“Why don’t you take her upstairs? There’s a bathroom up there and they can stay in the bedroom to the right.”
Maggie nodded and drug Heidi up the stairs.
Jonah tossed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt at Liam. He caught them and pulled on the pants first. He figured the dragon would be hungry, so he set about fixing a pot of coffee and making him a sandwich. Liam sat at the island and remained quiet, almost pensive.
“Are you going to tell me how you came to be standing naked on my front porch at five in the morning?” he asked as he refilled Liam’s coffee cup.
His voice seemed to snap Liam out of his thoughts. “Bloody fae,” he grumbled when he’d swallowed the last of the sandwich.
It seemed as if he and Maggie weren’t the only ones having fae issues. He snorted. “What did they want?”
“To use me as a weapon against the shifters is my best guess. Stormed into my cave, took Heidi, and jumped me when I was changing back into my human shape. Tried to get me to cooperate by threatening her.”
“Smart.”
Shaking his head, Liam said, “No. It was stupid.”
“Use your mate to get you to cooperate? They had to be desperate.”
“They had no other way to control me.”
Jonah poured himself a cup of coffee. “How did you get away?”
“Heidi. She refused to move and confused the hell out of them. I guess they thought she’d just go along willingly. When Cliona cut her, I changed, and Heidi took off.”
That surprised him. A mate usually wouldn’t leave another mate behind. “She left you behind?”
Nodding, Liam said, “There was no way to both of us were going to get out of there together. I knew that, and I think she knew that. At least with her out of harm’s way nothing was stopping me.”
“Well, you’re here and I’m glad you’re out of harm’s way.”
Liam set his mug on the counter in front of him, his eyes dark as he seemed to ponder over what he wanted to say. “They’re going to come to New Freedom. Roarke is planning an attack and even though he can no longer use me in his plans, I don’t think that’ll stop him.”
“Whatever Roarke and Cliona have planned—”
“Cliona’s dead.”
Cliona had been the same fae woman who’d been there the morning he’d took an arrow to his leg. She was Roarke’s second, that much he already knew. “Really?”
“Her mate’s dead. The warlock.”
He sucked in a breath. Mating between the fae and the warlocks could only mean one thing – they were fighting together.
“I didn’t realize she’d mated a warlock. Roarke allied himself with them? Even I have a hard time believing he’d bow to Dis.”
“Well, believe it because he’s bowing, although I think the fae king probably believes he’s running the show. I would love to see his face when he realizes how little control he has. Roarke is nothing except a pawn, but he’s too narcissistic to see it.”
Jonah rubbed his chin. They had a lot more work to do to prepare for an incoming onslaught. “You’re probably right. But still, that won’t stop him from attacking New Freedom when he’s ready.”
“He’ll attack, sooner or later. Do you think New Freedom can stand against the fae?”
“It’s guns against spears and bows and arrows,” Jonah said, trying to sound more positive about the situation than he really was.
Liam shook his head. “You forget about the fae magic. Do you really think they’ll only use their spears? They have time to plan and prepare, so think again.”
Liam was right. They had to start making the right moves. There was much to be done, and quickly. They’d wasted enough time as it was.
“Will you stay and fight or will you take Heidi back to Cantor?” Jonah couldn’t ignore that having a dragon on their side would help their chances dramatically.
Liam appeared frustrated. “There are warlocks in Cantor who want Heidi just as bad as the fae did.”
His hopes lifted. “So that means you’ll stay?”
“Aye,” he said. “I’ll stay. I’ll stay because this is my home and I won’t back down. If Heidi and I are going to have peace, it’s going to be here and it’s going to be now. I won’t run.”
Jonah emptied his coffee cup and set it back down on the counter. “We have to start planning. We already initiated some things—”
“Heidi and I walked into town without anyone being the wiser.”
So much for the extra people on patrol, Jonah groaned inwardly. If he wanted something done, he’d just have to do it himself. He’d spent enough time holed up with his mate. He was the lead enforcer and he had take the reins.
“We have to tighten up the defenses.”
“You have to do more than that,” Liam said.
Jonah trusted the dragon. He knew how he fought. He remembered when Liam tracked down the slayers who’d murdered his uncle. He was perhaps the strongest being in their time zone, he was Jonah’s friend, and he was on their side. He’d listen to what the dragon had to say.
“What do you have in mind?”
The dragon sat back in the chair and his eyes narrowed. “I don’t know how, and I don’t know when, but the fae are coming. And when they do, they’ll go up in flames.”
15
“Gold!” Maggie exclaimed, tracing the delicate patterns on her friend’s back as she stepped out of the shower. “That’s so neat.”
“I guess mating a shifter is different.”
She nodded. “Yeah, you got burned and I got bit.” Maggie pulled her tank top to the side to show her the scar.
“I bet it hurt less.”
Maggie frowned, imagining how Heidi must have felt when Liam mated her. She’d complained of an internal burning that hurt so bad she’d passed out. Liam told her he’d thought he’d killed her. “Yeah, I think it probably did.”
“This is so crazy. So, you’re staying in New Freedom too?”
“Of course.”
“Good. I want to be with Liam, of course, but I’m happier knowing you’re close and we can still see each other regularly.”
Maggie still struggled to think that Heidi would be living in a cave, although she’d already told Maggie that it somewhat comfortable with all the amenities she required. Most of them anyway. “You’re not going to miss your internet? Or your twitter followers? Or hell, your mother and grandfather?”
Heidi’s face fell. “Grandpa died.”
“What?!” She was in complete disbelief. Heidi had been lost in the woods for days and she comes back to civilization with the news. Maggie shook her head. It didn’t make sense.
Heidi was pulling on jeans and a t-shirt while she spoke. “Long story short. Liam and I argued, and he took me back to Cantor. When we got back, I found out Grandpa had died in his sleep. We stayed for his funeral and then came back here after we ran into some warlocks. They’re a nasty bunch too.”
Maggie was still shaking her head, trying to make sense of what Heidi was telling her. First her grandfather and then… “Warlocks?”
“I know right!” Heidi pulled her brush through her hair. “Apparently whatever little spell Carey did last weekend caused some confusion for all these folks. I’m tired of telling idiots I’m not a witch. No one wants to believe me. They’d rather tie me up to a stake and tell me I’m going to burn.”
“Wait…what?”
Heidi tossed the brush back into the bag and dug out her toothbrush. “Long story. Remind me to tell you another time.”
Maggie dropped Heidi’s bag onto the floor and sunk onto the toilet seat. It was a lot for her to process. When she leaned back, she flinched. Her back had started to ache since she woke up. The numbing injections Pecora gave her were wearing off.
Heidi spat into the sink and rinsed her mouth out. When she was done, she stood up straight and asked, “Do I still smell like moose shit?”
Maggie was stuck on how in love Heidi seemed to be with her dragon. When
they went downstairs, Heidi had beelined straight for him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled to herself and went to stand next to Jonah. Her own mate.
He poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Sore.”
“We’ll put the salve on in a minute. We have to get dressed and head out soon.”
She nodded. “I’ll make us some breakfast. I’m sure something will happen today to keep us from eating later and we all need to be at our best.”
Jonah got out of her way as she made herself busy in the kitchen. Heidi didn’t bother to help, the girl could barely boil water, let alone fry an egg. Maggie kept it simple and scrambled up a dozen eggs and frying a pound of bacon. She went through half a loaf of bread making toast as the men spoke.
Jonah was on the phone by six, making calls and calling a meeting that would begin in one hour at the church. They had much to prepare for. Feeding the four of them seemed like the right place to start when it came to helping.
After they ate, she went into the bedroom. Jonah was on the phone, so she grabbed Heidi to help her.
“I need you to put this on my back,” she said, handing Heidi the numbing salve.
“What’s this? Oh my god!” Heidi exclaimed when Maggie took off her shirt and turned around, revealing the stitches. The gauze that had been placed on it the night before had come off with her shirt. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Fae problems.”
“Holy shit! Maggie, this looks…yuck.”
Maggie sighed. “Just smear some on and throw some gauze on it so I can get dressed.”
“Okay,” Heidi said, following Maggie’s instructions.
Maggie pulled on jeans and a loose-fitting t-shirt before going into the bathroom to brush her hair and her teeth. Heidi was sitting on the bed, kicking her legs, when she came out of the bathroom.
“Do you think the fae will really attack the town?” Heidi asked her.
“Yes.”
Heidi frowned. “I thought you’d say that.”
“We’re going to be okay,” Maggie said, trying to reassure her.
“Oh, I know. Liam will fuck them up.”
Maggie opened her mouth to say something and then shut it again. Heidi had taken to surprising her and honestly, her friend was probably right. There was a reason why the fae had wanted Liam on their side to begin with. Now that Liam was on theirs…it changed things.
Maggie laughed then. It felt good having Heidi back. “Come on, let’s go. We don’t want to keep them waiting.”
The church was packed. Every man, woman, and child were crammed into the small space. Maggie had stayed out of the way, keeping Heidi with her, as Jonah spoke with both Travis, Liam, and Rick. Liam always kept one eye on Heidi and Maggie couldn’t help but feel relieved her friend had found someone who understood how important it was to keep Heidi safe. The girl had fallen off a cliff because of a bee, after all.
She and Heidi stood against the wall with Liam and Travis as Jonah stood up at the pulpit, his voice raised. “Can I have everyone’s attention, please?”
The room quieted.
“As you all know, Gerald Martin was murdered last night by the fae. I was shot with a poisoned arrow only days ago. We know – without a shred of doubt – that the fae are going to be heading to New Freedom.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” one of the older men in the front row said.
“We do. Liam McIntyre was taken to the fae village of Péine where Roarke, the fae king, laid out his plans to decimate the shifters.”
“You’d believe the dragon?” Another man asked.
Maggie saw Liam’s chest puff up out of the corner of her eye.
“Absolutely. Are the bodies of Gerald Martin and Jimmy Schram not enough to convince you? What is it going to take?” Jonah asked the crowd.
“We hear you, Jonah.” It was Dan who spoke, getting to his feet. He smacked Ronnie, who was sitting next to him, in the chest and Ronnie climbed to his feet. “I, for one, am tired of pulling pieces of our kind out of the woods.”
“And I,” said Mike, standing to his feet behind Dan, “refuse to clean the blood of another shifter off the floor of their home. Martin was murdered in his own store, well within the boundaries of New Freedom. We are already under attack.”
“What will you have us do?” One of the men in the front asked, standing and turning to Mike.
Travis leaned over and whispered in her ear. “That’s Clyde. He’s one of the Elders.”
“I’d have you petition the council for assistance. Request their intervention at the very least. The fae belong to the Netherworld just as we do, they’re made to follow the same rules,” Mike said.
“We have petitioned,” Clyde said. “We were instructed by the council to handle our own problems. They refuse to get in the middle of a ‘local dispute’, or so they called it.”
“That’s news to me,” Jonah said.
Liam looked ready to burst. He strode over to where Jonah stood, towering over him. It amazed her how large the dragon was, especially since Jonah was by no means a small man.
“I may not be a shifter,” Liam said, his Irish accent thick as he spoke, “but I live here, too. The fae came to me door and wanted me to help them eradicate this town. To slaughter every last man, woman, and child who live here. To get rid of their shifter problem.”
The room was dead silent as Liam turned his focus to Clyde and the two men who sat next to him. “Let me ask you this, old man,” Liam said, directing Clyde. “How many of yours are you willing to put into the ground before you tell the council to go feck themselves?”
Maggie snorted at Liam’s choice of words and the council elder’s reaction. The look on the old man’s face was priceless. His jaw dropped, his eyes went wide, and he glanced at the two men who sat on either side of where he stood.
“You don’t just tell the council to go…to go feck themselves,” Clyde rebutted.
“Well, that’s what they’re telling you, shifter. They’re happy to sit back and watch as the fae shove their fists so far up yer arse it comes out ye mouth. You want to tell me they give two fecks about what happens to this town?”
“What do you suggest we do, dragon?”
There was a small child in the back of the room who clapped his hands. Maggie could hear the little boy whisper excitedly to his parents once he realized there was an actual dragon standing in front of him.
“Listen to your enforcer, for one. You put him in this position for a reason, so maybe you ought to listen to what he has to say?”
Clyde nodded his head, happy to turn his attention away from the dragon and back to Jonah. “What do you suggest?”
Jonah laid out his plans for the first time and it was all quite simple, really. He discussed the armory and wanted to know who was lacking weaponry. They discussed scouts and patrol and before long, they had some semblance of a plan and everyone was on the same page. The church bells would be used as their primary source of emergency communication. Maggie stood back and watched her mate with pride as he spoke to the town residents.
Jonah and some of the men had retreated to the armory not long after. They left Heidi, Liam, and Maggie at the church, making last-minute emergency preparations just in case everything else went south with Father Benson. The rest of the town was dispersing slowly, going home to make their own preparations.
“Hi there, Maggie!” A little blonde woman came up to her after the meeting over, startling her from where she was leaning over and studying a local map.
It took Maggie a second to realize who was speaking to her. “Jennie! How are you?”
She smiled, patting her swollen belly. “Doing well. Mated a few years ago when Travis’s cousin Ed came to visit from Virginia, but you know…you can’t fight that mating instinct when it’s the right one.”
Eek. That would’ve made that breakup interesting.
“Congratulations on the baby
!” Maggie said. “Is this your first?”
Jennie nodded, a sad smile on her face. “I miscarried twice before, but this is the furthest we’ve come, so I’m praying we make it to the end.”
“I’m so sorry, Jennie.”
She shrugged. “It’s okay. It comes with the territory. Most of the women around here have miscarried more times than I have. I pray it doesn’t happen to you.”
“To me?”
She tilted her head. “Maybe you don’t know since your mother was human. Most of the others can’t carry their babes to term. There’s a lot of miscarriage and just general infertility with the shifters, the werewolves, even the fae.”
“Inbreeding,” Heidi said from behind her. “That’s what causes that.”
Maggie wanted to slap her friend. She stared at her, trying to tell her to shut up telepathically. Heidi shrugged.
“No, she’s right,” Jennie said. “Apparently shifters never had this issue back when they were breeding freely with human men and women or other races. The gene pool is too small now, too selective. I hope you’ll have better luck when it’s your turn. Both of you.”
“Thanks, Jennie. How far along are you?”
“Six months.”
Heidi perked up. “Oh girl, you got this. Your gonna pop out that pup, no problem.”
Jennie smiled, her face lighting up. “I hope you’re right,” she said. “It’s good to see you again, Maggie. I hope to see you around and congratulations on your mating.”
“Thanks.” Maggie hugged her before turning back to Liam and Father Benson, who were standing not far away, listening to the conversation.
“Girl, I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to be popping out any babies,” Heidi said before leaning over the table at the map of the town, searching for the emergency evacuation route they’d been discussing.
“It’ll happen when it happens. You may not be able to stop it,” she replied.
“Lass, you may not want to stop it,” Heidi’s mate said to her, chuckling.
She stood up and frowned. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”
When Sparks Fly (Netherworld Series Book 3) Page 20