Holding his chained foot out, he turned to his jailer, O’Connell Senior, and watched the older man expectantly. Senior begrudgingly started to approach the turncoat, digging into his pocket for a key.
I stopped him. “After …” I said, taking pleasure in the way AJ’s eyes snapped to mine, a look of betrayal and hatred burning his face “… you answer the Cearer’s questions.” I felt Gearden smirk beside me as he rubbed Sally’s shoulder to comfort her. I turned to Thorn and got a whole different sense of satisfaction when he shut his gaping mouth as I told him, “Please continue your interrogation.”
It was in that moment that I stopped worrying about what they would think of me. They knew already that I was some freak show but even then, in this exact moment, I was okay with whatever AJ would tell them. A renewed sense of pride for what I was rose up inside me. Luna rumbled her approval and I turned away from AJ to look over Sally. She seemed fine, if just a little ashen.
“Are you alright?” I signed to her.
Shakily, she replied, “I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me.” She looked surprised but I wasn’t. There was no doubt in my mind that he would have killed her if keeping her alive would be of no benefit to him.
Giving her my best comforting smile, I suggested, “Let’s get some air.”
“I’m going to go talk to the queen,” I told Gearden as I ushered Sally through the hallway and to the door.
“I’m going to stay here, observe. Unless you think you need me with Selena,” he said.
And I would have loved that, but I knew it was best that he stayed with Liam and the Cearer. Not just so I could exert my independence a little, but also because we needed information and we weren’t going to stay in the loop if we both separated ourselves from what was going down in that room right then.
Chapter Five
Maeleigh
Stepping outside, I found her majesty still investigating the trees. She looked like she was giving the particular oak whose leaves she was fondling a checkup. Taking a leaf between her thumb and forefinger, she lightly pinched it, then inspected the area on its pale green surface. The leaves had just started to fall and the trees all looked like they were molting, at their worst, most vulnerable time – well, I mean, if they were a teenage girl going through puberty. Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I led Sally to the nearest picnic table and sat her down, then walked over to the queen.
Curious, I asked, “What are you doing?” I looked up at the tree, wondering if I’d see what she had. Looking back down, I saw that she was waiting for me to look at her. Damn. I wanted to dislike this person, or at least treat her as hostile, but when she did stuff like that –being all considerate and crap – it made it hard.
“Giving it a checkup,” she said with a smile. Then, turning back to her patient, she whispered something to it and patted its rough trunk.
Turning, I glanced nervously at Sally, considering whether to ask her to interpret for me but worrying about her mental state at the moment. She met my gaze and giving me a strong nod, she stood up and adjusting her shirt and slacks, she approached us.
When she joined us, I asked, “Are you sure you’re alright?”
She signed, “I’m okay” and then turning to the queen, said aloud as she signed for me, “I can interpret for you when you’re ready to start.”
Suddenly all business, Selena stepped away and began to walk further into the copse of trees, away from any possible audience. Sally and I followed her as she went a hundred yards until we came to a natural clearing. There were some decaying trees lying on the ground, providing homes for various animals. Tweedledee and Tweedledum stood to the side, giving us room, and Sally positioned herself behind the queen’s shoulder, also on the side.
“Where’s your friend?” Selena asked, looking back towards the group of homes.
“I haven’t contacted him yet. It’ll have to be just me this first time,” I told her, signing to Sally. Really, I just didn’t want to draw any more attention to what the queen and I were doing. The Cearer may know one secret, but I was determined to keep this one.
“Very well.” She looked calm as she stood gazing at me expectantly. I tried hard not to fidget. “Let’s start with what you do know so far?”
Right away my gut knotted. The last time I had used my particular know-how was when I was taking down AJ and Vic. But I pushed down the panic and the nausea that accompanied it and nodded. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and took myself back to my sense of peace, trying not to actually project myself there like I had done with Dad. My nerves couldn’t take another conversation with Danu right then. Calming my breathing and heartbeat, I recalled the tranquility and safety I felt when I visited Danu’s creek – the warm sun and the sweet breeze; the memory of the water’s bubbling sounds as it rushed over rocks.
Slowly, I opened my eyes and held my hand up, cupping a ball of fire that hovered over it. I felt the heat but it didn’t burn, and I knew it was because I controlled it. Concentrating, I looked up at the queen and focused on the fire. She was nodding in satisfaction, then lifted a hand as if to say, “Continue.”
Not letting go of my focus, I quickly searched the area for a target and found a particularly gnarled fallen tree with its roots pulled up from the ground for all to see. All at once, I squeezed my hand into a tight fist and, like tossing a pair of dice at a craps table, except with more violence, I shot the fire at the tree.
On impact, the explosion of splinters and chunks of dirt had me lifting a hand to guard my face. When it settled, I lowered my hand and turned to Selena. She approached the decimated tree for a moment and then gave me a satisfied nod and a twerk of her lip. “Well done.”
“That’s all I know, really,” I told her, feeling a little awkward.
As she gazed at me, it felt like she was silently taking notes. Finally, she spoke. “As a first and only go, that was quite impressive.”
My first reaction was to act shyly and be modest, but Luna came forward to preen at the praise. “We deserve it,” she reminded me.
Alright! Alright! I guess she was right. It was rather impressive. “Thank you,” I said.
The queen gave me a nod of appreciation and moved to stand a few feet in front of me. “Don’t ever reveal what it is that keeps you grounded. It gives your enemies power over you. Hmm?” I nodded. “Good”, she went on. “Now, let’s try something new.” She turned to look at her guards, “Kasin.” Tweedledee tipped his chin to her. “Please join us.”
Turning back to me as Kasin quickly walked over to us, her majesty directed me to read his thoughts.
My brow knitted. “I’m sorry?”
“Read his mind. Like you do with your mate.” She looked at me as if it should be a walk in the park.
“But it’s just the mating bond that allows us to speak to each other telepathically.”
She smiled, entertained by my naïve words. “As a wolf, or a druid, yes. But you are both. Many faerie can read thoughts with the right training.”
Kasin fleetingly slipped into his queen’s guard persona and frowned at her words. Just as quickly, though, it was gone. I guessed he didn’t particularly like the idea of someone invading his thoughts. Which should bother me, but I felt we were both in positions we weren’t exactly thrilled with. It was something we were both just going to have to deal with. So, just don’t think of anything entirely embarrassing for the both of us and it will be fine, I thought.
“Now,” Selena said, bringing me back. “Using the same muscles as you do with your mate, try to pick out a thought from Kasin’s mind.”
That’s it? I thought. No other “how to” instructions. Just, do what you’ve been doing and see if it works on a completely different species. I concealed my dubious thoughts with a look that said, “you got it,” and shook my hands out like a boxer would as he bounced around his opponent, revving himself up. Then, I breathed air in through my nose, lungs expanding, and slowly let it out as I opened my mind up. I looked at Kasin. To s
hut out any distractions, I closed my eyes and blocked out my own thoughts, calling for his own.
At first, I felt and heard nothing at all. There was just darkness and nothing. Then it happened. “Dirty.” I expected a feeling of unclean but that wasn’t what the thought meant. At least not entirely. No. It was murkiness. Contamination. Something unfiltered. Something – me!
Snapping my eyes open, I glared at him, seeing the realization in his eyes that he knew I’d heard him, at least partially, and that he was referring to me and my blood. More specifically, my tainted blood. Being a hybrid, apparently, was frowned upon in more than just the lycan and druid communities, but in the faerie as well.
Glancing curiously between him and me, her majesty’s lips turned up in a satisfied smile. “What did you hear?”
Surprised, I looked at her and stumbled over my words. Finally, I lifted my hands and answered, “He’s thinking about my magic.”
She looked to him for confirmation. He nodded without even hesitating a bit over my blatant omission. No, it was a lie, definitely a lie.
But it seemed that was all she needed to hear. If she had picked up on the untruth, she didn’t let on. “Now that you know how, Maeleigh, I expect you to work on that on your own. Consider it your… homework.” Oh, swell. I contained the eye roll that was like an itch behind my eye sockets and nodded. “One more thing before we adjourn.” Jeez, she certainly didn’t pull out the stops. I guess this was more of a homeschooling sort of lesson plan.
“Illusion.”
Pardon, me? I asked Sally to sign that last one again, but it remained the same.
“Illusion?” I asked her, confused.
“Yes.” She walked around Kasin, scrutinizing him. “Once you open the link between your mind and another’s, you can begin to attempt to imbed images in their mind.”
“Isn’t that mind control?” I asked her, a little worried about the idea of what that would mean. Taking someone’s freewill wasn’t what I had signed up for.
“In a way,” she acquiesced. “In another way, it can be used to de-escalate a situation.”
I was considering her words but she didn’t give me long to do so before she instructed, “Now, show Kasin an image. Something small. Something easily projected. Much like you would when trying to describe something or share something with your mate.”
I didn’t tell her that we’d only ever done that once and I didn’t really understand how it had happened in the first place. Instead, I peered at Kasin and brought up the first image that came to mind: a howling wolf. Holding it in my head, I sent it out as though I was throwing it like the fire, by force of will. It was a target – Kasin’s mind. There was no reaction. At least, not one that suggested he had seen what I was sending him. Disappointed, I let my breath out and looked at the queen, feeling a little like a failure after my previous two-for-two.
She didn’t seem to accept my woe-is-me attitude and shook her head vehemently. “No! No, don’t give up. Try it again.”
Jumping to it, I started again, taking my time to bring up the image and imaging the connection I needed for the sendoff. But the second I tried the execution of it, he snickered. Before the queen had time to reprimand him, I snarled, shoving an image of my wolf side, Luna, snapping at him in his mind’s eye.
Shocked, he stumbled back, scared of something unseen to the average observer. He threw up an arm to protect his face, but the image had already gone, fading from his mind. The deadly appeasement in the queen’s expression should have scared me but it just made me satisfied that I’d not only put the jerk in his place, but I’d also gotten a gold star, in a matter of speaking, from the Unseelie queen herself.
Sally caught my attention when she signed: “I think the Cearer are done. I can hear voices.”
Whipping my head back around to the queen who was murmuring to a chastised and, I noticed, a slightly sweaty Kasin, I asked her. “Can we call it a day?”
With one last deadly glare to Tweedledee, she said, “Yes. That will do for the day. I will text you with our next lesson date.” Before I could ask if she had my number, she tilted her head and with amusement, explained, “I’m sure I can get your number from Ro the next time I see him stalking my home.”
I could do nothing but stare at her, wide eyed. I didn’t dare confirm what she was implying and I doubted I could sound convincing if I denied it or played dumb. She wasn’t someone who struck me as appreciating being taken for a fool. Leaving it alone, I took a few steps backwards, keeping her in my sight. She turned away first, but not before I had caught the twinkle of amusement in her eyes. Turning, Sally and I quickly made our way back to the jailhouse cabin.
The Cearer were conferring with Liam and Senior when we reached them, while Gearden and Bri were murmuring to one another with as little movement of their lips as they could manage – or so it seemed. Looking over my shoulder, I was expecting to see the queen and her posse close behind but I wasn’t entirely surprised to find that she’d disappeared, probably having made her way back to her vehicle through the trees.
Knowing there was much more to worry about, I stepped up to Gearden and Bri. They stopped talking when I approached them, but I knew this was because they didn’t want to discuss something without including me, which I appreciated. Liam looked to be bidding the Cearer farewell but I could tell it took some convincing. Thorne kept glancing in my direction, obviously champing at the bit to learn more about my berserker status. Ugh, I hated that term! Caleb had told me that lycans referred to it as “dire wolf” back in the day. Berserker was such a harsh word and gave the image of a loose cannon or savage, neither of which I was.
Meeting Thorne’s gaze over Julie’s head, I gave him the snarkiest look I could manage and turned away to look at Gearden, pretending that the man didn’t get to me. He did of course, but I knew my indifference irritated him, and I wasn’t above plucking at that nerve.
Gearden wasn’t oblivious to the play I was making either, but he didn’t seem to disagree, and I loved him a little more for it. “You play a dangerous game,” he warned me anyway.
Gazing up at him with as much flightiness as possible, I whispered back to him, “I don’t know what you mean,” and winked at him.
His chuckle that rumbled in my mind warmed me to my core but I had to set it aside. This was definitely not the place to be aroused by my mate. Not with so many outsiders in our territory and such sensitive information under scrutiny. Finally, Liam was able to lead the Cearer away and back to the house. The three of us stayed behind with Sally, who looked like she could use a long nap right about then. We sat down at the table with her and, with her interpreting, Gearden started, “I’ll tell you later what went on in there, but first, Bri got a message from Danny. The wolf from Westboro, Charlie, is growing impatient and is demanding a date and time for when the challenge can take place.”
That was definitely not what I had expected him to say. It took me a moment to reroute my brain before I said, “Okay. Um…Well, I don’t think I will be any readier than I am right now since we can’t put it off for a few more months, right? I mean, can we put it off?” He shook his head. “Didn’t think so. Alright, how about tomorrow evening? Let’s just get it over with.”
He stared at me hard for a moment, but I didn’t know what else to tell him. Nodding, he told Bri to set it up. She gave me a look that was full of foreboding and pulled out her phone, already taking care of business. I gave Sally a hug and Bri promised to make sure she got home alright, finishing with, “I guess dress shopping will have to wait.” I signed that I was sorry before she led Sally up the side path to the garage. Gearden and I made our way back to the house.
Bless Jolleen’s heart! I could smell the cooking of a roast in the oven. My mouth was watering but the timer on the oven told me that I’d have to wait twenty more minutes before the roast was ready to eat. Just enough time for Gearden and I to talk, I guessed. We headed to his room where we sat on his bed and he debriefed me on the interrog
ation after I’d left.
“AJ told the Cearer that he knew why the hunters want you. Well, in a way. I waited, impatient for him to go on. “Apparently they have men deeper undercover than we do amongst the hunters.”
It didn’t surprise me that a pack led by someone with corrupt morals and principals would choose enemy information over the safety of a pack member. “I thought we knew why. That I’m a part of this whole prophecy thing.”
The gaze he gave me was sorrowful, which had my anxiety ticking up a notch. “Tell me.”
“He said the hunters know you could break the contract. They have something; some other piece of the puzzle. He wasn’t sure what exactly, but they keep whatever it is locked up.”
“Did he say where they were keeping it?” I stood up, needing to walk off some of the adrenaline that was building up.
Still perching on the foot of the bed, he watched me warily for a moment before answering. “Only that it’s in their headquarters.”
“They have a headquarters? Of course, they have a headquarters. All villains have to have a Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated.” Gearden frowned but he didn’t ask me to clarify, which was good because my brain had already moved on. Swinging around, I asked, “Wait. AJ said all this in front of the Cearer?”
“Yes,” he replied, standing up and waiting for the shoe to drop.
I placed a hand on his chest to ground myself as I was starting to feel a little lightheaded from the whirlwind of information. “Does that mean the Cearer know about me and the prophecy?”
Understanding dawned and he shook his head, “Nothing about the prophecy was mentioned. Just that the hunters are interested in you and it has to do with something they keep under lock and key.”
A huge sigh of relief burst from my lungs but it didn’t release any of the tension that had built up in my chest. I suddenly felt claustrophobic, like I was trapped in my own body. He picked up on it, thank goodness, and took my hand to draw me out of the room again. I let him hurriedly pull me through the hall, down the stairs and finally outside into the back yard.
The Kill: Book 3 in The Hunt Series Page 5