by Izzy Shows
"So, why did you come knocking on my door?" Now that I was free of babysitting the wound, I leaned against the door, having not moved back into the room after letting Shawn in.
Kailan looked at me, his eyes measuring me. "I have heard of you, Blair Sheach." A chill ran down my spine—how did he know my last name? "Your name is whispered amongst those you call monsters, often out of fear. You owe no allegiance to any faction, and that, matched with the considerable power I suspect you have, makes you the perfect mage for me. I need someone to help me hunt the Utakar. At the moment, it appears to be focused on me; not abnormal activity for the Utakar. From the little that we know about them, they like to toy with their prey. As long as they are focused on me, we have a chance."
I frowned, absorbing the information I had been given. "I still don't understand. If you are Fae, why are you coming to a mage for help? Don't you have a King or something?"
He chuckled. "Or something. We have a leader, Herne. I will admit something to you, Sheach. I do not know for a fact that you are capable of what I am asking. I do not know that anyone is. I am not willing to risk Herne, and thus far the Utakar does not seem to care about who it attacks, so much as it cares about attacking. Bringing this issue to Herne would be to bring him to Utakar’s attention. I cannot do that."
"Ah." I smirked. "So, this is a suicide mission and I’m disposable?"
Hadn't I just finished up with one of those? Although I suppose I made it out alive, so that didn't really count.
He shrugged. "Look at it how you will, I am asking for your help. Things will get a lot worse if the Utakar is allowed to have the run of your city, I can tell you that."
Damn him. That was my weakness; the safety of the city. I should learn to care less about a bunch of mortals that didn't give a rat's arse about me, but there's this weird thing called loyalty that just sucks you back in every time. No matter what, this was my city, and I was going to do everything I could to keep them safe.
"All right. I'll help you," I said.
Shawn lifted his head, as if just now paying attention to the conversation. He looked over his shoulder at me, a frown on his face. "You're going to get yourself involved with another situation that's likely to get you killed?"
"That's my thing, Shawn. You should know that by now," I said, trying for an easy smile. Shawn had put up a bit of a fight when we'd been preparing for the succubus; he hadn't wanted me to go through with it. But this was who I was, it’s what I do and I wasn't going to change for anyone.
He grunted and returned his attention to Kailan.
A few quiet moments passed before Shawn patted Kailan's leg and began packing up his doctor's bag.
"All done?"
"Yep. He should be fine, as far as mortal medicine goes. I don't know what was keeping him from healing, but I'd like to come check on him tomorrow to see how it's doing. If it's not showing signs of improving..." He sighed, lifting a hand to scratch at his head. "I don't know."
Kailan nodded. "I understand. I thank you for your services, sir, it is much appreciated."
Shawn gave him a weird look.
I laughed. "Shawn's not used to people actually saying thank you. I'm a bad patient."
"The worst," he said, walking over, and grabbing me by the waist. He tugged me close and planted a kiss on my lips. My body warmed instantly, desire thrumming in my aching muscles.
"Down boy, I need to get some rest," I said, reluctantly pulling myself away.
He pouted before smiling, letting me know that it was all OK. "I'll be back tomorrow, OK?"
"Aim for the evening. Gives it twenty-four hours to start healing, and me some time to look into the situation."
"Roger that."
I let him out of the house, double checking the wards as I put them back up. I didn't know what an Utakar was or how bad they really were, but I didn't want to take any chances now that I had its chew toy in my living room.
"All right, you get some sleep. We'll revisit this conversation tomorrow."
5
I rolled out of bed the next morning—and I do mean that literally, I rolled off the damn bed because I was so tired—and grabbed some clothes off the floor while I was down there. I shrugged out of my sleep shirt and pulled on a sports bra and black T-shirt. Off went the boxer shorts and on went the jeans. Normally I wouldn't dress first thing in the morning, but I had a house guest, and I assumed he didn't want to see my arse hanging out the bottom of my shorts. I'd never had a house guest before, and I didn't know what the protocol was, but I felt that was a safe decision. I padded barefoot out of my bedroom and into the bathroom, went through my morning routine, and came back out while I was pulling my hair into a pony tail.
Kailan was still asleep on the couch. I pitied him for a moment, thinking about how uncomfortable it must be to sleep on that couch. It wasn't the comfiest thing that existed, it had broken several years ago and was due for a replacement for a while now. But I kept it around, large in part because it had belonged to Aidan. I didn't like changing things around the house very much; it felt disrespectful.
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," I said, raising my voice so as to cut through the sleep clouding his ears.
He grunted.
Ah, the manliest of sounds. Not really, but it was certainly the one that they defaulted to the most. I rolled my eyes and went into the kitchen, fixing myself a cup of black tea. It wasn't the nicest thing in the world, but it tasted a hell of a lot better than coffee, and had a large amount of caffeine in it. I left it steeping on the counter and walked back into the living room, coming over to the couch so I could poke him.
"Wake up."
Another grunt was all the answer I got. I huffed out a sigh and placed both hands on one of his shoulders, rocking him back and forth. "I can't drag you from the couch because of that dodgy leg of yours, but I sure as hell can give you a hard time until you get your arse out of bed. Come on!"
"By all the Greats...you are a terror!" He finally sat up in bed, glaring at me.
I grinned, innocent as an angel. "What are you talking about? I'm making tea, do you want some?"
The words didn't seem to register in his head for several moments, but when the gears finally finished turning he nodded his head. "Tea. That'll do."
I quirked an eyebrow before I walked back to the kitchen. "What do you normally drink, out there in fairy land?"
"I don't think it's safe to share with a mortal. Too strong, you might try to make it, or you might find yourself in Tír na nÓg one day and ask someone for it, and then you wouldn't wake up for a century...No, it's not a good idea." His voice was still sleepy, and he yawned after talking.
I snorted. "That's ridiculous. How can one drink knock you out for a century?"
"It doesn't knock me out, but you're mortal. I have no idea what effect it would have on you."
"Is it tasty, at least?"
"Delicious."
I grinned. At least he was talking now. Getting going in the mornings can be tough—Lord knows, I am not a morning person in the slightest, but when I have shit to do, well, there's no real argument to make with yourself there. I checked the mugs of tea to make sure they were about ready before I carried them out, setting one down on the coffee table in front of Kailan. I took a seat in my usual chair, near enough to the couch to not be off putting and within reach of the table. I watched as he picked it up and gave it a cautionary sniff before he took a sip.
"What, do you think I'm serving you, mud?"
"No. I have not had tea before."
I stopped myself from laughing only after I saw how serious he was. "Wait, why not?"
"I do not have much occasion for leaving Tír na nÓg. There is too much to do there to be flitting out to the mortal realm. Besides, the Courts like to meddle with human affairs, we don't like to integrate with them unless we must."
"Yeah, I've heard some about that. There are three factions in Tír na nÓg; Summer, Winter, and the Wylde Fae. You guys used to be a p
art of one of the Courts, but you left. Is that right?"
He nodded. "You have a vague but decent understanding of the situation."
My smile was wry. "That’s me all over." I almost always ran into a situation half-arsed, not knowing what I was doing until it was already done, with only the barest amount of information to arm myself with. There just wasn't a lot of time to dig up lore when you were running around trying to save a city. Imagine if you had the world to contend with? I shuddered at the very idea of it. One city was more than enough for me. "All right, so we're getting our much needed caffeine in, that should be perking you up at least a little bit. How are you feeling, how's the leg?"
His face turned serious, and he looked down at the shredded hole in his pants where the Utakar had got him. "It hurts," he said, frowning. "But it is better. Your doctor stopping the bleeding must have assisted my healing process, giving it the time it needed to catch up. But it is still slow going."
"Good. I was hoping you wouldn't have to stay off it for a few days."
He looked at me, still frowning. "Why?"
"Because, you're going to show me where you were attacked, and I'm going to see if I can figure anything out from it."
"What are you hoping to figure out? I already know what attacked me."
"Yes, but I don't know what I'm dealing with. There could be some magical residue left over from the attack, that could let me size up the attacker somewhat, let me know if I'm dealing with a heavyweight." I had been bulking up as much as I could over the past two years—more muscle strength means more magical strength—but I somehow doubted that I was going to be able to take whatever we were dealing with on mere strength alone. If Kailan was a Fae, and there was no reason to think he wasn't, then he had to have more magic in his pinky finger than I did in my entire body. It wasn't my magic he was after; more likely it was my brains. I was going to have to be clever, and well...that was not one of my strong suits.
I sighed. I would figure it out, one way or another.
He nodded, slowly, and I could see the gear wheels in his head turning again. "It is a calculated risk, as I am sure you know. The Utakar could still be out there, could be waiting to see if I return to the location. We risk running into it, but you are right. You should know what you are dealing with, and there is no other way for you to truly know than to See."
"You said that funny," I said, frowning.
"What?"
"You said the word 'see' funny, why?"
He tilted his head to the side. "Have you never opened your third eye?"
"Uh, no, to tell you the truth I always thought that was some sort of new age nonsense."
"Incredible. You have come very far for never having relied on it. Your third eye can see the spiritual plain on top of the mortal one; it can see the true nature of anyone in front of you, as well as the energy surrounding things. If there is, in fact, any residue at the place where the Utakar attacked, you will be able to See it."
How had this never come up in conversation with Fred? Oh, but I already knew the answer to that one—I'd never asked. Fred had an incredible wealth of knowledge hidden inside that brain of his, but he didn't know what would be relevant or what wouldn't, so I always had to ask the right questions in order to get information from him. Very difficult to do when you're new to the entire experience.
I scooted to the edge of my seat, taking a sip of my tea, and cupping the mug in both hands. "What is that like? Can you show me how to do it?"
A flush stole up his cheeks. "I would prefer not to have you See me. It is considered intimate, something you do with someone you trust, or...someone you don't. An enemy. As we are neither of those, I should hope, I do not think it a good idea."
"Sorry, I didn't mean...I didn't know." I looked down at the ground. That was me all over again, always putting my foot in my mouth. I lifted my eyes once more, not wanting to hide. "But when we get there, can you show me how to do it?"
"Yes, I can."
My eyes lit up. "Awesome!"
He chuckled. "You are like a child, so eager to learn."
I blushed. "Well, you know, I don't get much in the way of opportunities. I learn what I need to when I need to, I don't usually get any kind of advance teaching. Fred's great, but he can only tell me things if I ask them, and then...well, I have other people, but one of them is very intimidating and only seems to come around when I need them, and the other I'm not really talking to right now."
He nodded. "I can understand how that would be difficult for you. You should make it a priority to work with one of them, though. An unlearned mage is a dangerous thing."
Ack. Wasn't that the truth? I was experimenting with dark magic, something that Raven wouldn't approve of, I was certain. Something that Mal, a Fallen, barely approved of. I tried not to let it show on my face, but I felt ashamed just then. When Lilith was taken care of, I was going to talk to Raven about my training. Or rather, lack thereof. They had to know enough to teach me, or at the very least they could find someone who could proactively teach me, instead of just answering questions for me.
"All right," I said, standing up. "Finish your tea and get yourself ready, we need to get to wherever you were attacked and get started with the day." I downed the rest of my tea, which had gone from scalding to just uncomfortably hot and only did minor damage on my throat. I was prepared for a lot worse, so it was a pleasant surprise that I wasn't choking the tea back up the minute after it went down. I carried my mug and went into the kitchen to wash it out.
"Are you sure that you're ready?" He spoke loudly so I could hear him. "You seem to be jumping in head first. You don't have any questions about the Utakar?"
"If I do, I'll ask them on the way. I don't believe in wasting time, and I'm sure I'll come up with more questions after we get there and try out this 'Seeing' business."
He was quiet for a moment. "I suppose that makes sense."
I grinned as I came back out to the living room. "Are you just going to sit on that couch or are you going to get ready? Hup, hup!"
His eyebrows jumped and his eyes widened just a smidge. "All right then."
6
It didn't take us very long to get to the outskirts of the forest where Kailan had been attacked. He was lucky, he'd already been on his way to see me, having discovered that he was on the wrong side of a hunting expedition. We got out of the car and started for the forest, Kailan limping along beside me. I walked slowly, so as not to put too much pressure on him to keep up. I knew it had to be hard with a leg like that; I'd had a damaged leg more than once that Shawn had to patch up. It's never a fun experience.
"Why were you in the woods?" I tried to make conversation, feeling uncomfortable in the silence that permeated between us.
"It's where the Bridge left me," he said.
"The Bridge?"
"Yes, that's how you go between Tír na nÓg and the mortal realm. There are Bridges that exist at various different points across your globe, but you could theoretically forge one anywhere, if you had the power and the skill, of course."
I nodded, taking that in. Bridges. That made sense to some degree, bridges between worlds. I hadn't expected to feel so thrown by the information Kailan kept giving me; you'd think you'd be accustomed to weirdness after learning you're a mage and taking down a necromancer, not to mention all the other weird shit that had happened between now and then. But apparently, there was still some room left for shock in me.
"So, was this a Bridge that you created, or one that already existed?"
"One that already existed. I don't have the skill to create them, I never bothered to learn. Bit of a folly in retrospect, but you do what you can with what you're given, eh?" He grinned at me, winking.
I tried really hard, but couldn't quite resist rolling my eyes at him. "So, why do they exist where they do exist?"
"Hm, that's a good question. I do not know that my answer is entirely correct, but it is what I know. They are either spots where magic has been wor
ked to a considerable degree, or an area that has seen much in the way of passage between the realms. If enough Bridges are constructed in one location, it has the ability to become permanent."
"Wait, so you're saying it's possible that this one exists because a bunch of Fae keep trucking back and forth? Near my house? That's a little freaky."
He snorted. A surprising sound from someone who had worked hard to maintain an elegant demeanor. "Did you not consider that it would be the former? You are a mage, I am sure you have worked magic by your house for quite some time now. It is not impossible to think a Bridge would be constructed near you."
I chewed on my lip, aware that I sounded a little a foolish now. Aidan had lived in the house before me, the Gods above only knew what he got up to. It wasn't that strange to think a Bridge could have been built from that alone. I huffed out a sigh.
"All right, you've got me there," I said.
"Is it such a repellent thought, that Fae would come and go near you?" He turned to look at me as he spoke, and I thought I caught a flicker of hurt in his eyes.
"I don't know anything about Fae, Kailan...it can't come as a surprise that I wouldn't want to be surrounded by a species I know nothing at all about."
"Hm." He nodded. "I suppose you have a point there."
We walked on in silence for several minutes. It felt as though we were being swallowed whole by the woods, after just a little walking it was already impossible to see past the trees if you turned around and looked back. A nervous shiver passed through me, and I had the sudden thought that I might be an idiot. I had come out to the woods alone with a stranger, based on a feeling from Fred and only the things the stranger had said. This was the kind of thing that got people killed in the movies.
"How much further is it?" I couldn't take the silence a moment longer even though it made me sound like a kid in the back of a car.
"Not much," he said. "Are you all right?"
"Oh, I don't know, just thinking about how I've allowed myself to be dragged out to the woods by someone I don't know so they could shish kabob me. You?"
