by Lil Hamilton
Lan cocked his head while his hand slid to the back of my neck, his thumb rubbing my jaw line. “The fae cannot lie.”
“He lied to my fucking face! Just giving me enough information to continue on my way. A pretty story to follow. Maybe I assumed some but he didn’t tell me the truth either. I’m going to hunt him down and beat the crap out of him. Then I will gut him and choke him with his intestines.”
Lan tightened his hand on my neck and narrowed his eyes. “You almost died the true death. You called a portal from your blood and then used whatever reserves you had left to heal yourself.”
I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He was right. Hunting Prince Gilliad down meant leaving my patch, where I held my strength in Faerie. Since my demon blood was still riled up, that meant I wouldn’t fare well at all in a fae attack. Frankly, even in the best of circumstances I wouldn’t be able to win a battle with the prince. That is why the fae plotted for centuries. When a direct attack would not work there were many other ways to take down an enemy.
As for Myra, when I found her again I had a right to kill her. A right through blood and even the Queen would accept that. Besides that set up had been a trap laid for me. Throw me into a rage and hit me with killing blades, knowing I cannot cast a circle when in a demon rage. It almost worked. I shivered. It almost worked, but my survival instincts and my strong skills in circle transports saved us.
“I don’t understand what difference it makes. So she has no human blood.”
For a moment I felt that overpowering rage again. “About three-quarters Seelie fae.”
“And the other fourth?”
“High Demon.”
“Ah. I thought you were the only such half breed,” he said. Not too many High demons got it on with Seelie fae.
I shrugged. “I’m the only functioning one. Seelie fae and demon blood tend to be a volatile mix. The two natures are just contrary enough to not blend well. Half breeds tend to self-destruct or become unstable. There are not many I know of, as they are all in the Faerie Court. Lily was never raised in Faerie. I would have known her anywhere. She is of my blood.”
“Cousin? Sister? Grandmother?”
Indeed the possibilities were endless for immortal breeds, with age not being defined by physical appearance but maturing energy.
“A daughter.”
He raised both his brows. “I would have thought you would have remembered such an event.”
“Normally,” I said slowly and then looked away from him feeling exposed and awkward. “In the Chambers it is hard to know what is real and not. Some are internal illusions and some are external. An external illusion means how you see and react to your environment is controlled by the illusion. Either way, not everything is remembered. Sometimes you are not allowed to remember the entirety of it. There, reality is not your reality; it is whatever someone else says it is. Her eyes mark her as being from the king’s line and so Prince Gilliad was not likely lying about being the father.”
Lan lightly kissed my lips. “It doesn’t matter.” He kissed along my jaw making me shiver in awareness. His essence was restricted but mine was more open than usual. “She is safe. She will recover. You have her now and can protect her. When she is recovered enough we will take her to the Hells and she can be with her mate.”
“He took my flesh and blood from me,” I snarled.
He nipped my ear. “I know. You are demon born, Ray. You would protect your kin to death.” He backed me up with his hands on my hips until I hit the wall. “That is demon passion flowing in your veins.”
He was trying to re-direct my emotional state. It was working because suddenly I hungered for him. After a battle and a near death experience I had a lot of tension I wanted to work out.
When he ran his canines down my neck my hands immediately went to his chest as raw desire coursed through me. He cupped one breast and squeezed lightly and I sucked in a breath as heat pooled within me. I ached to have all of him and that tugging pull of desire pretty much guaranteed I had no desire to hold back. I didn’t have the control in that moment to hold back. I flicked my hand in the air and my patch curled around me as I shifted our location to my bedroom. Revenge would have to wait.
*****
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Where Art thou?
Sample
Chapter 1
This too shall pass but I feel rather constipated.
In the morning, after long hours of not sleeping, I sat at my kitchen table drinking tea. I had gone through a pot of English Toffee otherwise known as crack tea. On Earth a man name David had a company that made it and I had become thoroughly addicted to it. I sipped it again not sure I had perfected it in my plot. Next time I would have to bring said crack tea with me.
“How’s your mate, cousin?” I asked as Eadon approached.
The young demon looked drained and frustrated. His demon red hair and lean build reminded me of Bas without the ever present smile. Mind you, I wouldn’t be smiling either after my mate had been tormented, I’d been bound by witches and forced to watch while my mating bond with her was destroyed. “She is resting.”
I nodded and pretended to believe him, as though I could not feel the intense tremor of emotions rippling from the woman. From the woman who was my daughter. What could I offer a full grown daughter now? Nothing. Nothing but the security of knowing I would never betray her to the Queen.
Lan shuffled in scrubbing one hand through his hair.
“Tea?” I offered.
“Coffee?”
I flicked a finger and a full coffee pot manifested.
“Never going to get used to that,” he said.
“Just look at it this way, here, I am God. Well, Goddess. Goddess Divine.”
“I worshipped you last night, that should be sufficient,” he muttered, while grabbing a mug of coffee.
I winked. “More than merely sufficient.”
“Here is to a job well done,” he said, raising his mug.
My smile wilted. A job well done. Well I had indeed found the witch for my cousin Eadon. Found the Nymphs as well. They nymphs who were empty shells because of Myra the Hag, who I owed a death to. Found the witch, my daughter, who would have to spend the rest of her days in the Hells lest the Queen find out about her existence and kill her. Job fucking well done.
“What happened, Eadon?” I asked, although I knew the obvious facts it was important to give Eadon the time to explain it. It was his story we had all blundered into and his tale to tell.
He sat down and I materialized a cup of tea for him. “When her scry sparked my interest I never thought I would walk into the mortal realm and find my mate. The moment I saw her, I knew she was mine. Mine to keep. Mine to protect. A woman strong enough to fight at my side. She did not even need my help with those weak-blooded demi-demons they call vampires. She was wild magic, swift and bright. Magnificent and bold. When we made the bond it was like I was finally complete. Some void in me had been filled with her.”
He stared down at his cup for a moment. “I knew the moment something was wrong when I was home. I could feel her distress and then… nothing. I wanted to tear out of the Hells and find her and kill anyone that hurt her, but the Elders wouldn’t let me. Said the mortal realm would drive me mad when I was already enraged. I couldn’t think straight. Then I felt her. Deep inside me I felt her agony call to me. I didn’t think of anything else but getting to her. I didn’t stop to find my cousins and did not tell my honored parents. I just had to go. She was in pain and I needed to follow that call. I came for her and was snared in a trap. Called right into a confinement circle. I had no choice.”
“We know. Same confinement circle snagged Lan.”
Myra had obviously known I would go after the coven further and counted on it. She wouldn’t have realized I would involve Inter, because
most fae didn’t willingly take assistance from mere humans. But I had and so the trap she had set for me, with enough witches to distract me and an immortal killing cursed blade had not succeeded. Most fae couldn’t create a circle without effort. Skilled fae could, but even they had to jump to firm circles in order to then get to Faerie. Myra had made the assumption that my half-blood nature would ensure I couldn’t circle out in time to get to Faerie and heal, especially if I was in a demon rage which would be guaranteed when seeing my daughter tormented. She was using the situation to assassinate me with reasonable deniability on her part. She had made an error. She would suffer for it in due time. Somehow, some way. If she came after me again, I would duel her to the death.
He looked away for a moment. “I watched as they tormented her. They made me watch so that I would know her life depended on my cooperation, but it did not matter, they had my name and used it to bind me. It was like I had no control. I had to do as they wished. I had to…I didn’t want to hurt you. I tried to resist.”
Myra’s first attempt on my life had been through poor Eadon. Trying to kill me through my own bound cousin. That was cruel. Lan though had sent him back to the Hells.
“I know, I saw the result. That was not you, Eadon. That was them. That is not on you,” I said. Although the legalities of it were complex. Demons bound by witches were not held accountable, but nor were they ever permitted in the border realm again. I knew being bound like that and controlled like a puppet would leave a deep scar in him.
“What did they do to her?” Lan asked.
Eadon’s eyes welled up with tears and Lan put his hands on the young demon’s shoulders. I was astonished at the show of emotion, but demons were an emotional breed. “They had tortured her. Then when they had me they began to leach her essence. They… they found a way to damage the bond. They gouged it out of her. It was agonizing for the both of us. I still feel the wound inside me.”
“Don’t worry, it will heal. It may have been torn, but it will be re-grown,” Lan said.
I had an intense desire to quiz him about that. Not because that is what he desired for us, but because I was pretty sure Lily wouldn’t recover unless it was. Just as sure as the knowledge I would go on a rampage if she didn’t recover. She was my blood and I was demon enough to have a very strong instinct to protect my offspring. I was barely containing my roaring rage as it was and I had to. I had to keep my emotions in lock down, since I was of no use in my demon form.
“Eadon, I brought her here to heal. She may not yet have the skill to will herself to health, but just being here will heal her.” Within Faerie or within parts that the fae had influence over, we healed remarkably fast. It was not really healing at all; it was just willing yourself back into the proper state. Very easy to accomplish within an area you controlled, not quite so easy in a patch you did not. This was my plot and my willing her to heal would work quite well. Physically anyway. “Just sleeping here will have vitalized her once more. Before we go though, I would like to speak with her alone.”
“Why?” Eadon demanded, as though I were going to harm his mate. Still on the sensitive side.
“Because I was hired to find her and I need a little details to pass onto those that helped get her out of there. I won’t be long and I will not upset her.”
“Fine.”
I stood up. “Fine,” I said with a smile, which was weak at best. We had succeeded in retrieving both of them. They were alive and that counted as a win. Unfortunately what they had experienced would live with them for a long time and take even longer to come to terms with. I couldn’t even feel empathy without the risk of tipping myself into a raging madness.
I went upstairs to the chamber they had taken and stepped inside. Lily was lying on the bed, awake, but still looking weak and shell shocked. Her aura was still drained and bruised. I sat gently on the bed and she flicked me a brief incurious look. It filled me with burning anger to see her so deeply hurt. Perhaps best described as a simmering rage burning in my core that demanded I go find those that hurt her and kill them infinitely slow, resurrect them, and do it again. I could hide it, mask it, but it burned within me. Lashing out at those that hurt her would make me feel damned better but would not heal the damage already done. I had to keep unclenching my jaw because it kept tensing up with the unreleased anger in me.
“Lily, do you know where you are?” I asked.
Her dull eyes focused on me again and I was reminded they were her father’s eyes. “In Faerie. I can feel it. The thickness in the air.”
“Yes. You have been here before, yes?”
“Yes. A friend of my family was teaching me some fae magic.” Her voice was so hallow it was painful.
Obviously she hadn’t been told she was related to her mentor. Or if she knew she was smart enough not to tell me. It explained how her home had witchcraft residue with a fae influence. She had been raised among humans and taught by witches. Limited her perception of reality and crippled her innate abilities to do magic. She might never reach her full potential if her mind resisted the idea. Fact was, while my patch and my will were helping her heal, she wasn’t willing herself to heal at all. She thought her physical form meant something. That it was solid and fixed. Hell, with High Demon blood that physical form was more fluid that even the fae form was. I sighed. Mental limitations meant she would have difficulty defending herself.
“Do you know who I am?”
“You came in to rescue us. I think you’re the fae ambassador. I mean, I’ve seen you from a distance before or on TV.”
I looked away for a moment and was torn. To blurt out the truth to a woman who knew nothing of me and of Faerie seemed unnecessarily cruel. She was defenseless among the fae, even with most of her blood coming from high fae blood. She didn’t even have the layered mental shielding. To invite her into my world of influence would be dangerous to her until she learned a great deal more about fae magic. At least her father had begun that learning, although he had been the one to see her crippled so.
“I need to know what happened. I will pass the verbal statement on to the authorities until you’re well enough to make a formal report,” I said, but truly I just needed to know. So I could know who would pay for harming her. I gently influenced my patch in the room making it so that she felt safe, secure and willing to open up. I could feel the splintering pain within her because it rippled through the fabric of my patch like a brittle wind. It matched my feelings in a sense; I felt tight and constrained like I could implode and explode at the same time.
“I’ve always kept a low profile, just like I was taught. I don’t know how they found me.”
“The Queen has been monitoring all fae half-breeds in hopes of cultivating their bloodlines. The vampires were the ones that found you and were keeping track of you. They wouldn’t have done anything, until you mated. When you mated with a pure demon it was reported and the Queen decided to test the link between you both and after would likely have controlled Eadon through you.”
Lily nodded weakly. “It was witches who attacked me. They took me to some warehouse until they secured me at the house.” She paused for a long moment as silent tears ran down her cheeks. “I was tortured. Their black witch leaches would drain me regularly to the point I couldn’t spell even if they hadn’t bound me with spell restraints. They assaulted my mind even when I slept trying to get Eadon’s name from me. There were warlocks and I was...” She muffled a cry and I knew she could not yet say the word rape yet. Knowing that is what happened ensured I would hunt down those men and kill them. I knew that pain and I knew it never went away. I could segment my mind so all the torments I suffered didn’t bubble up into my awareness unless I intentionally accessed them, but they were still there and influenced everything that I was. “When Eadon came for me he was trapped. I couldn’t take the pain and I gave them his name. It‘s my fault they bound him to kill people. My fault his name is out in the world to be used again.”
“Everyone breaks unde
r torture. Everyone. No one blames you. The witch who held that name is dead. He won’t be called again. Not to mention I have heard there are procedures demons have to handle that sort of thing in emergencies. If his name gets out there. I assume it will not since we handled them.”
“Then they tormented me in front of him, because he could do nothing. They leached energy from me all the time, so I could not escape. They tested our bond and then they…”
“That is enough. It is all right now. You’re safe. Eadon will take you to his home and you will be protected there. You have to stay in the Hells though. It is important. The Queen does not permit Seelie half-breeds to live. Aside from me due to my prestige.”
“It hurts,” she whispered, tears welling up her eyes.
“What hurts?” I asked softly.
“Deep inside. Something was torn out of me and I feel its absence. It hurts so bad.”
“Shhh,” I said, stroking her forehead. “They drained you and you need to rest some. What they did affected was your bond to Eadon. The demon mate bond is very deep and when they tried to remove it, it was weakened. It isn’t gone. It’s still there and will always be there. It will get stronger every day. He will be up here to take you into the Hells. And you will be safe from harm.” Even though we had just met I was already saying the lies a parent tells a fearful child.
I left her before I let something slip. She didn’t need to be shocked by her true heritage. She needed time and healing. I went back down stairs and into the kitchen.
“Well?” Eadon demanded.
“Well what, cousin? I’m not a doctor. She’s wounded and needs to be taken care of. Thankfully, you can take her to whatever passes for demon healers now. I can circle you all to earth right now if you want.”
“No,” Lan said.
“Why not? We need her in the Hells, like now.”
“Neither of you can do much of anything right now. You are barely functional. I doubt you can circle all of us anywhere. She can barely stand,” he said.
