Cade watched him with an open mouth, horrified. “What about the other guy—Rowan?”
Quinn’s face darkened. “Percy asked me not to kill the bugger. He was a nasty little twat, but he certainly didn’t seem too threatening when we left him crying over his dead Witchfinder.” Quinn shrugged. “I did the humanitarian thing and left him alive. Percy was very proud of me.”
Cade shook his head. “Will I ever get used to you saying someone’s proud of you because you didn’t kill anybody? Is this the barometer by which you’re judged nowadays?” He felt a twinge of concern at the question he posed, even though his tone was joking.
Quinn grinned at him. “I’d certainly hope there are other more pleasurable ways to judge me.” He leered at Cade. “Talking of which, perhaps we should go back to bed and you can do just that.”
Cade thought he seemed in an inordinately good mood. He supposed defeating an ancient scourge that had terrorised his people and those of the witches for centuries was reason enough.
I suppose I should be glad he’s happy and relaxed, he mused. Be thankful for small mercies. Perhaps the nightmares will stop now.
He stood up and beckoned Quinn to follow him. Quinn needed no further urging as they went back upstairs to the bedroom.
They were both nearly asleep again later on that morning when the doorbell rang. Cade groaned as he looked over at Quinn. He appeared fast asleep but Cade had the distinct feeling that he was simply pretending so he didn’t have to get out of bed.
God, who the hell can be at the door at this time of a Saturday morning?
Cade pulled on his robe and went downstairs to see who the early morning visitor was. He opened the door to see the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen standing in front of him, her tall, regal form haughty and elegant. She regarded Cade with slightly raised eyebrows, her blue eyes looking at him with a scrutiny that seemed to say Cade was definitely lacking in interest. The woman reached up a long, white hand with scarlet-painted nails and brushed jet-black hair impatiently away from her face as the wind blew.
“Good morning. Is Quinn here? I’m Valensia.”
Cade’s mouth dropped open at the knowledge that this exquisite creature was the witch who had held part of his Warlock’s heart and had held him captive to abuse his body for days.
He swallowed, feeling very much at a loss. “Erm, he’s still in bed, I’m afraid, Valensia. If you’d like to come in, I’ll go wake him up.”
“No need, I’m up.” Quinn’s quiet voice behind startled him and Cade turned to see him clad in only his jogging bottoms, looking at Valensia with an expression he couldn’t quite fathom.
“Valensia, what are you doing here?”
The witch looked at him, her eyes lingering on Quinn’s torso and then moving down to his groin. Cade wanted to smack her beautiful face.
“What kind of greeting is that? Are you not even going to invite me in?” Her voice was mocking.
Quinn gestured for her to come in. “Sorry, I forgot my manners for a moment. Please, come in.” His tone was slightly sarcastic.
Valensia swept past Cade and into the house. Cade looked at Quinn, who shrugged his shoulders.
“What exactly are you doing here, Valensia?” Quinn asked. “This is an unusual circumstance, even for you, coming to my house.”
Valensia regarded him. “I heard about your victory against the Witchfinder last night. I wanted to come over personally and offer you my thanks. What you and your team did was incredibly brave and noble and I always give credit where it’s due.” She smiled slyly. “You should know that.” She glanced at Cade. “I’m sorry I appeared unsolicited on your doorstep, but I have a business proposition to discuss with Quinn. Would you mind if I took him away from you for a while?”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Quinn said quietly. “If you want to talk, we can do it upstairs, in my study. Follow me and I’ll take you up there. But you’ll have to excuse me whilst I get dressed. I’m not entirely suitable for company.”
“Don’t get dressed on my account,” Valensia said languidly as she glided up the stairs, leaving Cade open mouthed at the bottom. “I think you look quite fetching just as you are.”
Quinn looked at Cade and shook his head in exasperation as he walked up the stairs behind the witch. “I’ll not be too long,” he said quietly. “But I need to see what she wants.”
Cade watched as he disappeared upstairs.
*****
Quinn changed quickly into jeans and a tee shirt then went into his study where Valensia was wandering around, picking up various articles and then putting them down again.
“What is this business proposition you want to talk about?” he said impatiently. “I assume it must be fairly important for you to disturb my weekend.”
“God, you’ve become so parochial since settling down with one man.” Valensia laughed softly. “Since when did the mighty Grand Master worry about his personal weekend time? If I recall, I used to have to literally drag you away to get you to myself.”
“Since I found a man to settle down with whose company I really enjoy,” he retorted, seeing her slight flinch at his cruel words. “So, enough of the personality analysis, thanks. Tell me why you’re here.”
She scowled and turned around to look at him “Fine. Let’s get down to business.”
He regarded her flatly. She frowned at his look.
“I really did want to thank you for destroying the Witchfinder. I still can’t believe you did it and he’s gone. Centuries of persecution gone just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “It’s truly remarkable. The whole Praetorium is talking about him. You’ve become somewhat even more of a legend than you were before.”
“I’m pleased you’re pleased, Valensia. It suits both of our people to have him out of the way. You contributed to that result by giving me that Book of Shadows. So you played your part in the success. As did many others.”
Quinn had already spoken to Misty Ravenbrook and thanked her for her part in ridding the world of the Witchfinder General. He and Misty had communicated a lot since their last meeting, and had even lunched together a few times. Quinn found her quiet humour and intelligence very welcome and the two of them were fast becoming friends.
Valensia inclined her head at his words. “I heard it was one helluva sight, seeing him explode like that. He deserved it, the bastard. One of his kind killed my sister many years ago. At least now that’s over until someone else comes along to take up the mantle.”
“There’ll be no more Witchfinders,” Quinn said quietly. He knew about her sister Vanessa’s death nearly seven years ago, together with her husband.
“Perhaps not, Quinn, but there’ll always be someone looking to kill us. You know that as well as I do. You cut the head off the Medusa snake and another one grows in its place.” Her voice was sad. “It will just be a matter of time before someone else comes along.”
Quinn stood up and touched Valensia sympathetically on the shoulder, noticing that the usual tingle he’d have felt was missing. She saw it in his face and smiled softly.
“I’m not trying anything anymore. You’ve made it quite clear how you feel about Cade.” She picked up a paperweight idly from his desk. “By the way, was that an engagement ring I saw on his finger? He’s a lucky man; I hope he realises that.”
“We got engaged a week ago. I’m the lucky man, I can assure you.”
Valensia sat down and put her boot-clad feet on his desk. “The reason I’m here is because I think it’s time for the Praetorium and the Consortium to join forces again.”
Quinn regarded her with narrowed eyes. “An alliance? That’s a fairly radical suggestion from you, considering how you felt about it all those years ago.”
A spark of hope rose in Quinn with her words, knowing a partnership between them would make a lot of sense. Taliesin agreed.
Quinn, this could indeed be a coup for you if it happens. Not even your father could get that right in his lifetime.
And he tried.
Valensia nodded ruefully. “I know the bad blood between our two kinds goes back to before we were even born and it just gets to be a self fulfilling prophecy. But your actions last night have made a lot of people sit up and take notice.”
She grinned at him and he saw the trace of the Valensia he’d known all those years ago when she was twenty-one. “You’re a hero. They’ll be singing ballads about you one of these days.”
He shook his head at his words. “Don’t be ridiculous.” But he smiled. “I wasn’t alone. I had Percy and Magnus with me—and of course all the Withinners. Believe me, it wasn’t just me.”
“Perhaps, but you’re the figurehead. People see what they want to see. The Council asked me to come and see if there were synergies between us we could exploit. I said I would see what I could do.” Valensia stood up and walked over to him, her eyes bright. “We could do a lot together. I know you’ve always wanted an alliance. Well, here’s your chance.”
Quinn nodded. “Let me speak to the Consortium. I’m sure I can convince them to see it our way.”
“Does that mean you’re interested?” Valensia moved around to behind his chair and laid her hands on his shoulders. “It means we’ll be seeing more of each other. Can you stand that? Will Cade understand?”
Quinn stood up too, standing just taller than Valensia, and looked down at her. “It will be purely professional, for the good of both the Consortium and the Praetorium. Can you manage to remember that?”
She laughed softly. “I’ll give it a whirl. So I’ll tell them you’re intrigued by the idea then. Let me know once you’ve spoken to your people. I’m sure if anyone can convince them what they need to do, it will be you.”
Quinn nodded even as he felt a thrill of expectation in his blood. An alliance like the one proposed would be an incredible achievement. “I have a question for you. It’s a pretty personal one, and you don’t have to answer, but seeing as how you’re in a giving mood…”
She regarded him curiously. “Go ahead. I can’t promise I’ll tell you the truth if I don’t like it.”
“What the hell happened between you and Taliesin?” Quinn’s Withinner moved in anger at his probing.
Quinn! That is none of your business!
Quinn ignored his Withinner’s heated outburst. “He won’t let me in to find out.”
Valensia regarded him carefully. “Does that not tell you that he doesn’t want to talk about it?”
Quinn grinned. “It does. But I’m still curious.”
She laughed softly. “Back when we were an item, you invoked Taliesin for some mission you were carrying out. Needless to say, the attraction was fairly intense between us and we had quite a lot of fun together. Three days of full-on, mind-blowing sex, in fact. It was amazing, even better than you and I.”
Quinn’s eyes narrowed at that admission. “I don’t remember spending three days away in a freezing Welsh cottage, whilst Taliesin got his rocks off,” he said silkily, slightly irked at Valensia’s last comment.
Valensia grinned. “That’s because he cloaked it from you, with my help and a lot of my witchy magyck. We were having such a good time we decided you could stay where you were for a while. Taliesin had some sort of incantation he could use only once and he used it then.” She looked at him sideways. “He seems to have a few of those kinds of spells. It was just after I did my imprisoning thing with you, the one that you got all upset about. I wasn’t quite ready to give up the wonderful time I’d been having, once you broke the enchantment, so I made a plan.”
Quinn was flabbergasted. “That conniving bastard! I can’t believe he’d do that to me. And you bloody helped him! You just swapped one sex slave for another, from the sounds of it.”
She giggled, a sound he seldom heard from Valensia. “Taliesin was very willing though, more than you. He was quite an animal. I became very fond of him.”
“So why is he so upset with you now?”
Quinn! For mercy’s sake, keep your own counsel. I implore you to be quiet.
Valensia looked nonplussed. “He’s mad with me? Why on earth would he be upset with me? We had a great time and then you revoked him and he went back. I wouldn’t have minded him staying. So why—”
Her voice broke off and to Quinn’s total amazement, he saw her face flush with pink. “Fuck, he must have seen me with Armand.”
Quinn hadn’t expected such an in-depth conversation about his Withinner’s sex life with his own ex-lover. “Who the hell was Armand?”
Valensia looked uncomfortable. “Armand was someone I had a relationship with. He dropped by to see me, one thing led to another when Taliesin was out doing what he does and,” she shrugged, “we had quite a lusty shag session, then Armand went home.”
Quinn shook his head in sheer disbelief. “You’re something else. One man after another, even whilst you’re still seeing another. You know there’s a name for a woman like you.” He was still slightly irritated with her comment about Taliesin being better than him.
Valensia scowled fiercely. “Hell, don’t mince your words, will you? I can’t help that I have a high sex drive.” She turned around and made her way to the door. As she went out she turned back. “Tell him I’m sorry if I upset him. I didn’t know he’d seen. But he hid it well enough. He still stayed another day after that and shagged me senseless.”
Quinn followed her down the staircase.
“Sometimes this all seems very surreal,” he muttered. “The conversations I get involved in are sometimes mind boggling.”
If you had kept your mouth shut, this conversation would never have happened. Are you happy, now, Warlock? You know my innermost secret.
Taliesin, I’m sorry if I distressed you. I had no idea. You felt more for this woman that you claimed.
That is none of your business. She shamed me and I cannot forgive her that.
Quinn sighed in resignation at Taliesin’s words. His Withinner was an extremely proud man and he would not have taken kindly to being cuckolded. He reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Cade reading in the lounge.
He looked up and smiled, getting up to say goodbye to Valensia. “You two have been a while. Did you manage to get it all sorted out? Your business, I mean?”
Valensia nodded her head, a slight smile on her face. “I think Quinn and I have come to sort of agreement. And by the way—congratulations on your engagement. I hope you will both be very happy with one another.”
Cade nodded. “Thank you, Valensia.”
Quinn opened the door. “I’ll be in touch soon about what we discussed. I don’t think it will be too long. I have a Consortium meeting in a few days’ time. I’ll talk to them all then.”
“Until we talk again, then. I’ll see you around.”
Valensia walked down the garden path and Quinn shut the door behind her and turned to look at Cade, who raised an eyebrow at him.
“What business is this you have to talk to the Consortium about?”
“The witches want a formal alliance with the Warlocks. That hasn’t happened in the last century, ever since they fell out. This is quite a step forward. I promised Valensia I’d talk to the council members at the next meeting.”
Cade regarded him thoughtfully and Quinn sighed. “Cade, she has no ulterior motive, I promise.” Privately he hoped that was true. “An alliance could be a very big accomplishment for me as Grand Master. I can’t miss the opportunity.”
“That would mean you’d be working with her fairly closely then?” Cade’s face wasn’t happy.
“Perhaps a little more than before, but it would be purely professional, I assure you. I made that very clear to her.” He moved over and took Cade in his arms. “You have nothing to worry about. No more than I have to worry about Cooper. I trust you with him. You need to do the same with Valensia.”
Cade shook his head as he laid his head on Quinn’s shoulder. “I don’t have a history with Cooper. I do trust you, but I can’t help feeling a little concern
ed. What if she does some Fey-witchy thing again?”
Quinn waved his hands in frustration. “It’s not going to happen. Trust me.”
Cade nodded his head, not looking convinced. “Fine then. But if I find out she’s made one move towards you, I’ll scratch her eyes out, witch or no witch.”
He glared at him.
Quinn laughed softly. “Okay, I’m sure she’ll quiver in her boots when she hears that. I know I would. Especially with that fierce and scary look on your face. God, I love you, you feisty, impossible man.”
Quinn pressed his mouth on Cade’s warm, welcoming lips. He kissed him back, burrowing his hands possessively inside Quinn’s tee shirt.
“You’re mine,” Cade whispered. “Don’t ever forget that.”
Chapter 19
Quinn sat quietly at the table in the Consortium boardroom watching the interplay between several members of the Council. He’d arrived that morning to a rousing cheer of “well done” for his part in the recent Witchfinder General episode and it appeared that the general consensus was that it had been a great success and a moment that would go down in Consortium history. However, when he’d told them about Valensia’s visit and her suggestion about an alliance between the Warlocks of the Consortium and the witches of the Praetorium, the room had exploded in a sudden outbreak of sheer madness. There were some who supported the idea, like Justin Leichner, who’d recently returned from his travels to Tibet. It went without saying that Percy and Quinn were in favour too. But others, like the bluff James Barton Sinclair and his fawning prodigy, Troy Cavanaugh, were instilling a sense of rebellion in the other Council members with their one-sided—and Quinn thought dangerous—point of view.
Since the Council was a democracy, he needed to let it play out and see where it took him. He was conscious of Percy beside him, holding himself back in difficulty as Barton Sinclair provided his view with his usual loud-mouthed diatribe of what Percy termed “utter bullshit.”
“You need to let him fizzle out,” Quinn murmured quietly. “Let’s hear what he has to say and then we’re forewarned. He has some powerful allies in this room and we need to see exactly who they are.”
Double Alchemy: Climax Page 15
