“It was love at first sight. For them both. Their attraction was almost palpable. Still, I disapproved of their relationship. They were outlaws. They were being hunted. I wanted your mother to leave. I wanted to protect your father. They ran off on their own. They didn’t tell me where they were going. I was heartbroken. Then there was you. It was a welcome surprise when they brought you to my door. After they died, having you helped me get over the loss. And while the fact that you will never know your parents saddens me, I can tell you they would be beyond proud of who you have become.”
I had a lump in my throat, and I swallowed hard, but my eyes clouded with tears and I had no fight in me to stop them from coming in silent mourning of the parents I never knew.
Ian’s arm came around me and I accepted his comfort. Bryce remained silent allowing me my moment of remorse. After a few minutes, I wiped the tears from my face and turned back to my uncle.
“Okay… So, us ó Cuinns are just all mixed up. Why did you keep this from me? You told me about banshees and my fairy blood when I was quite young, why not include that I also had banshee blood?”
“I don’t have a great excuse. I simply felt I’d told you enough and didn’t want to overwhelm you. I could not possibly have foreseen your transformation to banshee.”
“Okay, I guess I can accept that. Really, it’s in the past and there’s no changing it now.”
“Thank you, my pip.”
“Were you married to your fairy?” I had never heard him speak of a wife or even someone he dated.
“No. We loved each other very much but felt no need for marriage.”
“What was her name?”
“Jeniah.” Tears welled up in his eyes, and he turned away.
“I’m sorry.”
“It is in the past.”
Looking to change the subject I said, “You know, these stories of yours don’t really cast a good light on the Fey.”
“Well, yes, I guess that’s true, but that’s not my intention,” Bryce said. “We are truly a wonderful race. Our way of life is much more peaceful than the mortals.”
“Except for all the executions, and whatnot.”
“Those are rare. They put executions in the laws but try to find ways around implementing them,” he said.
“Yeah, well, I have the feeling once these Elders you keep mentioning catch wind of Matilda and Lydia’s plans there will be two more,” I said.
I took a moment to think over what I’d just learned. Something occurred to me. “I have another question. If I am… was part fairy, the magic holders of the Fey, why am I so magically stunted? And why was Rufus able to sense Lydia’s before I was? He is full banshee, I would think I could sense magic the same or more easily than he can.”
“Yes, well, I believe you inherited more banshee than fairy or even mortal. Your father did not hold magic either. Rufus is older and more practiced in seeking out other Fey. You know my power. Your aura easily recognizes it. With new power, it may take a little while for your aura to catch it. It will get easier as you age.”
“And my holding fire?”
“Further proof you have more banshee blood than anything else. Holding an element is a rare banshee trait… Aside from Brigid, I only know of one other who held—”
“Wind. Yeah, I’ve heard,” I said with a glance at Ian. Ian’s expression remained neutral.
“Ah,” Bryce muttered.
“So, to sum up… I’ve been a target for Matilda since birth. She joined forces with Psycho of the Century Gabriel to kidnap me. They planned to force me to mate with him in order to produce some Nephilim race thing… Now I find out Matilda can enter my dreams as well as possess another being. To top it all off, I am now full banshee. I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess neither of you know if my transformation will attract Matilda more or less?”
Ian replied with, “More” at the same time Bryce said, “Less.”
“Right… as I suspected. You don’t know. Shall we remove my amulet, see if she taps in, and then we can ask her?”
“Qadira—”
“Oh for the love of Danu, Bryce! I’m not serious! You think I am that dumb?”
“You can be rather rash at times,” Ian said.
“Not that ‘rash’,” I replied.
“Regardless of how she will feel about your being banshee, Matilda will continue her attempts at taking you. You have to stay vigilant.”
“Yeah, I know. I will stay alert and be extra careful. But we can’t just sit and wait. How are we trying to find her?”
“I am working on a seeking spell. It’s tricky since we have absolutely no clue as to her location. It will take some time, but I am confident it will work. Until then we stay put. Don’t call attention to ourselves. And wear our amulets at all times.”
“Okay, sounds like a plan. A boring, frustrating plan, but a plan nonetheless.”
“While we have the time… You will have to learn to feed.”
My stomach clenched. I was really dreading the whole feeding from mortals thing. I’d have to take control of them, then you know, feed from them! It wasn’t as appealing as say a pancake. But more than likely, I’d soon feel the effects from lack of nourishment.
“Are we sure about that? Bryce has banshee blood, but he doesn’t feed from mortals. Can’t I just eat more regular food?”
“Qadira, you are banshee. You need to feed. You are good for now, but soon you will have no choice. Accept it and get over it.”
And on that note, he turned and left the room.
Chapter Twenty-One
I sat with Bryce for a long while reminiscing about my childhood. At the end of our conversation, I gave him a long hug and said goodnight before heading to my room. I was not going to tell him I was leaving. He’d want to come with me and that would defeat the whole purpose.
I packed my bags quickly, and I was just sliding the last of them under my bed when Ian entered. I jumped up from my crouch and tried to look nonchalant.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“I should be asking that of you.” He motioned to the bed.
“How?”
“One, I am not stupid. And two, you talk in your sleep after drinking that tea Brycson makes.”
“Really? I told you I was leaving in my sleep?”
“Yes, but you did not tell me why,” he said, as he moved toward me.
He’d caught me… I might as well be honest. “She will use you and everyone I love to get to me. I can’t keep endangering everyone. You nearly died trying to protect me. I can’t risk you anymore.”
“I love you.”
“Then let me go.”
“I cannot.”
“I am sorry. I am still going.”
“No, you are not. I will not allow it. It is too dangerous and not a time for you to indulge in your childish whims.”
“Don’t get pissy because you aren’t getting your way. I am leaving. If you want me to come back when this is over, let me go.”
“Is that a threat?”
“If that’s the way you want to take it, yes. If you refuse to let me go, if you do anything to prevent me from leaving, I will go, and I will not return. If you agree to this and you let me leave, I will come back when it’s safe.”
“No one threatens me. Not even you. You will not leave my reach. If I can no longer sense you, I will find you.”
“You’re making this so much harder than it needs to be.”
He wouldn’t let me leave without a fight. I was tired of fighting. That meant I needed help to get out of the house and keep Ian in the dark until I was out of his reach. I needed Seth.
Seth was in the gym with Juliana. They were sitting in the center of the mats facing each other and speaking in hushed tones.
“Am I interrupting something?”
“Kadi! You startled me!” Juliana said as she jumped to her feet.
It was obvious Bryce had feelings for Juliana. I hoped she felt the same for him, but the way she had bee
n whispering with Seth made me wonder.
“I can see that. Should I leave?”
“No, no. We were just chatting. Nothing important, really.”
My eyebrows rose at the guilt in her voice, but before I could say anything more Seth rose to stand beside her, and my eyebrows rose even higher.
“Hey Kad, what’s up?”
“I need to speak with you. Alone. I am sorry, Juliana.”
“No, it’s okay.”
I waited until the door closed behind her before explaining my situation to Seth.
“I’m not lying to Ian so you can sneak off to who knows where. Besides, I agree with him this time. You shouldn’t be out there alone.”
“I need to go, Seth. You’re all in danger as long as I am here. She will come after you all, and not up front and personal-like, she’ll do it while you sleep. If I am alone, with no one to care for, she’ll have no need to bother you guys.”
“That’s not necessarily true. It is a gamble.”
“Maybe. But the odds are in my favor if I leave. If I stay it’s a crapshoot. Gabriel and his minions are dead… mostly. I have my charmed necklace to keep her out of my head. You all have amulets as well. I have a ton of Bryce’s herbs and mushrooms, along with recipes, for those teas he makes.”
“Uh-huh… I won’t help you leave,” he started, and held up a hand to stop my reply, “but I will try to distract Ian so you can.”
“Really?”
“Yes. But now I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Aha!” I knew he’d agreed to help me way too easily.
“Take Jules with you.”
“What? No.”
He closed the distance between us and held me in place. “She needs you. And you’ll need company. You’ll go nuts by yourself.”
“No. She doesn’t need me. I need time alone. That’s the whole point of this!”
“Kadi, please. She can’t go home, and if she stays here, she’ll have to settle for Ian teaching her everything. If you take her with you, you can train her yourself and keep an eye on her. You wouldn’t want to leave her here with Ian, would you?”
Bastard! He knew just how to get to me. Ian was only letting Juliana train with me to appease me. After I left, he would either lock her up to prevent her from revealing our secret or send her home with a permanent bodyguard. She’d be miserable.
“Fine, but she is not to have contact with anyone.”
“Not a problem.” He pulled me into a hug, “Thank you.”
I shoved him off me. “Why is this so important to you?”
“She’s been through so much. She deserves a chance to heal. You do too. I figure you can help each other.”
“Uh-huh,” I muttered. “You can’t contact us while we’re away. I’ve had my phone number changed. If needed, I will call you.”
“No contact. Got it. What if there’s an emergency? Or if Matilda makes a move? Or we find her?”
“Call my phone. I’ll leave the number with you, and only you. I won’t have it on me, so I won’t answer, but I will check it often. Leave a message. I’ll call you back when I’m ready. If you leave a message and I call back to find out you called for any other reason, I will kick your ass. Got it?” I asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ll go tell Juliana. You get to work on Ian. I want to leave tonight,” I said. “I’ll be back, Sethie-pie… I just don’t know when.”
“I’ll miss your stupid face.” He took me into his arms for another hug. He buried his face in my neck and we held each other as if we’d never see each other again. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He went to find Ian and start the charade and I went to get Juliana. Juliana was excited and packed what little she had quickly. She entered my room just as I was dragging the last of my luggage from under the bed.
“Need help?”
Her tone was way too chipper for me and I was already regretting this part of the plan.
“Can you just check the bathroom, make sure I got everything? The black electric toothbrush is Ian’s.”
I quickly finished packing, and we snuck downstairs to the garage to put our bags in the trunk of Seth’s car. Seth had let Ian drive to whatever situation he’d tricked him into so Juliana, and I could take his car. We were just backing out of the driveway when I had to slam on the brakes.
“Dammit, Peder!” He was standing at the end of the driveway with his arms crossed. I threw the car into park and got out. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” he said.
“Please don’t tell Ian,” I pleaded.
He just stared at me for a moment, and I began to think he was going to call Ian. “You won’t hide long with Seth’s car. Ian has tracking devices in most of the cars here in case someone goes missing.”
“Great,” I said, my shoulders slumping in defeat. I was stuck.
“But there isn’t one in my car,” he said enjoying the torture he was putting me through. Friends, they could be the death of you.
“You’ll help me?” I asked. I followed him to a shed I hadn’t ever noticed. “I didn’t know you had a car.”
“I don’t use it much,” he said as he opened the shed door. “It’s old, but it’ll get you where you’re going.”
Old didn’t describe the rusty lump of metal he called a car. “How do you know where we are going?”
“Because you are going to my cabin.” He held up a hand when I started to speak. “No one knows it exists, not even Ian.”
I closed my mouth and considered his offer. He was lending me a car that, from what he said, no one knew of and he was letting me live in another house of his.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Let’s just say that I’m a strong believer in the adage ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’.”
“Thank you.” By helping me, he was betraying his oldest friend. I shouldn’t let him do it, but I had no other options. “You’re sure this heap… ah, car will get us there?”
Peder gave us directions to his cabin. It was hours northwest, and in the middle of nowhere… and well out of the range of Ian’s banshee superpowers. He also insisted on giving us cash for groceries and other necessities. I only took the money when he pointed out that they could track my ATM and credit card use. Something I hadn’t thought of myself, which made me question my ability to succeed in my plan. I got over it when Peder got a text from Seth letting him know he was on his way back with Ian. Did Seth know Peder was helping me or was it just a happy coincidence? Either way, I was thankful he’d text when he did.
“Don’t stay away too long. I might start to miss you,” Peder called out as I drove away from the house.
After roughly half an hour on I-95, Juliana had fallen asleep. I turned off the radio and, in the silence, I noticed something strange. My aura started to feel funny, almost itchy. There was also a subtle vibration in the air.
Ian.
He knew I’d left, and he was heartbroken. Our auras were pulling at each other and it took all the strength I had to keep going. It felt as though an invisible fist squeezed my heart. The need to turn back grew unbearably painful.
I had a sudden vision of Ian standing in the driveway, his shoulders hunched and moving slightly. He fell to his knees gripping his head in his hands as despair overcame him. The heart wrenching pain he felt hit me like a bullet. The urge to go back was so strong it took my breath away. Tears blurred my vision as I merged onto the next exit and pulled into the rest area’s parking lot.
I got out of the car and leaned against the hood as I looked up to the sky. The wind whispered my name over and over. Ian’s aura was calling out to mine. Urging me to go back. To stay with Ian. To love him.
“Oh, Ian.” I whispered back. “I do love you.”
Without warning my connection to Ian shattered. He slammed down his shields, severing our bond. I was acutely aware of the emptiness left by his absence. Af
ter all this time, I was out of his reach. My heart felt like it’d stopped beating.
I got back in the car, numb. Juliana’s soft snores were the only sound as I stared out the window trying to decide if I should listen to my heart and turn back to Ian… or listen to my gut and continue. I don’t know how long I sat in that parking lot, but the sun was setting by the time I had decided.
As I merged back onto the highway, Juliana woke and chuckled.
I glanced at her, “What’s so funny?”
“We’re going back aren’t we?”
I smiled. “Yes, we’re going home.” And with that, my heart began to beat again.
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Becoming Banshee Page 20