by Amy Cissell
“If we’re going to keep spending this much time together, we might as well reacquaint ourselves, or we’re likely to go mad from the abstinence.”
“You said we’re practically immortal! That makes this next year of closeness merely a drop in the bucket, time-wise.”
“Using my words against me isn’t kind. I could die of celibacy-related complications!”
“No one is keeping you abstinent. Just because I won’t sleep with you doesn’t mean no one will. Why don’t you phone a friend?”
“You’re a cruel woman, Eleanor Jane Morgan.”
I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “You’re a strange man, Finnegan Daniel Byrne. I’m glad you’re my friend.”
Later than night, I got Finn to agree to a temporary cessation of training and sneak attacks. I bought a six-pack and handed him an open beer. “Let’s sit on the porch.”
He followed me out and leaned against the porch rail.
“Finn.” “Ellie.” We spoke at the same time and then laughed.
“You first,” Finn said.
“I’m scared. Everything has changed so fast. I don’t have a job. In two weeks, I won’t have a house. I don’t know where we’re going after I open the first gate, and I don’t even know where it is, yet. I don’t know if I have enough money to pay for all the plane tickets and hotel rooms. I’ve never flown before, and that scares me, too. I’m scared of what will happen when the gates open and what will happen if I can’t open them. I’m scared of who I might become.”
Finn slipped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. “This is new for me, too. I can’t help you find the gates, but I can offer support during the process. I can reassure you on a couple of things. We won’t be flying. You’re a full-blooded Fae coursing with uncontrolled magic. We are not going 30,000 feet in the air and hoping you don’t lose control. This is road trip territory. Don’t worry about money. We’re covered. The exchange rate between here and the Fae plane is pretty good.”
I cocked my head and looked at him. “What?”
He laughed. “You have an expense account, thanks to compound interest and long-term investments.”
“So, I’m rich?”
“Think of it like having a corporate credit card with no limit. You have access to a lot of money, but if you buy a yacht, you’re going to have to explain it to someone in accounting.”
“There’s an accounting department?”
Finn sighed, clearing not appreciating my banter. “Drop it, Ellie. You have money. That needs to be the least of your worries.”
I aimed my sweetest smile at him. I enjoyed irritating him. He ignored it and continued talking, “Don’t worry about becoming someone different. Having magic and awareness of a different world won’t change who you are intrinsically. You are caring and empathetic. You are optimistic and a little reckless. You are the strongest woman I’ve ever met, and I’ve met quite a few in the last 400-plus years. You are beautiful and good. You are…Ellie.”
I stared at him, mouth agape. Then I leaned forward and placed my hands on either side of his face. “Thank you, Finn. That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” I kissed him. I’d meant for it to be short, a thank you between friends. But Finn moved his lips against mine, opened his mouth, and ran his tongue over my lips. I pulled back and out of his grasp.
“Sorry,” he muttered.
I stood up. “I need to go to bed. Are you coming?”
Finn raised an eyebrow. “With you?”
“Stop. It’s not happening.”
He followed me inside, and as I walked up the stairs, Finn whispered, “I love you…”
Chapter Three
THE POUNDING OF jackhammers reverberated through my skull and sweat drenched my sheets. I tried to move, hoping to quell the throbbing headache by gaining distance from the inferno surrounding me, but I was immobilized. It took my sleep-fuzzed brain several moments to realize the heat and the immobility came from the same cause: Finn. His lithe body was pressed against my back and one long, slim arm was draped over me.
“What the fuck are you doing in here?”
He jumped, slid out of the bed, and looked only a little sheepish. “You screamed in your sleep, and I couldn’t wake you, but you seemed soothed by my presence.”
“This needs to stop.” I stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door. I peered at my reflection in the mirror, noting the still-flushed cheeks. I slowed my breathing and watched the flush fade from my cheeks. I opened the door and came face-to-face with Finn.
“Holy crap, Finn! Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
He raised an eyebrow at the weapon I’d grabbed when he’d startled me. “With a toothbrush? I would’ve survived. I shouldn’t have been able to sneak up on you, though. Your awareness of your surroundings needs to improve.”
“Bastard,” I muttered. “The door was closed.”
“Was that a commentary on my mother or a dig at my morning ninja skills?”
I grabbed a bottle of ibuprofen and poured three into my hand. “Yes.” I swallowed them dry, brushed past him to grab a towel from the linen closet, and determinedly ignored the mostly naked man in the doorway. “I’m taking a shower. Go get dressed. I’ll meet you downstairs in twenty minutes.”
Finn laughed and retreated towards the room he’d been using before last night. I cranked the water in the shower on as hot as I could stand it and leaned my forehead against the cool tile. How do I get him to stop? We’d ended—mutually, I’d thought—the friends with benefits arrangement years ago. I’d taken his flirting in the past as harmless habit. That was my mistake. I was going to need to set up some ground rules. Possibly write a handbook. The only doors I wanted to crack open were to another dimension.
When my skin was red from the heat, I turned off the shower, toweled dry, and finger-combed my hair. I dressed in tight-fitting yoga capris, a sports bra, and tank top. I knew the weapons lessons would be intense today, especially since I’d let him sneak up on me this morning.
Finn was absent and hadn’t reappeared by the time I’d finished breakfast, so I got started with the things I could work on solo.
Thwack.
The knife protruded from the target across the room. Nine out of ten shots had struck the target instead of the surrounding drywall. I was getting better. I’m positive that with a little more practice, I’d start hitting the center of the human-shaped targets instead of grazing the left ear, hitting directly between the legs, or hitting just inside the right hip.
When my right arm started aching, I switched to my left hand and did that until I was too frustrated by my lack of skill to continue.
Finn was still gone. I wasn’t sure if I was irritated, relieved, or pissed off. He was such a stickler for the training schedule and had made a chart with workout times and breaks built in down to five-minute intervals. I checked the chart. 11:50 meant break time.
After a glass of water, I was ready for the next workout. I was supposed to be sparring hand-to-hand, but without a partner, that was difficult. I did some bag work and sparred with an invisible partner for a while. I readied my stance, squared my hips, and punched. My knuckles grazed off the bag and the momentum pulled me forward. I nearly fell. I pulled myself back and readied another right cross. This time I envisioned Finn’s face on there and let my irritation with him carry my punch. The blow sent vibrations up my arm, but at least I hit the bag this time.
I continued the workout, beating up an imaginary Finn. I was soaked with sweat and breathing heavily when I heard the low groan of a squeaky floorboard above me. I stopped moving and tried to calm my breathing and rapid heart rate.
At first, I heard nothing and was about ready to chalk it up to an old house settling, but then the slightest noise reached my ears. Someone was walking slowly and quietly in my house. Finn was hoping to take me by surprise. I slipped off my shoes to avoid making any noise, grabbed two throwing knives, and snuck up the basement stairs, avoiding the fourth s
tep that made a noise like a shotgun blast with even the lightest pressure.
I glided into the kitchen and paused, listening for anything that would indicate where Finn was hiding. I peeked around the corner and saw someone who was definitely not Finn.
The person’s back was to me, but the figure was too short and too slight to be Finn. It was swathed in a dark robe and hooded cloak. I tried to reach out with my magical senses without closing my eyes to determine who—or what—was in my living room. I knew it wasn’t vampire, because it was the middle of the day, and I’d not let in anyone after dark since I found out vampires were real.
“Who are you?”
The figure jumped and turned around. It was a woman—a tiny little woman who’d never let go of her goth phase.
“Are you Eleanor?” she asked. “The Fae world breaker?”
“I asked first, and you’re in my house. Who are you?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she reached into her voluminous cloak and then threw something at me. I ducked, but it was too late. Whatever it was—some kind of powder—had already partially blinded me and my nose began to twitch. I sneezed several times in succession, my throat and sinuses burning and my eyes streaming tears. By the time I could see again, she was gone, and I was coated in a fine, black powder.
Pepper. I’d been taken down by pepper. Finn was going to have a field day with this.
A shower and change of clothes later, I was still alone but at least not randomly sneezing anymore. My afternoons were supposed to be devoted to magic practice and gate hunting in Forest Park, so I decided to go alone.
I drove up Germantown, turned right on Skyline, and then took the narrow road to the Newton Road parking lot. After locking my pickup, I headed north towards Wildwood trail. The tall evergreens shaded the well-worn path and I began to relax as the chatter of birds and small forest creatures surrounded me. A cool mist blew over my face as I crossed one of the few streams still running this late in the summer. I reached a fork in the trail and turned onto the Power Administration Road. The sun beat down on me and sweat broke out immediately. The contrast was brutal after the shaded park trails. It was a relief to spot a game path leading off to the west and back into the coolness of the forest. I followed the almost imperceptible trail for a few yards until I found a clearing from which the power-line cut was no longer visible.
I relaxed cross-legged on the ground. Deep breaths brought me into the meditative state necessary to use my magic. My senses sharpened. I reached towards the discord resonating through the park’s energy.
The air became richer and darker. I smelled earth and rot. Death and life. There were animals nearby: squirrels, birds, a curious deer. A coyote had passed this way earlier. There were people not too far away. They smelled too earthy to be casual passers-by; maybe they were forest dwellers. Then I smelled something completely new. It was wild and earthy but not unnatural; not like the gate.
My eyes popped open. The creature was nearing rapidly. I commanded my heartbeat to slow, grabbed a throwing knife, and strained all my senses. The odor of an unwashed body approached from my right. Finally, I heard the footsteps.
“Finn!” I screamed with my mind, reaching out towards the Finn-shape in my consciousness like he’d taught me. I had a moment to hate asking a guy for help, and then it appeared.
He—for he was naked and definitely male—stopped the minute he realized I was watching. He held up his hands and spoke, his voice a rough growl, “I mean you no harm. I just want to converse.”
“Stay right where you are, hands where I can see them. What do you want to talk about?”
“You need to stop what you’re doing.”
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. What’s wrong with a hippie tree-hugger hanging out in the woods communing with nature?”
He laughed and the open mouth revealed teeth sharper than they should’ve been. “Don’t play with me, little fairy. I know who you are and what you’re doing. You need to stop before you destroy the world.”
“I have no intention of destroying the world.”
He smiled even wider this time, giving me a better and thoroughly unwelcome view of his teeth.
All the better to eat you with, my dear, I thought.
He continued unaware of my Red Riding Hood paranoia, “You have no idea what you’re doing, do you? The gates were locked on purpose. If you open them all, everything will change.”
“Isn’t that a good thing? The Fae can bring balance and magic back to this world. It isn’t fair to imprison an entire race of people for the sins committed centuries ago.”
“Do you know why they were locked up?”
“There was a war, and they were on the losing side.” A ball of nervous uncertainty tightened in my stomach. I didn’t know much and I was suddenly afraid that I’d asked the wrong questions.
“You know the lifespan of the Fae, though, don’t you? Those sins you speak of were committed by Fae who are still alive. I can’t let you continue.”
“Are the other supernatural creatures blameless?” I was grasping now, and hoped he couldn’t tell.
He smiled again and his eyes flashed yellow. Whatever he was, he was not human. I’d had a zero percent success rate of not being attacked by non-humans at this point. I shook myself, trying to force the tension out of my body and looked at his midsection. “You should put some clothes on. Your nudity and excessive body hair are a much bigger danger to America.”
He glanced down at himself in confusion and in that moment, I struck. I threw the knife I’d palmed earlier and it thunked into the meaty part of his right shoulder. Before he could yank it out, I threw a second knife and then a third. They hit his left and right thighs respectively.
“I appreciate that you aimed to disable and not kill. You’re more honorable than I expected. I’ll report back to my pack. We’ll let you know how we’re going to proceed.” He pulled the knives out, dropped them, and walked backwards until he dissolved into the forest.
I stayed alert until I could no longer sense him, then retrieved my knives, wiped off the blood and hair in the grass, and sheathed them. My concentration was shot and there was no way I could relax enough to continue my search. I headed back to the truck.
About halfway back, I remembered that I’d called for Finn and he hadn’t appeared. It must have been a test. What an asshole!
My steps quickly became stomps, and by the time I got back to my truck, I was fuming. Send me out to the woods and threaten me with a hairy, naked man. Real mature, Finn.
Finn wasn’t at my place and hadn’t returned by the time I’d showered, eaten, and had two gin and tonics. After I locked my house, I grabbed my cell and called him. It went straight to voice mail. “Hey, Finn, it’s me. I wanted to let you know that the house is locked and I’m going to bed. Don’t think you can avoid the yelling by not coming back. Your stupid test sucked.”
I stripped and climbed into bed. I tried to fight my growing sense of unease around Finn’s unexplained absence. I’d been expecting him to meet me at home to smirk about my reaction to his naked and dirty friend. I tossed and turned before falling into an uneasy sleep. My dreams were erotic nightmares. A slavering werewolf chased me, but when I was caught, panting and terrified, instead of killing me, he kissed me. I broke off the kiss and stared into his yellow eyes as desire bloomed in me. I moved forward, desperate to feel his skin beneath my hands, but he melted away and a vampire appeared in his stead. He smiled, his fangs glinting in the low light of my dream-inspired room, and I titled my neck. There was something hard in my hand—a silver and wooden stake—but before I could use it, he bit me. The rush of ecstasy that came with the bite brought me to the cusp of orgasm, but before I came, the vampire looked at the sky, cried out in alarm, and disappeared into the mist.
A great dragon hovered over me, fire shooting from its nostrils. It dove at me, engulfing me in flame. I screamed and ducked, but couldn’t avoid the inferno. When my panic dissolved, I
was warm, but not burned. It was pleasant and homey, like sitting in front of a fireplace on a cold, snowy day. I surrendered to the heat and felt my body warm up, sweat breaking on my skin. The fire went out as the dragon once more took to the sky and the wind from its wings chilled me. I woke up, gasping and sweating and covered in goosebumps. I got out of bed and went for a glass of water. It was four am. Finn’s door was open, and his bed was empty.
I went back to bed and drifted off. This time, my sleep remained undisturbed.
The thick, dark aroma of coffee pulled me from sleep. Finn was back.
I dressed and went downstairs. My skin felt too tight and it was almost as though my muscles were moving involuntarily. I was too hot and felt off. I shifted and wiggled and the sensation settled down.
Finn was in the kitchen, his back to me, scrambling some eggs.
“Hey asshole,” I said. “Thanks for the goth girl and the creepy naked dude yesterday. They were awesome.”
Finn turned around. “What are you talking about?”
I didn’t answer. He was covered in yellowing bruises and half-healed lacerations.
“What happened?”
“What naked guy?’
“You first,” I said. “I’m not the one covered in bruises.”
He turned back around and gave his attention to the eggs. As he plated them with a slice of buttered toast, he said, “It turns out that I’m not the only Fae sent to keep an eye on you. Someone saw us Saturday night.”
“What do you mean, saw us?”
“Kissing. Someone saw us kissing.”
“You got the shit beat out of you because you tried to get in my pants and I turned you down? That’s ridiculous.”
“Well, according to the person who did this to me, the half-breed bastard shouldn’t be taking advantage of the fairy princess. You should be kept pure, as befits your station.”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Finn shook his head. “I don’t need help to stay out of your bed. Not to mention that we were actually sleeping together for ages before. Where was the no-sex enforcer then?” I was getting more and more worked up and Finn was looking a little wary. “And pure? Pure? I haven’t been a virgin since I was sixteen, and I am not waiting around for some poncy, full-blooded fairy prince to deflower me.”