by Jasmine Walt
Maybe I simply wouldn’t age in Faerie the way I would back home. Truth was, there was still a lot I didn’t know about this world I belonged to, or even about myself.
“That went much better than I thought it would,” a familiar voice said dryly.
I whirled around and nearly toppled over in shock at the sight of Maddock leaning against a tree only a little ways off.
“I was about to slay that filthy giant, but it seems ye managed to scare him away on yer own,” he added, apparently able to read the confounded look I could feel frozen on my face.
“How the hell long have you been standing there?” I demanded. Elation and anger swept through me at the same time—Maddock had somehow known I was here and had come to rescue me. “Were you going to wait until I was in that giant’s mouth before killing him?”
“I’ve only been standing here the last thirty seconds or so,” Maddock said, his eyes narrowing.
He took a few slow steps toward me, and my heart rate throttled. It took everything in me not to close the distance between us, wrap my arms around his neck, and kiss him. I nearly shook from the effort, and he paused, as if sensing my reaction. Was this heightened arousal happening because we were in Fae? I could see how that would make him stronger, but shouldn’t it make me stronger to resist him, too?
Maddock cleared his throat. “I sensed the commotion, and when I realized who it was, I came running. How in the hell did ye manage to get here, Detective? The closest portal to this location is inside the club, and my guards assured me that ye did not get in.”
“I got in through the back,” I told him. I took a step back, breathing a little easier as the magnetic pull to him alleviated. “I went around to the back alley to try and get in the club, but somehow I accessed the portal instead.”
“That would not normally be possible for anyone, human or supernatural,” Maddock said softly, eyeing me. “It must have something to do with yer shadow nature, that ye are able to slip between worlds so easily. Ye must be careful, lest ye accidentally wander into another portal again.”
“Yeah, well, apparently I can’t find these portals on purpose. I tried to go back and the portal was gone.”
Maddock frowned. “Sometimes they close when entered too often. Or if Faerie senses an unwelcome intrusion.”
“So, just to be clear, we are in Faerie?” I asked, looking around.
“Essentially.” Maddock’s lip curled. A light breeze skipped past, sending a prickling chill up my spine. “This is the outer border of Faerie, a sort of no-man’s-land that is designed as a barrier to keep intruders from reaching the heart of Faerie. If one does not know the way, they tend to get turned around in the forest and eaten by the lesser fae that reside here.” He scowled at me. “It was dangerous for ye to come here alone.”
“Yeah, well like I said, I didn’t do it on purpose.” I crossed my arms and took another step back. The more distance I put between us, the more I felt like myself. “And I wouldn’t have ended up here at all if you hadn’t ordered your men to keep me out of the club. I’m getting tired of this one-sided bullshit, Tremaine. If you keep treating me like this, then I might as well head back to Chicago and let you find the artifacts on your own.”
“Do ye really wish to stand here and bicker about our partnership now?” Maddock asked incredulously. “After all, I am the only one who can get ye back home.”
“So what, you’re saying that if I decided to break things off right now, that you’d leave me here?” I raked him with the most scathing glare I could muster. “If you’re really that much of a bastard, then you might as well just get it over with, because it will only be a matter of time. I was able to get that giant to back off—I’m sure I can figure out how to survive long enough to find my way out of here.”
Maddock regarded me for a long, silent moment. I held his stare, refusing to let him see the way my stomach was squirming on the inside—I didn’t really want him to abandon me, after all. But I also wasn’t going to let him push me around like this.
“Ye’ve got backbone, I’ll give ye that,” he finally said, his lips curving at the corners. Amusement sparkled in his eyes. “No, I wouldna leave ye here. But as it happens, I have business in this part of Faerie. There is an artifact located nearby, and I was searching for it when I heard yer fight with the giant.”
“Wait a sec.” I held up a hand. “If you were already here, then how did you find out from your guards that I didn’t get into the club?”
“I have my ways,” Maddock said. “But that’s hardly important, Detective. What’s important is that I’m not leaving here without the artifact. So if yer in a hurry to get home, I suggest ye help me find it.”
Chapter 17
Maddock teleported us to another part of the forest that was, somehow, even colder than where we were before. The moon was completely blocked out by clouds, and Maddock conjured some kind of strange, yellow light in his palm in order to illuminate our way. Creatures rustled in the branches above us, reacting to the light source, which they probably weren’t used to. Was this place perpetually dark? Did the sun ever shine here? And what about the inner part of faerie, once you got past the border? Was the sun always shining? How did they ever get any sleep?
“If you were coming in here to get the artifact,” I said slowly as we began walking up a steep, wooded hill, “then why did you come by yourself? I thought you needed me in order to shade them so that other people wouldn’t notice you’d stolen them.”
“Aye, but I wanted to scout out the area before I brought ye in,” Maddock said. “I didna see any reason to put ye in needless danger.”
“Oh. Well, thanks,” I muttered. “Glad you’re only putting me in necessary danger then.”
Maddock’s gaze scorched me then, but despite my picking on his poor choice of words, I actually thought his concern was kind of endearing. So much so that my ears warmed, and I had to fight against the irrational pleasure blooming in my chest.
It shouldn’t please me that Maddock cared about my safety. Of course he wanted to keep me out of danger—he needed me. Even if he was collecting these artifacts for a good cause, it didn’t change the fact that he was just using me. And yet, it did. It reminded me of how he had been willing to sacrifice himself for me, and that made me wonder if maybe Maddock cared about me more than he was letting on.
“Hurry up, would ye?” Maddock asked as I struggled to keep up with his lengthening strides. “It’s bloody freezing here. I want to get this over with.”
I blinked at him in surprise, noticing for the first time that his lips had taken on a bluish tint and that his broad shoulders were hunched against the cold. “It doesn’t really bother me,” I said, hurrying my steps a little.
“I am a seelie fae,” Maddock said tightly. “We are not meant to withstand such temperatures. Ye, on the other hand, are the daughter of a powerful unseelie who specializes in ice magic. It is natural that ye would acclimate to this forsaken climate. I would like to hear the tale of how ye learned yer father was the Winter King, by the way,” he added, tossing a glance at me over his shoulder.
“And I would like to hear the tale of how you didn’t tell me yourself. Although I could guess how that one goes.”
“Don’t be trite, Detective. It’s unbecoming.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but was distracted by a green glow emanating from the top of the hill.
“Do you see that?” I demanded, pointing in the direction of the eerie light.
Maddock frowned. “See what?”
“That glow.” I bit my lip. “It’s green, and it’s coming from the top of the hill.”
“No.” Maddock gave me a strange look. “Ye must somehow be able to see the energy coming from it. A rare talent, and not one ye’ve exhibited before. But perhaps being in Faerie is awakening latent abilities.”
It did seem to be a lot easier to use my power when I was fighting off those creepy crows earlier, I thought to myself as Maddock and I race
d onward. Excitement pumped through my veins, giving me a burst of adrenaline, and before I knew it, we were at the top.
“Well, this sucks,” I said, kicking at the frozen earth. There was a green glow emanating from the very center of the hilltop, but the light was filtering through layers of ice and snow, making it impossible to see what lay beneath. “Got a shovel?”
“Ye know I dinnae need one,” Maddock said mildly, raising his hands.
He closed his eyes in concentration, and I moved back a few paces as the ground began shifting beneath my feet. I steadied my hand against a tree trunk as the earth rumbled and watched in awe as mounds of frozen dirt spewed from the hilltop like an erupting volcano. A glass box popped up out of the ground on one of the waves of dirt, and Maddock snatched it before it went careening down the hill. The flow of earth ceased, and I approached him now that I was confident I wouldn’t be swept away.
“Here,” Maddock said as he lifted the latch on the glass container. “Shade this, quickly now.”
I grabbed the artifact out of the box—a glass wand the length of my forearm—and reached for the darkness inside me so I could shade it. But before I had a chance, a horde of strange creatures came stampeding up the hillside. Horns curved back from their bald heads, and their eyes glowed an eerie yellow in the darkness as they brandished swords and spears. Their upper halves were bare except for grey, leathery skin, but their lower halves were covered with fur and shaped like the hindquarters of an animal, with cloven hooves instead of feet.
“Blast it!” Maddock swore. “Hurry up and shade the damn thing, Brooke!” Stepping in front of me, he flung out his hands. The ground rose up in front of us, cascading over the unseelie in waves.
Fear raced through my blood, turning it cold, but I did my best to push it away and shaded the glass wand in my hand, hiding its magic from supernatural eyes.
“Let’s go!” Maddock snarled, grabbing me around the waist.
We teleported out, and I swayed on my feet a little as I found myself back in the part of the forest that I initially came to.
“What does this thing do?” I asked, clutching the wand in one hand as Maddock grabbed me by the other and dragged me along.
“The Baill Foirne shields oneself from enemies, similarly to how you are able to shade yourself and other objects,” Maddock said without looking back.
“Huh.” I glanced down at the glass rod. “Does this mean that you won’t be needing me for the last artifact, since this thing can do what I already do?”
“Save yer questions for when we’re not in danger,” Maddock snapped.
He drew me to a stop in front of a huge black walnut tree, larger than many of the others. Pressing his hand against it, he muttered something in that strange language he used to cast spells. His hand sank into the tree, much like how mine sank into the brick wall behind his nightclub, and I followed after him through the strange, jello-like substance.
I gasped as I stumbled out, finding myself in a hallway that looked very much like it was part of Maddock’s club. But before I could take a step, Maddock grabbed my arm again, then teleported us into my apartment.
“Jesus!” I groaned, doubling over as nausea overtook me. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and took slow, deep breaths, willing myself not to throw up all over Maddock’s shiny shoes. Even though the bastard deserved it. “You need to give me some fucking warning,” I growled through clenched teeth.
“Sorry,” Maddock said, sarcasm thick in his voice. “I was only trying to keep us from getting killed.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit.” Straightening, I jabbed a finger into his chest. It was like trying to stab a rock wall. “Yes, you wanted to get us out of Faerie, but with that last one, you were just trying to get me the hell out of your club. I meant what I said before, Tremaine. I’m not going to work with you if you keep treating me like this.”
“Have ye considered the reason I dinnae want ye in my club is for yer own protection?” Maddock growled, his brilliant green eyes sparking. He stepped closer, my jabbed finger weakening along with my knees at his closer proximity. “Ye may be able to shade yerself, but many of the fae and other supernaturals who frequent my club ken yer description, Detective. I dinnae want them getting their hands on ye and using ye for their own nefarious purposes.”
“Right. I can only be used for your nefarious purposes.” My resolve returned, and I jabbed him in the chest again.
He snatched my wrist in his fist. “Ye know that my reasons for collecting the artifacts are the furthest thing from nefarious,” he said, his voice deadly soft. His face dipped down so that his nose nearly brushed against mine, and my heart skipped a beat—out of fear or attraction, I couldn’t be sure which. “So why do ye continue to resist aiding me? Is there some reason that ye dinnae want me to protect my people? Has someone put ye against me?”
“No.” I swallowed hard against the fear bubbling up in my chest, hoping Maddock couldn’t see the way my insides were squirming with guilt.
“Yer lying to me,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “Why else would yer heart be racing so fast, and yer palm sweating in my hand?” He squeezed my hand tighter as he said the words.
“Fuck you,” I spat, wrenching my hand from his grip. “Of course my heart is racing. You’re a bajillion times stronger than me, and you look like you want to murder me right now.”
“I’m hardly threatening yer life,” Maddock said, scoffing. But he appeared slightly mollified and backed off a bit. Normally I would have never admitted to being frightened by him, but appealing to his male pride seemed a safer bet than telling him that I was, in fact, being put against him by someone else. “Anyway, I will tell my guards that they are to admit ye if ye need to see me, or if ye need protection for any reason. But ye will have an escort in the club at all times, and ye will be taken to a safe space where the other fae cannae harm ye, if I am not there and ye are waiting to see me. Does that suffice?”
“It does,” I said, blinking in surprise. I hadn’t expected Maddock to give in quite so easily. “I guess this means you still need me?”
“I dinnae ‘need’ anyone,” Maddock said mildly, “but ye have yer uses, and I would rather not have ye fall into someone else’s hands. So yes, I am keeping ye around, and yes, I do want ye to accompany me in retrieving the last artifact. It will be good training. Now,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “How do ye know about the Winter King?”
“Thelia told me,” I lied, leaning back against my kitchen counter. I couldn’t tell him that I’d summoned the phoukas or he would ask why, and coming up with a lie to explain that would be even more complicated than the lie I was telling now. “When I met her for dinner the other night.”
“I see.” He stared at me for a long moment. “And why did ye come to my club tonight?”
“Because I wanted to ask you more about my father,” I said, which was mostly true. “I’d like to meet him someday, you know.”
“That is not an easy task,” Maddock warned. “The Winter King used to be very prominent, back when his tribe ruled the unseelie. But not so much anymore, since he was removed from power.”
“Wait.” I gaped at him. “You’re saying my father was the Unseelie King?”
“In a manner of speaking.” Maddock waved a hand dismissively. “The Unseelie are divided into twelve main tribes, and the leaders of these tribes fight for the right to rule every century or so. However, the unseelie are a barbaric lot that prefer war to peace, and they dinnae like the fact that the Winter King was trying to negotiate a treaty with us. The negotiations ended up breaking down, and the other unseelie clans deposed him. I dinnae ken much about the details, but I do know that he left his tribe for a time, traveling to largely unexplored areas of Faerie, and that when he returned, he took his people away to some stronghold in safety that he built in one of these far off places. I doubt that he even knows ye’ve reincarnated, since ye have come back much sooner than a full-blooded fae would.”
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“So what, are you saying that you can’t find out where he lives because it’s in Unseelie territory?” I scoffed. “Somehow I doubt you’re that incapable.”
“Of course I could, but I have more pressing matters to see to right now,” Maddock snapped. “Besides, if yer father takes notice of ye now, that means he will also take notice of me, and I dinnae want to end up locking horns with him. He is unseelie, after all—fighting between us would be inevitable.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s so ridiculous. Surely the two of you could figure out how to get along. Especially since he was willing to come up with a treaty with the seelie before.”
“Maybe, but I am not interested in dealing with this right now, and as the one who keeps saving yer hide and teaching ye how to use yer powers, I am under no obligation to,” Maddock said firmly.
“Half the danger you are saving me from, you’ve put me in,” I reminded him. Damned if I was going to let him forget that. “And I held my own just fine with that troll.”
“Ye are never in danger with me, Detective,” Maddock said. “At least none I cannae protect ye from. But as to yer father, I wilna seek him out needlessly. If he wants to make himself known, he will, but powerful unseelie like him are all bad news, so far as I’m concerned.”
“So that’s why you were so bitchy at me from the start,” I challenged. “Aside from that whole ‘you stole my powers’ thing, you just look at me as ‘bad news’ because I’m unseelie.”
“Aye,” Maddock said, but as he glanced away, I wondered if there was more to it. “Get some rest,” he said gruffly. “The last artifact will be the hardest to acquire, and I need ye at full strength.”
He teleported out then, leaving me with a head full of questions and no closer to a resolution about what to do about any of my problems.
Chapter 18
The next morning, I showed up at the station with a cup of strong coffee in hand, knowing I was going to need a couple more to make it through the day. Sleepless nights seemed to be the norm nowadays, and I was going to need as much energy as I could muster to deal with Captain Randall until Maddock got rid of him.