by T. A. White
There were Fae all over the city. Granted, they were the minor Fae, most not powers in their own right.
“The High Fae can be difficult.” Liam chose his words carefully.
Nathan scoffed. “That’s one way to put it. They’re xenophobic assholes.”
“This world tends to be hard on them,” Eric said, his voice a quiet rumble. “The amount of iron and human technology messes with their magic.”
“Then why are they coming here?” I asked.
“We don’t know,” Liam answered, his face grim.
They were worried, I realized. All of them. Whoever these High Fae were, they were dangerous enough to make even the vampires concerned. That, more than anything, told me how much I didn’t want them in my city.
I frowned thoughtfully. “Dahlia seemed to think they might be trying to establish a barrow here.”
The three of them traded looks at the news.
“How good is her information?” Eric asked.
“She’s my go-to person for gossip,” I said. “A lot of information runs through her bar and she hears all of it.”
If she said they were trying to establish a barrow, I was inclined to believe her.
“What’s the game plan, boss?” Nathan asked.
Liam was quiet, his forehead creased in thought. I remained on the edge of the group, watching and waiting.
“I want you and Eric to head back to the Gargoyle and watch over Thomas,” Liam said. “They’ll eventually need to meet with him to formally declare their intent.”
“What about you?” Nathan asked.
“Aileen and I are going to visit a friend of hers,” Liam said.
Nathan cocked his head. He looked like he wanted to protest as he shot me a glance devoid of his normal friendliness.
“You can’t go alone,” Nathan said. “You need one of us at your back.”
I tried to keep from feeling insulted. I wasn’t a big fat zero. I might not be as powerful as the others, but I’d shown on more than one occasion I could hold my own.
“I’ll be fine. I need both of you with Thomas. Keep your eyes peeled.” The tone of Liam’s voice dissuaded any further discussion.
Irritation flickered on Nathan’s face. There, and gone in an instant. I probably wouldn’t have noticed if not for the amount of time I’d been spending with him lately. Whatever emotion it was, it was quickly masked, and I couldn’t be sure of what I’d seen.
His expression changing like quicksilver, Nathan resumed his easygoing smile, replacing the faint awkwardness of moments before.
He sat back, his arms coming up to rest against the couch back. “Since you’ve stuck us with the unpleasant task, what will you two lovebirds be up to?”
There was a bit of insinuation there I didn’t like. I narrowed my eyes at him and frowned. He wasn’t acting like the Nathan I knew.
“We have business to take care of from last night.” Liam’s voice was crisp, the dismissal clear.
Eric stirred at the window. “We’ll keep you updated on our progress.”
Nathan betrayed only the faintest bit of reluctance as he stood and strode from the room, not looking at either of us.
Liam waited until both men had left the house, and their car had started before he turned to me. “Is there something you’d like to tell me about the relationship between you and my enforcer?”
I blinked dumbly at him, not understanding the question for a long moment. When I did, rage boiled up.
Surely, he couldn’t be that stupid.
“Because if that’s the case, I need to know so I can make the appropriate decisions,” he said, not giving me a chance to answer.
Yes, yes, evidently, he really could be that stupid.
“Yes, our training sessions have mostly been us getting naked and sweaty,” I said in a completely serious voice.
That seemed to set him back. Thunderclouds gathered on his face.
I turned and stalked out of the room.
I didn’t know where that had come from, and quite frankly I didn’t care. If I hadn’t already accepted this job, I’d be heading out the door toward home right about now.
Liam’s footsteps were angry as he followed me. “Aileen.”
I held up a hand. “We’re not talking about my personal life.”
“I have the right to know.”
I spun to face him, ready and raring to go for this fight. “No, you don’t. You’re not my boyfriend, my lover or anything else.”
The words didn’t make him back down. If anything, they seemed to spur him on. “And if I wanted to be?”
I scoffed. “You don’t want that. You want a convenient body that’s there when you’ve got an itch.”
His face darkened. “Don’t presume to know what I want, sweetheart.”
I lifted an eyebrow, abruptly willing to follow this wherever it might lead. “Okay, answer me this—where were you for the past three months?”
I waited. A mask slammed down on his face, and suddenly he was the Liam I’d first met. A statue impersonating a person. Cold and impersonal, no hint of his true thoughts.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I said. I’d expected his response, but somehow it still stung. “I’m not your toy. I won’t be waiting for you whenever you deign to return. I suggest you go elsewhere if that’s what you’re looking for.”
“And what would you have of me?” he asked, wielding his words like a whip. “You treat anything to do with vampires like it’s the plague. I can’t share because I can’t trust what you’ll do with the information.”
The words hurt, even if they were partially true. I did avoid all things vampire. However, if he thought I would use knowledge he’d given me to hurt him, he didn’t know me at all.
Some of that must have been written on my face, because his expression thawed slightly.
“I guess we each know where we stand,” I said, my voice flat. I turned toward the door. “I believe you said you wanted to see one of my friends. Which friend?”
He remained still for a long moment, long enough that I thought he was going to ignore my question before he started after me.
“You still have connections with the witches?” he asked.
I nodded. “They’re tentative. I can’t guarantee she’ll talk to us.”
In fact, I wasn’t sure she wouldn’t try to hex us at first sight. She wasn’t exactly my biggest fan.
“That’ll have to do,” he said.
“What’s the interest in the witches?” I asked.
“I suspect some of them were part of the group that came after us last night,” he replied, moving past me to a car, one that was sleek and sporty and looked wicked fast. It was a burnt umber color, a treat for the eyes.
I paused at the sight of it, recalling the conversation we’d had last night. For a moment, I thought he might have gotten this because of what I’d said. I shook off the thought in the next second. There was no way he would have had time to get this car between now and then. This was coincidence, nothing else.
“You coming?” he asked, pausing on the driver’s side.
I nodded and joined him. Whether this was because of me or not, I heartily approved of the ride.
*
Elements was much the same as I remembered. Liam hadn’t had any trouble finding parking near it. He seemed to possess some uncanny knack to arrive at the exact moment someone was vacating a spot, a feat I never seemed to manage. Whenever I came to the Short North, I usually ended up parking a mile away from my destination.
Named for its location just north of downtown Columbus, the Short North was on one of the busiest streets in the city. Once upon a time, it had been considered little more than a dying neighborhood. When I was growing up, people avoided this place after dark and sometimes before it. Since then it had undergone a revitalization and was now home to some of the funkiest and coolest shops and restaurants in the city. Ostensibly it was known as the arts district, but it was so much more than tha
t.
At ten on a Wednesday night, it was still hopping, the bar and club scene just beginning to pick up.
Columbus wasn’t a big city, therefore many of the districts were left to butt up against each other. The start of the Arena district was just one street over, and marked the beginning of many vampire owned bars. The witches had claimed the Short North— a decision that allowed them to take advantage of the attractions drawing tourists and sightseers who didn’t mind the new age mysticism permeating everything.
Somehow the two groups made it work despite the thin line of separation. At least, that’s what I had always figured.
Given the dissatisfaction on Liam’s face as we parked and got out, I was forced to question my assumption. He didn’t seem happy at the prospect of visiting Miriam’s store.
“Perhaps you should allow me to speak when we get in there,” I said, following him from of the car.
“I’m perfectly capable of speaking for myself,” Liam declared, stalking along the sidewalk.
Maybe so, but he was also perfectly capable of destroying any goodwill by doing so. Liam tended to use force to get what he wanted. That worked sometimes, but in cases like these, I’d found battering the truth out of someone rarely yielded the sort of results you wanted.
The store’s sign was flipped to “closed.” Not surprising, given most shops on the street shut down around nine.
Liam grabbed the doorknob and wrenched. The door shivered under his hand, but remained closed.
“That’s not a good idea,” I said.
“When I want your input, I’ll ask for it,” Liam said, jerking the door again.
My othersight caught a small pulse within the door—the ward readying itself. Before I could warn Liam, it flashed, reaching out and wrapping around his hand.
His face showed the slightest flinch of pain as he remained still, letting the ward creep up his arm. The smell of burnt flesh reached me, but other than that first small glimpse of pain, Liam’s expression remained neutral.
“Ready for my help now?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
“No need.” He bared his teeth at me, and with muscles bulging, he ripped the ward to pieces until all that remained visible in my othersight were small, barely glowing fragments.
“Very mature,” I told him.
“It worked,” he responded. This time when he yanked on the door, it opened with a screech.
I shook my head as he sauntered inside. What exactly was that supposed to have accomplished? All it likely did, was antagonize Miriam and ensure she didn’t talk to us.
“Why is it that every time you show up, the company you keep gets worse and worse?” Miriam asked from behind me.
“I don’t even know,” I said exasperated.
I turned to find Miriam looking over the remains of her ward with an irritated expression. She wasn’t what you’d expect when you heard the word “witch.” She didn’t wear soft, wispy clothes or embrace the fashion choices of the granola loving crowd. Nor was she dressed all in black, wearing pentagons or other witchy symbols.
She looked young—younger even than I. I’d been turned when I was twenty-six, which would be the age I appeared until my true death.
Miriam, on the other hand, looked barely twenty. Furthermore, she was dressed like she was off to rush a sorority with her blond hair pulled back into a high pony tail while wearing a bright pink and glitter shirt over a pair of loose cotton pajama bottoms. She came across as dangerous as a powder puff. Despite that, she was a powerful witch. As tricky as the day was long.
Liam gave the witch a fang-filled smile, one meant to be threatening. “Witch. I’ve got questions for you.”
Miriam failed to be intimidated, her gaze flicking to me as if to ask if I was serious. I shrugged at her. Liam was doing his own thing at the moment.
“I see you’ve failed to keep your freedom,” Miriam observed.
“Not quite,” I said, surprised when Liam didn’t have something snarky to add. He seemed content to let me lead, staying quiet as the two of us talked. Given his demonstration from moments ago when he’d broken into the shop, it was unexpected. “I’m still clanless.”
“But not unclaimed,” she said, indicating my forearm and the oak tree that was Liam’s brand. “It seems he’s a tad possessive, too.”
My attention shot to Liam, who gave me an innocent shrug of his shoulders and lifted his eyebrows as if to ask if I really wanted to discuss this in front of the witch.
Ass. I left the matter of the mark for later.
“What brings you to my shop?” Miriam asked, moving past me and into the darkened room.
When Liam still didn’t answer, letting the silence deepen as he moved through the store looking over the contents, I stepped forward. “We were attacked last night.”
She looked over incredulously. “And your first thought upon waking was to come here?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know many witches.”
I let her process that. There was a sly twist to her lips that suggested she thought she had the advantage.
“And I ran into a witch beforehand who mentioned Angela.”
That wiped the smile from her face. Her expression turned blank.
Thought that might do the trick.
“Whatever happened to her?” I asked idly.
Angela had tried to kill me and been partially responsible for several other deaths in the city.
“She cannot hurt anyone again. That’s all you need to know,” Miriam said firmly.
Hm. I didn’t know how to interpret that.
“Are you aware the High Fae are in town?” Liam asked, picking up one of the items on the counter, a small glass ball the color of a cat’s eyes.
Miriam frowned at him. “That’s not exactly news. Several of the minor Fae have made themselves scarce since their arrival.”
Liam let the glass ball fall. It shattered against the floor.
Miriam and I watched the destruction with similar looks of dismay. Her face turned angry as Liam moved to another display case.
“Put that down,” Miriam snapped as he picked up a vial of neon blue liquid.
I gave Liam a look of warning.
He shrugged at me and threw the vial into the corner. I watched it hit the wall and shatter, its liquid contents sizzling as a light blue smoke rose from them.
I dropped my face into my hands as Miriam sputtered next to me.
Liam gave us a charming smile as if he wasn’t acting like a bull in a china shop.
“Get that vampire under control,” Miriam hissed at me.
I shook my head at her. “Sorry. He doesn’t answer to me.”
“I heard a rumor the witches had planned an alliance with them,” Liam said, turning and fixing Miriam with a cold stare.
“I don’t concern myself with rumors,” she said.
“That’s an unusual statement for a witch to make,” Liam said, his voice full of menace. “Even more so, since you are the crone’s apprentice. You’re both known for acting rather decisively when rumor of one of your witches’ rebellion reaches your ears.”
Miriam regarded him through narrowed eyes, then shifted her focus to me. “Is this what you’ve come for? To throw accusations and innuendo around?”
“I just had a few questions about some witches,” I said.
Her mouth twisted down in a frown. “Maybe you did, but I’m sure the vampire over there has a different agenda.”
Liam seemed amused at the accusation but didn’t bother denying it.
Yes, I could see that now. I watched him with a resigned look.
“Last night I ran into three witches. One of them said she was Angela’s cousin,” I said, trying to steer us back onto steady ground.
“Mary?” Miriam seemed startled. Her expression turned cagey as she moved around the room.
“Yes. Could she have had something to do with the attack on us?” I asked, following her.
“Without knowing the man
ner of attack, I couldn’t say,” Miriam said, her eyes on her hands.
I paused. That wasn’t a no, which meant there was some anger among the witches at me. Interesting that they’d lain the blame for Angela’s earlier actions at my feet. I wondered if they were more angry about her being caught, than at what she’d done.
“They used golems,” I said, watching Miriam carefully. I didn’t trust that she’d be entirely truthful. Until now, I’d never have said she would deliberately mislead me, but these were her people we were talking about. I doubted she’d reveal their secrets to an outsider.
“How many?” she asked.
“Thirty. Maybe more,” I said.
She was quiet. She looked up at me, her expression reverting to its normal mysteriousness. “I doubt Mary had anything to do with it. She lacks the power.”
“And if she worked with others?” I pressed.
Miriam shrugged, the gesture flippant. “Still doubtful. Her circle is just as inept as her. The witches with power steer clear of her sort.”
I tapped the counter in thought, frowning at Miriam. There was something she wasn’t telling me. Her denial was too quick.
Liam stirred, seeming to think so too. He gave her a menacing smile. “You know what I love about witches?”
Miriam didn’t answer, watching him with wariness as magic gathered at her fingertips. I didn’t have to use my othersight to realize she had something nasty brewing.
“Miriam, don’t be foolish,” I cautioned as the spark became a blaze.
Liam moved, his hand shooting out to grab hers, crushing her fingers as he twisted. He raised their hands between them in a grip that put tension on her wrist, ensuring she couldn’t move without causing herself extreme pain.
“They have a low pain tolerance,” Liam said, satisfaction in his voice.
“Liam, let Miriam go,” I warned.
Neither one of them paid any attention to me.
Miriam seemed not to have learned from her thwarted first attempt, magic sparking in her other hand as she turned it to face Liam. He barked out a laugh and used his free hand to grab hers, then pushed it away from him.
The magic flew, crashing into, and pulverizing several shelves. I jumped before looking back to witness Liam maneuvering her hand into another twisted grip, making it impossible for her to cast any further spells.
