I didn’t appreciate the objectification.
“Remarkable,” he whispered.
I shifted uncomfortably, clearing my throat.
“Logan?” Sky asked.
“Yes,” he answered pleasantly. “How may I help you?”
Without waiting for an answer, he turned back to me, gently passing his fingers between us as if he were tracing the edge of something intangible. Does he sense the dark elf magic? If Logan was a witness to my curse, he was a threat, but was he a threat I could do anything about?
He raised a palm toward my cheek, then stopped. “May I?”
My answer was immediate and unambiguous. “No.”
“Just for a moment. Please. I will be a better host if my curiosity is satisfied.”
I scowled. According to Chris, Logan was the closest and most likely source of information on her list. We needed his cooperation. If he’d sensed the dark elf magic, then the damage was already done. I’d have to assume that every Tre’ase we met could sense the magic as well.
If I declined, would he deny us the information we sought? If I accepted, would it make him more pliant, or was he just playing a game? There could be an ulterior motive to his request. There were some spells that required touch.
I glanced at Sky, who gave me an imploring look.
My eyes narrowed to discerning slits as I met his unfocused gaze. There was a harmless innocence about his curiosity, but he wasn’t harmless, I reminded myself. Finally, I decided the potential reward was worth the risk.
“Okay,” I said, a hint of harsh warning in my tone.
Logan eagerly stepped closer to me, his forehead unexpectedly inches from my chin. Anticipation and excitement played over his countenance before he finally pressed his warm palm to my skin. Something about him flashed, causing me to blink. A glamour, I realized. He was wearing a disguise, after all. Though the flash was too short to reveal his true nature, I suspected it was similar to Thaddeus’s.
He abruptly withdrew his hand from my cheek and stepped back, rubbing the tips together as if checking for damage. Once satisfied, he lowered his hand and walked into the living room. His gait was awkward, as if unfamiliar with the shape of his glamour. I suspected he’d chosen it for my benefit, but couldn’t decipher the purpose.
“Please have a seat,” he said, gesturing before he eased himself into a tuxedo chair and then casually slung his legs over one armrest. He waited patiently, listening as we crossed the room and sat together on the red couch. The rest of the cottage’s decor was equally mismatched.
Josh would be right at home here.
“Do you want something to drink?” he asked.
“No,” Sky and I said simultaneously, with her adding, “thank you.”
Logan smiled politely. “How may I help you?”
“You don’t want to know how we found you?” Sky asked.
I opened my mouth, but cut short my rebuke. Her interview skills needed refining. We were there to obtain information, not to give it. There was no point in drawing Logan’s attention to the peculiarities of our visit. Doing so could only make him uncomfortable, or inquisitive, and would get us no closer to the answers we sought.
He shrugged, unconcerned. “Very few people know I am here. The ones that do, I know and trust that they wouldn’t send harm my way. And if they did, I am confident I can protect myself.”
“Chris sent us.”
“Ah, Chris.” He smiled. “I adore her. She’s a delightful little misfit with a temper to match. It is a pleasure to watch her. How is she faring these days? Still causing trouble?”
Before I could dismiss the question and get to the point, Sky blurted, “She’s a vampire.”
“Really?” He straightened in his chair, swinging his feet to the floor in front of him. He seemed more curious than concerned, as if he were asking about the characters of his favorite television show. “How did that happen?”
“A long story,” she said. “She thought you would be able to answer some questions for me.”
“Of course,” he answered, his hands and forearms draping over the armrests as he eased back into the chair. “I will do my best. May I ask that once I answer your questions, you offer a favor to me in the future?”
I gasped reflexively as a vibrant electricity filled the room, a rush of magic that took my breath away. It took Sky’s as well. Logan grinned at our reaction. Though he sat entirely still, I saw movement on his arms. His tattoos had come to life, morphing as they slid and rolled along his skin. After a moment, they stopped. The tattoos had changed, become more archaic. Only a few of the symbols were familiar to me, not enough to comprehend the magic he’d just made available to himself.
Tre’ases loved traps hidden in bargains. Flicking my eyes to Sky, I saw the sharp intake of breath that indicated she was about to speak, but she’d no idea of the danger she was walking into. One poorly worded phrase and she might spend the rest of her life at his mercy.
“No,” I declared first. “If you answer our questions, there will be no debts, no favors. We will pay you cash if necessary, but nothing more.”
He seemed to grow suddenly bored, turning his head aside and smacking his lips in disappointment. “I don’t require your money,” he said with a reserved politeness. “Just a remembrance that I helped you when you offered nothing to me.”
I chose my words carefully. “We acknowledge the assistance, but offer nothing more.”
He sighed. “Very well.”
I felt Sky edge closer to me. In her eyes I saw the growing awareness that she’d underestimated the danger of this encounter. I gave her a reassuring smile.
Tired of waiting, Logan splayed the fingers of one hand in an impatient gesture as he inquired, “What information do you seek?”
I nodded to Sky to answer.
“Spirit shades,” she said. “What do you know about them?”
Another bored sigh from Logan. “They are nothing more than unsettled souls cursed to walk the earth without a body. Nothing special.”
“Do you know how many there are?”
“I am sure there are still spirit shades, but not nearly as many as there were in my youth. We are becoming extinct, maybe less than a thousand of us exist, and most do not live here in the States. No one really requests that we create spirit shades anymore. It is such a taxing effort that the offerings for us to do it are considerable. I assume those that do know of our abilities aren’t willing to pay the cost. Perhaps it is better that people do not request that of us. I have not created one, and I doubt that I will.”
“And why is that?” I asked.
“Except for a few humans who were made shades as punishment, it is far crueler than death for them—”
“Because of being immortal,” Sky said.
“No, because they are alive but unable to live without a body to experience life through. They usually have a problem finding hosts. No shade with great powers would consider a human because humans have nothing to offer. Most shades were killed for a reason. To give them a chance to exist again is a very unwise decision. I am sure there are many types of powerful shades: witches, elves, mages, and even demons. Of course, no one could change a vampire for obvious reasons, and your kind”—he grinned—“back then weren’t the pretty little things you are now. Then you were more animal than man: gruesome, vile creatures.” He gave a slight shiver, then stated what he felt should be obvious to anyone, “Animals cannot become shades.”
I snorted derisively. “What about the fae?” I asked, ignoring a pressing glance from Sky. Caution doesn’t require us to embrace his insults. “Are they immune to such a fate?”
Logan smiled. “It was mutually accepted that we would never help them, but of course there are some of my kind that enjoy the anarchy and destruction that only a fae can deliver.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised. “Faes?”
He laughed gently. “Yes, you all call them faes now, which is quite fitting since they are mere fract
ions of their ancestors, the Faerie. What this world considers fae”—he rolled his eyes—“are what I consider demi-Faerie, if not quarter-Faerie. Their mere tricks and poor execution of their pitiful little spells are just a minuscule representation of what Faeries can do. Oooh”—he gesticulated, comically mimicking the casting of a spell—“my magic can make you fall in love with me. Look at me, my magic can force truth with a kiss.” He waved off his disgust. “Whatever little spells they manage is nothing compared to those of their Faerie ancestors.”
Placing his hands over his knees, he rose and walked into the open kitchen to pour himself a coffee. When he gestured with the pot, I declined. I gave Sky a warning look, but she declined before noticing. She is learning, I thought appreciatively. Never accept anything from a Tre’ase. Anything. For them, everything was a bargain, and it was possible to unwittingly accept their terms before the terms had even been announced. Buyer beware applies to magic, as well as used cars.
The smell of French vanilla coffee steamed from a mug in Logan’s hand as he returned to his chair. “Where was I? Oh yes. Faeries, the original, were powerful beings, masters of chaos and violence. They were so powerful in strength and magic that they were feared by most in this world. No one bothered them. The only thing that stopped them was the limited number of them that existed. Too few to be the threat that they could have been. They possessed the strongest and most nearly unstoppable form of magic that I had ever seen. They had the ability to manipulate the world with the same ease with which we blink our eyes. They reproduced with one another, but their progeny were so few it was only a matter of time before they mated with humans. You want to retain power, you don’t reproduce with the weakest.... It never turns out well.” He offered us an apologetic expression. “Well, sometimes it works out. Were-animals were dreadful creatures. I still find it difficult to believe they found willing human mates. Perhaps they weren’t all willing,” he added suggestively. He seemed to be waiting for a reaction from me. Finding none, he conceded, “Or maybe they were; we all have our own little perversions. Faeries made us look like docile little peddlers of magic. No, you definitely didn’t want to make a Faerie a shade. Doing so would likely ensure your death.”
“Why?” Sky asked.
“We all like magic and power.” He smiled at me. “Even death has its appeal. That is why I am enjoying this visit so much. It can be cleansing, whether it’s yours or someone else’s, and it settles well on the palate.”
“How does creating a Faerie as a shade ensure the death of a Tre’ase?”
“You create a shade, you are linked to it indefinitely, which has its advantages. But as I stated before, usually shades were formerly powerful beings, and that craving to have possession of it again doesn’t die with the loss of their body. They are very selective of their hosts, seeking ones with the ability to use magic. They pick hosts that are weak enough that the idea of hosting them is a benefit. The longer it is hosted, the closer the bond becomes, and then one begins to wonder if the actions of the host are truly their desires or that of the hosted. I can imagine that it can become quite the dilemma. The hosted lives past the life of its host. Once the host dies, it moves on to find another one. And they will continue to live until the Tre’ase that created them dies.”
I swallowed, my worried gaze flicking to Sky. Josh had believed that Gloria had created Maya, but that wasn’t possible. Gloria was dead, but Maya still lived, still kept Sky alive. Somewhere out there, among a thousand Tre’ases scattered around the world, was a ticking time bomb. It could go off at any moment, without warning. When it did, Maya would die, and so would Sky.
She wasn’t the only one who was vulnerable.
Logan continued. “Now you see why I don’t want the hassle. What if the shade is a terror and needs to be stopped? Well, you can kill the host, but the shade lives on and will just find another body to inhabit. You kill the Tre’ase and you correct that problem.”
I heard Sky swallow her fear, even while she tried to keep a calm expression as Logan appeared to absorb her anxiety as if it were expected, as if he sensed the shade in her. He seemed to expect the same anxiety from me.
“This visit has been quite nice for me.” He rose, signaling the end of our conversation. “Please come again, under a different agreement.”
As we walked the path back toward our cars, my mind raced with a new worry. The Tre’ase that created Maya had to be found, but what could we do to protect it? If Logan was a reasonable example, the demons were too powerful to safely imprison. Even if cooperative, what was the normal life expectancy of these demons? Logan had said that creating a spirit shade required a significant investment of power, which meant Maya’s creator wasn’t young. Even if every precaution were taken to keep the demon safe, nothing could stop the normal course of its biological existence. At some point, it would die. It could die at any moment, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.
I shook the thought from my mind, replacing it with another concern about Maya. If Logan’s prediction was accurate, Maya was steadily exerting greater influence on Sky. At some point, she might take control entirely. What if—
“What was that about?” Sky asked, startling me.
“What?”
“The Tre’ases, either they love you or hate you. The one that claims to have an obscure fondness for death was quite intrigued by you.”
“Make up your mind,” I snapped. “Are you concerned that they like me or dislike me?”
“I’m concerned with both. Why is one who professes an adoration for death so intrigued by you?”
“As with you, I try not to concern myself with what goes on in the mind of someone that I will never understand. It makes life simpler that way.”
So much for questions.
We walked the rest of the way in silence. Behind the wheels of our cars, a brief standoff ensued as we each waited for the other to leave first. While I thought Sky now understood the danger of dealing with a Tre’ase, I wasn’t about to give her the chance to prove me wrong. It didn’t take long before she gave up with an exaggerated sigh and drove off. I waited a minute before following her, my eyes stalking the gas gauge as I looked up the nearest gas station.
CHAPTER 10
As I pulled into the garage at the retreat, I noticed the absence of Josh’s Jeep. I frowned at my phone. No calls. No messages. We hadn’t agreed on a timeline, but I wasn’t going to wait much longer before I tore apart the city looking for him.
There was a general agitation in the house as those affected by Mercury impatiently waited for it to rise.
I was on my way to the clinic to check on Kelly when Sebastian called me into his office. I sat in front of his desk and filled him in on our visit to Logan, then waited as he took in the information, weighing his thoughts.
Eventually, he leaned back into his chair and said, “Maya will have to wait until this matter with Gideon is resolved.”
“Finding the Tre’ase that created her is going to be expensive, perhaps impossible.”
“We might be able to use the link between them to track the Tre’ase.”
I nodded. Josh might be able to trace the link, or at least use it to narrow down the search. “Have you considered how you want to deal with Abigail?” I asked, changing the subject.
He brought his fingers together into a pyramid, gently tapping the tips together. “You’re certain that she is the one who turned the creature loose on her brother?”
I saw by the determined line of his jaw that he’d already made up his mind but wanted independent confirmation. “A number of candidates for the elven leadership have died under mysterious circumstances, but somehow Gideon miraculously survives the attempt. There are already rumors circulating among the elves that it was his virility that enabled him to survive.” Sebastian and I shared an appreciative smile at the blatant but effective propaganda. “He doesn’t have the ambition for such machinations, but she does. As a female, she is ineligible to lead the elves, but
she’s not above using her brother as a proxy. Assassinating the other candidates eliminates the competition. Poisoning Gideon eliminates any suspicion against him. It also gives him the motivation for revenge, and it will galvanize his already considerable public support. If this isn’t Abigail’s plot, then there is another power seeking to put Gideon in charge, but we’ve no sense of that. My money’s on the sister.”
Sebastian tapped his fingers together a few times, then leaned forward, resting his forearms on his desk. “We’ll continue to protect them as long as doing so is to our advantage. If there are signs that he may lose the election, we’ll need to revisit our support.”
“I agree.”
His eyes held mine, searching for something. I saw there the same caution he used whenever there was a delicate matter between us. “I haven’t had a chance to offer you my condolences for your grandmother,” he said cautiously. “I’ll understand if you need to take some time.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I said stiffly. “We weren’t close.”
As he chose his next words carefully, I wondered why the cautious dance. His amber eyes were steady, empathetic, as they studied me. “The pack relies on your steadiness,” he stated, leaving the rest unsaid.
Between the dark elf magic and the unsettling appearances of Dennis, I’d been off, and it had been noticed. I shifted in my seat, frowned, debated how to answer. Revealing my newly discovered lineage would put Sebastian in a dangerous position. I couldn’t do that to him, but I’d never lied to him, either. I could tell him about Dennis and conveniently leave out the story of my newfound magic but was loathe to mislead him.
In any other pack, I would be the Alpha. I didn’t challenge Sebastian because I recognized the strength of his leadership, and he recognized my value as his second. It was an arrangement of mutual benefit and respect.
“There are some unexpected challenges,” I said carefully.
Midnight Shadows (Sky Brooks World: Ethan Book 3) Page 18
