by Amy Sumida
That kind of love was beyond description or definition. It couldn't be bound by trite sayings of by what others believed was needed to make it real. It simply was. Nothing Killian said could weaken it. Nothing anyone said or did could affect the love between Raza and I. Only we had a say in it, and neither of us cared one whit for our differences.
I would have said all that to Killian, but there wasn't time. Raza came back from the bathroom, and gave Killian a nasty look. That look made me wonder how much of the conversation Raza had overheard. But he didn't say anything, not even after we were alone, and I didn't bring it up. Let sleeping dragons lie.
After the Killian visit, Raza and I had gone back to enjoying our time in SF. We had the use of my father's apartment, and a Gentry Tech (Keir's company) car, so we didn't have to concern ourselves with those basic things. We just pretended to be human and took in the city like any couple would have. Well, any wealthy couple. Raza had some seriously big bank accounts. Dragons and treasure go way back.
Finally, Halloween night arrived and we headed to the SF Council House for the party. Raza had shocked me by actually agreeing to wear a costume. Not only that, he'd consented to a couple's costume. His costume had to be custom made, since there wasn't one available in size massive. Raza's mass didn't fit with the appearance of the character we chose either (though his height was a plus), but there had only been two costumes he'd approved of. The other was being a dragon while I rode him down the street dressed as Daenerys Targaryen. I told him that would be fine for a parade, but we couldn't go to a party like that. We'd never fit through the front door. So Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, it was. And I was Sally, of course.
Raza's face and hands were glamoured to look skeletal, as if he'd painted them, but without all that pesky pigment. He wore a sharply tailored, striped, black and white suit with some shiny, wingtip shoes. There was a bow tie at his throat, a bat head at its center with spiked wings flaring out from it, and his hair was slicked back smoothly beneath a coat of white hairspray. He looked fantastic.
I put on a long, red, wig and a patchwork dress. My body and face were glamoured to look as if I'd been sewn together, and I'd even added a tint of blue. Exaggerated lashes made my eyes look huge, and I wore little black Sally shoes over my striped stockings. Too bad I hadn't brought Cat, I could have thrown a sheet over her and called her Zero.
We pulled up in our limo (we didn't want to bother with the company car since parking in San Francisco is usually horrendous, but even worse on Halloween), got out, and strode up to the conjoined Victorian houses which made up the SF Council House. Music was filtering out into the garden, and the whole place was lit up with flashing, multicolored lights. A gargoyle opened the door, fog rolling out around his feet.
“Happy Halloween!” a voice said from within the gargoyle mask. “Come on in,” he opened the door wider and waved us in through the cloud of mist.
As soon as the door closed behind us, the gargoyle headed off. Must not have been anyone I knew. I shrugged, took Raza's skeletal hand, and led him further inside the Council House. The rooms were decorated with fake cobwebs, hanging bats, and lots of black material. In the sitting room to the left of the door, a closed coffin was raised up on skeletal legs, to serve as a buffet table. A bubbling cauldron squatted beside it, full of punch.
I searched the haze for anyone familiar, but it was difficult to see past the costumes. A thin woman in a Marie Antoinette outfit looked familiar, and she seemed to be staring at me through her Venetian mask. But then she turned and slipped through the crowd. I frowned as I watched her snowy curls bob away. There had been something unsettling about her.
The place was overflowing with extinguishers though, so I didn't worry about the woman. I went back to searching for my friends, but it seemed impossible to find anyone. I was about to give up and head towards the food, when something fell at my feet and exploded. Glitter burst from the item, spraying up in a sparkling arc. Raza and I pulled back in surprise as a man in pink combat gear came through the falling glitter with a dramatic spread of his arms.
“Happy Halloween! You've just been glitter bombed!” Councilman Karmen Simmel declared. “I hit you with a gay grenade and got my gaiety all over you. You're welcome!”
“Karmen!” I laughed and hugged him. Then I pulled back to look over his pink camouflage. I tapped a finger on his rainbow colored helmet. “What the hell are you supposed to be?”
“A marine,” he said in his duh voice. “I'm serving my country and spreading the love, just as I do in real life.”
“Yes, I see that,” I shook my head.
“Now, Sally,” Karmen winked at me, “are you going to introduce me to Jack?”
“You've already met Raza,” I said.
“Raza?” Karmen frowned and peered past Raza's paint glamour. “Where are your lovely wings? And your claws?”
“It's called glamour,” Raza said with a smile. “You should know all about being glamorous.”
“Ah!” Karmen squealed. “It is you! My love! My one and only!”
Karmen launched himself at Raza and hugged my boyfriend as tight as his weapon belt (full of more gay grenades) would allow. Raza patted Karmen's back and gave me a pained look. I was laughing too hard to help him. Karmen would climb down when he got tired of feeling Raza up. Should be sometime later that week.
“I miss the wings,” Karmen did finally slip-slide his way down Raza's chest, one hand lingering a little longer than necessary. “But you look good as Jack.”
“I am The Pumpkin King,” Raza corrected, and I finally understood why he'd approved the costume. He was still royalty. I rolled my eyes.
“Baby, you're the king of whatever you want,” Karmen nodded. “The King of Fantasies, the King of Orgasms, the King of My Bedroom-”
“Seren!” Extinguisher Abigail Teagan, AKA Abby, ran up to me and gave me a hug, thankfully interrupting Karmen's list. “I'm so sorry about your father,” she sobered as she pulled away.
“Thanks,” I whispered and sobered a little too.
“Oh damn, me too, Seren,” Karmen sighed. “I totally forgot.”
“It's okay,” I waved it off. “I don't want it to bring the party down. Ewan's at rest now.”
“Yeah,” Abby nodded, then looked to Raza and squinted. “You're not Tiernan.”
“Definitely not,” Raza agreed. “Well spotted, Extinguisher Abigail.”
“Tiernan and I broke up,” I said with as little emotion as possible. “I'm with Raza now,” I nodded to Jack.
“Raza?” Abby frowned at him. “Oh, yeah, I see you now. Good costume, you guys look great together.”
“Thank you,” Raza preened.
“And you're...” I looked over her long blonde wig and the vaguely medieval clothing she was wearing. Then she held up a fluffy stuffed animal with a massive mouth full of teeth. “Kira! From The Dark Crystal. And this is Fizgig!” I stole the stuffed animal from her to give it a squeeze. “I love it!”
“Thank you,” Abby did a turn to show herself off. Then she leaned in to tell me, “Brandon is wearing a Joker costume. Just so you know who to avoid.”
“How appropriate,” I rolled my eyes.
“Right?” Karmen giggled. “And so unoriginal. Another Suicide Squad Joker, not even the cool, Jack Nicholson Joker.”
“Brandon isn't worthy of wearing a Jack Nicholson costume,” I noted. “Not even the Joker.”
“Preach it!” Karmen fist bumped me. “Alright, so here's the plan. We divide and conquer. You two,” he motioned to me and Raza, “go and gather supplies. You,” he said to Abby, “go and find us a place to make camp. I,” he pulled a large, plastic, pink rifle from behind his back and started sighting it around the room, “shall go and find us some recruits... hopefully sailors.” He took off through the crowd.
“So, shall we get some food and sit down?” Abby asked with a raised brow.
“That's what I just said!” Karmen called back to us.
�
��Did Torquil come with you?” Abby asked hopefully.
“No, sorry Abby,” I gave her a sad face. “I left my Guard behind, much to their irritation. But Raza pointed out that he could handle protecting me by himself, and none of them wanted to argue with him.”
“Oh well,” she shrugged, “no matter. He's supposed to come for a visit next month.”
“He is?” I lifted a brow. “He didn't tell me that.”
“Yeah, I know,” Abby grimaced. “It's my fault. I told him not to bother you with it until he absolutely had to. I figured you'd need some alone time. To mourn.”
“Thanks,” I gave her a soft smile. “I'm good though. Really.”
“I'm looking after her,” Raza slipped an arm around my waist.
“Jack and Sally,” Abby sighed. “They're simply meant to be.”
“What's that?” Raza cocked his head at her.
“It's from the movie,” she chuckled. “Haven't you seen it?”
“No, I just thought it was a regal costume,” Raza looked to me. “These characters have a fated love? Why didn't you tell me?”
“It didn't even occur to me,” I shrugged. “I just like the movie.”
“Our costumes are more appropriate than we'd thought,” Raza leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Meant to be.”
“Dear God, you two are way too adorable for me to handle without Torquil nearby,” Abby sighed. “Or a strong drink,” she headed to the bar, which was decorated to look like a laboratory. Then she picked up someone's discarded wand and started waving it over the bar, chanting, “Wingardium Mimosa. Wingardium Mimooosaaaa.”
“Abby, what the hell are you doing?” I asked as I came up beside her.
“I'm conjuring myself a drink,” she grimaced at me like it was obvious.
“It's Mim-mo-sah, not Mimosa,” Karmen corrected as he came up beside her. “And you need to flick your wrist just right.”
We all laughed, then we drank, and ate, and danced into the early hours of the morning. Luckily, the Joker kept his distance and I didn't have to deal with any of Brandon's racist crap. The evening was nearly perfect.
When Raza and I finally got back into the limo to head to the apartment, I nestled in against him, and laid my cheek to his chest to listen to his heartbeat. His arm came around me, and I sighed in supreme contentment. The Dragon King had turned into the Pumpkin King, and proved himself able to be a part of every aspect of my life. From dancing to Werewolves of London to ruling a kingdom, Raza could do it all. But the thing he seemed best at, was making me happy.
What more could a fairy princess ask for?
As we pulled away from the curb, I saw Marie Antoinette again. She was standing in the garden before the Council House, peering at our limo through her mask. I frowned, staring at her over Raza's bat winged bow tie. Then I concentrated harder, and saw her aura shifting around her like a poisonous cloud: angry red and bruised indigo. It was our stalker. She smiled at me viciously and lowered her mask.
I sat upright and shouted, “Stop the car!”
The limo jerked to a halt and I climbed over Raza, scrambling to get the door open. We both tumbled out onto the curb.
“Seren!” Raza fumbled to help me up. “What is it?”
“Our stalker!” I jumped to my feet, my eyes on the garden.
Then I ran off without another word, I'd explain later. First, I had to catch that bitch. I searched every damn shrub and tree, but found nothing. The garden was empty. So I ran back into the house and peered through every shadow with my psychic senses. By this time, I'd attracted the attention of extinguishers and council members alike. The party ground to a halt as the entire place went on high alert. These were professionals, I didn't have to say a word to them. They saw my anxiety and acted upon it. Doors and windows were slammed shut, iron swords were produced, and grim faced super heroes, monsters, and movie stars helped me clear every inch of the Council House.
Finally, we all gathered together in the front rooms, shaking our heads with failure. I was trembling, furious that she had escaped. Raza stood beside me with worry etched over his skeleton face. But it was Councilman Murdock, dressed as Abraham Lincoln (the Vampire Hunter version), who came forward to ask aloud what everyone was thinking.
“Princess Seren, what was the threat?” Murdock demanded.
“Someone has been stalking us through San Francisco,” I explained, waving a hand back to include Raza. “She was here tonight. I saw her as we were leaving. But it seems that she's escaped again. Post guards, Head Councilman, and have them watch for auras. If she returns, it'll probably be under a glamour of invisibility.”
“Did you recognize her?” Raza asked before Murdock could. “Did you see her face?”
“Yes,” my jaw clenched before I could answer. The things that woman could be up to, made my skin crawl. “I recognized her alright. It was Moire Thorn, my other evil Aunt.”
“Danu damn her!” Raza growled. “What is she doing here?”
“I don't know,” I took Raza's hand, “but I don't think she's here to visit Fisherman's Wharf.”
“Put an alert out to the entire city,” Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, ordered. “Tell everyone to be on the lookout for Lady Moire Thorn of Unseelie.”
“She's a fugitive of Fairy. Tell them to extinguish her on sight,” I said calmly. “We're not taking any chances this time.”
“I agree wholeheartedly,” Murdock nodded, then looked to the rest of the room. “You heard the Ambassador. Moire Thorn is a fugitive, considered highly dangerous. Extinguish her on sight.”
I looked to Raza and he set his golden stare steadily on me. I knew immediately that he was thinking the same thing I was. The Extinguishers would never get their hands on Moire. She was far too cunning for that. Even more tricky than Uisdean had been.
It would fall to me to hunt my Aunt. And I was okay with that. The woman had tried to kill my father. I owed her one.
“Don't worry, darling,” I said to Raza, and lifted up on my toes to kiss his cheek. “I'll handle this.”
“We will handle this,” Raza corrected me. “We started this hunt together, and so shall we end it. Once I scent prey, I don't give up until I've run it to ground.”
So there was something more a princess could ask for in a lover. A man who had faith in her ability as a warrior, but who also loved her too much to ever let her fight alone. Raza had surprised me once again.
“Alright, dragon,” I smiled softly, letting the love shine through my eyes and turn my next words into something more romantic than they should have been, “I'll share the kill with you.”
“Ah, mo shíorghrá,” Raza purred, “you do know how to excite a man.”
As All Hallows Day dawned and the power of twilight rushed through me, Raza kissed me, holding me tight to his chest. I spread my magic over his skin and shivered with him, looking forward to the hunt.
Grammar Giggles
And just for a little giggle, here are some grammar mistakes found by my editor Michelle Hoffman and by myself, during the editing of this book.
Correct line: They were involved in this war, whether they liked it or not.
The Giggle: They were involved in this wart, weather they liked it or not. ~ Looks like some warty weather for Switzerland.
Correct Line: The sea dragon actually had a fairly good sense of humor.
The Giggle: The sea dragon actually had a fairly good sense of human. ~This actually makes sense in an odd way.
Correct Line: Fairy berries just weren't a substitute for pot roast pork pizza.
The Giggle: It was just a correction of wasn't to weren't. The giggle was with my editor writing a note to me beneath the correction, and I quote, “Thanks for making me hungry.”
Correct Line: When I was decently clad, I went back out into the shabby hotel room to find Killian sitting at the tiniest table ever, which every hotel room we'd been in seemed to have a version of.
Giggle: When I was decently clad, I went back out i
nto the shabby hotel room to find Killian sitting at the tinniest table ever, which every hotel room we'd been in seemed to have a version of.~ evidently, every hotel room has a table made of tin.
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Elf-Shot
Chapter One
“You don't have to be here,” I murmured to my cousin, Bress.
“Yes, I do,” he protested. “She's my mother.”
“Moire mentally tortured you and nearly drove you insane,” I shook my head. “No one would think badly of you if you wanted to go back to Twilight.”
“I'm just now starting to feel whole again, Seren,” Bress' stormy eyes swirled like fog. “I need to do this. I need to be here to confront my mother and prove to myself that I'm strong enough to survive her. Maybe prove it to her as well.”
“Alright,” I sighed. I don't even know why I'd brought it up again, Bress was already there.
We were in San Francisco, at the Human Council House, in a meeting to discuss Moire. I was serving as both Ambassador and Princess of Twilight, a representative of my father, King Keir. As Moire's last remaining relatives, it was expected of us to make an appearance. I was sitting between Bress and my boyfriend, King Raza Tnyn II of Unseelie. Raza had been invited because he was technically Moire's king, but he was actually there to be true to the vow he made me on Halloween. He had promised to kill Moire with me.
Sounds vicious, I know, but you need to understand what kind of woman Moire was. The ex-Marchioness was as wicked as they came. Even her son had been a product of evil. She had raped Bress' father while he was a prisoner in Unseelie. Fertility strikes fairy women only once every hundred years. Moire had wanted to be a mother, and didn't have a lover at the time, so she had taken what she wanted from a seelie prisoner. That's what Bress had told me. But I suspected it was far more Machiavellian than that. By having a child with a seelie, Moire had ensured that her baby would be born a twilight fairy. Twilight fey were held in high esteem in Fairy, but again, I believe it went further than that. Moire knew that her half-brother, my father, was without an heir. As Keir's nephew and a twilight fairy, Bress made a perfect candidate.
