Nine Tails 5: Void Shift

by J. L. Weil

  “And if they don’t take a form?” I inquired.

  His face darkened. “Run like hell.”

  If Devyn hadn’t shown up, I would most likely be dead. My fingers fumbled with the stone around my neck, which was still warm from the use of my powers. “It was so stupid of me to get so upset. I won’t run off again, not without letting you know where I’m going.”

  He scrubbed at his face. “I’m tempted to make you swear it with a blood oath.”

  “Is that some kind of fae magic?”

  He stalked across the room, peering out the window for any traces of the demon. “It is an unbreakable oath that holds a fae to his or her word no matter what the cost.” Whipping the flowing curtains that framed the windows closed, he shut out the night. “Do me a favor. The next time you’re being hunted, piss on a tree or something.”

  I snorted. “Why would I do that?”

  “It was harder for me to track you after Fury masked your scent.”

  I’d completely forgotten. The whole crazy jealous girlfriend incident seemed like a lifetime ago. “How did you find me then?”

  His shoulder lifted in a one-sided shrug. “I said it was harder, not impossible. No matter what happens, I’ll always have a tether to you. I’ll always find you.”

  And it was because of Devyn I was able to sleep at night. The look in his eyes stirred my blood. “What do we do about that thing? We can’t let it roam free.”

  “No, we can’t,” he stated, moving to the dresser where he opened the middle drawer. “I’m going to go back and kill it. Once the Enenria has your scent, it will never forget it, allowing the demon fae to track you as long as it lives. You have enough targets on your back. This is one I have to eliminate.”

  “It will lead him straight here,” I concluded, panic ripping through my chest.

  He nodded gravely.

  “Okay, just let me change—”

  “I’m going alone,” he cut in, removing two daggers from inside the drawer. “You’re staying here with Holly. My mom should be back soon.”

  I pursed my lips, not ready to give in so easily. The idea of him hunting a fae demon alone made my skin break out in hives. I couldn’t stomach it. “Devyn, I can help—”

  “No,” he said firmly. “It’s too great of a risk. You’re too important to this world. Let me do what I’ve trained my whole life to do.”

  “And it’s not a risk for you?” I challenged him, advancing to the side of the dresser. The sheer determination in his eyes was enough to tell me I could argue until I was blue in the face, but it would be a waste of breath, like talking to a statue. He was going without me, but that didn’t stop me from trying to talk some sense into him. “I need you. Don’t you see I can’t do any of this without you? If something happens to you, then what? I can’t face this world alone.”

  He gripped my chin, peering into my eyes. “My mom and Holly will make sure you’re safe.” He leaned down and brushed his mouth across mine in a feather-soft kiss. “But Karina,” he said when he saw the argument on my lips, “nothing is going to happen to me. This isn’t my first fae demon.”

  “Fine,” I relented, my hand touching his arm. “But I’m warning you, if you’re not back before midnight, I’m coming after you.”

  His scowl deepened. “I’ll be back.”

  Ten minutes after Devyn left, I was pacing the floor in his room, biting the short stubs of my nails down to nothing. My first order as queen of Katsura would be to figure out how the hell this place could get cell phone service. It had only been a few days, but not having the convenience of texting or calling was hitting me hard as I waited for Devyn’s return. I shouldn’t have let him go alone.

  “He’ll be okay, you know,” a soft voice from the doorway said. Holly strode in and hopped onto the bed. Her dark hair was woven into multiple intricate braids that gathered together in the back. Wisps of hair fell out of the braids as if she’d just come in from playing outside.

  Were all fae children like Holly? It was easy to forget when I was around her that she was a child. Her eyes appeared years older than her age. “I can’t help but worry,” I replied, my fingers wringing together.

  “My brother is exceptional at what he does.” Such confidence shone on her pretty face. I couldn’t detect a shred of doubt.

  I sat down opposite her on the bed, needing a distraction, and Holly might just be what I needed to keep my mind off what might be happening in the woods. Perhaps I could absorb some of her good vibes. “So what do you do around here for fun?” I asked. There were no TVs, no radios, no phones. Faes did have fun, right? It wasn’t all killing, power, and politics, was it?

  She angled her head to the side and looked at me funny. “Fun?” Holly echoed.

  “Yeah, like what do you do with your friends?”

  She pulled at a thread on the embroidered throw at the end of the bed. “I don’t have many friends.”

  My heart squeezed. “Do you go to school?”

  Her pert little nose wrinkled. “Yes, but it’s our midterm break.”

  At least it seemed fae kids had the same feeling about school as mortals did: it was a necessary evil. “What’s your favorite subject?”

  Her mouth twisted to the side as she pondered the question. “Probably weapons or advanced auras.”

  I shouldn’t have been surprised. “Something tells me you’re extremely good at both. Can you read my aura?” I asked, thinking it would be interesting to see what Holly could pick up on.

  She perked up and bounced on the bed. “I thought you’d never ask. Mom doesn’t like it when I read someone without permission.” She settled into a comfortable position in front of me, legs crossed in a pretzel shape, and I followed so we were knee to knee. She held out her hands, palms up. “I get a clearer reading if I touch the person,” she explained.

  “How does it work?” I laid my hands on top of hers.

  She interlocked her small fingers around mine. “Sometimes it’s just projected feelings, depending on how close I am to the person. It can be overwhelming in a crowd, but I’ve learned to control the ability and block out the noise. Most of the time, I see colors. They hover around you like an energy field. The brighter the color, the stronger the emotion.” Her eyes roamed over my head and traced the outline of my form, seeing the emotions I was emitting.

  “Is it limited to just people?” I asked, bringing her attention back to my face.

  “No, anything living has an aura. The dead have a different type of aura—one that is harder to read, but not impossible.”

  “Can you also manipulate a fae’s emotions?”

  “I can read them, change them, absorb them, bend them, construct them,” she went on. “Like paint on a canvas, the colors themselves can be swirled, muted, covered, or made new.”

  To have so much power at a young age . . . “You’re kind of a badass nine-year-old.”

  She grinned. “You’re not bad for a queen.”

  I chuckled, giving her hand a slight squeeze. Then I let her view my aura.

  “You’re so consumed with worry that it hides your other emotions. Most people at one time have multiple feelings,” she explained. “One might be stronger than the other, but underneath it, the lesser emotions swirl. You’re also in love with my brother,” she said matter-of-factly.

  I didn’t say anything for a moment, wondering what the right response was. I decided to go with the truth. Holly wasn’t like most nine-year-olds, and it would be pointless to try and hide the truth. “I am. And I don’t know what to do about it.”

  Her gentle fingers released mine, and she tugged her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. “He loves you too.”

  My heart pounded. “You see that in his aura?”

  There was a pause as if she was wondering how much trouble she would get in for telling me. “Yes, but I didn’t need to read his aura to know how much he loves you. Anyone can see it.”

  “We’re going to need to work on our
poker faces,” I mumbled, but my heart was full in my chest. I wanted Devyn to love me so very much that it hurt.

  “The laws here are stupid.”

  “It will be the first thing I change when I’m on the throne,” I told her.

  Her eyes shifted to the stone around my neck. I didn’t notice the weight of it before, but since coming here, the charm was like carrying around the burden of a kingdom. “What’s it like to have multiple powers?” she asked.

  “Confusing,” I admitted. “I’ll let you in on a little secret.” She had shared one with me. I felt it was only fair I returned the favor. “I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time.”

  “Can I touch it?” she asked, an inquisitiveness lighting up her features.

  “Sure.” I lifted the stone up for her to get a closer look, but I didn’t dare take it off my neck, not even for Holly.

  Her touch was cautious as she brushed a finger over the smooth surface. “So much power for something so small.” Her eyes, although a different hue of green, looked very much like Devyn’s when she raised them to meet mine. I haven’t said anything to Dev or to Mom, but when you and Dev are together, your auras mix.”

  By her low tone, I gathered this wasn’t normal. “What does that mean?” I asked with a frown.

  “I—”

  Chapter Twelve

  The balcony door blew open, letting in a gust of the cool evening breeze that carried faint traces of Devyn’s exquisite scent. I whipped my head toward the door, letting my eyes run over him. He was alive.

  But not unscathed. He favored his left leg as he took a few steps into the room. I was on my feet a heartbeat later, racing around the bed to his side. I placed an arm around his waist and the other on the middle of his belly as I steered him toward the bed. Something wet coated my fingers, and dread pitted inside me.

  I took my hand off his stomach and twisted it around, but the smell of copper hit my fae senses before I saw the dark stain on my skin. “You’re bleeding,” I said, my voice on the verge of panic.

  “I’m not about to keel over dead,” he said, placing a steadying hand on the wall. “Bastard got a lucky shot. It’s nothing to fuss about.”

  “Dammit, Devyn. You had me worried sick.” I was tempted to punch him in the arm for taking so long and getting injured.

  “It sucks, doesn’t it? Worrying?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Take off your shirt,” I ordered, grabbing the hem of his shirt to slide it carefully over the wound.

  He winced.

  I surveyed the cut that sliced across his abdomen, discarding the shirt on the ground. The wound itself had started to clot, I noticed in relief, but the skin around it was swollen and bright red with irritation. “I need to clean this before it gets infected.” I wasn’t a nurse, and the sight of his wound made me queasy, but fae warrior or not, he was going to let me tend to the cut.

  “It’s fine,” he said through gritted teeth and went to move past me, but I was in his face. Whatever he saw in my eyes had him shaking his head.

  “My professional assessment says otherwise. Now sit your ass down.”

  He was too tired to properly argue with me and relented, sitting his butt down on the bed. His eyes closed briefly as his body relaxed degree by degree, no longer required to be steadfast and unwavering.

  I rushed into the bathroom for supplies. Holly came right behind me to fill up a glass of water. We returned to the room to find Devyn right where we’d left him. A freaking miracle: the Shaman had listened for once.

  Holly handed Devyn a glass of water and took a seat in the chair stuffed into the corner, not batting an eye over the blood that made me squirm. “She’s pretty bossy when she wants to be, just like a queen.”

  Devyn gave her a half smile that caused him to wince again. “It’s in her DNA. She can’t help it.”

  “This might be easier if you lie down,” I advised, setting a bowl of warm water on the wooden chest at the end of the bed.

  He downed half the glass of water before easing onto the bed as I slipped a pillow under his head. Soaking bits of cloth in the water, I set to cleaning the wound, my hands not quite steady.

  You can do this. It’s just a little blood. Devyn’s blood, my brain decided to point out. Gah.

  “Mom’s going to be pissed you got blood on her floors,” Holly informed us.

  He stiffened at the first touch of the wet cloth against his skin, but then exhaled slowly. “I know.”

  “I’ll help you clean them,” she offered.

  He winked at his little sister. “I owe you.”

  Holly kept him talking. Smart little girl, distracting him while I worked to clean the flesh and dig out bits of fabric left by his shirt. The busywork was a welcome distraction from my brain dwelling on how different tonight could have gone. If the Enenria had—

  No.

  I couldn’t let myself think like that. He was here. That was all that mattered.

  Shades of pinks and reds soaked three cloths by the time I could clearly see the slice that stretched across the flesh of his lower belly. The cut was deep, but not bad enough to warrant stitches, or so I hoped. He healed faster than mortals.

  “Does that mean you’ll let me practice with Wrath and Fury?” Holly asked, trading in her favor.

  His eyes skimmed over the spot on my neck where Fury had sunk his fangs into me earlier today. Two little pin-size marks marred my skin, and Devyn’s eyes darkened a fraction. “You know it’s not up to me. They have to give their permission first,” he said to Holly.

  I gingerly prodded the clean cut, making sure it indeed didn’t require stitches or a healer.

  “They accept Karina,” she pointed out, trying to use it as leverage for her argument.

  Devyn nodded, the movement sluggish for the usually sharp Shaman. “Yes, because of the link I share with her.”

  “Are you going to marry her?” Holly blurted out.

  I made a choking sound in the back of my throat, my fingers at Devyn’s belly going still. I glanced upward and locked onto eyes the color of ferns in deep spring.

  “You know the rules, Holly,” he rasped. The words sounded forced—from the pain or regret, I couldn’t tell.

  “Since when do you care about rules?” she reminded him.

  He yawned, his eyelids drooping.

  “You should rest,” I told him, gathering up the bloody rags and bowl to dispose of.

  His hand closed around my arm. “Only if you stay with me.”

  I gazed down at the Shaman who meant everything to me. “Where else would I go?”

  When I returned from the bathroom, he was fast asleep. Holly had ceased her chatter, having done her job of distraction with flawless perfection. Her head lay propped up on her arm, which rested on the chair, exhaustion lining her small body. It had been one hell of a night.

  Removing a woven blanket from the foot of the bed, I draped it over Holly. She snuggled the side of her face against the velvety fabric of the chair. “Is he asleep?” she mumbled, her own voice heavy with tiredness.

  “He is, finally,” I assured her.

  Long sooty lashes fluttered over her cheeks as she let her eyes drop closed. “He was exhausted. I thought a little tonic would help him sleep. He won’t do you any good if he keeps pushing himself.”

  My gaze went to the half glass of water and then back to Holly. She wouldn’t have? Would she? I narrowed my eyes at the little girl. “You put something in his drink?”

  Her gentle snores were the only answer I received.

  Holly had been right though. Since arriving in the Second Moon, the Shaman hadn’t gotten more than a few hours of sleep here or there when he allowed himself. He was running himself ragged for me, doing everything he could to find a way to keep me alive.

  My bones sighed when I sagged onto the bed. Deep weariness wrapped around me, pulling me under. I laid down beside Devyn, careful not to disrupt his slumber. In the dark, I listened to the reassuring rhythmic beating of hi
s heart and let my eyes feast on that stunning face until sleep took me as well.

  I woke with the mother of all headaches as if someone had slammed my head into a brick wall. A long groan escaped my lips, but that managed to make my throbbing head ache more.

  Son of a bitch.

  I lifted my hand to my temple while my eyes fought against the bright light streaming in through the open balcony doors. The breeze felt nice on my skin, cooling the heat that radiated from various points around my head.

  Had I left the doors open last night?

  “Are you going to sleep all day?” a tiny voice asked with mild annoyance.

  Only one person in the world had a voice that high and could still manage to sound like she meant business. I peeled my eyes open, even though they burned at the sunlight. My fae eyes took sensitive to a new level.

  “Belle?” I blinked and blinked again, scouring the room for the little pixie. She was so damn small, and the glaring sun wasn’t making it easy to pinpoint her location.

  Of course, I could have been imagining the whole thing, my frail mind playing tricks on me.

  “You’re not hearing things,” the voice said, followed by a repetitive thumping sound as if she was tapping her foot in impatience.

  My head flipped to the side. The space beside me was empty and cold. Devyn must have risen hours ago, letting me sleep in.

  The chair in the corner had a rumpled pillow and throw that was now deserted. Holly too was gone, having fallen asleep there last night. I didn’t know what I would have done without her company. Gone out of my mind probably. She was the most amazing little girl I’d ever met.

  I twisted my head to the other side with the intent of rolling out of bed, but my eyes connected with a pair of glittering wings. Belle was perched on my pillow, her legs crossed, and her head propped on her hand, looking bored. Her fingers tapped against her cheek.