A high-pitched ring sounded in her ears, growing steadily. It was the same noise she’d heard when she’d climaxed. She cupped her hands over her ears, rubbing them to get it to stop.
“Would you mind turning that down a little?” A small voice yelled.
Valerie screamed in fright, whipping the covers off of her head to look behind her on the bed. A creature, no bigger than a child, sat cross-legged next to her. Small pointed ears and the blue tint of her flesh were the only indications that this child was not human. The ringing stopped.
“Much better,” the creature said.
Valerie screamed again. Whatever spell Troy wove over her had kept her from freaking out when the demon manifested. Now that she was alone, she wasn’t so brave.
The creature tilted her head and then screamed back at Valerie, a much louder, more terrifying sound than Valerie had managed.
“What…what…what…wh…?” Valerie tried to ask.
“Me sprite. You angel-tainted human. We good.” The sprite pointed down to the floor. “Him demon. Other him demon-tainted human. They bad.”
“Wh…?”
“Angel-tainted and demon-tainted must,” the sprite clapped her hands together, “join.”
“You’re here about the prophecy.” Valerie forced herself to relax.
“Oh, you speak. I wasn’t sure. Sometimes tainted-bloods get a little dodgy in the brainpan.” The creature hopped to her feet to stand on the bed. Though she had the body of a child, her voice and eyes were much older.
“Are you…Seri?”
“Seri? I’m afraid that soul has long ascended. We had nothing to do with taking it. Such grim deeds are not tasked to our side.”
“Ascended?”
“Of course. Evil cannot keep innocent souls. That wouldn’t make sense.” The sprite paced over the bed, looking around. “I like this place. Too bad you’re so close to the doorway. All this evil makes me itchy.”
Valerie glanced at the door.
“The cottage,” the sprite said. She circled around and perched her feet on the edge of the mattress. “So, you’ll marry the other tainted-blood?”
“No.” Valerie looked down at the webbed toes curling along the side of the mattress.
“They will be happy to hear—” The sprite stiffened. “No? Did you say no?”
“No,” Valerie repeated. “I’m not going to marry.”
“But, you have copulated.” The sprite gave her a shaming once over.
“That’s none of your business.” Valerie crossed her arms over her chest. “Were you watching us?”
The sprite turned her eyes away briefly and ran her finger over a polished knot in the bed frame. “Since this has to do with me and my people, it is my business. You have a prophecy to fulfill. That is your purpose.”
“I have a life to live. I didn’t sign up to be a part of your prophecy. Nobody asked me if I wanted to suffer through my family dying and then be forced to marry a stranger. I didn’t ask for any of this. And as far as I know, Troy didn’t ask for it either. If you wanted us to do something, you should have asked us.”
“Of course you weren’t asked. That would be foolish, wouldn’t it?” The sprite laughed. “If people had to be asked to fulfill their destiny nothing would be done. Whoever heard of asking people to balance the forces?”
“Find someone else. We are not your pawns.” Valerie was getting tired of these creatures belittling Troy and her losses.
“There is no one else. You’re our representative. You must marry theirs.”
“If you’re so worried about it, why don’t you marry one of theirs? A fetching devil of a man was just down stairs if you get over the fact he is two thousand years old and smells like brimstone.”
“They sent a young demon to deal with this?” The sprite grimaced. “Enough debate. I can’t. I’m a full blood.” The sprite sighed in exasperation, as if such a thing were common knowledge. “You have to marry him. If you don’t, every magical creature within this realm will die a slow and painful death, but before they do they will rain down sorrow on you for—”
“And you’ll what? Kill everything I love…again?” She shook her head. “Doesn’t really make me want to help you out.”
“The demons killed, not us.”
“Splitting hairs, aren’t we?”
“You would kill tens of thousands of magical creatures? You will have that blood on your hands?” The sprite’s eyes widened as large as a half dollar coin.
Valerie took a calming breath. She saw the sprite’s desperation. As much as she wanted not to care, she knew she could never knowingly cause the death of others. She felt guilty just squishing a spider. “What is your name?”
“So you can summons me whenever you like? I think not, tainted-blood.”
“Fine, no name. So we marry and…?” Valerie prompted.
“Balance is kept for another thousand years.”
“And then…?”
“Then what?” The sprite pulled at her ear. “Then nothing. You’re married.”
“Ok, so we’ll get a pre-nuptial agreement drawn up, marry, fulfill your prophecy, get a quickie divorce and carry on. Magic will balance. Good and evil can do whatever it is they do. And all of you can leave me alone.”
“No.” The sprite shook her head.
“No?”
“You have to stay married. This isn’t a human ceremony. It is binding. You can’t try to break it.”
Valerie frowned. “I guess that gives real meaning to the vow until death do us part.”
“Well, actually…”
“What?” Valerie had about enough of this nonsense. She was talking to a sprite. A sprite!
“Forever as in forever-forever, as in the afterlife as well.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“That angel blood they fed you did scramble your brainpan, huh.”
“You should leave and never come back.” Valerie pointed to the door.
“Is that any way to treat a guest?” The sprite huffed.
“I’m sorry, did you want to stay? I have a nice cottage suite just out in the woods. Feel free to go on in and make yourself at home.”
“You should not be acting so childishly. We’ve been sending you visions of your destiny since you were born to ease the transition.” The sprite leaned over to fluff a pillow before falling down into it. She appeared to be settling in for the night.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m not allowed to leave until it is done.” She kicked her feet, bunching the covers before pulling them over her small body. “I’ll take this room.”
“This is my—” Snoring cut off Valerie’s words. “Fine. Take the room. Whatever.”
She marched to the door and flung it open. Troy stumbled back, and she inhaled sharply in surprise.
“Let me know when you’re ready for the ceremony,” the sprite yelled.
Valerie pulled the door shut behind her with a hard thud.
Chapter Six
Troy smiled, not too worried about being caught eavesdropping. He’d heard Valerie’s scream and ran to help her, only to stop when he’d heard her say his sister’s name.
“What are you doing?” Valerie glanced around.
“Coming to save you.” Damn, but this woman was beautiful. Any fool could see that she was pretty but when he’d heard her standing up to whatever creature had popped into her room, he saw her true beauty. It was in her strength, and in the way the tone of her voice conveyed concern for Seri’s soul.
“By waiting outside the door?” Her small smile drew him in and made him focus on her mouth.
“After hearing you in there, I don’t think you needed saving.” He pried his eyes away. “Or is this a retreat?”
“There is a sprite with no name in my bedroom staking claim to my bed.” Valerie stepped around him, moving away from the door. He went with her, not wanting to stop the conversation. She continued, “I want a
refund. You didn’t disclose a paranormal infestation on the housing forms.”
“The creatures won’t give you names. They’re all terrified of summoning spells.” Troy chuckled. “And, besides, I have a feeling they would have lured you here one way or another, house sale or not. They are very insistent about this prophecy of theirs.”
She paused on the top of the stairs to study him. “This listing did keep popping up in my internet searches. I thought it was a sign. Apparently, it was a giant freaking arrow pointing toward this place. At first, I ignored it because it sounded too good to be true. Then I saw it, and it was perfect. Now, I think I should have trusted my gut. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.”
Troy didn’t like the way she looked at him when she made her last comment, as if he was the thing she couldn’t trust. “With me you know I’m tainted with bad blood, so no worries there.”
Valerie glanced away.
“Do you really want me to buy it back from you? I will. I thought I could get away from this place, but it forces me to come home. I even tried tearing down the cottage. It reappeared the next day as if a sledgehammer never hit it.” Troy sighed and closed his eyes. “The magic here won’t let me go, but maybe there is still a chance for you. I can deal with the consequences. What more can they take from me?”
“You’ve been living with this a long time,” she said. The way her voice dipped with caring made him uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure how to react. It had been a long time since anyone worried over him.
Troy thought it best to change the subject. “Before you decide, let me give you a tour and show you some of the house secrets.”
“I’ve been all over the house.”
Troy hooked his arm through hers and led her downstairs. “Not these parts. Not into the walls.”
“Uh, almost every horror movie known to man goes really wrong about this point in the story.”
He felt the press of her against his arm. Just one touch and she was able to calm the demon blood stirring within. “If any horror movie villains pop out, I’ll be sure to throw you in front of me so I can get away faster.”
Valerie laughed, hard. He liked the sound of it. The very trill caused pleasure to surge within him. “As long as you deal with any of the real demons lurking around here.”
“Those I can handle. They’ve been plaguing me for years.”
“Everyone always told me I had an overactive imagination, and that is why I became a fiction writer. I imagined…”
Troy eyed her. “What?”
“I imagined this house. I imagined you.” Valerie unthreaded their arms. They stood in the foyer, alone in the dark room with only the soft glow of the library’s light to illuminate their faces. He wanted to touch her, hold her, but if he did, he’d want more and the talking would end. “It sounds so crazy. I was trying to decide why you seemed familiar, but then the sprite said something about them giving me visions of my fate. I think that’s what they were. Visions of the cottage. Of you. I took them as an overactive imagination. None of it was very clear, visually, but the impression was there. It was that feeling that led me to the cottage when we met. It was a feeling that made me buy this house. It’s the same thing that makes you feel so familiar, and yet we just met.”
He went to a particularly ordinary looking section of the wall and stopped. Wood trim had been carved with a simple design and ran the length of the room. Leaning over, he pried the stiff wood forward. A hinge gave way in the back.
Valerie gasped. “What are you doing? Don’t break it!”
“It’s the key to a lock. Don’t worry, it snaps back up once the door is opened,” he assured her before continuing the conversation, “And I think they call what’s happening to us fate or destiny.” Troy took her by the hand. You feel familiar to me, too. Like tiny nerves are reaching out.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Pulling us together. A force of magic, no doubt.”
The level of his voice dropped to match hers. “Thank you for telling the sprite that we are not their pawns. Thank you for your concern over my sister’s soul. They never told me it ascended. I thought she was trapped in hell, and it was eating me alive.”
“It’s not exactly true, though, is it? I mean the part about us. We are their pawns. That’s their game. Manipulation. They are not giving us a choice.”
Troy chuckled. What else could he do? “So you’re saying you want to go through with it?”
“Why, do you? Do you really want to be married to a stranger for an eternity?”
He thought about it, and the surety of his answer surprised him. “Yes. I do. I wouldn’t call you a stranger. You feel too familiar for that. In some ways, I think I’ve known you my entire life. I feel as if we were made for each other.”
“You know that this feeling we have is another manipulation, don’t you?” Valerie stiffened slightly, and her breathing quickened. “It can’t be real.”
“Why not?”
“Honestly, look at you. You’re clearly cultured and refined, even if you do have that alpha male who needs to take care of my little lady type personality.”
“What is wrong with wanting to protect your woman?” It was his turn to stiffen and frown.
“Nothing, if you’re that type of woman. I respect women who run households and families while their men work, but I’m not wired that way. Look at me. If we were normal, and you saw me walking across the street with my hair pulled into a bun, talking to myself as I worked out a book plot, do you really think you’d say to yourself, ‘Hey, she’s the one for me,’ and come running after me? It would be a case of refined Southern gentleman meets workaholic distracted Northern lady. Admit it, if we met under normal circumstances, we would not be talking about a relationship.”
“We’re not normal. We are who we are.” He still held her hand and began to lead her into the library.
“Tainted-bloods.”
“I hate that term,” he admitted.
Valerie gave a small laugh. “I wasn’t too flattered when that creature said it either.”
Troy let go so he could push the side stone of the fireplace. He was able to swing the mantle easily forward to reveal a tunnel.
“How?” She whispered examining the fireplace’s latch and then the dark tunnel. “Magic?”
“Or creative engineering.”
“Where does it go?” She stepped into the passage ahead of him. “I would never have guessed this was here.”
“That would be the point of a secret chamber. You would never have pieced the two together without help.”
“But what if I remodeled. I would have found it eventually.”
“Do you really think the other inhabitants of the house would have let you?”
“Ok, so let me get this straight.” She stepped down the stone stairwell. “The cottage is a portal to hell. This house is magical. We’re tainted. And there is a prophecy that wants us to tie the knot and join the forces of good and evil so that we may create balance.”
“The cottage is a portal to a magical world—not really heaven or hell, but more of a crash pad for anything magical. I believe this house suffers from a kind of magical spill over from the cottage portal doorway being opened so much. You can see when someone is coming by the lightning bugs outside. And yes, we are tainted.”
“Well, gee, Mr. Olivier, you make it all sound so romantic.” Valerie chuckled as she reached the bottom. She touched the wood and iron door and looked at him. “Can I open it?”
“Go ahead, Ms. Walsh. You don’t need my permission to roam your house.”
Chapter Seven
Valerie didn’t know what to expect—wine storage, satanic altar? Instead, it looked like the inside of a cottage. A soft glow surrounded them, but she could not find a light source. Lightning bugs flashed just beyond the vine-covered window panes. Chunks of stone littered the dirt floor. An old wooden podium had an imprint in the dust where an open book had recently been. The cottage was quiet, but
she knew she didn’t want to be in there.
“Why did you bring me to the cottage?” Valerie turned to confront Troy. His eyes had changed, becoming the demonic red she’d seen before. “Troy? What’s going on? Why are you looking at me like that?”
He shot forward. Valerie cried out in surprise. He grabbed her arm and thrust her behind him. “Stay close. This is magic. We’re supposed to be in the old fallout shelter with a couch and a decent collection of liquor. Not inside the cottage.”
Knowing he was protecting her and not attacking was only a little comforting under the circumstances. “Let’s leave.” She tugged his arm to retreat the way they’d come, but the wood and iron door had vanished.
“I don’t think it’s that simple.” Troy turned slowly to face an open door leading into another room.
“There’s the exit. We can run back to the house.” Valerie tried to push past him.
Troy grabbed her arm tightly to stop her. “Again, don’t think it’s going to be that easy. It looks like something welded it shut.”
“So you’re not even going to try?” She yanked her arm free to go to the door. A low scraping sounded, and she stopped mid-step. “Troy?”
“I hear it.”
She had come forward enough so that she could see into the next room. A crowd of faces stared back at her. All manner of magical creatures had come into the cottage—tiny fairies, brownies, trolls, gremlins, and something she could only assume might be Bigfoot. The ones shining with blue segregated themselves from the red. Good and evil, together in one place. And they all looked very angry.
“Uh, Troy…” She lifted her hand toward the room. A figure pushed forward from behind the gathered, and they parted to let the old demon pass. Next to him stood the sprite from Valerie’s bedroom.
“I got them here,” the sprite said. “The nasty business falls to you. Do what you must.”
The demon smiled as if that idea gave him much pleasure.
“Nasty business?” Valerie repeated. Troy pulled her to his chest.
“If we are to die, we’re taking you with us,” the sprite said. The creatures behind her made strange noises that could only be classified as agreement. The furry Bigfoot swiped a clawed hand as if just waiting to tear into her flesh.
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