by Conn, Claudy
I shifted to her side, and then we shifted into the village, where we found five of them. They had already managed to kill an older man and a young woman and were leaning over them, feeding off their bodies like wild animals.
I felt myself fill with rage as I dove in and started stabbing and cutting and slashing … All at once I felt Ete pulling me away, pulling and yelling and holding me. “Z … its done, it’s over … they are dead …”
I watched, breathing hard, and I felt myself shake as she blinked them into another dimension and took my hand. “Come on … let’s get back.”
“Are you sure there aren’t any others lurking in the village?” I looked at the bodies of the two people they had already killed and mutilated.
“Not sure—here let’s do a quick tour together,” she said, and we started to jog through the small village.
When we were done we shifted back to the lake where we had left the others to finish up the job. I breathed a sigh of relief to see Danté was okay. However, with Breslyn taking down an Unseelie at his back, Danté had gone after the big ugly holding the death weapon.
I stepped towards him, but Ete held me in place. “Don’t distract him, Z.”
I knew that she was right, and so I stayed in place. Although it was killing me, I kept still.
Danté stepped towards the big ugly with a dynamite thrust and stabbed it in the throat, but it didn’t go down. Instead the damn thing started haphazardly swinging the sword at Danté.
I couldn’t stand it; I shifted behind the bugger, and damn if my sword didn’t go all the way through it. It splattered me with goo, and for a moment, I didn’t bother to blink the mess away as I watched the green, bloodied thing sink first to its knees and then dissolve into a mass of gushing, disgusting gruel.
Danté grabbed the sword, which he then sheathed with a thought and threw to Breslyn’s waiting hands. Then he turned and screamed at me, “What do you think you are doing? He had a death weapon he could have turned on you, Z!”
I laughed, thought myself clean, and pointed at the seven-foot spider coming at him. He hurriedly went about the business of leveling the many-legged monster as I shifted back to Ete and Shee Willow, but as I turned to look at him, our eyes met. In that moment frozen in time, forever burned into my mind and memory, he literally took my breath away.
Then the world returned. I heard him chuckle as he turned to Prince Breslyn—by the way, Bres has a style about him that makes a woman (even if she is spoken for) lick her lips—and I felt myself chuckle as well. Then I gave myself a scold and watched Danté as he grinned, slapped Bres on the back, and asked, “To the queen, or should we keep it for now?”
“To the queen—we get in enough trouble without holding back recovered weapons from her. Besides, it will win us some credits, eh?”
They both laughed as though they were attending a ballgame, nothing more, and then they were punching one another’s shoulders in the comradely style they had evidently shared over thousands of years. Watching them, I felt my heart swell. There was no time for more, as the Dark Fae were still bearing down on us, and we went into action.
We all fought tirelessly for the next twenty minutes. Then, all at once and without warning, the Dark Fae stopped in their tracks like someone had flicked a switch. With one mind they all began to retreat with a backwards motion. They didn’t shift, so I assumed that skill was beyond these particular castes. And then as one unit they began to scream and run as fast as their awkward and grotesque bodies could take them.
They were headed for the lake, where the portal hovered just above the water. This was the second time I had witnessed a huge monolith hovering over a body of water—and wondered if it meant something.
Somehow Gaiscioch had managed to work his black magic on this ‘traveling’ monolith, which usually only a Royal could do. We could do nothing but stand and watch as the Unseelies dove into the open entrance to their Dark World.
Gais had the power to produce a gateway to the Dark Realm, but what was worse was that it was portable. He could obviously send it where he chose.
* * *
After we got over our collective astonishment, we chased the stragglers and took some down as they tried to make it back to the safety of their Realm. I didn’t feel pity for any of them, and that was odd. In the past, even when I killed a little crawly I always felt something.
I noticed that none of us appeared to feel an ounce of pity. We saw them for what they were: sociopaths without compassion or remorse. They were little more than cold, eating machines. And then they and the portal vanished as though it had never been.
“What the bloody hell!” seethed Breslyn in some frustration as he turned to look at Shayne Bantry and Danté. “How did Gais manage that?”
“Apparently, he has learned a new trick,” Bantry said thoughtfully.
His petite wife, Willow, went to him, and he immediately hugged her close and kissed her lips. I whispered to Ete, “Why is a Druid priest fighting with us? He’s human—he could be killed.”
“Immortal,” she whispered back, “and a long story … for another time.”
I felt my brows arch. “Sounds like one I want to hear right now.” I knew there was no time just then, but I filed it away to ask about later.
Ete brushed her waist-length auburn hair away from her face and gave me a look. “Shee Willow and Shayne Bantry—ah yes, a good story there …”
“You read the question in my mind.” I nudged her with a smile. I discovered that I had begun to think of Ete as not just a friend, but as family. I suppose fighting side by side on several occasions does that—we had a common goal and enemy, and that always makes for fast friendships.
“Enfant …” Danté’s soft whisper brushed my ear as he came up behind me and rested his hands on my shoulders. I let him. Why? Because, some of the time, some things are simply beyond our control to prevent, like a force of nature, and Danté, to me, was a force of nature. He then moved to take my hand and put the tips of my fingers to his luscious lips. Again, I let him but only for a moment before I pulled away and shaded my eyes as I turned a hard, cold shoulder his way.
“Let us repair to Bantry and lay out a plan,” Bantry said in an Irish brogue that was very attractive. I loved the way he looked at Willow …
“Shouldn’t we tell the queen about the flying portal?” I frowned, as this had me disturbed. How had Gaiscioch accumulated the power to make the dolmens hover and come and go at his will?
“She already knows. Breslyn sent her a message. She is investigating the situation at her end with Queen Mab even as we speak.”
I digested this. Queen Mab was the queen of the Daoine and my mother’s cousin.
Breslyn had Ete in his arms, but she gently broke away from him and walked towards me. She discarded the silky Fae short thingy she had been wearing and replaced it with a set of tight-fitting jeans, a blue sweater, blue denim jacket, and boots to die for. Now here was a mate for Bres, who was also a very cool dresser.
Willow Bantry looked Ete over and said, “Hmmm … nice,” and then outfitted herself in a camel-colored soft sweater, black jeans, and a black denim jacket. I looked them both over and smiled approval. It is amazing how a woman, even on the edge of battle, can still think of fashion.
“Breslyn, I am going to take Willow and Z and go back to town and scout the outskirts of the village, which we didn’t do before. I just want to make certain none of the feeders are left behind,” she called to her mate.
“Precious life …” Breslyn was already at her side and whispering something else I couldn’t quite hear as he bent and kissed her mouth. He pressed her into the fold of his arms, where she nearly disappeared. She clung to him as their kiss grew into another, and suddenly Danté made an exasperated sigh and put a hand to Breslyn’s broad and naked shoulder. “Really? Now?”
Breslyn turned and grinned. “Of course now. If not now—when?”
Danté being Danté shook his head and released an impa
tient grumble of unintelligible sounds. He moved towards Bantry, gave Bantry the male eye of camaraderie, and said to him, “Right then, hold my shoulder, and I’ll shift us.”
Ah, I thought, Shayne Bantry (hunk supreme) was immortal, but he couldn’t shift. There certainly was a story there, and I became determined to ask Ete soon about the details.
Before they shifted to Bantry, Danté looked at me, a plea in his eyes that grabbed my heart. A part of me wished I had not cold-shouldered him and that he had taken me into his arms and kissed me hard and long. A part of me wished I was in his arms right that very minute.
He said in a tone that caressed me from the top of my head right down to my toes, which were now curled as I listened and re-listened to the passion in his voice. “Later, beloved.”
“Hmph,” I responded, and the three hunks were gone.
Ete turned to me and Willow and said, “Well then, what do you think?”
“I think,” I answered, “we better go find and then kick any monster butt so stupid as to have stayed behind.” And I thought myself into a pair of jeans and a black sweater with a black, tight-fitted jacket over that.
* * *
We didn’t find any uglies at first but managed to pass the time while we searched getting to know each other better. Ete told us about Maxine and Julian, who were not immortals and therefore kept out of the hand-to-hand battles. They were at MacTalbot castle guarding the MacTalbot Dolmens with their own blood each and every day leading up to Halloween. That sounded like a whole lot of blood.
Willow asked her suddenly, “Ete, what of my dad? I haven’t heard from him in a couple of days.”
I realized then that her father was of course the ‘Fae’ part of who she was. I hadn’t really given it much thought before.
“Desmond is stationed with Aida in Edinburgh,” Ete answered, touching her. “He is fine, Willow … Aida is ferocious about protecting him.”
I knew that Aida was Breslyn’s sister and therefore a Royal with powers Willow’s father wouldn’t have. Again, I realized that was a part of Willow and Shayne’s ‘story’.
Ete went on to explain, “They went to guard the Edinburgh Castle dolmens, and Aaibhe asked them to stay on and keep watch.”
“Aida?” Willow laughed. “When is Aida ever serious about anything? I adore her, but, Ete, … you may be her best friend, but you know she is forever …”
“Scatter-brained.” Ete smiled. “But since she and your father have been together, she is much steadier. He is a good influence on her.”
And then we came upon the bodies, human bodies. Four corpses were scattered across the sidewalk. They had been mutilated, partially eaten, and left to be found without concern.
I felt my heart stabbed with fierce anger. These people had been young, all of them no more than thirty. They had led normal lives, going about their business—playing, loving, working—and now all that was left of them was skin, blood, bone, and clothing ripped to shreds. It was degradation beyond belief. We should have come sooner …
Ete hugged us both and said on a hushed note, “Some of the Dark ones must have slipped away before we saw them … They’ve fed, so perhaps they won’t hurt anyone until we can catch up to them?”
“Where would they go—where would they go … how could they commit such an atrocity …?” Willow asked, looking away from the corpses. “And what should we do about these poor souls?”
“The authorities will need the bodies to identify them with their DNA and the paperwork they might find scattered about,” Ete said quietly. “Come … I think I know where the beasts have gone.”
We tracked their scent and hadn’t walked far when we arrived in front of the Red Bull and peered inside the front glass window. Of course! Why hadn’t I realized they would want to celebrate after their kill? I already knew they liked their drink!
Sure enough, there they were at a round table in a dark corner. Their human Glamour scarcely concealed their grotesque bodies, and we knew they had to use another spell as well in order to remain undetected by the humans. Not that they cared, but they probably had figured out that things would go easier for them if they could quietly feed undisturbed.
Willow said sadly, “When I first came here to Killarney, I killed my first Dark Fae on this street at Breslyn’s direction. I didn’t know then what was coming.”
“Excellent—that means this is a lucky street,” I answered, wanting to pick up her spirits.
“Yes.” She smiled tentatively. “I’m waiting for the day this will all be over so Shayne and I can get on with our lives … and maybe plan a family.”
Ete sighed. “A family, yes … I too would like that.”
They both glanced at me. I put up my hands. “Oh no … not planning on that any time soon. No way, no how … too young.”
They giggled, and as some of the men sitting at the window table were leering and jeering at us, we looked at one another. I said, “Okay, what are we waiting for? Come on, ladies … let’s start by eliminating the feeders inside!”
We walked a bit past the pub as I called on a spell of concealment, and then we shifted to the four beasts presently drinking ale and enjoying blood sausage in the back corner. No one in the tavern would be able to detect any of us, Seelie or Unseelie, while we were enveloped in the concealment spell.
The abominations never saw it coming; they never knew they had been discovered until they saw us, with our swords raised, and then, it was too late—just too late as their heads flew across the room.
Therein lay a problem: I had concealed only our given circle. As the heads went out of the circle, people jumped and screamed. Ete handled it by shouting as she relegated the heads to the graveyard dimension of blood and gore, “It isn’t Halloween yet, people, so who is the joker?”
The frightened crowd relaxed and laughed and looked for the heads, thinking them props. When they didn’t find them, they just settled down to their ale and their food.
We shifted to Bantry, and I looked around at the outside structure of Bantry Manor. I smiled at Willow. “Ni-c-e!”
She smiled and opened the door. We made our way to the library, where the doors were open wide awaiting our return, and there we stood to stare.
Three incredible males, naked to the low cut of their leather pants, stood at the fireplace, enjoying their drinks and laughing uproariously over something; it didn’t matter what. They were awesome and beautifully formed eye candy.
They turned and saw us, and everything in the atmosphere became charged and suspended. Apparently they had a similar reaction to the three of us together as we had to them.
A moment later Breslyn, who has so much style, raised his glass and toasted us. “Come in, lovelies, and tell us, tell us everything.”
I watched Ete glide into his arms. I watched the way he nibbled at her ear and put his lips to her lips. They were bonded by love and lust and something indefinable but real all the same.
Willow curled around her black-haired Shayne Bantry, but I didn’t get a chance to watch them as Danté had taken a step towards me. Like an idiot, I turned my back on him, went to the sideboard, found a sliced apple, and popped a piece into my mouth.
His hands caressed my shoulders and moved down to massage my back. I didn’t stop him. It felt good.
All at once, he turned me around and smothered me in his arms. His mouth was on mine before I could object, his tongue stroked mine with ease and expertise, and my traitorous tongue actually begged (not asked but begged) for more. His hands moved from my back to my ass, and let me tell you, the shivers that shot through me were enough to erase all thought. He pulled me in to press his hard-on into my belly … and oh, I wanted to lie back and let him do anything he wanted, right there and then. But he made a mistake and opened his mouth to whisper in my ear, “Ah—there, that is better …”
“Better?” I snapped to attention and pulled out of his embrace so fast he nearly stumbled. “Better than what? Better than Morrigu on your thigh?�
�� Vaguely I was aware of four pairs of eyes watching us in the background.
“You are not being reasonable,” he returned in an exasperated tone.
He—exasperated with me? I mean, come on! Wrong remark—don’t you think it was the wrong remark? Well, I thought it damn well was. “Me? Not reasonable? You are the one not reasonable.”
“Me?” he answered, actually sounding surprised.
“You are a dog,” I snapped at him, as little else came to mind.
“A dog?” He was obviously bewildered.
“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know what I am talking about!”
“But, enfant … I don’t—”
“You and that soulless thing—that Morrigu, who if she had a heart it would be charcoal, daring to call herself queen of the Dark Fae. You two were going at it, and who knows how far you would have gone if I hadn’t arrived on the scene.”
Dawning lit in his gold, glittering eyes as though he had forgotten what it was that had me upset, and for some reason that annoyed me even further. I spluttered because he didn’t respond. I foamed at the mouth because he looked guilty as hell, and I turned my back on him.
“I thought you knew better, and if you don’t, nothing I say will make you believe what is right before your eyes,” was what he finally dared to say.
Naturally this made my mind splutter before I managed to retort, “What is right before my eyes is you—not denying a thing!”
I turned to the women and inclined my head. “I’ll see you later, ladies.” I nodded to Breslyn and Bantry and shifted off. I didn’t want to go home, so I went to the queen’s chamber. When she saw my face she put out her arms to receive me as she whispered my name, and I ran to her, diving into her safe embrace and releasing it—all of it.
Not just the Danté thing, but the killing thing, the constant tension, the constant slashing, the blood, guts and gore thing, and self-pity came into play. Why couldn’t I be a normal girl with normal problems? And I sobbed as I would have done to my mother, who wasn’t there for me, and that was the other thing, but the queen, Aaibhe, was there for me, and she stroked me gently as I sobbed myself into convulsions.
