Seelie (The Falcon Grey Files Book 1)

by Sarah Luddington

  “Considering what she’s wearing I’d let her keep it, Falcon,” Bethan said.

  I conceded the win. “But what’s she talking about?” I asked.

  “Whooshy noisy flying –”

  “Helicopters,” Bethan said inspired. “We can call in the local boys. Tell them we have the suspects for the London Slasher. It’ll scare the crap out of the Hunters, right?”

  I glanced at Marcus, who shrugged. “It can’t do any harm. We’re screwed without proper help of some kind.”

  Bethan dug out her phone. “You want to report in or shall I?”

  “You do it. Call Hoggart, tell him we’ve followed the lead but now need help from the local boys as it seems to be a cult problem. That’ll also cover the Dvergar activity in the south,” I said.

  “Yes, Sir,” she responded, finally back in a role she understood how to do well.

  I closed my eyes, a wave of exhaustion hitting me hard. A small tug on my jacket made me look down. “You weak, Princeling,” said Gifling.

  “I’m fine,” I said. I heard Bethan raising her voice, trying to argue with Hoggart. “And my name is Falcon, not Princeling.”

  “He’s not fine, he’s giving me the Breath of Life and it’s making him weak,” Marcus said. “He has been away from his own kind for too long.”

  “I’m fine,” I snapped.

  “You are less than half as strong as your sister,” he said.

  I opened my mouth to tell him that he could go and take the Breath of Life from her if she was so much better when I realised the stupidity of such a remark. “You’re right,” I said. “I am tired but not because of you. It’s because I’ve been working long hours on this damn case and I didn’t think I’d be wrapped up so tightly in Seelie horrors again.”

  “You mean me,” Marcus said.

  “That’s not what I said.” My patience began to slip my control.

  “I’m going to check our borders,” Marcus said. “We need weapons.”

  Gifling waddled over to a cupboard I’d not noticed and released the latch. A range of rifles and shotguns gleamed in a tidy row.

  “I won’t ask if you have a licence,” I said. She merely grinned. Marcus approached the cupboard and removed a high velocity rifle. He cleared the chamber and checked the weapon’s sights. I watched him and sensed his anger with me bubbling up to the surface once more. He loved me, I didn’t doubt that, I just didn’t think he liked me at the moment and that didn’t help me remain in the role of ‘Little Bird’. I’d grown used to being in control and alone over the years we’d been apart.

  He left the room and I sat heavily in a large armchair, sinking happily. I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands. A small hand patted my knee.

  “Grumpy bear,” she said.

  I nodded and sighed. “Yes, he’s very grumpy. I’m not sure he’s ever going to be anything other than grumpy.”

  “He is in a great deal of pain,” Gifling said.

  I glanced at her, the lucidity back for a moment. “The physical pain I can help with, but the emotional... I fear he blames me for his suffering.”

  “He’s right,” she said.

  “Thanks, I needed that,” I said. The worm of guilt would be feasting heavily on my soul for a long time.

  She shrugged. “It’s the truth. He’s going to be angry for a long time. I’m not certain him being with you is best for either of you.”

  I realised Bethan wasn’t on her phone any longer but chose to be quiet, listening. I glanced at her. “The helicopters coming?” I asked. I didn’t want to talk about my relationship with Marcus or how I was going to manage him.

  “Yes, Sir. We’ll have the whole circus up here soon. I’m not sure how long it’ll take though. And I don’t know what’ll happen to us when they discover we lied to them. It’s not going to be the cheapest mistake we’ve ever made,” she said.

  “We’ll worry about that later. With any luck they might actually catch someone.” I rose on tired legs. “I need to help Marcus.” I headed for the gun cabinet. “Bethan, I want you to load everything that’s here and keep watch from the windows. I don’t want you out in the snow. You’ll be vulnerable out there.”

  She nodded. “I don’t want to be in the snow either,” she said. “I’d far rather be here with the freaky fairy.”

  “Not freaky and he’s the fairy,” Gifling squeaked with indignation.

  I removed a rifle, mid-range and the shells, smiling while I listened to Bethan and Gifling wind each other up. So much had happened in the last few days I didn’t know how Bethan managed to remain functioning. I feared there would be a backlash at some point.

  Unable to do anything about that particular worry, I decided to check on my other big problem. I let myself out of the small house and found Marcus in the front garden, knee deep in snow.

  “Any news?” I asked quietly.

  “Nothing, I know they are close but not close enough for us to pinpoint them. My guess is you won’t be able to see them either,” he said without removing his attention from the horizon.

  “They’ll be circling us,” I said.

  “It’s what we would do if we were hunting one of our own,” he agreed.

  “Marcus, I know it’s been hard for you, with Swane –”

  “They know about him by now, it’ll make them wary, knowing we will kill one of our own.”

  I sighed. Okay, so we weren’t going to talking about the things Swane had said. “Yep, they’ll be worried. They’ll also be worried that the thing coming for Bethan will be going through them.”

  I watched Marcus’ gloved hand flex on the rifle he held. “I’m going to do a full circuit. Get back inside and keep warm. You need to keep your strength up.” He sounded odd, distant, sad and somehow terribly lonely.

  I reached out for him. “What I said earlier is true you know. What happened with Swane means nothing to me.”

  “It means everything to me,” he said. “It defines who and what I have become without your protection and unless you take the throne I will never be protected. While you remain in this world I am alone and you cannot return to ours without destroying your sister.”

  My hand dropped from his arm. “We’ve only just started to try to solve this problem, Marcus, don’t decide what the end result is because I’ve been given information you wanted to keep secret. Do you really think that my love for you is dependent on such things?”

  “Not your love, Falcon, but your respect,” he said. He bowed his head and the dark braids fell over his face, hiding him from me. “I’ll be a while.”

  I watched him, growing numb from more than the cold. How was I going to make him understand that what had happened with Swane and Leo didn’t matter?

  “Give him time,” I muttered and tried to shake off the heartache so I could assess our predicament with more ease. I shivered from more than the cold and allowed the sense of my other self to enter my mortal form. The falcon, akin to the peregrine, rushed through the strong body I owned, giving me a sense of the hunt and an enhanced desire to race the wind for prey. I swallowed my instincts and used the other ‘gifts’ given by the Seelie. I gazed out over the night dim snow and tried to find the Hunters who were seeking to end my days in this world.

  I saw them. Marcus might not be able to, but I could, and they were far closer than I liked. Using the natural cover of the landscape they were almost invisible. The only reason I knew they were there was a strange absence of snow where it should have been, a dip in the gentle curves which seemed alien.

  I could hunt them. Here and now I could hunt them down and feel the heat of their blood in my mouth. I could swallow their power and return to my mate, give him the strength they denied him. I licked my lips and realised my teeth were sharper and my hunger more intense than at any time since I’d left my world behind. I ached to feel the power of my Seelie brethren slid down my throat and become mine. I hurt deep inside, I was so in need of stealing their life force and using it to enhance my o
wn.

  We were creatures of the hunt, ancient beings who roamed the world between dusk and dawn seeking out our mortal victims, be they food or lovers, or both. We were the stuff of nightmares and dreams. Young women swooned over thoughts of our handsome bodies holding them close. Young men feared us taking everything they wanted for themselves. All wanted us and rejected us – we were the dark joy in this world and I craved that power once more.

  I groaned with the need.

  “Falcon! Falcon, no! You can’t do this,” came a soft cry. Strong arms. Not strong enough. I wanted out. I wanted freedom. I deserved it. I was a prince among the Seelie. I would have everything. Every mortal and Seelie would tremble before me.

  “Hold him!” a woman cried out.

  “I’m trying,” a voice grunted.

  “Fools,” came another voice. A hand struck me hard over my face and the world went black.

  “What the hell happened to him? I’ve never seen him behave like that, he’s too grounded, too sensible. He doesn’t give into his darkness, he never has,” Marcus said and I could hear the panic.

  I cracked open an eye. “Wh...”

  “Fal?” A dark shape swooped down and blurred with its surroundings, making my stomach twitch. I lay in the croft.

  “Wha...”

  “I don’t know, love. I’m sorry. I should never have left you alone.” A large rough hand stroked my face.

  “Let him be for a few minutes, Marcus. He’s obviously confused.” Bethan, sensible Bethan.

  I tried to remember what had happened. I’d been in the snow and then everything became dark and weird. A warped hole in my memory. How had that happened?

  “Drink,” came a brisk order. Marcus lifted my head from the floor and I drank something full of rich flavours which burned my throat.

  I spluttered. “What happened?”

  “Stupid Seelie Prince,” muttered Gifling.

  “Thanks,” I said, lying back and closing my eyes for a moment, hoping the world would stop spinning.

  “You wigged out,” Bethan said helpfully.

  I opened an eye and peered at Marcus. “You are weak and tired, it’s made you vulnerable,” he said.

  I heaved my carcass upright, my head swimming. “Vulnerable to what? What happened?” I asked again.

  Gifling sat under my bowed head and peered up at me. “I knocked you out. You were devolving – giving into the dark Seelie inside you. Your father is weak and Elfhame is reaching out, hoping to pull you to her, the next king. You are being flooded with the elemental power of our kind. You need to close down and stop using your other self,” she said calmly.

  I stared at her. “If I can’t use the falcon inside me I can’t fight them.” Despair began to creep up.

  “You need to find another path,” she said, poking the end of my nose. “Your bear will need feeding again soon and that will make it harder for you to control the darkness.”

  “I’ve never lost control before,” I said quietly.

  “It’s what made your father a barking nut job,” she said.

  I frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  She sighed in frustration. “You are of royal blood and that makes you stronger than almost all Seelie but also means you are closer to the edge of what makes us bonkers. It’s an edge which moves depending on where we are, who are with and what we are doing.”

  “I thought my father’s madness wouldn’t touch me here,” I said.

  “You thought wrong. As a Hunter you were happy, that kept the edge a long way away. Now, you are scared, you are the hunted and you fear the throne they want you to take. Also...” She glanced over her shoulder and dropped her voice. “Also, your bear’s sickness really is draining you. You are weak, my Prince.”

  “What can I do?” I asked quietly.

  She rubbed my knee. “Try hard not to turn into your father.”

  The whoop-whoop rumble of helicopters reached me. I glanced up at Marcus and he turned to the sound and grunted. “It worked, they’re here.”

  “He of little faith,” Bethan said. “That’s the Hunters scared off, now we just have to know how to kill the nameless terror hunting me.” She stared at Gifling.

  “We must leave this place,” Gifling said.

  “Just tell us what we need to do and where to go,” I said.

  “You need me, this won’t work if I’m not there to hold your hand,” she said and glared at me with her hands on her hips.

  “I already have Bethan to protect, I can’t protect you as well,” I snapped, out of patience with it all. The noise overhead didn’t help, the helicopters were loud and the croft began to vibrate; a light started to sweep the outside, flaring bright and hurting my eyes.

  “How do we leave without the helicopters deciding we are the bad guys?” Bethan asked. I glanced at her, something in her tone warning me she’d begun to crack. But it wasn’t the thing hunting us she feared, it was me. She’d seen a violence in me, an instability of mind and physical form. The most obvious example yet that I wasn’t human.

  “Can’t we wait for them to go away?” Marcus asked. He stared out of the window, watching the sweeping lights.

  “It doesn’t work like that. They’ll remain until the police turn up to sweep the ground. I need to deal with the fact they won’t have caught anyone,” I said. I still felt too weak to rise.

  “We don’t have time for that,” Bethan pointed out. I sighed and tried to think my way through the problem. I simply didn’t have the strength to hide us all through complex layers of Seelie glamour.

  The sound of police sirens was added to the helicopters, the undulating scream scraping my nerves raw.

  Glamour was the only thing I could think of to get us out of the area, either that or stealing a police vehicle.

  “A distraction,” Marcus said. “You need a distraction. I can run and draw their attention into the mountains while you move back toward the truck and leave the area.”

  “No,” I said. “Absolutely not, if you are captured by the Hunters and returned to my sister...” The thought hurt too much to consider.

  Marcus approached me and placed his hands on my shoulders. “It’s time, Little Bird. I have to give my life for yours. I am your slave, it is my duty.”

  I felt my stomach instantly rebel. I pushed him away and rushed into the hall, forcing open the front door. I puked, retching painfully.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Don’t think the birdy is going to let that happen,” I heard some distance behind me. Gifling was right. I couldn’t let Marcus do this but it seemed the only option we had if we wanted to escape. I glanced into the multi-coloured lights now surrounding the small isolated croft.

  “We have no choice. We hand ourselves over to the locals. We explain our presence and give them a version of the truth. The monster can’t take Bethan’s life if she’s with us and inside a police station somewhere,” I said.

  “Do you know the amount of paperwork we’ll have to deal with?” Bethan said in horror. The thought seemed to scare her more than the thing hunting us.

  “I don’t think we have any choice,” I said. “I will not let the Hunters take Marcus. If we surrender and face the music, he is safe and with me,” I said.

  “Falcon –”

  “No, Marcus, and that’s an order. You do not give yourself up for my sake. You will never do it – do you understand?” I barked at him.

  His green eyes dilated and the muscles in his jaw bunched, but I saw the rage being smothered. “As you wish, Highness,” he said, bowing slightly at the waist, his eyes downcast.

  I’d offended him but I didn’t have time to worry about the effects of trying to protect him from himself. I just needed to keep us all safe and one way of doing that was having us all arrested.

  “Bethan, get your warrant card out and hold it up,” I said. “I want them to be able to see what we are, in case they brought in the armed cavalry.”

  She fished around in the deep pockets of
her warm weather gear and held up a small leather wallet. I found mine stuffed in my hand by Gifling.

  “Not playing with them,” she announced and I watched her vanish back into the house.

  “Fucking hell,” I muttered but didn’t have time to find her – voices were shouting.

  Bethan yelled over the noise and figures started to come toward us from the Land Rover hidden behind glaring lights.

  “I hope you know what you are doing,” Marcus said quietly. “They aren’t going to be happy with me for a start.”

  “Maybe not, but I can keep you safe and that’s all that matters,” I said.

  “If you think I matter more than your safety then we really do need to talk about your priorities,” he muttered over the voices shouting at us to drop to our knees.

  I ignored him. “DI Falcon Grey,” I said over the hollering of various men and machines. “I am here with a consultant, Marcus Ursus,” I said off the top of my head. I thought ‘Black’ for a moment and then realised in this world his colouring would be his prime categorisation. His colouring didn’t matter among the Seelie, just his eye colour marking him as slave, and that eye colour had been given to him by his father and mine before we’d reached our fifth year.

  We were on our knees in the snow, our fingers laced on the backs of our heads, for safety’s sake more than anything. However the local boys clearly didn’t feel the same way. They cuffed us into the zip ties now preferred for speed and safety. They might be safe but damn they pinched and cut into the skin. Rough hands hauled me to my feet and dragged us toward the lights, making my eyes smart and my ears hurt. Other police officers invaded the croft but didn’t find anything. I wondered where Gifling had hidden herself but decided she’d be more than able to look after herself.

  “Hey, you do know I’m one of you, right?” I asked, as Bethan tried to point out the same thing.

  My warrant card now sat in the hands of large red-headed man with a clean chiselled jaw and firm mouth – an unhappy mouth. “DI Grey,” he said.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “What brings you to my quiet neck of the woods?” he asked.