by Helen Harper
Comprehension was starting to cross her face. I nodded.
‘I don’t care if it’s not even mine.’ I met her eyes, desperately needing her to believe me. ‘I meant what I said. I love you. No matter what.’
‘No,’ she whispered, growing suddenly pale. She was getting the gist.
‘You gave blood and the NHS tested it. They were very comprehensive with their findings. You don’t have anaemia or anything like that.’ I watched her like a hawk. ‘You’re pregnant.’
Mack’s hands dropped to her stomach. She stared at me, eyes wide. I could see the moment that she believed me. Obviously there had been other symptoms then. I opened my mouth to speak once more when something caught the corner of my eye and there was the sound of a door banging.
Mack turned, looking out of the car window once more. The man standing in the doorway was unmistakably her brother. He looked like a male version of her. His hair was indeed the same red and his eyes shone with the same yellow flecks. There was something more relaxed about him though. He wasn’t waiting for the next attack to spring on him out of nowhere. He had the posture of a human.
A dark haired woman appeared, rubbing her eyes. She pecked him on the cheek, a gesture borne out of what could only be years of closeness and comfort. Then my heart expanded and my stomach tightened as first a small boy, then a small girl appeared. His children. Mack’s nephew and niece. Not only that but they were similar enough to be twins. If she was a twin and he had twins, then did that mean…? Mack sucked in a sharp breath to match mine. Her brother and his wife kissed once more. She sank back into the seat but her eyes remained trained on him.
‘He’s so happy,’ she murmured. ‘Beedebopdelooolah.’
She was right. This was a man who was entirely at ease with his place in the world. He didn’t know what he really was. He probably didn’t want to know either. He already had the perfect life. The thought struck me that it was the sort of life which Mack and I ought to have.
Mack was shaking. I looked at her and realised she was holding back tears.
‘Mack,’ I began, as her brother got into his car and drove away, while the rest of his family ambled back indoors.
She shook her head vehemently. ‘I have to go.’
‘Mack, wait.’ Damn it. There was panic and fear in her face. I had to calm her down.
She wasn’t having any of it. ‘I need to be on my own.’ She wrenched open the car door and flung herself out, sprinting down the street as if hell itself were on her heels.
I punched the car seat. She loved me. She knew I loved her. But she still couldn’t stay with me when we should be together and working through issues with each other. She still felt she had to be alone. I lifted back my head and roared as she disappeared round the corner. Fuck. Now what?
Chapter Sixteen
It didn’t matter what I said or how many times I attempted to contact Mack with my Voice – she simply didn’t answer back. It wasn’t like when she’d fallen unconscious at Hampstead Heath nor was it like the absence I’d felt when she’d ventured into the creepy portal at the Clava Cairns. I knew she was still around and could hear me. That was why it rankled so much that she didn’t respond.
‘Not everything is about you, Corrigan,’ Leah told me with an expressive roll of her eyes when I voiced my concerns to her. ‘She’s just had two different life-shattering revelations to deal with. She’s going to need time to work through them.’
‘I could help her,’ I growled back. ‘I’m involved too.’
‘So the baby is yours?’
Yes. Mack might not have actually said those words but the way she’d looked at me when I’d told her had made me certain. It was something we should be dealing with together.
Leah patted my shoulder. ‘She’ll come back to you. Just give her time.’
I huffed loudly.
‘Stop throwing a tantrum,’ she chided. ‘You know what Mack is like. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you.’
‘I know she loves me.’
Leah shrugged. ‘So what’s the problem? The pair of you can waltz off happily into the sunset together with your kid.’ She paused. ‘Or kids. It does seem rather likely that she might be carrying twins. And what exactly does a cross between a werepanther and a dragon look like anyway?’
I chose not to answer that. Hell if I knew. ‘She gave her word to the Summer Queen and the Arch-Mage that, for the sake of the council, we wouldn’t be together.’
Leah considered this. ‘Well, you kill Endor and there will no longer be a need for the council, right? Everyone lives happily ever after.’
Somehow I didn’t think it would be that simple. ‘It’s been extraordinarily effective. The main Otherworld groups are banding together in a way that I don’t think they ever have. It would be selfish just to dismantle all that because of me and her.’ Although I thought about her brief mention of ‘they’. Clearly, even if we destroyed every bone in Endor’s body there would be others who would risk Mack’s safety. Whoever ‘they’ were.
‘Sometimes you have to be selfish,’ Leah said. ‘There are plenty of strong Otherworlders who could take Mack’s place.’
I snorted. ‘Sure. If anyone else let them while Mack was around.’ I thought about Atlanteia’s revelation. ‘How would you feel,’ I said carefully, ‘if I stepped down as Lord Alpha?’
‘You’ve spoken about this before, big bro. You know I’ll support you in whatever you want to do.’
I raked a hand through my hair. ‘Laura, Mark and Colin would do an excellent job.’
Leah nodded. ‘The next generation. It’ll encourage other Packs to follow suit and stop relying on the person with the Voice to deal with everything.’
‘And,’ I continued, ‘if I’m not Lord Alpha, the Arch-Mage and the Fae Queen will have less to complain about. Especially considering the babies.’
Leah didn’t answer. I glanced at her and realised she was beaming at me. There was even an uncharacteristic glistening visible in her eyes.
‘What?’
Her smile stretched even further. ‘You just got the goofiest look on your face when you said that.’ She whistled. ‘You as a father. Unbelievable.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘You’ll be an aunt.’
Her mouth dropped as though she’d not considered that little fact. ‘God, yes. I will be. Damn.’
I grinned back at her. ‘There will be no giving of sweets and chocolate. Healthy snacks only. And no television. Or computer games.’
She just raised her eyebrows. ‘Let’s see how long that lasts, shall we? Although if you do, you’ll be in the running for the most boring dad in the world.’
I took a swing at her but she dodged it easily. Sisters. Honestly.
***
Once again we met at Alcazon. The great and the good, still trying to decide upon the best plan to beat Endor. Oddly, this time, there was a considerable commotion coming from half a mile away. As I took my seat, Balud leaned towards me with unmistakable glee.
‘The vampires have been scorched.’
I frowned. ‘Eh?’
‘Their stronghold is up in flames.’ He waggled his eyebrows meaningfully. ‘Endor was after Fire, not Air. At least this time he went after some creatures we’ll all be happy to see the back of, even if there’s only one element left before he gains complete mastery.’
Fire. Except there was no reason to doubt Aubrey’s information. After all, he had sacrificed himself to get it. Not to mention that attacking the vampires like that didn’t sound like the sort of thing Endor would do at all. They were as linked to death as he was; in fact, they were probably virtually kin. I had another idea about who might have done it. Right now I wasn’t sure whether to be viciously pleased or terribly worried.
‘Do we know whether it was Endor or not?’ Tom asked as Mack strolled into the room. He was obviously having the same thought as me. Considering the scent of burning clung to every inch of her, it appeared we were both correct.
&nb
sp; I shook my head at him in warning to keep quiet and watched her as she sat down and asked for a glass of milk. Something deep inside me loosened. Milk rather than coffee. That meant she was looking after our babies. She wanted them to be healthy.
‘It doesn’t make sense that it was him,’ interjected Larkin. ‘We know he’s going after Air next, not Fire.’
‘And,’ Beltran agreed, ‘he would need to attack a fire-based creature, not just kill them with fire. But who else could it have been?’
It was almost comical the way the room fell silent as everyone else started to work it out. One by one, they looked towards Mack. The waiter dropped off a glass of milk in front of her and, about as relaxed as she possibly could be, she picked it up and took a long sip, ignoring the many stares.
The Arch-Mage forced the issue. ‘The vampires were attacked this night, Miss Smith. Rather catastrophically.’
‘Indeed,’ she murmured.
‘Their numbers have been decimated.’
‘That is a shame.’ A tiny smile played around her mouth. There was no doubt it had been her.
‘Crazy psycho bitch,’ one of the quieter mages hissed. I flung darts in his direction but the Arch-Mage was already glaring at him in a manner that would make virtually any man cower in his seat. Mack herself didn’t seem in the slightest bit offended. I supposed that was something.
‘So,’ she said, putting down the milk and looking around, ‘do we have an entry point into Dorchadas or not, then?’
Abandoning his unwise minion, the Arch-Mage spoke up. ‘We’ve worked out a way. There are indeed some considerable wards in place to prevent strangers from wandering in, but we think we’ve come up with a way to stop that from happening. Having the Fae has helped enormously.’
Beltran nodded. ‘We can combine our magic with the mages’ and focus it in such a way that when they open the portal, there won’t be so much as a flicker of attention drawn to it.’
‘Excellent.’ Mack glanced at Floride and Balud. ‘Have you made any progress on the palladium?’
‘We have.’
‘And?’.
‘Dude,’ he said, shaking his head, ‘we were idiots.’
I’d rather been under the impression that was a given. I chose not to say anything, however. Next to me, the small troll cleared his throat.
‘It appears I made an error.’ He was obviously embarrassed but was owning up to his mistake. ‘The document I found suggesting palladium was harmful to necromancers was actually a translation. And, it seems, not a very good one.’
Mack sighed. None of this was unexpected. If palladium were any good against Endor then he’d already be dead. ‘Let me guess,’ she said, ‘there should be an article in front of palladium. It’s the Palladium. Not palladium.’
Balud and Floride nodded in agreement. I started in surprise. The Palladium? I searched my memory. Wasn’t that the statue which Tryyl the wraith had been after? I shook my head in dismay. We should have realised. As a wraith, Tryyl was as tied to death as Endor was as a necromancer. I resisted the urge to smack myself on the forehead. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
‘So the Palladium isn’t as useless as we’d thought.’ Mack cursed. ‘The question is, how does it work? It’s a statue. A tiny wooden statue. It’s hardly a fucking machine gun. What are we supposed to do? Hit Endor over the head with it and then he’ll collapse and die?’ My kitten had a point. When no-one could provide an answer, her gaze hardened. ‘Well, will somebody fucking find out?’
At least half of the council made rapid agreement. Mack, however, wasn’t done yet.
‘Okay,’ she said with a decisiveness that suddenly worried me, ‘I need one representative each from the mages, shifters and faeries. We’ll enter Dorchadas within the hour.’
No. Fucking. Way. I crossed my arms and glared at her. ‘You can’t go.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ she shot back irritably.
‘No, absolutely not.’ She knew exactly what was at stake if she got hurt. It was reckless and idiotic. ‘Mackenzie…’
‘You can’t tell me what to do.’ She didn’t raise her voice but her tone was implacable. She gave me a pointed look. ‘We’re not going to attack, or do anything that will give away our presence. We’re just going to do a bit of information gathering. Hence only four people will enter. We can keep a low profile if there are fewer of us.’
‘Spying!’ Floride interjected. ‘Cool! If I go along, can I get a watch that shoots tranquilliser darts? Or maybe a fountain pen disguised as a gun?’
Idiot. Mack just raised her eyebrows at him. ‘You want to come along?’
He shrugged. ‘I’m not the best person in a fight, Mack Attack, I’ll be the first to admit that. But I’m great at keeping hidden and, besides, if Aubrey can step up to the plate, then so can I.’
‘I’m happy for Mage Floride to volunteer himself,’ the Arch-Mage hastily said. No surprise there. As much as I rather liked the older magician, he really disliked getting his hands dirty. In that, we were very, very different.
I stood up. I wasn’t done yet. ‘I will be representing the Brethren.’ Mack looked at me. She’d clearly been expecting me to volunteer. ‘I’m a werepanther,’ I explained unnecessarily. ‘My fur is darker than anyone else’s so I’ll be better placed to conceal myself in shadows.’ I gestured towards Mack. ‘Your red hair makes you a target. You should stay behind. It’s just common sense.’
‘I will wear a fucking hat,’ she snapped.
The Summer Queen rose. ‘Lord Sol will attend in the name of the Fae.’
I scowled. It just had to be him, didn’t it?
Mack, at least, seemed happy. ‘Great.’ She checked her watch. ‘Set up the portal. We’ll go in thirty minutes.’
Chapter Seventeen
We stood together, facing the portal leading to Dorchadas – and Endor’s lair. Floride was being incredibly annoying, dancing around in a nervous manner. I sincerely hoped he was going to calm down soon. Otherwise he’d be nothing but a liability. I’d have my hands full keeping Mack from doing anything stupid. I couldn’t look after the pacifistic mage at the same time.
Solus hooked his arm through Mack’s, leaning towards her in a way which made me want to rip his head off. ‘This is simply wonderful,’ he grinned. ‘The two of us together, in the dark. Why, anything could happen.’
I was definitely going to kill him. It would be easy. I’d just pin the blame on Endor and no-one would be any the wiser.
‘Have you managed to get a date yet with your Celtic student?’ Mack asked wryly. I quirked an eyebrow. What was this?
Solus visibly slumped. ‘No. She has thus far remained immune to my quite considerable charms.’
‘Imagine that,’ she murmured. I relaxed. Maybe I’d let the irritating Fae live after all.
‘It’s a war of attrition, dragonlette,’ he told her. ‘She’ll agree eventually. It’s meant to be.’ Then he flicked a look at me before suggestively saying to Mack, ‘How do you feel about a threesome?’
No. I was right the first time. He deserved to die.
As if the mages were fully aware of what I was thinking, there was a loud crack and the portal opened. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Mack gently touching her stomach with an expression of queasiness. I thought about suggesting once more that she should stay behind. I knew it would be a wasted effort, however, and it would only serve to rile her up. I made sure, at least, that I followed right behind her in case of any mishaps. The second I emerged out, she was already doubled over, silently retching. I debated with myself whether to rub her back or leave her be. Considering this was Mack, I already knew what the answer was.
When she straightened back up, her skin tinged with green, Floride handed something to her.
‘What’s that?’ she asked, keeping her voice quiet.
‘Breath mint.’ He grinned. ‘I was in Russia with you, remember?’
Er, what? I glared at her. ‘You were in Russia? When?’
Mack r
olled her eyes. ‘For fuck’s sake. You’re going to need to stop doing the whole protective thing. Platonic relationship, remember? And even if it wasn’t, I think I’ve proven I can take care of myself.’
Platonic relationship, my arse.
Wrong time, wrong place, my Lord, Mack told me with her Voice.
I struggled for control. It’s not just yourself any more. You need to show a bit more maternal responsibility.
I just slaughtered half the bloodsuckers in the city, she shot back calmly. My maternal responsibility is doing just fine.
I snarled. So she was fully admitting attacking the vampires. Were they threatening you? If they were, I’d go back and mop up any of the fuckers who hadn’t already perished in the fire.
Solus coughed pointedly. Floride took the opportunity to attempt to break the tension and remind us about why we were here. ‘Which way, dudes?’
I forced myself to focus on the matter in hand, raising up my head and sniffing. There was a definite whiff of something to our left.
‘Can you smell Endor?’ Mack asked, also managing to calm down.
‘Nothing so specific,’ I demurred. ‘But there are living creatures off in that direction.’
She blinked in understanding. Without further argument, we set off. It was just as well. The sooner we got this done and got out of here again, the better.
Taking the lead, I carefully picked my way along the narrow path, doing what I could to avoid what appeared to be hundreds of bone fragments underneath my feet. It figured that a necromancer would hang out in a demesne as obviously dark and foreboding as this. The sky above was dark, almost unnaturally so, while the air was heavy and oppressive. I couldn’t see much beyond gentle hills covered with more shards of dead creatures. Right now that was probably a good thing. The moment we rounded a sharp bend, however, light flickered up ahead. We had something.
