scared me more.
“You’re done. You aren’t to come anywhere near this room again.”
“So big shot, how do you plan on running the portal?”
“All balls, no brains. You don’t know when to shut your mouth, but it doesn’t matter.” He leaned in just a hair closer. “You’re through.” He pushed off the wall and away from me. I took a deep filling breath, and realized I’d barely breathed while he had been so close.
“I think we should go our separate ways,” I said to his back, watching as he walked to the door and held it open, waiting for me.
“No. I told you, I can’t take the chance of someone else getting their hands on you.”
I walked forward and paused in the doorway, and turned to look up into his chilling blue eyes. “I’m done living by your rules. I’m leaving.”
“Just try it.”
“We’ll see.” This time, I gave him my back.
Chapter Twenty
“I demand to see her!”
The screaming voice in the hallway woke me from a deep slumber. It was probably the best sleep I’d had since I’d gotten here and I was quite annoyed that I’d been startled from it. I pulled the spare pillow over my head and tried to dull the racket.
“She’s not here,” I heard Cormac reply. He was lucky I was still too unmotivated to step into the foyer and prove him wrong.
“She’s part Fae. I should have been informed the minute you knew that.”
That sounded like Vitor’s voice. I’d never heard that tone from him before. The fog of sleep slowly started to pull back as what they were saying settled into my brain.
“She’s not here.”
“You have until tonight to produce her.”
“You’re more than welcome to come back tonight.”
The door slammed and I knew it had to have been Vitor. Cormac wasn’t the type of guy who would slam a door in Vitor’s face. He’d slam his face. My body didn’t want to get out of bed, but I had too many questions I wanted answered to stay here. As I swung my legs over the edge, and was about to make the final push upward, Cormac knocked at my door, effectively bringing the answers to me. Lucky me. I pulled my legs back under the covers, and told him to come in while I waited to hear what splendid news I was in store for.
“Well?” I asked, not bothering to keep my eyes open.
“He wants access to you. Actually, if we want to be more specific, he’s demanding access to you.”
“God, I’m a popular girl these days.” I chuckled, finding myself funny.
“He’s going to want to take you with him.”
“What?” That got my attention. I jumped into an upright position in bed. “Tell him he can go screw. That goes for you, too. I’m tired of you macho men telling me whether I’m coming or going.” I started to feel around the covers of the bed.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to find my phone.”
“Why don’t you put it on the night stand?”
“I can’t. I keep it on vibrate. You ever hear how loud vibrate is on a hard surface? Ah, here it is. Give me his number. I want to call him.”
“Remember when I told you that you were part Fae?”
“Yes, you also told me it didn’t make a difference because the Alchemist genes were dominant. That it was a nonissue.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t an issue. You know how humans aren’t technically adults until they are eighteen? In the case of Fae, it’s twenty-four. He’s got a right to you.”
“That’s all fine and dandy, but we don’t live in the purple land with the freaks. We live here on Earth where he has no rights.”
“But we are still bound to certain rules and…”
“If you start bringing up contracts, I’m going to throw this phone at your head.” I even went as far as to raise my hand and aim it.
“There is no reason to get all worked up. There’s an eas
y fix.”
“What is it?”
He came forward and sat at the edge of my bed. “You just need to sign a pledge of loyalty for me. That will void any right he has.”
“Why is this just now coming up? Why didn’t he do this before?”
“He didn’t know you were half Fae.”
“How is that possible? Wouldn’t they somehow sense it?”
“No, so someone leaked the info to him.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll handle it when I find out.”
“I’m not signing my life over to you.”
He stood slowly then turned to face me. “Then there isn’t much I can do. I’d pack up your stuff. He’s coming tonight.” He stood up and started toward the door.
“Are you kidding? You freaked out, made me stay here and had men tailing me to avoid Vitor getting his hands on me. Now you’re just going to hand me over? Why didn’t you just do it when he was here then?”
“I was trying to give you the courtesy of choosing. I can’t legally withhold you.” He walked out the door and shut it.
He was bluffing. I threw on a pair of jeans. I’d give him the day to break. He wouldn’t just hand me over. No way. I was sure of it. It was true that he wanted to keep me away from the portal, more because he was a control freak than any other reason, in my opinion, but he wouldn’t want my abilities in Vitor’s hands. I’d play this out and he’d fold like a cheap suit.
Ten hours later, I wasn’t so confident anymore. I’d spent the day dawdling around, staying in the penthouse, and giving him plenty of opportunity. Nothing, not a peep. I’d even packed up my stuff in my new luggage, supplied by him, and rolled it into the hallway near the door. Still nothing. I was starting to sweat this one out a bit.
Going with Vitor wasn’t an option. I didn’t even really want to stay here, let alone go there, but now I felt like I had a purpose. I haven’t always lived the most moral life. I’d never gone out of my way to be a do-gooder, and I didn’t know if I believed in god. If he did exist, I was pretty sure he either didn’t know who I was, or just didn’t cared. But, something had started to change. I was beginning to feel like I had a purpose that was bigger than me, and I was surprised by how much it was starting to effect my decisions.
Then, there was the page. I couldn’t stop from wondering if it somehow was about me. If it was, then that meant Cormac stood for the right.
“Vitor is on his way up,” Cormac said as he walked into the living room and disturbed my thoughts.
“Okay.” I remained reclined on the couch. He was faking.
A few minutes later, when a knock sounded at the door, I figured it would be Dodd or Buzz joining in the charade.
“Do you want to answer it?” Cormac asked me.
“Sure, it is for me, after all.” I walked into the foyer and looked into the peephole to see Vitor standing there. A list of curses ran off in my head.
I walked back into the living room to see that Cormac had taken my spot, reclining upon the couch.
“Fine. What happens if I sign the paper? What exactly does it entail?”
“It means you are with me. You owe me your loyalty.”
“Until when? Forever?”
“No, only until we mutually dissolve it. If you don’t, he’s going to stalk your every move.”
Something about this was bothering me deeply. I was missing something obvious, but Vitor was now pounding on the door in the background and it muddled my thoughts.
“Give it to me.”
“You sure?”
“Cormac!” Vitor screamed from the hallway.
“Give it to me.”
He walked into his office and I followed him.
He handed me a paper as I grabbed a random pen from the table.
“No, use this.”
I took the preferred pen and signed my name in scrolling red. A static charge shocked me when I laid the pen down on the paper.
“I’ll go break the news to Vitor. You might want to wait here.”
I stood and followed him.
“Or not.” He laughed as he paused at the door and waited for me. “So what made you finally decide to choose sides?”
“Did I have another choice?”
“You could’ve taken your chances with Vitor.”
“You mean the alien that is currently banging on the door like a mad man? I figured I’d be better off with a native Earth being.” I didn’t tell him about eternally blooming lilies or any nonsense of him standing for the “right”. I felt like a nut even thinking it, so I certainly wasn’t going to say it out loud.
He laid his hand on my shoulder as we approached the foyer and stepped in front of me.
The door swung open and a visibly relieved Vitor stood there staring at me. “Josephine.”
“Hi, Vitor.”
“We’ve got a lot to discuss.”
Cormac took that time to clear his throat and draw attention to him. “Not as much as you think.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Check it out for yourself.”
I looked from Cormac to Vitor, wondering what the hell he was talking about. Check out what? A strange look appeared on Vitor’s face.
“You had no right!” Vitor suddenly exploded.
I’d never believed Vitor could have been capable of this kind of rage unless I’d seen it.
“Yes, I did. She was willing. I had every right.” Cormac leaned against the wall looking bored.
Two things happened then, so fast I could barely keep track. Vitor lunged toward me and Cormac was in front of me blocking his path.
“Try it,” Cormac said, and he meant it. He wanted to rip Vitor to shreds.
I stepped to the side. Cormac stepped with me so I had to settle for the limited view of only seeing half of Vitor’s face.
“I think it’s time for you to leave now.”
Vitor looked close to exploding but he said nothing, just left. As he exited, Cormac signaled outside the door and men I’d never have noticed appeared.
“Vitor is no longer welcome on this level. From now on, if he needs me, he can wait in the downstairs lounge until I’m available.” Cormac’s men silently nodded and he shut the door.
“Can I see that? I thought it might be a good idea to look at what I signed now that I can’t do anything about it.”
He handed me the paper that was still in his hand.
“What is this made out of?” I fingered the page for a moment. It felt the same weird way the page I’d gotten from the priest felt.
“It’s vellum, calf skin.”
“You keep this stuff around for all your letters?”
“Only the contracts and important documents.”
“Is that an Alchemist thing?”
“No, it’s commonly used by the Fae as well. I’m not sure if it’s calf skin in that instance, as I’m not familiar with their livestock, but it’s something similar.”
I nodded, storing that little tidbit away. I looked over the document, now, for the first real time and realized it wasn’t in English. It wasn’t in Spanish or French either for that matter. The whole document in numbers.
“This is gibberish.”
“Only if you don’t know how to read it. It’s an ancient Alchemist language.”
“Which you know how to write?”
“Yes.”
“So what exactly does this say?”
“It just says you’re with me.”
I looked over the long contract. “There’s an awful lot of writing here to say ‘you’re with me’.”
“It’s nothing unusual. These documents are very common.” He reached over and took the vellum paper from my hand, and I couldn’t help but breathe him in. Why did he always smell so damn good? I was relieved when he stepped away and walked back to his office. He took the paper over to a safe hidden behind a wall panel.
“Really? It’s worthy of the safe?”
“Just habit,�
� he said, but I wasn’t sure I believed him.
“I didn’t sign over my first born did I?”
“No. How are you feeling, by the way?”
I turned, watching the Vegas skyline through the windows, and heard the click of the safe tumblers behind me. He came and perched on the edge of his desk, partially blocking my view of the skyline. I wished it annoyed me but it didn’t. He was a gloriously masculine looking man, his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows, the fabric stretched tight over his arms as he leaned forward slightly.
“I’m fine. I slept better than I have in ages.”
“Yes, that’s one of the perks. You sleep like a babe after a nice dose.”
“Why aren’t you yelling, anymore?”
“I understand why you did it. I’m not mad. I’m just concerned.”
I saw a shadow cross his face and he got up quickly, hiding whatever emotion was there. He walked over to the window and watched the same view I’d been admiring. I stood and walked over to stand next to him.
He looked at me and then back out the window. “It never gets dull. You would think, after all this time, I’d be sick of looking at it, but I don’t. It’s the life and energy. It saturates the air.”
“Are you going to let me help again?”
“No.”
“Why? It went off perfectly.”
“No.”
“You make no sense. You wanted me here to help. You wanted me here to keep me from Vitor. Now you almost let Vitor drag me away and you won’t let me help. What is your angle?”
He looked down at me and I met his eyes, the lights of the strip reflected upon their icy surface. “I don’t need your help at the moment. If it comes to it, I’ll reassess then.” Then he smirked. “And I was never going to let Vitor have you.”
“You were bluffing.” I just shook my head annoyed. “God damn it.”
“Of course I was bluffing. I own a casino. If I couldn’t bluff out a green girl like you, I’d have to sell and walk out with my tail between my legs.”
“There’s nothing green about me.” It wasn’t a confessional, just the truth.
