Sacrifice of Mercy

by Shannon Dermott

I’m not vampire, I wanted to say, but I got her gist. I had no idea if I could. I decided on the spot it couldn’t hurt for her and Brent’s sake. Tom warned that staying in animal form too long wouldn’t be good.

  Bravely, I kneeled to get eye level with the beast. He hissed and bared his teeth while forcing his muzzle through the gaps in the bars to get at my neck.

  His attempts did the trick, and he got stuck a second long enough for me to capture his gaze. “You need to turn human.”

  “Not need,” Maggie implored. “Just tell him to do it.”

  My inclination was to glance back at her, but I managed to maintain my wits and keep my eyes locked with the wolf. He stopped snapping, but he continued to growl as I kept him focused on me.

  “Shift into human form,” I commanded.

  The wolf’s answer was to push his muzzle further through the bars in a show of will. His teeth ended up mere inches from my nose. I fell back on my arms in surprise, and crab walked back.

  “That didn’t work,” I said, ridiculously stating the obvious.

  The wolf doubled its efforts, and I heard feet on the stone stairs heading in our direction.

  “We have to go.”

  I stood and grabbed her hand. I pulled her forward into another stairwell opposite the one we came in. We went up because that was the only direction and stumbled into an empty great hall.

  Trying to look as casual as possible, I gazed around as if we had been admiring the beauty of the room, and not meddling in the dungeon. I had no idea who we could trust was grateful when Maggie played along. We could have an unseen audience.

  “This is amazing. It’s like we stepped into time.”

  Huge windows brought in the light that shined on large stone rectangles that made up the walls and floors. There was a raised platform at one end, and tapestries of all kinds hanging in between the windows and spaced evenly on all the other walls.

  Stone was builder’s choice because of fires. It also had the added benefit of weathering the teeth and claws of shifters.

  A maid hurried breathlessly in the room. She bowed when she came to a stop. I was clueless to the customs of the shifters, and didn’t want to offend her. I waved her forward.

  “Mam, beg your forgiveness. The tailor has been looking for you.”

  I’d forgotten about that.

  “Sorry, we thought we would explore.”

  Her eyes danced frantically between us. “It’s just there isn’t much time for him to design your gown, and get it sown before the ceremony. Would you mind following me to his rooms so that we can get started?”

  “Can my friend come along?”

  I wasn’t sure if I had to ask but did anyway.

  “Yes, that should be fine.”

  We followed on the heels the maid. I hoped she wasn’t setting me up. I needed to talk to Tom about who we could trust. We weren’t in Maryland anymore, far from it.

  Chapter Ten

  By the time I made it to my room, I felt somewhat violated. It wasn’t the tailor’s fault. But getting your boobs measured by an unknown person was really creepy. I left Maggie at her room because jet lag had finally hit her. When I opened my door and stepped in, I didn’t expect someone to be waiting for me.

  “Finally,” Flynn said and stood from his chair to walk over to me.

  Already annoyed, I walked away from him towards the bed, needing distance between us.

  “Don’t start. Why are you here anyway?” I asked while glancing over my shoulder.

  His eyes turned hot like my words infuriated him.

  “I thought for sure Luke would be here. Didn’t think he would let you out of his sight,” he spat.

  Spinning, I faced him and spread my arms to encompass the room. “As you can see, he’s not.”

  His eyes narrowed, and he stalked forward. I didn’t retreat. I held my ground.

  “Why isn’t he here? If I were him…”

  I let a few seconds pass to allow him to finish his statement before I asked, “If you were him, what?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing, never mind.” He waved it away as if it didn’t matter.

  I held his gaze long enough to see the dark circles under his eyes. He marched to the door as if he figured out what I noticed.

  Quickly, I stepped forward catching his arm. He turned and I let him go, only to step closer. I placed my hands on either side of his face. With my thumbs, I swiped at the darkness staining beneath his eyes.

  “Flynn,” I pleaded softly. We were once friends before everything got so confused. And even though my heart was mixed up, I worried about him. “You need to get some rest.”

  “Why would you care?” he huffed out.

  Gently, he reached up and clasped my wrist. Without taking his eyes off me, he removed my hands from his face. I glanced down at his lips and licked my own. When I realized what I did, I snapped my eyes back to his frosty ones. He was so close and focused on me; I felt the air around us charge.

  His head dipped a little and all I had to do was inch up on my toes and our lips would meet. My heart raced, and I started to feel warm like the cool air left the room. He leaned a bit lower, and his exhale fanned across my lips. Just when our mouths matched up in perfect alignment, I felt heated eyes on us.

  I stepped back and glanced over Flynn’s shoulder. He turned to see who I was staring at. Luke stood expressionless.

  “Figures,” Flynn muttered. “How long have you been there?”

  Luke’s reply was too quick to read if any anger laced his words. “Long enough. Should I go?”

  “Why?” Flynn quickly replied. “Nothing’s going on between Mercy and me besides her thinking she’s my mother.”

  “I do not,” I snapped. “You look tired.”

  Luke came over and stood before his best friend. He placed his hands on Flynn’s face, just as I’d done moments before. It only made me wonder if he’d been in the room the whole time.

  “Dude, why are you touching me like that,” Flynn said, slapping his hand away.

  Luke jerked his shoulder. “Be still, it’s not like I’m going to kiss you.”

  Flynn finally relented and let Luke’s hand find the position again. I watched as Luke’s began to glow. He closed his eyes while Flynn and I watched in fascination. The glow seemed to spread into Flynn’s skin. Then it radiated through Flynn like a fireworks’ explosion. Flynn jerked, and Luke stepped back.

  I watched in horror as they both teetered on their feet for a second. One step back and they balanced themselves.

  “What was that?” Flynn asked.

  “Mercy’s right. You’re tired, and you’re not taking care of yourself. You’re no good to anyone if you’re dead weight on your feet.”

  “So what? You just cured me?” But after he finished speaking, Flynn rolled his shoulders.

  “I can’t cure anything. I just gave you energy.”

  “At the expense of yourself?” I asked.

  “We don’t have time to argue about this. He needed it. I gave it to him.”

  “He has Mia,” I offered.

  “She’s right. And if Mia can’t help me there are plenty of females around that are willing to meet my needs. In fact, there’s this one little hot blonde. I think she’s a chamber maid or something.” He stared off into space as if picturing her in his mind. Jealousy roared to life in my chest. “Anyway, her name is Marsha.”

  He paused again before smiling and softly chanted the words, Marsha, Marsha, Marsha, to himself as in anticipation. And the gleam in his eye said he was more than interested.

  I so was not going to put up with that. “No one wants to hear about your future conquest, Flynn. You can keep that to yourself.”

  His smirk was ruthless and I hated the divide between us.

  Luke, ever the peacemaker, stepped in between us. “We don’t have time for this. Let’s talk about Sebastian.”

  We all stood and just glared at each other.

  There was a knock at the door. I
moved away from the boys and opened it. On the other side stood a girl and boy about my age. They looked so much alike with their tawny hair and golden eyes; I thought for sure they were twins.

  The girl glanced up tentatively to meet my eye. “Miranda sent us.”

  “Why?” Flynn asked, head popping over my shoulder with his heat warming my back.

  When I turned my head, our lips again were so close I had to swallow.

  “Move back,” I said in mocking frustration. I pushed my hips to bump him out of the way.

  His response… infuriating. He grasped my waist, and then held me there. I was about to yell and possibly give him a shove with my elbow to his gut when the girl spoke again.

  “Should we come back?”

  Part of me wanted to tell her no because I really didn’t like the idea of feeding on other people. Then again, I needed the distraction from the two boys who together in the same room caused so much tension you could slice it with a knife.

  “No, come in.”

  I stepped back despite Flynn’s close proximity. He spun me around.

  “What the hell Mercy?”

  “I think Miranda already knows what I am.”

  He tossed his hands up in the air and lifted his eyes heavenward.

  “What? I didn’t say anything. Maybe Tom told her.” I shrugged.

  “So what, you’re going to feed?” He said the last word almost under his breath. I was pretty sure the pair that came in were shifters and could probably hear everything we said.

  Luke came over. “She needs to do it. It will be safer for her.” Flynn shook his head and turned from us. “Mercy, you know what to do after.”

  Then he faced Flynn. “You could help.”

  Flynn eyed us both then walked over. I moved to stand in front of the girl. She was closer to my height. Flynn stood in front of the guy.

  “Don’t move. You won’t remember any of this,” Flynn said.

  I repeated the same thing to the girl when I caught her gaze. Flynn backed away, and I continued to stand in place. I waited for McKayla to take over when I remembered what Luke said about me taking charge and how we were really one.

  There was no way what I did wouldn’t have looked weird to outsiders. I stepped into the girl’s personal space. Eye to eye, I leaned forward, and sucked in air until I felt that part of me tug on the string of life force inhabiting the girl’s body. As the whispers of her life curled into my mouth, I felt the burst of energy grow inside of me.

  “Damn, that’s hot,” I heard Flynn say.

  Embarrassed, I stepped back, closing my mouth, still not sure of how much was too much to take.

  A hunger still stirred inside of me. I moved to the side to stand in front of the guy. I cupped my hand behind his head and tugged him to me. He wasn’t much taller, but enough that I couldn’t reach him flat on my feet. When our lips were but mere millimeters away from touching, I inhaled and brought his essence within me.

  That time was different. A heat flared, and I felt a drive within me to take the feeding to another level. The entranced guy must have felt it too because his hand reached for my hips. His fingers dug in as he tried to erase the distance between us. My eyes closed, and need took over until I was tugged free.

  My eyes flew open as Flynn yanked me across the room. The guy had resumed his vacant stare as if none of that happened.

  “What the hell was that Mercy? You’re going to kiss some other guy right in front of Luke.”

  “I…” I didn’t know how to defend myself. Most of me wanted to blame McKayla, but it wasn’t her. She wasn’t a person. She was a part of me. And a part of me wanted to kiss that guy.

  “You don’t need to kiss anyone else.”

  “Why?” I said still trying to process what I’d almost done.

  It was Flynn’s fingers that dug into my sides that time. His thumbs skimmed the underside of my bra. “There is only one person you belong to in this room.”

  “Who?” I whispered.

  At that moment, everyone in the room vanished, and I waited for him to say the words.

  “You’re mine Mercy. Mine.”

  His lips descended in a perfect arc.

  “Stop,” I cried out. Sense came back in a rush. I remembered we weren’t alone, and Luke was there.

  Only to my stunned surprised and Flynn’s utter shock, he was frozen in mid-descent. His eyes went wide the second he snapped out of whatever hold had him. He straightened, and his eyes blazed wicked hot. I could feel the betrayal in his stare before he stormed out of the room.

  “What just happened?” I asked, only to find Luke was nowhere to be around.

  Why did he keep disappearing? Was I losing my mind? Maybe I was still in Fairy lost in that room that had me seeing versions of the future I wanted to live. But honestly, why would I want to be stuck in a time warp between Flynn and Luke? It felt more like hell.

  The pair that had come to feed me still stood like statues. I walked over and gave orders with the new-found power within me.

  “You will leave this room and remember nothing. You will only remember that you asked to come in and were denied entry. This is what you will tell anyone who asks."

  They nodded, and I escorted them to the door. I hoped like hell they were, in fact, caught in my thrall and not pretending. Because if they weren’t, we’d given them much ammunition that could be used against Tom.

  Chapter Eleven

  Out of annoyance, I flopped on the bed. Things were more than messed up, but was it my fault? I had Sebastian and Belial after me, not to mention the hell hounds. Then there was the Fairy Queen.

  I sat up in the bed and located my bag on the floor not too far away. I got up and searched through it to find the scepter. I pulled it out and studied it. There was no way the queen wouldn’t find a way to get it back. Make that another enemy to add to my growing list. I packed it away and lay back on the bed.

  Tom needed to be told about the back stabber in his mist. As my thoughts drifted, so did my body. It wasn’t until I was shaken that I woke.

  “Miss, my lady, we will be late. You must get ready.”

  “What,” I said groggily.

  It took me several moments to get oriented and remember where I was. The room came into focus and recalled I was in Ireland to help Tom.

  “I’m up,” I said as the woman persisted in shaking me.

  “Please hurry.” She helped me to my feet and shuffled me into the attached bathroom. I stopped in the doorway to take in the grand room. It was bigger and fancier than my bathroom in David’s house as everything here was lavish and extraordinary. “Shower miss. We will be late.”

  There would be more time to take in the room with its sink and golden foot tub. I did pause when I spotted two toilets, one with a lid and the other not.

  “Why are there two toilets?” I pointed.

  “That’s a bidet.” When she said the word, it sounded like biday.

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s for washing your bum and other things.”

  My jaw dropped. In shock, I stood as she helped me hustle out of my clothes. Finally, I shooed her away telling her I would be quick about things.

  The glassed-in shower was just as elaborate. Water rained down on me while several spray nozzles on the sides hit me like a car wash. It made it easier to wash off. After, I let the woman help dry my hair while I sat and tried to put on some makeup. I missed Amber at that moment. She and Maggie had always been the ones to do my makeup for me.

  By the time we were done, I was passable with my hair pulled back in some elaborate braid. The flowy dress, the tailor made for me, was emerald green with flecks of gold woven in. I couldn’t imagine how he’d made such a dress in so short of time.

  Ready, the maid led me through the halls at a galloping pace. The dress swished around my ankles and dusted the floor. My chest was more on display than I preferred, but the maid informed me there wasn’t any time for alterations.

  “Yo
u’ve missed the funeral, but the King said it was fine. It was mostly for family.”

  How long had I slept?

  “When we get there, you will not speak. You will take the King’s arm and walk with him down the line. When he stops, words will be spoken. He will be called forward, but you will remain at that spot. Kneel when the crowd does, and you’ll be fine.”

  I got dizzy from the spiraling stairs. We had gone yet another way than any I’d previously taken. As we approached, trumpeting sounds filled the hall I presumed was the main level.

  We came around a corner as large doors began to open in front of us. There was a congregation of people standing in front of it. I didn’t see Tom. The maid called out, “Make way,” as she forced our way to the front.

  A man stood with a cap of long furs draped over his back. A woman dressed in a royal blue gown, stood arm in arm with the man. The doors continued to open, and I wasn’t sure why the maid tapped on the man’s shoulder until he turned. From his profile, I saw he wasn’t just any man. It was Tom.

  He looked very different with his hair neatly combed. The outfit he wore looked like something out of a fairytale book. Riona hung on his arm like she belonged there. When she spotted me, her face soured. Tom’s face brightened. He immediately let her go despite the onlookers. She didn’t squawk. She stepped aside as Tom held his arm out to me.

  I took it just as the doors fully opened. Next thing I knew, we were walking the red carpet into the hall Maggie and I had ventured into earlier. A crowd filled the room on either side of our walkway with a fanfare of applause and trumpets playing in the background.

  Although it wasn’t the same, it felt very much like the walk with Rowen in the Summer Court of Fairy. Rather Sebastian disguised as Rowen. Could I still be in Fairy? The question kept plaguing me. I could be locked away in a room that made my mind believe I was elsewhere. It was possible. Luke’s strange behavior and the similarities in this scenario made it more than plausible.

  “We’re not getting married are we?” I muttered.

  His horrific stare was answer enough. I glanced around and noticed the people. I had no idea what their supernatural background was. And no Spidey sense alerted me in my head. They could be anything, and I wouldn’t know the difference.