by Ellis Logan
Chapter 28
The next morning, I woke to the sound of people arguing. I pulled on some sweats and trudged into the living room, running a hand through my hair.
“Hey, what’s all the racket?”
I surveyed the room. Alec was lounging on one of the couches with a blanket and pillow, as if he’d slept there all night. Ewan was sitting on one of the chairs, his head in his hands. Amber was practically toe to toe with an older man who looked around fifty.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do, not on this,” Amber yelled at the man.
“Look, Amber, your mom trusts me to keep you safe. When you signed up to be a Guardian, I promised her I would do my best to keep you out of trouble.”
Alec laughed heartily, “Well, there was your first mistake.”
Amber and the man didn’t even bother to look at him as they replied in unison, “Shut up.”
“Look Mitch, who I have a relationship with is none of your damned business. My parents want me alive, not celibate.”
Ewan groaned, sinking his head even further into his hands.
“Oh, it’s a relationship now, is it?” Mitch snorted.
I crept over to Alec and sat on the floor next to him. “What happened?” I whispered.
“Word seems to have traveled about Ewan carrying Amber out of Zora last night, Mitch heard all about it at the coffee shop on his way here. He’s pretty pissed at both of them. Guardians aren’t really supposed to date, at least not openly. Plus, Mitch is Amber’s uncle, not just the leader of the Guardians. That’s part of why Ewan’s been trying to keep his distance until Amber’s older. But the surge is pretty hard to ignore when it’s strong.”
I kept my eyes on the argument, not daring to see if Alec was looking at me or not.
“Ewan, what do you have to say about this?” If looks could kill, Ewan would have been dead by now. He managed to look pretty brave in spite of his impending mortality, however. He leaned back, giving the question some thought.
“Well, you know how Amber is, sir. Once she has her mind set on somethin’, it’s useless to stand her way.” She harrumphed, crossing her arms. Now poor Ewan had two angry fae staring him down. It didn’t seem to faze him.
“I’ve been tryin’ to resist her for well over a year now. I’m through with that. Amber is the woman for me,” he said simply. “There is no other.”
She yipped, and jumped straight into his lap, throwing her arms around him as he fell back against the sofa.
Mitch sighed. “It’s your funeral. I’ll put in a good word for you with her father, see if we can’t keep you alive for the rest of the relationship,” he smirked. His eyes drifted over to Alec on the sofa, and he seemed to notice me for the first time.
“Well, hello there. Sorry if we woke you. As you can see, we had a little bit of family drama to sort out this morning.” He walked over holding out his hand and I jumped up, placing my hand in his.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sir. I’m Siri Alvarsson.”
“Yes, I know. You look very much like your mother. She was a student of mine years ago. Wonderful girl.”
He smiled warmly at me as I wondered just how old he could be, that he considered my mother, at fifty eight, a girl.
“What about you Alec, why are you on the couch, couldn’t you make it to your room last night? Just how drunk were you all?”
“No, sir,” Alec answered him calmly while he stood to fold his blankets. “Siri slept in my room. I only had a couple drinks last night, in case any situations arose.”
Mitch looked behind him, watching Amber nuzzling Ewan’s neck, and shut his eyes tightly as if in pain. “Well, it seems a situation did arise, unfortunately.”
I coughed into my hand to cover the laugh that escaped.
“Yes, sir, sorry about that, sir. I felt it prudent to focus my attention on Siri.” Alec seemed to be fighting a smile as well, but managed to keep a straight face.
“Yes. Well. About that. We think we have found where they are hiding Fredrika, we have some operatives getting in position now. Ewan, you’re going to stay here with me and wait so we can escort the team back to Aeden, assuming all goes well. Amber, you are going to ride back with Alec and Siri.”
“Yeah, like I didn’t see that coming from a mile away,” she muttered. “Just can’t wait to split us up, can you, Uncle?”
Mitch shook his head. “Look, you are still a Guardian. Your new relationship is going to have to take a backseat to getting Siri safely back to Bran in Valhalla. The Shades have got to know we are closing in, and they’re going to be getting desperate. We can’t risk losing her when she’s so close to safety.”
“Fine,” she looked at me guiltily. “You’re right, sorry Siri. I wasn’t thinking. Can’t have my new best bud getting snatched by the Dark, now can I? Besides, I think we have some catching up to do.” She winked at me.
Alec groaned and shuffled off down the hall, muttering about being stuck with gossiping girls, and what did he do to deserve being stuck with two faelings.
“Hey now, I heard that,” Amber yelled after him. “I’m not a faeling, you gloob!”
“Gloob?”
“It’s a pasty, stinky, foul little creature that hangs out under rocks in the swamplands of Aeden.”
I shook my head, giggling, and went to my room to grab some clothes for the shower. Still smiling, I opened the door to the room. Alec turned away from the closet, holding a pair of jeans in one hand. Other than some boxer briefs, he wasn’t wearing any clothes. All too late, I remembered what he’d had said about this being his room.
I couldn’t get out any words. Sure, I’d seen naked guys before. I’d done my fair share of skinny dipping in out west. But this felt different. The room felt…charged. I wanted to look. I wanted to spend the next hour, just staring.
“Sorry,” Alec spoke, bringing me out of my reverie. “I’ll get out of your way.” He grabbed a shirt and some socks, brushing by me on his way down out.
I shut the door the minute he left, slamming it without meaning to. Collapsing back against the door, I struggled to breath. When he’d brushed by me, arm to arm, I’d felt the surge again, more powerfully than ever before, even if it was just for an instant. I took a deep breath in, and caught a whiff of forest in the air, that intoxicating smell, again.
And I realized. It wasn’t detergent. It wasn’t some fancy soap the fae brigade was using to wash their clothes and sheets. It was just Alec. Pure him.
I took a few more deep breaths, talking myself down from my pheromone high.
I was with Rowan. I was on a mission. The only thing that mattered were getting to Aeden and getting my mom back. Once he and Amber delivered me to Aeden, Alec would probably be sent on another assignment and I’d never even see him again. Whatever this surge thing was, it was just hormones. It had nothing to do with compatibility, or feelings, or real life. It could be overcome, just like any other obstacle. I repeated these things to myself over and over again, until I heard someone walk by the door, bringing me to my senses.
I needed a shower. I needed a change of clothes. And we needed to get on the road. I pushed away from the door and set about getting ready.
The shower confirmed what I’d already figured out – there wasn’t any pine-scented soap in the bathroom, no coriander cologne. Some Irish Springs soap and shea butter salon hair products were about all I could even find.
I went through the clothes Amber had brought in, keeping some items and folding the rest on a chair. I rolled everything up tightly, an old military trick my mom had taught me, and was able to squeeze it all into the pack.
Everyone stood up when I rejoined the group. Mitch walked over and shook my hand.
“Siri, it’s been a pleasure to meet you. I want you to know that I am doing my best to retrieve your mother quickly and safely. We’ll see you soon, I have no doubt. Please, try not to worry too much, and listen to your Guards. Even though they may not look it,” he paused here to squint at
Amber, clearly at a loss to even begin to understand her outfit of striped leggings, doc boots, and a Hello Kitty sweater topped with two tight buns on top of her head. “Amber and Alec are two of the best fighters we have. Trust them to see you safely home.”
Home, I thought. If only it were so. Out loud, I thanked him and assured him I had great faith in his team. Amber winked at me behind his back and I had to smother a laugh.
I turned and hugged Ewan goodbye, whispering so only he could hear, “You’ve got a good one there, don’t judge Amber by her age. I think you are perfect for each other.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” he chuckled in my ear, picking me up and practically squeezing the life out of me. “Take care of yourself, little girl.”
“Same goes for you, Redwood.”
Alec grabbed my bag, and I scooped up Miko, who’d been unusually quiet since we got to Montreal. I supposed that this was all a fair amount of excitement for a squirrel. He scampered up on to my shoulder, his claws anchoring him gently to my t-shirt.
Don’t think I haven’t heard everything that you’re thinking about this new guy.
Shh, I hushed him, just in case anyone else in the room was an animal communicator.
They can’t hear me, only you. And let me tell you…if you could hear all their thoughts. Wowza. This is one X-rated group, I gotta tell ya!
My thoughts immediately went to Alec.
Yep, him, too. Trust me, he’s as into you as you are into him. And as confused about it.
“I don’t even want to know,” I answered.
“What’s that?” Alec paused on the stairs to the garage, looking back up at me.
“Oh, nothing. Nothing, I’m good, just telling Miko here I don’t want to know where he’s been going to bathroom since we got here.”
Nice. Real nice, kid. Just throw me under the bus, why don’t ya.
Sorry, I shrugged.
We piled into the ’66 Scout – apparently it was Ewan’s baby, which we’d promised to be very, very gentle with. Alec and Amber sat up front and Miko and I sprawled across the backseat. We’d hardly been on the road for two minutes before my stomach growled loudly.
“Dude, was that you?” Amber turned around and looked at me in awe.
“I guess so,” I grimaced, placing a hand over my abdomen. “I haven’t eaten anything since last night’s poutine, what about you guys?”
“Nah, me neither,” Amber replied. “My uncle kind of found us before Ewan and I had a chance to put anything together.”
“Oh, I don’t know, I think you guys had plenty of luck putting things together, if you know what I mean.” Alec waggled his eyebrows at her with a leer.
“Ew! You are such a skag.” She swatted him. “Alright, change of plans, let’s take Siri over to Chez Boris for some breakfast beignets and cocoa. You are going to love this place, they have the best doughnuts in all of Montreal; they even make doughnut sandwiches.”
“I like the way you think, Amber.” Alec said, turning the car around to head south. He parked the Scout after we’d traveled several blocks.
“It’s just around the corner here,” Amber rubbed her hands together. “Come on, donuts wait for no man!”
The café looked adorable, with functional red benches outside. Even before we entered, I could smell caramelized sugar and baked goodness wafting out the door. A couple of guys sat on one of the benches, looking at pictures on a phone together while they sipped their coffee. Inside, the tables were all lined with old maps and newspapers. I would have loved to stay and absorb some of the local ambiance, but Alec thought it best we eat on the road. We got a box of twelve assorted donuts, all carefully chosen by Amber, several breakfast ‘beignewiches’ and three extra-large hot chocolates which Amber assured me were better than anything I’d ever find south of the Canadian border.
I grabbed a donut for the walk to the car, moaning at the spiced cinnamon perfection as we walked outside. The guys at the table looked up at the noise, amused at my pleasure. The blonde one nudged his friend to look at the phone again. People and their phones, I thought. I hoped it was interesting.
I followed Alec and Amber around the corner towards our car, when all of a sudden hands grabbed my arms from behind, pulling my donut away from my mouth. Oh, hell no. Someone did not just make me drop my donut.
I yelled, more in frustration than fear or anger, and pulled forward into a crouch, flipping whoever it was over my shoulder on their back. I stared into the face of my attacker, shocked to see that it was one of the guys from outside Chez Boris. For a brief moment, I wondered insanely if we’d somehow bought the last donuts of the day, and this guy was looking for payback.
Then he reached to grab me by the neck and a wave of icy cold gripped my insides as my stomach lurched.
Dark fae.
I allowed him to pull my head down, as I snapped my shoulder forward, jabbing my elbow into his face. His head fell back on the concrete with a satisfying thump. I looked up, just in time to see Amber leap over my head aiming a flying kick at someone behind me. I heard a sickening crunch, followed by another thud on the pavement. I turned as Amber aimed another quick kick to the guy’s head, knocking him out, too.
Alec reached down to help me stand. “We’ve got to get out of here, others might be on the way already. Not to mention, we have a bit of an audience.”
Indeed, a couple of young girls were filming us with their cameras from across the street.
“Oh, fans!” Amber gave them a wide smile and a dainty bow. She laughed and waved goodbye to the girls as she threaded her arm through mine, whispering in my ear. “Don’t worry, our IT guys will have scrubbed the video from the internet by lunchtime.”
We hustled back to the car and took off. Luckily, the rest of breakfast had survived the commotion and we all dug in. This time, I’d wound up in the front with Alec, Amber claiming she needed to get some shut-eye on the road.
Alec drove as fast as traffic would allow. Soon enough, we were out on the open road, heading north into the wilderness.