Playing with Darkness: Book 3.5 (Sensor Series)

by Susan Illene

  Oh, sure, she was going to give him all the credit for bringing it. Of course, it was one thing to owe a debt to a respected nephilim and quite another to owe one to a sensor.

  Lucas released her hands.

  “The one we should be thanking is Melena. She went through a great deal of trouble to retrieve the device and liberate me from confinement.”

  “Oh, yes.” Ireth’s smile faded. “She also managed to draw the attention of the archangels and gain a guardian for a companion. How has that been going for you two?”

  My muscles tensed. She’d known exactly where to strike with that remark. Lucas didn’t stay away these days only because he was looking for his brother, but also because he couldn’t stand to be around Kerbasi. Not that I could blame him. The guardian had been torturing him off and on for centuries in ways that would make most men go insane.

  “You’ve got a lot of nerve, Ireth.” I took a step toward her. “In one breath you express your happiness to see Lucas return and in the other judge me for how I made it happen. Perhaps next time you can be the one to break into Purgatory and see how that goes for you.”

  Lucas pulled me close and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “The sensor did the best she could under the circumstances. I doubt anyone else could have pulled off such a feat and still be roaming free.”

  He had a point. My race had protected status with the archangels which gave me an advantage. I might not be happy about my punishment, but it was far less than what most others would have gotten.

  “Perhaps you are right.” Ireth smoothed her robe. “Regardless of the methods used, we are pleased to see you returned to us. Will you be staying in Feidlimid long?”

  Lucas shook his head. “I must continue the search for my brother.”

  She nodded. “If you need any assistance from us, please don’t hesitate to ask. We’ve exhausted every lead we have here, but we have sent word to our people beyond the city to keep a close watch for him. It is our fondest hope that he will turn up soon.”

  They should have been doing all they could considering Micah had been taken while he was in the city helping them investigate the explosion. We’d apprehended the people who took him, but they’d already stashed him away somewhere and refused to give us the location.

  Ireth turned to me. “Do you have the device?”

  “I do.” I reached down to my pocket to retrieve it.

  Lucas put a hand on my arm.

  “Before Melena returns it to you, I want your assurances she will always be welcome in this city and that the guards you’ve been placing on her will stop.”

  The air around us grew thick. Ireth glanced back to the other elders who shook their heads. They hadn’t even taken a moment to think about it. I could really feel the love in this room.

  “I’m afraid that’s not possible.” Ireth clasped her hands together. “It was a sensor who attacked this city, taking many lives and causing widespread destruction. The people here will not long forget. Now that she has a guardian for a traveling companion it makes her doubly dangerous. We must protect our people against any possible threats. It is only because of her association with you that we allow her in Feidlimid at all.”

  Lucas’ jaw hardened. “You believe a woman I would choose as a mate is too dangerous to be trusted?”

  Ireth blinked, but kept her face expressionless.

  “It is not what I believe that matters, but what others believe. If she and the guardian are seen walking about unescorted it could cause panic—as evidenced today.”

  Couldn’t get anything past her.

  “You are their leader,” Lucas said, looking down at the female elf. “Project confidence in Melena and the people will follow your example.”

  Her eyes flashed. “What would you have me do? Walk down the streets holding her hand?”

  “If that’s what it takes.”

  “You can’t be serious.” Ireth’s green complexion paled. “It would be unseemly for me to be acting in such a familiar manner with a sensor.”

  “Dance with her at the next festival. Take her with you to the public baths if that’s what it takes, but I won’t have the people of this city looking at Melena as if she’s a monster. She’s my mate and she will be treated with respect.”

  As much as it gave me warm fuzzies to see him defending me, the whole argument was getting ridiculous.

  I tilted my head up to look at Lucas. “It really isn’t that important. I don’t care about or need their respect. It’s not like I have plans to return here in the near future anyway.”

  He leaned his head down and spoke into my ear, using magic to mask his words from the others.

  “This is important. You’ve asked me to trust that you can protect yourself. Now I ask that you accept my need for respect. If we do not push this issue now, it will be that much more difficult to change the way people think of you later.”

  Lucas had a lot of pride. As his mate, he needed me to be respected as much as him. I didn’t know what caused him to worry so much about it, but someday I hoped to dig up more of his past and find out. For now, I’d just have to humor him.

  I started to respond, but he put a finger to my lips and gave me a meaningful look. The magic that kept the elders from hearing him would not work for me. No matter how low I spoke they’d catch it.

  Instead I communicated my thoughts with my eyes. If this was what he truly wanted I’d go along with it, but only if he didn’t go too far. The bath houses I could handle. I’d had to bathe with other women in open showers during my military career plenty of times. But there were limits to what else I was willing to do. I did my best to communicate the warning to him silently.

  Lucas nodded his understanding and whispered once more. “You’ll have to trust me on this.”

  He looked toward Ireth.

  “Have you come to some sort of understanding?” She lifted a silver brow.

  “Perhaps what your people need is something that will cast Melena in a more positive light.” Lucas looked between the elders. “Actions generally speak louder than words.”

  “What do you suggest?” Ireth asked.

  “Sensors have unique skills that can be quite useful. You’ve taken advantage of them already, but not in a way that your people might have appreciated. Perhaps there is some sort of other service she could provide to help further her cause.”

  I gritted my teeth. Now he was volunteering me for work. With my luck they’d decide my skills would be best put to use picking up trash or scrubbing floors. I really hoped Lucas knew what he was doing.

  The female elf started to say something, but stopped. “Just a moment.”

  She moved over to the table and conferred with the other elders. They argued back and forth in hushed whispers they didn’t bother to cover with magic. There wasn’t much point with me in the room, but I was only interested in the outcome of their talk.

  The tips of Lucas’ fingers trailed up my arm. It was all I could do to stand there unmoving as he continued toward my neck. If his soul had still been bound to mine, it would have caused tingles. That was gone, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of his touch. We had a different kind of bond now and it was powerful in its own way. He could pick up on my emotions almost as easily as I could his and use it to his advantage.

  He ran his fingers through my hair and I wanted to shudder at how good it felt. We really needed a vacation with just the two of us. Too bad the deal with Kerbasi prevented that.

  The elders finished conferring and Ireth waved us toward the table. Lucas guided me forward before dropping his hands away. Good. I couldn’t think clearly with him touching me like that. He knew exactly what it did to me, too.

  “Once a month we hold court to settle disputes within the city,” Ireth began. “There are those among us capable of telling truth from lies, but it requires a great deal of energy on their part and some fae races are more difficult to read than others. Considering Melena has the ability and none of the sid
e effects, it would make her a better choice for the duty.”

  I crossed my arms. “You had me doing something similar the last time I was here and I’m rather certain half the city hates me for that.”

  People had to talk before I could determine if they lied. It was hard to judge them if they refused to answer my questions and things got even more difficult when I had to force them to respond. There was a reason the orc at the city gate had been afraid of me. I couldn’t get him to tell me anything when I’d interrogated him until I’d resorted to violence.

  “This would be different.” One of the other elders spoke—a male fairy. “We would conduct the questioning and you would only alert us if someone lied.”

  Lucas stirred beside me. “While I do not think this is a bad suggestion, I do not like the idea of Melena having to travel back and forth so frequently. She has other commitments that would make regular trips difficult.”

  He was referring to Emily, but neither of us liked to bring her up. The less the supernatural world knew of her the better. If they discovered she was a sensor as well she’d have to deal with the same ridicule as me—and the danger. She’d already faced enough in her short life without adding more problems to it.

  “Perhaps if Melena could visit once every two or three months it could make a difference?” the fairy asked. “We could save the particularly difficult cases for her.”

  “Isn’t there something else I could do to win the hearts and minds without having to come here regularly? Hand out pamphlets describing my good intentions or give out candy and Beanie Babies to the kids.” Just because it didn’t do much good in Iraq or Afghanistan didn’t mean it might not for the fae.

  Lucas gave me a knowing look. “This isn’t a war zone, sensor.”

  “Yeah, but my odds of winning the people over are about the same.”

  “You can’t win respect overnight,” he pointed out. “It took nearly eight years before I stopped wanting to throttle you and the urge continues to strike me upon occasion.”

  "Don’t tempt me to shoot you." I gave him a threatening look. “I’d hate to ruin that nice silk shirt you’re wearing.”

  Ireth gasped. "Surely you don’t allow her to talk to you like that?"

  Lucas quirked his lips. "I like to think of her threats of violence as foreplay."

  He did not just say that. I stomped on his foot.

  Lucas grunted and jerked me close to him, putting us chest to chest.

  "Keep it up, sensor," he said, looking down, "and you'll find your back against the wall while I fuck you senseless in front of the entire elder's council."

  Shocked murmurs stirred behind me. I was tempted to knee him in the groin, but that wasn’t the best way to handle him. If we were going to make things work between us, I had to give as good as I got.

  I ran a hand down his chest. "Think we can give them a good show?"

  Golden heat flared in his eyes.

  Ireth cleared her throat. "Perhaps we could discuss ways for Melena to establish good faith with the city another time. Could we just have the device back now, please?”

  “Give it to them,” Lucas said, letting me go. “I’ll ensure we come to some sort of arrangement for you later.”

  Sounded good to me. Maybe they’d forget all about it and just leave me alone.

  I dug the device out of my pocket and handed it over to Ireth. She took it quickly and ran her fingers over the smooth stone. I could sense the tension leaving her as she verified it was still in one piece.

  “You have what you want,” Lucas said. “We’ll take our leave now.”

  He bowed formally to the elders and dragged me from the council chambers. We didn’t get far before running into Nienna, who had an anxious look on her face.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “We’ve got trouble outside,” she said, urging us with a wave of her hand to move quickly. “Your guardian must have gotten bored while you were gone.”

  I wanted to kick myself for not noticing Kerbasi had left the house. Now that I paid attention, my senses told me he’d moved closer to the street in front of the palace.

  I picked up my pace. “What has he done now?”

  “Oh, you’ll see.” Nienna’s voice resonated with doom.

  Chapter Five

  We rushed out of the palace to find a crowd gathered out on the street. A circle of smoke rose up from somewhere in the middle. I couldn’t see past all the fae to figure out what was happening. A shout from Lucas got them to clear a path, but it still took time to break through to the front. As soon as we did, I felt my blood boil with rage.

  Kerbasi was fighting a half-dozen trolls within a ring of fire. The stupid creatures kept running up to slam him only to get thrown back. One of them landed in the flames and screamed before rolling away. Some of the fae watching yelled at him to get up and attack the guardian again.

  I’d seen enough.

  I pulled my Sig .45 out and shot three rounds into the air at an angle. Everyone—including the fighters—stopped to look at me. Modern weapons weren’t allowed in Feidlimid. It made for a good way to get their attention fast.

  “Was that really necessary?” Lucas asked, rubbing at his ears.

  He’d been standing next to me when I’d shot the gun, but unlike him I’d developed the habit of tamping down my hearing before firing.

  I shrugged. “It always works in the movies. Looks like it does here, too.”

  Kerbasi lumbered toward us, extinguishing the ring of fire along the way. He looked less than pleased with my intervention.

  “Sensor, there was no reason to disrupt my battle,” he declared, putting his hands on his hips.

  Other than his black hair flying wildly about his head, he didn’t look any worse for wear. The trolls, on the other hand, were covered in wounds.

  “I told you to stay out of trouble while I was gone,” I said, matching his hard gaze.

  “This was not trouble, but merely a test of strength and skills. I even promised not to kill them.”

  “Well that just makes everything okay.” I rolled my eyes. “Everyone knows it’s a waste of time to fight trolls. They’re just like the ones on the internet and always come back for more.”

  “Good, then I can be assured they won’t tire quickly.” He turned away and headed back toward his opponents. They were already on their feet with expectant expressions on their faces.

  “Kerbasi, stop,” I ordered. “I can’t allow you to continue this.”

  He looked over his shoulder. “I’m not violating our contract. I’ll do as I wish.”

  The guardian flicked his hand and lit up the circle of fire again.

  If talking to him wouldn’t work, I’d just have to resort to more drastic measures. I aimed my gun and shot him in the back of the head. He jerked, but kept going. I shot him three more times in rapid succession. He could only handle so many bullets in his head before it slowed him down. I’d been experimenting over the last couple of weeks.

  In the next moment he disappeared and popped back up directly in front of me in a bright flash of light. While I was recovering from my temporary blindness, he knocked my gun to the ground. His hand wrapped around my throat next. I clutched at his wrists, but couldn’t break his hold.

  Lucas was on him in the next instant. He pulled Kerbasi’s arm from me and nearly snapped it in half. The guardian power punched Lucas with his good arm. The nephilim’s head snapped back, but he managed to stay on his feet. He flashed behind Kerbasi and grabbed him by the neck. The two men went down in a tangle of limbs after that, jockeying for the better fighting position.

  I pushed back the crowed, urging everyone to give them space. Once the area was clear I found my gun on the ground and put it back in its holster. A gasp in the crowd had me spinning around.

  The two men were edging closer to the fire. When Lucas leaped up and kicked his leg out at the guardian’s face, he landed inches from the circle. Kerbasi couldn’t get burned by his own flames,
but his opponent could.

  I raced to the other side of the circle and pulled out my pocket knife, cutting into my palm. Since the flames were made by magic, I could use my blood to nullify them. As soon as a few drops hit the ground the fire extinguished. My palm began to heal even as I put the knife away.

  The nearby fae gaped at me. While most of the residents in the city had heard of me, many of them didn’t know what I looked like. Putting out a magic flame created by a powerful immortal gave me away as a sensor. I smiled at them and waved before turning my attention to the fight.

  Lucas was on top of Kerbasi and pounding his fists into his face. The guardian’s bullet-ridden head jerked back with every blow. I was glad I’d given Lucas that advantage. Kerbasi had two millennia on him in age and a lot more power. He wasn’t as good at fighting as the nephilim, but he made up for it in enthusiasm.

  After taking a few more hard blows the guardian managed to shove his opponent off. He swung his leg and kicked Lucas in the stomach, sending him flying. A group of pixies leaped out of the way just in time. The nephilim hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud in the exact spot where they’d been standing. He sucked in a deep breath and staggered to his feet. Kerbasi was coming for him again.

  Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to find Ireth standing behind me with a livid expression on her face.

  “This must end now,” she stated.

  I gave her an incredulous look. “You want me to step between two men who are thousands of years older than me—and much more powerful—while they’re fighting and stop them?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “You know I’d have to be crazy to do that, right?”

  The sound of a bone crunching brought gasps across the crowd. A grunt of pain came next. Ireth shuddered, but kept her gaze locked on mine.

  “If you want to prove to us that you can control the guardian, this is your opportunity. I can’t possibly allow you back into the city again if you’re going to allow things to get this out of control every time you visit.”

  “It’d practically be suicide to get between them now,” I argued.