The fingers of his free hand pushed a lock of blonde hair from her shoulder. He traced her neck and collarbone, making her shiver. She stopped trying to make sense of things. She didn’t care. All she wanted in the world was to feel his touch on her skin.
His hand moved lower, following the V of her neckline. She gasped when his feverishly warm fingers slid beneath her sweater and bra. The electricity returned to her groin with new intensity. Removing his hand from her breast, he deftly slipped it to the belt at her jeans. Anna moved to accommodate him. “I shouldn’t,” she managed to say. The distant, frightened part of her knew it for truth and fought to surface.
“But I have chosen you,” he said, as if that settled everything.
He chose her. This beautiful man. The bubble of fear drifted away.
She heard a light giggle from behind the trees. Childish faces, blue-tinged in the gloom, peeked around the large trunks. She saw a hint of nearly transparent wings. She didn’t care that they were being watched… or by what.
Tamlane shifted his weight. One hand continued to work at the belt while his other pulled her sweater and bra to the side, uncovering her breast. His mouth lowered. She closed her eyes in an ecstasy of sensations too powerful for her body to reconcile.
Anna opened her eyes again to a shadow gliding just above the high branches, black against the gloom of the sky. The shape was that of an enormous bird but instinct told her it was no bird. Tamlane glanced up as well and, in one quick move, threw himself over her, hiding her beneath his body. The heat and scent of him smothered her. His phallus was hard, though there was nothing sexual in what he did now. He lay over her no more than a moment before he rolled away. The shadow was gone.
Fear and confusion pierced Anna’s desire for Tamlane like a pin to a bubble, and left her sick and shaking. What had she been doing? She didn’t even know this man. She didn’t understand what that strange thing overhead had been, or why he hid her, or anything that was happening. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she sat up, fumbling to pull her clothes together.
“I would rather he doesn’t discover you just yet,” Tamlane said, by way of explanation. Seeing it did nothing to reassure her, he continued, “Soon you will be one of us and this will all be easier.” He stood, grinning, suddenly expansive. “I will plan a feast for you tomorrow. A celebration to welcome you to our host.” It rang from his lips like a pronouncement.
His words washed over her, making no sense. The heat of desire was gone and the empty place where it had been left her disoriented and numb.
Holding a hand out to her, he helped her up. He glanced upward, casually. “Come,” he said, “let’s get you home for now.”
He led her along the dark paths until they came to the end of the old forest. Dusky twilight bled through the thinner trees ahead and she recognized where she was.
Tamlane turned to her and gently brushed a leaf from her hair. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he held her gaze, serious now. “Come back tomorrow,” he said. She felt his words settle in her bones like a weight.
Anna nodded and turned to go, still numb and confused.
“After your feast, we can finish what we started tonight,” he called after her. She could hear the smile in his voice. She nodded again without looking back.
~*~
She hurried up the trail, worried that it would be full dark before she was out of the woods. She was lucky that man had been nearby to help her find the trail when she got lost.
That man. Had she even asked his name? Funny, she couldn’t remember, only that he had led her back to the path. She couldn’t remember his face either, though he’d been stunningly handsome. Now he was like a charcoal drawing that had gotten smeared by the rain. Oh, well… good-looking men always muddled her brains.
The next day at work Anna watched the clock so often, a few times she thought the hands had stopped moving. She wasn’t sure why she was so anxious to get home and take a walk, but it was all she could think about. At four-o-clock on the nose, she was packed up and headed out the door.
Once home, Anna changed quickly into walking clothes. She left her cottage and followed the footpath through the sheep pasture and into the trees. Taking the main path a short way into the woods, she turned off on a little-used trail. She veered right at every fork, hurrying on until she came to a stand of ancient trees, taller and darker than the surrounding woods. Drawn forward by an urge she couldn’t define, Anna stepped under the gloomy arch.
Suddenly, she remembered.
All of it.
Getting lost. Tamlane. He had taken her deeper into the forest and he had… she had nearly… Oh, my God. She needed to get out of here. If she ran only a few yards, she would be free.
Her mind raced, but her feet didn’t move. She looked back at the lighter woods behind, wanting to leave but unwilling to go. Other memories came to her now, memories which heated her blood. Anna brushed the breast where his mouth had touched her and she shuddered. She wanted him more than she had ever wanted anyone.
Run, Anna. The part of her mind where self-preservation dwelt screamed at her. The part that had made her move all the way to England to get away from Sam.
“So,” a deep voice said. Her head jerked to the right at the sound, afraid and excited that it might be Tamlane. It wasn’t.
The speaker was leaning in the shadow of a trunk. He pushed upright and came toward her. “You must be the treasure Tam Lin is hiding.”
Tam Lin? He had pronounced it Tamlane last night and she hadn’t recognized the name. She backed a step as the man neared. Something about him… the blackness of his hair and clothes, the way he moved, the sense of danger he carried… convinced her he was the shadow that had passed over her last night, though that made no sense.
His skin was light, but his features were hooded. The only trait she could clearly make out was the bright yellow of his eyes. They held no whites and had coal black pupils at their center. There was a mischievousness in those eyes, but it glittered with something familiar. A thing she had seen in Sam’s eyes. A cruelty that bordered on madness. Fear lanced into her at the recognition and sliced at the seductive pull that had drawn her back to these woods.
“Beautiful,” the shadow-man said. He stopped in front of her. “I see why he wants you for himself.” He reached out and stroked her face. It was like cold seaweed brushing her cheek and she shuddered.
“I could do so much more for you, though.” He sounded amused. “I could give you a ride if you wish.” He shimmered into a huge, ink-black horse, still with piercing yellow eyes. The image lasted only a heartbeat and the man stood before her again.
“Or I could ride you,” his voice was deeper, softer, imbued with a menace beyond her ability to imagine. He took a step closer. She wanted to scream, but her throat was too tight. “I could ride you better than he ever could.”
He wrapped one powerful arm around her waist and pulled her roughly against his body. She pushed at his chest but she might have been a mouse fighting an eagle’s talons. She stopped struggling. Her rapid, frightened breaths filled her nose and lungs with his musky scent.
“Tam Lin is nothing so special, you know,” he said. “He was once human, like you, until the Faerie Queen took a shining to him. He escaped her once, but came running right back to her when she called. Just as you have come back to him.”
The shadow-man was so tall that Anna came only to his chest. His voice grated down at her. It rumbled against her body. She closed her eyes and willed herself to wake from this nightmare.
“Do you know that his kind pay a tithe to Hell?” the shadow-man continued, almost conversationally. “One of their own. It comes due this Hallow’s Eve. If he brings you into the faerie host, I think perhaps you will not be with us for long.” She forced herself to look up into those yellow eyes and saw truth in their hardness. “Stay with me until the next equinox. Be mine for that time, and I will free you when we move.”
She was trapped in a bizarre dream,
where fairy tales were real. There was nothing to rely on except instinct. But instinct had saved her before—in Chicago. “If I say yes,” her voice shook as she answered, “what then?”
The shadow-man took her by the shoulders and pushed her back to look into her face. The yellow of his eyes pierced her. “Do you desire me?”
He said it like a challenge but she heard the need. He wanted her to choose him over Tamlane. Instead of flattery, she gave him honesty.
“I want to live.”
His eyes narrowed to slits of neon yellow and darkest black, weighing her.
“Well enough,” he said curtly. He glanced behind him, as if hearing something she couldn’t. When he turned back, he spoke quickly. “Tam Lin prepares a feast. You must eat or drink none of it or you will be tied to him. Come to me at the end of the feast. Once we consummate, Tam will lose his power over you.”
“How do I resist him?” She had no intention of having sex with this thing, but she needed information. She remembered how helpless she had been in Tamlane’s presence.
The shadow-man shrugged. “Some can. Some can’t. You must believe you can.”
That was hardly the help she had been hoping for.
“After the feast,” he continued, “convince him to have one of his foolish processions, it should be easy enough.” His lip curled in contempt. “Leave while he is occupied and come to me here.”
Forced to couple mindlessly with Tamlane or willingly with the shadow-man. Tithed to Hell. She was thinking more clearly with every new threat.
“Perhaps we should meet outside this forest. I think maybe he can’t follow me there.” Tamlane had made her come to him. He might be constrained by these old woods. Either way, there was more chance of help outside this unnatural place.
“No.” He grabbed her chin in his powerful hand and forced her eyes to meet his. “You must not leave our land again until we have moved on. Tam Lin wanted to keep you from me last night and he was overconfident, as he often is. It would take so little to undo us—a leaf, a twig. You must not risk going back to your world. Do you understand?”
She didn’t. She tried to nod ‘yes’ anyway, but his grip was too strong.
He relaxed and let go of her jaw. “All you need do is meet me here.” He glanced over his shoulder again. This time she also heard the soft footfalls.
“Phooka!” She recognized Tamlane’s voice. It rang with authority. “Leave her be, Phooka,” he said more quietly, emerging from the trees, “or answer to me.”
Never taking his eyes from the shadow-man, Tamlane said, “Forgive me, Annabelle. I was detained, seeing to your feast.” He reached out and took her arm, pulling her to him.
The shadow-man held her arm a moment longer, like a wish-bone between them, then released his grasp, his sharp, yellow eyes still fixed on Tamlane’s blue. He turned, finally, to smile at Anna. Unlike Tamlane’s enchanting smile, there was nothing of beauty in the shadow-man’s grin. It held a promise of seeing her again, later.
His form shimmered. She had a brief glimpse of a huge bird before it leaped into the air and became a blacker-than-night shadow that skimmed through the high branches and away.
“There, my love,” Tamlane said. “He is gone, and I will see that he troubles you no more. I am his better, and he knows it well.”
He was dressed in brocades and silks, and he was gorgeous. He brought her close and she couldn’t help wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself into his sweet warmth. Going from the phooka’s embrace to Tamlane’s felt like salvation. She wanted to give herself to him right here. She kissed him, feeling his soft, warm lips yield to hers. Something deep inside her rang with alarm. There was something she must not forget.
He saved her from herself. “Not yet, my love,” he said. “There will be time aplenty after the feast, but others wait for us now.”
He unwound her arms from his neck and took her hand. Together they walked to the ring of trees with the grassy center. A huge table was covered with a white linen cloth and laden with food. Platters of meat, venison she guessed, were held aloft by racks of antlers. Carved wooden bowls overflowed with fruit. Nuts and currents filled side dishes and a silver pitcher sat in the middle of the table. Half a dozen tall chairs covered with brocaded velvet surrounded the table and a gossamer canopy was strung between the great trees.
Tamlane led her to a chair at the head of the table. As she sat, Anna felt the momentary roughness of a tree stump beneath her, the realization forgotten almost as quickly as the sensation itself. Winged, blue-skinned pixies ran naked, chasing each other in the grass. Four men and women entered the meadow, all dressed as elegantly as Tamlane. She looked down in embarrassment at her sweater and jeans. The four took their seats at the table and Tamlane sat opposite Anna.
“Eat, friends,” he said, “and drink. Welcome Annabelle to our host.” He poured a cup of red wine from the silver pitcher and raised it to her. The pitcher was passed down, and the man on her left poured wine for Anna. All of them watched without partaking, waiting for her to drink.
Anna reached for the glass. It seemed much smaller than it should, and rough, like a walnut shell, but the thought was so fleeting it was gone before she could hold it. Tamlane was watching her. She didn’t care about the feast. All she wanted was to be with him. Forever.
Something tickled at the back of her mind.
Forever.
Would there be a forever for her? The faerie men and women were staring at her. They clenched their wine cups and narrowed eyes the color of gemstones at her hesitation. The shadow-man had warned her of something. What was it?
Tamlane’s blue eyes urged her to drink. He was a king here, she could see it in the deference of the others. He loved her and she loved him. Why would she not want to do as he asked? She lifted the cup of gold and jewels.
Sam had loved her too, she remembered. He had loved her so much he had cut her off from family and friends to have her all to himself. He had controlled every aspect of her life and when she tried to leave him, he had stalked her and threatened her until she left the country.
The words came back to her. Tam Lin prepares a feast. You must eat or drink none of it.
They were still watching her. More than eager, they were anxious. She smiled and lifted the cup to her lips, careful not to let the odorless liquid touch her. She pretended to swallow and they all smiled. Her mind cleared a little more with her rebellion.
Tamlane clapped his hands and sat back, grinning.
The man on her right plucked a green grape from a bowl and held it to her mouth. He was as beautiful as Tamlane, though older and blond.
Anna shook her head. “I’m too excited to eat. Perhaps later.”
“I insist,” he said.
Sam had wanted to feed her once. He promised it would be sexy. She had done it for him and hated it. The fairy man pushed the grape to her lips. It made her angry. Tamlane’s hold over her lessened a bit more.
She took the grape between her lips, feeling a hard texture. She slid the whatever-it-was under her tongue and pretended to chew. The others cheered and toasted again.
When they weren’t looking, she wiped her mouth with her linen napkin and spit the thing into it. Whether or not the napkin was a frond of soft pine needles, as she suspected, it would not hide the thing that wasn’t a grape. She leaned forward and let it slip out of the napkin and down her sweater, hoping it would roll through and come out under the table. It lodged in the notch of her bra instead.
She had to get away from the table before they caught her at this. Before her mind fogged again and all she could think of was Tamlane. Just looking at him made it hard to concentrate.
“I hope I will be as beautiful as all of you someday.” She forced a smile.
“You will, my love,” Tamlane said, “soon.”
“Everyone looks so elegant. It’s a shame you can’t have a dance or… or a parade or something.”
Tamlane’s eyes brightened. He stood, th
e feast forgotten. “There shall be a procession!” he announced loudly, to the forest in general.
He walked around the table until he stood beside her and smiled that incredible smile of his. His approach wound her body tight, like the surface tension of a pond waiting for a single touch that would send ripples across the whole. She took his hand. The feel of his flesh on hers made her gasp. She fought with everything that was still her, still Anna, to hold onto the clarity she had gained.
“Come, we must gather the others.”
“There are more of you?” she asked, glancing at the men and women also getting up from the table.
“No,” he said sadly, his mood mercurial again. “But there are other races here, and a procession calls for an audience.”
He seemed so melancholy at her question that her heart ached for him. She wanted to touch his face, to kiss away the pain. She fought it as they walked hand in hand from the grassy circle.
“Ah, Annabelle,” he said, “you should have seen us in our glory. Oberon and Titania to the north, Finvarra of the Celts and the lovely Oonagh, Midar, and all the others; our kingdoms spread across the isles. Music and pageants and feasting every day.” He looked at her face. She thought how plain and human her features must seem to him.
“What changed?” she asked.
He shrugged. “The world changed. Mankind increased and the fairy began to die off. The forests diminished. Those of us that were left were forced to crowd together, all the varied races… and these few of us, the last of the fairy aristocracy.”
She looked into the blue depths of his eyes, at the knowledge there, the power, the age, the pain. The intensity in his face was far greater than when they had nearly made love. That had been casual for him. This was intimate.
She could never imagine the phooka, nor some of the other dire creatures they passed, playing audience to the faerie procession, but the smaller beings were starting to gather. Tamlane gave her a light kiss that made her head spin and took his place at the front of the pageant. The pixies flocked around his legs as he moved.
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