Bedeviled

by Maureen Child

  “Bezel—”

  “What loop? What’s happening, and where is Nora?” Maggie gave him a shake, but her fierce gaze was fixed on Culhane.

  He still wouldn’t look at her. Instead he spoke to Bezel. “They’ve gone, then?”

  “Yeah.” Bezel muttered something, then spoke up. “A little while ago. In the middle of the damn night. You know, I need my sleep. Pixies get meaner than drowning trolls when they don’t get sleep.”

  “And usually you’re such a ray of sunshine!” Maggie gave him a shake.

  “Watch the velvet, okay? My wife made me this suit, and Fontana’ll kill me if I let a human tear it. Trust me, you don’t want to see my wife mad.” Scowling fiercely enough to make every one of his numerous wrinkles become a chasm on his face, he said, “The kid woke me up. Startled me so bad I fell out of the damn tree. Nearly broke my neck.”

  “Nearly isn’t good enough,” Maggie pointed out. “What the hell is going on here?”

  “Oh, for the sake of pixie children, leave me be,” Bezel shouted up at her. “Shake me again and I’ll barf. On you.”

  “Barf?”

  “Heave,” Bezel translated for Culhane.

  “You’re a disgusting little troll,” he said.

  “Hey, it’s not my fault!” Bezel kicked to be free, and that didn’t help either, since his huge feet were well above the floor. “Nobody tells me a damned thing.”

  “Is someone going to tell me what’s happening to my family?”

  Bezel shot Culhane a look that said clearly it was up to him to do the talking. If it weren’t for the blasted pixie interfering, Culhane would have had another day or two to introduce her to the rest of Otherworld. To take her to the scholar. To expand her knowledge, her training, before throwing down his ultimatum.

  Now there was no choice.

  “Nora is with Quinn.”

  Maggie’s eyes narrowed on him and glittered dangerously. “She wouldn’t have left Eileen alone, so I’m guessing she didn’t go willingly.”

  He nodded. “Quinn took her, according to my instructions.”

  Why?” Her eyes were cold. Hard. Like slivers of sapphire flashing with chilly light.

  “As leverage,” he said, lifting his chin and giving her the stare that had been known to quell uprisings. “We will keep your sister to ensure you do what you have to do.”

  “You’re blackmailing me?”

  “She won’t be harmed.”

  “And I’m supposed to take your word for that?”

  “Hey!” Bezel shouted. “Stop shaking me! Better yet, put me down and I’ll get outta here. Sounds like you two need a minute alone.”

  “Not a chance, Tinker Bell.”

  “Hey!”

  “Where is she?” Maggie looked at Culhane and demanded that he tell her.

  “She’s safe. For now. Quinn will protect her.”

  “Protect her.”

  Insulted, Culhane announced, “Quinn is a Fae warrior. One of my best.”

  “Uh-huh. So he’s a Faery bastard, like you.”

  Bezel laughed, and the sound was appalling.

  “The only one Nora needs protection from, Culhane, is you.”

  Culhane stepped in close, ignored the thrashing pixie, and stared into Maggie’s eyes. Only moments ago they’d burned with passion. Now the cold was so deep, so complete, he felt the chill of her stare slide into his bones. Yet this was as it had to be. This was too important to risk Maggie losing her nerve, refusing to fight. As long as they held Nora he knew that Maggie would do whatever was necessary.

  “Do you really believe that?” Now that the matter was out, he decided to emphasize the importance of what was happening.

  Keeping his gaze fixed on hers despite the hatred shining out at him, he started talking. “You were nearly killed by a demon.”

  “That was about me, not Nora.”

  “There are other demons roaming your world. Rogue Fae, too, walking your streets, preying on humanity. No one in your plane of existence is safe.”

  “My family’s not involved in this.”

  “Of course they are; don’t be a fool. By reason of being your sister, not to mention part-Fae herself, Nora is a great prize. What better way to manipulate the chosen one than to hold her family hostage?”

  “I guess you ought to know.”

  Bezel wheezed out a chuckle, and, irritated beyond reason, Culhane pried the little creature from Maggie’s fingers and let him go. Turning to him, he ordered, “Go back to the house. Watch over Eileen.”

  “Him?” Maggie’s outrage was clear in her shout. “You’re sending Bezel to watch over Eileen?”

  “I can do it,” he said, brushing fussily at the lapels of his coat. “I got teenagers of my own. Said I don’t like kids, not that I can’t take care of ’em. I can handle her.”

  “What about everything else out there?” Maggie threw a venomous look at both of them. “If Nora’s in danger, then so is Eileen.”

  “Please.” Bezel snorted, then stroked his straggly beard with one hand. “Like I can’t handle a pesky demon. A little pixie dust. A little magic. Don’t worry about the kid,” he said. “Looks like you got bigger problems right now.”

  She turned on Culhane again. “You took Nora to make sure I’d play your game.”

  He sighed. “Yes. You should be grateful.”

  “Oh yeah?” Stunned, she gave him a wide-eyed stare. “Why’s that?”

  “Nora is safer with Quinn than she would be at your home.”

  “I don’t know whether to believe you or not,” she admitted, and that barb hit home.

  To a Fae warrior there was nothing more important than his honor. To have the woman he wanted question his word was an insult that stabbed at him.

  He blew out an exasperated breath.

  “Are we done?” Bezel snapped.

  “Go,” Culhane ordered.

  The pixie drew a circle in the air with the tip of one finger, and a pale wash of gold light defined it. The air within the circle swirled and crackled with energy. Bezel tossed another look at Culhane. “Next time don’t be so blasted stingy with the information, huh?”

  Then he stepped through the portal and it closed up behind him, leaving Culhane and Maggie alone with only a cloud of simmering fury standing between them.

  “You shouldn’t have done this, Culhane.”

  “I shouldn’t have had to,” he corrected. “But with your sister under my protection I know you won’t retreat. You’ll fight now. And you’ll win.”

  Her mouth flattened into a grim line. “I’ll never forgive you for this.”

  “So be it,” he said. Reaching for her, he took her shoulders in a hard, firm grip and loomed over her until she was forced to tip her head back to stare up into his eyes. “Know this, Maggie Donovan: I do what I must to protect my people. It is what I was bred for. What I have known for longer than you can even imagine.”

  “You had no right, you bastard.”

  She struggled in his grasp, but Culhane’s grip on her was too strong for her to escape him until he wished it. “I make no apologies for doing my duty. I will use whom I must, do what I must to protect those who depend on me.”

  She went still as stone then. “What about Nora? What about me? We don’t get your protection?”

  “You do. You already have it. Nora is in no danger as long as—”

  “I do what I’m told?” she finished for him.

  He nodded. “You’re angry.”

  “Damn straight.”

  “Good. Feed the fire of your fury. Lock it down deep inside you. Hold it close and allow it to burn.”

  “No problem.” Reaching up, Maggie carefully peeled his hands from her shoulders. When he was no longer touching her, she turned her face up to his and looked into those pale eyes that were at once both familiar and strange. She’d thought the two of them were getting closer. Even half thought she could seriously fall for this Fae warrior with no sense of humor and a bad attitude.<
br />
  Now, though, she knew the truth.

  There was nothing between them.

  Probably never had been. A part of her was sorry for that, because despite knowing what he’d done, what he would do, Maggie would miss what might have been.

  “You hate me, I know,” he said, and even the music in his voice sounded bitter to her now. “Use that hatred of me to help you find the strength to end this.”

  “I will,” she promised, closing her heart to him, refusing to listen to the clamoring in her blood or the pounding of her heart. “Oh, and Culhane, if hatred is power, then let me tell you—I’m strong enough right now to defeat Mab without breaking a sweat.”

  “He’s not as bad as you think.”

  Maggie forced a smile for McCulloch. The man was almost as tall as Culhane and nearly as gorgeous. His shoulders were broad, his dark red hair was practically the same shade as Maggie’s own and he wore a neatly trimmed goatee. His dark green eyes were filled with understanding as he watched her.

  As Culhane’s friend, he obviously felt bound to defend him, but nothing he could say would take the sting out of what had happened.

  “You’re right,” she said. “He’s probably worse.”

  “Females,” the warrior mused, “are ever a mystery to me.” He walked with her through the garden toward a splash of sunshine breaking through the shade of the trees. “You know what his burdens are, yet you refuse to forgive him for doing only what he must.”

  “Y’know,” Maggie said, stopping suddenly and forcing the warrior to do the same, “not really interested in his pain right now. Still too pissed to do anything but hope he’s miserable.”

  “You have your wish.” McCulloch gave her a half bow, took her arm and steered her once again toward that golden light within the dark shade of the forest. “He is torn between what he knows is right and what he desires.”

  “Still not making me feel any better.” But then, nothing could. She hadn’t seen Culhane since the day before. He’d left her in his rooms after their argument, and she’d had nothing to distract her from her thoughts, her worries, her fears. The damn Faery had lied to her. Kidnapped her. Stolen her sister. Was she supposed to be Saint Maggie or something and say, All is forgiven?

  Well, screw that.

  He wasn’t forgiven. How could she forgive him when she knew that Nora was off somewhere with the Viking, and Eileen was alone with only a crabby pixie to watch out for her?

  He’d screwed with her life. Messed with her family. Twisted her up inside until she spent every night wrapped in hot, erotic dreams of him, thanks to that spectacular, bone-searing, hormone-igniting kiss.

  In spite of everything, she missed him, damn it.

  She kicked a rock on the path and heard it scuttle off under the bushes. Then she turned a dark look on the warrior walking beside her. “Where are we going, anyway?”

  “Sanctuary.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You’ll see that soon enough.”

  “Cryptic. You’re all so freaking cryptic. What is up with that?” Frustrated, Maggie demanded, “None of you can give me a straight answer. Is it a Fae thing or a warrior thing?” She paused. “Never mind. Probably a male thing.”

  His eyebrows lifted.

  “How come you’re the one taking me to this sanctuary, anyway?”

  He shrugged, a simple motion that had his broad shoulders lifting and falling like Mount Everest during an earthquake. Seriously huge, these guys.

  “It’s easier for me to take you.” He shot a guarded look about them, as if searching for hidden enemies. Apparently reassured, he continued. “Culhane is the leader of the warrior race. When he goes out he’s noticed. And anyone he’s with is noticed. No one is paying attention to where I go and what I do.”

  “Uh-huh. You believe what you want to. But the bottom line is, you’re telling me that Culhane was too afraid to face me.” Small consolation, but all things considered, she’d take it.

  “A Fae warrior,” McCulloch said, lifting his chin and firming his mouth, “fears nothing.” He thought about it for a moment, then added, “Except perhaps for his woman.”

  That brought her up short. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and turned her face into the wind. “I’m not his woman, and how caveman does that sound, anyway?”

  “Caveman?” He shook his head. “No matter. You are his woman, Maggie Donovan. Whether he knows it or not. I can see it in him.”

  “Then you need your eyes checked, big guy.” Disgusted, she continued. “The only reason he wants me is because he needs me to fight Mab.”

  “That is only a part of it, I believe.”

  “Right.” Her voice dripped sarcasm. “Culhane’s crazy about me. That’s why he’s so nice. So understanding. So freaking honest.”

  “I’ve known Culhane from the beginning,” McCulloch said softly.

  “Beginning of what?”

  He shrugged. “Beginning of all.”

  She couldn’t prevent one word from slipping out. “Wow.”

  “As you say. It is a long time. I’ve never, before this, seen him concern himself with the feelings of others. Not even those he defends.” He looked at her and said, “Always, his duty has been clear to him. This time, though, there’s something else pulling at him. Making him hesitate to do what must be done. And I can only guess that something is you. He doesn’t want to hurt you, even though he knows he may have to. You are . . . important to him.”

  If she was so freaking important, he wouldn’t have set her up like he had. Wouldn’t have used her own hormones against her. Hell, he was seducing her into being the Chosen One he wanted so badly. Then, just in case his seductive powers were a little lacking, he kidnapped her sister as a backup plan.

  Oh yeah. Fae in love. Watch out.

  “Oh, well, aren’t I special.” Maggie snorted. “Culhane’s concerned that his kidnap/blackmail victim is upset. He’s so worried that he’s hurt me, he’s holding my sister hostage. Wait. I feel a tear coming on. A Faery with a heart of gold, that’s what he is, all right.”

  He laughed, and the booming roll of it thundered around her like a sudden storm. “You are just what Culhane needs, Maggie Donovan. He’s spent too many millennia seeing nothing but fear and awe in the eyes of others.”

  “Fear and awe?” She poked McCulloch’s chest with her index finger. “None of that here, let me tell you. And just so you know, I’m not interested in being what Culhane needs.” Liar, liar. “The only thing I want from that no-good, lying Faery bastard is . . .” Problem: She didn’t know what she wanted from him.

  Well, not entirely true. She wanted to kick Culhane where it would hurt him for a century or two. And she wanted to yell at him some more. Then there was the fact that she just plain wanted him. Could that be more annoying?

  Still chuckling, McCulloch said, “Ah, it’s good to laugh again. There’s been too little of it in Otherworld these last years.”

  Maggie didn’t want to care; she really didn’t. But she’d met the warriors, she’d seen the people, and damn it, she was getting drawn into this whether she liked it or not. Grumbling under her breath, she heard herself ask, “Is it really that bad here?”

  He sighed. “Not if you’re female. Queen Mab uses her warriors to fight her battles, but once the war is won she has no use for us. Other Fae males have no place at all in our society.” His voice went to steel. “It must change.”

  “And I’m supposed to accomplish all that?”

  McCulloch looked down at her and smiled. “You have only to complete your destiny. The rest will come.”

  There was more. There had to be. But just like Culhane, this warrior knew how to keep secrets. Seemed like she’d never get just a straight answer out of anybody.

  Worse, even if they gave her a straight answer, she couldn’t be sure she could believe them. What the hell kind of upside-down life had she toppled into?

  This was all Joe’s fault.

  Dating a man-eating
demon. Ending up a snack. What had he been thinking?

  “Are you ready?”

  She snapped out of it, looked up at the warrior and frowned. “Do I get a choice?”

  “No.”

  “Then I’m ready.”

  He smiled as if he were enjoying himself, and hey, it was nice that somebody was. Then he drew a golden circle in the air, just as Bezel had to return to her world. The inside of the circle shuddered and shook, and the wind blowing from it was warm and smelled of lemons and flowers.