Becoming Banshee

by Kimberly Quay

  “Shit,” I said under my breath. Nauseated, I stepped back into the room. “Ian?” I asked. He was standing in front of the fire with his back to me, his hands clenched in fists at his side.

  “Ian,” I said again, placing my hand on his arm to turn him to face me.

  He looked at me, his eyes roaming over my face. “Things? Soul-sucking,” he whispered as he shook his head, and my gut clenched. He pulled out of my grasp. “I will let you get some rest.”

  I wanted to make him stay, but how could I ask him? He’d heard what I said to Bryce. I had no right to ask him to stay.

  “I’m sorry,” I said to his back as he stepped into the hallway.

  I sat on the sofa and stared into the flames, half hoping they’d give me the answers. I reclined back and closed my eyes and thought about what I knew so far. Regardless of how sure my uncle and Ian were, no one knew for sure what would happen if I continued to take banshee essence. But I knew how I felt. I felt changes I’d refused to acknowledge until now. I really was becoming banshee.

  Each time I’d accepted banshee power or blood, the results became stronger and more powerful. I had lost my appetite, but hadn’t lost any weight; in fact, I’d gained muscle. I was healing faster than usual. I was becoming faster and less clumsy, and I felt healthier and more alert.

  “Wait… So, why am I upset?” I asked myself out loud.

  I was becoming banshee. Period.

  Instinctively, I knew my mortal half was gone. I barely sensed my fairy blood, but I would need more essence to become full-banshee.

  “Looks like you’ve made your decision,” I said to myself. “Now I just have to get Ian to forgive my stupidity… and give me one more hit of his banshee-ness.”

  A knock at the door put an end to my thoughts. Standing, I faced the door, hoping it was Ian.

  “Yes?”

  To my surprise Seth stepped in and closed the door behind him. “I just spoke to Ian.” His voice was hard to match the look on his face.

  “I can explain—”

  “No need,” Seth said. “I know you and know you didn’t think before you said those things. I also know that you didn’t mean what you said. I tried explaining it to him, but he won’t listen to reason.”

  “After everything we’ve been through, all that’s happened, he can just dismiss it because I made a stupid, thoughtless comment?”

  “That comment was pretty harsh. It’s possible he’s wondering why after everything you’ve been through, how you could be so disgusted by becoming one of us.”

  “Shit.” I had told Ian I accept him for who he is, then I go an insult what he is. I had to learn how to think before reacting.

  “Yeah… My opinion, though? He’s scared of being so close to you. He hasn’t been with anyone for a long time, and his feelings for you must frighten him. Anyway, he didn’t say where he is going, but he said he’s no longer staying here.”

  “Gabriel may have spies watching us. Ian will be out there alone, I need to go after him.”

  “He’ll be fine. If you go, you’ll be in more danger than he is. You’re staying here. He sent me to make sure of it.” His lips twitching into a smirk. “I’ll sit on you if I have to.”

  “Bastard,” I said with no real heat behind it. Ian sent Seth to keep me safe, so that had to mean there was hope he could forgive me.

  “Don’t go after him, Kadi,” Seth said.

  I blinked slowly, not wanting to lie to him. He sighed and his shoulders slumped in acceptance, or defeat. I don’t know which, but it didn’t matter. He knew as soon as I could, I’d leave.

  There was only one place I could think he’d go, and that’s where I’d go… as soon as I got away from Seth.

  “You know I can’t promise you that. I’ll feel better if you just let me go. I’d hate to sneak behind your back, but I will.”

  “Are you going to let him turn you?”

  That was so not what I expected. “I didn’t even know it was an option until a few minutes ago.”

  “That wasn’t an answer.”

  “Yes, I will become banshee.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes, I’m almost there already, and if nothing else, it will bring me closer to Ian.”

  “And me.”

  “I wouldn’t think that possible,” I said with a chuckle. “So, you gonna let me leave or do I need to kick your ass?”

  He gave a weak laugh. “I’ll let you go, but you can’t go alone.”

  “You want to come?” I thought about it and shook my head. “No, I should go alone.” I didn’t think it’d be a good idea for Seth to go with me. As upset as Ian had been, I didn’t want him to think I had run to Seth after he left.

  “You’re not going alone,” Rufus said from the doorway.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I saw Ian as he was leaving. He was quite upset, and there’s only one thing that upsets a man that much.” He raised his eyebrows at me. “A woman.”

  “It’s none of your business.”

  “Ian is my business. You’re not going alone,” he said, holding up a hand before I could interrupt. “Because it’s too dangerous — not to mention stupid — for you to be roaming around on your own. I’ll take you to him.”

  “You?” I asked in disbelief.

  “Sugar, you’re not going out there alone. You are target number one for Gabriel.”

  “Fine, I will go with you.” I gave in because I just wanted to be on my way. Being Ian’s brother, maybe Rufus could give me a few tips for getting back on Ian’s good side. “And stop calling me ‘sugar’.”

  “You will not leave this house with him,” Seth said.

  “Excuse me?”

  “This is not happening. You are not leaving with the man we found living with Gabriel! This will not happen. I will strap you to that—” Seth began before realizing what he was saying.

  “What the fuck, Seth?” I glared at him and could feel my pupils constricting. “You will strap me to the bed?”

  “Dude, that was wrong,” Rufus said, always the troublemaker.

  “I’m sorry,” Seth said.

  “Yeah, well… You know damn well why Rufus was with Gabriel. Isn’t it also your job to blend in and infiltrate the bad guys?”

  “Yeah… you’re right. I just don’t like that I won’t be there to have your back.”

  “I will be there. I will protect her for Ian’s sake,” Rufus said, calm as always.

  “If anything happens to her, I will live the rest of my days making you suffer. Understand?”

  “You would try… but you would not succeed.”

  I looked at Seth and back to Rufus. “I do not have time for a pissing contest! We need to go, and to do so I need to get dressed.”

  Rufus leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “Go ahead. I’ll wait.”

  “Ha, not likely! Get out. You too, Seth.”

  “Fine, but I’ll be right out in the hall.”

  “As will I,” Rufus said with a smug grin.

  I dressed as fast as I could, pulling on a turquoise tank with a beaded peacock on the front, black leggings, and my black and turquoise gladiator-style sandals.

  I smiled, remembering Ian’s expression when he saw me in a turquoise tank-dress I’d worn for Bryce’s birthday dinner. I thought his eyes would pop out of his head. So, I’ve worn it as often as I can. The dress wasn’t suitable if I needed to fight, but the top was the same color and I hoped it would remind him of the dress.

  I opened the door to find both men leaning against the wall across the hall. They looked up when I cleared my throat. Seth gave me a weak smile and opened his mouth to speak.

  “No.”

  “Kadi-cakes,” Seth began.

  “No,” I said again, “you are not coming. Don’t worry, I’m prepared.” I lifted the hem of my shirt to show my knife belt.

  “I will kick your ass if anything happens to you,” he said, making
me laugh as he gave me a push toward the stairs, and I headed to the garage. When I got to the car, Rufus was in the driver’s seat.

  “Not happening,” I said as I gestured for him to slide into the passenger seat. “You want me to trust you, let me drive.”

  “That makes no sense. Trusting me would be letting me drive.” Still, he got out and stood in front of me, too closely. He placed a finger under my chin, and I stiffened at his touch. “What is it about you that has these men wrapped around your little finger?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.” I smacked his hand. “But, touch me again and I’ll rip off your hands.”

  He just laughed his melodic laugh and got into the passenger seat. He tilted the seat back, and with his arms behind his head as a pillow, he closed his eyes.

  We drove in silence for a while. The quiet was driving me crazy.

  “Why were you with Gabriel?” I asked.

  “I told you already,” he muttered sleepily.

  “Tell me again.” I glanced at him again to see him turn his head a little and open one eye to peer at me. “It’s a long drive. Humor me.”

  He sighed, closing his eye, and turning his head back to center. “I lived with Gabriel and his little worms to gain intelligence on them.”

  “Ian asked you?”

  “No. I volunteered.” He opened his eyes and sat up straight to look at me. “Ian wanted to go undercover and infiltrate the Fallen Angels, discover their secrets, their weaknesses. I intervened and forced him to let me go in his stead. He was furious, but in the end, had no choice but to concede.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  He eyed me carefully. “Because I’m older and I fight dirty.”

  “You beat him up so he’d let you go?”

  “No, I beat him up to save his hide. Now, now, before you get flustered and defensive over something that happened many years ago. Ian would have gotten himself caught and killed if he’d been the one to go.”

  “And why is it you think he’d have been killed?”

  “He cares too much. He would have tried to save everyone, sacrifice none, and in the long run that would have led to him being found out.”

  “And you don’t care too much? You’re okay with letting innocents die?”

  He chuckled. “Think of me what you will, sugar, but remember that I’m the reason you found and eliminated so many of Gabriel’s henchmen over the years,” he said. “Which, in case you haven’t figured out, led to saving countless innocent lives.”

  “Right, sorry.”

  He was right. He appeared cold and flippant, but I was beginning to think there was a depth to Rufus he kept hidden that he rarely showed. I suddenly, and oddly, felt compelled to break through his facade.

  “You woke me up to talk and now you’ve gone silent. That’s not fair.” He cleared his throat and straightened his shirt. “So, will you allow Ian to turn you?”

  “None of your business.”

  “There’s no guarantee it will work,” he said.

  “There’s no guarantee it won’t.”

  “Ah, touché,” he said with a smirk, “but what is the worst that can happen? You become a banshee. You become the same as the man you love. Would that be so horrible?”

  “Not talking about this with you.”

  He studied me for a few moments. I could feel his eyes on me, and an itch formed where they seemed to bore a hole in my head. I fought the urge to scratch it and kept my eyes trained on the road ahead of me. We were almost there.

  “So, you are quite chummy with that Seth,” he said, turning his eyes back to the road.

  “Seth and I are friends,” I said. “Not that my relationships are any of your business.”

  “Once again, Ian is my business.” He stretched and I couldn’t help but notice the way his muscles moved under his shirt.

  I frowned at the direction my thoughts had turned and sneered when he noticed, watching me with a knowing smile.

  “I only mention it because Seth is affectionate with you. If you are going to be with Ian, or any other banshee, you will find we can be possessive.”

  I bristled at his last comment. “I am no one’s property. Seth and I are friends. Ian knows that.”

  “Ian will not appreciate Seth, or anyone — male or female — being that touchy with you. You will either need to end it or deal with Ian when he gets irritated by it.”

  “Well, I will not end a friendship that is important to me because banshees are irrationally jealous. Besides, I’ve had plenty of practice dealing with a pissy Ian.”

  “If you say so.”

  “We’re here.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  As I waited for Rufus to get out of the car, I let my eyes roam over the house I’d called home for over five years. Even though it hadn’t been long since we’d move to Peder’s, it felt like I hadn’t seen it in years. It looked the same as always with genuine stone walls rising three stories to the Dutch gabled roof.

  The Fey prefer to be as close to nature as possible. Hence, the floor to ceiling windows and glass doors surrounding the house. The front doors were not glass though. They were solid oak French doors with antique Celtic knot doorknobs and knockers. There were slender windows on either side, each with a topiary tree in a large terra cotta pot in front of it.

  The newel posts for the stairs leading to the front doors were phoenixes carved from oak. The one on the left had its head raised to the sky, its eyes closed as though it was enjoying the feel of the sun warming its feathers. I had a strong affinity for phoenixes, always had, and these two were special to me, especially the one on the right. It rose from the ashes, its wings spread wide in all its glory.

  It had been the first thing I saw when we pulled up to the house that first night five years ago. I’d always thought of my coming to this house as a new beginning, as permission to be myself without fear of being an outcast. I had, in my way, risen from the ashes that night and made a fresh start of things.

  Rufus emerged from the vehicle as I started jogging up the stairs, running my hand over my phoenix as I went. When I reached for the doorknob, I found myself facing the driveway again.

  “What the hell, man?” I asked Rufus, who had picked me up and spun me away from the door. I smacked at his hands that were still gripping my waist.

  “I will enter first. Something feels off.”

  He stiffened after stepping over the threshold and held a hand up for me to stay where I was. He had much to learn about me.

  “What’s up?” I whispered as I moved to stand beside him.

  He gave me a sidelong glance and sighed. “I haven’t yet figured out if you’re brave, or just thickheaded. What’s up is that there’s magic here.”

  “Magic?” Why couldn’t I feel it?

  “The air is thick with it. Open yourself to it,” he said as he moved toward the staircase.

  My stomach clenched. Had something happened to Ian? Rufus’ perpetual smirk was gone, instead his lips pressed in a tight line showing concern.

  I closed my eyes and focused on the sensations in the air around me. Suddenly, my heartbeat quickened, and my vision wavered. The vertigo was so strong I grabbed Rufus’ arm to stop myself from falling to the floor. It was over quickly, leaving my senses heightened. It was like a hit of banshee essence, but without the euphoria. My skin pulsated with an energy that was not my own. Energy I did not recognize.

  “What the hell?” I looked up the stairs. I could see the air flowing through the hallway leading to Ian’s bedroom.

  “It’s the power. You sense it now. You’ll have to learn to open to it, otherwise it will sneak up on you like that every time.”

  “This feels different than when Bryce is working a spell.”

  “Yes, well, this is the dark energy. Your Bryce does not spin dark spells. He’s a good witch,” he added with that smirk of his.

  “Not funny.”

  He chuckled. “Come on, sugar, let’s go get our Ian.”


  I stopped arguing about his nickname for me. Not everything had to be a fight.

  As we started up the stairs the sensations grew causing me to trip over a step. I recovered and braced myself for more as we moved closer to Ian’s room.

  Rufus held his finger up to his mouth telling me to be quiet. I grimaced and mouthed ‘bite me’, earning one of his enigmatic smirks.

  There was a voice coming from Ian’s room. A female voice I did not recognize. Rufus put his hand on my arm. His grip was light, but I knew it was a warning not to enter hastily. We weren’t — at least, I wasn’t — sure who was in there with Ian. Better to wait, than be sorry.

  “Mmm, Ian, it’s been too long,” the voice said, silky and seductive.

  “Yes, it has,” Ian replied. His voice was husky, but a tad mechanical.

  The fire flared inside me before I could stop it. All reason left me, and I made a move to open the door. Despite the pain it must have caused him, Rufus tightened his hold on my arm and shook me to turn my attention to him.

  “Calm yourself.”

  “Who is she?”

  “An old acquaintance of Ian’s.”

  “Acquaintance? That’s how he is with acquaintances? I don’t want to know how he is with old friends!” I hissed, still whispering.

  “I am going in. You are staying here,” Rufus said believing I would obey.

  “Nope.”

  “Listen to me, I know her. She is trouble, I only want to keep you safe.”

  “I can take care of myself,” I said.

  “Yes, I know. However, you do not know her. Please just wait here and let me defuse the situation before you enter.”

  “You mean you want to warn Ian that I’m here.”

  He shook his head and shot me that smirk of his. “Ian will explain his relationship with her. I will not. I will only say that when it comes to her, Ian has no control over what he does.”

  “What the hell does that even mean?”

  “You will soon find out.”

  “Whatever. You have five minutes, then I’m coming in… whether you’ve ‘defused the situation’ or not.”

  With an exasperated sigh he opened the door just wide enough for him to slip inside. I paced the hallway. Who was this mystery woman? Why was she here? Has Ian been seeing her behind my back? And what did Rufus mean by Ian not having control around her? Was she so beautiful, or skilled, that Ian found himself incapable of resisting her? I couldn’t contend with that kind of competition. She may have had years upon years to get to know what Ian liked, and… UGH!