Shades of Wicked

by Jeaniene Frost

  As if he sensed the power coiling inside me, his mouth curled and he stepped back. “No need for dramatics. I won’t use one of my commands to force you to tell me. Besides, I think I already know your secret.”

  “Do you?” I asked, fighting a sense of dread.

  He raked me with a gaze. “Time will tell, won’t it?” Then, he waved almost diffidently in the direction of the pond: “Your glamour’s in place, so it’s time to pay the troll.”

  “The troll?” I repeated, turning around, but all I saw was the clear, flat surface of the pond.

  Another careless wave. “You can’t see him until the bridge becomes visible. He’s under it, of course.”

  “Oh, of course,” I said sardonically, but I was glad to have the subject change. “And where is the bridge?”

  “Right in front of us, but it won’t appear until we cast in an acceptable, bespelled offering.”

  With that, he withdrew something from his jacket. When he opened his hand, I saw a diamond-studded gold locket suspended from a long, thick gold chain. An antique, judging from the old-fashioned clasps that modern jewelry didn’t have.

  “Expensive,” I noted.

  He gave me a humorless grin. “Anything less and we risk becoming a snack. Enraged mafiosos are more merciful than a troll who thinks he’s been disrespected.”

  I didn’t know what this creature was, but it couldn’t be a troll. To my knowledge, those creatures didn’t exist. Or did they? It felt like I’d been wrong about so much lately . . .

  “Take my hand,” Ian said, bringing my attention back to him. “We have to throw it in together for the offering to be considered from both of us.”

  I laced my fingers in his and waited for his nod. When it came, we threw the necklace into the pond. The surface rippled from the impact, then rippled in a stronger way after the jewelry sank out of sight.

  “He must’ve liked that one,” Ian said, watching the pond. “The bigger the ripple, the more he’s pleased by the gift.”

  By the time he was done speaking, moonlight illuminated a bridge that hadn’t been there before. It looked far older than the manufactured aged appearance of Belvedere Castle. It also appeared to be made entirely of stone. But the most impressive sight was at the end of the bridge.

  The castle that materialized was twice the size of Belvedere. It hovered over the water, covering almost the entire pond. Unlike the bridge, it didn’t appear to be made of stone. In fact, I couldn’t determine what the multicolored walls, turrets, and balconies were made of. If I had to guess, I’d say they appeared to be impossibly large opals.

  “Beautiful,” I breathed.

  Ian’s mouth quirked. “Not upset that a magical abode has been under the council’s noses this entire time?”

  Please. I’d long suspected that something magical resided in Central Park. How else could you explain such a large tract of the most expensive real estate in the world remaining undeveloped? “No,” was all I said.

  “Then come.” Ian extended his arm with a hint of a grin. “I’ve decided our act tonight will be the fighting couple. Shouldn’t present too much of a challenge, should it?”

  I felt a wry smile tug at my mouth. “I think we’ll manage.”

  Chapter 13

  We were almost at the end of the bridge, when a strong gust whipped my hair around. My hair clip fell out and was immediately snatched up by the breeze. It landed in the pond. A second later, the surface heaved as if a car had plunged into it instead of a small piece of hair jewelry. Ian pulled me closer, his other hand disappearing into his coat pocket.

  “What’s rattled him?” he muttered.

  A shadow suddenly covered us despite it being dark out. When I tried to turn around to see what had cast it, Ian’s tight grip stopped me. Then a noise like thunder crashed over us.

  “Arr-eee-ell?”

  My whole body tensed. I recognized what that rumble was saying. Ian didn’t, but he took it as a threat. He shoved me toward the doors and withdrew the three-pronged end of a small yet lethal-looking trident from his coat. The weapon’s middle blade was silver but the outer two appeared to be made of some kind of bone . . .

  “Don’t!” I shouted when I tasted the magic emanating from the creature. I caught Ian’s arm mid-thrust. The deadly bone tips of the trident missed the creature, but before Ian could regroup, I threw myself between it and him. Ian lowered the three-pronged weapon and grabbed me.

  “Are you out of your mind? That thing will eat you!”

  No, he wouldn’t. I’d recognized the taste of the glamour surrounding the fearsome creature. That glamour could only come from one source—me, and I had only gifted it to one creature.

  “Nechtan?” I asked with a surge of joy.

  Bulbous-looking lips pulled back in a smile revealing rows of huge teeth that one would expect from a troll. “Arr-eee-ell!” he repeated, then hopped up and down in joy.

  If he’d been as large as he appeared, his treating the bridge like a trampoline would have shaken many of the stones loose. But they didn’t as much as quiver, because the creature looming over us was no bigger than a child in his true form. Glamour was highly effective in fooling the senses, but it couldn’t fool rocks.

  Ian’s grip on me didn’t loosen, but he did lower the trident all the way down. “What. The. Hell?” he enunciated, staring back and forth between me and Nechtan.

  I wasn’t ready to explain. I was too busy flinging myself at my old friend to hug him. That caused Ian to curse in three different languages, but I didn’t care. I’d long feared that Nechtan was dead. Now, here he was. Alive, whole . . . and making a damn good profit with his fearsome troll-under-the-bridge act.

  “I never thought to see you again!” Nechtan’s normally rumbling voice sounded even more ragged from emotion. “I felt your magic when the comb hit the water, but I still could hardly believe—”

  “Shhh,” I interrupted. Nechtan was speaking in an ancient Celtic dialect, but with Ian’s linguistic skills, he probably understood it. “Speak carefully, my friend.”

  Nechtan looked behind me at Ian, baring his teeth in a snarl. “Is this man your enemy?”

  “No,” I said quickly. Small true size or no, Nechtan was deadly when he wanted to be. “He is an ally tonight.”

  Nechtan read the subtext between my words and a knowing expression fell over his features. Then he began to press kisses onto my hands. “I thought you were dead, Ar—my friend,” he corrected himself. “Please, take all the gold in this pond as the smallest token of my gratitude for how you saved me.”

  He’d always been so kind. “Nechtan, there is no need—”

  “No need?” Ian interrupted, striding over. He kept the trident tip lowered, but his grip on it didn’t loosen. “Refusing a fae’s gift is a deadly insult. How do you not know that?”

  Fae? I pressed my lips together to stop my smile. Is that what Ian and everyone else thought Nechtan was? He’d taken his ruse to the next level by pretending to be from a race of creatures that didn’t exist.

  “I see,” I said in as serious a voice as I could manage. “In that case, your generosity is appreciated, Nechtan.” I didn’t say thank you. If I remembered correctly, fae lore also said to never say thank you to a fae. Besides, I’d return Nechtan’s gold later, when Ian wasn’t around.

  “Saved your life, did she?” Ian asked Nechtan in a casual tone. “Sounds like a story worth hearing.”

  Of course he’d understood what Nechtan had been saying. “Another time,” I said. “We have business now, remember?”

  Ian smirked as if he knew why I was suddenly in such a hurry. “Right you are.” To Nechtan, he said, “About this gold, mate. Will we need a crate to carry it, or a truck?”

  “Truck,” Nechtan responded promptly.

  I was about to object again, but Ian said, “Splendid, I’ll make the arrangements,” and walked toward the doors while pulling out his cell phone. This gave me a few moments with Nechtan without Ian’s ful
l attention on us.

  I bent down even though Nechtan’s glamour made it appear as if his ears were meters above me. “I’m a vampire Law Guardian now,” I whispered as softly as I could. “I go by the name Veritas. But if you ever need me, contact me in the old way.”

  “A Law Guardian?” Nechtan wheezed and his huge body began to shake. Soon, he was laughing so hard, he was crying.

  I glanced at Ian, but he seemed absorbed in his call with someone named Ted who apparently had a truck. “I know,” I said, flashing a rueful grin at Nechtan when I looked back at him. “Life leads us down strange paths sometimes.”

  “All set,” Ian announced, returning to our section of the bridge. “Finished on your end, poppet?”

  My teeth ground. “Little Guardian” was one thing, but “poppet”? He’d only called me that when we first met and he thought I’d been another of his whores. “Sure, sugar nuts,” I said with the barest level of civility.

  His brows rose, but then he shrugged. “Getting into character for our act, I see.”

  Nechtan noticed my irritation. “He disrespects you?” he asked, the faintest pinprick of red appearing in his eyes.

  Only one type of creature in the world had eyes that glowed red, and it wasn’t the mythical fae.

  I immediately started to cough, which was enough to get Nechtan’s attention back on me.

  Nechtan must have realized what he’d almost done, so he jumped over the side of the bridge and began to sink beneath the water. “We will speak later. For now, farewell . . . Veritas.”

  “Farewell, my friend,” I said, waiting until he disappeared beneath the pond’s dark surface. When he was completely out of sight, I turned to Ian, fixing a bright smile on my face.

  “Looks like you’ll be getting your necklace back soon.”

  “Yes,” he drawled, a smile edging his mouth. “Seems as though tonight’s our lucky night.”

  I didn’t like the look in his eyes. I also didn’t want to give him more time to muse over what had just taken place. On top of all that, I was more than a little rattled by the weapon he’d chosen to bring. The silver prong in the middle of the small trident was self-explanatory, but where in the world had Ian gotten the two demon bones on either side of it?

  Oh wait. I think I knew.

  Ian would have to keep his extremely rare, deadly weapon hidden. We might not encounter any demons inside, but if we did, none of them would take kindly to seeing a weapon capable of killing them, especially since the necessary component was bone from the body of another demon.

  “Put your trident tip away, Ian,” I said, my fake smile still in place. “We’re supposed to be here to party, remember?”

  Chapter 14

  As soon as we crossed the castle’s threshold, I felt a wave of magic move over me, then quickly disappear. I was wondering what it was for, when Ian pulled out his mobile and grunted.

  “Just as I thought. Battery’s dead now.”

  Ah, more security measures. Mustn’t let pictures or cell-phone video incriminate anyone. The lack of functioning mobiles also aided our cause. Now Dagon couldn’t get a call from a friend and show up to surprise us.

  Once inside, orbs provided all the light, either hanging in the air or streaking around while forming into various animals, birds, and fantastical creatures. When we entered the huge foyer, the cluster of orbs in front of us swirled to form a dragon. It opened its mouth to release more brightly lit orbs in a mime of breathing fire, then the beautiful creation burst apart and the orbs streaked off to form something new.

  There were also fountains around the entire room. Each contained a water nymph, which stayed in the center of the fountain like a living, aquatic statue. The nymphs changed their appearance whenever someone passed by, forming into watery versions of beautiful men, women, marine life, or combinations of all three. The nymphs’ artistry was stunning, but water nymphs were as dangerous as they were dazzling.

  If a human made the mistake of touching one, that person would drown. Water nymphs body-jumped with a single touch. Vampires and ghouls could survive days of vomiting up streams of water until they finally expelled the nymph, but no human could.

  Still, the nymphs called to the part of me that had a unique connection with water. If I concentrated, I could feel the energy coming from them as they shaped the water into whatever they willed it to be. That energy beckoned me, inviting me to participate in their artistry.

  I must have stared at them too long because Ian took my arm to get my attention. I glanced away to find him frowning at me. “You know not to touch one, right?”

  “Yes.” But I didn’t think their positioning in various parts of the castle’s foyer was an accident. Someone with little to no magical experience would easily be enthralled by the wondrous nymphs. They must be another example of the castle’s security. The invisibility spell and Nechtan’s magical bridge toll might be to keep out innocent humans, but the former was meant to trap people like me. Most Law Guardians, Enforcers, and Enforcer trainees wouldn’t know not to touch a water nymph. Doing so would out us more thoroughly than a blaring alarm.

  I normally took issue with magic that harmed people, but water nymphs didn’t kill out of malice. They couldn’t stop the transference when they were touched. Punishing them would be as senseless as punishing a Venus flytrap for eating an insect.

  I looked back to see that the nymph I’d been staring at had formed into an exact replica of me. I smiled, then let loose a tendril of my power to gently ripple the water around the nymph. It was as close as I could come to showing my appreciation. Ian didn’t notice that I’d moved the water with my power. He was too busy tugging on my arm.

  “Come on, luv. Most of the action takes place in the next rooms.”

  First “poppet,” now “luv.” I ground my teeth before I forced myself to relax. He could be calling me these names because Veritas or “little Guardian” would draw all the wrong attention. I didn’t need to worry about calling him by his name. We wanted people to know who he was. That was the entire point of coming here tonight.

  “Action sounds good.” Even though I’d tried to relax, my voice still came out crisper than I intended. Then again, our act did call for quarreling.

  Ian led me past the fountain room to a different one, which could double as an erotic version of Eden. Vines, branches, and flowers covered the walls and ceiling and made up the furniture, too. Many of the people lounging here had decided to copy the garden theme by wearing only leaves and petals as clothing. So much for Ian saying tonight was black-tie formal.

  Moans drew my attention upward. Long, thick clusters of white and lavender wisteria hung from the high ceiling. A few of the wider clusters had arms, legs, and other body parts protruding from them. Some mage or witch must have bespelled the wisteria bunches so that whoever was inside them could float. People had taken advantage of that perk and were making love with a fervor that made me hope none of them were human. If they strayed too far from the gravity-defying clusters, they’d harm themselves from the fall.

  “Keep going,” Ian said, though his brow flicked suggestively as we passed another wisteria cluster with at least three people writhing inside it. “Unless you’re slowing down because you want us to join them?”

  I glared at him as I quickened my pace. “No.”

  He gave me a speculative look as we continued through the room. “What do you do for erotic recreation? Mencheres said you almost never shag vampires, which for the life of me I can’t understand. Ghouls are vigorous lovers, yes, but they don’t have fangs, so you’re missing half the fun. Humans are tasty and enjoyable, but they tire so easily, plus someone with your strength would likely break one during orgasm—”

  “Would you shut up?” I snapped. He’d hit too close to home with that last remark.

  He pulled me back when I attempted to stride ahead of him. “What, then?” he went on as if I hadn’t spoken. “A combination of ghouls, the occasional vampire, and battery-operat
ed devices?”

  Once again, he was closer to the truth than I was comfortable with. That’s why my tone was even sharper. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  His turquoise eyes began to fill with emerald. Then he began to propel me toward the nearest wall. “Perhaps I would.”

  I didn’t know what had caused his abrupt change in behavior, but I dug my heels in to stop his progress. Faster than a blink, he picked me up. I debated punching a dent into his head for his impertinence, then decided to see where he was going with this. He might only be acting out the “fighting” part of our ruse, though I had a feeling this was more serious.

  “If I’m wrong about my other guesses, what then?” he murmured, moving so close the full length of our bodies touched. Then he leaned down until his forehead rested against mine. “Demons? They are, as the saying goes, a hell of a ride.”

  I wasn’t a fan of being swept off my feet and backed against a wall. If anyone else had manhandled me this way, I’d be slamming my head against theirs hard enough to split their skull. But for reasons that had nothing to do with maintaining our ruse, I didn’t smash Ian’s head, stomp on his feet hard enough to break them, punch a hole through his ribs or do anything else violent. Instead, filled with an urge I couldn’t explain, I trailed my fingers down Ian’s chest with taunting flicks.

  “Why do you care who or what I have sex with? You’re not tempting enough for it to ever be you, so how is the rest of it your concern?”

  As soon as I said it, I regretted it. It was a blatant dare—and Ian loved dares. His eyes lit with emerald flames and his arms hardened around me. I squirmed, but not nearly as much as I could have if I truly wanted to get away. Instead, my efforts only pressed me against him in more suggestive ways.

  His nostrils flared. Oh yes, he knew the difference between what I was doing now and what I did when I was serious about breaking someone’s hold. It’s not as if our first fight had left Ian any doubt as to how I acted when I really wanted to get free.