by Lexi Blake
“Then you shouldn’t have shot her.”
“I told you that was a huge mistake.”
“You aimed and fired. It’s not a mistake.”
“I was aiming at the wall behind her.”
This was what I woke up to. Arguing and the horrible feeling that someone had shoved a poker through my middle and left it there for me to writhe on. Even as I started to come back to myself, the pain sizzled through my system.
“The only reason she’s still alive is Daniel’s blood, and unless he gets here with a fresh supply, I don’t think she’s going to make it.” Dev’s voice was hushed but urgent, as if he didn’t want someone to hear him.
“Daniel?” I managed to get the word out, but even moving my mouth hurt like hell. I opened my eyes and saw a ceiling and crown molding. It took me a few seconds, but I realized where we were. We were back in the Gilmore suite, but the last I remembered, Daniel had been completely helpless in an entirely different place.
“Zoey?” Dev asked, and I wondered why he didn’t come to me. I heard a shuffle and tried to move but stopped when my entire body lit up with agony.
“Don’t move,” Sarah said from across the room. “Stay as still as possible, Z.”
Yeah, I was getting that. If I didn’t move I could still sort of manage to make my lungs work. Any kind of motion and that whole part of me shut down, replaced with extreme agony. But there was one thing, one tiny motion I had to make. I probably shouldn’t have. I should have just lain there and let the image stay where it should have, in my mind’s eye. Unfortunately, my face’s eye just had to look.
“Oh, my god.” There it was, just sticking straight out of my gut. An arrow pierced through my torso. It wasn’t even as long as it should have been, but that might have had something to do with just how much of the sucker was inside me.
“Okay, so it’s bad,” Dev said, and I finally realized why it took him so long to get to me. He was on the floor beside me with his hands behind his back and his feet tied together. I could only guess that he was either tied up or they used handcuffs. Since there was a freaking arrow in my belly, I was betting on rope. My hands and feet were free. Either they’d only had enough for two prisoners or they'd figured the arrow in my belly was enough to keep me down.
“Did they stake Daniel?” I asked, wincing with every word.
“No, I don’t think so,” Dev replied quietly.
“You don’t think so?” Even I could hear an edge of hysteria tinting my words.
“Well, I’m sorry, I was kind of knocked unconscious with the hilt of a crossbow,” Dev replied irritably.
I didn’t feel a lick of sympathy. “I got the other end, Dev, so lucky you. Please tell me Danny is alive.”
“Like I said, I think so. I woke up in the van, and I heard them arguing. The big guy wanted to kill us all, but the female said something about the child and the child’s will. She felt they should honor what the child wanted. I know the baby wanted to protect Daniel.”
“Okay,” I sighed. At least Daniel and Neil were probably safe. “Just two more questions and then I think I’d like to die as peacefully as possible. One—is the baby all right? Are they treating her well, or are they pissed she’s human and not a tree?”
Dev’s eyes went soft. Damn, but he was a gorgeous man. “They wouldn’t hurt the child, and you have got to get it through your stubborn head that the baby isn’t human. She looks human, but she’s something else entirely. I don’t think they know what to do with her, but for now, they’re honoring her wishes.”
“Two—what are they planning to do with the three of us?”
Sarah piped up to answer this question. “We get to go to faery world and stand trial for crimes against magic or something. On the upside, I think Halfer will come for the two of us first.”
“Yay.” My sarcasm was as weak as my body. “So behind door number one, I get executed by a whole bunch of faeries, and behind door number two, I get raped by a demon and spend the rest of eternity on the Hell plane. Where’s door number three?”
“Ummm, really if you think about it, the most logical conclusion is you get executed by faeries. And from what I’ve seen, they don’t have a problem with torture. Once you’re dead, your contract kicks in and then you get raped by a demon on the Hell plane for eternity,” Sarah pointed out. “I don’t think there is a door number three.”
“Thank you, Sarah,” I said with a bitter laugh. “Great clarification.”
“Well, I’m in the same boat, Z.”
“Oh, not true. We are so not in the same boat,” I shot back. I was feeling less magnanimous now that I had an arrow sticking out of my gut. In the heat of the moment, I’d been willing to forgive just about anything, but pain was making me a crabby bitch. “You’re a witch. At least you get a job. I get to be his gimp. He’ll probably lead me around on a freaking chain, and you know what, I blame you. If you had kept out of it, none of this would have happened.”
“This is so not my fault,” Sarah replied with righteous indignation.
“Did you or did you not steal the money? And the only answer is yes, Zoey, I stole the money because you’re the only one who makes sense. You were alone with my dad, and you slipped him the hex bag, and then the next morning you slipped one into the coat I was wearing. You weren’t trying to get Neil. You slipped it to me at breakfast. Your fault!”
“Yes, I made the hex bags. I slipped one to your dad so he would take the money and one to you so you would cause a ton of chaos and Daniel would take you away. If you had stayed out of it, I could have gotten the Light on my own. I’m not the one who decided it would be a good idea to work for a demon.”
“No, you were just born into a family that serves one.”
Sarah huffed. “That isn’t fair.”
“Ladies, as much as I love a good girl fight, I find myself sadly lacking the Jell-O that would make this worthwhile,” Dev said quietly. “Keep it down or they’re going to come in here, and I really don’t want to get kicked in the groin again. If I’m going to die when we get to the Faery plane, I’d like to go out with the boys intact.”
Sarah and I frowned at each other, but we went back to our metaphorical corners.
“Fine. We’ll drop it for now. Sarah, why don’t you say some Latin stuff and get us out of here?” I wasn’t sure why she hadn’t done it before.
“Latin stuff? Like it’s that easy. Besides, they hit me with some sort of dust when I walked out. I can’t do anything. It must possess anti-magical properties. I’m sure it will wear off, but then I would have the problem of the wards they’ve placed all over. They aren’t making the same mistakes this time.”
Dev was trying to get himself in a seated position, contorting his lean body and twisting. I was the reason he was here. I knew damn well I should have found a way to keep him out of this, but my hormones had taken over my decision-making process, and now Dev was going to die. Even though I was back with Daniel, I still cared about Dev. I still felt a connection to him, one I didn’t want snuffed out by death. If Sarah couldn’t get us out, then it was up to me.
And then I had one of those really awful ideas. I get them sometimes and they tend to be fueled by desperation, but I almost always follow through. I sighed and prepared myself for some really painful moments because those awful, wretched ideas I have almost always cause me pain.
I braced myself. Clenched my teeth. Told myself to be ready for it. But even with the best of intentions, I couldn’t stop the short, sharp cry that came out when I sat up. It was uncomfortable, to say the least.
“Zoey, get back down.” Dev twisted around, his eyes widening.
“What are you doing?” Sarah sounded way more concerned than someone who recently shot me should.
“It’s my fault you’re here, Dev. I should never have let you come with me.” I got on my knees and took several quick breaths because the next part was the hard part. “I’m not going to let you die, Dev.”
And then I s
hoved the rest of the arrow through my torso. I was surprised to find it hadn’t pierced my back yet since it felt like it had when I was lying down. I pushed it as far as I could and reached around and pulled it through and then I passed out again.
I knew immediately I hadn’t been out for as long this time. Everything in the room seemed the same. Dev managed to get to a seated position and was trying to scoot to where I was. I forced myself to sit up, and it was only with the greatest will that I managed to not throw up.
“Zoey, please,” Sarah begged. “Whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t. It’s almost dark. If they didn’t kill Daniel, he’ll come for you. Just lay back down.”
My hands shook as I pushed my hair back. “So what, Sarah? Daniel comes for me and what? I get a few extra hours before Halfer drags our asses to Hell? I hope you’re right and Danny can’t be taken there, but Dev can be killed and the baby can be taken away, and I’m the only one who can stop it.”
“How are you going to do that, Zoey?” Dev winced as I managed to stand.
I steadied myself and decided to go ahead and see how much worse I’d made the situation. I lifted the hem of my blood-soaked T-shirt and was surprised to see the wound was trying to heal itself. It wasn’t doing a great job, but Daniel’s blood was giving a valiant effort.
I took a deep breath, grateful everything seemed to be functioning. “I’m going to use reason, Dev. Sweet reason.”
I walked toward the door that opened to the rest of the suite, and over the vigorous protests of my fellow prisoners, I shut it behind me. It was a short walk to the sitting area of the suite, but I needed to balance against the wall and kind of shuffle my way down the hall. Before turning the corner I called out, hoping to not surprise anyone who might have a nervous trigger finger.
“I’m coming out, and I’m not armed. I mean I still have arms, but…” I sighed and tried to collect my thoughts. I tend to go a little ADD when fighting for my life. “I don’t have any weapons.”
I took a step into the room and was confronted by the three faeries we robbed the day before. They had seemed so much less imposing when I had a gun, a werewolf, and a vampire with me. The baby was there as well, and she gurgled some nonsense words when she saw me.
They’d brought the box back as well. It sat on the table, exactly where it had been before. It was empty and no longer held much value. The faeries had also done a bang-up job on the body disposal. The suite was pristinely clean.
“Hello, my name is Zoey Wharton.” I hadn’t really had a chance to introduce myself before the whole arrow thing. I pointed to the chair closest to me. “Do you mind? I’m having a little trouble, what with the blood loss and internal damage.”
The female who was holding the child smiled wryly. “Please, I wouldn’t miss this particular conversation for the world. Are your friends going to attempt to escape?”
I let go of a deep breath I hadn’t realized I was holding in as I settled into the chair. The pain was starting to relent, and I thought perhaps it was because I’d pushed the arrow through. The vampire blood inside me was doing its best to heal my body, but it hadn’t been able to work around the arrow.
I gestured back toward the room I’d come from. “Please, feel free to check on them. You’ll find they are still tied up and completely unthreatening.”
The female nodded shortly to the smaller of the men. He jogged down the hall. She returned to studying me. “Why would you not try to escape? You have to know that we intend to take you back to our home. We will bring charges against you, and you will be executed.”
“Yeah, I got that.” If there was one thing I was damn certain of, it was my death. One way or another, that would happen, and sooner than I’d imagined.
Her mouth turned down, a deeply regal look. “You stole something sacred to us.”
There was no talking my way out of that one. “Yes, I did.”
The man came back and whispered something into his mistress’s ear. She nodded and turned her attention back to me. “Your friends are still there. It is going to be a very short trial if you just admit to everything.”
But that was kind of my plan. “I did it. It was me.”
A light went on in her eyes. “Ahh, you seek to take the blame on yourself and save your friends.”
“Except for the other girl. She was totally in on the plot. You should definitely torture her.” She shot me, and I wouldn’t mind having a cell mate. “As a matter of fact, you should force us to work for you for a really long time before our execution.” I didn’t know how much pull Halfer had on other planes, but if it bought me time not being raped, I would take it.
“You’re an odd girl.” She ran her hands soothingly across the baby’s head. “She likes you.”
“I like her, too.” I hated the tears that sprang to my eyes. “You have to get her out of here. I know you won’t believe me, but I really didn’t know what I was stealing. I was trying to bring her back when you found us.”
“You shot us,” the larger male said with a frown.
“Dude, I shot you with a tranquilizer dart. You put an arrow through me. The point goes to you. I think I can read a newspaper though my torso.”
“I did not like being shot,” he replied.
“Eh, I’ve had worse,” the other male said. “I, personally, am impressed with any woman who can shove an arrow through her belly and still walk out here to negotiate.”
“A good reason not to kill me,” I pointed out. “Think of the party tricks I can come up with.”
“I am impressed with any woman who can prime a transference box.” The female gestured to the box on the table. “My name is Haweigh of the Tuatha Dé Danann. I am a priestess of the realm. Had the Light of Alhorra made it to our tribe intact, it would have fallen to me to prepare our people to prime the box. Do you understand what I mean by a transference box?”
“Dev explained it to me. He knows about this stuff, but he didn’t see the box until we took it.” I was impressed with the fact that the Tuatha Dé Danann still existed. If I ever saw my father again, I would have to give him the news. “He said you usually turn the magic into a tree or something.”
“Yes,” the large man said sarcastically. “A tree is best because a tree has no learning curve. Sometimes we turn it into a cat or a dog because they reach maturity quickly. In six months to a year, the magical animal will have the emotional maturity to do things properly. Do you have any idea how hard her childhood will be?”
“What my husband is trying to say is we prefer that the magic be contained to something easily controllable,” Haweigh explained. “The child will be somewhat unpredictable.”
“Tell me you won’t hurt her.” I’d screwed up her whole life.
Haweigh chuckled a bit, pulling her hair from the baby’s hand. “She belongs to us. We would never hurt her. She will bless our tribe with her unique magic, and we will be grateful to her. We are thankful you did not damage the box. It could have been much worse. Now, the truth of the matter is, I am inclined to allow the faery to live. He was not involved in the actual taking of our box. In truth, I am inclined to allow you to live. I find you unique, and I prefer to leave the unique things of the worlds whole. But you must return to our plane to face justice.”
“I’m grateful.” I figured that groveling was the best course of action. I decided to be brave. There was one thing I needed to know before I left this plane. “I have to ask you a question.”
“I await it eagerly.” Haweigh seemed amused by me. I could make that work to my advantage later, but for now I just had to know.
“Is he dead?” I meant for it to be a steady almost academic question, but I stumbled through it and gave away far too much.
She looked up at her husband. “I told you it was the vampire. He is your lover?”
I nodded since there was no reason I could think of to cover it up.
“Lang believed you were involved with the faery, but I rather thought it was the vampire. I
spent many years on this plane, and you have the look of a companion. As to your question, he continues to exist,” she confirmed, watching me closely.
I nodded to let her know I’d heard, but I couldn’t suppress the small sob that escaped. I wiped the tears away and tried to contain my emotion. “Thank you.”
I wouldn’t see Daniel again. My heart ached. I didn’t think about everything Dev had told me. None of it mattered in that moment. I only knew that I loved Daniel and he was lost again.
“Thank the child,” Haweigh said. “I was inclined to kill him because of the danger he represents. Was he the one you were with when the box was primed?”
“Yes.”
Haweigh contemplated this. “As you are an odd girl, he is not a normal vampire, is he? The box can only be primed through pure magic. We would have used a type of community magic, all of us working together for the good of our tribe. The two of you used sex magic, and while that is powerful, it requires an enormous amount of feeling between the two of you. The box would not have reacted to mere lust. I’m afraid vampires are more associated with obsession than genuine love.”
“We have quite the history.”
“Speaking of the vampire.” The husband pointed to the window, which showed a spectacular sunset. “Shouldn’t we be going? We’ve taken his mate. He will not let this go. We should pass through the veil now.”
“Lang is right,” the other male said. “I would rather wait until midnight, but I would also like to leave with my neck intact. Vampires are not known for their tolerance, which is why we should have killed it.”
Haweigh looked at me. “Men. They believe violence is the answer to everything. We women know differently. Are you ready?”
I would never be ready, but Daniel was alive. Dev would live. I had to call this a win. “I’m ready, and so is Sarah. You can leave Dev here. Daniel will find him eventually. We won’t cause any more trouble. Well, I won’t. Sarah’s a different story. You might want to gag her.”
The priestess stood with the child in her arms. She was a beautiful woman and everything one would think a faery queen would be. She was tall with golden hair that brushed her waist and eyes that looked like jewels. She carried the child with no hesitation, and I was sure this was not the first baby she’d held. I guess you think a lot about all the crap you’re never going to do when you know the world is changing. I wouldn’t hold a baby again. I wouldn’t see Daniel again. I wouldn’t…well, I could go on forever about what I wouldn’t do.
