by Conn, Claudy
“I don’t want him redeemed. I want him dead,” Trevor spat.
“Fie—such emotion is unbecoming a Seelie prince,” Aaibhe said gently.
“I beg your pardon, my Queen,” he said, but she wasn’t sure he did.
She studied him before saying, “I have a mission for you because I, like you, do not believe Pestale can be redeemed simply by drinking the water of forgetfulness.” She sighed. “I will be calling on your brother, on Breslyn … on many in the days ahead. We have more to concern us than justice or revenge, much more.”
“What, my Queen?” He stared at her, and she saw his puzzlement.
“I am not sure how it will come or when, but I saw destruction, not only the complete destruction of the Human Realm, but ours as well.”
He crossed arms and shook his head. “I should have drove my Death Sword deep into his body!”
“Hush now, Trevor. Are you mine to command?” she said gravely.
He dropped his arms and then made a fist of allegiance that he pounded against his upper chest. “I am yours to command, my Queen, as ever, as always.”
She smiled softly. “I know. In my vision, I saw Pestale … very much who he always was. Something has gone wrong. I do not believe he actually drank from the Cauldron. I also saw Morrigu steal something from the Dark King. Either the Dark King did not care or was not aware. In his present form, many things escape his notice. Or perhaps she took it from him eons ago before he met his human, when they were lovers. I have no way of knowing. However, she doesn’t know how to use it—yet. However, if she or Pestale learns how to open it and use it, there will be no stopping them, for it will open a portal through the Prison Walls large enough to allow Pestale to bring an army of his Unseelie monsters to raid our two worlds, humans and Seelie alike. Our numbers cannot compete with the hordes of Unseelie he will bring. Our only advantage is our Light Magic.”
Trevor frowned. “You have seen this—with your ‘sight’?”
“Yes, but my ability only allows me to see limited scenarios in the future, and those events don’t necessarily have to occur. Your mission, as well as all my Royals, will be to help make certain that Pestale remains where he is.” She smiled again at him. “Your brother and Z left earlier for the Highlands, where I felt a disturbance. Breslyn and Ete are just outside Dublin, where I felt another, and you must go to Killarney, where our Shee Willow and her Druid, Shayne, await your arrival.”
Trevor stood up. “As you wish, my Queen.” He frowned again. “What of Princess Aida?”
“She watches over Trinity with Willow’s father, Shee Desmond.” The queen’s hands were folded in her lap, but she wrung them at this juncture and said, “However, there is a force building at the Middle Lake—I can feel it even now.”
He inclined his head, and this time when he brought up his gaze she could see the bitterness had been replaced with something else: determination and fury.
“Trevor, do not allow your emotions to get in the way of your logic. The Dark Princes are cold and calculating and will think in steps. Try and do the same. Your goal is first to stop, not to kill unless it is the only way you can stop them.”
“It is the only way! If we do not kill them, they will never stop coming at us. So I tell you honestly that this time I shall drive my sword deep into his cold-blooded essence and see him draw his last breath!”
~ Prologue ~
JAZMINE DECKER LEFT the Charleston Aquarium at her back with a bounce in her step and a smile on her face.
She walked briskly down the avenue and headed towards The Landing, only a short walk away. She made a victory sign, putting her fist up and pulling it down to exclaim right out loud, “Yes!”
In a few months, she would be a marine biologist at the aquarium. Timing is everything, she thought as she clicked along the pavement.
When a couple of guys in a convertible slowed down to look her over and wink, she was happy enough that she smiled back.
They called out words of devotion as she continued her heady pace. She was so excited she could spit. The assistant she would be replacing had been offered a prestigious job at the aquarium in Atlanta, and voila—timing!
What was even better, she had the summer to continue her job as guide with the tour company for which she had been working part time. It wasn’t great pay, but tips were always good, and she got to travel. They were leaving in the morning and heading for Ireland, Dublin first stop and then to Killarney. Luck, finally, after years of none, had finally found her!
The Landing was a fun place to eat and listen to music. It was on the long pier overlooking the river, and as she approached the band was already in full swing. It was tourist season, and they played all afternoon and into the night.
Spotting her friend as soon as she walked in, she waved and, as she walked towards her, did a little wiggle to the music.
Tammy came rushing up to her and dragged her off to the ladies’ room, to say, “Did you see them? Hot—they are both so hot! You can have Tony, ’cuz Stevie boy is mine.”
Jazz dropped her purse on the counter and looked in the mirror. She felt like she was glowing. Was she glowing?
She gave her long white-gold hair a tweak with her fingers, and her happy blue eyes stared at Tammy’s reflection in the mirror. “I got it! I got the job.”
Tammy jumped up and down and hugged her close. “Fate, you got the job, and now you can have Tony. Damn, but that has to be fate—he is just your type.”
“Yup, got the job, and maybe it was my skills that impressed them, not fate.” She stuck her tongue out at her friend. “But your Tony … I don’t know if I want to start anything tonight. Tam, I’m leaving in the morning.”
“So, enjoy him tonight.” Tammy winked at her.
Laughter filled the air as three girls entered the large bathroom, their heads together, their bodies still swaying to the beat of the live band’s music.
“One-night stands,” Jazz answered with a sigh, “are not my thing.”
“They don’t have to be your thing—and you don’t have to bed the guy. Just go and dance with him.”
“Tammy, I just came in to see you before I left …” She didn’t meet Tammy’s gaze as she rooted about in her purse. “… give you a hug, and then head on home for a frozen dinner and TV. I need some sleep before heading out in the morning.”
Tammy looked at her. “Jazz, you look at a guy and run. That is what this is about. You were supposed to spend the evening with me … eat, drink … it has only changed because a guy has entered the picture.” Tammy yanked her hair and shook her head. “Jazz, you have to get out of this funk you are in. It has been a month since you broke up with Joe the Creep.”
“I know, but … I thought Joe the Creep was special. What kind of judgment do I have, if I thought he was special?”
“Forget him, or put him down as a learning experience and move on. You can’t move on till you start flirting with the opposite sex. Sometimes, that is what you go with, honey. Just forget all the rest—and have fun for one night.”
Jazz thought about this but couldn’t get herself wrapped around the idea. She was often sure she’d been born in the wrong century. Her problem was she never felt she fit in. She wanted that knight in shining armor to ride up and carry her off. She wanted Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, who would pledge his love forever. She wanted … more, so much more than what was hulking around, bumping and grinding out on the dance floor.
“Tammy, here is the thing. I don’t want to flirt up Tony at the bar. I have had a long, full day, and I’m flying out in the morning. I only stopped by to say so long for now and see ya when I get back.” She nudged Tammy towards the bathroom door. “Go have a great time.”
Tammy took her shoulders and pointed her at the mirror. “Look at you. A natural blonde … a shade that most girls can’t even find in a bottle. Look at those eyes, so blue—so big with natural, dark, thick lashes that took me thirty minutes to put on myself tonight. Babe, you are s
o beautiful, and you can have whoever you want—”
“That’s just it—don’t want anyone because I am happy on my own. Enough, girl,” Jazz said and laughed as she hugged her friend. She disliked being defined by how she looked. Hated that so many people saw her outside and never looked deeper than that.
Tammy sighed. “Okie dokie, honey. Go on, do what ya gotta do, and email me when you get to Ireland.” She eyed her. “Maybe you’ll meet your knight in shining armor over there in the land of the fairies and elves.”
Jazmine Decker hugged her friend fiercely. “You are the best, you really are, and I am a terrible friend.” So saying, she rushed out of the bathroom and headed for the front doors. She looked back and around one last time. The band had taken a break, and an oldie blasted through the speakers, Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding out for a Hero”. She smiled ruefully to herself. Yup, that was what she was doing, letting her life pass by, holding out for someone who in this day and age would never show up.
“You are not going to find one,” she said out loud as she stepped out into the night air. They don’t exist anywhere but in romance novels. Then her attention was caught by two exquisite males walking her way, evidently heading for the lounge. Both were tall, golden-haired, handsome, and dressed to show off their muscular bodies. They wore human Glamour to perfection, but she hurriedly and sharply turned away.
Habit. She always turned away when a Fae came into view. She had been doing that since she was a toddler—she was a Fios and couldn’t afford to give herself away to them.
Being a Fios meant she could see Fae whether or not they disguised themselves in human Glamour, as the ones she passed just now were doing. She could see Seelie Fae and Unseelie Fae through their Glamour, even through their Féth Fiada of invisibility. She could not be compelled by their mesmerizing gaze, and she was immune to their sexual ability called Lianhan that seduced human women and sent them into a rapture from which they could never emerge.
Her mother had taught her to never display that she saw them for what they were. The fear was ancient, but it was there, the belief that they would spirit her away to Faery and keep her imprisoned in their Realm so she could not give their secrets away—yeah, right, like anyone would believe her in this day and age.
She saw a cab, and luckily it was empty. She hailed it, it pulled up, and she jumped in, not aware she was holding her breath until she let it out inside the cab.
Damn, but the summer job she had taken would do her some good. She needed to get away; managing a tour group would keep her busy and earn her some much-needed money. Her job as a marine biologist was a dream job if you didn’t count the fact that the starting pay was beyond awful.
This would be great. She had been to Dublin with her parents a few years ago but never to Killarney.
She recalled Dublin and the time she had spent with her parents. She would treasure the memory forever. It had been their last vacation together before she lost them to a drunk driver. She had been with them, they were laughing, and her father had turned just a bit to tease her when it happened. A driver, passed out from intoxication, veered and hit them head on. She had been thrown clear of the wreckage and lived, but they had not.
Then Joe had entered her life, and she’d thought, wow! He turned out a ‘wow’ all right.
Tammy had tried to warn her off him, and Tammy had been right. Why couldn’t she see what her friend saw almost immediately?
Mooning over Joe when they first split had been stupid and a total waste of time. She was certainly over him; now she was very sure she would not allow herself to be swayed by a handsome face and a killer smile, ever again.
She knew now she had only been infatuated.
Her heart had always whispered that he was not the picture she had painted of him. He was and always would be a player. He had an eye for the ladies and did not even try to control himself.
She didn’t think it a total loss. When she’d met Joe she’d been so ready to spread her wings, and he had been all about that. For almost a year, it had been a thrilling ride.
He had never really loved her, and the truth she made herself face was that she hadn’t really loved him either. He had been fun.
Okay, chapter closed, and now she was off to her mother’s homeland with a group of seniors!
Just what she needed to relax—simple, easy, and no complications. Then in a couple of months, Charleston Aquarium, here I come!
~ One ~
THE NARROW SIDEWALKS of Killarney were teeming with locals going about their daily business and tourists heading for eateries and pubs after a long morning of sightseeing. Jazmine’s group of jolly seniors was certainly in the latter category; having just disembarked from a boat tour of the lower of the three Lakes of Killarney, they were ready for a pint and a bite.
As she guided them to a lovely pub for lunch, they continued to ooh and ahh about the breathtaking views of the mountains they’d enjoyed on the boat and of the Ross Castle ruins that rose majestically near the pier. She saw them seated, made sure they knew how to get back to their hotel, and left them happily chattering away, pleased with their first sightseeing event in Killarney. Most, she knew, were planning to devote their afternoon of free time to exploring the nearby shops in search of gifts and mementos.
Their free time was also hers, and she had a yen to go off hiking and take a look at Middle Lake, which had not been visible from the tour boat. She also wanted to spend more time admiring the mountains that served as a backdrop to the lakes, edging, enclosing, offering up the mysteries of the ages. She focused on the montage of mountains, ageless and spectacular in their shades of dark purple, browns, and spotted greens, undulating, and they whispered promises to Jazz as they rose and hovered like guardians of the quiet waters in their valley.
Jazz gazed at them and imagined the breeze wafting over her skin, touched by the oaks and pines of their rolling foothills, spoke of ancient secrets. How she would have loved to live a couple of hundred years ago in this valley …
Something about Killarney, about the way the earth felt beneath her feet, thrilled her. It was as though the earth stroked her with affection, welcoming her home.
She imagined it in the past, when horse and carriage was the mode of travel and life was simpler.
After making sure her backpack contained water, a cell phone, and an apple, she set off and within an hour found herself quite alone on a narrow footpath that led away from the main trails of the national park. She wanted to get close to the Middle Lake and the water’s edge.
An odd shape caught her eye, and she frowned. It didn’t quite make any sense to her she needed to get a closer look to see if her vision was playing tricks with her mind.
However, as she approached she realized the glistening apparition was something no other completely human would see. She should have known. After all, she thought, pulling a face, she was in Ireland, one of their favorite haunts!
It was invisible to most humans because a Fae spell of concealment had been enacted to hide its presence, but she could see clearly that where water met high grass, a huge structure hovered, just inches above the water. Monoliths!
The sarsen stones were arranged like a large, open doorway, much like the ones she had seen in pictures of the stones at Stonehenge, in England.
However, these were a single set, three huge stones, two standing and one lying flat across the top of the two sarsen Standing Stones. And then she noticed a much smaller one, set back just a bit from the land, also hovered over the lake.
This sarsen was shaped like a pyramid and stood as though to block the entrance. One would have to squeeze left or right to get past. Hell, what was she thinking?
This was crazy.
What was even more disturbing was the fact that the pyramid-shaped stone suddenly whispered her name. “Fios Jazmine,” it murmured, “come, you must come.”
Her instincts shouted, Run for your life. Her curiosity made her step forward, transfixed on the pyramid now tal
king to her.
She stood mesmerized for a long moment before she took another step forward. She extended her hand towards one of the Standing Stones, wanting to feel its texture. The entire experience was almost hypnotic.
“Don’t touch it!”
Jazz whipped around so fast she nearly snapped her neck, to find not only a Seelie Fae but a Royal Fae Prince bearing down on her .
Had he heard the stone call her a Fios? He must have.
Oh, no, oh no. She could be in trouble here. She had turned to the sound of his voice. A normal human would not only not have seen him but not have heard him either.
She had given herself away.
He was not in human Glamour but cloaked with invisibility, yet she had acknowledged his presence when he’d surprised her. What was more, he was a Royal, and her mother had told her tales of what Royals did with their kind. She knew the tales of Royals, all Seelie Fae, visiting, discovering what they were, seducing, and then whisking them off to Faery.
Now what? Play dumb, yes, that was it; she could do dumb. What moved her to peek at him she didn’t know, but she did. He saw her interest with narrowed eyes. What was she doing—what was wrong with her?
She had never seen a Royal before, but she knew by the torque around his neck, which was gold and etched with the insignia of his Royal House, that he was one.
Royals were the most magically potent of all Fae and therefore the most dangerous, and this one was the hottest Fae she had ever seen. She was mesmerized by the way his long, thick, flaxen hair blew in the wind all about his handsome face. She was so damned taken by his good looks and his smokin’ body. Oh, this was not good. There was only one thing to do …
She took off at a speed, even greater than the one she knew she possessed, aware that it was probably useless. No matter how fast she could run using her Fios magic, she couldn’t out distance him. He was a Fae, with the power to ‘shift’, which allowed a Fae to step from one place into another in only a matter of seconds. She didn’t know if that was science or magic, but she knew she would be trapped.