Hidden Realms

by Dean Murray

  “What are you talking about?”

  I shrugged. I was hoping there might be a sanctuary somewhere close. If I could sneak away with Cassie, maybe we could ditch the lords for good. “The fae have been scrambling my calls to her for some reason. She has to know something they don’t want me to find out.” I tried, but the call didn’t go through. I was about to set my phone down, when I realized I had a message.

  Zach’s rich voice sent shivers through me, “Hey, love. I miss you. Want to hang together later? You’re it.” I reluctantly hit save. I’d have to call him in a while.

  “First skipped message,” announced an automated female voice. I’d forgotten Aunt Grace had left a bunch of messages for me the night I came here.

  “What are you doing?” Cassie asked.

  I gestured for her to wait and went through each one carefully, listening for clues. Most were just Aunt Grace telling me to call her as soon as possible, but the later calls held a palpable urgency.

  The last one was weird. “Rayla, if you get this, I want you to go to the nearest church and stay there! I don’t care if you decided to take a joy-ride with Cassie. I understand. I’ll explain things when you get home. It doesn’t matter which church you go to, just find one. Call me when you get inside. Don’t do anything or go anywhere else!”

  Why a church? She’d said any church. Would all religions have sufficed?

  “Well?” Cassie asked irritably.

  “Aunt Grace wanted me to go to church the night we came here.”

  Cassie’s face scrunched up in a confused look. “I didn’t think she was all that religious. Why would she suddenly want you to find God?”

  I rolled my eyes. Just because I hadn’t been to church for a while didn’t mean the man upstairs and I weren’t in contact. “What if the fae can’t go inside churches?”

  Cassie shrugged. “I’d love to give you encouragement here, but I’ve seen them at Mass before.”

  “Oh.” Then why had it been so important for me to find a church? Aunt Grace and Zach had both seemed astonished that I hadn’t been taken by the lords already. I really wanted to talk to Grace.

  I felt like a little bunny surrounded by circling coyotes. Which would be the one to get to me first?

  “I’d better call Zach,” I said, dialing his number.

  “Rayla,” Cassie said, her tone halting me mid-dial. “Something feels off about him.”

  My heart plummeted. I hit end. I didn’t trust him completely, but he had seemed sincere about helping me the other night. “How so?”

  “I can’t explain it, but I’ve seen fae creatures with him.”

  “With him, with him, or by him?” There was a distinct difference in my mind.

  She sat up. “He hasn’t talked to them or anything, but they stay around him like they … oh, I don’t know how to explain it.”

  “Do they look like they’re spying on him? Zach told me he has had experiences with the fae. I thought maybe he could be the male version of whatever I am.”

  She paused for a moment. “I guess that could be it. When did he tell you that?”

  “At Roger’s. Speaking of, are you ever going to explain to me why you wanted to leave so badly the other night?”

  She went to the window, gazing out into the darkness. “He was so charming. I felt cherished for the first time in my life. He told me he wanted to go somewhere private to talk. I thought he just wanted to get to know me better. I had no idea he had the biblical sense in mind.”

  What a louse. “Are you kidding me?”

  Her shoulders stiffened. “I’m glad you showed up when you did. I didn’t know how I was going to get out of it if he tried to take it any further.”

  She should have known better. She was the only one who knew the real reason Brody and I had broken up. “Let’s see. You could have left the room, shouted for help, kicked him where it counts and bolted, grabbed something and bashed him over the head. I can go on for hours if you like.”

  She turned around, her expression grave. “Every time I said something about heading back to the pool, he distracted me with flattery or questions that made me want to talk to him some more. I haven’t ever felt the way he made me feel. It sort of scares me how fast he got me to relax around him. Just before you came, I took a drink of something weird.”

  I gaped, walking over to her. “I can’t believe you did that! He could have raped you.”

  She groaned. “I wasn’t thinking about that. He was so persuasive.”

  “He’s a shark, Cass. You need to stay away from him.”

  She gave me an ‘oh, really’ look. “What about Zach? I don’t see you avoiding him.”

  I rolled my eyes. “He didn’t try to seduce me the other night. He didn’t try to get me drunk or wasted so he could do anything he wanted to me, either.”

  She put her hands at her hips. “Just because he’s taking his time doing it, doesn’t mean the end result won’t be the same. I’ve seen how he looks at you.”

  I felt compelled to defend him. He had been a perfect gentleman at Roger’s. “Really, how’s that?”

  She seemed to be searching for the right words. It took her long enough to answer me. “Like you’re something to eat.”

  I could tell he was attracted to me, but his glances had never been creepy. “When did that supposedly happen?”

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “On the way to the game. You were looking out the window while he was taking in every inch of you.”

  I moved to my bed. “Is it really so hard for you to believe that a good-looking man could want me?” She was acting like she had when the fab-four were interested in me.

  “Oh,” she huffed, face red. She sat at my desk. “I hate it when you make assumptions. You know how beautiful I think you are. My point is that he seems to be hiding something from you. I can’t really explain it. I just feel it.”

  I had no doubt Cassie was feeling something, but jealousy couldn’t help the situation very much. She had given Zach the same sort of devouring looks the first time she had seen him that she was accusing him of giving me. What was the difference — the fact she didn’t know I’d caught her?

  When she glanced at the floor, my pulse jumped. My bag was on its side, the edge of the book sticking out.

  Before I could stop her, she reached down and took it out. “What’s this?”

  Chapter Ten

  The blood drained from my face. I tried to feign nonchalance. “Nothing special.” I went over to Cassie, holding out my hand. “Give it to me.”

  She hid it behind her back. “If it’s no big deal, why do you want it so badly? You look as though you would kill me to get it.”

  I was so full of anger I could have. I shouldn’t have cared if she knew about it now. Why was I so mad at her all of the sudden? I took a few calming breaths before I asked for it again.

  “Here,” she said, shoving it at me. “I was just curious. It looks ancient.”

  Once I had the smooth leather in my palm, I felt better. “That’s what I thought. Look, I’m trying to keep you from getting into trouble, too.”

  “What?”

  “I took it from Roger’s study.”

  Her eyes flew wide then, narrowed. “I’ve never known you to steal. What gives?”

  I ran my fingers through my hair; how was I going to explain this to her? “Roger’s little brother startled me when I was reading it. I put it in my purse without thinking about it. I hadn’t meant to steal it, but I want to finish reading it before I give it back. Roger can’t know I have it, though. Alex said Roger doesn’t like people going into his study. He made sure I understood I would be in trouble if Roger found out.”

  She laughed. “What is Roger supposed to do to you—kill you?” When I didn’t return her mirth, her smile melted away. “He may be a creep, but you can’t be serious.”

  “I don’t know who Roger Wayne is, and I don’t want to. He’s into something wrong, Cass. Alex actually inferred that I might b
e a spy. He was trying to joke about it, but I think he was looking for a reaction from me — something that would have given me away.”

  She looked unconvinced. “But you aren’t a spy.”

  “If Roger is the sort of guy I’ve taken him for, it wouldn’t matter to him why I was in his office. I don’t think he would care that this book is the only thing I saw, either. I don’t know what he’s hiding in there, but maybe he’s CIA or something.”

  “You’d better hope not. They could be listening to our conversation right now.”

  I was bewildered. “How do you know that?”

  Her eyes gleamed, as though she liked knowing more than I did. “Daddy has a device in his office that makes eavesdropping impossible.”

  I didn’t want to insult her by asking the niggling question that worried me: what was her father hiding? “Doesn’t your dad’s company make iron furniture? What’s so top secret about that?”

  She shrugged. “I overheard a conversation he was having with a colleague that was visiting from Ireland. I didn’t want him to know I had been listening in the hall. He would have been really upset with me. I was supposed to be in bed.”

  “That’s weird,” I commented absentmindedly. All of these things seemed like they could be connected, but I couldn’t figure out how.

  “So,” Cassie trailed off expectantly. After I gave her a confused look she huffed. “Are you going to read the thing or what?”

  I wanted to more than anything at the moment. I caressed the smooth leather. Cassie cleared her throat. I got the hint. I read her the part I had already seen then, moved on.

  I write this account in hopes some other unfortunate soul may benefit from the mistakes I have made. I would like to think I would have chosen death instead of bonding with my captor if the circumstances presented themselves again, but I find I am as much afraid of dying today as I was five hundred years ago.

  This woman had to be an Elemental, but why would she have died if she hadn’t bonded with the lord that took her? There had to have been another option. At least, I hoped there was for my sake. And how on earth had she lived that long?

  “The man in the gift-shop said something about wishing he were bound to me,” Cassie said, interrupting my thoughts. “It was an odd statement, but I was so mad at him at the time I couldn’t have asked him to explain what he meant.”

  “I wondered if they were the same thing, too.”

  Her gaze lowered to the book then back to me. “Have you figured out what it is?”

  I sighed heavily, wiping moisture from my brow. I was tempted to open the window, but a sudden trepidation kept me from doing it. “Grace said the lords couldn’t bond with me until I was taken someplace specific.”

  “Those men were lords!” She jumped to her feet and paced the room like a caged lioness.

  “You should have known,” I said irritably. “I told you what Grace said after I called her. What does that mean for me?”

  She didn’t answer my question. “Why you?” she asked with a strange intenseness in her gaze.

  I gave her a mocking glare. “You don’t think much of me, do you?”

  She shook her head. “Stop putting words in my mouth. I just don’t see what they could want from you. It’s not like you’re any different than I am.”

  I laughed. “Apparently they think so.”

  “I’m confused. Tell me exactly what Grace said before we read any more of this thing.”

  I spilled it all. Now two people knew how insane my life had turned.

  Cassie wouldn’t look at me when I was finished. “I’m really sorry, Rayla. I had no idea it was this bad. I thought I had brought some creatures with me. I would never have guessed they might be here for you, instead.”

  “No big.” I got up to get a drink. “They haven’t taken me yet, so there’s still time to figure out how to stop them. I need some ammo for tomorrow.”

  “What happens then?” Cassie asked with a frown.

  I lowered the cup in my hand. Could she be any more clueless? “I start my job.”

  “You are not still considering working!” She took the glass from me and gulped down half of it. “What if they decide to take you? You can’t risk it. I won’t let you!”

  I crossed my arms. “I will not hide in my dorm waiting for them to come get me. I have a life to live, and they’re not going to stop me. I need to find something in this book that will help me get rid of them.”

  “Great plan,” Cassie said. “What happens if there isn’t anything useful in it?”

  I threw up my hands. “If you know what I can do, now would be the ideal moment for you to tell me.”

  She locked gazes with me. “I’m sorry, Rayla. All I know is that lords are a big deal in the fae world. They are the real royalty and are nearly worshiped by their people. My conversations with Nixlan never got to how to stop them from taking someone. You don’t know how badly I wish they had, but I didn’t even know those men were fae. I couldn’t see it. They must have really powerful glamour.” She held my shoulders firmly. “You can’t go to Notre Dame anymore. Make them come to you. Let me pay for your expenses. Please, Rayla. Think about what you are risking.” Her tone lowered. “I don’t want to lose you.”

  I shook my head, stepping back. “Then, help me fight them. I refuse to cower away from my life because a few guys think they can steal my dreams from me.”

  “What if —”

  “I can’t talk about this anymore. It’s already late, and I’ve got a busy day ahead of me. I can read out loud if you want.”

  “That’s okay. I don’t want to disturb you.” She climbed up to her bunk and settled in.

  She looked hurt, but the last thing I needed was to add more doubt to my already questioning mind. This book was special. I felt it every time I held it. I just needed to find what I was looking for. I should have smoothed things over with Cassie, but I couldn’t risk another distraction. I felt time slipping away from me like water through a sieve.

  Lily — the author of the journal — had a pretty colorful life before she had been captured. Her mother had run away with her when she was a child, trying to protect her from her own father, if you can believe that.

  He belonged to an organization that conspired with the fae to breed Elementals in exchange for power and money. He had planned to give his daughter to the fae when she turned nineteen in exchange for a governmental position of some sort.

  Was the same kind of thing still happening today? Was that why I knew nothing of my own father? Could he be part of some hellish organization that sold children for power and status?

  I didn’t quite understand it, but each Elemental was chosen and branded at birth by one of the basic elements. Lily had been born with the mark of air.

  Shouldn’t I have a birthmark? The only thing that marred my otherwise blemish-free skin was my scar. I guess I could have had a mark, but I didn’t remember one.

  There was something else bothering me. Each statement I read led me to believe Elementals were only female. Were males called something else? Did Zach have hidden power like I did? Was that why he seemed to know so much about the fae, or had I gone to the most likely conclusion without considering other options? I needed to be careful. He had a way of setting me at ease, but what if … man, I lost my train of thought.

  Anyway, Lily’s mother, Ingrid, had taken her to a distant land. She had been successful at hiding her daughter for many years, until one day, strangers had come to their village asking questions about a widow with a grown daughter. Ingrid fled with Lily, but she was too late. The lords found Lily on her nineteenth birthday:

  Mom had taken me to the May Day celebration, against her better judgment. She gave in because I had agreed to stay by her side the entire time. I watched while girls danced, weaving colorful ribbons down the Maypole. Mom walked a few paces away from me to discuss something with the butcher. From the look on his ruddy face, he was sweet on her. I became bored with their flirting. The laug
hing couples swaying to the music called my attention, and pretty soon I was caught up in the magic of the moment.

  As was mostly the case, we were new to town, so when the lords approached me I had no reason to fear them. Mom had warned me about fae men, but nothing could have prepared me for first contact. She told me to marry an ugly man — that way I would know he was not one of them. I was young and was overcome when they showed interest in me.

  One in particular seemed enamored of me. His words made me blush and sparked a desire within me I could not deny. When he asked me to dance, I thought nothing of it. If I had to marry an unattractive man, shouldn’t I allow myself one dance with the most beautiful man I had ever seen?

  The last word I ever heard from my mother was a blood-curdling ‘no.’ The next thing I knew, I was in a land that could not exist. The colors hurt my eyes. The sounds made me cover my ears. I looked to the man that had taken me from my life.

  Cold, ageless eyes stared back at me. “Your body will adjust in time,” he’d said. There was no apology in his gaze or on his perfect lips.

  When Cassie shook me awake, I was still at my desk. I wiped the drool from my mouth and stared blurrily out the window. “What time is it?”

  She yawned, stretching her tiny frame skyward. “Eight-thirty.”

  I shot out of my seat. I was going to be late to class. “Why didn’t you wake me sooner?”

  She blinked at me a few times, as if trying to clear her mind. “I just got up myself. Sorry.” She turned, walking to the dresser and back with the clock in her hands. “Why didn’t my alarm go off?” She ran her fingers through tangled hair, hovering over my shoulder. “Did you learn anything useful?”

  I didn’t know how long I had stayed up reading, but exhaustion clung to me. “Not yet, but man was it interesting. The way she described the fae realm was enthralling.”

  Cassie’s gaze grew distant, as a tiny smile spread across her lips. “It is beautiful.”

  I was so tempted to skip classes today to read more, but I wasn’t about to risk my education when I had worked so hard to get here in the first place. College life was much more difficult than I had expected, but it was the step I needed to get into the industry.