Burnt Silver

by H A Titus

  "I'm not your stupid valet," he snapped at me, reaching down and pulling up his pant leg. He'd exchanged his usual motorcycle boots for sleek, shiny leather boots, still tall enough to allow him to shove a couple of knives down the leg. He removed a knife from each boot and another from his side, and stowed them in the cubby under mine, then he turned toward the door.

  "Just so you're aware," Altru said pleasantly, "the door is warded. Anyone who tries to smuggle in weapons will receive an extremely unpleasant shock."

  Eliaster muttered in Gaelic and yanked a throwing knife out from under his sleeve, tossing it so that the point stuck into the back of the cubby where he'd shoved his other weapons. Then he straightened his jacket and jerked his head toward the door.

  Altru nodded, somehow making it almost look like a formal bow, and stepped to the door. As he opened it, sure enough, I could see a faint shimmer around the doorframe. I had a brief moment of panic as I followed Eliaster over the threshold. Would the ring somehow set the thing off? I tucked my hands into my pockets and braced for the shock, but nothing happened.

  Altru stepped to the side and allowed us to enter. I couldn't help it—as we walked into the room, I gasped.

  If the outside of the house had been impressive, the inside was doubly so. The outside of the large room was slightly raised, and at the far end ran into a double-branched staircase that curved around to the next level. Pillars supported the lower, ten-foot ceiling on the raised portion of the room. The middle of the ceiling was at least twenty feet high, if not higher—I couldn't tell for sure because it looked like it was draped in gauze. Thousands upon thousands of tiny twinkling lights peeked through the fabric, throwing a gentle glow over the room, enhanced by the flickering lanterns hung at intervals along the walls and from long chains dangling from the ceiling. Some of the lanterns had patterning on them that cast shadows in a pattern of tree branches. The floor was a golden hardwood, flecked with tiny, branching mosaics in earthy colors of dark green, brown, red, navy blue. The walls were painted a deep, rich gray, and sparsely patterned in veins of gold, as if to mimic veins of the precious metal in a mine.

  A few people sat or stood at tables and chaise lounges along the raised sides of the room, but the majority milled around on the sunken middle of the floor, where all the mosaics spiraled into one large, circular whorl. It seemed to be functioning as a dance floor. Fae waltzed slowly across it, their hair a rainbow kaleidoscope, each one's clothes fancier than the last. Delicate music played in a strange, slow melody that twined electric guitar together with pipes, gentle drums, and typical string instruments, along with something that had a weirdly tinny, picked sound. The air hung heavy with the smell of wood smoke, wine and other alcohols, perfume, and some other earthy scent—like the smell of the forest after a heavy rain—that I identified as fae.

  My head spun, and I wobbled a little bit. It felt like the first time I'd seen an Underworld Market, but more. The glamour in the room danced along my exposed skin in a tangible way, raising the hair on my arms and neck like a mild electric shock. Glamour ghosts floated and mingled in the crowd, so that I felt like I was looking through a haze of fog. I hunched my shoulders and drew my elbows close to my body. This was more glamour than I'd ever felt in my life.

  Altru brushed past us, tapping both Eliaster and me on the shoulder, and motioning for us to follow him. Eliaster glanced back at me, his eyebrows pinching together.

  "You okay?" he asked in a low voice.

  I rubbed my eyes and nodded. "Just feel a little fuzzy-headed."

  "Your gut doing all right?"

  "Oddly, yeah." I didn't even feel the slightest bit of nausea. That was weird. I wondered if the bracelet had something to do with it, just like it protected me from the glamour of the relics.

  We'd made it less than a quarter way around the room, heading for the tall double staircase at the far end, when I heard a familiar voice from behind us.

  "Don't worry, Altru, I've got it from here."

  I spun around. Cori Airgead stood behind us, flashy as usual in a red tux, spiked boots, and fluffed Mohawk. He nodded to Eliaster and me, and then flashed a wide grin at Altru.

  Altru frowned and raised an eyebrow.

  "Aw, c'mon, wouldn't want Dad's special guests to be bored waiting around for him, would you?"

  Altru just nodded, turned, and walked away, still heading for the stairs.

  Cori's grin remained fixed in place until Altru disappeared up the stairs. "Okay," he said, motioning us toward a few chairs set close to the wall. "I bet we have less than five minutes before he shows back up saying Drake wanted you immediately." He looked between me and Eliaster. "Let me get you some drinks." He led us to a bar at one side of the room. The bartender was serving a fae couple, but as Cori slid behind the bar, he glanced over at him and nodded, hands never stopping as he mixed liquors together in a tall, clear glass.

  I raised an eyebrow. He was human—the only other human I'd seen so far. As I watched him for a minute, the hair on the back of my neck prickled. His movements were swift and smooth, but there was a glazed look to his eyes, and he didn't blink nearly enough.

  I glanced over at Cori.

  He shrugged. "Just … watch yourself around here, okay?"

  Eliaster leaned with his back against the bar, observing the rest of the room. I let him, focusing instead on the smooth dark wood of the bar and carefully breathing in and out. In high school, I'd been around a couple of people who smoked pot, and just breathing in the secondhand smoke had made me loopy. This was similar, but instead of being lethargic, I felt jittery.

  Cori handed us a couple of glasses and said in a low tone, "I went light on the alcohol for you guys."

  "Appreciate it," Eliaster said.

  Cori gestured around the room, pointing to various doorways set into the wall. I was careful to follow his hand motions and not look at the mesmerizing dancers in the middle of the floor.

  "There's probably a few games there, if you're up for some gambling. Those over there you might want to stay away from." He snorted. "My dad provides spaces for all sorts of carnal activities at these feasts."

  Eliaster's nose wrinkled. "Duly noted."

  I chuckled. "Fae are all just overgrown high schoolers, you know?" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted speaking them. Holy crow, what was wrong with me? I felt like anything I thought would just fly out of my mouth with no restraints.

  Eliaster gave me a worried look. "You sure you're okay?"

  I coughed and made an effort to think through what I was going to say. "I think … I'm getting high off all the glamour in here."

  "What? But …" Eliaster glanced at my wrist, but held his tongue. He looked around the room, and the fingers of his left hand twitched. "I guess there's more in here than usual." He looked over at Cori. "Your dad likes to pretend he's one of the old fae, I guess."

  Cori's eyes clouded to a darker shade of blue. "My dad's family is old, and yeah, he's obsessed with glamour."

  I remembered what Liam had told me, about Drake's experimentation with his three kids and their varying fae blood.

  "You're here. Good." Aileen's voice at my side nearly made me jump out of my skin.

  I turned and glanced at her. Unlike most of the women, who wore bright, eye-catching colors—if they wore much at all—she wore an all-black, lace-sleeved dress with a corset-like bodice and a sleek skirt slit to her knees. Her lips were purple-red, and her gray eyes flickered under dark eye makeup. The only bright color was her hair, which the firelight turned a deep copper-red.

  Man, she looked … I stopped myself, slamming the thought to the back of my head. My inhibitions were already lower than I'd expected—the last thing I needed was the distraction of thinking how good she looked.

  But man, does she look hot.

  "Cori," she said in a low voice. "Gren's watching."

  Cori stiffened. "Where?"

  "The stairs landing." She looked at me and Eliaster, then held her
hand out to me. "You want to be noticeable, right?"

  I swallowed hard, glanced at Eliaster.

  "You sure?" he asked quietly. "We can always switch roles."

  I shook my head. "I'm human. I'll be a better distraction." I let Aileen put her hand on my arm and forced a grin. "I'll be fine. Let's just get this done and get out of here."

  My heart rate spiked as Aileen pulled me to the edge of the dance floor.

  Dear Almighty, I was going to dance with the daughter of Drake Airgead. I could only hope that he didn't decide to twist my head off if he saw me.

  Aileen twined her fingers into my right hand—her palm was warm against my cold skin—and carefully placed my left hand on her waist. Then we spun into place among the dancers. A chill rippled down my spine. It was not a good feeling. Every muscle in my body tensed.

  We danced for a few minutes in silence. Thankfully it was a slower number. Without really seeming to, Aileen led, pulling me slowly toward the center of the dance floor until we were surrounded by other fae, quite a few of whom were taller than us. She sighed, and I could feel her relaxing.

  I wished I could've done the same. Glamour swirled around the edges of my vision, making me dizzy. I actually felt like I might throw up. I blinked hard and focused on Aileen's face, watched as she gently counted under her breath, her lips moving to the time of the music as we settled into the correct rhythm.

  She looked so different from most of the other fae women I'd met. I couldn't even really say what it was that made her different. She looked hard-edged, but there was something—a softheartedness that I only saw in quick glimpses.

  She glanced up, caught me staring. Her cheeks and the tips of her ears turned a bright red.

  I coughed and glanced away. "Sorry."

  Aileen twisted her hand in mine, wincing. "You can relax a little bit, you know."

  I glanced at our hands. Her fingers were white, as were my knuckles, and I realized I was gripping her hand really, really hard. I forced myself to relax. "Sorry. Again."

  "Are you feeling okay?"

  "I'm a little off," I admitted.

  "Sidhé sometimes have that effect on humans. Can I do anything to help? Some kind of glamour, maybe?"

  "It won't stick."

  "Oh the bracelet." She frowned. "I'd like to try something, if I may."

  "Uhh … sure."

  She reached up and placed her hand over my chest. A cool, mist-like sensation brushed over my face, then dissipated. She studied my face and I cleared my throat. My turn to go red under her intense scrutiny. The warmth of her hand in mine suddenly grew blazing hot.

  The song ended on a high note, and then another one started, just as slow and seductive as the first. I shrugged my shoulders, wishing they'd play something fast, something that wasn't a waltz. I gathered memories of the dreams of Larae's betrayal that still haunted me and pulled them to the forefront of my thoughts.

  "You're still tense, and Gren is still watching," Aileen murmured. "He's not going to leave until you look like you're enjoying yourself."

  I resisted the urge to glance upward at the balcony. Instead, I pulled Aileen a little closer to me and took in several deep breaths, willing my shoulders and arms to relax.

  Her eyes twinkled, and one side of her lips curled into a little half-smile. "Most guys don't need an invitation like that."

  "Yeah, I … uh … I don't have a good history with fae women. Sorry."

  She laughed softly. "Honestly, that's the last thing you should be apologizing about."

  I tried to chuckle, but it turned into a cough. Dang it, why was I being a bumbling idiot? Everything about her was the exact opposite of Larae. Aileen didn't ooze seduction and pleasure like Larae had—rather, her open smile and confident way of carrying herself seemed genuine.

  But Gren probably wouldn't stop watching us until I looked relaxed, just as she'd said. So I blew out a deep breath and tried to smile as we swept back and forth in time with the couples around us.

  My ankle hit something hard, and before I could stop myself I'd tripped backwards, dragging Aileen down with me. I twisted in midair and cracked my shoulder against the hard marble floor, but managed to keep my head from hitting as well.

  Around us, the other fae gasped and yelped, pulling away. I winced and looked over at Aileen. She'd only been pulled down to her knees, but her eyes weren't on me—they were fixed on a point past me.

  I turned my head.

  A fae with pale skin stood over me. His jet-black hair, one single streak of turquoise cutting through his bangs, was swept over one eye. I didn't recognize him.

  The fae sneered down at me, then looked at Aileen. "The human bothering you, Aileen?"

  She stood, eyes flashing Airgead. "No one asked you to interfere, Dubh."

  I started to roll to my feet. Dubh kicked at me, and I dropped flat, feeling the heavy boot whistle over my head. He laughed as I scooted away from him and stood.

  Aileen hooked one elbow around my arm, as if she were afraid someone would try to drag me away from her. "Watch our backs. Where there's one Son of Carmen, there's always two others."

  Carmen. I recognized that as the screen-name of the leader of the Lucht Leanuna, when I'd found their online message board back in May. My stomach sank. Great, the Lucht were here after all.

  Two fae stepped forward from the crowd surrounding us, but didn't advance. They looked nearly identical to the one who had attacked me, except that one wore his hair tightly braided at the back of his neck, while the other had short hair and teased a lip ring with his tongue.

  "This human is under Airgead protection," Aileen said, her voice raising so she could be heard over the murmurs around us.

  The Son of Carmen with the lip ring scoffed loudly and said something in Gaelic that I didn't quite catch, but judging by the snickers from the other two, it couldn't have been complimentary.

  Aileen ignored him and continued. "I'll let this go, but only once. Any other attacks against him, unprovoked or provoked, will be taken as an attack against the house of Airgead and the offender will be dealt with by my own hand."

  I watched the two facing me as Aileen talked. Neither reacted, their expressions slack in what appeared to be casual boredom. There was something about them that seemed familiar, and it nagged at the back of my mind.

  "Aww, that's sweet," one of them said. "Very cute, Aileen."

  That phrase stuck in my mind. The word choice, even the inflection in the words … I felt sick. Llew. It reminded me of Llew.

  A loud clap echoed through the room. I flinched. A tall, square-jawed fae stood on the stairs, slowly and deliberately clapping, his ice-blue eyes locked on me. Once he'd caught everyone's attention, he walked the final two steps down onto the ballroom floor. The crowd of dancers parted for him, giving him plenty of room as he strode up to Aileen and me.

  "I see my daughter has already caught someone's eye." His voice was deep, almost rumbling, with a hint of Celtic burr to his words.

  Heat flushed my face. He stopped in front of us, one side of his mouth curled into a smirk. His ice-gray eyes glittered as he stared at me. Despite the outward air of geniality, something dark and dangerous radiated from the man. My stomach knotted, and it was all I could do to stand my ground and not take a big step away from him. I shifted, straightening my jacket sleeves so he couldn't see the bracelet on my wrist.

  "I—I didn't mean any offense," I stammered.

  Drake waved one hand in a dismissive gesture. "Aileen, didn't I tell you that I wanted to see VIP guests as soon as possible?"

  There was nothing harsh about her name from his tongue, but his gray eyes glittered, turning cold and hard, unlike Aileen's own warm-toned gray eyes. Her hand grew tense in mine, and her body stiffened.

  "Sorry, da," she said softly. "I just … I thought … you always tell me to make sure everyone's entertained."

  Crap, she was absolutely terrified of this man.

  Drake waved his hand in a dismissive gest
ure. "Josh MacAllister. It's very nice to meet you." He looked me up and down, cold, calculating. His eyes rested on Aileen's and my clasped hands.

  "Nice to meet you too, sir."

  "If I could drag you away from your charming companion for a few minutes." He smiled.

  No, no, no. I was just supposed to be a distraction. I resisted the urge to look through the crowd of fae, to seek out Eliaster for rescue.

  I squared my shoulders, forced my voice to remain steady. "Ready when you are." I could do this. It wasn't the plan—I wouldn't be with Aileen—but I could still be a distraction. Could still play my part.

  "Good. Come along." He put his arm around my shoulders and steered me away from Aileen. Her fingers gave mine a quick squeeze.

  I squeezed back and released her hand, praying quietly under my breath. I just hoped this worked out.

  CHAPTER 30

  ELIASTER

  I watched Josh and Aileen spin across the dance floor, worrying gnawing at the back of my mind. I took a small sip from my drink. I hated this. Hating using Josh as, essentially, bait. It was probably one of the stupidest ideas we'd ever come up with.

  But it was working.

  Heads turned as Josh and Aileen danced, and I could see a few fae on the edges of the dance floor elbowing each other. An Unseelie and an obviously free-minded human, dancing together. It was scandalous on the level of Romeo and Juliet.

  I allowed myself a small grin, then turned to Cori. "You'll stay out here, right?"

  Cori's gaze darting between me and Josh. "I'll keep an eye on him, don't worry."

  "If he gets hurt, I'm taking it out of your hide."

  Cori nodded.

  He really meant it. I turned and wandered off toward the back wall, pausing every now and then to look around as if in awe. As I did, I scanned the room, looking for people who might be watching me. I spotted Gren standing on the stairs landing, arms crossed, eyes on Josh and Aileen.

  So far, Josh's idea of distraction seemed to be working. I took a slow breath, then pushed my glamour to the forefront of my mind. I could feel the slight warmth of my tattoos beginning to glow. An answering warmth bloomed on my chest, where Henry's pendant rested just below my cross necklace. As long as Henry hadn't been lying about the pendant allowing him access to all parts of the house, I'd be fine.