by Lisa Cardiff
“I don’t know the rest. I don’t understand what you’re telling me.”
Dierdre paled and took a labored breath. She seemed so frail that she looked as if she would fade away. “I don’t think I can talk about this anymore right now. It’s too painful to talk about this with you. I don’t have the energy for this conversation. Later…” she whispered. “We’ll talk later.”
“That’s nothing new,” Avery said flippantly, hating and feeling sorry for Dierdre at the same time.
“I know. I’m so tired all the time now. I should have told you years ago, but it never seemed like the right time or others convinced me that it was the wrong time, and I listened. I always thought there would be plenty of time for us to sort out this mess. Life has a funny way of stealing all those minutes you take for granted, sands through the hourglass and all that.” Dierdre let out a pained laugh, and then she rolled onto her side again, staring absently out the window. “I want to give you a box of pictures and letters. They explain everything to the extent that I understood what was going on at the time, and they are probably better than my memory at this point anyway. I don’t think I ever understood anything—I still don’t. I should have been better and stronger for you, but I was never a fighter. I just wanted my life back. I didn’t deal well with all the complications. I guess I was selfish.” Dierdre quickly glanced at Avery, shrugging sheepishly and then looked away.
Avery hesitated. She wanted to argue with her mother, but she really didn’t look well, and based on similar conversations with her mother, she knew that this one had run its course. “Perhaps we can talk later after dinner.” Avery got up and pushed Dierdre’s hair out of her face with the upmost gentleness and then moved toward the door to leave. Until that moment, she always believed there would be more time for her and Dierdre to heal the divide; after all, her mother was not old, not even close. But everyone’s life was just temporary placeholder in time, gone in a blink of an eye.
“Avery.”
“Yes.”
“Can you ask Catherine to bring me my medication?” Dierdre muttered.
“Sure.”
In a soft yet pained voice, Dierdre said, “She knows where my things are. Have her get them for you before you leave. I really think that will be the best way to explain. Then you will understand that I did the best I could do at the time.”
Avery left the room and closed the door softly.
Chapter 5
After disabling the wards that protected the Faerie Realm from intruders, Kalen ducked his head to avoid hitting it on the stone arch as he entered the secret passageway into the Faerie underground palace. It was one of the many entrances into the labyrinth of concealed passageways that ran throughout the palace. Once inside, he carefully reset the wards. The confining, pitch-black corridors provided another barrier to entry into the palace for those who weren’t welcome in the hallowed chambers. Aided by a cloaking spell, the darkness was almost suffocating in its blackness. Kalen didn’t need a light because he had long ago committed every turn to memory. After making a few turns and climbing several perilous stone stairways, he saw a faint light flickering outside the entrance to the Queen’s antechambers.
As Kalen stepped into the antechamber from the adjoining passage, the Queen’s assistant appeared in front of him. The short, stooped changeling with shifty red-rimmed eyes, thin-yellowed skin, and bird-like talons for hands, always possessed an uncanny sense of timing. Blocked, Kalen paused outside a heavy wooden door to the Queen’s private chamber.
The assistant looked at him with ill-concealed envy. “She’s eagerly anticipating your visit.”
Kalen curtly nodded in acknowledgment of the assistant’s statement. “Thanks, Alastar.” When the assistant failed to remove his body from the front of the Queens’s door, Kalen looked at Alastar with mild annoyance. “Is she otherwise engaged or is there some other reason you’re using your body to bar the entrance?”
The assistant sent him a dark glance and, ignoring the question, inquired, “Do you want me to accompany you inside?”
Kalen shook his head. He wanted to speak privately about today’s developments. Allowing the Queen’s assistant to witness the conversation would only promote a firestorm of gossip and speculation. Changelings who had returned from their exile to the human realm were notorious for their inability to keep secrets. He never understood why the Queen used one as her personal assistant. Changelings’ physical imperfections and abrasive demeanor repulsed most faeries to the point where they were avoided and ignored. Perhaps it was simply that a changeling could never challenge her rule, and, as a changeling, he could never attain any real power. Offended, the assistant sniffed, pushed the heavy door open, and then stormed noisily down the darkened hall.
Kalen steeled himself for the confrontation with the Queen as he walked soundlessly into the chamber. Years ago, he learned how to subtly manipulate the Queen to get what he wanted out of her, and he knew this conversation was going to take all of his skills to achieve the result he wanted. He turned to close the door as silently as he could manage.
The Queen sat with her back to the door at a writing desk, contemplating some correspondence. Paper files littered the floor near the desk. The massive chamber had an elaborate plaster barrel shaped ceiling. The room was organized around an ornately carved marble fireplace mantle worthy of any king’s castle. Solid gold candelabras graced each side of the mantle. Near the fireplace sat two Tyrian purple velvet rococo armchairs and a harp with a stand holding several music sheets.
Kalen patiently waited for the Queen to acknowledge him. She appeared deep in thought and unaware of Kalen’s presence. However, he knew better than to underestimate the Queen. She had an unnatural awareness of everything around her, and she ruthlessly manufactured all her encounters.
The Queen stood and turned to face Kalen. The annoyance in her eyes softened and turned to something else when she focused on him.
Kalen smiled. “Do you have a moment to speak with me?”
“Certainly. I understand that you have some important information to report on the Ashling girl or at least I hope it is important enough for you to abandon your duty and leave her unmonitored.”
“I should hope that you have trained me well enough to know when it’s imperative to leave my assignment and report crucial information.”
The Queen rubbed her throat absently. “Perhaps.” The Queen waved her hand as if to change the topic and turned her back to Kalen, once again silently contemplating the documents scattered on her desk. “I suppose your timing is fortuitous because I have some information for you as well. You go first. What is so important that you felt the need to disregard my instructions?”
Refusing to be baited by the Queen’s jabs, Kalen suppressed his anger and replied to the Queen in a flat and emotionless tone. “I’ll get right to the point. I followed the girl into the city center today, and she went into the Foundation’s office. It appears she wasn’t there uninvited.”
When the Queen didn’t answer or turn around to face him, Kalen moved to a table near the fireplace to pour a glass of wine from a crystal decanter. He stared absently into the yellow flames dancing along the top of burning logs. Both the Queen and Kalen remained silent. Kalen refused to be the first to break the silence because the Queen might deem it a weakness on his part.
Finally, the Queen questioned him. “Perhaps she was lost, or the name made her think it was some sort of museum. Are you absolutely certain she was invited there? Were you close enough to hear the conversation correctly?”
His temper flared. “Yes, I would not be here otherwise. The girl rang the doorbell, and based on the conversation conducted through the intercom, I gathered they were expecting her visit.”
“I didn’t think it would come to this. How did they find her so easily when we weren’t even sure she was alive?”
“Dierdre perhaps. I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. Maybe the Foundation helped Dierdre stage t
he girl’s death, so they have known about her from the beginning. It doesn’t make sense that Dierdre could have staged the girl’s demise so convincingly without help.”
“Did she see you watching her go into the Foundation?”
The memory of his electrifying connection with the girl assailed Kalen. Suddenly uncomfortable, he answered the question evasively. “She looked in my direction.” He added an airy shrug to convey a lack of concern inconsistent with his actual feelings.
“We both know what this means. We need to act fast before the Foundation makes another move to recruit her to their cause if they haven’t already done so. Our first priority is to protect the Treasures. It’s unfortunate this has happened, but it was always a possibility given she was missing for so long. I’m going to have to tell Cian the nature of the mission has changed. He’s not going to be happy.”
Kalen stood, raking his hair away from his eyes. “I don’t think we have to go in that direction yet. My purpose in coming today wasn’t to change the mission. I wanted to keep you informed, so you know that there are more players than just us in the game. It’s not going to be as simple as we hoped, but it will be worth the effort.”
“It would be reckless to leave things to chance. Aerin is still doing research, and she thinks the girl might be expendable anyway.”
“How could you say she’s expendable? She has the mark of destiny. She is the Guardian of the Four Treasures. That doesn’t sound as though she is expendable to me. Aerin would like nothing more than the girl being expendable. I wouldn’t be so quick to trust her opinion.”
“There is a chance there might be another Guardian with the mark of destiny, if not now, then in the future.”
Kalen scoffed in disgust. “You and I know how unlikely that is. We’ve been waiting for thousands of years for someone with the mark of destiny.”
“Aerin disagrees.”
“That’s a big chance to take before you know for certain. You normally don’t like to take unfounded risks. I’m surprised.”
The Queen’s face was thunderous. “You know what’s at stake here, and I think the risk of the girl being a puppet of the Foundation is greater than the risk that Aerin is wrong about another person having the mark of destiny. I think you, of all people, would understand that given your previous encounter with a certain woman working for the Foundation.”
Gritting his teeth, Kalen ignored her reference to that woman. “I don’t agree.”
“I will assemble the Court immediately, so we can have a formal vote to decide if she is ‘expendable’. You can express your dissenting opinion there.”
“I don’t think bringing this matter before the Court is advisable at this point. We both know there isn’t enough information to persuade the Court to act in either direction. We would be wasting their time. Right now, it’s in our best interest to be cautious and avoid making impulsive decisions without all the information available especially if the Foundation is involved. Losing her would mean starting over from the beginning. We owe it to Cian to make sure we have all of the information before we do anything.” He didn’t like being told what to do. He had fought too hard for his position at Court to scrape and bow to the Queen at every second like some of the other worthless members.
“Don’t get sentimental on me. You never seemed too concerned with Cian until now. Nevertheless, we’ve started over before. We can do it again.”
“You know better than anyone I have never had any qualms about doing what needs to be done, but we should not act or alert the Court before we know what is actually going on with the girl. She is an American, and if an American disappears in a foreign country without a trace, there are too many questions and too much media coverage for our comfort. Before we act, we should be convinced either that she is in league with the Foundation or that no one will miss her. Right now, I’m not sure of anything. As soon as I am, we will bring the matter before the Court, and the girl will cease to become an issue. I’ll make sure of it.”
The Queen stood silent for a few moments then pierced Kalen with her eyes. “Do you have a soft spot for the girl? Aerin told me that she is attractive. Is that why you’re suddenly feeling compassionate?”
Kalen’s chest tightened as he remembered the instant connection he felt with the girl earlier that afternoon. “Hardly,” he bit out in a dismissive voice. “I don’t want there to be a bunch of awkward questions surrounding the girl that might inadvertently peak interest in us or the Four Treasures.”
The Queen laughed. “Forgive me. I know you don’t come equipped with any tender human-like feelings lurking in your heart.” The Queen deliberated for a moment. “Perhaps you’re right about attracting any legal or media attention to the girl.” The Queen shivered. “Find her again and do what you need to do to get her to trust you, even if that means seducing her. If there is even the slightest possibility that she is a Foundation operative, kill her.”
“You want me to kill her without the Court’s consent?”
“Given the danger she possesses to us if the Foundation has corrupted her, absolutely.”
Kalen drained his wine, set the glass on a nearby table, and walked to the door. “My pleasure,” he said lazily.
“Oh, and Kalen, don’t give me the opportunity to regret my decision to follow your advice.”
Before he closed the door, Kalen turned back to look at the Queen, distant and unemotional. “I would never dream of it.”
When the door shut, the Queen turned to her dressing chamber and said, “Aerin, you can come out now. He’s gone.”
Creeping out of the shadows, a melodic voice laughed then replied, “That was masterful.”
“Yes, I knew it would work to my advantage.” The Queen smiled coyly. “You had so little faith in me.”
“No, of course not. I always have faith in you. I was just shocked at the meeting when you pulled me off the mission. It wasn’t what we discussed.”
“Your reaction had to be genuine,” Queen Donagh said.
“Well then, I would say your plan was successful,” Aerin confirmed.
“Yes, and if everything falls into place, I think we will succeed in discrediting my other detractors too.”
A bitter smile spread across her face. “You might be right.”
Kalen walked down the darkened corridor slowly. He was uncertain why he pushed so hard to continue his mission to bring the girl in without force. When he saw Ashling go into the Foundation’s office today, he knew most of the Court would vote to kill her immediately, and they wouldn’t second guess his decision if he had killed her the minute she walked out of the office. For some unfathomable reason, he felt uncomfortable with either outcome. Generally immune to any messy feelings of compassion or mercy, the girl was quickly becoming an inconvenience. He should have abandoned her to her fate, or better yet, killed her. His mission would be over and he could move on with his life and more pleasurable pursuits.
What disturbed him more than this sudden compassion for the girl’s circumstance was his inability to stop thinking about her. Since he first met her when she was a child, he had been drawn to her, but now it felt like more than that. He was mesmerized by that moment in time when they seemed intrinsically linked on some deeper level. All he had to do was look into her liquid green eyes, and he felt like he could discover every thought passing through her head if she let him. He could feel her emotions as if they were his own, the confusion swirling in her mind, followed by panic, and yes, attraction too, but spending time thinking about her when his only options were to kill her or bring her back to the compound was absurd. Nothing could or would come out of his private thoughts. She was not his style. Despite the connection between them before Dierdre staged her death and now, he couldn’t afford to have any sort of relationship or friendship with the girl. He opened his heart to a relationship a long time ago, and he still regretted it. He refused to repeat his mistakes. He just needed to get the job done and increase his influence a
t Court.
Reaching the entrance to the compound, he crossed through the portal into the human realm in search of the girl. It wouldn’t be hard to locate her. He knew she hadn’t visited Dierdre; it was logical her aunt’s house would be her next stop. While he had been inside the compound, day had turned to night and the earlier storm had tapered off, leaving the air smelling clean and refreshing. He looked at the sky and saw the full moon shimmering through moisture-laden clouds like a discarded silver coin in a murky fountain. Kalen took a deep breath to refocus his thoughts on the mission. He would follow the rules from this point forward. He bought the girl some time, and that would give him a free conscience to do what he needed to do.
Chapter 6
After shutting Dierdre’s door, Avery paused, lost in thought. She had a sinking feeling this whole trip would be a depressing and agonizing waste of time. Dierdre obviously had no intention of talking to her about anything of importance. Like always, Dierdre disregarded her needs. To top it all off, her interactions with people here had been bizarre to put it mildly. First, there was the woman in the bar claiming to know her and threatening to find her, whatever that meant. Then, there was that feeling of being followed from the pub, and that weird connection she felt with the man across the street from the Foundation. A shiver of unease ran down her backbone. She didn’t even know how to begin analyzing whatever happened there.
Avery kicked the baseboard in frustration when she remembered her conversation with Thomas Flannigan. Work had been the one constant in her life since graduating college. She excelled at her job, and no one ever questioned her work ethic. For some unknown reason, the Foundation was trying to manipulate her into some sort of extended stay in Galway. She needed to call Peter in the New York office to get to the bottom of her conversation with Thomas Flannigan. Her personal life was always nonexistent. She couldn’t handle it if her professional life fell apart right now, leaving her with nothing to hold on to.
