My life essence? Was this faerie like the Lady of the Tree—dying, and desperate for a replacement for the immortality of Faerie? I’d met more than a handful in the between realm. Creatures desperate enough to suck your skin from your bones for an extra day of life.
Luckily, I had a defence this creep didn’t know about. I let the web pull me in, readying my backup weapon.
The cobweb strands pulled me. The faerie bared sharp teeth in a grin.
I called the faerie magic.
Here, in a place thick with faerie’s essence, the magic rose like smoke and snaked around my sword, pushing against the cobwebs. With faerie magic, I could resist any other faerie’s ability. It only activated in a crisis, and if any time counted, it was now.
My sword flashed, severing a hundred cobweb strands at once. Blue light flared from my other hand, pushing the faerie’s cobweb spell away. The stickiness vanished from my legs and I managed to stand upright, new energy flowing through my veins.
The faerie, however, smiled at me.
“Did you really think I would not see Avakis’s spell lies over thee?”
“You’ve got the wrong century,” I said to cover up the instinctive horror that struck at the sound of his name.
Avakis. How could this faerie know? How?
“You’re the human who survived,” whispered the faerie. “A drop of our blood will more than suffice to make you immortal.”
Make me immortal? “No thanks. Know anything about missing human children?”
The faerie laughed. “What use would I have for mortals?”
“You tell me. Did you take them?”
“I took no mortals before you came here.”
“Know anyone who did? Are they here?” If the Lady of the Tree had lied, she’d pay.
“No.”
I moved, slicing the rest of the cobwebs free, and leaped at him.
The faerie directed another cobweb skein to push me aside, forcing me to land at a crouch in front of him.
“Your power will serve me.” He turned transparent as smoke, whirling around me. I blinked, sight blurring, heart thundering. What was Vance doing? Probably still trapped behind the wall of cobwebs. As I turned around, the faerie reappeared and the wall of webs collapsed in a white mass. Vance leaped out and threw himself at the faerie with a ferocity that startled me. The faerie must have revealed himself fully, because even Vance couldn’t have aimed so accurately without being able to see his adversary.
As it was, he bodily slammed into the faerie. Bones crunched and the faerie screamed as Vance landed on top of him, pinning him down.
Then the cobwebs struck again, dragging Vance away from the dazed-looking faerie and forming a wall in front of my legs.
Vance tried to hit the faerie, but a wall of green light pushed him back. Faerie magic. Even when Vance pulled out his sword, he might as well have hit an invisible barrier. Teeth bared, he sliced upwards with the blade against the cobwebs, but for every one he severed, three more took its place.
This place must be fuelled by something. Spells couldn’t exist in a vacuum, and the faerie had to be fuelling the cobwebs somehow. He’d been a Summer faerie, once, and had mentioned stealing my life force.
Oh. My stomach twisted. I’d met this type before. Summer faeries used life as an energy source, and some of them amassed power by sucking the life out of others. Or from mortals. Bile rose in my throat. Those undead… the bodies under the floor… how long had they been here?
A roar sounded. Vance leaped from the cobwebs, his arms now covered with black scales. I gaped a moment, then spun around, searching for the faerie. Vance landed beside me, sending strewn cobwebs everywhere, and drew his sword again.
“He’s drawing power from somewhere,” I said. “He told me he wanted to take my life force. I reckon he’s a Summer exile.”
“How to kill it?” Vance moved to my side. “Iron didn’t work.”
“It should,” I said. “Unless those cobwebs are iron-proof. But they can’t go on forever.” I hope not. This faerie had been here for years.
The creature appeared behind Vance and shot me a grin before blasting him with magic. My shout of alarm was lost as Vance hit the wall of spider webs with a force that shook the floor. No. I ran forward, speed enhanced by the faerie magic still flowing around me, and tackled the faerie. My blade kissed its neck.
“Stop there,” I gasped out.
The faerie glared at me. “You murdering bitch. You shouldn’t touch me.”
Blue light sprang from my non-weapon hand. I smiled. “Mad because I killed Avakis?”
“The Lord of the Grey Vale should have been immortal,” hissed the faerie.
“Clearly not.”
The faerie screamed aloud as I dug the blade in harder for the killing blow, but its skin was like concrete and my sword moved a centimetre before a blast of magic hit me. The smell of decay knocked into me like a train, my eyes watering, blackness crowding my vision. I kicked, grappling to get a hold on my own magic. Blue light flared along my hands. The faerie flew back, screaming, legs flailing.
Then its hand clenched around the knife I’d dropped.
The blade flew past me—right at Vance, who’d staggered to rejoin the fight. If it hit, it’d be a fatal shot to the heart.
I didn’t stop to think. I ran, shoving Vance out of the way. Unfortunately, that put me in the path of the knife. It grazed past me, and pain blossomed up my right side.
I caught the knife’s handle, took aim, and threw it at the faerie.
Unlike him, I didn’t miss.
The faerie dropped onto its back with a coughing laugh. “Avakis… I lived for the privilege of seeing your magic again.”
Another cough, and its chest rattled to silence.
Words rang in my head. Your magic. He meant my magic. Avakis’s magic was my shield now, and the thought made a fresh wave of bile rise in my throat. I turned away and vomited, my throat burning. Blood flashed before my eyes. I’d been cut, but my sight blurred too much to see how deep. Pretty deep. Crimson soaked my side, but I refused to pass out. My pride wouldn’t allow it.
Vance’s face swam before mine. “We’re going back. Now.”
“Get… my weapon first.”
A rustling movement and Irene appeared in his hand. He’d used magic…
Oh, god. He’d seen me use faerie magic.
His hand gripped my arm, and I started at the contact. The world faded out, then back in—and we stood in the manor’s hallway.
He’d transported both of us across the city. And Vance’s expression was pure Mage Lord murderous as he faced me. “What the hell was that?”
Chapter 13
Crap. “What?” I said stupidly. The copious bleeding coupled with the draining effect of the faerie magic wearing off pushed me to the brink of passing out. I leaned against the desk to hide my weakness.
“What did you do?” he repeated. “That magic you used on the faerie. I saw it.”
Yeah. Of course you did. “I killed the faerie,” I croaked, my throat raw. “Don’t I get a ‘thank you’?”
Vance’s eyes flashed. He looked tired but not injured, which would have relieved me if not for the expression on his face. The black scales on his hands hadn’t receded yet, which accounted for the throbbing pain in my arm where he’d gripped it when he’d transported us out of there.
There was no way at all to cover up what I’d done. None. All I could do was spin what I had left into a good cover story. But this guy was a thousand times more discerning than anyone I’d met.
“So,” he said. “Faerie magic. You didn’t mention that on your licence.”
“It’s a hobby,” I said. “I told you—you don’t get my life story. I guess I have faerie ancestors somewhere.” I was at my lowest ebb, but I’d keep my secrets on pain of death. For all he knew, I might have faerie ancestors. My family tree didn’t exist anymore.
“You told me you were human.”
“I am human,
” I snapped. “What do you want, a DNA test?” The room swayed. Goddammit. He didn’t appear to notice the blood dripping from my side onto the plush carpet. His eyes were narrowed to slits in an animal-like manner and the aura of power I’d noticed during the fight crackled around him like lightning. The part of me that wasn’t about to faint from blood loss turned to watery terror, and my hand rested on the desk, leaving a bloody handprint. “You’re not human yourself, so it’d be hypocritical of you to attack me even if I wasn’t.”
He glanced down at the black scales on his hand like he’d only just noticed them. “I never denied what I was,” he said. “But you’re in denial about your own identity. Is that why you only accept menial pay from Larsen?”
“What the hell does my job have to do with anything?” I shot at him. “I kill faeries. Magic helps me do that sometimes. I’m crap at regular witch magic.”
“You’re not a witch at all,” he said. “Are you?”
“I don’t know.” Damn. Why did this have to happen now? “You’re the one who came up with the definition. Your sort define ‘witch’ as any magic user who doesn’t belong to your little cult. I’m not a necromancer, so ‘witch’ is the only label left. Not my problem if you don’t like it.”
“I didn’t come up with the definition,” he said. “But you don’t have a licence for magic.”
I laughed harshly. “So give me one. I saved your neck, Vance. Even you can’t deny that.” I managed to shut my mouth before the accusation escaped—your people abandoned me when I was desperate. He’d pried enough secrets from me already. Even if he didn’t hold my abilities against me—and I couldn’t yet be sure those claws wouldn’t make a reappearance—the very last thing I needed was pity.
I wasn’t that scared girl anymore. I’d reverted into her back then for a moment, during the fight, and it irritated the crap out of me. Almost as much as the fact that I’d thrown myself into the path of a knife on Vance Colton’s behalf and not had so much as a word of thanks for my trouble.
“No,” he said, “I can’t deny it. Nor can I deny you deceived me, and put myself and all the other mages in the town in danger. Did you know about the faerie beforehand?”
“No, I’ve never met him in my life,” I said. “Most faeries attack me on sight because they’re assholes. I figured something evil was waiting for us in there, since you don’t go into a creepy old factory expecting a surprise birthday party.”
His eyes narrowed a little at the sarcasm. “You’re an infuriating woman.”
“You’re not exactly a stellar personality yourself.” The room swayed. “Also, your carpets are tacky.”
“Cheap insults will get you nowhere.”
“But it’s worth it to mess with you.” I attempted to walk. My wound disagreed. I bit down on the pain, pushing it aside, refusing to let him see how dependent on his mercy I was.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.” The word came out weaker than I’d have liked.
He moved to bar the way. “If you think I’ll honour your whims after that, you’re mistaken.”
“Whims? This is my safety I’m talking about. You think the faeries will leave me alone if you tell the whole city I can use a tiny bit of their magic?” If all else fails, the guilt trip’s a guaranteed success. I hated admitting weakness, but he was the type who wouldn’t relent until he was the one in control.
“If they all find out,” I continued, “every faerie in the region will come down on me in a swarm. I’ll die. You’ll lose this case, those kids will be trapped in Faerie forever, and your reputation will take such a hit, I doubt you’ll ever recover.”
His mouth parted a little. “You think I care about my reputation? I was under the impression we were going to find two missing children in the factory. Instead, I found out you were deceiving me.”
“My heart bleeds for you.” Bad choice of words. I accidentally looked down at my wound, and nearly fainted at sight of all the blood.
He frowned. “You’re bleeding on the carpet.”
I drew in a shaky breath. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry. I’ll try to bleed to death in the hall next time.”
“There won’t be a next time.” His tone went deadly quiet, the sort he might use before decapitating someone. “Sit down.”
“What?”
“Sit down.” He pulled a chair out of thin air, startling me so much I fell into it without meaning to, leaving a trail of blood behind me.
“Are you going to teach me how you do that?”
“Stay where you are.”
I slumped to the side, closing my eyes against another wave of dizziness. “Have you ever spoken a single sentence that didn’t involve ordering someone around?”
He didn’t answer, because he’d disappeared. Not going to kill me, then. Okay.
Next thing I knew, cool hands pressed to my side. My limbs were too numb to move, though I feebly pushed the person’s hands away.
“Don’t move. You’ll make it worse.”
“Huh.” Apparently, I’d lost more blood than I thought. If I didn’t know better, the Mage Lord was at my side, his cold hands over the wound. A fragrant aroma filled my nostrils. A witch’s spell. Since when did the mages keep hedge witch healing remedies?
Probably because they work. Within seconds, the blood flow halted, the world stopped spinning long enough for me to open my eyes, and I jumped. Vance leaned over me, my blood dripping from his hands… and my clothes were shredded worse than ever. Indecent, even. I was practically topless, the ruins of my T-shirt hanging from my side and exposing my bra. At least it was plain black, strapless and, god forbid, without any holes. Still, I shakily grabbed my jacket before this got any more awkward.
“A thank you would be nice.” Vance hadn’t even looked at my exposed skin. Not in more than a cursory manner, anyway. Score one for Vance Colton. And another for healing me. It warmed me inside, though like hell I’d admit it. I wasn’t entirely sure he was done accusing me of being buddies with Faerie.
“Thanks.”
He grunted and turned away, conjuring a handkerchief to wipe the blood from his hands.
“I have to go and shout at some necromancers,” he said, still standing close enough to make me self-conscious about the amount of skin I had on show. “Assuming you aren’t about to tell me how you knew how to beat the faerie’s spell. Even my sword couldn’t cut through those cobwebs easily, and I thought all faeries were allergic to iron.”
“They are,” I said. “I reckon that creature had been there feeding on people’s lives for years. The cobwebs were a defence mechanism. It only had a few good attacks left in it, I think, otherwise it’d have been more aggressive from the outset.”
“And your magic? What can you do?” His tone didn’t sound accusing this time, but I knew I needed to clear this up, now.
“Mine’s defensive,” I said. “When a faerie attacks me with magic, my own magic acts like a temporary shield. It deflects other faerie magic, and my speed and accuracy increases. Just lasts a few minutes, usually. And it only works on faeries. Iron works just as well, so I use my sword instead. You can put me under all the tests you like. I’m telling the truth."
A long pause. He studied me, and it struck me that the barely-restrained power I’d seen crackling over his head had disappeared like it had never existed. Instead, there was only him, without magic, without the claws, and the faint scent of the witch spell he’d used to heal me.
“Did you know what was waiting in the factory?” he asked. His gaze remained steady, but warmer than before.
“No, of course not. The tree faerie either lied or told us a half truth.”
“I believe that,” said Vance. “I’m less convinced you aren’t hiding important information.”
“What good would that do?” I said. “Don’t you think if I’d known how to get those kids back, I’d have done it by now? I’ve been as upfront as possible, but you’ve given me no reason to trust you.”
Hi
s brow furrowed. I’d bewildered him. Maybe ‘don’t accuse your employees of plotting against you and threaten their livelihood if you want them to trust you’ wasn’t in the mage handbook.
I tried to put myself in his position, but I couldn’t imagine having such a level of influence over other people. Also, I was bone tired and couldn’t be bothered with another argument. “I’d like to go home. We can pick up where we left off tomorrow.”
From a whole heap of jack shit. If anything, we’d lost momentum. And apparently the faeries can’t lie rule was a lie itself, because the Lady of the Tree said I could find those children in the factory.
Helpless anger simmered, but tiredness won out and I stumbled towards the door.
“Hold on.” Vance barred the way again. He leaned slightly forward, close enough I could smell him beneath the witch’s spell—something unidentifiably masculine. Appealing. Unwanted.
I let out an impatient hiss. “Didn’t I say I was done? I’m all out of fucks to give, Vance.”
“Please,” he said. “If you know anything about the faeries—anything that might solve this case—tell me. You can trust I won’t spread the information. Part of my position is as a confidant to all mages, and I’ll extend that courtesy to you.”
My head throbbed too much to make sense of mages’ social niceties. I shrugged. The movement didn’t hurt, but my arms were limp. I needed a major blood sugar hit, otherwise I’d pass out. “What do you want to know?”
“If we went to Faerie,” he said. “Those cobwebs—the whole room wasn’t natural.”
“It wasn’t Faerie,” I said. “Just a spell. Trust me, if there was another way to Faerie open, we’d know. We were in the factory all along.”
“The faerie used Summer magic. But what it said to you… it was drawing power? Where does faerie magic come from?”
“Within,” I said. “Usually. Each faerie has a certain amount. Don’t ask me how that’s determined. I haven’t a clue. I know pure faeries, the knights of the courts and nobles, have a shit-ton of magic. Wild creatures like trolls have almost none.”
“He wasn’t a noble.”
“He was an exile,” I said. “I guess they shoved him into the mortal world during the invasion.”
Paranormal Magic (Shades of Prey Book 1) Page 13