Tarnished Knight: Grimm's Circle, Book 4

by Shiloh Walker

She saw things…many things. Things of the past, of the future…and of the present.

  No doubt she’d somehow picked up on something connected to Perci.

  No. Judging by the anger he felt in her, it wasn’t Perci.

  It was Luc.

  “Hello, Sina,” he said softly.

  Her blue eyes, blue as sapphires, narrowed on his face. “Don’t you just sit there and use that tone with me.”

  She sounded like she’d been born and raised in the southern United States.

  But she was older than that. Much older. She was one of his older recruits, and normally she wouldn’t have spoken to him with that censure in her tone, because she knew, better than most, that he had no control over the things that happened.

  But Sina… Well, she had a blind spot when it came to Luc. She always had.

  “And what tone should I use?” he asked blandly. “Should I sing soprano? I’m not sure I can.”

  “Maybe if I helped, it could be arranged.”

  Will just stared at her. “Sina, I had no control over this.”

  “Oh, don’t give me that.”

  He just sighed. He was so tired of this. He hadn’t realized how tired until recently. But now, as he watched over Mandy, watched her body struggle to heal from what had been done to it, he realized how tired he was. How fucking lonely.

  How empty he was.

  The white fall of his hair hid his face. “Sina, I was told who to send, and where.”

  “And you couldn’t send him with her? Do you know what he is doing right now?”

  He lifted his head and stared into her blue eyes. “Yes. He’s hurting. And for the first time in several hundred years, he’s accepted one crucial fact—she can’t love him anymore. Which means he’ll eventually move on.”

  For the longest time, she just glared at him.

  “Will…”

  He shook his head.

  “Sina, Perci can’t love Luc the way she needs to. The way he deserves. Hell, the way she deserves. She’s too damaged inside. And that’s through no fault of hers…or his.” He closed his eyes. “Neither of them deserved this, you know. They should have had the choice, a long, somewhat happy life with each other. But that crazy bitch…”

  Sina made a strange, somewhat strangled sound low in her throat.

  Yes, that crazy bitch—she was something of a legend. One who had made Luc and Perci’s lives sheer hell. One who had killed innocents. One who had done the very worst things imaginable.

  And they should have been able to trust her.

  “There is no hope for them?” Sina asked, rubbing the heel of her hand over her heart. “He loves her so much.”

  He, Will thought. Sina made no reference to Perci, although Perci was the one who had yet to heal. Luc had more or less dealt with the lot life had dealt him. Perci never had.

  But it was Luc that Sina was concerned about.

  “Oh, there is hope for them,” Will said quietly, tearing his gaze from Mandy’s slumbering form and looking at Sina. “But not together. If they were meant to be together, would they be pulled apart?”

  Sina just stared at him.

  He saw the heartbreak in the depths of her eyes though.

  She’d accepted that Luc loved Perci. Now she must accept that Luc would find another.

  In the back of his mind, he started to wonder…

  Sina had always watched the Frenchman.

  Always, it seemed.

  In the back of Will’s mind, he began to wonder.

  But he couldn’t dwell on that for long, not with Sina here. Her gift was strong and even though he shielded, it wasn’t always possible to shield against precognition.

  As though his thoughts had brought it on, he saw Sina’s dark eyes cloud, the blue turning milky and opaque. “We will be needed soon,” she whispered, her voice husky and rough. Her gaze shifted to Mandy, although he knew she didn’t see the other woman right now. “Call for your brother, Will. He shall have to watch over her, as I know you won’t leave her alone.”

  “No.” Will stiffened. He couldn’t leave her—couldn’t.

  Sina shook her head. “You will have to…or Perci dies. As will he. He was just returned to us. Is he to die again? Because you cannot leave your woman’s side?”

  Then, Sina’s eyes cleared, and she sighed.

  “We often do things we wish not to do. And this is a small thing,” she said, shaking her head. “Do you not trust him to care for her?”

  Will closed his eyes. It wasn’t a matter of trust…it was a matter of leaving her.

  “Very well. I will call him.”

  Chapter Five

  They were called the Grimm.

  They had a name…now. But they hadn’t always.

  It wasn’t until the stories started to circulate and they realized that there were dangers that awaited them if they caught too much notice…that was when they decided they needed to hide themselves.

  And what better way to do it than fanciful tales?

  It took time.

  A great deal of time, more than mortals would understand. Several hundred years went into the concocting what would become the most clever ruse known to man. Or rather…the most clever ruse man would never know.

  And the man known as Jacques had helped create that story.

  “If they believe it is but a story, a fancy, they will not look beyond it,” he said, watching as the man known as William paced the hard-packed, earthen floor.

  “It is ridiculous,” William said, shaking his head. “And far too dangerous.”

  “Is it not more dangerous to let people see and hear things they should never know? People talk. Word will spread. We must take precaution. But if we are going to do this, we must begin now. It will take time for this to take root. A great deal of time.”

  William sighed and rubbed his eyes. Then he stopped and looked past Jacques to another…another brother-in-arms.

  “It seems to be the wisest choice.”

  “Yes.”

  William nodded. “The wisest choice.”

  Time drifted away. For the very oldest among them, time sometimes lost all meaning, and by the time the eighteenth century rolled around, many of the tales were already being spread.

  Help came in the form of Sina—one of their seers.

  Sometimes she glimpsed who would come to them and she started the tales early…a lifetime early. They hadn’t been wrong when they had decided it would take time for the stories to take root.

  There were still problems, yes, but for the most part, already men were quick to explain away what they didn’t choose to believe.

  “And nobody questions what happened to Giselle?” William asked, scrutinizing Jacques closely.

  “No. She was of little importance, I fear.”

  William nodded. “What of the prince?”

  “He searches for her still. I do not know if he will accept her disappearance.”

  “Sina warned me of this,” William murmured. “I shall handle it. I believe I need to have a word with him.”

  “With the prince? Is that wise?”

  “Wise or not, it is what I am to do.” He looked at Jacques. “We will speak of it more when you return. For now, there is an assignment for you. Another two mortals—they will be like us in time. You will act as their guard for now. War comes, and they must be guarded.”

  Jacques nodded.

  He would, of course, do as he was asked. He would protect those who were yet unable. He wouldn’t fail.

  Only that was exactly what he did.

  Jacques did not fail.

  He did not know the meaning of the word. He upheld his duty. His honor. His word.

  Right up until the moment he laid eyes upon Persinette.

  Had it just been a lovely package, he might have been able to ignore it. He was just a man—yes, an immortal one, but just a man. But the lovely package was only the beginning.

  She was so lovely, but her soul was as pure and lovely as her bod
y. So strong and true. Her heart never wavered and her soul was strong. She stood steady in the face of adversity and even when she was frightened, she never let it show.

  As war ravaged their country, she never faltered, never hesitated. She provided for those under her care and when soldiers would have tried to claim her lands, she held them back.

  Nothing made her pause. Nothing made her blink.

  He suspected he’d loved her from the very first. But she had been wedded to another long before he even knew her name. Wedded…and so very in love.

  Her name was Persinette, and in time she’d become one of them, as would her husband.

  If Jacques was a wise man, he would distance himself.

  Loving her, loving a wedded woman, was only opening himself up for heartbreak, and he’d gone hundreds of years without that. He’d happily forgo that experience.

  But in the end, he couldn’t stop himself from loving her. And in the end, he couldn’t save her either. All he could do was love her. And he lost her anyway.

  Not that she ever knew…

  Twisting, tearing away from the sheets, Jack rolled out of the bed and landed on his hands and knees.

  No. He didn’t have nightmares about demons and monsters…but the nightmare he’d just had was far, far worse.

  Perci.

  Fuck, had he just slept with one of them? He’d known it even as he was taking her, but damned if he could resist.

  Yes, he had. He could smell her on his skin. Almost feel the silken brush of her lips gliding over him. Even though she was gone. Long gone.

  Squeezing his eyes closed, he settled back and pressed the heels of his hands against his eye sockets, hoping it might block out the visions there.

  Shit.

  Shit.

  Shit.

  Why had he dreamed that? And why did it seem like he had dreamed it before?

  Why did it seem more like a memory than dream?

  Even as he tried to scrub the memory away, it came on stronger and stronger, and before he even knew what was happening, he was falling back…back through time, back through space.

  Into another life.

  His name was Jacques.

  In this life.

  He stood at the side of a young maiden by the name of Persinette. Her dark eyes filled with tears she wouldn’t let fall as she watched her husband ride away with his men.

  “He will return to you,” Jacques murmured.

  “I know.” She gave him a tight smile. “It is not as though he leaves me alone, is it?”

  No. She hadn’t been left alone. She stayed in the large home of his mother, many servants to care for her, and a protector at her side.

  A protector who was more than human, because both Persinette and Luc were special.

  Jacques was there to watch over them until her time came.

  Until Luc’s time came.

  He was there to guard them…and while Luc was away, he was there to protect Persinette.

  He was not there to fall in love with her.

  No man would come near her and no harm would befall her. Not while he was near. Perhaps war might ravage much of the countryside, but it wouldn’t harm Persinette.

  Not while he breathed.

  Even as he made himself that promise, he felt a blinding, hideous pain tear through him…and all was dark.

  Jack was choking. Hardly able to breathe, lopping around like a landed fish—

  A pair of feet came into view, followed by a familiar face.

  Will reached out and poked him in the chest. “It’s over and done now, old friend. You can breathe again, you know.”

  Choking, still feeling like a landed fish, he smacked at the hand and struggled to sit up. He shot Will a glare. “What in the fuck are you doing here?”

  Wheezing, trying to breathe past the hideous, blinding pain, he rolled over to push himself to his hands and knees. His body didn’t want to cooperate and his head ached. His heart raced. His throat felt raw, like butchered, minced meat.

  It took him almost two minutes just to get up, and then all he could do was sit on the edge of the bed and wonder if he was going to puke.

  He felt like he had the flu, a hangover and an adrenaline rush all at once. He also felt like somebody had pounded on his ass for the last six months straight.

  And at the same time, he was reliving the very last moments of that dream.

  Seeing Perci’s face…it was her face. In another time. But it felt so fucking real…

  Abruptly, he remembered Will was there and he looked up, glared at him. “What are you doing here?”

  “This very moment? I’m waiting for you to calm down,” he said, that familiar smirk on his face. It widened to an outright grin as he studied Jack’s face. “You look like you were having an interesting dream there, Jack.”

  “Interesting?” Jack swiped the back of his hand over his mouth. “Interesting doesn’t touch it.”

  “Hmmm.” Will leaned against the wall and studied the bedroom, the tangled mess of the sheets.

  Although Jack couldn’t really see any signs of Perci’s presence, he had the weirdest feeling Will saw something.

  Shit, Will seemed to see everything.

  “An interesting night, altogether,” Will murmured.

  Jack curled his lip. “Yeah, interesting. Whatever happened to ‘If you have a need of me, I’ll know, and I’ll be there’? Whatever happened to that? Because I had a need last night and almost ended up gutted. Where the hell were you?”

  “I made certain you had the help you needed.” Will shrugged negligently. “Perci is quite capable, isn’t she?”

  Capable? Yeah. Jack just stared at Will for a long moment, trying to figure out what the hell was going on inside the man’s head. Then he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

  He could smell Perci on his skin, he realized. He needed to shower, but he almost hated to do it, because he didn’t want to wash her scent away. But he needed to shower to see if he could wash the cobwebs out of his head, the nasty dregs of that dream.

  Absently, he reached up and rubbed his throat. It still hurt. Still felt raw.

  “What the fuck…” he muttered.

  Feeling the weight of Will’s gaze, he looked up.

  “The mind forgets,” Will said quietly. “But the body doesn’t.”

  A chill raced down his spine as he stared into strange, glowing silver eyes.

  “The body doesn’t forget what?” he whispered.

  “Dying.”

  I hadn’t slept.

  Dry-eyed, tired and desperate for the mental escape of sleep, I lay on the bed in my hotel room.

  The lights were off, the curtains were drawn but despite the dim light, I saw fine. Not that there was much to see in the bland, impersonal room. It was a nice hotel—I had a thing for comfort. Although right now, I figured I should be somewhere lying on a bed of nails.

  What in the hell had I done?

  And then my memory started to fill in the details…

  I’d slept with a total stranger. Well, actually, I hadn’t slept. I’d had the best sex of my entire life with a complete and total stranger. And not just once, but several times over. It wasn’t until sleep had claimed him that I’d been able to tear myself away.

  He’d fucked me six different ways to Sunday and my body had been a sweet, sweet ache when I slid out of his house after he’d drifted off to sleep. Thankfully, he was mortal and he did need to sleep, although extricating myself from those big arms of his had been a task. One I hadn’t really wanted to do, but I couldn’t just stay there.

  Never mind the fact that I wanted to do just that.

  I could have happily stayed with him the rest of the day, and probably that night, and the next, and the next—

  “Stop it,” I muttered, covering my face with my hands.

  Job. I had a job to do, and then I needed to get back to Luc.

  Luc—think about Luc.

  But as I tried to pull that face to min
d, another face kept superimposing itself. Misty gray eyes instead of clear and vivid green. A roughly hewn face instead of Luc’s angelic, almost poetic beauty.

  Groaning, I rolled over to my belly and buried my face in the pillow, but then I had the vivid, sensory memory of Jack covering my body with his, that hard, muscled length crushing into me. He hadn’t been careful, or cautious and I’d loved it.

  Just thinking about it, about him, made me burn for more.

  A lot more.

  I stiffened as the air tightened. Grabbing one of the blankets, I wrapped it around myself and sat up only seconds before Will arrived. I blinked at the brilliant flash of light. As it faded, I had only one clear thought in my mind.

  Thank God he’s alone.

  Immediately guilt flooded me. I should be dying to have Luc back with me. But just then, I couldn’t have handled it. I could barely handle looking at my own reflection.

  And before me stood the source of my problems. If he hadn’t separated us…

  “What in the hell do you want?” I demanded.

  “And hello to you too.”

  I curled my lip at him. “What do you want? Just out with it so you can get back to babysitting your new angel.”

  Something flashed through his eyes. If I hadn’t known better, I might have thought it was pain…grief.

  But this was Will.

  “Perci, you’re being quite the bitch today,” Will said mildly.

  “Will, you’re being quite the ass. What in the hell do you want?”

  For a long moment, he just watched me, his pale silver eyes shrewd, measuring. Then, as though he’d found some answer only he could see, he nodded. “You’re on assignment—the mortal you fought with last night. He’s to be one of us, and you’re to watch over him.”

  “I…what?” I gaped at him.

  “You heard me well enough.”

  Silver light flashed.

  I lunged for him and caught his arm before he could step through the light. “Oh, hell, no. You’re not dumping that surprise on me and just disappearing. How long am I to watch over him?”

  “For however long he needs it,” Will said, lifting one shoulder in a lazy shrug.

  “No. Oh, hell, no. Have you forgotten I’ve already got a partner?”