“Apparently not.”
“Fantastic.” She mulled the implications for several minutes before she noticed his air of dark brooding. “What’s wrong?”
“I was thinking about my men.” His gaze was bleak. “And Janieda. I dreamed of her again last night.”
Diana froze, the comb midway through a hank of blond silk. Deliberately, she started combing again. “Janieda? I don’t believe you’ve mentioned a Janieda.”
“No.” He was definitely brooding.
She let the silence slide past until she couldn’t stand it anymore. “If that’s your wife, I’m going to pull that shower rod out of the wall and beat you over the head with it.”
Llyr twisted to look at her, surprised. “If I had a wife, I would not have made love to you. Sidhe kings do not break their vows. My people are fairly tolerant of infidelity, but not in a ruler.”
“Yeah?” Diana grinned, more relieved than she cared to show. “I’d tell a Clinton joke, but you wouldn’t get it.”
“I get very few of your jokes.”
“I noticed that.”
“You wouldn’t get mine either, which is why I’m too polite to tell them.”
“Two orcs walk into a bar? Heard it.” She smirked and scooped up another handful of blond hair.
“And everybody else runs out the back.”
Diana frowned down at the top of his head, where a truly impressive tangle had taken up residence. “What in the heck are you talking about?”
“The joke. Two orcs walk into a tavern, and everyone else runs out the back.”
“Wait a minute. That’s a real joke?” She bent over to look him in the eye, incredulous. “And that’s the punch line?”
He gave her an innocent blink. “Why, yes. I thought you’d said you’d heard it.”
“That’s the stupidest joke I’ve ever been subjected to in my entire life.”
“Not really. If two orcs walked into a tavern, everybody would run out the back.”
This time she caught the sly glint in his gaze. “You lyin’ Sidhe devil! You ought to be ashamed, taking advantage of me like that.”
He grinned. “But I love taking advantage of you, Diana. Each and every way I can.”
Diana planted her comb in the knot and gave it a hard yank. When he yelped in outrage, she said sweetly, “Did that hurt? I’m so sorry.”
“When was the last time you were spanked?”
“I don’t remember. I ate the last guy who tried it.”
Satisfied with the results of their sparring, the two fell into a companionable silence while she worked on his hair. Finally she asked, “So what’s with this Janieda?”
Any humor vanished from his voice. “She’s dead. She died ten days ago protecting me. She was my mistress.”
TWELVE
Llyr’s last mistress was dead. Had Ansgar got to her, too?
Diana stilled. “Oh.”
“We were lovers for a century,” he said, his voice soft. “I thought I loved her. And yet, I have barely thought of her since I’ve been here.”
“What happened?”
“I had bound myself with a Maja into a death spell in order to kill Geirolf.”
“That was the demon god, right?”
“Indeed. The spell worked, but the Maja was left powerless. She was attacked by one of Geirolf’s vampires, but Janieda used her own magical essence to protect her rather than escaping to safety. Otherwise, the spell was so powerful, it would have dragged me into death with the Maja.” He slumped. “Janieda died in that battle. Too often, that seems to be the way it ends.”
Diana put the comb aside and stoked her fingers through the smooth, bright silk of his hair. “It’s not your fault, Llyr. You’re not responsible for the crimes other people commit.”
“Perhaps not, but I do seem to provide the inspiration.” He twisted around to face her. “You said you would protect me if the vampire came after me again, but I don’t want you paying that price. You aren’t one of my people. You don’t have that duty to the Cachamwri.” He rose and strode naked from the bathroom.
Automatically admiring his muscular ass, she murmured, “We have got to find you something to wear.” Then she strode after him. “Look, Llyr, I’m Direkind. Merlin designed us specifically to contain the Magekind if they lost their collective minds and started preying on mortals. We’re highly resistant to magical attacks in a way other humans—even Sidhe—aren’t.” She caught him by the elbow, dragging him to a stop. “That means if Fangface throws a ball of fire at me, it’ll probably just splash off.”
He sighed. “I’m aware of that, of course.”
“Yeah?”
“Merlin approached me before he created your people. After the way the Sidhe helped the Fae defeat Geirolf and the Dark Ones, he trusted us. Or, at any rate, me. He wasn’t as impressed by Ansgar. But he asked me to aid the Direkind if it ever became necessary, and I took a vow to do so. Which is why I never told Arthur about you.”
“So you know I’m not helpless.”
“That isn’t the point…”
Diana was opening her mouth to answer when the phone rang. “Dammit.” She started toward the nightstand beside her bed. “With my luck, that’s another killing.”
“Unlikely, since it’s the middle of the day. She wouldn’t be out this early.”
“Damn, I hope you’re right.” She reached for the phone. “London.”
“Is that Llyr guy still naked?” Gist demanded.
Sighing in relief—at least it wasn’t another murder—Diana shot the Sidhe a look. He stood glowering at her, his fists on his bare hips, his head lifted at a regal angle. “Yep, I’m afraid the emperor still has no clothes.”
“Figured. I got to thinking about that this morning. He’s a big guy; I’ll bet you don’t have anything to fit him.”
“You bet right. You got something you could lend us?”
“Yeah, I have a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt that would fit. And flip-flops he could probably get on those big feet. Does this guy have money, or is he gonna have to sponge off you?”
“Don’t worry about it, Bill. He’s good for it. And yeah, if we can borrow the clothes until we can hit Wally World, that’d be great.”
“You want to come get them, or shall I drop ’em off?”
Her gaze flicked to Llyr’s. “I…don’t want to leave him. Some people are very unfond of him.”
“Yeah, I picked that up when I saw the bodies spread all over the Sleep Saver. You want me to come over and help guard him?”
“And get caught in the crossfire with the rest of us? Uh-uh.” Besides, considering his vulnerability to magic, the vampire could easily turn Gist into a weapon against them.
“You sure about that?”
“You know me, Bill. Anybody who messes with me, I’ll eat.”
“Jesus, don’t even joke about that. Okay, I’ll be over in a few.”
“Great. See you, buddy.”
“She may not come after me again,” Llyr pointed out after Diana hung up.
“I don’t know that we can say that, since we don’t know why she came after you to begin with.”
“She must have discovered I’m hunting her.”
“So am I, but she hasn’t shown up to blow the hell out of my house.” Diana frowned, another question occurring to her. “And why did she jump you, anyway? If I was going to make a list of people to hit, I damn well wouldn’t have taken on the King of the Fairies and all those badass Sidhe bodyguards. That was a big risk to take, when she was doing such a great job of ducking all of us. Why not just go on playing hide-and-seek while she butchered people and laughed at us? Why carry the fight to you like that?”
His eyes narrowed in realization. “Ansgar. She’s working for Ansgar.”
As promised, Bill Gist showed up half an hour later bearing a paper bag full of clothes. Leaving Llyr upstairs trying to master the concept of the plastic safety razor, Diana went to deal with the chief. Like the nice South
ern werewolf she was, she asked him in for a glass of sweet tea.
He followed her into the kitchen, looking troubled. “I met with the coroner this morning. ’Fraid he’s going to be a problem.”
Diana, reaching into the refrigerator for the tea, looked at him over the door. “Oh, God, what now?”
Gist leaned a hip against a kitchen counter and folded his arms, watching while she poured them a couple of glasses from the pitcher. “You know there were ten of your buddy’s dead friends, right? Miller had autopsies done on all of ’em. Now he thinks he’s discovered aliens in our midst. Evidently Dr. Garrison told him there were serious ‘anomalies’ in their blood, though the organ arrangement looks roughly the same.”
That made sense; the Sidhe were basically human, though they’d evolved on a magical version of earth. “That’s all I need.” She handed him a glass. “When’s the press conference?” Coroner George Miller was a notorious publicity hog, in part because he was an elected official with no real medical qualifications. The pathologist at the local hospital did autopsies.
“I think Garrison’s refusing to cooperate,” Gist said, and took a sip from his glass. “He’s afraid this is some kind of hoax, and he doesn’t want to look like a fool. So he wants to have some more tests done—like DNA—but they’d have to come out of the coroner’s budget, and George doesn’t want to pay for them.”
“He knows County Council would have a mass stroke.” Diana downed a deep swallow from her own drink before adding, “And if Garrison doesn’t find anything, Miller will have spent a chunk of change his opponent will hang him with in November.”
“So you’ve got some time, but not much. Miller has heard those guys were supposed to be FBI agents, which they’re obviously not. He wants to call the real FBI.”
“Shit!” And once the Feebees started investigating, they’d connect the dots straight to Diana—and Llyr.
“Don’t panic—I told him it was an unfounded rumor, and then I told my guys to keep their fucking mouths shut if they want to keep their jobs.”
Diana stared at him. “Oh, Bill. You shouldn’t have done that. The girls in my office know they’re supposed to be FBI, too. Which means that by now, everybody in town knows. We’re not going to be able to keep a lid on this.”
The chief shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, I know, but what the hell was I supposed to do?”
Llyr spoke from the doorway. “It will be taken care of.”
“Jesus.” Gist scooped the bag he’d brought off the counter and tossed it to Llyr, who caught it automatically. “Go put some clothes on, will you? There’s a lady present.”
He lifted a golden brow. To Diana, he said, “Once my powers return, I believe I can work a spell that will cover the people who know of this. They’ll forget we were here.”
“What if it gets on the news?”
“That…becomes problematic. That kind of memory change on even a small number of minds requires a great deal of power. Once enough people know it, I won’t be able to do anything.”
“And you can’t do anything now until your powers come back.” She rubbed a hand over her stomach. “I think I’m getting an ulcer.”
“Powers?” Gist asked. “What is he, a witch?”
“Actually, I’m King of the Fairies.”
Gist looked at him. “That would have been my next guess.”
“Let’s try to keep this quiet for a couple of days,” Diana said. “If we can keep it out of the media until Llyr gets his powers back, we’ll both be able to keep our jobs.” She sighed. “I can’t believe I’m involved in a frigging cover-up.”
“You do realize if this goes bad, keeping our jobs won’t be the problem,” Gist said. “If the FBI gets wind that we helped those guys pass as agents and then covered it up, we could go to jail. Obstruction of justice. I’m violating the hell out of my oath.”
She sighed. “I know. If it gets out and the FBI shows up, cooperate. Tell the Feebees I ordered you to lie.”
He gave her a horrified look. “Like hell.”
“I don’t want you going to prison for me, Bill.”
“Nobody will go to prison,” Llyr growled, a stormy expression on his face. “I will not permit it.”
“Whatever, Your Majesty,” Gist said. “Would you please go put some clothes on? I’m tired of looking at the royal dick.”
With a growl, Llyr, wheeled and stalked out of the kitchen.
The chief looked at Diana. “You’re doing him, aren’t you? You’re too laid-back for this time of year otherwise.”
“Laid-back?” She stared at him. “This is laid-back?”
“For you, when you’re on the Wolfie Rag? Yeah, it is. I expected to have to talk you out of eating the coroner.”
“I don’t really eat people, Bill.”
“This time of year, I’m never sure.” His grin faded. “You really like that guy, don’t you?”
“Who?”
“Fabio in there.”
“I’m going to bite you.”
“See what I mean? Bitchy.” When she quit laughing, he asked, “You sure you know what you’re doing with him?”
Uncomfortable, she looked away. “Hey, it’s that time of year, Bill. And he’s the first guy I’ve ever met who’s safe.”
Gist gave her a long look. “If you think that guy is safe, you’re not paying attention.”
“Susan, you disappoint me.”
The vampire jolted out of sleep to find Ansgar standing over her, hot, black rage in his eyes. With a muffled yelp, she rolled out of bed and landed on her feet. He started toward her, and she backed away, her heart pounding. “I fought him!” Susan blurted. “I killed his guards!”
“But you didn’t kill Llyr. And you could have.” He clenched his big fists. “The spell worked. It rendered him powerless. You had a perfect opportunity—and you let it slip through your fingers!”
His roar made her cringe. “But it rendered me powerless, too. I couldn’t…”
“You could have found a knife and finished it!” His hand flashed out and wrapped around her throat. He dragged her close. “Fortunately for you, he hasn’t regained his powers. You still have a chance.”
She swallowed, licking her lips. “I still haven’t recovered my full power. Perhaps you could…”
“Lend you more of mine?” He laughed shortly. “Not likely. You don’t need it. If you must have more, do what you do so well. Kill somebody and feed. Then take care of Llyr.”
“Why?” Susan almost quailed at his expression, but forced herself to lift her chin. She didn’t dare let him think he could bully her. With Ansgar, it would be a short step from lackey to slave. “Why should I risk myself again? He almost killed me. I see no reason to go against him and the wolf bitch for nothing.”
His lids shuttered those glowing black eyes. “Is your life nothing, then? Because if you refuse to do as I order, you’re no good to me. And those who are no good to me…”
Damn him to bloody hell. “Fine! Fine, I’ll kill the little bastard.” All she had to do was get rid of him, and then she’d disappear.
Ansgar’s fingers tightened around Susan’s neck until she gagged. “Don’t presume to think you can trick me, vampire. I am a king of the Sidhe, and I have more power than you can imagine. If you disobey me, I will find you. And I will give you such a death as to make your Christian hell a welcome relief.”
Shit. “I understand.”
“Good.” Those black eyes scanned down her body. She was uncomfortably aware of her T-shirt, which was all she wore. With her magic so low, she’d been reduced to wearing her mortal wardrobe again.
A slow smile curved Ansgar’s lips, and the shirt vanished.
“Hey!” Instinctively, Susan tried to struggle. “What are…?”
“Stop it.” He shot her a single black glance.
Just like that, she was unable to move, bound in magic. She realized what he intended. “No!”
“Oh, yes. I believe you need a lesson in
the wages of displeasing me.” With a casual flip of his wrist, he tossed her onto the bed.
Susan hit the mattress and bounced. Bound and immobilized, she was unable to keep her face from smacking hard into the stone wall. She fell back onto the bed, stunned.
Dazed, she watched Ansgar stride toward her. His clothing had disappeared, and he had an erection that swayed with each step.
The grin on his face made her blood chill.
“There’s a technique to this,” Diana told Llyr. “First you swirl it in the ketchup. Then you eat it.” Leaning across the picnic table, she popped the fry into his mouth.
He munched thoughtfully. “That’s amazing. It’s almost edible.”
“Okay, so it’s not hummingbird ass dipped in ambrosia sauce, or whatever the hell you fairies eat. What do you expect for five bucks?”
“Something a little less greasy.” But despite the complaint, he dipped another fry in the blob of ketchup and ate it.
“Snob.” She scooped up one of the cheeseburgers they’d picked up at the late-night drive-through. Her radio crackled from its speaker on her shoulder, carrying the news that Jerry Morgan, the other Verdaville cop on duty, had just arrived at the local bar to take care of an unwanted customer.
After their shopping expedition that afternoon—she’d brought Llyr two pairs of jeans and three polo shirts—Diana had decided it would be a good idea to work the third shift in her capacity as a reserve police officer. There was a good chance the vampire would try to claim another victim, and she wanted to be there as soon as the call came in.
Too, Gist had told her that between overtime and illness, manpower was getting dangerously low on that shift. She didn’t want Jerry working it alone.
Since Diana had no intention of leaving Llyr alone either, he was playing civilian ride-along. Dressed in his new jeans, a pair of white running shoes, and a blue polo shirt, which brought out the blue flecks in his eyes, he looked much more handsome than he had any business being. She’d carefully tied his hair back so it covered his pointed ears, but the style only emphasized the rough male beauty of his face.
Diana was having to exert real effort in order not to simply stare at him in besotted fascination.
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