‘If you were truly sorry,’ I said, forcing the words past the anger, and yes, hurt, constricting my throat, ‘you’d tell me why you’re hooked up with Tavish, why I’m such a valuable asset, and what’s going on with Tavish, and with Mad Max, and what it’s all got to do with the curse. Oh, and you’d tell me what’s up with you and the Autarch too.’
I stared fixedly at my bedroom’s blank white wall until it went out of focus, waiting for an answer that didn’t come, nursing my anger. Malik might think I was a valuable asset now, but he wasn’t going to for much longer. I fell asleep determined to find a way to stop him running my life. Whatever it took.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Tap, tap. Tap, tap. Tap, tap.
The noise beat insistently inside my head and I turned over, trying to get away from it. Instead, I came face to face with Malik’s dark, staring eyes.
I blinked, then realised three things almost simultaneously:
Malik had somehow missed leaving before dawn, and was now in his ‘dead for the day’ state.
A thin sliver of sunlight was hitting the bed like a laser-beam, and it was inches from his bare foot.
And something huge and black was perched outside my window, tapping on the glass with a very large and very sharp beak.
My pulse speeding with apprehension, I leapt up—
—and a swooshing sound thundered in my ears as the black thing flew through the window, knocked me flying, and crash-landed almost on top of me.
Feathers.
My mouth was full of feathers. I spluttered and spat them out, scrabbling at my mouth with my hands while something cawed loudly and indignantly next to my ear. There was a panicked flapping of wings as it moved, and a huge raven stared down at me from alien blue eyes, its long, grey, very sharp beak only inches away from my throat.
Was it the Morrígan?
The raven started to grow, and within seconds the monstrous bird was looming over me, blocking any escape. Keeping a wary eye on that beak, I scrambled backwards and wedged myself in between the bedside table and the wall.
The raven gave another loud caw—
—and exploded in a snow-storm of black feathers that spun and fell through the air, dissipating into the ether before they reached the wooden floor. Instead of a raven, there stood a naked man. His mouth opened as he let out one last impassioned caw, then he collapsed, shaking, onto his hands and knees, his head hanging down, his wheat-gold hair feathering out over the floor.
‘Goddess,’ he gasped hoarsely, ‘that hurt.’ Then he curled into a ball, moaning.
Okay. So not the Morrígan.
And not much of a threat either, judging by the moaning, which sounded a bit excessive, like he was putting it on. I unwedged myself from my corner, hauled myself up and ignored the moaning naked guy in favour of Malik.
The sunlight might be weak, but if it hit him, it could cause a serious problem. I kept a wary eye on Mr Moaning Raven as I skirted past him and yanked open the wardrobe. Malik’s long leather coat was hanging neatly next to my own leather jacket, just as I’d known it would be. At least the neat-freak vamp was predictable in that area anyway. I grabbed them both, and flung the coat over Malik’s top half and my jacket over his feet. It wasn’t perfect, but I was pretty sure he was old enough that it would protect him for now.
Then I turned to give my newest uninvited visitor the once-over.
His back view was well worth looking at: broad shoulders narrowing to a taut butt, long, lean-muscled legs, and all covered in tanned skin sprinkled with fine golden hairs that glinted in the weak morning light. A twining tattoo encircled his left ankle, climbed up his calf and twisted around his thigh. It was a complicated pattern of stylised feathers and glyphs, none of which I recognised. The tattoo itself was etched in gold ink that was barely noticeable against his skin tone. A scattering of small diamonds were sprinkled along the tattoo and melded into his skin. When I looked, the tattoo and gems glowed with enough power to fill the room with golden magic, hotter than the summer sun.
I’d bet my last liquorice torpedo that the naked man in my bedroom was the raven who’d been following me: but was he a messenger from the Morrígan, or something to do with the dead raven faeling, or both?
Not that he was looking particularly competent for a messenger.
Of course, there was another reason he could be here. I could’ve snagged myself another hopeful suitor like Sylvia. Damn fertility curse.
‘You know,’ I said, raising my voice slightly to be heard over his moans, and prodding his shoulder with my toe, ‘turning up naked in a girl’s bedroom isn’t the relationship starter it’s cracked up to be. Not to mention that the naiads have already tried it … unsuccessfully, I might add. Oh, and if you’re thinking of it as a fast track to courting me, you can think again. It takes more than pretty looks to get me into bed.’
He stopped moaning and lifted his head to peer at me over his bent arm. He looked about my own age. His face was every bit as pretty as the rest of him: high, angled cheekbones, sharp jaw, straight patrician nose and large indigo eyes with slitted cat-like pupils that gleamed more red than black as they twinkled at me.
I stared at him, shocked. He was sidhe.
‘I think you’re maligning my good character here, my lady.’ He rested his chin on his arm, regarding me quizzically. ‘After all, I did just rescue you. But I’m prepared to forgive you for’—he grinned—‘a drink. Don’t suppose you’d care to pass me the vodka there, would you?’
I blinked at him. ‘What?’
‘Saving damsels in distress from going up in flames with unconscious vamps is thirsty work. There’s the shifting, that takes its toll, even without flying through your window while not physically breaking it. Then I did have to stretch your Ward a bit, but seeing as it was already partially cracked, I didn’t think you’d mind. I think I deserve a drink after all that, don’t you?’ He winked mischievously, his grin widening to show straight white human teeth. ‘Oh, and pass me a pillow, will you? I can’t quite manage clothes yet, and I’d hate to stun you speechless with the rest of my pretty looks.’
‘It’s not your looks,’ I said slowly, tossing a pillow at him in bemusement. ‘It’s your eyes.’
‘Ah, I forgot.’ He closed them, muttered something under his breath, then opened them. The indigo irises were the same, but the pupils were now round black and human. ‘Is that better?’
Oddly, it was. ‘Um … yes. Who are you?’
He sprang to his feet, clutching the pillow strategically in front of him, then did an odd bird-like hop towards me. He stopped and shook his head in irritation. ‘Sorry, takes a while to get rid of the mannerisms. The name’s Jack, my lady. Pleased to meet you, at last.’ He held out his hand, an expectant look on his face, as if I should know who he was even if I didn’t know him.
‘At last?’ I echoed questioningly.
‘Ah, she hasn’t told you.’ He dipped his head, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment, which made him look a good few years younger than the mid-twenties I’d originally guessed. ‘Well, that puts the hawk among the pigeons, doesn’t it? About that drink …’
Not a suitor, then: a messenger, as I’d previously thought.
I handed him the vodka bottle from the bedside table. It was still a third full. ‘Who hasn’t told me what?’ I offered him a glass.
He did a little dancing jiggle with the vodka and the pillow, managed to get the top off without losing his modesty, then, ignoring the glass, he tipped the bottle up, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he drank, and he continued drinking until the bottle was empty.
‘Good stuff, this’—he checked the label—‘Cristall. I’ll have to get some. Thanks, my lady.’
‘No problem,’ I said, giving him an expectant look. ‘Okay, Dutch courage time over, Jack, back to the question: who hasn’t told—?’
A loud knock on my bedroom door and a voice interrupted us. ‘Genny?’ Sylvia called. ‘Are you all right in there? I can hea
r talking—’
Damn. I’d forgotten about her. Again. ‘I’m fine, Sylvia—’
The door opened.
‘Ah, look, I’ve really got to go.’ Jack shoved the pillow and empty bottle at me, catching me by surprise and knocking me back onto the bed. I rolled onto my side out of his way as he launched himself at the window. His body concertinaed, folding back in on itself as he sprouted glossy black feathers and shifted into the huge raven. The bird flapped his wings once, the backdraught blowing my hair back from my face, then he flew straight through the glass as if it wasn’t there and soared away into the sky.
‘Gosh! Nice arse!’ Sylvia exclaimed from the doorway. She smiled at me. ‘Whoever was that?’
‘That was Jack, apparently.’ I pressed my lips together, frustrated he’d got away before he’d given me an answer to my question. Who was she—the Morrígan?—and what hadn’t she told me?
Chapter Thirty
‘So where did Jack fly in from then?’ Sylvia gave me a teasing grin, then peered round me at the leather-coat-covered Malik lying on the bed. ‘Gosh, you look like you’ve had an interesting night.’
‘Something like that,’ I said wryly. ‘Sorry, but I’m not really in the mood to talk about it, though.’
‘Okay,’ she agreed cheerfully, ‘if you change your mind, I’m here.’
I blinked at her easy acceptance, then feeling a prick of guilt, I also apologised for siccing her with the Security Stingers and running out on her offer of dinner.
But she surprised me again, accepting my apology with another smile, just as easily as she’d taken Malik’s presence in my bed. I guessed her night spent sucking up the blood from my floorboards hadn’t only repaired her Glamour—her white fifties-style dress and silver sandals were positively glowing—but left her as happy as— well, as a dryad who’d spent the night sucking up blood.
‘Don’t supposed you’ve heard of, or met Jack the raven before now, have you?’ I asked. ‘When he first appeared his eyes were like mine.’ I waved a hand at my face. ‘Except his were this indigo colour.’
‘He was one of the sidhe?’ She clapped her hands and did a little twirl. ‘How exciting!’
‘So you don’t know him, then?’ I asked again, hoping that since Jack could change his eyes, that there was always the possibility she’d know him as something different from a sidhe.
‘Umm …’ She tapped her cycle helmet, her nails making a little drumming tune as she stared into space. ‘No, sorry, Jack the raven doesn’t ring any bells.’ She gave me a wide smile, then said, ‘Now, I bet you’re hungry, Genny. How about breakfast? I’ll just borrow your mirror first—a girl’s got to look after herself, hasn’t she?’
‘Works for me,’ I said, hiding my disappointment she didn’t know Jack and stepping out the way so she could use the long mirror on my wardrobe.
She whistled and rustled as she pruned her scalp, vanished her excess twigs, called a fluffy pink mohair cardigan and repaired the broken strap on her pink cycle helmet. Then she cleaned up her snowfall of petals, repaired the holes in my floorboards by blowing them a kiss, and declared herself ready for breakfast. After a quick look at the contents of my fridge—two bottles of Cristall and nothing else—she cheerfully agreed to go to the Rosy Lea Café to get it. Even more amazingly, she equally cheerfully helped me move my heavy wardrobe in front of my bedroom window, a feat I’d never have managed on my own. I might be stronger than a normal human, but Sylvia had the edge on me. The wardrobe was oak, and as soon as she grasped one side and flattened her ‘Hello, boys!’ cleavage against it, the wardrobe almost moved itself.
I didn’t ask.
I just thanked her gratefully, and told her breakfast was my treat.
After Sylvia had gone, I looked thoughtfully down at Malik where he lay on the bed, his black eyes staring sightlessly upwards. In spite of my temporary shielding measures, the narrow beam of sun had caught Malik’s right foot and a diagonal wound now striped his flesh. The wound wasn’t bleeding; it looked more like someone had branded him with a red-hot poker, burning down to the bone, leaving the sides charred and crispy.
Maybe I’d missed an opportunity there.
Throwing the coats over him had been one of those instinctive things: vampire plus sun equals needs protection. But protecting him wasn’t going to stop him running my life. Maybe what I should’ve done, instead of covering him up, was had Sylvia help me throw him out onto the flat roof outside the window and left him to fry for the day. And I could’ve chopped his head from his body while I was at it, chopping him irrevocably out of my life.
Damn tyrannical vamp.
But however dictatorial, annoying—and let’s not forget secretive—Malik was, I couldn’t do it, my conscience and my heart wouldn’t let me. Not only that, it wasn’t the practical option: without him as Oligarch there’d be no one to protect London’s fae and faelings from the rest of the vamps. We’d end up with Open-Fang Night on anyone fae, and the results wouldn’t be pretty.
‘So, I need to find a way to neutralise you, without actually dragging your oh-so-gorgeous, damned arrogant arse out to be barbecued,’ I told him through gritted teeth. ‘But for now, I think you’d be better somewhere less flammable.’
I dragged in the thick silk rug that usually covered my living room floor, then leaning over him, I grasped his arm and pulled him towards me. He rolled easily and limply, and with a quick tug I had him off the bed. He landed with a heavy thud on the rug.
‘Sorry,’ I muttered unrepentantly as I straightened his arms and legs and tugged the rug over him. Grunting with exertion, I managed to roll him up, Cleopatra-style, then I sat on the floor, bracing myself against the wall, and shoved the rug with my feet until it was tucked under the bed.
I hauled myself up, wiped my sweaty forehead and grimaced. The rug was added insurance against the daylight. If he got a few bruises along the way, well, it was only what he deserved.
‘Right.’ I dusted off my hands. ‘Annoying vamp temporarily disposed off: check. Time for a shower and clothes before Sylvia gets back.’
I tugged off my vest top and sleep shorts and caught my reflection in the wardrobe mirror. Not a pretty sight. The mass of purple bruising centred on my midriff didn’t look—or feel—any better, nor did the rest of the multicoloured patches that decorated my arms and legs. But while I might be bruised and battered, I had things to do. I needed to buy a new Ward—Malik couldn’t be left unprotected, however much the angry part of me might want to—but I couldn’t afford a Ward and a Healing spell. I decided a couple of aspirins and a handful of blood-fruit to up my venom levels—I had a brief relieved thought that even after Darius’ attack last night, when he’d venom-stuck me, I didn’t seem to be suffering any ill-effects—and I’d live for another day.
I looked, and ran my fingers over Tavish’s handprint spell where it sat low down on my stomach; it hadn’t changed. It was obviously to do with the fertility curse—but hey, right now everything and anything was to do with the fertility curse—but since it wasn’t active yet, that didn’t tell me what it was going to do. Maybe Finn would know, once we got round to talking today. I wondered again what had been so important that he hadn’t wanted to chat last night, although with what had happened, Finn not being around had turned out for the best. If he’d been here when Malik had brought me home injured, he’d probably have tried to stake—or rather, stick his horns in—the arrogant vamp. But Tavish’s spell gave me a good enough excuse to phone Finn and hurry up our chat. Plus, there was my job, or lack of it, at Spellcrackers, and our relationship, whatever it was, to sort out. I fished my phone from my jacket, hesitated, and took the coward’s way out and texted him instead.
Can we meet soon, please?
I stared as the little envelope symbol winged off on its way, then stared some more as if that would get me an immediate reply, before telling myself to get on with more sensible things, like checking my emails … which consisted of a load of the usual ‘no, I
really don’t want whatever it is you’re selling’ spam, and one from Hugh saying he’d was looking into my queries about the missing faelings, the Morrígan, Ana and the other stuff, and he’d get back to me.
‘At least someone’s trying to help me,’ I said loudly, nudging the carpeted Malik with my foot (not that I thought he could hear me, but it made me feel better). I picked up Grace’s pentacle from my bedside table, found another chain in one of the drawers to replace the broken one, and clasped it round my neck as I went over my day’s to-visit list.
There was the chat with Finn, hopefully. There was the visit Victoria Harrier, my lawyer, had arranged with the ravens at the Tower of London. And then there was the other visit Victoria had arranged, with her very pregnant daughter-in-law, Ana, to chat about babies and 3V and vamps and curses. I wasn’t looking forward to it, as even without Ana being a past, and possibly present and future, victim of the curse, the whole idea of talking to a faeling whose grandmother was a royal sidhe princess (which Angel was, however nutty she also was), and whose great-grandmother was a sidhe queen, filled my stomach with oddly nervous butterflies.
And that gave me another more immediate problem: what on earth was I supposed to wear that would be suitable for a meeting with the ravens, a faeling who had royal sidhe blood, and a serious chat with my ex-boss to sort out both the personal and working sides of our relationship, all the while trying to deal with matchmaking magic. In the end I decided on smart, but casual, with just a slight touch of sexy: a green top of silk and lace, black velvet jeans and killer-heel boots.
‘And then tonight,’ I said, bending down and giving the evil eye to Malik in the rolled-up carpet under my bed, ‘I’m going back to Sucker Town and find out what’s going on with Fyodor, Mad Max, Darius and my blood, and what they all have to do with the curse, and you are not going to stop me.’
Chapter Thirty-One
The Bitter Seed of Magic s-3 Page 21
