He stood up when she walked away. Telling Sasha they’d return, Dominic went after Charlie. Catching up with her quickly, he asked her what was wrong.
“I dinna know. I do have a head pain.” She stared at him. “I don’t like you stepping out on me so soon after we fucked.”
“Stepping out? Are you kidding me? When I got up to stoke up the fire, I thought I was going to have to have you come and drag my sorry ass back to our blanket. You drained me, love. Not only that, but I know that now that I’ve had a real woman, there is no one else for me in the world.” She didn’t look as if she believed him. “I will never look at another woman as I do you. I might look, wonder if she has even half of what you gave me tonight. But I swear to you on my mother’s heart, you are all there will ever be for me, Charlie. You don’t just have my heart, but you are my reason for breathing. The first thing that I think of in the morning and when I close my eyes. I love you, Charlie. I love you very much.”
Charlie laid her head on his chest and held him. He’d never known such a hellion to be so insecure before. It was wonderful to think that she was jealous with him, but he also knew that she may well hurt someone if she was angry enough. Holding her hand, he took her back to Sasha.
“Charlie, I have many in my dale that are keeping an eye out for those people. They’ll not be able to do anymore of their magic either. Not so long as I am in charge.” Before he could ask what she meant, Charlie did. “Aye, they’ve got themselves in the family way. The children look as if they might be coming any day now. ‘Tis a girl child and a boy one. I don’t think that they know that. I’ve no idea what they have planned for it, but I’m betting nothing good.”
“More than likely not. I will need for you to tell me what exactly they do up to the birth of the babe. It will help me to figure out what the demon might want it for, Sasha. Thank you for the warning. I— We might be able to save this one.” Dominic asked why they had to come here to sacrifice their child, if that was the plan? “The magic of this place will bring them a healthy child. I’ve no thought why it must be healthy when they’ve a plan to murder it. I just had a thought. If they were to have the children there on the biggers’ side, someone would notice when she goes into labor or such. Don’t you believe? I don’t doubt that they plan the same for this child as they did the others, do you?”
“No, I don’t. But wouldn’t they be a little old for having a child?” Sasha said that the magic from the demon would have done that for them, made them ageless for the anticipation of babes. “Okay, I guess I can see that. Do you think that at some point they came back here to make the bargain?”
No one moved, and Dominic was sure that he’d said something wrong. But when Sasha left them, Charlie kissed him on the mouth and pushed him to his back as she sat over him.
“You’d be the most brilliant man I’ve ever known. Aye, they’d have to bargain here as well as conceive the babe here to make sure that it would be born of them. All we need to do is find the portal they used and we can find the demon that way.” He asked her how that worked. “Each demon has a territory they live and work in. Though I don’t think they work so hard these days. There is a bargain made with the boss that no demon is to enter this realm without the permission of the current king. So, that is something too, no bargain was struck. Finding the demon then telling the boss, ‘twill not be an easy task. But it’s a good deal more than we had before.”
“I’m so glad that I could help you. Help us.” She nodded, then settled down. “I need to go home. I’m sure that my family is—”
“You go and I’ll wait here.” Dominic shook his head and said that he needed her to go with him. “Nay, you tell them, and then I’ll come with you. ‘Tis no reason that I bother them now. Not when they have you with them. You will return, aye?”
“I’m not going to leave without you. I need you with me. I love you, and if meeting them bothers you, then that’s fine, I guess. But I know that they’ll love you as much as I do. My mom, she’s related to your king’s wife. Mildred is my aunt.” Charlie started shaking her head again. “I promise you, if I go home without you, they’ll come here to get you. I’m not kidding. I’m the last son to get a mate, and they’ll all want to meet the woman that tamed my heart. Not to mention, I can’t leave here, not without you. It’ll break my heart.”
“What will they think of me? I’m a child bore for a demon, to a sister and brother. They’ll also think me bitchy and mean. I canna control my temper when I’m nervous. What should happen if I were to upset them?” Dominic laughed. “‘Tisn’t funny, you goat. I’m being serious here. I shall not be made to anger them, but I will if they laugh at me.”
“Oh, Charlie love. They will think you’re wonderful. And you have to trust me on this, you’re going to fit right in with the rest of the women of the family. Even my mom can be a bit loud when she needs to be. And, if you can imagine raising six sons without much in the way of money, I think we got on her nerves a great deal.” She looked like she was going to go with him when he pulled her into his arms. “Come with me, Charlie. Come home with me so that I might make you my wife in both worlds.”
“I dinna want a husband nor a mate, you know. You’re too sneaky at best, making me fall for you when I had no such plans.” He told her that he wasn’t sorry. “Nay, you’d not be. Big man that you are, you just go and conquer a poor wee lass such as meself.”
Dominic pulled back to see if she was serious. When she laughed, he joined her. Charlie was a lot of things, but a poor wee lass she was not. Holding her in his arms, he told her again that he loved her. Then he begged her again to come with him.
“While we’re at our home on the other side, we’ll talk to Rayne. She might have something we can use to help us find some information. She’s well connected.” Taking her hand into his, Dominic smiled. “Every time I look at you, Charlie, I’m amazed that I’ve found you. You’re perfect.”
“You might no’ be thinking on that if I upset your parents. You’ll be pushing me back through the portal so quickly that I’ll get me knickers caught. I’ll be here on this side without nary a piece of underthings.” His cock stretched in his pants, and he had to adjust himself before walking through this realm into the next. As soon as they were in the field right behind his home, Charlie spoke again. “I’d like a wee one with you, Dominic Winchester. Do you think that be possible?”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea. The more the merrier. Hello there, child. You must be Charlie Winchester.” Dad hugged Charlie like she was his own long lost daughter. Mom hugged him. “A new daughter, Sara. Isn’t she a fine looking one too? Oh, the children the two of you will have. I’ve missed you, son.”
His brothers and sisters were there, as well as the children. Dominic wondered if more time had passed than he thought it had when his dad cleared it up. He told him how that fool Sham had come to tell them what was going on.
“I have always thought of myself as a good, patient man, but that there durn man, he drove me over the edge so much that I wanted to take out one of those ball bats you boys had as children and chase him back home.” Dad looked at Charlie. “He did say that you were in a pickle. Well, don’t you worry none, we’ll muddle through getting you out of it. We’re family now, and that’s hard to come between when we’ve set our minds to it. Whatever it be, you can count on all of us working about it until you’re as safe as rain. I tell you what.”
Dad took Charlie’s hand and led her toward the house. The crunch of the snow was something that he’d not thought of since being on the other side. Mom and he just stared at his dad and mate as they walked ahead of them with their heads tight together. Dominic wrapped his arm around Mom as the rest of them moved too.
“I just know that whatever that man is plotting with her, it’s going to take a lot of time to get us out of, in addition to helping Charlie.” Dominic kissed her on the cheek. “I’ve missed having you aro
und. We’ve been busy, too, since you found Charlie. We’ve been looking over your notes you left and have been buying up the land that you marked. Mildred came by one afternoon and showed me what you were doing, and how to change the coins into what we might need. Some of the places are being worked on as we speak. What a wonderful thing it is you’re doing, son. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you, Mom. I have to tell you something. I never would have wanted to try anything like this without thinking that you’d be proud of me. It’s not the only reason, but I also knew that if I didn’t do it, you’d be there with your look of disappointment on your face and a hickory switch at your side.” She smacked him on his chest. “The places are all going to be named the Arnold and Mary Cartwright Educational Retreats. What do you think of that? I thought that calling it anything to do with leprechauns would have me in a padded cell forever. This way too, no one will question me too much on where I’m getting the money. I’ve hired an investment firm to cover things as well.”
“They called the house too. I nearly forgot. There is a check or two waiting for you at their offices. I’m so glad that you put your father’s and my name on this so that we’d know what was what.” Dominic told her that he’d meant to tell them. “No worries, son. We did fine. You love her, don’t you?”
“Yes. She’s very powerful, and has quite a story to tell you all. It’s nothing like the rest of the women of this place. Of course, it does have a bit of trouble and lurking characters.” He thought about the way she’d come into the world. “Mom, she’s terrified that you all aren’t going to be accepting of her because of the circumstances of her birth. She was literally born of evil for evil for her parents, who are brother and sister, to get something for her being given to them. If not for a witch saving her, I’d never have met her.”
Mom didn’t miss a beat. “I don’t care if she was born from Satan himself, she makes you happy and I love her for that.” Kissing her on the cheek, so grateful that he could have jumped for joy, his mother continued. “We’ve decided to have us some pizza tonight. And some salads. I don’t know about you, but I could eat a whole one myself and not even care if I had a beer with it, I’m so happy to have you both home.”
Mom walked on as he just stood there. A beer? His mom was going to have a beer? Christ, there was no telling what she might have when he told her what else was going on with Charlie. Life was suddenly all right as far as he was concerned.
The house had been cleaned up. Dominic was happy for that. He’d been working so hard on getting things ready for the retreats that he’d not had time to even run a sweeper. He knew that he’d get around to it, but was glad for whomever had done it for him. Having his mate coming into a dirty house would have embarrassed him. And his mom would have really gotten that switch and beat him with it.
Chapter 3
Dorcus used some of her magic to make up the house they’d use while they were waiting on the demon to come for their child, the brat. It was stronger here, her magic, and she wasn’t worried about anyone seeing it here either. As far as anyone would see, it was just a large mountain that had a strange entrance. She made her way to the kitchen and asked the creature there what was for lunch.
“I’ve nothing to work with here.” She asked him what he meant. As a gift to them for their help in becoming stronger, the demons she and Will worked with would gift them ten creatures to use as they pleased until their term, a prison term, was up. “There are no stores here. No gardens either. Even should I wish to dig something like tomatoes from the earth, there isn’t anyplace to put a garden. No fresh meat either.”
“There is plenty of fresh meat here. It could be no fresher than on the hoof. There are plenty of fish in the yonder ponds. Herbs and other edibles there in the forest. Even fresh fruit should you have a mind to go and get it. Which you will. Unless you wish that I send you back to where you came from.” The man looked as if he would deny her what she wanted when she only had to lift her hand. The creature moved toward the doors and left her there.
Dorcus didn’t know if the things that worked for her and her brother went back to where they came from or not when she sent them on their way. She did it often, too, especially when they would piss her off. Since she hadn’t any idea where it was they originated from, she only shoved them away from her and they were no longer a problem. She had enough on her plate right now, so she didn’t want to have to deal with anything else.
Rubbing her hand over her extended belly, Dorcus was excited to have this part of their journey over with. After this child was given to this world, they’d be set up forever in both this one and the other. To have it all was something that they’d been working on since they’d created their first child. Freedom of all rules for everything, and riches beyond compare.
“I just saw the cook in the yard screeching about how he was to kill an antelope. I had no idea there were any around here.” She told Will of the conversation she’d had with the thing earlier. “To be honest, Dorcus, I’m happy with just making ourselves something to eat. I’m fearful of him putting something in our food. He’s not been happy since he found out that we were coming here. I wish we could get more like minded people working for us. Don’t you?”
“We’ll have so much more once this is finished. I cannot wait. Can you?” He took her into his arms, holding his hand over her belly. “This one is very energetic. I can’t wait to rid my body of it. I think that it knows it won’t be long for this world. This will be our last and final time for us to have everything that we deserve, Will. Can you feel it?”
“Yes. Hopefully when he takes it from us, we’ll be able to reap more from him because of the way it will fight.” Nodding, she went to their living room to rest. “Just a few more days now.”
They had never cared to ask where the babes went. Dorcus was so happy to have them away from her that she didn’t care if they became food for the monsters they dealt with. But she was concerned about a rumor that she’d heard recently. That one of the babes hadn’t been a sacrifice at all, but had instead had lived.
“What do you think of this person called Charlotte, Will?” He asked her what she meant. “The witch that we encountered on the way here. She told us that our bargains were no longer going to work because of Charlotte. That she is one of the babes that we gave over to the demon, and now they’ll all be wanting more. Should be find out more about her?”
“I think that she was hoping for us to give her a few bucks. I don’t know a Charlotte at all.” When he frowned, she asked him what he’d figured out. “Nothing. I mean, if one of the demons didn’t get their prize, don’t you think that they’d come back on us to demand why we’ve cheated them? At least way before this long? The child would be over two hundred years by now. I think in that time, we’d have been told something wasn’t right.”
“You’re speaking of the trouble that we had with the last sacrifice, aren’t you? And the trouble that we had with the witch.” Will nodded. “They were both so far gone that I doubt either of them survived. No, that couldn’t be it. We did kill them both. The demon, as you pointed out, would have said something before now if he’d not gotten our message as to where to find her. If he didn’t make it there before she died, that is not our fault. We did as we needed to come out alive on that part.”
“You’re probably right. Nothing on our end to worry about.” He smiled at her. All Dorcus could think about other than the babe was the list of things they’d made of what they were going to do. As he dozed in the chair, she thought about their life together. It had been perfect. Well, except for their parents.
Dorcus and Will had been born within a year of each other, her being the youngest. Their parents were workers in a big home. Their mother had been a cook—not the head cook, but Dorcus supposed that she’d been good enough. Their father had been a stable boy. She’d never really been sure what that meant, but he seemed to enjoy his job a great deal. N
ot until his death did she figure out that working in the stables was all he’d been suited for.
One day Mother had come home from work early and caught them in bed together. Dorcus had been about thirteen and Will a very grown up fourteen year old. Mother had beat them both until they were bloodied, then gone to the big house, got their father, and brought him home.
Dorcus thought the people of the house called him stable boy because that was a title given to all those that did his job. As it turned out, he’d been nothing more than an adult with the mind of a child. She’d never noticed before because he’d been gone when her and Will had gotten up, and wouldn’t come home until well after they were abed. Dorcus figured out that day that it was because Mother had been ashamed for him to meet her children.
Father sat and cried when he told them to come to him. Cried and sobbed about how grown they were. How pretty she was, and how Will looked so much like him. When he did nothing more than touch his fingers to their wounds instead of beating them more, as she was sure their mother had meant for him to do, she realized what she had been thinking was right. Their mother was ashamed of their father, but of them as well.
Mother had locked them in their room that night. The chair at the door was fine by them. It had given them what they’d wanted anyway. Privacy. But by mid-morning the next day, they realized why they’d been locked up. The house was on fire, and there wasn’t any way for them to be able to get free. The two of them were going to die—if not from the smoke choking off their air, then from the flames they could feel just on the other side of the door.
The crashing outside their room seemed too late for them both. Will was already out on the floor with the ticking mattress over him. She was nearly ready to join him when the wall outside was just suddenly gone. Barely able to see through all the smoke and flames, she thought an angel had saved them. But it had been their father.
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