by Eve A Hunt
“I don’t know what Hunger Games are.” Lucus tugged at the jeans Hekla had ordered him online. He also wore a plain black tee and this vintage-looking dark gray jacket. He looked full-on delicious. “Or cosplay,” he said. “And why must these trousers have holes? Isn’t it customary to purchase new clothing?”
“They are new.”
Lucus’s frown deepened.
“It’s Hekla. She digs the distressed jeans even on older guys like you.”
“Young ones wear this type of trouser?”
“Teens, yeah. But it’s fine. You’re hot as hell, so no one is going to gripe about your clothing choices.”
He released his hold on the leg of his jeans and grinned wickedly as he stalked toward me, his new boots leaving muddy footprints on my carpet. He’d gone outside early this morning to feed on the trees behind my place while I was asleep. The darling hadn’t wanted to wake me. Good thing too because I had needed that rest.
We’d had two full days of earthquakes before the shaking had stopped. The last three days had been nice though, no trembling or curse evidence to be seen. I was living for the moment right now and hoping we could survive when the Mage Duke made his appearance. My newest friend, a telepathic unicorn of darkness, was keeping tabs on our arch enemy for the time being.
Lucus’s grin warmed me in all the right places. “As long as you think I’m attractive, that’s all I need,” he said.
He kissed me hard, the hint of his lure spreading over me like starlight I could feel. Spinning, he had me up against a wall before I could suggest it myself. No longer as worried that I might break under his fae-strong hands, he lifted my mini skirt—a clothing item I had recently decided was rather perfect for this new life of mine. His fingers raked across my skin before cupping the warmth between my thighs. His mouth hovered at my ear, and shivers of pure pleasure danced over me.
“You smell divine,” Lucus said. “Like mysterious herbs found in dark forests and the scent of a night-blooming rose.”
I rocked my hips against his hand, savoring the rush of sensations flooding me. “I approve. Never heard of a night rose,” I managed to gasp out as he showed how skilled he was in the seduction game.
The scent of pines and summer-heated sap floated through the air. His glamour faded a bit, just showing his horns, pointed ears, and leaf-tipped outer lashes. He bent his head to my cleavage, and my head fell back as I completely gave up on talking.
With a couple of deft adjustments, he had me on the floor, where he showed no mercy, grinning like a devil again and dragging a scream of sheer pleasure out of my throat.
His wings shimmered into view, and the vines at the top edge of each one reached around us, growing and expanding to create a bower of sorts. He found his own pleasure then and cried out. Leaves broke from the vines, darkening the magical shelter and making my living room smell as green as summer.
I smiled and looked around at what he’d created. “This is new.”
He rolled to one elbow and grinned sheepishly, his cheeks darkening. “My feelings for you are in full bloom, my queen.”
His glamour back in place, Lucus rode behind me on my bike all the way to the bakery. The town of Franklin was gearing up for Halloween, and pumpkins appeared around every corner. Blow-up ones in yards. Painted versions of jack o’ lanterns by doors. Chalk iterations on blackboard store signs. If the unicorn was right, the Mage Duke would show on the big night, which was painfully fitting. He was going to ruin my favorite holiday. Of course.
Lucus and I walked through the back to see Hekla lifting Oliver so he could push a button on the mixer.
“That one there,” she said, flour covering her chin and whitening her sleeve.
The Binder sat in the corner on a chair, his eyes haunted despite having his son Oliver safely away from the unseelie court. He hadn’t handled the newness of being here very well. Of course, he had so much to work through. I only wished I could have helped him more. He didn’t seem to want to open up or talk at all, really. He only spoke to Oliver and Nora, and we all worried about his mental state. We still didn’t even know his name.
And now Nora was gone. She’d talked to us as a group yesterday, telling us how this was the first taste she’d had of freedom, and she wanted to see what she could manage on her own. Of course, we’d wished her well. Who were we to blame her for getting out of here after all she’d experienced? I’d quickly set her up with a phone, and we’d magicked up an ID. Nora had promised to check in with us in six months. For now, she was off to explore a place she thought sounded even more magical than a fae kingdom: California.
Hekla set Oliver down and ruffled his wavy hair. “Good work.”
The boy smiled up at her before dashing off to his father.
Voices carried from the front room along with the clang of the old cash register as customers purchased their morning goodies.
“Everything going okay?” I tossed my jacket beside a stack of Tupperware that held cake decorating tools and dry ingredients.
Hekla nodded then donned her enormous oven mitts. “Aurelio is helping Ami. It’s pretty hilarious.” She grinned at Lucus. “You Renaissance guys know zero about taking food orders.”
“Good morning, Binder,” Lucus said as we walked past and headed for the front of the bakery.
The powerful mage who’d helped me learn how to portal and harness my magic merely nodded, his eyes unblinking.
“We need to get him some therapy,” I said.
Lucus frowned, more modern talk confusing him.
“He needs to talk to someone who knows about his kind of troubles. But he’d have to keep the magic talk to himself somehow.”
“Ah. Yes. Do you know of a wise woman?”
A wise woman? “Nancy Striffer crows about her therapist on the regular. I’ll ask her about it.”
“She is the loud one who wears far too much perfume, yes?”
“That’s the one.”
A little growl came from Lucus’s throat.
“Not a fan?”
“A fan. No, I’m not. She is a slant mouth.”
“It’s my turn to be confused.”
“She speaks but doesn’t say what she means.”
“Like all you fae do?” I whispered teasingly as Ami ran at me.
She hugged me hard and snapped her gum in my ear. “Oh Lord, I am so glad you’re here.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I was here yesterday.”
“Yes, but since you and Hekla went on that climbing trip, I’m just freaked out. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s these crazy earthquakes. Did you hear that a woman is missing?”
Crap. “Someone from here?”
“Yeah. Well she’s a local’s sister-in-law. They were hanging out in town, then she forgot her coat in a booth at Mellow Mushroom. When she ran back to get it, she never returned.”
Lucus’s gaze said it all. This disappearance most likely had something to do with his psychic vampire fae brother, Baccio, or with Kaippa, resident rogue and actual vampire. Where were they hiding out? Not together, certainly, because they hated one another, but the two had set up shop somewhere, likely enjoying their newfound freedom to feed on the auras and blood of the local population. Lucus and I had tried to find them.
Since we’d broken the curse, the dark magic of the casting had become entirely unpredictable. So far, the castle remained where it had landed off Hillsboro Road last New Moon. Since it seemed stationary, Lucus, Aurelio, and I had searched the Mage Duke’s old residence for Kaippa and Baccio, wondering if they’d gone back to the place they’d lived for centuries under the curse. But the rooms had been empty except for the area that Corliss had claimed. She'd decided the treed courtyard felt more like home than anything the modern world could provide. She absolutely refused to leave, feeding on the trees that Lucus kindly poured his energy into after feeding from me or from other older trees in the nearby countryside.
At least Corliss was safely away from her mother’s court. I’d
offered to portal her back, since my unicorn of darkness informed me her evil mother, Queen Arleigh, was dead, but Corliss said she’d rather stay for a while.
As for seeking out Baccio and Kaippa, I’d called hotels and rentals galore to check for men of their description, but there hadn’t been any leads. I was surprised that more people hadn’t turned up missing, honestly. They must have been careful until now, until this missing woman. That was good at least.
Most likely they hadn’t killed anyone yet. Franklin wasn’t a huge place, and it would be tough to get away with murder without causing a pretty big fuss. Of course, they might have moved on. It was just fifteen minutes to Nashville where the crowds were far bigger and it was easier to disappear into a crowd.
“It’s nice you’re glad to see me,” I said to Ami, forcing a smile. “I might have to be gone the second half of today and part of tomorrow though. Just so you know. Lucus and I have some business downtown.”
Lucus sighed, his worried gaze on the bakery’s front windows like he hoped Baccio would waltz right in.
Looking like a Michelangelo painting come to life, Aurelio stood at the end of the counter past the register. He handed a bearded tourist a to-go bag. “The lute depicted on your clothing is a strange shape. Do you play the instrument?”
The tourist frowned and glanced at us. Ami and I gave him big smiles like it was all okey-dokey. He shook his head and walked away, muttering as he left.
Aurelio cocked his head at the departing tourist. “Did I offend the human?”
I slapped my forehead and hurried over. “Just say man or woman,” I whispered in his ear as Ami rang up an order of croissants and coffee for a knot of Vandy students. “Okay? Let’s not get the town freaking out over you all more than they already are.”
The Vandy students stared at Aurelio with unmasked adoration.
“How can I help?” Lucus said to Ami.
The college students’ heads swiveled to stare at Lucus. They were clearly torn on who was hotter.
I clapped my hands together. “All righty, folks. Who is next?”
The students frowned, pouting, and moved aside for none other than the ever-vigilant Nancy Striffer. The Daily Noser blog mistress wore a sweater set in a shade of yellow that a sweater set should never be.
“Good morning, Nancy,” I said, already opening the case to get her usual. “Lucus, will you pour a cup of coffee? No cream. Three sugars.”
Lucus had been trained on the coffee machine yesterday. He was hooked on the stuff. I glanced over my shoulder to see him downing a quick shot of coffee before working on Nancy’s order.
“Morning, Coren.” Nancy pushed her curled brown hair away from the heavy rouge on her cheeks and smiled. She had lipstick on her teeth, but I had walked out of the bathroom with toilet paper on my foot yesterday like a true cliché, so who was I to judge? “What do you think of these earthquakes? Authorities have called experts in, but they still don’t have any answers. They claim the geology of the area point to such occurrences as being possible, but they can’t find the direct cause.”
I bagged her order, took the coffee from Lucus, and handed it all over. “I read your blog post. Did you interview the mayor?”
Nancy snatched the bag out of my hand. “Of course I did. Do you think I would allow an intern to do such a thing?”
“I heard Dan’s son, Mik, was helping you out over there.” Dan was the mayor’s second cousin.
“I built the Daily Noser. I will not have silver spoon hipsters taking it from me.”
Her blog had been up for over a decade, so she probably brought in a bunch of money with ads and affiliate links. “Whoa. Nancy. Seriously. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m on your side, girl.”
She jerked her head in a curt nod, took a sip of her coffee, and turned to leave. “Thank you, Coren.” Her eyes cut toward Lucus, then Aurelio. “You have a lot of new friends. I’d love to hear why they’ve come to the Nashville area and where they’re from. Such an odd accent. That little boy is darling though.” She craned her neck to look past me at the open door to the kitchen where Oliver was singing a song about roosters that seemed possibly inappropriate. Kaippa had probably taught him that one before taking off.
I didn’t blame Nancy for her nosiness. I was nosey too. That was what had landed me in this mess in the first place—stomping up the hill, head full of questions, to check out the cursed castle. But an interview with the fae wasn’t a grand idea. We had to keep all this on the down low, or people would completely freak out. I envisioned a unit of armed scientists raging into the bakery and capturing Aurelio and Lucus with giant butterfly nets. Nancy had to be put off the scent.
“Oh, sure. They’d love to chat with you. How about next Wednesday morning here around nine?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’ll be here.”
Well, they wouldn’t be. I’d make sure of it. I started to give her one more line to secure the stall on her nosing around the fae and me, but the ground shook under my boots.
The water glasses beside the sink rattled, and I gripped the bakery case. Everyone looked around with wide eyes as they took children into their laps and grabbed phones to call loved ones. Fear lanced through the morning’s peaceful vibe.
The shaking didn’t stop this time. It kept going, increasingly stronger. My baking show trophy toppled and landed with a bang inside its display case beside the bookshelf. A cup of coffee rolled to the floor and spilled steaming black liquid over the tiles.
I ran to the front door and threw it open to see a bunch of people gathered in the street. Lucus and Hekla joined me in peering over the crowd down Main Street.
Around the confederate monument’s pillar in the square, the road exploded.
Screams and shouts littered the air as chunks and bits of pavement rocketed skyward.
2 Coren
I couldn’t move.
A monstrous gray creature with glittering, snake-like skin rose from the hole in the road and opened its mouth to show rows of sword-length teeth. As large as two semi-trucks end to end, the thing’s forked tongue flicked out, and fire blasted from its throat, rippling and distorting the cold air with heat. Horns curled back from the monster’s head, neck, and jaw, and it had just two powerfully built legs that reminded me of a T-Rex. Wings fluttered in uneven spasms from its thick hide, and the gray webbing between the wing bones was the color of a storm cloud. The creature was hideous, and the sight of it sent a feverish heat that felt like poison through my blood. A bitter stench like the smell millipedes give off overwhelmed me, and I broke into coughing even as my heart was frozen with terror.
Lucus was shouting something. He ran off, heading toward the whatever it was.
My heart seized and then began beating again. I rushed to catch up with him, slipping from Hekla’s grasp.
Before I reached him, the sinuous, gray creature dove into its hole, and the ground went still.
“What did I just see?” I asked Lucus. We were both panting, though I didn’t think it was because of the running.
“That was a demon.” A shudder ran through Lucus.
“What do mean demon? Like an it’s from hell demon?”
Lucus tilted his head as sirens wailed and emergency vehicles sped into the square. I caught a glimpse of Nancy Striffer weaving her way around the police cars.
“The Mage Duke’s curse has morphed into a thing of the darkest magic,” Lucus said. “We used to tell stories about such beings, though I’ve never seen one myself. Do you feel its intent the way I do?” He held up a hand and cocked his head like he was listening. “How it coils and thirsts for chaos?” He shuddered again.
“No, but I believe you. That is some messed up shit right there.”
The police began taping off the square while emergency personnel checked on a few people who’d been hit by the broken pavement.
“I’m surprised the police are getting that close and not freaking out more,” I said.
The woman beside me e
xhaled and put a hand to her chest. She clutched a teenage girl who was recording the chaos with her phone. “Probably a gas main break. It’s a shame. Such a lovely place. That’ll cost the city quite a bit, I imagine.” She turned to leave with the girl.
Hekla pushed past that group of Vandy students who’d been at the bakery. The college kids were all talking at once and taking a million pictures.
“You all okay?” she asked us. Then she leaned in close, grabbing Lucus and me. “Was that the curse too? Why is it doing this?”
“Did you see it happen?” I asked.
“I did. I was right beside you.”
“And?” I had a sneaking suspicion she had not seen what I had.
Hekla’s eyebrows bunched under her thick black bangs. “What?”
“Did you or did you not just see a big, nasty snake dragon blow fire into the sky?”
Hekla paled, her rosy cheeks going white.
I swallowed and looked at Lucus. “A glamour,” we said simultaneously.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Hekla waved her hands around like she was trying to smack information out of the very air around us. “Tell me the things, people.”
The crowd had thinned, and we were alone. Aurelio and Ami stood at the door of the bakery, helping an old man get his walker through and onto the sidewalk.
I filled Hekla in as we watched emergency services bring in equipment to deal with whatever they thought might have caused the eruption. About a billion trucks and neon-jacketed workers and supervisors flooded the area.
Hekla blinked. “A dragon.”
I held up a finger. “A demon dragon.”
“That most likely wishes us harm.” Lucus raised an eyebrow. “Don’t forget that element of the situation.”
“Thanks for that, Sammy Sunshine,” I said. “Well, one person will be loving this.” I looked around for Nancy. She’d be eating this up, and there would be a great blog about it tomorrow. “So basically this demon dragon—”