Relics and Runes Anthology

by Heather Marie Adkins

  “Fuck all of them,” I muttered in my frustration.

  Remy swaggered in the door, saying something sweet to the bartender to make her blush. He turned to me and his eyes lit up like they always did when I saw him. Or when he saw me. However, they quickly darkened, and he slowed his approach.

  “Gracie, what’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Sit down, Remy,” I replied.

  He sat down as the bartender brought him a glass of cognac. “Thank you, Judy,” he said politely to her. Immediately he turned his attention back to me. Remy was a flirt, but I knew, rather I thought that he only had eyes for me. I was completely wrong.

  At the moment, I couldn’t stand the sight of him, but I wasn’t allowed to make a scene. Stupid rules. Stupid Sanhedrin.

  “I’ve never seen you look so dark, Grace. Talk to me, honey,” he said. Usually, he sat down beside me, but his instincts were on point. He looked at me across the table with questioning eyes. I also saw fear in them.

  “Don’t honey me. You sorry, good-for-nothing,’ son of a biscuit eater,” I growled.

  “My momma was never fond of biscuits. Tell me what’s got you all riled up,” he said, trying to humor his way through my wrath.

  “You are a liar through and through. I thought because you weren’t exactly one of us that I could trust you. Boy, was I wrong?” I said. I almost got choked up. I didn’t know why this bothered me so much. I’d loved ‘em and left ‘em before. Remy was no different.

  Only he was. The prospect of having to stay in one place was rough, but without someone to work on certain frustrations sounded like torture. I should have known better.

  “Alright now. I’m not playing games anymore, Grace Ann Bryant. What has happened?” he asked.

  “It was bad enough finding out that you are married, but it’s so much worse when your own wife was the one who told me. I felt like a dirty, trashy whore,” I hissed at him across the table.

  His handsome face fell as he leaned back in the booth. But a spark of fire burned in his eyes. “If you would allow me to explain,” he started to say.

  “There is no explainin’, Remy! You’re married! You can’t pull some slick talking lawyer shit on me,” I said, jumping up from my seat. “I don’t want to ever see you again. Do you understand me? You keep your lying self out of my business from now on.” I marched out of the bar, and he followed quickly on my heels.

  I hit the door to the parking lot as he folded out cash for the bartender. I noticed because I was watching him over my shoulder. His reaction meant something to me. Lies are lies, but what I felt was real. I was almost in my truck when he managed to stop me.

  “Grace, you will hear me out,” he demanded.

  “I don’t have to hear anything. I should have known better than to trust anyone, but myself. After so many years, I thought maybe, just maybe, I could fall for someone like me.” I spoke mostly to myself because he was intent on getting his word in edgewise.

  “What? Fall for me? Grace, are you in love with me?” he asked astonished.

  “I didn’t say that. I said, maybe. Now let me go,” I huffed through my hissy fit.

  “No, my wife and I have been separated for over fifty years. She won’t divorce me. She’s a damn witch, and I’m stuck with her for now. I have never, ever been in love with her much less slept with her. I got myself in a bad way, and she bailed me out. The price was marriage. Grace, honey, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. We click. It’s good with us because we are good together. You see that right?” he said.

  “No, I see a liar,” I said. “If she meant nothing to you, then you should have just told me the truth.”

  “Most women don’t like to hear that the man they have designs on is married,” he said. “Much less to a witch. She only shows up to run off any potential I have for happiness.”

  “There were no designs. It was sex. It was good. It’s over,” I clipped off at him as I climbed into the truck. “I can get good sex anywhere. I don’t need to get it from you.”

  “It was more than just sex. Grace, I swear, you are all I’ve ever wanted since I laid eyes on you. Look in your heart. You know it is true,” he said.

  “Too bad for you, I don’t have a heart,” I growled. It hurt so much. Perhaps I did have a heart. At the very least, I cared. “I guess you should have thought about that when you were lying to me.”

  “Please. I’ll prove it to you,” he begged.

  “Beggin’ is not attractive, Remy. I meant what I said. Leave me alone,” I said with force.

  He stepped back from me with wide eyes. I looked down at the tattoo on my right arm. It was a ruby heart-shaped jewel surrounded by a sexy filigree. I lifted the ink from the Sanhedrin, and it had its own magical properties. The heart pulsed with power that I kept stored in it from the Otherworld. I wasn’t allowed to go there, but I could borrow power from trees with deep roots which touched the edges of that realm. My father’s realm.

  I watched Remy standing in the parking lot in my rear-view mirror. The dust from my truck surrounded him. Even in pain, he looked handsome.

  2

  Remy

  Leave it to me to fall in love with the most insufferable fairy this side of the Mason-Dixon line. I shoulda stayed home in N’awlins with all the sweet tushes ripe for the pickin’. But nope, I had to get tangled up with a fairy queen.

  Grace wasn’t just any fairy queen either. Her father, Oberon, ruled the Otherworld. At least, the Unseelie side of it. Here in the human realm, the Sanhedrin policed the exiled fairies. Most of them couldn’t keep their noses clean long enough to keep from being executed by the bastards. I hoped that Grace wouldn’t do anything to draw their ire now.

  I stood in the parking lot watching her roll away in that monstrosity of a truck and tried to think of a way to make things right with her. Her stubborn streak that I once found attractive got in my craw and started itchin’.

  “Bless your heart, Grace Ann Bryant,” I muttered, as I dug out my keys to get in my car. The thought crossed my mind to go inside and pick out some sweet thing to take home, but if I wanted any chance with Grace, I needed to leave this bar.

  “Evenin’, Remy,” an older male’s voice said behind me.

  Turning around I locked eyes with one of the rat bastards in the flesh. “Hello, Jeremiah,” I grumbled.

  “A little trouble with your lady friend?” he asked.

  “Jerry, I’m not going to pretend that you don’t know what the hell is going on, so why don’t you cut to the chase?” I prompted.

  He chuckled as he rubbed his greying beard. “Remy, she’s a difficult woman. Surely you knew this wouldn’t last with her.”

  “You are the one that told me not to discuss my wife with her. Don’t stand here and treat me like a fool. I don’t have a contract with you,” I reminded him.

  “No, you don’t. But she does, and I don’t want her riled up. I’ve got some ducks to get in order before I make my next move with her,” he admitted.

  “What move?” I asked.

  “Since you are no longer a speck on her horizon, I figure you don’t need to know.”

  “Asshole.”

  “That’s not very nice,” he said with a smile.

  “I don’t care to be nice to you. You’ve roped her into one of your damn contracts. I hate contracts unless I draw them up,” I replied.

  “Well, what would you do to get her back?” he asked.

  I started to say anything, but that was exactly what he wanted me to say. “Depends on your terms, Sanhedrin.”

  “I just need you to keep her entertained until I can move her to Shady Grove,” he said.

  “No! Why are you taking her there?” I said. I knew of the city nearby where the Sanhedrin kept their misfits. I didn’t understand why some were allowed to live while others were executed. It was a death sentence to move there.

  “He wants her there.”

  “He?”

  “Her father,” he said.r />
  Leaning back on my car door, I contemplated the reasons why the King of the Unseelie would want his daughter in Shady Grove. The place had been cursed since it was formed. It used to reside in a forest in France, but when the New World began to settle, the Sanhedrin had the cursed city moved here. For the life of me, I had no idea why they wanted a bunch of fairies living in the middle of Alabama. If I had been smart, I would have gotten in my car and hauled ass back to New Orleans.

  “I’m an idiot,” I mumbled.

  “What was that?” Jeremiah grinned.

  “She isn’t interested in seeing me,” I said. “I don’t know how to get her to listen.”

  “You won’t. I will take care of it. Meet me at her trailer in an hour. She won’t remember your wife at all. After that handle it however you want, but I warn you, I will not dabble in her brain more than I have to. Don’t put me in the position to starting this cycle over,” he warned.

  “And when you are ready for her to move to Shady Grove?” I asked.

  “You can either go with her or break up with her,” he said.

  “You and your kind are the biggest horse’s asses this side of the Mississippi. You know that?” I argued.

  “I am aware,” he smirked. “One hour, Remy.”

  “One hour,” I repeated as he faded into the darkness.

  I’d just made a deal with the devil for a woman. She was worth it, but I knew better than to trust the devil. I’d have to make a backup plan just in case he tried to double cross me. In fact, I was counting on it.

  3

  Grace

  Finishing off the bottle of Crown, I leaned back on my couch and closed my eyes. Alcohol-induced tears streaked my cheeks. That was my story anyway. The trailer park sat just outside the college town of Tuscaloosa in the center of the Deep South, Alabama. The closest small town was Reform. For once, the neighborhood seemed to be at peace. This wasn’t like my last trailer park in Arkansas where everyone treated each other like family. The natives never rest here. Gunshots. Meth deals. Hookers.

  Jeremiah claimed he had nowhere else to put me for now since I insisted on living in a trailer. The time approached when I would break my contract with the Sanhedrin and take my chances on the road. I’d run all my life. Why stop now? Remy’s wife had done me a favor by telling me about his lies. I had become too comfortable and too willing to let someone be a part of my life. It was a fairy tale, and I might be a fairy but this was never going to be a happy ending.

  I faded in and out of my drunken coma only to be disturbed by someone pounding on the door of the trailer next to me.

  “Shut up!” I screamed. “I’ve got a headache.”

  The banging continued.

  “I swear to the goddess. I am going jerk a knot in someone’s tail,” I muttered, trying to find my feet. Stumbling to the door, I opened it to find Jeremiah Freyman standing there. “Good! You are here. Go tell those idiots next door to stop banging around.”

  “Grace, I was knocking on your door,” he said, lifting a bushy eyebrow. At least his weren’t as bushy as his boss’.

  “Oh, well, by all means, come in, but I offer you no hospitality,” I smirked, turning my back on him to make my way to the fridge. Grabbing a few cubes of ice, I dropped them in my empty glass. Contemplating drinking myself to death, which wasn’t possible, I stared at the liquor cabinet anyway.

  “Water,” he said.

  “Fuck off,” I growled.

  “You are just a ray of sunshine today, Grace,” he laughed.

  “What part of Unseelie do you not understand?”

  “I dunno. There are days when you are quite tolerable,” he smiled. “I mean that in the best way.”

  “Sure, you do,” I said as I filled my glass with water. “What do you want?”

  “Grace, you need to forgive Remy,” he said.

  “Get out.”

  “You listen to me,” he said hardening his tone.

  “Remington Blake has nothing to do with my contract, so you can’t order me around when it comes to my relationship with him,” I said.

  “I am aware of that; however, I did advise him not to tell you about his wife!” he fired back.

  “Oh! So, you knew he was a lying, cheating bastard!” I returned.

  “It’s not like that. He’s tried for years to divorce her. She won’t sign the papers,” he explained. “She’s a witch and he’s not a fairy, so the Sanhedrin couldn’t dictate the situation.

  “There are ways to do it. He’s a lawyer,” I said. “He knows all those legal tricks.”

  “The human laws aren’t the problem. He made a deal. There are consequences for breaking it,” Jeremiah said, turning his tone down to try to reason with me. I was beyond reason.

  “My head is pounding, and I’m going to bed,” I told him.

  He groaned. “Do you mind if I sleep on the couch?”

  “Only if you promise not to talk about Remy in the morning,” I said.

  “I promise,” he replied. “Get some rest. You will feel better in the morning.”

  “I doubt it, but okay,” I smirked as I slammed the door to my bedroom. Eyeing the tiny bathroom, I thought about my bathtub in the Otherworld. A giant roman style bath with steaming waters. It was so big you could swim in it. The closet shower in this mobile home didn’t do it justice. Instead of washing my pain away, I decided to sleep it off. Crashing on the bed, I blocked out Remington Blake from my mind. It was done. It was over. I wasn’t going back to him. Ever.

  4

  Remy

  When I arrived outside of Grace’s trailer, Jeremiah was still there. His beat-up land yacht looked like it belonged in the park, but my Mercedes stuck out like a sore thumb. I listened for movement inside, but it was quiet. Before I could knock on the door, Jeremiah opened it. I stepped inside of the quaint abode wondering how in the hell a fairy queen had become comfortable living in these types of homes.

  “What’s going on?” I asked quietly.

  “She’s sleeping off the alcohol. Look, when she wakes up, she won’t remember that your wife contacted her. She won’t remember anything about tonight. She’s going to feel a little groggy. You should be here when she wakes up,” he explained.

  “Okay. But what do I tell her?” I asked.

  “Use your imagination, Remy,” he said. I wanted to punch him in the face, but I wasn’t the fighting kind. Unless it came to fighting for my woman. The problem was Grace wasn’t my woman. I doubt she would ever totally be mine. She had a heart of gold, but the soul of a gypsy. My craving for her had led me here, but I knew in the back of my mind that one day, she would be gone. I just needed a little more time with her. Whatever I could get.

  “I’m going to head out. There are pills on the counter for a headache. The coffee pot is ready to brew, just hit the button on the front,” Jeremiah said, giving his last instructions.

  “I know how to make coffee,” I replied.

  “I’m sure you do. Oh, and you probably want to lock the doors in that Mercedes or it’ll be gone in the morning,” he laughed.

  “Seriously?”

  “It’s a rough neighborhood,” he said. I looked toward her bedroom wondering if she was safe here. Then it hit me. Heaven bless the fool who tried to cross Grace Ann Bryant. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “Jeremiah?”

  “Huh?”

  “What if I’m in love with her?” I asked.

  “I suggest you keep that wife away from her,” he replied. I nodded my head not knowing how in the world to do that. She stayed away from me, but she found plenty of time to locate my girlfriends. Not that I had that many. Well, a few over the years, but none like Grace. If something happened to her, I was sure her father no matter how estranged he was, would find a way to end me.

  Tiptoeing into Grace’s room, I admired her sleeping form on the bed. I longed for that body to be wrapped around mine. Even if I wasn’t in love, she enthralled me in the bedroom. Sex had never been dull with he
r.

  I settled into a chair to watch her sleep. A street light illuminated the room so that I could make out the rise and fall of her breast as she breathed. As I tried to situate myself in the chair, I had to convince my cock it wasn’t getting any tonight. It took a while, but it finally gave up.

  So, I waited and dozed in and out until she opened those dark brown eyes. I knew the color wasn’t real, but they reminded me of dark chocolate: a little sweet and a lot bitter.

  “Remy?” she muttered.

  “Hey,” I said, stepping across the room to the bed. Sitting down on the edge, I pushed the hair out of her face.

  “Why are you here?” she asked. I knew then, that whatever Jeremiah did to her had worked. She didn’t know anything.

  “You had a little too much to drink, and I brought you home,” I lied.

  “Oh, I don’t remember,” she moaned. “Oh, my head.”

  “I’ll get you some medicine and start the coffee,” I said.

  “Okay,” she groaned as she pulled the covers over her head.

  A little lie. It was just a small one, but it was already eating at me. Not telling her about my wife never bothered me. I never expected her to show up here. But this lie. Erasing her memories felt wrong even though I wasn’t the one who had done it.

  In the end, I knew once she found out, she would never forgive me, but I decided between now and then, I would make it worth it.

  5

  Grace

  Remy started the coffee pot in the kitchen while I tried to remember last night. My whole head felt fuzzy. I’d always drank a lot of whiskey but never had I had such a night that I couldn’t remember what happened. It was almost like I was under a spell.

  I opened my eyes to my fairy sight and looked at myself. The deep blue aura associated with winter glowed around me. I was still me with no spells. When I sat up in the bed, the room spun around me.