by Helen Harper
Nonplussed, I stared at him. “What the hell are you on about?”
“The outfit, darling, the outfit! Don’t you think it suits me?”
My eyes travelled up and down the length of his body. Hold on a second…
“That looks familiar.”
He beamed. “I thought you’d appreciate it.”
“Solus, please tell me you didn’t break into the stronghold of the Brethren to steal one of the Lord Alpha’s suits?”
He patted the lapel. There was a tiny gold brooch pinned to it. I leaned closer, realised it was of a panther, and then moved back again, feeling slightly sick.
“As you wish, dragonlette. I didn’t break into the stronghold of the Brethren and I definitely didn’t steal any of his clothes.”
“You’re a fucking idiot, Solus.”
“Well, I think I look rather dapper.”
“It doesn’t fit,” I muttered.
The Fae looked thoughtful for a moment. “Hmm, you’re right. The Lord Brethren does have a rather, well, large body shape, doesn’t he? Too much muscle and brawn methinks.” He waved a hand dismissively. “It’s no problem, however. I shall simply have my tailors adjust the size.”
I shook my head. If the stupid fairy wanted to dice with death by provoking Corrigan then I wasn’t going to get in his way. Then my eyes narrowed slightly as a thought struck me. Solus would never dress this way unless he was hoping for ultimate impact.
“Solus, is the Lord Alpha coming here? Now?” Absolutely the last thing I needed right now to cap my day off was a confrontation between the two of hem.
Fortunately for me, he shook his head mournfully. “Alas, no. His Lord Furriness had indeed been planning to make an appearance, but appears to have changed his mind at the last minute. Some problem with the vampires, I believe.” He winked at me. “I’m sure there will be other opportunities for us to swap fashion tips, however.”
Good grief, what a thought. I rolled my eyes expressively, deciding against pandering to the Fae’s ego by making a big deal about his idiotic plans. Maybe if I didn’t make an issue of it then he’d abandon his suicidal actions. I changed the subject and thrust out the book towards him. “Here. As promised for services rendered. One sentient Fae book about dragons.”
Solus’ eyes widened greedily and he took it from me, turning it over in his hands and examining the cover. “Well, well, well, this really is an interesting find after all.”
I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “When you’ve read it, then maybe we can get together. You know to compare notes, swap interpretations, that kind of thing.”
I watched him carefully, but he barely reacted, his attention focused on the book itself. “Sure thing, dragonlette.” He flicked a glance at me and grinned, baring his sharp white teeth as he did so. “Be seeing you.”
Before I could utter anything else, he vanished into thin air, leaving behind nothing other than a wisp of aftershave. I sniffed cautiously, then closed my eyes briefly in dismay. Solus was definitely playing with fire. I had no idea what his endgame was, other than royally pissing off the Lord of all the shifters, but I was pretty sure that he was underestimating Corrigan if he thought he could get away with this kind of frivolous and foolish behavior. But, I shrugged mentally, he was a big boy. As long as I didn’t get caught in the cross-fire then he could do whatever he wanted.
Chapter Twenty One
When I re-emerged after my counselling session with Bryant, who professed cautious optimism at my progress in handling my temper, the receptionist was back in her place behind her desk, giving me a baleful glance that suggested vexation at the fact that my presence had forced Solus away from her side. I gave her a smile of regret, trying to stay friendly. For her part, she at least remained briskly efficient and polite, smiling back, even though it didn’t quite reach her eyes, and telling me that she’d see me again the following week. She had to be wondering who on earth would pitch up to meet me then. First the Lord Alpha, then a Fae. It made my life appear considerably more important and exciting than it really was.
I wandered slowly back up to the roof, in no hurry to journey back through the portal again just yet. I paused for a moment again at Thomas’ photo, wondering just what secrets he really held behind that tough yet calm exterior. I scratched at my scalp, wondering whether his hazing over the shaving of my hair and his initial reaction to me had not just been as a result of my intrusion into his carefully laid out little mage world, but instead hinted at the vestiges of a more complex personality. It made me like him more, rather than less, somehow.
When I opened the door that led out onto the roof, I was assailed by a sudden cold breeze that made me shiver. I pulled the robes around me, trying to prevent the wind from catching them too much and whipping them about, and to give myself some measure of protection against the bite of the chilly weather. The portal shimmered up ahead so I squared my shoulders and headed for it. I should probably get my next vomiting session out of the way.
I was just about to step back through, however, when something touched my shoulder. Without thinking, I reacted straightaway by grabbing it and twisting hard. The unfortunate recipient of my attentions groaned slightly before slipping remarkably easily out of my reach. Blinking, I realised who it was.
“Back already, Solus?” I inquired. My heart was beating fast, and I could feel tendrils of snaky bloodfire worm their way around my veins. This was it. Now I’d know the truth without having to spend the next several years painstakingly translating the Fae tome.
Solus just glared at me, and didn’t speak. Thinking that he was annoyed that I’d tried to attack him, I took a step forward to explain that he shouldn’t just creep up on me without warning but he beat me to it and reached out for me instead. All of a sudden, without any advance theatrics he grabbed hold of my blue robes around the neckline and pulled hard.
My mouth dropped open and I tried to yank myself away. “Solus, what the fuck…?”
He held on, however, ripping the fabric in one swift move, until the robes dangled off my arm, baring my skin to the cold. He stared hard at my shoulder, then looked back up at me.
“I thought things were going rather well between us,” he hissed. “I help you out by summoning nasty beasts from other planes, you give me information and provide amusement and entertainment. And then,” he flicked a fingertip against my bare skin, “I find out you’ve been lying all along.”
Damnit. It had been a long shot that I’d be able to fake having read the book, but I hadn’t thought that he’d be this pissed off that I’d tricked him.
I held my hands up. “Okay, okay, Solus. I’m sorry. But you have to understand why I did it.”
“No, actually, I don’t understand. We had an agreement and you went back on your word. You seem to have forgotten that I still have your old lady with me. What do you think is going to happen to her now?”
Err…what? Alarm bells began to screech painfully in my ear. “What? What the hell are you on about? That’s completely separate to this. You promised that in return for finding out what I was that you’d keep her safe. That’s not changed, Solus.”
“You bitch! It’s all changed. Did you give me that book just because you thought I wouldn’t read it? That I wouldn’t be smart enough to work it out? Because you, lady, have seriously underestimated the Fae if you did. I might be Seelie, but, believe me, I can hold my own. And there are plenty of people and creatures out there who’ve crossed me in the past who have lived to regret it. Now you’re going to join their ranks.”
He lashed out with one hand, catching me across the side of my cheekbone. It hurt like hell, but I knew that if I fought back now everything would be lost. And I knew that something wasn’t right here.
“Solus, I have never lied to you.” I looked up at him, pleadingly, begging him silently to calm down and start paying attention to what was really going on in front of him. Namely that there was something in the book that had made him go all psycho and that
I didn’t know what it was.
“What are you?” he demanded.
“What do you mean? I’m me, Mack. Draco Wyr. We met up in Scotland, remember? I have freaky blood that does strange things.”
“Except,” he said grimly, “you are not Draco Wyr. And that means that you are something else. Daemon, hybrid mage, whatever. So tell me what you really are, and I might be merciful.”
I stared at him in shock, reading the absolute truth of what he was saying in his eyes. I wasn’t Draco Wyr? I didn’t have the blood of thousands of years of dragon heritage running through my veins? I sank down onto to the ground. But it had made so much sense. The bloodfire, the crazy green flames, the bad temper. If that wasn’t what I was, then what the fuck was I? Why had John thought that’s what I was? I rocked back and looked back up at Solus.
“How..?” I cleared my throat and found my voice. “How do you know that?”
He put his hands on his hips. I saw a dawning realisation flit across eyes. “You don’t know,” he said, more calm this time.
“Know what, Solus? Tell me what this is all about.” I got back to my feet and drew myself up, looking him in the eye.
“Did you read the book?” he asked suspiciously.
“No, well, yes, I mean, I read some of it.”
“How much?”
“The first chapter. It’s not easy translating those bloody runes, you know! Now, tell me, please, what did it say?”
He blinked slowly then looked away, giving a short sharp laugh. “I should have realised. You thought that you could give me the book and translate it for you. You pretended at the party that you’d already read it. I just assumed that you could read Fae already. Another one of the many strings to your bow, dragonlette.” He shook his head sadly. “Except now I can’t call you that anymore because it’s not true.”
“Solus,” I pleaded, “tell me what it said. I’m sorry I made it seem like I’d read it. I didn’t actually lie outright. I didn’t say that I had actually read it. You just assumed it. But, please, why am I not a Draco Wyr? I have to know.”
He gestured at my shoulder. “Because you’re not marked,” he said softly. “All of the Draco Wyr have a mark on their shoulder. A claw mark. Apparently it’s some kind of throwback to the original dragon who was transformed into a human.”
“Yes, yes,” I said impatiently. “I read that part. But some warrior called Bolox fought him and eventually killed him.”
“Not before he gouged out a chunk from Bolox’s shoulder. And the dragon, who by all accounts had some winning ways with the ladies and had managed to impregnate at least a few of them, did something as he was dying. So that every single one of his offspring and their offspring and all the begetting and begatting that followed and all those resulting offspring had something in common.”
“What?” I demanded.
“A mark. An eternal reminder on their shoulders of Bolox and the fact that he dared to kill great-great-great-great grand-daddy. A claw mark to mirror where the dragon had managed to fight back. And,” he pointed back towards me, “you don’t have one.”
I gazed pointlessly down at what I already knew to be my unblemished shoulder. “Are you sure? I mean, is it definite? It’s not just some old story?”
“It’s true. It rings true at least and there is no cause to doubt it. You are not of the Draco Wyr.”
“I’m not a dragon,” I whispered. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I lifted my eyes back up to Solus. “But my blood and the stuff it does…”
“Means that you are something else entirely. Something powerful and something probably not very good.” His voice took on a hard edge. “All deals are off. I will give you credit for not actually lying so your Mrs. Alcoon shall remain untouched. I will keep that side of my bargain even if the information I received in return wasn’t true. But as we don’t know what you are any more, and as you might be something infinitely more dangerous than I can even possibly conceive, then I have no choice but to inform the Summer Queen about your existence. She will know what to do.”
I stared at him, my tongue cleaved to the roof of my mouth. I had no words, nothing any more to fight back with. Everything over the last year suddenly felt like it had been a lie. What if he was right? What if I was something dangerous? Perhaps that was why I kept getting so angry. One day I’d suddenly explode and go on some kind of terrifying rampage, destroying everything in my path. At least I’d had some kind of answer as to my heritage when I had thought I was Draco Wyr, even if I had next to no real details. Now I had nothing.
“I’m sorry, Mackenzie,” Solus bowed formally and then, once again, vanished.
*
When I lurched back through the portal again, collapsing to the side to retch up nothing but yellow bile, my mind was so awash with Solus’ revelations that I didn’t immediately notice the crowd of people out at the front. All I was thinking about was what I was going to do next and what on earth I could possibly be. I knew there was no way that I was truly human. Bloodfire aside, my tricklings of magical power proved otherwise. Then I touched the necklace at my throat and began to wonder otherwise. There had been no evidence that I could do anything magical at all until Mrs. Alcoon’s so-called friend, Maggie May, had placed the heavy chain around my neck. What if it was only the necklace that gave me the power in the first place? I’d had no luck in taking it off myself but I pondered the very real possibility that the green fire and the weak inveniora that I’d recently been manifesting were nothing other than traces of the necklace’s power, not my own personal power. I thought about what else I could do. Hear an alpha’s Voice. Initiate my own Voice to Corrigan. And to nobody else, I reminded myself. What if that was some odd offshoot of growing up with shifters that had made that happen? As far as I was aware, there had been no other human in history that had spent their formative years with a pack, so I had no other evidence from which to draw on.
I suddenly smiled. It could just be that after everything, then maybe I actually was human. If I could prove it, then the mages would have to release me from my oath and they’d have to remove the stasis spell from Mrs. Alcoon. And I could forget the Otherworld had ever existed. Then I remembered the strange stuff my physical blood actually achieved and the smile disappeared. I’d broken through a faerie ring. I’d also used it to snap a spell around a mage’s cage to free myself from them. Even more recently, it had helped me open up the vampires’ stupid glass display cabinet. Fuck. No, I wasn’t human. My teeth worried at my bottom lip. What if I was, as Solus suggested, some kind of daemon?
The growing ire in the voices to my left snapped me out of my reverie. Glancing over, I was stunned to see a group of mages, most of them black-robed, clustered around, and virtually all of them with flickering blue flames sprouting from their hands. I scrambled to my feet; what the hell had them so pent up and ready to attack? As soon as I standing and tall enough to see, I realised.
Stood in front of the mages were three vampires, recognisable immediately from their pale skin and lean builds, along with the fact that one of them was clearly my old pal, Aubrey. He was holding something in his hands and arguing loudly.
“You did something to it. Put some kind of spell on it because you thought you’d play a joke on us. Well, the joke’s on you. Now it’s yours and you can deal with the wraith yourselves.” He threw the object at the feet of the crowd of mages who, almost as one, sprang backwards. With a note of pride, I saw that Alex and Thomas were virtually the only ones standing their ground.
“We did nothing to it. You brought this on your own heads by stealing it from the wraith in the first place. The Palladium is no longer our responsibility.” Alex’s voice was calm, but I could definitely detect an edge of stress underlying it.
The Dean pushed forward. “You can take your piece of wood, and yourselves and get the hell off our land.”
Aubrey licked his lips, red eyes flashing. “Oh, don’t worry. I will, as you say, get the hell off your pitiful li
ttle school’s grounds. But you can keep the piece of wood. We no longer want it.”
I felt hot ire flicker inside me. How dare he think that just because Tryyl was causing him a few problems, he could dump the bloody Palladium back here? There was no way I was going to let this one slide by. I walked up to the group.
“Aubrey, fair’s fair. You wanted the Palladium and you got it. It’s up to you to deal with the consequences.”
The Dean looked more than slightly irritated that I was sticking my nose in, but before he could say anything, the vampire cast me a disparaging glance and spoke. “Oh, look it’s the little were-hamster.” He took a step towards me. “Except you’re not a were-hamster, are you? I don’t know what you are.”
Well, master of the scary undead, that makes two of us. I drew myself up proudly. “I am a student at this school and you will not leave that thing,” I jerked my head at the fallen Palladium, “with us.”
The Dean stepped up beside me. “For once, I agree with Initiate Smith. You will leave and take that thing with you.”
Aubrey completely ignored the Dean, keeping his gaze fixed on mine. “It was you, wasn’t it?”
I took a step forward until I was scant inches away from him. It was hard not to recoil away in natural disgust, but I held my ground and forced myself to maintain eye contact with him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I stated evenly.
“You broke into our trophy room. You swapped the original Palladium for,” he flicked his fingers downward, “that thing. So it is your fault and your fault alone that thirteen of our number have now been massacred by that wraith. I am holding you personally responsible.”
I felt the Dean move away from me and glanced over at him. He jabbed a finger in my direction. “You! I knew we couldn’t trust you. What have you done?” The venom he managed into his voice was rather impressive.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. I struggled to keep a hold of my temper. Why couldn’t the Dean let us sort out the vampires first before he came after me? That guy had no sense of priority. I returned my gaze to Aubrey.
