Night of the Fae (Ana Martin series)

by Lyneal Jenkins

  ‘Wait,’ Eris laughed, halting me. As I watched, the wine formed into a backwards waterfall into the glass, including the splashes left around the table.

  ‘I always lose it,’ Maria grumbled. ‘Water isn’t as easy to control as fire’

  ‘I can probably help you with that,’ Eris told her.

  As the two of them sat discussing how to maintain better control, I could feel the bond being formed between us. Not knowing what I could offer to the friendship, I could only marvel at how strange life was, who would have thought that I would be sat in the company of a non-human powerful priestess and a witch with more than your average abilities, while being madly in love with someone more special than the two of them put together.

  ‘Did your mother not teach you any of this?’ Eris asked Maria, drawing my attention back to them.

  ‘Nah,’ Maria said. ‘My mum died when I was a baby. I grew up in the system, not something I would recommend.’

  ‘That’s something you and Ana have in common,’ Eris said, causing me to choke on my wine. ‘She was adopted as a baby.’

  ‘How do you know that?’ I asked in surprise. Being adopted wasn’t something I ever spoke of, purely because it made no odds to me. My parents had been told that they wouldn’t be able to have their own children so had taken me into their home. Even when the medical profession had been proven wrong and Beth had been born a couple of years later, I had been treated no differently. They hadn’t kept the adoption from me. When I had been old enough to understand the truth of my birth they had both gone out of their way to ensure it made no difference to my life.

  I still remembered my mother’s words now. ‘Family has nothing to do with blood ties,’ she had said. ‘That is nothing more than genetics. Family is about the people we love and the bonds formed from that are stronger than blood could ever be.’

  ‘I make it my business to know,’ Eris said with a smile. ‘Have you ever thought of looking for your biological parents?’ She leant forward, intently waiting for my answer. Her face supported a relaxed smile and as always, I couldn’t help but respond in kind. But when I studied her eyes, I detected something, a calculated coldness that almost made me shiver.

  ‘My parents offered to help me find them,’ I said. ‘But I refused. I have no interest in finding someone who left me on the doorstep of the social services without so much as an explanation.’

  ‘I don’t blame you,’ Maria said raising her glass. Eris’ smile widened slightly before she turned to Maria, leaving me with the notion that she had a secret, one that she wasn’t willing to share.

  Chapter 17

  ‘Ugh!’ I moaned as I tried to turn away from the sunlight that was causing sharp, yet throbbing pains to shoot across the whole of my head.

  ‘Good morning.’

  I groaned and tentatively opened one eye to find Gabriel smiling down at me.

  ‘How is your head?’

  ‘Bad,’ I muttered.

  ‘Well you all drank an impressive amount of alcohol. Adam had to walk Maria home and he was not happy when he returned.’

  ‘Why?’ My throat was dry and I gratefully took the water he was holding out for me.

  ‘Because she sang the whole way there at the top of her voice. Somebody even shouted out of the window for her to shut up.’

  ‘I’m surprised he didn’t turn her voice box off or something.’

  I dragged myself out of bed and staggered to the bathroom.

  Gabriel’s voice reached me through the door. ‘He seriously thought about it.’ He laughed. ‘And of doing other things that are not so nice, however, he figured it wouldn’t go down well with relations between us all.’

  ‘What does he care about relations?’ My voice was muffled as I brushed my teeth.

  ‘Come on Ana,’ he beseeched as I opened the door. ‘He is not as bad as you think.’

  ‘If only I could believe that,’ I muttered as I climbed back into bed in the hope of another few hours’ sleep.

  ‘Play nice now,’ he said throwing my own words about him and Eris back at me. He lay on top of the covers and cuddled up behind me. ‘I really wish you two could get along.’

  ‘I’m sorry. He really isn’t that bad anymore, I’m just still sore from the weeks of him eye balling me.’

  ‘He doesn’t eye ball you,’ he laughed.

  I shrugged as I laid my hands over my eyes in the hope of blocking the light out. ‘What time did I come to bed last night?’

  Gabriel started shaking with laughter. ‘You were funny.’

  ‘Oh no,’ I groaned. ‘What did I do?’

  ‘I woke up to you standing on the bottom of the bed, pulsing with light, demanding that I take you there and then.’

  ‘Oh God,’ I moaned as the memories came flooding back. ‘I attempted a strip tease didn’t I?’

  I had a vague memory of deciding that Gabriel needed a treat. As the alcohol had stolen all my inhibitions, I decided to try out something I had seen on a film that involved a sexy strip and lots of dirty dancing.

  ‘Is that what that was?’ He bellowed with laughter. ‘You sounded like you were trying to hum the funeral march before you promptly fell off the bed with your head stuck in your top.’

  ‘God,’ I moaned again, burying my head beneath the pillow. ‘The shame.’

  ‘It was adorable,’ he laughed, pulling the pillow from my head. ‘It was nice to see you so relaxed.’

  ‘What happened to Eris?’ I said to change the subject as I turned to face him. ‘Did she get drunk?’

  ‘Hardly, she left early this morning.’ He leant towards me and gently brushed my lips with his. ‘Do you still want me to take you here and now?’

  As much as the idea was tempting, my stomach rolled telling me that it probably wouldn’t be wise. Plus my breath was still offensive to even me.

  ‘Maybe you can wake me in an hour when I feel more human,’ I murmured as I kissed his throat.

  He pulled away laughing. ‘You have to get up then anyway, there is someone coming to visit.’ There was a distinct air of excitement around him that finally broke through my alcohol induced haze.

  ‘Who?’ I asked, praying it wasn’t another one of his friends. Adam was already enough to deal with.

  ‘Suraya.’

  ‘What? Your daughter Suraya?’ My stomach filled with butterflies, the churning feeling pushed aside.

  He beamed. ‘What other Suraya do you know?’

  I threw back the covers and grabbed the towels for a bath, all thoughts of more sleep gone. ‘I wish you had warned me.’

  He carefully circled my wrist to halt me. ‘Is something wrong?’ he asked. ‘Why are you so anxious? Do you not want to meet her?’

  ‘Of course I do.’ I stroked his face to try and smooth out the worried creases. ‘I just would have liked more time to prepare. It is your daughter Gabriel, what if she doesn’t like me?’

  ‘She will.’ He smiled and pressed his hand to my cheek. ‘Be yourself, and you will be fine.’

  I bit back the words about how that hadn’t worked with Adam and stumbled off to the bathroom.

  ‘Stop fidgeting Ana.’

  After a bath, three cups of tea and a fried breakfast I was feeling a lot better, though my stomach was still full of butterflies. I had cleaned the house from top to bottom, only stopping to briefly speak to Maria, who had rung to say she didn’t remember the end of the night so it must have been good. When I told her about Suraya, she offered to come for moral support. Although tempted, I declined. This was something I needed to do alone.

  ‘What time is it?’ I asked as I wiped the side over again.

  ‘About thirty seconds later than the last time you asked.’ He pulled me into his arms and gripped my chin so as to look deep into my eyes. ‘Relax, it will be fine.’

  I was about to ask him how he knew for sure that was the case, when he grinned.

  ‘She’s here!’ He gave me a quick kiss and bounded to the door, filled with so mu
ch excitement that it rubbed off on me, pushing some of my anxiety aside.

  He staggered back a few steps as a petite girl threw herself at him. ‘Father!’ she cried with a big grin.

  ‘Suraya, I can’t believe it has been so long. I have missed you so much.’

  When they stepped back from each other, I could see that she was just as stunning as Eris, even having a similar facial structure, framed by long blonde hair. Her sapphire eyes sparkled with happiness.

  I fidgeted as I silently waited for them to become reacquainted, not sure whether to wait until they had finished, or take myself into the lounge to give them time alone. They both talked fast, without a pause for breath between words, making it impossible for me to keep up. Eventually Gabriel hugged her again before turning towards me. ‘This is Ana,’ he said gesturing to me.

  Trying to hide the tension within me, I smiled. ‘Hi, it’s great to finally meet you.’

  ‘Ana!’ she exclaimed as if we had known each other for years. ‘I can’t wait to get to know you. Finally there is someone other than Eris to have all the girly chats with.’

  My sigh of relief was slightly louder than I would have liked. She bounded over to me and I uncontrollably tensed as she gave me an unexpected hug, squeezing me so hard that I started coughing. She seemed to bounce up and down, and I had to wonder if that’s what I looked like when I was on a manic high.

  ‘What have you been up to for the last couple of years?’ Gabriel asked her once she returned to his side. I was surprised to hear that it had been so long since he had seen her, then again, I supposed that when you lived forever, a couple of years was just a rain drop in the pond.

  ‘This and that,’ she said vaguely. ‘Nothing of much importance.’ She glanced at me from the corner of her eye. ‘I have spent some time with Aaliya.’

  To my surprise, Gabriel scowled at her.

  I wondered who Aaliya was and why the mention of her name would cause Gabriel to react in such a way, but I wasn’t sure how I could broach the conversation. As I had already found out, Gabriel was a closed book when it came to certain aspects of his life. I speculated whether she was some sort of love interest, but disregarded it immediately as from what I knew about the Siis, when they mated, it was for life. I offered Suraya a drink in a way to diffuse the sudden tension in the room and she agreed happily.

  As they hadn’t seen each other in so long, I tried to give them the space to catch up by pottering around the kitchen. Suraya kindly did her best to involve me in the conversation and eventually, I gave up and settled down at the table with them.

  ‘So how did you two meet?’ She leant forwards, with her face in her hands, as we told her the story of meeting on a rainy evening. It may not have been the accurate account of our first meeting, but it was when our relationship started and it was a story I could also tell family and friends.

  ‘Bet you’re glad that you fell in that puddle,’ she laughed.

  ‘I couldn’t imagine my life any other way,’ I replied as I gently touched Gabriel’s finger tips.

  ‘I couldn’t agree more,’ Gabriel said standing up. ‘Now if you will please excuse me for a moment ladies.’

  ‘Aww, that’s so sweet,’ she purred; her voice nearly as pleasing as Eris’, though deeper in tone.

  We both watched as he left the room.

  ‘I’m so glad that we get along,’ I said, turning towards her. All other words stuck in my throat upon seeing the look on her face. It was murderous.

  ‘Make no mistake Ana, we are not friends.’ Her tone was harsh and full of spite. Gone was the chatty, friendly woman, in her place sat someone full of malice, her lips pulled back over her teeth, and her nose turned up. The kitchen faded as the air seemed to darken around her, and her eyes flashed as she glared at me.

  ‘I’m sorry?’ My skin tingled with shock. I had thought that everything was going well.

  ‘I will pretend to like you for my father’s sake, but I will never understand why he is with you.’

  ‘I’m confused. What have I done?’ To my dismay, my voice came out in a pathetic whisper, all strength having left me.

  ‘You are here and that is enough.’ She sneered. ‘But no worries; it won’t be too long before he tires of you.’ My stomach clenched up as she hit on one of my greatest fears. ‘I just can’t believe that he is shacked up with some pathetic human who is leeching off his life force.’

  My lips clamped shut and I leant towards her, though it took all my strength to do so. ‘I am not leeching anything.’ My words were tight and low, in case Gabriel should hear.

  ‘For years I have waited for him to recover from my mother,’ she continued as if I hadn’t even spoken. ‘And what do I find? Him with a human.’ She spat the word as if it was something foul on her tongue.

  Resisting the urge to slap her straight across the face, I leant back in my seat, so tense that I had to force my hands to uncurl. ‘So what? You don’t like who daddy fell in love with. That’s life, get over it.’

  She sat across from me, the rage seething from her. In the space of two minutes, I had managed to make an enemy. With difficulty, I reined in my own anger in and tried a change of tactics.

  ‘Look, I’m sorry things aren’t what you had hoped they would be,’ I said softly. ‘Can’t we at least try to get to know each other, if only for your father’s sake?’

  Her nostrils flared and I cringed back in my seat. Her eyes became slits that bore into me as they flashed, causing my fight or flight instincts to set in, urging me to put as much distance between me and her as I possibly could. I glanced towards the door, wishing Gabriel would return soon, trying to supress the notion that she would surely kill me if he didn’t.

  ‘I will ensure you are gone soon,’ she promised, the words dripping from her tongue as acid.

  I forced a strained smile onto my face and reached out with my mind in the hope of getting a sense of what was really going on. When I touched her, I was dismayed to realise that she was nearly as closed off as Adam was. There was an almost clinical coldness similar to when I had touched his mind, but unlike Adam, I could detect something shimmering at the edge. I tried to focus myself so that I could get a read of what it was, but although I had become a lot better at reading people, I couldn’t translate it. The closest I could guess was some sort of calculation. It was disconcerting at the least.

  ‘You know it’s rude to snoop,’ she said making me jump. Even though I had been having a peek into her head, in my concentration I had almost forgotten that she was there.

  ‘Sorry, it’s not something I can control.’

  It was likely that she could detect the lie and I forced myself to smile in an attempt to disarm her. She glanced down at my hands and I realised that they were shaking so violently they were almost a blur. I needed to get some control over myself, but the shaking wasn’t just contained to my hands, my whole body quivered with tension.

  ‘Guess what I’ve got.’ Gabriel’s voice found us before he entered the room and I barely managed to contain a tight sigh of relief.

  Suraya studied me for a moment longer before turning to her father.

  ‘What is it?’ she jumped up excitedly, throwing me a dazzling smile, which only made my head reel with the change.

  Gabriel held out a gold necklace supporting a crystal disk, the size of a baby’s fist. Inside was a lock of jet black hair. ‘It was your mother’s,’ he told her.

  She lifted her hair for him to place it around her neck. Once he secured it, she threw her arms around him.

  ‘Thank you!’ she cried. ‘I will treasure it.’ She released her father and practically skipped over to me. ‘Do you like it Ana?’

  Still stunned by how she could manage such a quick change in personality, I could only stare for a moment before managing to mumble the words needed. ‘It’s lovely.’

  ‘Isn’t it just.’ She held it up to the light in order to admire it properly. ‘Oh I’m so glad I came and not because of the necklace
.’ She put her arm around my waist and it took every ounce of strength I had not to flinch away. ‘I know I turned up with very little notice.’ What I could only guess was feigned sorrow shadowed her face. ‘But as we have hit it off so well, do you think I could stay with you both for a while?’

  Gabriel grinned so hard that the backs of his teeth were visible and to make matters worse, he began almost hopping with excitement. I tried to draw on his pleasure in order to hide my feelings, but it made as much difference as a teaspoon of salt would to a frozen lake. His brow furrowed into a slight frown and I realised that he was picking up on my distress at the idea.

  Drawing my misery into myself in the hope of shielding it from him, I smiled weakly and lied like I never had before.

  ‘That would be great. We would love you to stay.’

  I needed to get away as I would only be able to hide the turmoil going on inside of me for so long. Ignoring Suraya’s fingers as they dug painfully into my side, I pulled myself from her embrace.

  ‘I’m going to go back to bed now, if that’s okay? It was a late one last night and I’m sure you two want to catch up properly.’

  ‘Of course.’ Gabriel’s eyes shadowed slightly, though the grin crept back as if he had no control over it.

  I forced a tight smile onto my face and turned to his daughter. ‘See you later Suraya. I am glad I can finally put a face to the name.’

  I ignored Gabriel’s reaching hand to prevent him reading me clearly, and left the kitchen with the hope that he wouldn’t follow. He caught up with me before I even made it to the stairs.