by Claudy Conn
“Don’t touch me!” I snapped.
Cole laughed and said, “Want me to put him in the ground, Dilly? I’m not sure I can, but I’m more than willing to give it a go.”
“I’d like to see you try, vampire,” Kallem said, turning his irritation towards Cole.
“Stop it, Kallem,” I shouted, and looked at my friend and smiled proudly. “Cole has always stood as my friend, in every situation.” I threw Cole a smile and turned back to Kallem and said, more for Kallem’s benefit than Cole’s, “I think, Cole, like you said, I’ve got this.” I looked into Kallem’s eyes and asked, “What were you thinking when you were busy charming me—seducing me? Did you think, ah, well, you’d have a little fun with the witch, add variety to your humdrum Fae life?”
“Baby,” his tone pleaded. “It isn’t true.” He reached for me and managed to get hold of my hand. “Don’t run from me, Dilly…”
It was what I had been about to do, but I said, “I don’t run…from anybody.”
“Then don’t do it now. You are my mate, not Elva, not anyone else. When have I ever lied to you?”
I swayed as my mind centered on his question and I tried to come up with a time he had lied. Instead, I said, “Why would a princess say you are her mate if you aren’t? Why did she track you to the Human World…take you back to Daoine if you are not her mate!” I gritted my teeth.
He still had my hand and on this he pulled me up close. We were nearly touching.
Cole said, “Need me, Dilly?”
“It’s okay, Cole.”
Kallem growled and there was a plea behind the demand, “You will listen to me, baby. Elva is a Seelie princess. My queen attempted to arrange a match between our two Royal Houses. You know that ours is a fairly new House, the Fifth House of Daoine. The two queens—Seelie and Daoine—wanted to unite both factions in ways that will make us stronger. They thought a marriage between our two houses would do that. I did not think so, and even if I had, I would not agree to such an antiquated way to accomplish that goal.” He shook his head. “Queen Mab tried everything she knew to get me to accept the match, but I rejected it. A match that has to last for eternity is not something I wanted without love. I told both queens and Elva that I wasn’t the one for her. I thought Elva had accepted my decision.”
“Obviously, she didn’t, so you must have given her reason to hope?” I lifted my brow.
“Granted, she continued to call on me and I was never cruel…I didn’t want to hurt her, but I believed she understood that I wasn’t going to change my mind.” He made an odd sound, something like a groan. “Dilly, sweetheart, you are my mate. Did I not make it clear enough to Elva? I don’t accept that. I believe I had, short of spitting in her face. I suppose I didn’t realize she still had hopes. She tracked me to Zelda’s and then to Mac’s house and brought my condition to the attention of the queen. It was the queen who healed me. Elva didn’t heal me…the queen did. Got it? Elva isn’t my mate. You are, and I told the queen that you and I are bonded mates. Only moments ago, she accepted our union. Shall I take you to Daoine Court and make the announcement now for all the Universe to hear?”
We stood staring at one another. I know he was waiting for me to react.
Cole said, “Give the guy a break.”
I laughed nervously and then it all welled up and I melted into Kallem’s arms and wailed, because I couldn’t hold back any longer, “Kallem. When I thought you…had…lied, I thought I wouldn’t stop breaking. It felt as though I was shattering into fragments.”
“Never, never will you doubt me again. Say it?”
“I will never doubt you again,” I answered, hoping I wouldn’t.
“If you two are done making up, I think I’ll go mosey off,” Cole said, with a special smile for me.
“No, wait, Cole…you two have to be friends,” I said, reaching for Cole’s arm. “Kallem, this is Cole. We are best friends—get it? He is in my life and a part of my life, so he is in yours.”
They nodded to one another.
I sighed then and yanked Kallem’s T-shirt. “Kallem, everything here on Rucker is falling apart.”
“We know. The queen felt a shift in the Fae Realms. She has monitored a change in the Rucker atmosphere. I am here with her blessings to help Rucker in any way I can. Remember, I explained, what happens in either Rucker or the Human World greatly affects the Fae World as well.”
Cole stood straight. “Do you know how to stop the beast from getting any further along?”
“I don’t, nor does the queen, but I mean to find out,” Kallem said, and then cocked an eyebrow at me. “Must I like this vampire even if I don’t?”
I laughed. “Oh Kallem, this is wonderful. You do like him. I see it in your brilliant eyes.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Cole said, “I like him, too, but at the moment, it doesn’t matter. What we need is…”
“To find a way into the Dark Chamber,” I finished for Cole.
“No, you don’t. I won’t allow you to go into the Dark Chamber.” Kallem frowned darkly at me.
“You won’t allow me?” My hands flew into the air and one of them made a fist and punched him at his waist. Couldn’t make a dent, even there.
He smiled sweetly at me and offered, “It would greatly upset me if you went into the Dark Chamber. It is said even a Fae could be lost to the treachery of Dark Magic within those walls.”
“Well, Morlan is insane and besides that, he doesn’t know how to stop what is happening. This beast thingy is non-stop eating away at the core, going deeper and deeper. The spell we need is in the Chamber. Gramps is trying to figure things out, but we don’t have time,” I said.
“Even if Morlan actually knew how to stop it,” Cole added. “He wouldn’t. He thinks he will create a brand new world after the beast destroys this one.”
“Dilly, I’ll be back soon. I have to go see this thing up close,” Kallem said, and touched my cheek with his palm.
“I’m coming with you,” I told him.
“Me too,” Cole said.
I turned to Cole and touched his arm. “Cole…I’ll catch up with you soon. I need a few moments alone with Kallem.”
Cole always understood. He immediately nodded and said, “Sure, I’ll check in with you later…at your grandfather’s cabin?”
“Yes, at the cabin. Are we good?” I said to his retreating form.
He looked over his shoulder and said, “Always.”
I saw Kallem and Cole exchange a glance—I think of understanding where each stood in my life. At least, I hoped that was what the ‘look’ meant.
Just then, I saw a pretty vamp sway her way up to Cole and link her arm through his. He smiled wickedly and wiggled a brow at me, and I laughed out loud as I watched him take her onto the dance floor.
I turned to Kallem, who took my hand to his lips. “Baby, never doubt me again. We are forever.”
I felt warm all over and the next thing I knew, we were shifting. As we stepped out of the shift and he kissed my lips, he murmured, “And don’t worry, as long as Cole doesn’t get too hands-on with you, I may find I like him.”
~ Seven ~
WE STOOD AT THE precipice of the canyon that had been created when the beast arrived in Rucker.
It had only been a day since I was here last and already there was something different about the lay of the land. The cliff seemed to dip deeper into the canyon. The earth around us was dry and cracked and the air was different. There was a scent of decay and something else. It took me a few sniffs before I realized what it was…oil, not just oil taken from the earth, but processed oil, like motor oil. How was that possible?
Then I saw splashes of the thick black stuff along the walls of the canyon.
“Motor oil?” I said to Kallem. “Do you smell it…see it there…and there…oh my gosh, it’s everywhere, Kallem.”
“Yes,” he said, frowning. “What you are calling a beast is not flesh, blood and bone of any kind. It is a machine, and it is harvest
ing pure oil and processing it within its engine. Dilly, this is very bad. When it is done here, when Rucker implodes, the machine will shut itself down and wait for a means of transportation. It is not alive in any sense. It simply is drilling for oil, its sustenance. It isn’t good or evil, and has no purpose other than to survive. I believe its original directive was lost when its own realm was destroyed.”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak. When I did, I still couldn’t think as I said, “A machine?”
“Yes, baby.” He palmed my cheek and then hugged me close.
“So we have to shut it down,” I said. “How?”
White lightning bolts shot upwards into the dusky sky above. Smoke concentrated around the center of the canyon, and the air sizzled with energy, very ugly energy.
A conflict of major proportions was at work between the White Magic and this ‘thing’. Gramps had installed a great deal of White Magic in place to keep it at bay. Kallem called it a machine. He said its original purpose had been replaced with the need to survive. I think Kallem is right. However, a machine is neither good nor evil, but my witchy instincts told me that in this case, we had to think in bolder terms. This thing, at the very least, was more than a machine. I could sense its aura and I felt almost breathless as I told Kallem, “No, it isn’t just a machine, Kallem. It is alive. Maybe not in the flesh and blood sense, but it thinks, it fights for survival…it lives.”
He frowned at me. “Perhaps. It thinks in the sense that it knows it must supply its needs. What has me baffled is…how could it be using all the quantity of oil it has taken from the earth?”
“It can’t. See how the splashes of oil reach all the way up…to that crevice?” I pointed out.
“Yes, baby…yes, you are right. It has been using some method of transporting the oil it harvests to another location for later use.”
“To use when it needs to leave Rucker before it destroys us,” I said.
Kallem closed his eyes and I had the distinct sensation that he was rummaging about in his head for something. When he opened his eyes and took my shoulders, I was sure of it.
“Baby, I checked my memories and found that Fae history told of a comparable and superior race to the Fae from another Universe. Apparently, that race brought about their own destruction when they created machines to perform complex tasks for them. The individual scientists infused each machine with his or her own DNA, thus allowing their creation to think for itself. The situation got out of hand because the machines couldn’t stop refueling themselves with their realms’ resources. In the end, the immortals of that realm destroyed their machines, but the war cost them their world. They fled for another realm, leaving the machines behind, believing their individual creations had been totally destroyed.” He raised a brow. “Apparently, one lived on, and when Morlan opened a portal looking for more dark power, this machine got through. I am not sure how, but, as I said, these machines were specifically thinking individual units.”
“So, now what?” As the smoke cleared, I looked into the canyon. What we were calling a machine looked like a beast with scales, claws, and many rowed teeth. “It looks like a monster.”
“It does, but look at what your grandfather created, which is supposed to be only white energy.”
I stared at the White Magic that had taken the form of an angel. What was going on here?
“The machine sees itself as the opposite of the force trying to control it. It has given shape to the White Magic, which no doubt resembles the immortals that created it.”
“Okay—time for action,” I said. “How do we stop it?”
“We need to send it to an empty realm. I have a place in mind, but this will take some doing.”
“If I go to the Chamber of Dark Spells, I can retrieve Gramps’ book and…”
“No, baby, no. You know in your heart that is a last resort. Allow me first to try something else.”
“What, Kallem?”
“You hear the noise it makes, like the sound of an engine revving?”
“Yes? So?”
“It is stalled in that position, busy, very busy holding off the White Magic—it believes the winged angel is from its own realm. You are right. It lives and is momentarily confused. It is resting in idle, considering its next move.”
“Okay?”
“I’m going to grab hold and shift it to another realm while it is in idle.”
“Not without me!” I screamed, and held onto him with every bit of strength I had.
He shifted us and we hung in mid-air, hovering over the beastly machine.
Watching it drool as it sort of slept, watching the eyes open sleepily and then close again, made it difficult to think of it as a machine.
Suddenly, those eyes of yellow, those snake-like eyes, were staring right at me and it was damned unnerving.
It wasn’t in idle any longer.
The scales on its dark body shivered in waves of fury as its claws struck out at us, only managing to chip away at a large chunk of the cliffside.
It moved upwards along the side of the canyon with unbelievable speed and stealth for a machine and stopped to roar its fury at us.
“Kallem, it is warning us off.”
“Which means it is concerned we have the ability to damage or stop it,” he said as we now hovered above the canyon, looking down.
That is hopeful, I thought.
“Yes, it is,” Kallem said.
“Are you in my head?” I demanded.
He grinned. In the face of all this horror, Kallem grinned and I melted. “No,” he answered. “I merely have to watch your face to know what you are thinking.”
Hmmm, I think, gotta control my expressions.
And we continued to hover just out of reach of its claws. All at once, Kallem flicked his wrist and chanted something in what I assumed was ancient Danu.
It worked.
Sorta.
The beast machine closed its eyes and made a sound I can only call a snort. It then seemed to fall asleep. Completely quiet. It wasn’t revving in idle, it was quiet. Like what?
“I can’t believe it is this easy,” I said.
“Nor I,” Kallem said. “I think this thing means to trick us.”
“So now what?”
“We retreat to that cave. We’ll shift there. The beast is playing with us. It doesn’t know what I am. I must remind it of the race that created it, but I don’t have wings, so it is trying to resolve what I am. I think it is searching its data to find that answer. It isn’t sure how to deal with me. We have to sit and wait it out for now.”
The silence in the canyon turned into a whirring sound, like a soft hum, as the machine searched its database for the answers it needed.
“S’okay by me,” I said.
Kallem shifted us to the cave, held me tightly, and bent his head.
All at once, he covered my mouth with his, and I felt his hunger sweep through me as his tongue stroked mine.
Much to my frustration, he withdrew his tongue as his lips lifted off mine, but he murmured against my lips, “Baby, you don’t know how much I love you, but I mean to show you every single day for eternity. I need you always—never doubt that, never doubt me.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him hard. All the pent up hurt vanished as our tongues danced to an age-old tune that lifted us into passion.
My kiss turned into his kiss.
His kiss turned into another and then his lips traveled to my ear. His hoarse voice whispered, “Dilly, my own Dilly, my love, it shatters me when I think…you thought…”
“Shhh,” I said. I didn’t want to think about it. Truth was all that mattered. What was the truth? Kallem and I were meant to be.
He looked away a moment and with a smile, he installed a lit torch into the damp rock wall of the cave. A flick of his wrist produced a thick black quilt with his name emblazoned in a crest in its center.
I laughed. “From your bedroom?”
“From my bed,”
he said as he lowered me first to my knees.
He joined me, his knees bumping into mine as we clasped hands, looking at one another. It was a moment I will always remember.
He bent and kissed my chin, my neck, and then hungrily licked the swells of my breasts above my now dirty black cocktail dress.
“This,” he said on a growl as he tugged at my dress, “is in my way.” Dirty dress gone.
“This…” I pulled at his jeans, “…is in my way.” I felt myself burn as his black T-shirt and jeans vanished to another part of the cave.
Damn, but his erection was long and wide. I reached for it and was barely able to get my hand around it and then, as it throbbed to my touch, I was filled with spikes of pleasure.
His response to my handling was so damn exciting. I bent and kissed the tip of his cock and then licked its length to his hairline and back up to its tip.
He moaned, said my name, and moaned again before he whispered, “Baby, you take me away…”
“I will take you away,” I murmured back as I sucked his dick into my mouth with a force that made him shout out. “Dilly...hot fuck! Dilly!”
The next thing I knew, he pulled out of my mouth and had me on my back with my legs spread wide. He stretched out and into a position that allowed him to put his face at the opening of my channel.
Oh, and I was assaulted with sensations so extreme that I immediately arched. He used his finger to accompany the machinations of his tongue. I felt I was orbiting with him in deep space.
His talented finger played at my clit as his tongue lapped the walls and oh…oh, he found my spot and vibrated me into mind-blowing eroticism. I squirmed and wiggled as the beat of my needs rose to a crescendo so extreme it bordered on pain and then an earth shattering climax sent me into an overdrive of aftershocks.
Even as my body shuddered and trembled, he was positioning himself, saying, “My beauty, my sweet beauty, you have no idea what you do to me.”
He rammed himself deep inside and just when I thought he couldn’t get much deeper, he did, and my body reacted to his skill with intensity.
