Gods, what was wrong with me?
The male wrenched his hand away as if burned, staring at my pelt and then into my eyes again, this time with question. He seemed to catch himself and stand straighter again.
“Be careful, girl. Move on.” I tried to place his accent…South American?
My eyes ventured down to the piece of pelt and then to the male again. My heart was ready to bang out of my chest, bile rising up my throat. The hoarder was in there. The thief.
“Keep moving,” the guard told me again. His eyes carried a depth of secrets I couldn’t fathom.
I raised a shaking finger toward the door and whispered, “Is it the magpie you guard?”
His eyes narrowed. “You would do well to move along.”
But I couldn’t. I’d found him. In that room were the pelts. They were right there. It took all of my might not to fall to the ground and begin tugging the tiny scrap I could see.
“I need that,” I whispered, my voice trembling as I pointed to the pelt.
He didn’t even look, just kept his eyes on me and lowered his voice further. “I will not tell you again, Miss. Go.”
“It doesn’t belong to him. Please, just—”
I let out a surprised yip when the male leaned forward and suddenly lifted me over his shoulder. My first horrible thought was that he planned to throw me over the balcony, but he stomped down the walkway instead.
“Put me down!” I banged my fist against his hard back. Two male creatures with sharp teeth and furry tails laughed like high-pitched hyenas.
When we got nearly to the corner, the guard unceremoniously dropped me to my feet, and I grabbed the wall to steady myself, glaring up at him.
“If you come near him again,” he said, “I will not be so kind.”
His promise brought images of pain, and I swallowed hard. I’d mentally prepared myself for being beaten this night if I were caught. I knew it was a possibility. But I hadn’t thought it would come from a sexy guard giving off cold, eerie vibes despite the heat of his hands.
As he was about to turn, I shouted, “What are you? A vampire?”
He scowled down his regal nose. “Necromancer. Good night.”
A chill grazed my flesh. Again, he began to turn, and again I spoke, desperate. “Why do you work for a thief?”
To my surprise, he moved closer to me again and responded. “The pastimes of my clients are no concern of mine.”
I thought of the coins my elder woman had given me and the trunks of them we had at the bottom of the sea.
“If it’s money you seek, I can pay you far more than the greedy magpie.”
For the first time, he paused, his attention switching from that of a guard to that of an individual. His eyes roamed my pelt.
“What are you?” he asked.
“I’m a selkie.”
Understanding seemed to dawn on him. “Your cloak,” he said. “It harbors a piece of your soul.”
Surprise temporarily mollified my fear. He’d felt it when he touched me. “Yes. A selkie’s pelt holds a fragment of our life’s essence. It’s how we shift. You felt that?”
He gave a single nod, looking me over again, and though his eyes were a fraction softer with interest, he was still rigid. Then his gaze glassed over again.
“Regardless of your circumstance, I’m committed to a job this night, and you will not go near him again.” He turned away, and I lunged forward, grabbing his arm without caution.
I found myself slammed into the wall, my arm wrenched above my head and his face an inch from mine, his body locking me into place.
Shock, fear, and arousal swirled inside of me as I stared into those dark depths.
The afterlife. I couldn’t breathe. This was a sorcerer who could travel into the afterlife and bring someone back. He could commune with the dead. In his eyes I sensed the wonders of his power, realms of darkness he could walk, and it made my heart want to weep.
“If he stole from you once, you know of his might,” the male whispered. “Stay away, girl, unless you wish to lose another pelt. If he lays eyes on you, that is exactly what will happen.”
“You cannot be as heartless as he,” I whispered, still riding that sickening wave of desperation.
Through his teeth, he said, “You know nothing about me. I am paid and bound by magic to let no harm come to my client or his belongings.”
“Well, then, be not bothered. It is not his belongings I am after. It’s my family’s.”
“Such technicalities are not my concern. If it is in his possession, I am bound to make sure it remains that way. Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
“Wait!”
His voice, though clearly filled with annoyance, had lost its edge of cruelty. Perhaps it was my hopeful imagination, but it felt significant that he’d admitted being bound. A creature like the magpie would bind a guard under threat of death or maiming. I was no fool to think this male could or would somehow help me, but I also knew it would not be in my best interest to have the owner of such watchful eyes as an enemy.
“I’m Ada Bayne. What is your name Necromancer?”
He shoved away from me. “I don’t give a damn who you are.” His jaw jutted back and forth with agitation as he peered down the walkway where a group of drunken, loud supernaturals were dancing their way out of an enclosed seating area. The necromancer spared me one last, sharp glance before giving me his final words.
“I am Henrique. Remember that name because it is I who will snatch the essence off your back if you show your face in my vicinity again. Is that what you want, girl? To be controlled by me? Hm?”
I felt my nostrils flare as I clamped my teeth together and held his eyes. The thought of a male holding my pelt hostage, using it to control me, filled me with more anger than I ever thought possible.
“No man will ever control me,” I said, burning. “Never!”
He replied with matching vehemence. “Then stay away.” This time, he didn’t turn back.
My eyes burned with rage as I watched him go.
Henrique with his powerful walk and his mesmerizing eyes that could see beyond life. I had no doubt he could, and would, hurt me if he had to.
But I now knew where the magpie was, the vile creature. The pelts were here, and I was not leaving without them.
I just had to find a way past the damned necromancer.
Chapter Three
I couldn’t remain on the second floor where the necromancer’s eyes would follow. I needed to think. I made my way back down the rainbow stairway and found a spot against the wall near the bar, on the outskirts of the dance floor where I could see the magpie’s pod with the necromancer standing outside of it.
And now, I waited.
“Care to dance, beautiful?”
I gave the smooth-faced fae male a quick glance before returning my eyes to the pod in the corner above.
“I can’t at the moment. But thank you.”
It became my mantra to every creature who approached, trying to chat or dance or give me a drink. I couldn’t even say what most of them looked like. My focus was razor sharp. I watched the unmovable necromancer as his eyes scanned. Even from a distance, I made out the shadows of his jaw and cheekbones. I watched as he pulled his long strands of hair back into a low, messy manbun. His dark allure appealed to me. Pity he aligned himself with my enemy.
My breathing stalled, and I pressed back into the cool wall as the necromancer’s eyes finally found me and honed in. He gave a slight, slow shake of his head as if to tell me to stop whatever I was planning. I gave him a slight, slow shake of my own head in return.
I would not.
It was in that moment that the door of the pod behind him opened, making the necromancer snap to attention. I watched, frozen in horror, as a green fae female stumbled out hard, as if pushed, and fell to her knees. She quickly scrambled along the floor, turning to curl into herself near the edge of the balcony.
The creature who stepped out was so tal
l he had to crouch slightly to exit the pod. My breathing quickened now at the sight of him. He did, indeed, have the physique of a bird: slightly hunched shoulders with an elongated neck that shifted into sharp facial features. And while I’d expected him to be hideous, he was strangely beautiful, like a bird of prey come to life, both lethal and graceful. His white hair was slicked back and feathery.
I couldn’t tell what he said as he sneered down his nose at the fae woman, but she cowered at his attentions, holding herself tighter. The magpie began to laugh, the sound drifting to me through the cacophony like a murder of cawing crows. I watched the necromancer glance away, his posture stiffening as he seemingly ignored their exchange.
Next thing I knew, the fae female was climbing to her feet, grasping the rail, and running, crying, away from the laughing creature. My eyes searched for the pelts, but he did not wear it. He wore a finely tailored tunic and bottoms in the fashion of many high fae, threaded with gold. Excitement began to fill me. What if he walked away, distracted by the party around him, and accidentally left the pelts in the pod?
All of my hope drained away, leaving me cold, as the magpie gestured lazily to the floor of the pod, saying something to his guard. I could have sworn the necromancer hesitated before leaning down and picking up the pelts. With the squirm of eels through my innards, I watched the necromancer raise the combined pelts and place them heavily over the magpie’s shoulders. Oh, my Gaia. The magpie had sewn the pelts together! As if they were mere cloth! I was caught between needing to be sick and wanting to scream. The necromancer quickly removed his hands and stepped back.
Then, he looked down at me. A tremor of dark emotions shook me to my core. When the necromancer met my eyes, I swore I saw something there like pity and disgust. He’d felt the pelts, the life essence of my kin-women, parted from where they naturally belonged. In his eyes I saw that he felt the wrongness of it. He looked away, his jaw squared.
And to think my mother and aunts were feeling the remnants of the magpie right now. That vile creature had done … whatever he’d done to that fae female, atop the essence of my kin-women!
I hardly noticed some creature sidling up beside me. “Care to dance, love?”
“Leave me be!” I snarled.
I didn’t look away from the necromancer, and my ears were buzzing too loudly to make out whatever retort the male said before departing. I watched as the magpie began walking slowly and smugly down the pathway, eyeing every creature and their business along the way, probably looking to see if there was anything he wanted to take for himself.
Oh, how I burned.
“Ada?” I gasped, momentarily forgetting where I was as I peered into the pretty face of Nia, the Dryad. “Are you all right?” She stared up at where I’d been intently watching, and her nose crinkled. “Please tell me that birdman is not your type. I mean, perhaps the one behind him, but blech.”
“No,” I said, my stomach threatening to revolt. “Look closely at what he is wearing.”
Nia stared up, squinting, and then her shoulders tightened as she glanced back and forth between the creature and my pelt, her head shaking as she paled.
“Whose is it?”
“It is three pelts combined. My mother and her two sisters. They are his slaves, and he treats their pelts with the vilest of disrespect.” My words were clipped and filled with thick emotion. Nia grasped my hand and squeezed. Soft skin gave way to the sensation of smooth wood underneath.
“Whatever you’re thinking, Ada, it’s not possible. You cannot confront him on your own. We have a magpie in Canada who has ventured into our woods over the centuries and taken valuable trinkets from our kind. But he could snap us like twigs!”
“I know,” I said, my eyes blurring with the truth of it. “But I must try.”
“He even has a guard,” she said, jutting her chin upward toward Henrique. “What will you do?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I must somehow…trick him.”
Nia chewed her lip. “You cannot attempt to seduce him. A magpie’s appetites are sordid and sadistic.”
I thought of the green fae woman and nearly vomited. No, seducing the monster was not an option. But…my eyes drifted back to the necromancer, who gave me one final glance filled with stern warning before disappearing around the corner behind the magpie, coming down the stairs.
“You’ll need help,” Nia said.
“Yes. I’m going to work on the guard. He’s a necromancer. He could feel my soul’s essence in my pelt, so he must know how awful it would be to be separated from a part of yourself.”
“Okay, but I wasn’t talking about the guard. I was talking about me.” Her smile was adorably mischievous.
“No.” I shook my head firmly. “I won’t involve you.” Too many women had been hurt by him already. This was my fight.
Nia moved to stand straight in front of me, her bright green eyes capturing mine and causing the scent of earth to fill my nostrils. “It’s clear you won’t be talked out of this, and now that I know your story, I cannot in good conscience let you do this alone.”
“Nia—”
“We’re at The Monster Ball, twinsie. Think about it! We can be harmed but not killed. What other opportunity will you have like this?”
“I don’t want you to be harmed,” I said in horror.
“I know. But I can heal. Your chances of getting those pelts back is much higher with my help. Please, let me!” Her smile was infectious, and despite the sour stream of fear that swirled within my blood, I knew she was right about me needing help.
“I can’t let him see my pelt,” I said. “But I trust no one else with it.”
“Of course not. But how will you soften the guard to your cause if you cannot get near enough to keep your pelt hidden?”
“I need to think.” I took her hand. “And in the meantime, let’s move to the other side of the room before they get down here.”
“This is going to be the most fun,” Nia said as I pulled her along behind me through the throng of creatures.
I wished I shared her enthusiasm for what lay ahead.
Chapter Four
It wasn’t hard to keep an eye on the magpie. He was half a head taller than most of the creatures and walked with a methodical, slow strut, his neck swiveling to and fro as he eyed females. Most kept their distance, recoiling when they discovered his gaze clawing into them. One female hissed at him, making the magpie give a squawky snarl. He gave off a dangerous, creepy, raw power. But, of course, some creatures were drawn to that. It only took fifteen minutes for him to get a witch in black velvet to follow him up the rainbow staircase.
“Ew,” Nia said, her nose scrunching as she watched them go. My stomach churned in agreement. Seeing proof of his appetites in person steeled my resolve to save my kin-women from his putrid grip.
At their tail was the necromancer, Henrique. Before they climbed out of our sight, his head turned and he found me across the sea of bodies. The natural seduction in his gaze sent a dark thrill through me. I couldn’t read his expression clearly from this distance, but I could have sworn it was a look of warning.
Stay away.
Not a chance.
“Ooh, did his guard just look at you?” Nia asked. “You’ve charmed him!”
Warmth crept up my neck and I reached back to rub the hairs down. “That’s not why he’s looking at me.” I highly doubted he was susceptible to charms of any kind. “He knows I’m after the pelts and wants me to stay away.”
“Well, you definitely need to go talk to him. Step one is getting past him.”
I nodded, my nerves zinging. While the necromancer did frighten me, there was also a part of me that wanted to speak to him again for other reasons. If the circumstances were different, I would enjoy pursuing such a male. As it was, I had to be very careful in his vicinity, because if I was near the guard, I was near the magpie, and I couldn’t chance having that monster see my pelt. I wished there was a way to get the necromancer aw
ay from his vile client for a moment.
Nia linked her arm through mine, and my heart warmed at the camaraderie I felt toward this woman I’d just met.
“Are you scared?” she asked.
I gritted my teeth, hating the answer. “Yes, but I have to do this.”
She moved to stand in front of me to have my full attention, our eyes at the same height.
“I will come, as well. That way, you can speak with the necromancer, and if the magpie comes out I will distract him.”
“No!” Horror sliced through me like a physical sting at the thought of the magpie getting his hands on Nia or hurting her in any way. “I don’t want you near him.”
“Ada.” She took both of my hands and squeezed them. “It would be worth it.”
I shook my head. “I can’t—”
“Look, I’m coming with you up there. This is a night to take chances. That’s what the Ball is all about. I’ll go ‘round the other side and keep my distance. Let’s go.” She gave me a little push in the direction of the stairs, her eyes glittering with nervousness and mischief as the lights flashed above us.
My thrumming heart sped, and I nodded because she clearly would not be talked out of this. “Okay. Just…don’t get too close.”
I made my way up the staircase, my emotions all over the place. I lifted my chin as I came to the top and saw the necromancer standing at the end, in front of the closed, glowing pod. He was staring right at me with his arms crossed as if expecting me. Gods, why did he have to be so sexy? It was distracting. After a moment’s pause to gather myself and swallow down my uneasiness, I moved forward. From the corner of my eye, I caught Nia making her way from the other direction.
My feet moved.
My heart pounded.
I didn’t stop.
Henrique’s glower was enough to melt a hole in my soul, but I was not deterred.
The Monster Ball Year 2 Page 45
