Forever Wicked (Castle of Dark Dreams)

by Nina Bangs

  That had the ring of truth, and she smiled her satisfaction.

  “But when you’re in the grip of your power, you get this spaced-out expression and your hair floats. Hell, you float.” He lowered his voice. “Why didn’t you use it today?”

  Time for the hard truth. “I knew it would bother you.”

  He frowned. “You thought it would crush my masculinity to know you used your power on me?”

  She did some mental squirming. “Yes. I suppose.” She sat down again. “I figured I’d tell you afterward that I hadn’t used any power, that it was all just you and me.”

  Something warm moved in his eyes and was gone. “Forgiven.” He stood and held out his hand. “Let’s go downstairs to see what everyone’s doing.”

  Even though Sparkle knew he’d soon remember the things separating them, she’d take the moments of peace he offered and enjoy them.

  As they walked down the stairs, Sparkle realized she couldn’t hear anyone talking. Strange. “Where is everyone?”

  He shook his head. “Don’t know.” Mede led her toward the parlor. He stepped aside so she could enter first.

  Sparkle took one step into the room and then froze. Mede stopped behind her. Oh, no. Everyone sat silent, gazes fixed, eyes wide. Mistral stood by a window, hands clenched as he stared at the couch.

  And on the couch? A man. Black hair shot through with strands of gold fell in a shining curtain down his back. A beautiful face—thick lashes framed pale gray eyes, the irises outlined in black. His eyes had an upward tilt giving him an exotic look. A sensual mouth with the angles of jaw and cheekbones meant to hold shadows and secrets completed the picture. The total package would make any woman smile until she looked into his eyes—cold, still, and empty.

  Sparkle wasn’t smiling now.

  The Big Boss waved at them. “I thought you guys would never get back.”

  10

  Ganymede yanked Sparkle back at the same time as he stepped in front of her. He winced as he heard her butt hit the floor behind him. Guess he’d used too much force. He’d hear about that later. If they had a later. She’d be in his face with, “You overprotective jerk. I can fight my own battles blah, blah, blah.” Too bad. He took care of what was his. His? He almost paused to consider that thought. Almost.

  The Big Boss hadn’t moved. That was good. If all he wanted was Ganymede dead, Bourne would’ve zapped him as soon as he appeared in the doorway. Instead he watched them with that icy stare he did so well.

  “How did you find me so fast, Bourne?” Ganymede forced himself to look relaxed, unafraid. Perception was everything with the Big Boss.

  Bourne’s sigh was longsuffering. “A kitsune dressed as a Girl Scout delivered my cookies. She had lots of complaints about the people living in the pink house. Told me how the big blond guy and his red-haired girlfriend bullied her. It’s all about keeping a low profile when you’re hiding, Ganymede.”

  Sparkle frowned. “She works for the government. Her job is to spot nonhumans in her neighborhood. I’m surprised she didn’t tag you.”

  Bourne’s smile didn’t touch his eyes. “I know how to camouflage what I am.”

  Left unsaid was, “Unlike you.” Ganymede was only thankful Amaya hadn’t blabbed about anything more. But then she wouldn’t if she believed Bourne was human.

  “Who let you in?” Ganymede would try to keep Bourne talking, and then steer their confrontation somewhere less populated.

  “I did.” Mistral breathed defiance. He stepped forward.

  The shifter narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth as he turned his gaze on Bourne. Good. Ganymede hoped he could count on Mistral to get everyone out of the house if things went south.

  “Why the hell would you do that?” Ganymede scanned the room, assessing other possible allies. Holgarth sat in a corner chair muttering to himself. No, he was probably talking to Lucinda. The ghost had a stake in driving Bourne from her home. Holgarth had skills. And no matter how much of a pain in the ass the wizard was, he would be loyal to Sparkle. The newbies? Jerry had freakish power, but Ganymede didn’t know if he could count on his support or even if he’d bother to take sides at all. The others might try to help, but they were too new, too raw to do much against Bourne. The Big Boss would flatten them and then move on.

  Bourne answered for Mistral. “Probably because I laid my I’ll-huff-and-I’ll-puff line on him. Guess he didn’t want your property value to go down. You know, after I turned your house into a pile of rubble?”

  “Maybe we need to take our discussion somewhere private, somewhere far away from here.” Ganymede tried to ignore Sparkle’s cursing behind him.

  Bourne raised one brow. “I thought you wanted Times Square.”

  “I lied. I’m a private person at heart.”

  Before Bourne could respond, Sparkle punched Ganymede hard in the side and then squeezed in beside him. “Don’t you ever do that again.”

  “Ah, there’s my assistant.” Bourne didn’t smile. “Aren’t you supposed to be back in the castle helping to take the load off my tired shoulders? You do remember me appointing you as my second-in-command, don’t you?”

  She met the Big Boss’s gaze. Not many people had the guts to do that. Ganymede admired that about her.

  “Yes, well, this was an emergency. You hadn’t tossed anything into my in-box for a while, so I figured you wouldn’t miss me if I took a short road trip.”

  Bourne shook his head. “Sparkle, Sparkle, now why would you think that? You never know when I might need you. You’re supposed to be available at a moment’s notice.”

  “Bullshit.”

  Ganymede heard the collective indrawn breaths. No one talked to the Big Boss like that. Except for Sparkle. He knew better than to fling himself in front of her again, though. Besides, Bourne had always liked her. A jab of something that felt a lot like jealousy made him shift uneasily. The Big Boss wasn’t interested in Sparkle, was he? Ganymede was taller, but Bourne had style. Would that sway her? He shoved the thought aside. Focus.

  “What did you say?” Bourne offered her his icy, empty stare.

  Bourne’s immense power flooded the room, threatening to crush everyone beneath it.

  “You’re a control freak. You want to have your thumb on every aspect of your world. You don’t delegate. If I waited for you to send me work, I’d have cobwebs hanging off me.” She smiled even though it looked a little shaky.

  Bourne studied her for a moment before answering. “We’ll discuss your duties later.”

  Ganymede felt everyone’s collective sigh of relief as Bourne drew back his power.

  Then Bourne looked around the room. “So we have Holgarth here who’s doing his best to work with a beautiful but ghostly Lucinda on a spell they hope will slow me down. Please save your energies for something doable.”

  Lucinda winked into view. She looked furious. “You’ve invaded my house.”

  Bourne ignored her. “Mistral is trying to decide whether hitting me with his earth, wind or fire forms will do any good.” Bourne’s smile was meant to terrify. “No.”

  He stopped when his gaze reached Jerry. “I haven’t seen so many layers of power in a newborn since…” He glanced at Ganymede. “Since you. He’ll either be very good or very very bad. I can’t wait to see.”

  His attention shifted to Orion, Jill, and Blue Bell. “Earth mover, bringer of night terrors, and an animal controller.” Bourne nodded. “Excellent. I’m not quite sure what you have planned here, but you’ve started with a strong foundation.”

  Just then, someone tapped on Ganymede’s shoulder. Turning, he saw the new boy who still clutched his yellow animal in his arms. The kid motioned that he wanted to go into the room. Ganymede thought about stopping him but then moved aside. The Big Boss was playing with them, but he really only wanted Ganymede. He didn’t kill indiscriminately.

  As Bourne watched the boy settle onto the floor beside Blue Bunny, his cold detachment disappeared. He stood and walked over to the bo
y. Then Bourne crouched down in front of him. He spoke to the boy in a language Ganymede had never heard. The boy shrugged then looked away.

  Bourne straightened before turning back to Ganymede. He looked excited. “I bet you don’t have a clue who you have here.” He seemed pleased with the thought.

  Right now, Ganymede didn’t give a damn about the boy or his weird pet. “Let’s stop the small talk. Are you here to shut me down?” Of course he was, but Ganymede wanted to hear him say it.

  Bourne seemed to consider the question. “Depends. Let’s walk on the beach.”

  Ganymede nodded. He scanned the faces all turned toward him. “Stay here. Bourne and I are going to have a nice civilized talk.” Yeah, right. “Don’t try to interfere.” He stared at Sparkle when he said it.

  He’d decided against asking for help. This was his fight, and he’d finish it. He glanced at Sparkle. “You’re in charge of this place until I return.”

  “I don’t mean to interrupt, but Sparkle works for me. She doesn’t have time for moonlighting.” Bourne started toward the front door.

  Sparkle shot lethal glares at Bourne’s back but didn’t say anything. Smart.

  Ganymede caught up with the Big Boss. He couldn’t resist a heartfelt, “Fuck you.”

  Bourne’s grin promised that bad things would happen once they reached the beach. He was still smiling as he opened the door and stepped out into the night.

  Damn, it was dark outside. How long had he and Sparkle been away? Ganymede had wanted to stop to share a few last words with Sparkle, but they were words not meant for an audience. Besides, they’d signal that he wasn’t sure he’d be coming back. And he needed everyone to remain calm, especially Sparkle. He didn’t want her running onto the beach to rescue him. The Big Boss was at the top of the troublemaker food chain. No one messed with him.

  Ganymede waited until they were on the beach before speaking. “It might be dark, but it’s not late. People are still around.”

  Bourne shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I’ve hidden us from their eyes.” He wended a leisurely path down to the water’s edge.

  Ganymede stood beside him while his mind churned with dozens of possible scenarios. When the Big Boss struck, he’d do it unexpectedly and with lightning speed. Ganymede needed to see his eyes. They would telegraph his intention a moment before he attacked. Bourne obligingly turned to face him.

  “We need a more in-depth talk about last month. What was that really about?”

  In the darkness, Bourne’s eyes glowed silver. He was totally pissed off and no longer hiding it now that they were out of the house. Ganymede’s mind raced. Bourne wasn’t stupid. He suspected there was a lot more to the story. But he couldn’t know for sure unless Ganymede told him.

  Ganymede shrugged. “What’s to discuss? I already explained why I did it. That was my farewell tour. I want people to remember me when I’m gone. Maybe erect a bunch of statues, name a few streets after me.” Wow, that hadn’t come out as funny as he’d intended. The Big Boss wasn’t laughing.

  “Farewell tour? Going somewhere?” He speared Ganymede with a hard stare. “Other than the one-way ticket to hell I’ll be handing out?”

  Ganymede didn’t have a snarky comment ready, so he kept his mouth shut. He watched the Big Boss curl his hands into fists. His eyes glowed brighter. Bourne would strike at any moment if he didn’t defuse the situation. But did he want to? Ganymede had always wondered if he could take the Big Boss in an even fight. Then he thought of the people in his pink house, of all the other humans living in Cape May who might die with no warning, Sparkle. He exhaled. Time to bury his ego for the moment. Besides, he’d never be able to deliver an ass-whooping to his creator if the Big Boss ended him here.

  “Look, I probably shouldn’t have done some of those things.” Ganymede knew he should hook an I’m sorry onto that, but he couldn’t make his lips form the words.

  “I don’t freaking believe you. You drew a mustache on the Mona Lisa with indelible ink. You made a big chunk of the Great Wall of China disappear. You transferred a Wal-Mart with all of the shoppers still inside to Machu Picchu. I won’t go on because it just makes me more furious. Did you think humans would just stand around scratching their heads and looking dumb? Why do you think there’re a whole bunch of Amayas doing their things all over the country?” He poked Ganymede in the chest. “Because of you.”

  Ganymede saw the intent in Bourne’s eyes a moment before the Big Boss unleashed a fiery ball at his head. Ganymede dodged it. The ball soared up and exploded with a thunderous roar. The next one came in low. Ganymede dived and got a mouthful of sand. But even as he dodged and wove to avoid Bourne’s missiles, he breathed a sigh of relief. This wasn’t the Big Boss’s executioner mode. This was Bourne really ticked off and wanting to vent his almighty displeasure. Now all Ganymede had to do was to keep moving until Bourne got tired.

  Then something occurred to him. Humans might not be able to see them, but they didn’t seem to have any trouble seeing the flaming cannonballs the Big Boss was heaving his way. Ganymede ducked just in time and then watched as the ball of fire impacted with the ocean sending up a plume of steam and superheated water. People tumbled from their houses to point and stare. Cars stopped in the middle of the street as their drivers jumped out with phone cameras ready to snap the phenomena.

  Just freaking great. Bourne was too lost in his righteous anger to pay attention to what was happening around him. And Ganymede couldn’t exactly step up to him, tap him on the shoulder, and say, “Lay off. You’re attracting a crowd.”

  Then things got worse. Horrified, Ganymede watched as people spilled from his pink house. Sparkle led the charge. No, no, no! Anything they did to try to help might tip Bourne into a killing frenzy. They were all doomed, along with most of Cape May, if that happened.

  Ganymede tried to wave them off at the same time he leaped over a fireball meant to score a strike as its flames skimmed the beach. A fiery geyser of sand exploded into the night. The human audience screamed and pointed and took more pictures. Ganymede could hear sirens in the distance. Oh, shit.

  What to do? If he fought back, Bourne would ramp up his attack until it became lethal. The same thing would happen if his friends joined in the battle. And he was tiring, his breathing coming in gasps, his heart pounding out a message of “We are so screwed.”

  Then he met Sparkle’s gaze. He reached out mentally, hoping to the gods she wouldn’t kick him out of her head this time.

  “Don’t interfere. He’s just venting.”

  Sparkle froze. Mede? She took a good look at what was happening while trying to ignore their growing audience. Bourne wasn’t putting much effort into his attack. If he were, everything within five miles would be in flames. Conclusion, he didn’t want to kill Mede. She felt like sitting on the beach and crying her relief. Instead, she grabbed Holgarth’s arm as he ran past her. “Wait.”

  Holgarth yanked his arm free. “We don’t have time. We have to—”

  “Mede said to stay out of it. Bourne isn’t trying to kill him. Look.”

  Holgarth watched for a few seconds then nodded. “You’re right. We have to stop the others.”

  Easier said than done. Blue had already surrounded herself with a bunch of scurrying crabs, their pincers waving in the air. In the distance Sparkle could see scores of dogs and cats racing to join her. Sparkle wasn’t sure, but she could swear she saw gigantic tentacles rising above the breakers. Please, no more open portals.

  Mistral stopped beside them. “Why aren’t we attacking?”

  Sparkle didn’t look at him as she watched Mede keeping one step ahead of the Big Boss’s fury. “Bourne is mad, but not killing mad. Not yet. If we all attack him, he’ll probably let loose. Armageddon for Cape May.” She pointed at Blue. “Stop her before she adds something really scary to her zoo.”

  Without warning, the earth shuddered then rippled. The human watchers screamed. Someone in the crowd shouted, “Earthquake!”

 
“Perhaps I should see to Orion.” Holgarth didn’t wait before hurrying toward the newbie earth mover.

  Sparkle did a quick assessment. Mistral and Holgarth were taking care of Blue and Orion. Jill brought night terrors, so she couldn’t do much damage to the crowd that was very much awake. Some of the humans were running away, but for every one who ran another arrived. Jeez, didn’t they have any survival instincts?

  That left the two most worrisome boys—Jerry and the one with the yellow animal. At least he’d left the animal back in the house. But the kid was an unknown. Did he have any powers? Then there was Jerry, the boy that might one day rival Mede.

  No time to waste. Sparkle ran toward Jerry. She yelled as she ran. “Stop. Don’t do anything. Ganymede doesn’t need us.”

  She’d almost reached Jerry when she lost her breath. Really. She. Couldn’t. Breathe. Dropping to her knees, she gasped as her lungs screamed for air. Jerry. With her last bit of strength, she threw herself at him. They both went down in a tangle of arms and legs. The most important thing? She could breathe. Sparkle sucked in great gulps of air. “Don’t do that again. Ganymede’s fine. Bourne is just expressing his anger.” She turned her head to see what Mede was doing and—

  Sparkle rose into the air. Beside her, Jerry did too. She glanced around. All of them were floating five feet off the ground, even Mede and Bourne. Except for the new boy. But before she could sort any of it out, there was a moment of blackness and then they were back in the house’s parlor.

  At first there were shouts and questions and people looking around. Finally, Bourne spoke.

  “I suppose it was time to wrap everything up anyway.” He stared at the new boy as he asked a question in that language she’d never heard before.

  The boy answered and Bourne smiled. “He said you’d attracted enough attention, and the authorities were about to arrive. He thought it best to remove everyone before that happened.”

  Sparkle sat on the couch, and Mede dropped down beside her. Other than a few singed hairs, he seemed untouched.