by Lil Hamilton
“Someone’s been reading my diary again,” I said, giving him a wink.
“Nothing quite so entertaining. Eadon, one of our cousins, has been a naughty boy. He has mated with a witch and she’s disappeared. We’re here to bring her to him. He is quite frantic from the separation and the young are so temperamental anyway.”
A missing witch? Not really a surprise the way the covens battled it out for territory, but still, it caught my attention since I was missing faelings. While I had Dill check those areas as well as tapping into my spy network, I could check into this witch and the witch community to see if they had similar occurrences. Slave traders tended to specify a race they usually sold, but a larger organization would branch out. Witches were often targeted because most of them were low level and easy to manage. It was easier to bind a witch’s magic to someone else than it was to control a faeling.
“Outstanding,” I said. “What are you guys breeding with everything these days? A witch? How is that even possible?” Witches did have weak fae blood in them, but other than that they were human and only lived to be about a hundred twenty max. If the vampires could be blamed on weakened demon blood, and it was, then witches could be blamed on fae blood. Back in the day when there was more inter realm traffic, blood lines mixed with humanity. It was why demon and fae traffic was kept such close track of now. No one wanted any more human hybrids created and for any inter realm battles to be feuded out in the human realm. That was not to say there was not a thriving demi-demon and faeling population going on, but so far no spontaneously created races. Although with all the pockets of wild fae magic bubbling around Haven even that was quite possible.
“I know. Aunt Phulla is outraged and disgusted that Eadon would consort with a human, but this one it seems is half fae. I honestly think she is more upset about the human part.”
I laughed. “As would I be.”
Although I was more concerned the missing witch now fit the profile of my missing minor fae.
“At least explains the attraction and the bond,” Gabriel said.
It did. There would be no way nature would allow a permanent bond between mortal humans and demons. It would be tragic for the demon. There was many a sad love story of a vampire in love with a mortal, where the vamp was too young to turn and their lover aged and died with the passage of time.
“Does Phulla think the lad has been enchanted by the witch?” I asked. It was feasible, if the demon was young and infatuated anyway. A witch gone bad would love a demon toy.
“Oh, she wanted to, but no enchantment can mimic the mate bond. The story goes this witch was in trouble with rogue vampires. She’d tried to use a scrying mirror to contact someone and left the scry open when she was attacked. The open scry caught Eadon’s attention, curiosity really, and he popped on through it. He killed the vampires and saved her. They were together for about two weeks before Eadon was recalled to the court. He is young and can’t bide here for long. His lady love could not go with him right away, but would contact him in one month exactly when she was ready to go. She never did and we need to track her down, without knowing whether it is rogue vampires or what, before Eadon goes mad from feeling she is in danger. And so we have come to you. You know this realm and you have fae contacts.”
Normally this would be the sort of problem a demon member of the Accords would handle, not me. Demons though never had permanent seats of the Accords and right now ours was empty. However, it was a half-fae woman so for that alone I would take on the case. If one of my kind did a crime against a human I hunted them down and bound them to the homeland and if a human did a crime to one of ours I hunted them down and made them pay for it. We handled our own business. I couldn’t harm a human overly because the Accords insured I was oath bound not to, but there were plenty of spells that did not harm that punished. A lot better than the human justice system ever managed. Technically the Queen didn’t care about faelings, nor did the fae parent, so they were often left to fend for themselves. I, on the other hand, considered them to be part of my obligations.
“Well, Seelie fae half-breeds are extremely rare, no matter the race. There are only seven I know in over five hundred years. One is me, two are young vamp bloods, and of the four remaining three are male and the last doesn’t fit the description. I keep a regular eye on them all. So that means she’s lower court fae blood.”
“So?” Gabriel said.
“Unseelie court is run differently. So I don’t regulate them, mostly because Unseelie fae cannot manifest in this realm for very long at all. There are rules for them to follow depending on their nature, or they must be near some fae portal. And there are too many of them, too many breeds, to keep track of. Any half breed would likely be more on the human side. Although it is possible she gained the longevity and enough talent to make a better witch than most. She won’t be on my info list, but I can look in the data base and see if her birth was registered. Do you know her name?”
“Lily Storm.”
I grinned. “No, really.”
“That’s the name we have,” Sebastian said.
I looked at Lan and he just shrugged. “Bas, that is a mock fae name. You know that. No fae gives their actual name. Like Rose Winter or Ash Toadstool. There are several common ones. Dozens of creative, almost stripper ones. Her actual fae name would, of course, be about twenty names long, if her fae heritage was acknowledged. Still, generally two would suffice to identify her here. Or she would have a mundane human name.”
“Perhaps she was named so by her parents, so people would recognize her fae blood,” Gabriel said.
“Perhaps. If so, they might have just painted a target on her head and been done with it. Or perhaps Lily Storm is more aware of her fae heritage and is not using her real name.”
“Names hold power,” Lan said. “Just as ours can be used to manipulate us by witches, so can a fae name be used to compel them.”
I shrugged. “I can scan the records for all part fae known to be in the area, but it will take some time without a true name. Especially if she is transitory. Do you have a description?”
“She does not look as fae as you, sister. Not easy to mark in a crowd. Her skin is light brown, hair straight, black, cut short and her eyes blue. I’ll bring you a sketch.”
“Of course her eyes are blue. Can’t be a witch or a strong psychic without blue eyes,” I said.
“Why is that?” Gabriel asked. It demonstrated the uptight demon was young and not used to the mid-realm.
“Human mutations. They come from brown eyed stock, and then blue eyes were a mutation bred in. Only those with this mutation have been known to have enhanced human abilities,” I said. In the classic sense of witch power anyway. There were many forms, but the sort that mixed with fae was from that specific mutation. Fae magic. Different rules for human based earth or blood magics. “And that will help a little. I’ll have to get in touch with my witch associates and see what they know. I’m more than willing to help you out with this situation as long as you stay away from the Summer family I have in residence here.”
“We don’t care about the fae you baby sit. We have met with the local Pack Alpha and the Master Vamp, they know we have no animosity,” Sebastian said.
“Sure, that’s what people always say. Yet somehow when the Queen finds out you are actively mating up with fae, well, we will see what happens then.”
Sebastian stood. “Don’t you worry about that, little sister.”
“Someone has to. When you guys mate up nothing stops you from taking your mate. The Queen believes her people are her property, even me, and would get a little ticked if you stole one. Again. I thought that should be obvious in the way she reacted.”
He shrugged, as if it was not a problem. As if I would not suffer long and hard if the Queen even found out my father was tempting me with a bit of demon man cake. I’d have to keep that on the down low. In a city like Haven that would be tricky. I eyed Lan up and down, wondering if I could make an illusi
on stick on him and wondering if it would fool any of the stronger fae. Not likely.
“She will spit a fit I’m sure, but once the bond is made it cannot be broken,” Sebastian said.
“Don’t be silly, of course it can. If she gets to the demon responsible fast enough and kills him there is a chance her subject would be free of it, or crazy, or dead. She wouldn’t care. Or she could kill the fae lover, hoping the demon would die as well, thus deterring others.”
Gabriel stood up and snarled something in the demon high tongue. Actually, he looked like someone had jerked him upright. “The mating bond is sacred.”
“By the Thinning Veil, Bas, take the demon kids out of hell once in a while. This one is downright innocent. The fae Queen doesn’t hold anything sacred,” I said. Both the Seelie Court and the Hells Court were brutal, but vicious in completely unique ways. Kept me on my toes.
“Let father worry about that,” Sebastian said.
“And he has had so much luck getting his mate back,” I said.
Gabriel growled and stepped towards me. Lan was on his feet and in front of me faster than I could blink. I had forgotten how testy demons were about the Demon Lord. To me he was just the father that had been so outraged when the Queen stole his mate he had brought the battle to the border realm with such blunt force, using vamps and some were-shifters, in the battle. In other words, he had ‘outed’ all the races content to blend with humanity. It was really time they were outed anyway as things were getting tricky in the digital age. I think they were more pissed at the fact my father and the Queen could essentially force the half-breed races to do their bidding, making them realize the real top of their hierarchies’ was the ones that made them what they were.
“She has royal blood,” Lan growled out.
At least that meant something to someone.
Gabriel relaxed slightly, glaring at me. “Half-breed,” he snarled.
My time in the demon court had been an ordeal, with outright hatred directed at me because of my blood, or pity that it was not pure. Either way, I was used to some sort of bias. Those sorts of insults rolled off me. Although I had always felt rather displaced as a child. As Sebastian made his hasty good bye and dragged Gabriel out I sighed, a little shakily. I was too used to being metaphysically tough around these parts, equal to most threats, but not to a full demon.
“Don’t mind Gabriel, he is Eadon’s elder brother. It worries him that we will not be able to find Eadon’s mate.”
“Ah, another cousin. Excellent.”
To demons family was everything. Gabriel was probably like a five or sixth, twice removed, cousin, but to demons that made little difference. No doubt they assumed I’d be honour bound, by some weak family blood, to help Eadon. I would help. I could find this witch faster, and more importantly, quieter, than they could. Getting these demons out of my town was in everyone’s best interests. Unfortunately this meant I would have to delegate a great deal on the missing faelings to Dill and maybe Chera could help out with information gathering. I had already set up a city map in the basement marking the locations of the missing faelings.
I shook my head and went to get myself some tea. My trips into Faerie to make reports ought to be enough to remind me of my own insignificance.
***
Chapter 5
Do Not Disturb: I’m disturbed enough already
When I returned to the living room with my tea I found Lan exploring the area like he was forging through dangerous and unexpected terrain. He couldn’t just sit and look around. Earth demons were the worst in that respect. All explorative. Or rather, intrusive. Every touch to anything connected to the earth gave him information on the house and any touch to an object revealed to him to objects history. My history. I sank into a chair sipping my tea, watching him closely. I ought to have offered him something to drink, but it wasn’t as though his presence was welcome. Hospitality rules hardly applied. He ran his hands along the fireplace. He left trails in the dust. Yeah, I was winning no housekeeping award. Some Seelie fae could manipulate the border realm just like Faerie. Could make a whole house and have it look as they please. Not me. Far too young and not pure enough to manage that feat. I was learning from the local witches how to manipulate witch spells into fae spells so they worked in the border realm environment. Instead of manipulating my entire environment I just tweaked it like a witch would with just a tiny current of magic. I did have a brownie come once a week who cleaned the house from top to bottom and that worked for me.
He touched the black and white photos on the wall. “You took these.”
“In the Rockies and a few from my overseas trips. Course you know most of the fae live-ins live in those parts.”
I liked the contrast in them and really was not overly fond of color no matter what the decoration shows said. Life was, after all, endless shades of gray. I could totally be that profound. Fifty shades of profound.
The walls were a thick cream and the floors dark wood. There was a plush blue, cream and black rug in the center of the room that matched the black furniture. The modest sized flat screen TV set me back a bit, but I was fascinated by technology. Which was one perk of my blood; full High Demons made technology go all funky, whereas I only went through some things faster than normal people. I only needed a mild buffering spell for my fae sensitivities and to keep my demoness from short circuiting it. Course, it seemed people now bought new rather than fixed, so my tendency to go through gadgets was hardly noticeable. By the time I flatlined something there was something new out for it anyway. People might think it was an elegant and reserved style, but really I thought it was simple and timeless. Other than that the room was stark and really I didn’t spend much time in it. Except to watch my shows. Had to watch some reality shows like Vampire Bachelor, even though I thought reality TV was a plague that just would not end. I was pretty sure reality TV was the first sign of the apocalypse. Perhaps my father had something to do with such a plague. In fact, he probably invented TV. And the Internet. Very likely porn had been his idea too.
Resisting the urge to tell him to stop touching my stuff I said, “Well, I’ll give you the grand tour and show you where you can sleep.”
He turned those liquid black eyes to me and then nodded. I led him down the hall and up the staircase to the three bedrooms, only one of which I used as a bedroom. The other two were converted into libraries. One room I called Non-fiction and the other Everything Else. I gestured to Non-Fiction. “I have most of my research material in here, so it is spelled. I‘m slowly becoming a book hoarder and it is kinda encroaching on any guest space. Not that you‘d know, but I fully intend to be featured on a show called Hoarders in the next decade or so.”
He poked his head into my room. “This is our room?” he asked, turning to me with an innocent expression.
“That’s my room, demon boy. I didn’t say anything about sharing a bed with you.”
Although for demons looking for a mate, it was pretty much implied. For him. I did not bind myself into that sort of agreement, even if I was inclined to do such an act. And, yeah, sure I was fickle and spontaneous sometimes, so I would not rule out the possibility, but the whole list thing grated on me.
I pointed into Everything Else. “There is a futon in there. I’m going downstairs to my office to make a few calls.” I might as well make use of the daylight even though I was as nocturnal as Vivica.
Before I could take a few steps he was in front of me, pushing me back into the wall. Not forceful, but caught me off guard. He held one hand to my shoulder to hold me in place. He took a thick handful of hair, letting the black wavy curls fall through his fingers. My hair, in fae fashion, was down to my waist. I usually held it in a loose braid that left a thick cord of curls trailing at the end. I kept perfectly still. Demons were tactile creatures and where one would think he was touching inappropriately, he was actually exploring by scent and touch. While someone might think he was invading their space, he was actually just trying to get
a read on my skin close shielding. I watched as he inhaled. I don’t that was supposed to be erotic; him scenting me but it sort of was.
“You wear a glamour. Take it off.”
With the low growl to his tone it sounded like he was asking me to take off my clothes.
I flicked a hand and the minor glamour making my skin tone more human, instead of a pale ivory, as well as making my eyes blue with whites rather than black orbs. It was a refined illusion with just a hint of glamour to make people at ease with me. He smiled slowly. “You look so fae with that skin. But the eyes, the hair, your figure, are all demon.”
I was beginning to get the impression this demon was, at least on the surface, interested in exploring the mating idea, despite my blood line and appearance. Instead of being annoyed or stunned, I found the idea intriguing. He might be fun to play with.
Might be a very bad idea.
Might also be incredibly satisfying.
I was curvier than any Seelie woman could be. They were all lean, tall, slim in hips and small in breasts. It gave me a bit of an image complex when I was younger, thinking I was obscenely fat, until I came into the human realm and then my duration in the Hells. The demon’s heated gaze was definitely appreciating my curves. It made me feel like a woman in all the deliciously sexual ways.
My face looked very fae though; delicate, arched eye brows, high cheek bones, with a slight tip on the ears and only my more round obsidian eyes marking me as different. The skin tone, the alabaster stark white with a pearl sheen, which was the most obvious fae marking had to stand out to him. Yet the image of my creamy white skin against his golden tan made me shiver with delight. If I took one little mental step to the side I would fall flat into the gutter.
“Yeah, just enough of both worlds to stand out,” I muttered. “And just enough crazy to prove it.”