by Marie Harte
Oh, what the hell? She might be on death’s door, but at least let her be pretty. “Yes, she was especially attractive and just lovely in white.” Alandra frowned. “She had the most intriguing eyes.”
“Violet eyes, a sensual, lustrous lavender,” he muttered, his words complimentary though his manner was anything but.
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t mention a woman stalking my house because…?”
Alandra blushed and looked down. “You and Marcus are grown men. It would have been silly to presume a woman who looked like that wasn’t invited to your home.”
“Then why the telescope?” he asked wryly, still not believing her story.
“Because she started acting strange.” Alandra licked her lips. “I know it sounds crazy, but she seemed to shimmer, to almost fade in and out. Must have been a trick of the light, I know. But then, I thought I saw her inside your room the other day, and again just now.”
She didn’t explain why her telescope was fixed on his room, or why she’d been watching. Hopefully, he’d be too concerned with an invading Aellei to focus on her voyeurism.
He rubbed a hand over his stubbled, clenched jaw. “Damn, she has no patience,” he said softly, then stared unblinkingly into her eyes. “I appreciate your thoroughness.” His gaze darkened most threateningly. “I’ll keep an eye out for her, and any other trespassers invading my privacy.”
She blinked, deliberately looking guilty. Irritated, was he? About time. Maybe now he’d move his tight, sexy, sorry ass between planes for that overdue visit he owed her.
“Er, sorry for any misunderstandings. But if you don’t mind, I have some work to do.”
He left with a grumbled thanks, leaving Alandra in a quandary. Should she stay and continue to observe, though inconspicuously this time, or should she phase between planes? She could tell she’d irritated him with mention of ’the woman in white’, but had she lit a big enough fire to head him in her direction?
Bored with being Trudy, she decided to venture back into the shadows when a knock at the door sounded. Most likely Aerolus with more questions. Damn, just when she thought she’d convinced him to seek her out.
She opened the door with a polite smile and froze.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I had a few questions of my own about my nephew’s visitor.” Arim, Tanselm’s legendary sorcerer and Killer of Shadow, stood on her doorstep with black, burning eyes that saw too much, looking every inch the dangerous Light Bringer she’d been warned to avoid since the day she could walk.
* * * *
Aerolus re-entered his house with a dozen screaming warnings in his head but shoved those concerns aside when he noted Cadmus coming out of his bedroom. His brother’s face was pinched, his eyes wounded and dark with anger as he stared blankly ahead.
“Cadmus?” he asked softly, startled when his brother arched a shock of energy in his direction. Mentally calling forth a flat wind to shield him, he felt the jarring crash of elemental power a split second before it vanished.
Cadmus paled noticeably, his eyes like black sinkholes in his face. “Shit. I’m so sorry, Aerolus. Damn it.” He thrust a shaky hand through his hair and bent over, taking deep breaths to calm himself. After a moment he glanced up with a half grin. “Hey, don’t tell our watchdog about this, okay? Arim’s driving me nuts as it is. The last thing I need is him hounding my ass about my lack of control.”
Aerolus nodded and studied his brother. “You look terrible,” he said, stating the obvious. Over the past week, subtle changes had begun to affect his brother, the least of which was his preference for sleeping until late afternoon.
In tune with the earth, an Earth Lord at his core, Cadmus normally relished the predawn hours, getting his sleep later in the day before leaving to bartend at Outpour in the evening. When the sun rose, his brother could often be found outside walking around Green Lake and breathing in the rich scents of earth and pine dotting the exercise trail.
Lately, however, he’d been living almost like, well, like a Djinn. Aerolus paused, recalling the moment a few weeks ago when his brother had burst into Djinn flame, or as the Djinn referred to it, burst in truth—an unholy white blaze engulfed by a black, powerful aura.
Storm Lords didn’t burn true, not even Darius, who controlled fire. And the Royal Four depended upon one another, yet lately Cadmus had been shutting everyone, including Aerolus, out of his life.
Like you’ve been shutting out your family at the behest of a pesky, erotic Aellei? his conscience prodded, though he felt too out of sorts to be appropriately guilty over his secrets.
The minute he recalled her face he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He still couldn’t believe she’d had the nerve to appear in his house last week, disguised as a pixie, no less. Had Arim seen her, he’d have demanded an explanation Aerolus instinctively knew would bring doom to the sensual woman with wings.
By the Light, he’d had no idea the Aellei could do what she did. What the hell was she? A malevolence manipulating him to turn on his brothers, an insidious part of ‘Sin Garu’s dark plot, or an incredibly sensual woman with absolutely no patience?
Much as he’d promised her he wouldn’t tell his brothers or Arim about her aid in warding off the Nocumat, he would have liked his brothers’ advice on the matter. But with two of his siblings in Tanselm with their affai and Cadmus looking like the walking wounded, he kept his secrets to himself.
Focusing again on his brother, he covered his heart as he had when they were children and pledged, “I promise not to tell Arim a thing.”
Cadmus chuckled, lightening Aerolus’ heavy heart. So it was with no small regret that he pushed for answers he knew would send his brother crashing again. “My lips are sealed, if you tell me what’s been bothering you lately. And don’t tell me it’s nothing,” he added in a clipped tone, one that had his brother blinking in surprise.
“You’ve never explained how you lit into Djinn fire, and you’re obviously troubled by something you don’t think I can handle.”
“It’s not that you can’t handle it—”
“You don’t trust me.”
“No.” Cadmus shook his head, frustrated. “It’s not that, it’s just that I—”
“Think I’m a pale substitute for a real sorcerer, when Arim—”
“Dammit! Stop interrupting me. I can’t tell you, because then you’ll know how badly I screwed up.” Cadmus flushed as the truth poured out. “I made a mistake, a colossal one. Shit. You might as well know.” He ran a hand through his hair in agitation. “I slept with a woman, a person I thought was a woman, and found out she’s Djinn. The enemy.”
Aerolus blinked. “A Djinn, you’re sure?”
His brother nodded. “You don’t know how hard it’s been to resist her, even suspecting she was more than she claimed.” He hung his head low. “But I was weak, I admit. And dammit, she seduced me. I found myself telling her about us, about Samantha and Tessa, about our need to find our supposed affai.” He clenched his jaw tight, shame filling his gaze as he forced himself to meet Aerolus’ eyes. “I’ll never forgive myself for betraying our family.”
“What?”
“I said I betrayed us. By the Light, Aerolus. Don’t make me repeat myself,” Cadmus spat, disgust with himself audible.
“I’m shocked, give me a minute.” Aerolus pondered his brother’s words, trying to fit the pieces of this growing puzzle together. “I’ve been giving our battle with ‘Sin Garu a lot of thought. And I don’t think the change that came over you was a bad thing.”
“Huh?”
“I discussed some of this with Arim, and would have with you if you hadn’t bolted from the room anytime the subject arose.” A disapproving look at Cadmus had his brother scowling. “The fact is, you suffered almost no injury from the Nocumat. Unlike Marcus.”
“And you,” Cadmus grumbled, his gaze knowing. “Don’t think I didn’t notice your exhaustion and weakness the days following that battle.” He huffe
d. “Why do you think I hung around you, as upset as I was? To protect you. I could easily have sulked in my room that week, avoiding Arim in the process.”
Aerolus had wondered about that, but the Aellei’s interference with the Nocumat and Arim’s continued presence had proved inescapable distractions.
“Yes, well, I’m better now. But you’re not.”
He murmured under his breath and watched as his brother began to glow—a faint illumination that showed the Djinn’s aura interwoven with Cadmus’. Yet instead of dimming his brother, the Djinn’s power, while visibly subduing Cadmus’ aura, boosted his energy. As Aerolus studied the glow, he easily distinguished the difference.
“Incredible.” He stared in wonder, enthralled with the raw magic.
“What?” Cadmus asked gruffly, trying not to sound worried. “What do you see?”
“You’re stronger now than you’ve ever been, Cadmus. I can’t believe you don’t feel it.”
Startled, his brother closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened them, frustration lining the brown depths. “I don’t feel it.”
“Probably because your Djinn doesn’t want you to. My guess is you’ve been under her protection for quite some time. Her hold on you is fairly strong.” That worried him, but Aerolus kept his thoughts to himself. If the Djinn had managed to get that close to Cadmus, by rights she could have killed him. But instead she had used her powers to protect him? Even enhance him?
Coupled with the male Djinn’s selfless attack on ‘Sin Garu, the female Djinn’s actions spoke of another force at play in the Storm Lords’ fight against ‘Sin Garu and the Netharat.
“Cadmus,” he said, coming to a decision. “I’m going to need you to keep Arim occupied for a while. I have somewhere to go, somewhere between.”
Cadmus nodded without hesitation, unquestioningly accepting. As if unloading his internal guilt to Aerolus had incurred a debt to repay, he seemed ready to do anything Aerolus might ask.
Not wanting to take advantage, Aerolus nevertheless had to leave this world, and Arim would not be pleased. But Aerolus couldn’t accomplish what he needed with his uncle breathing down his neck. And he was loath to put the Aellei—my affai, he forced himself to admit—in deliberate danger.
“Good luck, Aerolus,” Cadmus said softly, the beginning of a sly smile curling his lips, making him look like the charming, carefree Cadmus of old. “If you need me, I’m here. And I, for one, am glad you’ll be the target Arim turns to when you come back. Frankly, I’m tired of being on his irritate-the-hell-out-of list.”
Shaking his head, Aerolus returned to his room to pack a few things he thought he might need. As he did, he glanced through his window facing Trudy Warner’s house. He wondered what she’d thought of his exhibition earlier.
He flushed, unable to believe that he, of all people, had been so carried away by lust that he’d masturbated in front of an open window. By the Light, where was his head?
Lost in thoughts of his affai, in her alabaster skin, snow-white hair and voluptuous little frame. His body clenched at thoughts of entering her heat, of merging with the woman who would satisfy the ache of loneliness clawing at his heart, an ache he hadn’t been aware existed until he’d met her.
His affai, a woman who hailed from Aelle, a place known for its treachery and danger, and for its path into Shadren lands.
He sighed, then frowned at the hint of telescope he could see winking between closed blinds. Hell, Trudy Warner needed to get laid as badly as he did. With a small wind, he closed his drapes and gathered a small knapsack of belongings.
Shelving a brief moment of regret that he was leaving Cadmus to deal with Arim, an uneven match if ever there was one, he teleported into the waiting void between worlds, seeking a tendril of his affai’s energy.
Catching hold of what felt like her, he flew on dark shadows of magic to his unknown and unruly future.
Chapter Two
Alandra swallowed loudly and tried to break eye contact the minute she saw Arim’s fathomless gaze trying to pierce the illusion she’d so carefully crafted.
“I’m, ah, sorry. I don’t believe we’ve met?” She mentally curled in on herself as he stepped closer, trying to hide her magic under a blanket of Seattle’s mundane reality.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to feign the fear he surely sensed. Good night, but he was an impressive sorcerer. He fairly dripped with dark, menacing energy. Like most sorcerers from his world, he’d been taught from an early age to revere his power, exalting himself above those with little magic. Similar to the Dark Lords, many of the Light Bringers thought themselves better than those outside of Tanselm.
Considering what she knew of Arim the Sorcerer, she figured he would view tricks and spells against the Trudy Warners of this world not worth his time. With his obvious arrogance a factor, he would no doubt think her too much a xiantope—a being without magic—to be much of a threat, so long as he accepted her Trudy Warner act.
“No, we haven’t met.” He forced her to move back as he advanced. “Now what exactly did my nephew want with you?”
She felt a subtle mental pull and blinked at him in surprise. It took all her will to protect herself from his penetration spell. Having to hide from her people for a year had given her a lot of practice in living incognito, and she finally had a decent reason to thank her annoying aunt for forcing her to flee.
Straining under Arim’s fierce magic, she blanched but managed to look anxious at his nearness. Unfortunately, he looked less than pleased with her nervousness.
“Aerolus didn’t want much.” She tried a small smile. “Look, Mister…?” He didn’t fill in his name, and she sensed he wasn’t buying her version of Trudy. Shit. Time for a diversion. “I told him about the woman hanging around your house, and he—”
“What woman?”
Arim looked ready to bite her in half, and his tone was clearly superior, demanding her immediate response. His manner made her think of the noble Aellei, and she inwardly bristled. Even as she formed the words, she called herself five kinds of stupid. But then, she’d never known when to back down, hence her sojourn to this realm.
“Excuse me.” She glared loftily up at him and assumed Trudy’s best professorial tone. “But I don’t recall inviting you in here. Just who the hell are you?”
Arim didn’t blink, but she could see a subtle tightening of his brow, a telling reaction that in Aerolus signalled puzzlement. Studying the sorcerer, Alandra noted the many similarities between uncle and nephew and wondered if all Storm Lords had that same arrogance, and that same potent, sexual allure.
“My name is Arim,” he bit icily. “Now, about that woman you mentioned?”
He withdrew his spell, and she could almost hear him debating whether to pry it from her psychically, making her wonder about his people. In Aelle, when a body threatened the royal family, as occurred on a daily basis, the order was action first, questions second. Apparently, the Storm Lords had a better grasp of the intelligent way to ferret information.
It took way too much effort to make the dead speak.
Arim’s gaze began to burn. Alandra hastily focused and told him what she’d told Aerolus, sensing she’d worn his patience thin.
As she’d planned, her description of herself set him on edge.
“You say she had a glow to her skin, white hair and violet eyes?”
“Yes.”
“How could you tell her eye colour from here?”
She flushed. “I have a telescope I use for star watching. It must have been pointed at your nephew’s house the other day.”
“I see.” He eyed her up and down, and she sensed he did indeed see. Thank the shadows for Trudy’s physical mantle of desperation. “I should be grateful you have an appreciation for heavenly bodies.”
Though he spoke plainly, his words dripped with sarcasm. And despite the danger of the situation, her Aellei blood clamoured for some fun while pushing him into leaving. “You know,” she said with a slow, h
ungry smile, one that had his face clearing of all expression. “You could thank me over a light dinner, and perhaps, some wine?”
He simply stared, and she could tell she’d discomfited him.
“Actually, I have to get back.”
“What’s your rush, Arim?” She blinked and pouted, and he took an actual step back.
“Why not stay a little longer,” she paused and stroked the upper slope of her breast suggestively. “Make it a real date, and I’ll cook you breakfast tomorrow,” she teased.
“I’m sorry to have taken your time, Professor.”
She tried to look forlorn, but wanted to laugh when she felt a large mental shove to forget all about him.
“I’m sorry, but what was I saying? Ah, I forget your name.”
He shook his head. “I was never here.”
He vanished in the blink of an eye, and had she been of this world, she surely would have forgotten all about Arim the Light Bringer. As it was, her kind loved Dark magic, and the anger burning brightly in Arim tainted his energy just enough to empower Alandra.
Brimming with good cheer, that she’d managed to fool the powerful sorcerer and that she’d soon be returning to the shadows in the spaces between, Alandra shimmered back into herself and left Trudy’s house.
* * * *
The minute she entered the pocket of space between worlds, she felt Aerolus’ draw. She’d left him a subtle trail—one only he would be able to see—weeks ago, having assumed they’d have met again before now.
Sensing tendrils of elemental magic, Alandra nodded grimly and sought the source of her frustrating desire.
She entered the small, floating structure that served as her temporary home. Made of an alien rock, one that both protected and contained her magic, the cottage felt more like a small part of a larger estate, much like the tower room she’d left in Aelle. In this place she’d gathered enough odds and ends to remain comfortable, if not content.
