by Lexi Blake
Lee seemed to think about that for a moment. “We should find her. Just because Gray says she’s coming doesn’t mean we should sit around and wait. Mia thinks she could work on a spell, and Rhys is going to ask Grandma the next time he goes to Faery. She might know something. Or the gnomes. They’re smarter than anyone gives them credit for. We should also ask the Unseelie. They can be super sneaky.”
Yes, there was a reason I hadn’t wanted to tell my son. He would start plotting, and he often decided his plots were far better than anyone else’s. He would also get the other kiddos involved. If I didn’t head this off, Mia would be researching ways to open portals. Rhys would reach out to his Fae friends about the same thing. I didn’t even want to know what Sean could do. He already used his status as the future king of Faery to great advantage. “We’ll talk about this after we have that grimoire.”
There was a brief knock on the door and my father opened it. He nodded my way. “You’ve got a go from the pixie queen, and Neil informs me there’s a whole lot of chanting coming from the dark temple. It just started so it should last a good long while. They’re not actually performing the spell for another hour and a half.”
Demons loved their chants and they would be doing it right up until midnight. I trusted that Zack would watch out for Daniel, and Neil would let us know if anyone came out of the temple. It was go time.
“Maybe the grimoire will help us find Summer.” Lee was ever the optimist.
My father’s eyes widened and he turned to me. It was good to know something could scare my father. “Now, girl, he did not find out about that from me.”
I put a hand on my son’s shoulder. “He didn’t need to. He’s known for a while. I shouldn’t be surprised. He’s your grandson. What did you always tell me is the most valuable thing a thief can have?”
My father’s eyes lit up. “Information. It’s always information. Now let’s go get some and see if we can get your husband back. Both of them.”
I followed my father out, ready to get started.
* * * *
Summer
I hit the water and the world immediately went dark and quiet. My arm ached where the kelpie had me in her grip. Cold spread across every inch of my skin.
Kelpies are faery creatures, horses that live in ponds and streams and eat wayward travelers, though usually they don’t simply attack their dinners. They prefer to coax their dinner into hopping on their back for a ride then taking them deep and drowning the traveler who thought he or she might get home a bit faster. Once the victim is dead, the kelpie proceeds to feast, leaving behind nothing but the heart of its meal.
I was pretty sure there were other things down here that would be happy to eat my heart.
I pulled at my arm, and that was a terrible mistake because it caused the kelpie to bite down harder. I felt the skin of my forearm break and blood began to flow. I wanted to scream but I couldn’t. It wouldn’t take me down so easily. I kicked and managed to make contact with the kelpie’s thick neck, but it was unmoved. It simply dragged me down faster.
I heard something or someone hit the water above me and tried to turn my gaze up. We hadn’t gone into the deep yet, and I could see Marcus had dived in after me.
He swam toward me and there was anger in his eyes, the absolute certainty that he wasn’t going to allow this to happen. He swam with powerful strokes, his arm reaching out for me.
I might have to lose my arm, but in that moment, I would have cut it off myself. Panic threatened, but I was willing to do almost anything to not be pulled deeper into those waters. I reached for Marcus and our fingertips brushed before I noticed what I hadn’t before. The sprite hadn’t been alone. One set of arms wrapped around Marcus’s waist and then another and a third. They pulled him back as the kelpie dragged me down.
I saw him start to struggle against their hold as my lungs began to burn.
I had to fight. I couldn’t count on Marcus’s mental powers to deal with three Gwragedd Annwn in the seat of their power. The first one he’d dispatched hadn’t been underwater. She’d been at her most vulnerable, but these three were strong and they pulled at Marcus, carrying him away from me.
He wasn’t from this plane. He’d likely never dealt with these creatures.
Not that I’d ever been attacked by a kelpie before. I’d spent most of my life on Faery planes and I knew everything wanted to kill me. This was the first time I’d been so distracted I’d lost my head. It looked like I might lose my life. I pulled at my arm. Blood was starting to stain the water, and I worried if he put more pressure on it, the bone would break. Pain flared through me but I kept pulling with all my might.
And then I was suddenly free. I kicked out and swam for the surface with all my might. I needed air, and then I would do my damnedest to help Marcus. I couldn’t leave him behind when he was only in this situation because he tried to save me.
But I had to breathe first. I broke the surface just as I thought my lungs were going to burst and managed one gulp of air before I was being pulled down again. I heard someone shout right before I went under and then the world was muffled and gauzy again and something was wrong because I was being dragged under by a hand, and that was something a kelpie didn’t have.
I looked down, horror dawning as I realized I’d made a mistake. This wasn’t a kelpie who would mindlessly eat me if he had the chance. The creature beneath me had the body of a horse but his legs had morphed into manly arms and as I watched, he shifted his body from equine to male. The horsehead shifted to a humanlike face, the magnificent mane becoming flowing white hair that floated around him like a halo, though this was no heavenly creature. He gripped my ankle and dragged me down to him.
He was each-uisge, an Unseelie creature who was easy to mistake for a kelpie but was infinitely more dangerous because he often shifted forms. If his normal horse form didn’t work, he could give himself hands and feet, as he had now. He pulled me down to face him and I realized we weren’t alone. The Gwragedd Annwn had joined him and they surrounded me, forming a circle I couldn’t break through even if I did manage to get away from the each-uisge.
He shifted his grip to my arms. My hair floated around, swaying at the edge of my vision. I couldn’t breathe. I’d managed to hold my breath this time, but I couldn’t for much longer. My lungs were tight, desperate to take a long gulp of air that did not exist here. My strength was waning, and I wondered what had happened to the vampire. I hadn’t liked the possessive way he’d looked at me, but I had to admit something about him pulled me in.
He’d been so beautiful, a bit like the dark lover who haunted my dreams from time to time. I’d never seen his face, only knew how it felt to be held by him, how safe I’d been in his arms. I wanted to see him again. Especially if this was the end of me.
It was odd. There were times when I’d longed for this, believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that I deserved this. But I couldn’t stop fighting. I couldn’t let go even when I knew in the back of my mind that it might be better for everyone.
Except my parents were out there according to the people I’d just met. According to Marcus they were out there and they wanted me. I was a child in that moment despite everything I’d done. I was a child who wanted so badly to see her mother and father, to have people who were truly mine, to not be alone in all the worlds.
So I fought with everything I had. I fought with my human strength, but it was waning quickly. Every second that passed, my lungs ached and the instinct was right there to take a breath, one that would fill my lungs with water. My brain had started to go fuzzy.
The each-uisge, pulled me in, one hand tangling in my hair, and I couldn’t fight back as he pressed his lips to mine. He sealed his mouth over mine, his thumbs pressing on my jaw so I couldn’t keep him out. Our bodies brushed against each other and I wished he was Marcus. If this was my last moment, I wanted to feel that vampire again.
Air. He gave me air. It flowed from his lungs into mine and I could suddenly thin
k again.
And move. I pushed away, but arms pressed me from behind, the females holding me still for the male. I fought but I couldn’t win against those arms, couldn’t gain purchase with my feet because I was in a place so foreign I might as well have been taken to the stars.
He reached a hand out for my throat and I thought he would tear it open and feed from my blood. I waited for the stroke that would end my life, but he merely touched the charm, studying it before trying to tug it off. He pulled at the charm connected to the chain. It was made from purest silver and had been forged by a magician, used to keep and hold the magic that made up my soul. He tugged at it and I felt it pull at my neck. If I hadn’t been under water, I would have told the male that it was useless. I’d known when I’d placed the charm around my neck that I would never take it off. The only way it could be removed was my death, and then the risk I posed would be ended and the charm would have no power.
I shook my head because I couldn’t give him the words. If he thought he could steal my magic, he was wrong.
I’d made sure no one could take that magic. I’d done enough evil with it. I didn’t need to see what someone else could do if they took the magic from me. I intended to take it with me when I went.
That might be sooner than I’d expected because the air he’d given me was gone and I was struggling again.
He frowned and his fingers seemed to search for a clasp, for anything that would get the collar off my throat and into his hands. If I hadn’t been drowning, I could have explained to him that the collar had been magically closed and there was no clasp. It would be around my throat until my mortal body rotted, and even then it would mean nothing. It would be a simple piece of jewelry, the magic that animated me having long since passed back into the universe.
He pulled again and I felt that tug against the back of my neck. He frowned and suddenly the sprites closed in, trying to help him break the collar free. I could feel their desperation. They wanted the collar, needed it. Their cold hands slid along my skin and I felt their nails at my throat.
And then they were gone, the sprites pulling back as though they’d been touching something on fire. Only the each-uisge continued to pull. His eyes were on the metal around my neck and they were lit with something I couldn’t understand. He looked to me as if I should help him.
I couldn’t help anyone. I couldn’t breathe.
He seemed to understand that I wasn’t going to last long, and his hands moved to my face. He started to bring me close, to give me another breath of life, buy himself more time to steal my magic.
Before his mouth closed over mine, his eyes flared and I was suddenly free. That was when I realized the each-uisge was the one caught now. A dark head was at his throat and strong arms wrapped around his body. His arms and legs kicked, shifting from human to equine and back before my eyes. He was trying to fight but there was nothing he could do.
Marcus Vorenus’s head came up as he ripped the male’s throat out. Right before the world went foggy with blood, I saw those fangs of his, saw his will as he began to move toward me. He let his foe go and the each-uisge started to sink down into the depths. The vampire turned his attention to me.
But I couldn’t fight anymore either. I felt him reach for me as I dragged water into my lungs and I drowned.
Chapter Eleven
Kelsey
I ran in the direction I knew Marcus had gone. I wasn’t worried about Dev. He could keep up, but if Summer was in trouble, then it was likely Marcus was, too. That meant I had a job to do.
I ran, ground pounding under my boots, and I tried to let my senses open. I cursed inwardly because I should have already done this. I should have taken the opportunity to memorize Summer’s scent, but I’d been busy fighting the first group of assholes I’d seen and then freaking out about the fact that I was probably pregnant.
Definitely pregnant.
When a Green Man tells you you’re knocked up, you should believe him. It’s not something they tend to joke about, or at least not the one I knew.
“Do you see her?” Dev easily kept up with me, but then I hadn’t gone all out.
Up ahead I saw what I needed to see. A man was standing at the edge of the big lake. “No, but there’s Marcus.”
It was odd to see Marcus looking anything less than perfect. He was always dressed to the nines and pressed and polished. But his clothes were decidedly wrinkled and his normally tamed hair was wild and I watched as he dove into the lake.
What the hell was he doing? Could he even swim? I’d never seen him swim before. I’d seen him lounge by a pool, but he’d never gotten in. He was a hot tub guy, but it wasn’t like he did any swimming in there.
“Where is Summer?” Dev asked, his breath even despite the fact that we were sprinting at this point.
I leapt over a fallen log, my whole being focused on getting to Marcus. “I don’t know, but I have to think she’s in that lake. Why else would he jump in? I don’t think he decided he needed to suddenly cool off.”
“Oh, goddess.” Quinn picked up the pace.
When the man wanted to move, he was like the wind. I wasn’t moving as fast as I could, but I was pretty close. “Why would she jump in a lake?”
I could see her telling Marcus to jump in a lake, but it was obvious he’d gone in after her. I hadn’t seen her, and Marcus was only concerned with Summer at this point. The rest of the world could hang. He was completely focused on the woman he’d been promised.
So Summer Donovan was in that lake, and Marcus was trying to save her.
We made it to the shore, stopping short of where Marcus had stood. I shrugged out of my jacket and was deeply grateful Marcus had healed my shoulder because I had no idea what was in that lake. The water was dark, and that screamed bacteria to me. It would have been a bad idea to jump in with an open wound even though I had accelerated healing powers.
Quinn pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. “Kelsey, this isn’t the Earth plane. There are numerous water Fae, and many of them can be deadly.”
“I’m not afraid of fish.” I’d handled myself against some of the most dangerous creatures of the Earth plane, including a demonic elemental and an angel from the Heaven plane. I could handle some frilly fish.
“I knew you slept through my classes,” he accused. “I gave a two-day seminar on Fae water creatures and you can’t name one, can you?”
I’m not a textbook girl. I learn better when the lesson is hands on. Also, I’ve gotten really good at sleeping with my eyes open. Marcus called it meditation. He used a lot of big words for it, but I called it a nice nap. “Whatever it is, I’ll kill it.”
“Or it will kill you and your child.” Dev walked to the water’s edge and lifted a hand. Reeds sprang up from the water, reaching up to touch his palms.
His words made me stop in my tracks. I was used to throwing myself into the fight without a second thought. Fighting was kind of the point of me, and yet now I had to think. I wasn’t the only one at risk. I was used to fighting alongside people I loved, even vulnerable ones. But my brother chose to fight. My best friend chose to fight. My baby couldn’t choose anything. There was this tiny thing inside me that likely didn’t even have a heartbeat yet, but he’d managed to change my entire world and I was floored at the thought.
What good was I if I couldn’t fight? It was all I knew. I stared out at the surface of the water and it looked perfectly calm, as though nothing bad could ever happen here. But it could. There was a battle going on under the placid surface, and I had to think about whether or not I should join it.
“Damn it.” Quinn kicked off his loafers. “I’m going in. The waters here are deep and hide any number of creatures, including an each-uisge. You stay here on the surface and shoot anything that comes out of the water you don’t recognize.”
“What the hell is a yuck uska?” I should have paid more attention in class. I was sure that was some weird-ass Gaelic word that wouldn’t come close to bei
ng spelled the way it sounded.
Quinn stepped out on the water and for a moment seemed to be walking on top of it. That was when I realized he’d fashioned the reeds into a kind of platform. They’d woven themselves tightly right under the surface. “It’s a water horse. It’s typically quite malicious. I believe it has Summer. I need to figure out where it took her. I can’t simply swim around looking for her. The lake is large and deep.”
That was the moment Marcus broke the surface. He came up and took a deep breath, his fangs as long and thick as I’d ever seen them. And there was blood on his chin.
“Marcus,” I shouted.
He held up a hand. “Stay back, Kelsey. I’m going after Summer. Devinshea, there’s a trio of water sprites coming after me. My mental powers aren’t as effective on them underwater.”
As he said the words, female hands reached up from the surface, trying to haul him back under. The hands were pale, with long talon-like nails.
“Not a problem,” Quinn replied from his do-it-yourself-if-you’re-an-agricultural-deity pier. He lifted his hands up and the sprites were pulled under, snaking vines and masses of moss dragging them back below the surface. “My powers work fine here. They won’t trouble you again though I sense there are more of them. Many. This lake is filled with Gwragedd Annwn. Where is my daughter?”
I heard a long gasp as Summer’s head appeared. She broke the surface and dragged one long breath into her lungs. She was facing away from us, but I could feel her panic. Before I could call out to her, she was pulled under again.