Fae

by Jennifer Bene

  “Then what are you going to do with me?” Fae was still fuming, her breath huffing out quickly.

  “I don’t know.” Kiernan’s head was pounding. He still hadn’t even thought through what was happening yet, and he needed some fucking space. He needed her body not to be pressed against his, and he needed his own body to get with the program and calm down.

  “Are you going to take me back there?”

  No.

  The answer popped into his head, but that didn’t make sense. It was stupid, because taking her back would be the easiest solution to this. Everything all cleaned up, nice and neat – except, even the idea of handing her over to Butler made Kiernan’s skin crawl and that dark part of him wake up for totally different reasons. His brain wasn’t working right, so he gave the only answer he could, “I don’t know.”

  Fae’s brows came together again as she stared up at him. “So you’re going to keep me here?”

  “I’m not sure,” he mumbled. Fae rolled her eyes at that.

  “What the fuck do you want with me then?” Fae tugged on her wrists again to punctuate the question and Kiernan eased off.

  “Nothing. I don’t want anything.”

  “Yeah, right.” Fae arched her back and jerked her arms hard, which broke Kiernan’s loose hold on her wrists. Twisting her body she threw him off her and kicked both feet into his stomach. He shouted in surprise but in an instant she had flipped over, and was running flat out to his bedroom, grabbing the sword from the floor on the way. He tried to scramble after her, but she slammed the door and he heard the little mechanism on the handle flip that locked it. When he got there, Kiernan’s fist banged into the door and he growled in frustration.

  “Fae, dammit, I am not going to hurt you. Open the door!” She wasn’t responding, and he had to take a slow breath to calm down. The door to his bedroom was thick and he really didn’t want to break it down, or shift into the room and terrify her further. Also, none of that would really sell his whole ‘not wanting to hurt her’ claim.

  “Kiernan! You here?” Cole’s voice rang out from the living room, and his heart went into triple time. Things were only going from bad to worse.

  “Stay in there and stay quiet, please, for both our sakes.” Kiernan pressed his head against the door and talked as loudly as he dared before walking back to the living room, which didn’t exactly look normal as Cole and Eryn both turned to him. The shattered statue was on the floor, the scabbard from the sword was sticking out from under his television stand, and there was water scattered across the floor from the melting snow.

  Oh yeah, this looked great.

  “Hey man, you just disappeared.” Cole looked concerned, although he was thankfully a little drunk. Kiernan smiled and shrugged a shoulder which made his side ache where Fae had kicked him, she might have cracked a rib.

  “I felt like I forgot something here, wanted to come check on it. And anyway, I’m not in the mood to get obliterated with the guys.” Kiernan tried to act casual and steady his breathing as Eryn was looking around the room. He watched as his eyes landed on the shattered statue, Kiernan’s damp jeans, and the puddle of water next to his boots.

  “And you decided to what? Walk through water on your way back? And destroy whatever that was?” Eryn pushed a piece of the statue with the toe of his boot.

  “Actually I made a pit stop back in the jungle to make sure I hadn’t left anything behind, ended up stepping in the river when I tried to wash my shoes off, and wasn’t focused when I came back here so I bumped into the statue.” Kiernan choked out a laugh which sounded as fake as his story, “I’m an idiot, what can I say?”

  Eryn’s face didn’t change, and his expression was guarded and serious as his eyes scanned the room. Cole stumbled forward and put an arm around Kiernan.

  “Who cares, would you please come back and finish drinking with us? You’re still standing and that’s not right. You had the biggest kill of the trip!” Cole swayed and pulled on Kiernan to keep himself steady.

  “I went with you so you could have a tiger skin rug for your cabin, remember? The kill’s all yours.” Kiernan waved a hand across his apartment which was in blacks, whites, and grays. “It doesn’t really go with my style.”

  “Okay, fine, but come drink with us at least.” Cole was whining and Eryn was watching him closely - he didn’t have a choice. Kiernan tightened his jaw and finally nodded.

  “Alright, I’ll meet you there. I need to change my jeans and clean up this crap, alright? I’ll be there in fifteen.” Cole cheered and Eryn nodded, finally moving his eyes back to Kiernan.

  “See you there. Soon.” Eryn placed a hand on Cole’s shoulder, Cole gave a fake salute, and then they both disappeared.

  Turning around, Kiernan pushed a hand through his hair again and tried to breathe. His heart was pounding, and the clock was ticking as he walked back to the door to his bedroom. This time he knocked on it and waited.

  “Fae, come on.” He called through the door, trying to remember if he had a spare key for the door anywhere, when it suddenly cracked a little. Kiernan waited to see if it would open further, but it didn’t so he pushed it with one hand and it swung open to reveal Fae in that way too short green dress holding his sword like she was ready to kill him. Somehow that just translated to him being unable to move his eyes from her legs and her hips.

  Maybe he did have a death wish.

  “You didn’t tell them about me.” When Fae spoke in a normal voice, not on the verge of panic, or screaming viciously at him, it was soft and almost lyrical. He could hear the hint of their old accent, but it was completely overrun by the random languages she had spoken since.

  “I told you, I don’t want to hurt you, and they would have definitely hurt you. If Gormahn found out about your master, he’d have them - he’d have us - kill you.” Kiernan spoke seriously, and Fae adjusted her grip on the sword before slowly lowering it. Not that it meant much, she could kill him just as easily with it resting at her side.

  “Okay. So why don’t you kill me?” Her words were so honest that he flinched.

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Right, and what are they going to do about it if they find out I’m here?” Fae’s brows came together as she stared at him.

  “Probably kill you, and me as well, but like I said, I am still not going to hurt you.” Kiernan took a step back from her to show he wasn’t going to rush her or try to disarm her.

  “So you keep saying.” She shifted her weight from side to side, obviously making a decision. “I guess I’m willing to listen to you, but if you touch me again I’ll kill you. And if I don’t like what I hear, I’m gone, and you will let me leave.” She brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear and let the tip of the sword rest against the floor. Her back was straight and even though he’d already bested her once that morning, she was still defiant, skilled, and holding a weapon - so he nodded in agreement to her terms.

  “I want to talk to you about this, I want to explain myself, but if I don’t go back with them they’re going to come back here, and I can’t risk them finding you. I won’t be gone long though, and there’s food in the kitchen and you can watch TV.” Kiernan had turned back towards the living room when he paused, “You know what a TV is right?” Fae rolled her eyes and swung the sword up to rest on her shoulder.

  “Of course I know what a TV is, I’m not an idiot, and I’ve seen them before.” Fae responded bitingly and Kiernan put his hands up and walked down the hallway. He turned away from her before the smile tugged at his lips. She was so damn feisty.

  “Okay, well, here it is.” He picked up one of several remotes on the TV stand and started pressing buttons and telling her about the surround sound and satellite and his blu-ray player. Finally, he noticed the confusion on her face and stopped and handed her one remote which she leaned forward to take from his hand. “Just use this one to browse the channels, up and down, volume, up and down.”

  “Thanks.” Fae smiled with bitt
er sarcasm and stepped back from him again. With a sigh Kiernan turned to head back to his bedroom to change, but he stopped.

  “Listen, please don’t leave while I’m gone. I want to talk about this, and anyway, in what you’re wearing you’d attract a lot of attention. This is a big city, and I don’t know who you’d run into, or if someone might lay a claim to you.”

  “Where am I?” Fae looked past him out the windows at the gray skies.

  “Seattle, Washington. In the US. Will you stay inside? Will you wait for me to come back?” Kiernan kind of felt like he was pleading with her, especially when Fae didn’t respond for a moment, but finally she nodded.

  “I’ll stay inside until you return. As far as other people,” she shrugged, “I can handle myself.” Fae was looking out the window, and Kiernan didn’t know how to respond so he just gave her a thumbs up, which was weird, and headed back to his bedroom to change.

  Why couldn’t he act normal around her? And what the fuck had happened to him when he’d pinned her?

  Shutting the bedroom door, he kicked off his boots and grabbed a new pair of jeans and a clean shirt. He had a bruise forming on his side where Fae had landed the kick, but even if the ribs were cracked they’d heal soon enough. He pulled on the fresh clothes and tried not to think of the dark side of himself. It had been so long since that part of him had surfaced, decades, and he worked hard to keep it at bay.

  He worked hard to be as human as possible.

  Shoving his feet into some Converse, he focused on the great hall and tried not to think about Fae. Just a few hours and he could come back – and now he really wanted to come back. Wanted to sit and talk with her and explain himself.

  He just hoped she was still here when he did.

  Chapter Nine

  Seattle, Washington

  As soon as she was sure he’d really left, Fae started to wander his apartment. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was looking for – answers on why he had helped her? A secret room full of torture devices? Sadistic trophies earned over a lifetime of rampant killing and pillaging? A manifesto outlining his evil plan?

  She didn’t find anything interesting.

  It was sparse and extremely well organized, a place for everything, and everything in its place. Bookshelves full of normal books. Pantry full of normal food. Pristine, modern desk with a neat stack of unopened envelopes – all irritatingly addressed to Resident.

  In all her thousands of years serving, Fae had never known a man to be this precise. This tidy. The order was unnerving. And not at all what she'd expected to see from a Laochra.

  Everything was perfect, except for his bed, which was a chaotic knot of sheets.

  Fae had even taken a few steps out his front door and into the hallway before going back inside. It was pointless to go out right now. She had no idea what kind of city Seattle was, she had no money, and she wasn’t exactly dressed to walk around in public without attracting attention. So, now Fae was on the couch with her legs tucked under her, staring at another animated movie on the television.

  This was her grand dream of escape come to life. Sitting in a Laochra’s apartment like a good little girl, waiting for him to return, and watching movies.

  For the past seven hours.

  According to the Laochra, ‘not being gone long’ meant hours and hours. She was frustrated with herself because she hadn’t even asked his name before he’d left, then again she had tried her best to kill him, and he - he was so… odd. She had watched him reach for the axe, a heavy weapon that would have been hard to defend against with the strength he would be able to put behind it, but he hadn’t taken it off the wall. To push him, she’d tried to go for a harder attack, but her sword had lodged itself in the damaged wood of the little table. Then he’d disarmed her and put her on the floor.

  “Idiot,” she grumbled to herself, chastising herself for the tenth time since he’d left. For her weakness. He could have done whatever he wanted with her on the floor under him, and having those pitch black eyes above her had brought back memories of the battlefield. She’d lost it, cursing him and his kind, and called him a son of Gormahn. Well, more accurately, a filthy bastard son of Gormahn, but that had been what set him off. Not her attacking him with a sword, not the kick she’d landed.

  Fae dropped her head back on the couch and blew out a breath.

  “Why did that set you off? Of all things?” She laid her arm over her eyes and groaned. “And why, Mr. Resident, did you even fucking rescue me?”

  And beyond that, why had he left her, alone, in what was obviously his home, with a lot of very sharp weapons?

  Her fingers trailed over the hilt of the sword on the couch beside her as the questions whirled around in her head. Too many unanswered questions after a day that had already been a nightmare.

  At least the movies were entertaining.

  She knew about television, and she’d even had the chance to watch it sometimes, but she’d never had the opportunity to just immerse herself in it and in all the little worlds the screen displayed. She was as attached to the characters in the movies as she usually got to characters in books. The little Stitch character in the current movie was a chaotic little blue thing, but he was sweet and was currently trying to save the little girl, Lilo, from aliens. It seemed silly to be so emotional about it, but Fae was totally invested.

  To her right was a strange whooshing sound, and where there had been empty space one moment, the next he was standing next to his desk shuffling a bunch of paper and plastic shopping bags in his hands. She jumped, tensing as she dragged the sword back onto her lap to be ready.

  “Fae! It’s me, I’m back.” He was loud, rustling the bags and calling out to her.

  “I can see you.” She rolled her eyes.

  “Oh, uh, hi. Listen, I brought –” The Laochra started talking and she shushed him, cutting him off.

  “You’ve been gone for eight hours, whatever you want to tell me can wait ten minutes for me to finish this.” Fae was irritated with him as she pointed at the television screen, because she couldn’t hear it over all the noise he was making. She noticed his eyes fall to the sword before stepping toward the television to see Stitch attacking a spaceship. His eyebrows went up and he looked back at her, his mouth opening and then shutting. With a shrug, he dropped the bags by the television and walked into the kitchen.

  “You know that’s for kids, right?”

  Fae shushed him again and he went quiet, opening and shutting cabinets. She watched the end of the movie, once more drawn in by the way that everything came together so perfectly. The bad guys lost, the little blue alien had a family – Ohana. Nobody gets left behind. Happily ever after.

  The real world never worked like that.

  As the credits started rolling to the music, the Laochra appeared in the doorway to his kitchen. Fae untucked her legs and kept her grip on the sword as he stood still holding a glass of water. His eyes went to the sword again and he pointed at it. “Are you really going to hold onto that the entire time you’re here?”

  “Yes.”

  He shrugged and stepped into the living room, nudging the bags with the toe of his shoe. “Listen, I’m sorry it took me so long to get back. I had to act like everything was normal, and that meant drinking with them until they started to pass out. Which took a while.” The Laochra took a drink of the water. “But I stopped at some stores and grabbed you some clothes.”

  “Playing dress up with me already?” Fae was irritated, frustrated with not knowing what he wanted from her. She wasn’t stupid, and she was pretty sure this act would end soon enough.

  “Uh, no? I just figured you wouldn’t want to stay in that.” He sighed. “If you don’t want the clothes you don’t have to take them. I was just trying to help.” She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, waiting for there to be some flicker of that other side of him, some alternate reason for him to bring her clothes. Then Fae looked down at the dress Nikola had made her wear, the same style she’d
worn for three years in his house. A shudder went through her as she remembered him standing over Juliet, and she clenched her jaw.

  No, she didn’t want to stay in this any longer than she had to.

  She stood up and let the blanket fall off her lap, but she kept the sword in her hand. “Okay. I’ll change, and then you’ll explain what you want?”

  His brow furrowed and he started to look around the room, eventually looking out the window behind his desk. “I don’t want anything, but we do need to talk. You can use my room to change. I’ll stay out here.” Fae stepped towards the bags and he moved back to give her room. She started to grab the bags and had to tuck the sword under one arm to grab them all. The Laochra suddenly reached forward and gently touched her arm, and she jumped. She was about to rip her arm out of his hand when his thumb traced lightly over the bruises. “I did that, didn’t I?”

  “Yes,” Fae replied in confusion as she watched him stare at the pale little bruises on the sides of her wrist. Before his touch could make her any more uncomfortable, she spoke up again. “I’ve had worse, and to be honest, I think you might have more bruises than me.” She smiled a bit, and he didn’t argue with that as his eyes lifted to hers. Then he seemed to realize he was touching her and he jerked his hand back like she’d burned him.

  “Well, I’m sorry. For your wrists, and your neck. I should have never – I wouldn’t have -”

  “It’s okay, I was trying to kill you.” Fae shifted her weight from one foot to the other, uncomfortable with his apology and the weird, surreal reality of talking to a Laochra like he was a normal person. She was about to reach for the clothes again, when she stopped herself. “One thing though… So, you know who I am, but before I go change could you tell me what your name is?” The Laochra’s eyes widened and he looked up at her as if he just realized he hadn’t introduced himself.

  What an idiot.

  “It’s Kiernan, just call me Kiernan.” He stumbled through the sentence when he talked and then took another sip of water, giving her a half smile.