Death Bringer sj-2

by Kate Pearce

  “Checkmate.” Ella murmured.

  “Indeed.”

  She spun around to see the still-beautiful-but-elderly woman she’d met briefly on her last visit to Otherworld. This time the Fae queen mother was unattended. Not that it mattered. Her power was immense. She wore a pale yellow gown made up of a thousand floating panels that shifted and mutated at will. Her dark hair was unbound and reached her waist.

  “You are cygnet’s mate.”

  “So he says.”

  “I am his grandmother.”

  “He already told me that.”

  The female raised her chin. “Did he also tell you who I am?”

  “Don’t you mean, what you are?” Ella studied the older woman. “You’re wearing a crown, so I guess you’re Fae royalty. Do you want me to curtsy? The thing is, I’m not in a curtsying kind of mood at the moment.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “Don’t you know?” Ella pointed at herself. “I want my face back. Where’s the creature called Adam?”

  “Where is cygnet?”

  Ella grimaced. “What is it with you Fae not being able to answer a simple question? I have no idea where Morosov is, and I don’t care. I want my face back.”

  “He is not with you?”

  Ella pretended to look around. “Nope. He left last night with Adam.”

  A tiny wrinkle appeared on the queen’s perfect brow. “That wasn’t what we agreed.”

  “I don’t actually care what you agreed. I simply want to find Adam.”

  The Fae queen studied her. “I’m afraid I can’t let you meddle.”

  “With all due respect, it’s not up to you what I do, is it?” She scanned the empty square and drew her weapon. “All I need to do is get a fix on Adam, and I’m off.”

  “No, Soul Sucker.”

  The Fae snapped her fingers and Ella was hurtled backward through walls and time and...oh, God, she was going to puke. She landed with a thump on a stone floor. Manacles slithered toward her and attached themselves to her ankles. By the time she righted herself, all sense of the Fae queen had gone. She was alone in what appeared to be a castle dungeon complete with burning torches in sconces and an arched oak doorway up a flight of stone steps.

  “How very Disneyesque.” She raised her voice. “Where the hell am I?”

  “Shh.”

  A familiar voice answered her from the shadows.

  “Rossa?”

  “Shh!”

  “Can you get me out of here?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Then what do you want?”

  He eased out from the darkness and crouched in front of her, golden eyes wide. “Where’s cygnet?”

  “How the hell should I know? He disappeared off with Adam.”

  He touched her cheek. “But your face! That wasn’t supposed to happen!”

  He disappeared. Ella was left staring at nothing.

  “Come back, you idiot!”

  After a few more shouts, she stopped wasting her breath and contemplated her options. Her gun had disappeared, but she still had her backpack. Did she have anything sharp enough in it to cut through the chains? If they were bespelled, which seemed likely, she might be able to use iron to destroy them. She rummaged in her backpack. Why didn’t she carry an iron bar around with her? She really needed to be more prepared. She unearthed a small silver knife, but that proved totally ineffectual against the strength of the chains and merely blunted the blade.

  “Dammit! This isn’t how it’s supposed to go.”

  The wall in front of her quivered and a man came through. He was tall, and blond like Rossa, but one hundred times more beautiful. His power flooded over her and through her, and she instinctively raised her shields.

  “Soul Sucker.”

  “I prefer Ms. Walsh. Who are you?”

  He leaned back against the stone wall and contemplated her, arms crossed over his bare, muscled chest. Thank God he had pants on, or from her viewing point she’d be getting quite an eyeful.

  “I’m cygnet’s father.”

  “Oh.” That couldn’t be good. Wasn’t he the one who hated Vadim’s guts and didn’t want him anywhere near Otherworld? “What’s up?”

  “With me or with you?” He nodded at her chains. “You seem to be in some trouble.”

  “I’m good, thanks.”

  He smiled and for the first time she saw a hint of Vadim in him. “I can see why my son finds you so amusing, child.”

  “He doesn’t anymore. He left me.”

  His smile disappeared. “So I hear.”

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “I always know. He is my son and in some ways my creation.” He sat down cross-legged on the floor and settled his massive shoulders against the wall. “You probably know I wish him ill, but not why.”

  “Um, you don’t have to tell me anything. Families are hell sometimes, aren’t they? You should meet mine.” Ella gabbled away, with a horrible feeling that whatever came next wouldn’t be good.

  “Nevertheless, I feel you should understand the male you are bonded to for all eternity. The monster my wife’s mother mated you with simply to fulfill her own selfish desires.”

  He half smiled. “Once upon a time, a male child was born from my loins. As is traditional amongst my kind, my kin were invited to celebrate his birth and bestow their various magical gifts on him, if they so chose.”

  She pretended to yawn. “I think I’ve heard this one before.”

  “As I said, amusing and very brave. After the guests arrived for the feast, a storm gathered overhead and disgorged another presence.” His luscious mouth hardened. “A Fae of a different kind from the Dark Lord’s court appeared. He insisted the child was marked in his master’s name and that he was ‘special.’ When we examined the babe we discovered the mark on him and knew the Dark Lord’s ambassador spoke the truth.”

  “So?”

  Hell, she’d seen that weird mark just below his hip—kissed and licked it, actually. Was that the one?

  “For every gift our Fae bestowed on the child, the Dark Court offered him another. For every positive, there was a negative.”

  “The gifts balanced each other out.”

  The Fae sighed. “If he had been left alone, then yes, he would probably have been the most magical being ever created.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “We couldn’t allow him to be that powerful.” He met her gaze fully for the first time, and it was like looking into a furnace. “I decided to train him as a weapon against the Dark Court.”

  “When he was a kid?”

  “Of course. His instruction had to start immediately to instill the correct discipline in him.”

  “With what end in view?”

  He shrugged. “As I said, as a defense against the darker elements of the Fae.”

  “You mean the ones who didn’t agree with you, right?”

  “I trained him to seek out evil and destroy it.”

  “At your command?”

  “At first, but as he grew older, because of his gifts, he could sense discord and evil within any Fae and became the terror of Otherworld, the truth seeker, the bringer of death.”

  “The ultimate weapon.” She shook her head. “Poor kid.”

  “Not at all. His power was immense.”

  “So what went wrong?”

  “He began to defy my orders.”

  “And think for himself? Jeez, how ungrateful.”

  “It was certainly not acceptable.”

  “Because he was so powerful.”

  “Aye.”

  “What did you do to destroy his loyalty to you?”

  He raised one haughty eyebrow. “Why do you assume I caused the fissure between us?”

  “Because I know him. I’m his mate.”

  He laughed, the sound echoing around the dungeon walls. “You know nothing.”

  “Not true. You just told me a whole load of stuff about him, which in some weird way makes
a ton of sense.” She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

  “As his mate, you should know the truth?”

  “I don’t believe that for a second. I’ve never met a Fae who didn’t put their needs front and center. You told me because you want me to do something either for you, or for him. And somehow, I doubt it’s for him.”

  “He is too powerful to exist.” The Fae stood and walked over to the door, his tattooed back to Ella. Whatever runes were inscribed on his skin moved and flexed with his moods, creating a fascinating pattern of discord. “I reluctantly agreed that he could stay in your world, but it seems he cannot keep away from mine.”

  “Adam made him come back.”

  “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

  She put all the conviction she had into her voice. “I saw how strong Adam and the sect were. I assume Vadim had no choice.”

  “That’s impossible. His power is unassailable.” He looked over his shoulder at her. “He wanted to come back.”

  “Are you afraid that when he’s finished with Adam, he’ll come after you?”

  Invisible fingers closed around her throat and she gasped for breath, her own hand clawing at nothing. As quickly as the pain started, it stopped.

  “Do not, as you say, push your luck, Soul Sucker. My motive in telling you about your mate’s lies was pure.”

  Ella said nothing to that piece of bullshit, and he slowly walked back toward her.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  His smile was charming. “Persuade him to return to your world.”

  “And if he doesn’t want to go?”

  He studied her upturned face. “You have a unique bond with him. If anyone can make him leave, it will be you.”

  “And if I don’t want him back?”

  “We will bring him to trial for his crimes against his family.”

  She snorted. “If you can catch him.”

  “You could bring him to us, Soul Sucker.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “As you said, he deserted you. What better way to make him pay for his crimes than to betray him?”

  “The way you Fae stab each other in the back so easily just amazes me.” She shook her head. “If I want revenge on him, I’ll do it myself, and not to make you happy.”

  “Then, there is another way.” He opened his hand to show her a small dagger made from a dark reddish-brown metal that didn’t shine at all. “Kill him.”

  She stared at the blade for a long moment. “How can I do that, when I’m chained up in the Fae queen’s dungeon?”

  “If you help me save Otherworld from your monstrous mate, I will order my wife, the queen to release you into my custody.”

  “She won’t do it.”

  He laughed. “You think she wants her little cygnet to stay alive? You are mistaken. She will be as glad to be rid of him as I am. He is a threat to us all.”

  “Can I think about it?”

  “While you think, things are progressing at a pace you cannot imagine.”

  “What about my face?”

  He angled his head to observe her. “You don’t like this one?”

  “It’s not really my thing. I look like Vadim’s little sister, and that’s just wrong, when you’re mated to someone. Adam took my face. He usually makes sure his victims commit suicide fairly soon afterward.”

  “So that is your price?”

  “Hardly. I’m just telling you the facts.” She shrugged. “I don’t need your help. I just need to get out of here, find Adam and that damned cult, get my face back and go home.”

  “Without my son?”

  “He’s not my problem. I can’t make him come back if he doesn’t want to. From the sound of it, he might have a few grudges to get off his chest over here.”

  “He cannot remain here.”

  “So you said.”

  His scowl shook the walls. “Let us be clear. In order for you to persuade my son to quit Otherworld you require—what?”

  She ticked the list off her fingers. “My face back, Adam’s death and the extermination of that secret cult. But as I’ve already mentioned, I can do all that myself, and I don’t want your son back.”

  “Don’t overestimate your abilities, my dear.” He tossed the dagger at her, and she automatically caught it.

  “Keep this anyway. If you do decide to execute him, it is one of the few weapons that might actually do it for you.”

  “Is he so hard to kill?” The peculiar metal warmed against her palm as she wrapped her hands around the hilt.

  His bitter laughter echoed around the cell. “He is practically invincible. I had to spend a fortune and go to the Dark Court to have that dagger made. There is enough power in that blade to kill three Fae Royal. Hopefully it is enough to pierce his black heart.”

  He inclined his head a regal inch and disappeared.

  “I hate it when people keep doing that!” She shouted, but there was no one to hear her. What the hell was going on? Was Vadim really the monster his father painted him, or simply misunderstood? Despite all his bravado and the excellence of his shields, she’d felt the Fae’s fear of Vadim’s power. Was he really a toxic weapon that was out of control?

  She sat down suddenly on the floor. Did it matter? She’d been feared her whole life, and it hadn’t meant she was a bad person. Had Vadim had any more control over what he’d become than she had? The Fae king had tried to shock her into turning against her mate, but she wasn’t convinced. Hadn’t he left Otherworld to avoid all that? Hadn’t he tried to change? Which was more than she had ever done. Unless he’d been deceiving her all along...

  “Thank God, the king’s gone.”

  It was Rossa again, a cloak over his usual nakedness.

  “What do you want?” Ella demanded. “And why the fuck didn’t you tell me about Vadim being the big bad fairy of Otherworld?”

  “The king told you about that, did he?” Rossa pulled a face. “Cygnet swore me to secrecy, and he’s the more powerful being.”

  “You’re such a wuss.”

  Rossa drew himself up. “I simply have a healthy respect for the continuation of my lifespan.”

  “So help me get out of this mess!”

  “Here’s the thing. I promised cygnet I’d take care of you.” He glanced around the dungeon. “Believe it or not, this is actually the safest place for you right now. It’s so heavily warded that neither Adam nor the sect can get in here.”

  “So what?”

  “While you’re safely contained, there’s something else I need to tell you. The other night, cygnet gave me a message for his family that if you were a victim of Adam’s, he would personally spill their blood.”

  “So that’s why they’re so desperate to keep me away from him and all chained up.”

  “Not exactly. The thing is—they agreed to do what he demanded. I took their message back to cygnet last night, but he’d already disappeared.”

  “And what about Adam?”

  “He was supposed to agree to it as well.”

  Ella pictured her last sight of Vadim, the contemptuous smile sure to rile her before he’d disappeared. “The complete idiot!”

  “Who?”

  “Morosov of course! He must have...” She glared at Rossa. “Just get me out of here, please!”

  “Don’t be daft.” His smile was sly. “I don’t need to help you.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “You’re mated to cygnet. You work it out.”

  And he was gone again. Ella shot to her feet and screamed just for the hell of it. This was why she hated Otherworld so much. Everyone talked in fucking riddles. She glanced down at the manacles around her ankles.

  “Hold on a minute. I’m mated to Vadim, and he is the biggest, baddest dude in Otherworld, so...”

  She stared down at the chain and focused her thoughts on it. With a strange noise, it shattered into a thousand pieces.

  “Holy shit,” she breathed. “I ca
n do this!”

  She blasted the other one and picked up her backpack. If Adam couldn’t sense her inside the dungeon, she’d probably not pick up his trail either. Her first goal was to find him and get her face back.

  Her reunion with the lying bastard could wait.

  * * *

  “Welcome to my domain, cygnet, or should I call you Death Bringer?”

  As the massive door swung open, Adam stood back and bowed, allowing Vadim his first glimpse of the stronghold of the Otherworld sect. It was as impressive as he’d suspected it would be—high towering ceilings, magnificent mosaics and paintings so beautiful they would make one weep. The sect’s arrogance would demand a cathedral-like setting to worship the sordid achievements of a group of Fae who’d lived too long and lost all affinity for what was good and right.

  He grimaced at the sanctimonious thought. And what was he? How many creatures had he killed in his egotistical assumption that his father’s word was law? Since arriving in Otherworld, he’d dropped his human shape completely to reveal his true form. There was nothing to hide anymore. Death Bringer was not only his given name, but his bloody legacy. Every time he had to look at Adam, that message was reinforced. Had the male chosen his face with that in mind?

  Of course he had.

  The door shut behind him, and Vadim turned to Adam.

  “Are we to fight here?”

  “Oh, we’re not fighting yet. I have something I need to do first.”

  Vadim smiled to reveal sharp fangs. In Otherworld, the swan wasn’t the only creature he could shift into. In fact, he could become whatever species he wanted. “And if I don’t agree?”

  “You don’t have a choice.”

  He drew himself up and felt long-forgotten power flood his veins. He flexed his fingers, felt the visceral tug of his claws. It was like receiving a blood transfusion. He’d been transforming ever since he set foot back in Otherworld. He wasn’t quite at the full extent of his powers yet, but he was getting there. “I think you’ve forgotten whom you are dealing with.”

  “You won’t want to destroy me just yet.” Adam drew something out of his pocket, which hovered over his palm.

  Rage coalesced in Vadim’s chest, black feathers swirled in the air into a screaming tornado and the building began to shake.