She shook her head and did her best to ignore the pain that continued to move through her. “No. I don’t think I did, but since I didn’t think the crazy guy standing before us was real, we might not want to take my answer to heart.”
Ferdian laughed again and put his hand out. A ball of white light appeared in it. It filled quickly with an image of a little girl with white-blonde hair and blue eyes huddled at the top of her bed, the covers pulled up close, just under her eyes. She clutched a baby doll with short red hair and blue clothes. Moonlight filtered through the window, and a pink ballerina night light sat on a white bedside table.
Ferdian pointed at the image. “There you are, Melanie. What are you there, four years old maybe? Do you remember what you were scared of?”
Melanie staggered and Wilson wrapped his arms around her waist. Digging deep, she tried to draw upon the sheer will to live to gain her strength.
“You were scared of me, Melanie. Terrified I would return and force you to tell me where she is.” He glared at her and memories of terror he’d instilled in her flooded back. “Tell me where Elizabeth is and I will spare your friends’ lives.”
Green and Lukian gasped.
Yep, most certainly habit forming.
“Ferdian!” the man closest to him said. “This is not part of the plan. We are to seize the women and impregnate the blonde before the day is out. If memory serves, you requested the honor of being the one to do just that. We are not to—”
The sounds of Green and the others struggling against the magik holding them filled the air. They couldn’t break free, but Melanie didn’t have the heart to tell them. Besides, they’d figure it out soon enough.
Ferdian shot power out at the man who dared to question him and he burst into flames. The smell of burning flesh filled the room and then faded quickly as the body vanished. Wilson pulled Melanie closer and put his lips to her ear. “I think you should keep your middle name to yourself.”
She nodded, his suggestion sounding spot-on to her as well as she stared up at Ferdian. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
It was a blatant lie but she wasn’t about to tell him what he wanted to know.
“Lies, lies, lies,” he said mercilessly, sending a blast of raw power at Wilson.
Melanie pushed Wilson out of the way. He didn’t go far since Ferdian still had a magikal hold on him, but he moved enough. Thrusting her hand out, she absorbed Ferdian’s power through her skin. It slinked up her arm, spreading over her rapidly. It strengthened her a bit, helping her steady herself. Her eyes widened. There was no doubt in her mind Ferdian was powerful. She also knew he could kill all the men present with no more than a thought.
She wouldn’t let that happen.
“Very good, Melanie,” he said coolly, eyeing her as though he were mentally undressing her. The second she felt magik creeping up and under her dress, she squared her shoulders and glared at him.
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?” he asked, shrugging. The look on his face said he knew exactly what she was talking about.
“Stop trying to get your rocks off by touching me without touching me.” She glared at him, hoping to keep his attention on her and off the men. “Know that if you try to touch me with anything else, magik or not, you will regret it.”
Ferdian appeared impressed with her. “Oh, you still have the stubborn streak in you that I liked so much. You should probably know that when I take you home with me I will beat it out of you, before I plant my seed deep within you, but for the time being, your resistance amuses me. In fact, you intrigue me greatly, Melanie. Why is that?”
“Because you clearly have a degenerative brain disorder, resulting in the lack of manners, originality, and creepiness.”
Wilson laughed under his breath. Green sounded as if he was being muzzled. She could only guess who was doing what to him, but whatever was happening, it was best he remained silent. He seemed to have a hidden temper that liked to hit things.
“Melanie,” Peren said evenly, “stop provoking him. He’s not the only one on the edge.”
Did she mean Green too?
Ferdian glanced at Peren. “Save your breath. Melanie has never been one to back down from me. I admire that, to a degree. See for yourself.” He tapped the white ball of light that held an image of her in it as a child and smiled.
It began to play again, showing the younger version of herself crying softly as she stared at the darkened room. It then showed Ferdian stepping into the picture. He had a goatee then, and wore long robes, leaving him looking sinister and regal. The sword at his side was big enough to terrify an adult, let alone a child.
“Greetings, Melanie,” he whispered.
Melanie watched herself as a child, watched how scared she had been of the man as he reached out to her younger self. Little Melanie jerked back and pulled the covers over her head. “Go away! You’re not ’posed to be here.”
He chuckled. “I know. I told you I would leave you alone if you just tell me where she is. Whisper it in my ear and I will let you and your dolly be.” He reached for the doll, and the younger version of herself slapped his hand away.
“Don’t you touch Chandler! He’s mine! You’re bad and not ’posed to be here!”
“Tell me where Elizabeth is. I know you know—you smell of her power. If I were not positive you came from your mother’s womb, I would assume you were Elizabeth’s child. You carry her scent, her power. Tell me where she is, Melanie. She must visit often for you to smell of her. It’s very important I find her. She’s in danger and I can help her.”
“No. You lie. You’re bad and she doesn’t want to see you.” The tiny version of Melanie stood and smacked Ferdian across the face so fast the man never saw it coming. She glared at him. “Thaddy will come and he’ll bite you for being mean to me! He’ll eat you.” She made kitty noises and scratched at him with her fingers.
“Thaddy?” Ferdian asked, his eyes narrow. “Is Elizabeth with this person now?”
Little Melanie giggled and shook her head no. “I bet Thaddy thinks you taste bad because you are bad. Black heart. Evil to core.” She spun in a circle and began to sing softly. “Black heart. Black heart. Eat you up. Eat you up. Spit ’em out. Spit ’em—”
Ferdian backhanded her, sending her crashing into the wall. “Those were Elizabeth’s parting words to me. Where is she?”
Little Melanie held her cheek and glared at the man, her expression suddenly looking beyond her years. “Somewhere you can never hurt her again.”
“You will tell me, child.” He seized hold of her baby doll and made it burst into flames.
Her eyes widened a second before she leveled a rather off-putting look on him. “Fix him, now, Ferdian. You will not harm anything or anyone I love ever again.” The words came from the younger version of Melanie, but they were said with the precision of an adult.
The man tipped his head, looking puzzled. He snapped his fingers and a new doll appeared. This one had long blonde hair like her own and bright blue eyes. “Tell me where Elizabeth is and you may have this dolly. See, she is much prettier than your other. She looks like you. Do you like her?”
Little Melanie glared at him, her cheek red where he’d slapped her and her gaze hard. “Chandler is a boy baby doll and he is perfect with red hair and green eyes. Bring him back or I will never tell you what you want to know.”
“So, you do know where Elizabeth hides.” He snapped his fingers and the doll she called Chandler appeared on the bed. She made a move to grab him and Ferdian caught her around the waist.
She screamed and he covered her mouth with his hand. Melanie bit him hard enough to draw blood. He dropped her and she stood tall, her nightgown stained red.
“Why, you little—”
Tossing a hand in the air, little Melanie released magik and pinned Ferdian in place. A slow smile moved over his face. “Child, I do believe I like you. That is rare for me. In fact, I’ve hated every other child I’ve
ever had the displeasure of encountering.”
The tiny version of herself snorted, still seeming much older than her years. “Trust me, Ferdian, the children hate you, too. It’s mutual.” She glanced at the doorway and lifted her hand. “You should know that Medrawd still hates you.”
“Medrawd? You mean your father?”
She nodded, a knowing smile moving over her face. “He is now. He hates you still, Ferdian. Hates what you did to Elizabeth. Medrawd would love nothing more than to get his hands on you.”
“How is it you know my name, child? And why are your words suddenly that of someone much older?”
She continued to smile. “Someone whispered them in my ear. Someone who hates you almost as much as you hate yourself.” She let her power out, and it slammed into the door, crashing it into a hundred pieces. “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”
Lights flickered on in the hallway and a large man with shoulder-length blond hair rushed into the frame. Her father took one look at Ferdian and lifted his hands. Power shot out and sent Ferdian spiraling out of the image. The white globe of light faded fast, taking the image with it.
Melanie coughed and more blood came up.
Ferdian took a step toward her. “See, you know who and where Elizabeth is, Melanie. I know she’s the one who told you about me. The one who whispers to you. Tell me now.” His brow furrowed. “Are you bleeding?”
He made another move for her and Wilson, Jon, Roi, Lukian, and Green made a motion to move. The men in black aimed at them even though they couldn’t get far. Melanie put her hand up. “Don’t shoot them. I’ll tell you. Let them go.”
“Tell me first and then I will.”
Closing her eyes slightly, Melanie let her gut instincts guide her. She let out a soft laugh. “Listen, old buddy, old pal, I’m running on empty as it is, everything on me hurts. They don’t think I know I’m dying. They think they’re protecting me by keeping it from me that something is wrong. News alert, what they think is wrong isn’t the problem. Hell if I know what is, but deep down I know it’s not what they think. If you think I give a shit if these people live or die then you’re stupider than I thought you were when I was four. By the looks of your portable viewing screen there, my opinion of you was low even then.” She grabbed Wilson’s hand and pulled him closer to her. Something in her told her that Ferdian would kill one of the men to make a point. That was why she had to beat him to it. If she did it, she could control the outcome. If he did, they’d all be standing around another casket in the cemetery before the week was out.
“Here, kill this one. No one likes him,” she said, tugging more on Wilson.
Wilson’s eyes widened and the rest of the people she was with gasped.
Melanie leaned over and coughed slightly, additional blood pooling in her mouth as she did. “A kiss from the whore before dying?” She didn’t wait for him to respond; she pressed her lips to his, thrusting her blood into his mouth. With her blood, came her defense to their silver bullets. She drew back and put her hand out to Ferdian. “Christ, you are slow. Give me the gun, I’ll shoot him myself.”
Ferdian’s brows rose. “Give the lady a gun.”
“Are you mad?” the man beside him asked.
Ferdian laughed. “Melanie is harmless. The woman grew up dancing, singing, living in a land of make-believe. If she hits him, it will be amazing. Now, Elizabeth, she’s one I wouldn’t want to see armed. The woman is lethal when provoked. It’s part of what I love about her. Her little friend here is nothing to be concerned with. Though I will be sinking my cock into her later. I can hardly pass up a body and spirit like that now, can I? Give her your gun. Let her prove herself.”
The man next to Ferdian handed her a weapon reluctantly.
Turning, Melanie looked at Wilson and winked a second before she fired at him. She aimed at a spot that she sensed wouldn’t actually kill him, but would look as if it should have. The rest of his team went to charge at her but found themselves at the end of so many guns and still stuck behind Ferdian’s power. They had no choice but to stand still.
Ferdian laughed. “Wise choice, gentlemen, those are silver bullets they have there.”
Melanie coughed and more blood came up. “Cut the shit and let’s go find Elizabeth. I’ll even let you stare at my ass the entire way.”
The man next to Ferdian went for Peren. Melanie shot him in the arm. He lurched back and stared at her with wide eyes. She winked. “Did I say you could move?”
The man glared at her. “Lucky for you, your aim is shit or I would gut you now.”
Melanie put her hand out and smiled, drawing upon her power. “Gun!”
The semiautomatic gun one of the men held flew at her. She caught it with one hand and aimed at the bad guys to her left. Without looking, she fired, careful to let off the trigger where she knew the I-Ops to be standing. She kept her gaze on the man next to Ferdian the entire time, watching the shock on his face and loving every second of it. When she was done, she smiled. “I trust you will find all of your men injured or dead and none of mine are. As you can see, my aim is not an issue. I was being kind by not shooting you in the head before. If you try to touch my friend again, I’ll put one between your eyes, asshole.”
Ferdian laughed from the gut. “Oh, I can see why Elizabeth likes you. You have her spirit. Her spunk.” He glanced around the room. “Her aim. Though you forgot about your man, the one you shot. He’s dead.”
Wilson laughed as he rolled to his feet slowly. “No. Actually, I’m not. I don’t know how I’m not. But I’m not.”
Melanie smiled. “It’s the Fae blood. We aren’t allergic to silver. I sensed you were. I’d apologize for shooting you but you did antagonize the ‘science geek’ earlier.”
“Who, Gr—”
Melanie thrust magik out at Wilson, shutting him up before he could say any more.
Chapter Seven
Ferdian stared at her and clapped. “Very good, Melanie. Elizabeth has taught you well. Now, tell me where she is. She and I have much to discuss.”
Laughing, Melanie shook her head. “She’s dead. She’s somewhere you can’t ever hurt her again and she’s not scared of you anymore.”
“You lie.”
“Nope. She gave her immortality up to keep you from being able to track her, and died knowing she was loved. She died knowing you couldn’t keep her soul, that it was free to live on. She died free from your clutches. Free from your black heart. Evil to the core.”
“No!” Ferdian screamed, his power making the room shake. “You lie.”
“Why would I lie about something like that?” she asked, unsure as to what she was even talking about. She was beyond lost, but continued to go with what her gut told her to.
“My wife is not dead!”
“Your wife?” Green asked, speaking for the first time. The tiniest buzz of Fae power pushed away. It wasn’t her power and it wasn’t Ferdian’s. Someone had been keeping Green silent with magik, but whom? Peren cursed under her breath and Melanie couldn’t help but wonder if her friend had something to do with Green’s silence. But how could that be?
Ferdian ignored him, so did Melanie. She focused her attention on Ferdian. “Elizabeth never wanted to be yours. You wrongfully claimed her without her consent and forced her to live for years in fear of you, of your wrath, of what you would do to her friends, her family. But she figured out how to get away.”
Melanie tipped her head a bit, amused by the emotional pain she knew she was causing Ferdian. “She knew if she gave up the one thing that kept her tied to you, her immortality—her magik, she would be free to live her life as she pleased, to love who she wanted.”
Ferdian threw power at her and she caught it with one hand. Spinning it around, she laughed and threw it back at him. His eyes widened. “How? Only Elizabeth could do that. Only she was strong enough…” He shook his head. “You lie. Medrawd has her hidden somewhere. He would never let his baby sister give up her immortality. Never. He was like a fathe
r to her. He would never let—”
He stared at Melanie and a slow lecherous smile slid over his face. “Like a father to her?” He took a step toward her. “Tell me, Melanie, when was it Elizabeth died? Was it recent or was it before you were born?”
“Does it matter?” she asked, unsure where his line of questioning was going.
He nodded. “Very much. You drop the news on me out of the blue that my wife is dead, yet I get the feeling you have known about her passing for some time. Did you know when you were little, Melanie?”
Something made her turn and glance at Green. His eyes locked on her and he looked as interested in her answer as Ferdian was.
In an instant, Ferdian was in front of her, cupping the back of her neck and pressing his body to hers.
“Get your hands off her,” Green said with a dangerous edge to his voice.
Something moved behind her and she knew it was Green. How he’d managed to break Ferdian’s hold was a mystery to her. Ferdian put his hand up and unleashed a wave of power that made all of the members of Green’s team sound as if they were in pain.
Melanie grabbed Ferdian’s hand in hers. “Stop it! Don’t hurt him…uh, them!”
“Stop it, you’re killing them!” Missy yelled.
Ferdian stared closely at Melanie. “You value their lives?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He closed his fist and the magik dropped. From the sound of the thuds around her, so did the men. “There, they will live. They will be sore but alive. Consider it my gift to you.”
“For what?”
“For helping me find my wife.”
Puzzled, Melanie’s brow furrowed. “I haven’t helped you find Elizabeth. I told you she is—”
He cupped her cheek. “Look at me.”
She did.
Ferdian whispered something in ancient Fae and power sprinkled over her. He smiled down at her as a large mirror appeared out of nowhere.
Her inner alarm went off. Something told her to run. She listened to it. Ferdian seized hold of her just as she caught sight of Green struggling to get to his feet. She broke free of Ferdian’s grasp and rushed to Green’s side.
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