The Seduced

by Cheyenne McCray

  Fat raindrops splattered on Tiernan’s head as he shrugged out of his long black coat and shoved it into a corner of the shelter. He unfastened the sword belt that held both his sheathed dagger and sword. Gripping his belt, he did his best to crawl in beside her. He banged his head just hard enough that a sharp pain shot through him.

  “Gotta be careful in here,” Copper said and placed her wand in a corner of the shelter.

  Zeph zoomed around their heads as they settled into the place. The honeybee perched on a rock that jutted out in a corner of the shelter.

  Tiernan’s head brushed the top of the rock and he knew if he moved too quickly in any direction he would surely thump his head again.

  Grass, leaves, and vines rustled beneath him as he settled himself. He placed his weapons belt beside him, out of the rain. He and Copper both sat cross-legged, facing each other. It was the best they could do.

  For a long moment they studied one another, and Tiernan couldn’t think of a word to say.

  The pounding of Copper’s heart had slowed, but her limbs still trembled. She felt tremors of excitement and incredulity throughout her.

  The man she gazed at was one of the sexiest she’d ever remembered seeing. His hair fell to his shoulders, and his eyes were a piercing blue.

  And his build—it was amazing that he had been able to fit into the shelter at all. Now that he’d taken his coat off, the sleeveless leather shirt he was wearing allowed her to view the carved muscles in his biceps. His powerful thighs flexed beneath his leather pants.

  He was so damn hot, and she’d been without a man for so long. If she wasn’t so worried about everyone she’d left behind, she’d jump him right now.

  Outside the rain began to pour down in sheets. Drops splattered inside the shelter, leaving a slight chill on her skin. She leaned forward and her pentagram earrings swung at her ears.

  Tiernan cleared his throat. “How did you get to this place, Copper?”

  She twisted her lips in a grimace. “Some warlock named Darkwolf came up on me on the D’Anu beach. I—well, I tried to send him to Otherworld. My spell hit some kind of shield.” She gave a shrug that was lighter than she felt. “I ended up here.”

  “Darkwolf,” he growled. “I have seen and know of the bastard.”

  “You do?” Surprise shot through her and then her scowl met his. “If not for that shield, I wouldn’t be trapped here.” She sighed. “At least I didn’t end up in Underworld.”

  Tiernan braced one hand on the floor of the shelter. “The Fae—perhaps even Mystwalkers or Shanai—any one of those beings could have assisted you in getting to the Elves, who would most likely have returned you to your home world.”

  Copper wasn’t sure what his reaction would be when she told him that she was pretty sure she was still trapped, and he was trapped with her.

  Well, at least she wouldn’t be alone.

  She tried to push away the selfish thought. “There’s some kind of barrier,” she said in a rush. “It’s like an invisible electric shield that keeps us inside and I think keeps anyone outside from seeing us, or we them.”

  Tiernan narrowed his focus. “Us?”

  Copper gestured outside toward the pouring rain. “There are Faeries, Pixies, Brownies, an Undine, and Drow that are stuck here with me.” She brought her hand down to caress the soft leaves of her vine dress. “Somehow we all have been trapped here for who knows how long.”

  For a long moment Tiernan couldn’t find words. Then very slowly he said, “We are contained within this meadow.”

  She nodded and brought her gaze resolutely back to his. “We’re stuck. Good and stuck.”

  Tiernan refused to believe there was no way out. “Perhaps my arrival has broken through the shield you speak of.” Copper brightened at once. “That would be too cool.”

  He frowned. “Cool?”

  Her voice was lighter. “When it stops raining we can check.”

  “How did I come to be here?” he asked.

  Copper bit her lip again in a way that he found innocent yet enticing, and that somehow managed to distract him from what could be a disastrous situation.

  “Well,” she started, “I was performing another spell to try to get out of here. For some reason it brought you here instead of letting me out.”

  When he narrowed his eyes, she hurried to add, “I didn’t mean to. I wanted out.” She gave a half-smile. “I know, I know.” Her eyes met his head-on. “I said ‘ask and you shall receive.’ But I was joking.” Then under her breath, “Sort of.”

  Tiernan started to rake his hair in frustration, but his knuckles rammed into the sharp rock above his head. He sucked in a rush of air and shook his fingers.

  Copper took his hand and he felt that same flood of heat he had experienced earlier when she led him into the shelter.

  She examined his knuckles. “You’re bleeding.”

  He pulled his hand away from hers and rubbed his knuckles on his breeches. “I have experienced far worse injuries.”

  “I’ll bet you have.” She turned to look out into the rain that was coming down harder. “One thing about this place is that there are no bad guys to worry about—unless you could consider the Drow bad.”

  She turned her head and gave him a teasing look. “Unless you’re a bad guy.”

  He did not know where it came from, but he said, “With you I could be, Copper.”

  It was one of those moments where they silently studied one another.

  Finally, she said without a smile or hint of emotion, “I bet you could be.”

  Tiernan shifted, uncomfortable from both the cramped quarters, and the heat that had just flamed between the two of them.

  “How have you survived here over a year now?” he asked.

  She gave a little gasp. “It’s been over a year? You’re kidding, right?” He didn’t answer and her eyes widened. “I can’t believe it. Time—it’s passed so strangely here. I didn’t know how long it’d been, but I really didn’t believe it had been that long. My parents and sister must be worried crazy about me.”

  Tiernan remained silent, feeling a twinge in his gut at what was sure to come. He wanted to put it off as long as possible. He truly did not wish to be the one to deliver the news of her mother’s death.

  “Wow.” She braced her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. “A whole year. I’ve missed so much.”

  “That you have,” he said quietly, then found himself somehow glad that Copper had not been in the fight against the Fomorii, even if it meant she had been trapped in this prison in Otherworld.

  “So tell me everything,” she said, drawing his attention back to her. “I’m dying to know what’s going on.”

  Tiernan’s body tensed as his thoughts returned to his urgent need to hurry back to the San Francisco Otherworld. “The Balorite warlocks and the Fomorii demons are attempting to free Balor’s body and soul.”

  Copper’s eyes went incredibly wide. “No way.”

  “Your sister and Rhiannon scried this,” he said, “and we believe we found evidence to support it.”

  He explained about the parchment and the shapes upon it that could be a doorway and a sacrificial circle. What he did not tell her was that Silver scried that Copper was the sacrifice.

  “We believe they,” he went on, “or with the aid of other beings, are digging deep below the surface of Otherworld.”

  “Oh, my goddess.” She slowly shook her head. “This can’t really be done, can it? Balor’s body and soul released?”

  Tiernan clenched and unclenched one fist. “It is possible.”

  She looked at him with both disbelief and anger. “I’ve got to get home and help Silver!”

  “As I need to return to assist.” Tiernan explained how the D’Danann Enforcers were working with the San Francisco Paranormal Special Forces and the Coven of gray witches.

  Copper blinked. “Coven of gray witches?”

  Tiernan could not help but feel restless and impatien
t to leave. However, he forced himself to slow down and explain how the gray Coven came to be.

  She rubbed the heel of her hand against her forehead. “I don’t believe it. Silver kicked out of the D’Anu Coven? Rhiannon, Mackenzie, and the others leaving? This is all so surreal.”

  “Much has happened over the past weeks.”

  “What I really need to know,” Copper said, “is everyone okay?”

  He sighed. “No. A couple of witches from the D’Anu Coven were murdered by the Fomorii, as were law enforcement members led by the human Jake Macgregor, and some of my kinsmen. A few witches and apprentices went to the dark.”

  Copper’s expression changed to one of horror. “Who—what—how?”

  “I do not know the names of all of the dead.” Fury seared his veins at the thought of those who had been taken from her world and his. “Many of the demons responsible have been sent back to Underworld.”

  He clenched his fist. “But not before we destroyed as many as we could. Unfortunately, a fair number did escape.”

  “The D’Anu don’t believe in killing.” Her face twisted with obvious anger. “But right now, I can’t help but think the Fomorii deserved it.”

  She leaned forward and placed her hand on one of his knees, her expression intent, serious. “What about my sister? My mother and father?”

  He paused, finding it difficult to tell her the truth.

  Copper’s whole body began to shake as she waited for Tiernan’s answer. He was taking too long to respond and fear clawed her throat. “Tell me!”

  He took both her hands in his and held them tight, and her fear rose. “Silver and Victor are fine.”

  “My mother?” Copper felt as if her head were going to explode. “Tell me she’s okay. Please.”

  He cleared his throat. He could not evade such a direct question, and he knew it. “She was mortally wounded.”

  “Mortally wounded?” Copper’s voice came out hoarse, disbelieving. She snatched her hands from his and clapped one over her mouth, holding back a scream. She hadn’t heard right. Moondust wasn’t dead. She wasn’t.

  “No.” She dropped her hand and shook her head. “She can’t be.”

  “You have my greatest sympathy,” he said in a soft voice. “I am sorry.”

  Copper bolted out of the shelter, into the pounding rain, and screamed. When she reached the apple tree, she clenched her hands. She hit it with one fist, then the other, and then again and again as she continued to scream.

  Tears poured down her face, washing away with the rain. Heat then chill, heat then chill.

  She was beating her fists so hard blood began to stain the trunk of the tree. She didn’t care if she pissed off a Dryad.

  All she cared about was her mother. Her mother, one of the most caring, loving, and beautiful things in her world—gone.

  No. She hit the tree again, punctuating the word as it slammed through her thoughts. No, no, no, no!

  The next thing she knew, her arms were pinned to her sides by a strong embrace, and she fought to get away. She screamed and screamed, her cries never ending as she kicked back with her bare feet at the same time.

  “My mother isn’t dead!” She fought him harder. “My mother isn’t dead!”

  The man holding her said nothing, but didn’t let her go.

  She fought and fought him.

  Finally, after what seemed forever and no time at all, when she had no more strength left, she sagged in his embrace. Her legs refused to support her anymore.

  Tiernan turned her around and scooped her up into his arms. He cradled her, whispering soft words in Gaelic, a language she’d heard but didn’t understand.

  The words soothed her, yet they didn’t. Nothing would calm the pain eating away at her heart. Nothing she did, nothing he did, could bring back her mother.

  Rain continued to pound down upon them. Copper’s hair was drenched and tumbled across her eyes. Her face, arms, and legs were wet, but the vine and leaf dress remained dry, as the Faerie magic shielded it. Tiernan continued to speak in the strange tongue as he gently stroked hair away from her face.

  She found herself gripping his wet leather shirt, burying her face against him, and crying so hard she thought she’d never stop.

  Tiernan’s heart ached for Copper, and it was almost as if her pain were his. He felt every scream, every sob, to his very bones.

  Eventually Copper collapsed from exhaustion in Tiernan’s arms. Her grip on his shirt lessened and cries no longer spilled from her lips. Her body sagged and her eyelids fluttered and closed, but her body continued to shake.

  Tiernan carried her through the endless rain to the small rock shelter. Her skin was cold against his chest, and he knew he needed to give her what warmth he could. He settled her on her side in the shelter so that her back was facing him, and he crawled in after her.

  He took his coat and covered her with it. He wrapped his arm around her waist as he molded his body to her length, tucking her head under his chin and holding his arm tight around her belly.

  He held her, wishing there were some way to take away her pain.

  When Copper woke, her eyelids felt heavy and swollen. Her head ached and pounded as if her heart beat inside it. Pain shot through her as she moved her arms. Her whole body felt as if she had been running and running for days.

  For a moment she felt disoriented, as if she’d had a bad dream that she couldn’t quite remember.

  Then everything came rushing back to her.

  Her mother was dead. Dead.

  Pressure built behind her eyes, but no tears would come, as if she were beyond crying. Her pain was so intense that she was aware of nothing else.

  Numbness and disbelief at losing her mother made her heart ache as if it were actually breaking. It took her breath away and it felt as though she couldn’t inhale. She was so swamped with an emptiness, a hollowness she knew would never go away.

  Anger rose from so deep inside it felt like evil tingling through her limbs. At that moment she hated the Ancestors, the gods and goddesses, and everyone else in all the worlds. She felt forsaken, alone, cheated.

  Something stirred behind her and she stiffened. She felt a firm body melded against hers, and something unfamiliar draped over her. When she glanced down she saw a man’s arm wrapped around her belly.

  Tiernan. The man she had somehow summoned. The D’Danann warrior who had given her the news of her mother’s death.

  A part of her felt relief that her sister and father had lived, but the pain of Moondust being taken from her was so great she could barely think of anything else.

  She turned over, her muscles protesting with her movements. When she faced the man, she found his eyes open, his expression one of concern.

  Tears she didn’t think existed washed down her cheeks and she buried her face against his chest again and cried.

  When her tears would no longer come, she let out a long shuddering sigh. She felt warm, cared for in his strong arms, even though she didn’t know him. His scent of leather, male, and rain somehow comforted her.

  She drew back a little in the cramped quarters and wiped the back of one of her hands across her eyes. “Thank you.”

  “There is nothing to thank me for,” he said in that deep Irish brogue. “If I had acted sooner—perhaps she would have lived.”

  Copper stilled, and her throat nearly closed off. She forced herself to swallow. “I would like to get up, please.”

  Tiernan rolled away from her and into the early morning sunlight. He crouched and extended his hand to help her out of the shelter.

  Copper allowed him to assist her in getting to her feet, but then she mumbled, “I need a few moments alone.”

  After she shrugged off the coat and tossed it into the shelter, she walked around the long outcropping of rock and went to the location she used to relieve herself. She always buried her remains. The Fae cared for the place with magic and it never smelled or looked bad. It simply appeared to be a clean patch of
earth.

  When she returned, she avoided Tiernan’s gaze and cleansed her hands in the portion of the stream that flowed into the lower basin. Water dribbled over that basin and vanished into the ground, between rocks and the earth.

  The water felt cold and bracing, and seemed to reduce the pain in her hands from slamming her fists against the tree. Her hands were swollen and raw and it was hard for her to even open them.

  She splashed a large handful of water on her face. The swelling of her eyelids and the ache in her head seemed to lessen as she splashed handful after handful of water onto her face.

  When she thought she could look at him without bursting into tears again, Copper turned to Tiernan. He had simply stood and watched her, waiting for her to finish.

  She almost threw herself back into his arms, needing to feel that human closeness to comfort her. Even though he wasn’t human. Even though she really didn’t know this man—this D’Danann.

  Instead she shook the water from her hands and looked toward the apple tree. Her voice sounded rusty and unused as she spoke. “That’s your breakfast unless the Faeries are in a particularly good mood.”

  He didn’t say anything, just looked to one of the flatter rocks on the outcropping. She glanced at it and saw more food than the Fae had ever left her before, and she almost burst into tears again. They must have felt her pain, must have offered the food as a way of expressing their sorrow for her.

  All Fae foods were now familiar to her, but the Fae had never given her so much at one time: a pile of pine nut seed cakes; apple chews; bread made from roots that tasted like pumpkin, along with a flower petal butter to spread over it; and wild berry tarts with the shell made of grass blended with seeds and nectar. It didn’t sound very appetizing, but the Fae had a way of making everything taste delicious.

  Some kind of creamy Fae salve that smelled of marigolds rested on a large leaf from the apple tree, and she knew it was meant to apply to the wounds on her fists.

  The first thing she did was spread it over her hands. At once the swelling lessened and the pain and cuts vanished so that her skin looked normal again. As she was a witch, her wounds generally healed faster than normal, but this salve was amazing.