by Abigail Kade
“That’s cool! I’ve never really paid attention to trees before. What kinds grow up here in the mountains?”
And for the next hour, Finn was in his element, literally, as he pointed out all the tree species that we passed on the hiking trail down the mountain. Along the way, we saw wild turkeys picking their way through the underbrush, flying away when we startled them. There were also deer and more birds than I could count. As we hiked down the trail, I noticed the tree branches, shrubs, and even the wildflowers and weeds would reach out in Finn’s direction as he passed. I knew that was a result of the baby he carried, and I almost laughed at the panicked expression Finn had when he tried to mask the phenomenon before I could notice. As much as it happened, I knew it was a drain on his strength. When we eventually made it down to the valley, Finn pointed ahead with one hand while keeping a hand gently on the baby’s head as she slept against his chest.
“This is my favorite tree up ahead,” he whispered.
It truly was a magnificent tree and the largest oak I’d ever seen. The trunk so big around, Finn and I wouldn’t have been able to touch hands if we tried to reach around it.
I walked up and ran a hand along its bark, feeling the life and energy pulsing from its ancient trunk.
“It’s magnificent, Finn. I see why it’s your favorite. You do love all things in nature. I love that about you.”
Finn walked up next to me and put his hand over mine, where it was still resting on the bark of the stately tree. His eyes softened as he asked, “You love that about me?”
I turned my hand and grasped his hand in mine. “I do. I’ve known you for over a year now, Finn. There’s a lot I love about you.”
Finn was about to speak, but a loud snap of a limb behind us made us both drop our hands and spin simultaneously.
“Well, well, isn’t that a touching moment. I didn’t know any of the Mages of the Nightshade Guild were queer, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, huh, Maud?”
“Yeah, unnatural assholes, the lot of ‘em. They’re not fit to take care of a baby, let alone the princess, don’t you think, Claude?”
Our uninvited guests were a haggard old man and woman, presumably named Maud and Claude. Their auras gave off waves of hate, black and vile. I knew they were Dark Fae and probably the ones that hurt Finn yesterday. Dressed in dusty black clothes that looked like they were stolen from the witches from a local production of Macbeth, they were laughable to look at, but the power radiating off them was nothing to find amusing.
“I told you we should have finished him off yesterday, Maud. Now, look, he’s all healed. We’ll never get the baby doing a half-assed job of it.”
Finn had been silent up until now, but hearing they were after the baby, he put both arms around her and finally spoke in a deep growl that would have scared me if I didn’t already know him.
“You’re not coming anywhere near this baby. I don’t know what a Mage is, but I own all this land, and you’re trespassing. You need to leave.”
The cackling laughter from the pair was not what I’d expected.
“We’ll leave, Mage, as soon as we get the babe. We’re being paid a pretty sum to bring her back with us, and we need that coin. Now we’ve been told you won’t be able to defeat us, so let’s just do this the easy way. Hand her over.”
Maud began coming toward us, and when she took that first step, everything started to happen at once. Somehow, Finn took the harness off and handed Ameria to me all in one sweeping movement, shouting, “Hold her and get behind the tree. Close your eyes and keep her safe. I’ll take care of you.” Then with a quick kiss on the lips, he pushed me around the side of the tree to safety.
That was very sweet of him, but there was no way I was letting him go up against these two alone. I created a playpen for the baby and placed her inside right by some bushes and the tree. The branches bent down to her, and she giggled as they tickled her cheeks. Seeing she was content, I placed an unbreakable shield around her and stepped to the side to see what was happening. I was much more a lover than a fighter by nature.That didn’t mean I couldn’t kick ass when it needed to be kicked. And these two? They needed to be kicked hard back to where they came from.
Maud and Claude had split up, trying to get on either side of Finn and divide his attention. He had backed up until his back was to the enormous tree, and I could feel him siphoning energy from the ancient oak for strength. When the two had gotten on either side of him, he raised a hand and sent out a pulse into the forest around us. Moments later, rustling from the surrounding underbrush got louder and louder as animals from all around answered Finn’s call for help.
A large twenty-point buck charged through the underbrush and barreled toward Maud. She raised her hands, stopped him in midair, and then threw him back into the bushes right before another deer charged her. She stopped that one too. But there were more and more running at her, and she was having trouble keeping up. At last, she was too slow, and one was able to charge in and push her down.
While this was going on, Claude was battling all the birds of the forest. A great horned owl was sweeping in on his head while a group of huge wild turkeys was gobbling and attacking from the ground. It was too much for him to handle. He threw something down on the floor at his feet, and a boom like thunder sounded before he disappeared from that spot, only to reappear right next to Finn by the tree. He was holding an arrow with the point straight up against Finn’s jugular in a blink.
Claude laughed a sickening, gurgling sound. His broken, rotten smile displayed the rotting core of his soul.
“Now that you’ve had your fun, let’s get down to business, Mage. Call off the animals, and let’s discuss you giving over the princess.”
Finn held up his hand, and the animals all stopped their attacks but still stayed at the ready. I could feel the respect they had for Finn in the air around us. They weren’t going anywhere while he was in danger.
“Good job. Now, tell your boy toy to bring the baby to us. We have a schedule to keep.”
Finn shook his head, pushing the arrow into his skin. He doesn’t know that’s what caused him to almost die yesterday. He doesn’t know that thing could kill him! I had to do something.
Walking around the tree, I acted scared and shocked at everything going on. I tried to act frightened of the animals while telling them all to wait for my signal. The large buck had come out of the underbrush once again, giving me a slight nod to acknowledge he’d take care of the situation when the time came.
“Finn. What’s going on? What’s happening?”
I hoped he would buy it. I knew after this, I’d have to explain it all to him, but right now, I needed them all to believe I was a silly human and no possible threat.
“Henry, whatever happens, don’t let these two have the baby. It’s very important.”
Claude gurgled his sick cackle again and pushed the arrow further against his skin, so very close to cutting him with the poisonous edge.
“Like a stupid human can keep us from getting her. You’ve got to be the dumbest Mage in the Nightshade Guild, fucking fag. They should have known better than to trust someone like you to an important job like this.”
I was done with this asshole. This needed to end. Finn must have thought the same because we both acted at once.
I swept my hand, giving the signal, and a rope of energy wrapped around Claude, holding him in place and letting him drop back from Finn. At the same time, Finn let loose a burst of energy that pushed Claude back into the group of animals standing at the ready. I watched as the animals descended on him, his screams died quickly, and the woodland creatures turned and went back to the forest, leaving the evil creature merely a lump of withered flesh and cloth on the ground. I turned to where Maud had been, but she was nowhere to be found. I had a thought and rushed around the tree to find the baby; worried Maud had snuck around to find her. I was right. She’d come back here to try to steal her while we were busy, but she couldn’t get through
the field I’d placed around her.
“You think I’m a worthless human, huh, Maud? Well, think again.”
With a thought, she was tied up with a rope of energy, binding all the evil and blackness of her aura to her so she couldn’t move. She didn’t even have time to scream before the blackness of her own soul consumed her and left her in a pile of ash on the ground.
“What the hell are you, Henry?”
Finn’s voice coming from behind me startled me enough to spin around, hands up in defense. The tension and disbelief in his eyes hurt my heart.
“I’m no threat to you or the baby, Finn. You know that in your heart. You know me. I’m only trying to help.”
Finn walked over to the baby, and I released the field to let him pick her up and hold her tight. I held my hand out and made her favorite stuffed puppy appear, then slowly and cautiously walked forward to hand it to her. She giggled and reached for it, then when she was cuddling the puppy, they reached for me to hold her. Finn looked down at her and then looked long and hard at me. The distrust hurt, but I knew I’d brought that on myself.
“Please, Finn, you have to believe me. If I wanted to hurt you or the princess, I would have done it already.”
Ameria was getting frustrated not having her wishes granted. She started wriggling and fussing enough that Finn finally let her go to me, although very reluctantly.
“We need to have a very long talk, but not right now.”
“I agree. We should get back to the cabin, and we can talk over everything.”
Finn was nodding his agreement. When from the other side of the tree, there was a huge bang and the sound of several new arrivals in the clearing. We both pushed up as close to the trunk as we could to listen.
“I told you they’d fail! What is wrong with you? I hired your group of Dark Fae to get this job done because you were willing to do anything for the coin. Now, look at this mess! No baby, and now he’ll know we’re coming for him.”
“But, sir, we didn’t know he’d be this strong.”
“He’s a Nightshade Guild Mage, for fuck’s sake! What did you think it would be like? Birthday party parlor tricks? Track him, find him, and bring the baby to me, or you’re all going to be dead.”
I raised an eyebrow to Finn, and he nodded. I put my arms around him and nodded that I was ready. Closing my eyes, I felt my body float, then nothingness, before landing moments later in a stunning but unfamiliar garden.
We’d gotten away, for now, but what were we going to do if they really could track us?
Chapter 9
Finn
Henry and I had been walking around in the gardens at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, for a while, and we were all exhausted. If they did have the ability to track us, I had wanted to give us a chance to fight out here in the open forests and sparsely populated gardens of the grounds. Neither one of us had spoken about what had happened so far. I didn’t know about Henry, but I needed time to process.
“Why did you bring us here, Finn? I mean, it’s beautiful and all, but where are we?”
“This is Biltmore. It’s a huge estate and grounds with the largest privately-owned house in this country. The Vanderbilts built it about a hundred years ago, but now it’s open to tours and has become a tourist destination.”
“All that would be fabulous if we were on vacation, Finn, but we’re running from paranormal bad guys. A tourist spot doesn’t seem like the first place on my list to run and hide.”
I couldn’t help but rumble a small laugh before answering, “You’re right, it might not seem like it, but it’s perfect. This place isn’t far from my home, so it was a minimal drain on my energy to get us here. Plus, the old forests here are a source of energy for me.”
I reached out and touched the great redwood we’d been standing under and let my energy become visible. The aura of golden light surrounded me, and the tree responded to my polite request for replenishment. The surge of energy and light from the tree shone green against my gold, feeding my strength. When the exchange was over, I gave the feathery bark a reverent pat and mentally thanked it for its gift.
“Wow, so you really do get your mojo from the trees.”
Before I could answer, Ameria leaned over and slapped her hand against the tree, imitating what I had done. When no glow occurred, she got frustrated and started swatting at the tree. Henry and I both reached for her hand at the same time.
“No, no, princess. Don’t hit it. It’s got different magic for you. Look.” I pointed up, and the tree’s lowest branch was bending and curling itself to get down to where she was. When it was close, the tip of the branch feathered its leaves across her face, changing her frustrated frown into a sweet giggle of delight. Henry gave her a hug and indicated the tree trunk.
“There now. It still loves you. Now give the tree love.”
She slowly reached out and touched the trunk again, this time patting it gently. Henry put his hand on top of hers and patted the tree with her.
“That’s a sweet girl. All is forgiven.”
Ameria smiled, yawned, then buried herself against his shoulder. Night was coming fast. I didn’t want us out in the open after dark.
“So the trees and proximity are the reason we came here?”
Henry was cuddling the baby as we walked in the direction I indicated.
“Not the whole reason. This land is supposed to be neutral territory. None of the paranormals are supposed to attack on the grounds at certain times. The Spring Equinox is one of those times, and it’s coming up this month. I’m hoping we can lie low here until the end of the month in peace. We’re staying at the Inn here. We need to change clothes before we go in, and I need to work out a reservation for us.”
“We don’t need a reservation; I can make it happen. I can also change our clothes to anything you want. Just think it in your head, and I can make it.”
Skeptical, I gave him a raised eyebrow, and I didn’t believe him for a second.
“You can do illusions too? What are you, Henry?”
“I’ll explain later, but it won’t be an illusion. I can give us all new clothes, for real.”
I knew of no paranormal who could do anything like that, but even if they could, not so quickly after expediting as much energy as he had today. Illusions like that drained even the strongest Mages, but creating real clothes out of thin air? Nope. I wasn’t buying it for a second. I just shrugged and nodded, thinking he’d back down and admit he couldn’t do it.
“Sure, yeah. I don’t think so. I’ve stored up enough energy now to create an illusion, and I know someone who can hack into the system to get us a reservation. Thanks for offering, though.”
No way did I trust him on this. I was a little unsure whether I should have trusted him enough to bring him here with the princess and me, but at the time, I’d believed he was no threat to us. He was right. If he’d wanted to take the baby, he could have any day I left him alone with her. His cloaking spells must be off the charts to have kept his magic hidden from me for so long without me finding out he wasn’t human.
“I’ll prove it.”
His confident voice pulled me from my thoughts. I eyed him with suspicion, but he went on, handing the baby to me to carry.
“Think of what you want us all to wear and let me know when you’re ready.”
His persistence made him even more attractive to me for some reason. As I stared, my mind drifted from the matter at hand to how he had a sexy, firm set to his softly squared jaw that made me want to nibble there for a while and see what he’d do. How could just looking at Henry make me think things like that even now? I blinked a few times, and the feeling passed. So odd.
“Come on, Finn. We don’t have much time. Just think of something for all of us. Don’t forget me. I want to look good.” Amused now and willing to play along, I closed my eyes a moment, then nodded my head. At my signal, Henry waved a hand, and we all immediately changed. I was wearing the exact outfit I’d pictured
, which was a dress kilt with a tooled leather sporran, formal shirt and jacket, and dress shoes with knee-high socks. Ameria was dressed in the beautiful frilly blue smocked dress I’d thought of with a sweet pink cardigan and frilly lace-edged socks with her white Mary Jane shoes. We looked like we were going to a fancy wedding.
I loved my selections for us. But Henry’s? I loved the ones for him even more. I had to hide my smirk the moment Henry realized what he was wearing. It was barely anything at all.
I’d had a fantasy of him like this for ages, but the reality was so much better. He was standing there in a hot pink jock; his nice-sized bulge pushed to the limits in the small pouch in front on vulgar display. If you could call it that, his top was a neon yellow crop top with the words Daddy’s Good Boy across the front in bold black letters. Any other time I would have loved seeing him like this, actually, but not in public when we were on the run. I looked up and saw Henry trying to hold back his anger, and I understood. This was inappropriate, but I couldn’t keep an edge of lust out of my eyes either.
“Seriously? This is what you pick? Asshole.”
“I’m sorry, Henry. Really. I didn’t think you could do it.”
He waved his hand and changed into a tailored black suit that fit to perfection with a pale pink shirt and paisley tie in pink and aqua, probably in homage to his plaid jacket.
“I can do lots of things you don’t know about, Finn.”
Fixing his tie and wiping some invisible dust off his sleeves, he continued. “This is better. Let’s get a room and lie low for a while.”
I handed Ameria back to him, then fixed my coat and reached out to take his free hand in mine.
“I need to understand who and what you are, Henry. We need to talk and soon. They haven’t found us yet, but they might. I want to believe you’re here to help the baby and me, but I need to be sure.”
“I’m not your run-of-the-mill paranormal, Finn. Let’s get into a room, and I can explain.”
