by Claudy Conn
“The Daoine have always respected our laws. Do you break with Daoine tradition?”
“Do you not share what is yours with your own kind?” The Sluagh shrugged. “I merely wish to share … I shall return the Seer unharmed.”
“I do not share because I have not taken what is not mine. She is mine of her own accord. Ask her if she wishes to be shared.”
“Ask her? She is but human! I care not for her will. Humans do not know what is good for them. It is for us to decide.” Even the sneer that crossed his face did not mar his handsome face.
“She has a mind of her own. She is a Seer, which is greatly prized by her kind. Ask her if she wishes to go with you.”
“It is your kind that made the Seers almost extinct!” the Sluagh returned. “But … I shall converse with her. I shall teach her many things. The notion amuses me greatly.”
Shit! Maxie could feel him raking her over with his starburst eyes. Damn, she felt like she was burning beneath that gaze—and not a good burning either.
“Shee Fios. I can show you the world. I can please you as no other can. Not even your royal prince here can show you the pleasures I offer. I will keep you safe in my arms above your world as we fly. I will make love to you in the air, and it will be as nothing you have ever had. In the end you will beg to remain with me. But I will return you to him and present you with gifts, all for the pleasure of taking you with me for one tour … a day or two by your count.”
“Nope,” she answered. “I am so sorry, God of Nature, but I am already spoken for. I can’t go with you. No can do. Not doing this. No way, no how. Not ever. This is my world. I am given to the prince, and I choose to be with the prince of Dagda.” Maxie was prepared for an explosion.
His wings iced. The car iced. Holy shit, she iced and was shivering in place. Cold she could deal with—it was the Sluagh coming towards her with a whoosh of his wings that made up her mind. She took up her Rowan Wand, held it high, and discovered that she didn’t even need to say a word.
The Sluagh stopped in mid-flap and flew backwards a few feet. He wasn’t frightened. He was furious. “The Rowan Wand belongs to the queen of the Seelie! How dare you touch a Seelie Relic?”
“The queen gave it to me. The wand has my imprint and will obey me. I understand that even the Daoine can be affected by Seelie Relics and Hallows,” Maxie said softly.
The prince grinned, and his eyes glinted at the Sluagh. “As I have said—she is under Tuatha Dé protection. Now, you have your answer most profoundly. I suggest you find someone else to host!”
The Sluagh considered them and inclined his head. “I do not fault either of you in this. As you say—your renegade Tuatha Dé promised what he could not deliver. I shall hold him accountable for this … unless of course, he finds a way to make good on his promise.” Just as suddenly as the Sluagh had appeared, he was gone.
Maxie had a bad feeling that this wasn’t the last they had seen of the Daoine Sluagh.
The prince sighed and turned to her. “Do you know how powerful that particular Daoine is? Do you know this is the first time in my life that I have encountered one? The first time, and I had to challenge him. Lia, my wee lass, you have no idea what you just stood up to.” He got back into the car and added, “And, Lia, no more trips to town.”
“You got it, fella!”
~ Twenty-one ~
THE NAVY BLUE heels Maxie wore made running across the gravel courtyard to the front doors difficult. Impatiently, the prince picked her up and, bam, just like that they were inside the castle. Maxie thought the poof thing had its conveniences now and then. However, there was something about parting the airwaves that was very difficult to get accustomed to when you were inside that astral space.
Even so, although Maxie thought shifting could be convenient, each time she experienced it, she was aware of a sense of feeling nothingness, and then she was somewhere, and that sensation was discombobulating. They emerged from the ‘nothingness’ in the central hall of the main entrance of MacTalbot.
The library’s huge, lead-paned panoramic windows overlooked the courtyard, and Max imagined that Julian, if he was there, might have seen their arrival. A huge ole check on that, because he was at the library door, flinging it open to shout, “In here!”
Maxie could feel those intense blue eyes glinting with anger as they raked over her. Maybe it was because she was still cradled in the prince’s arms. At any rate, the prince put her down—after she pushed him to do so. He needed to leave and wanted her safely in the castle with Julian on guard. He needed to get back to Tir. He wasn’t sure about the powers of the Daoine Sluagh and what repercussions would come from their meeting. He needed to present the problem to the queen. Also, he rather thought he might know who the traitor was, and there wasn’t a moment to lose. He had to get to Tir. Absentmindedly he caressed Maxie’s cheek as Julian rolled his eyes. He bent and whispered in her ear, “Lia …”
“Are you always on, Prince? Don’t you ever shut it off?” Julian snapped.
“Shut what off?” The prince’s attention was off, calculating. There were things he needed to do—and he had to find Aaibhe. He didn’t really care about getting an answer from Julian and moved away from Max and into the library as he scanned Tir for his queen.
“Wait till you hear what has happened!” Maxie stuck in, to put things back on track. Forgotten for the moment was her recent altercation with him.
Julian’s hot, fiery gaze swept over her body. There was something about him that she had never seen before. She started to shake with feelings she couldn’t or didn’t want to name. Her knees were quivering. Her blood was tingling. She was excited beyond their last escapade. She knew she felt that way because she was in Julian’s company. He looked at her like he wanted to devour her. She could feel it in the air. He stepped forward and took the lapels of her jacket in his large hands. “Nice … but not as nice as the one you should be wearing.” His voice was soft, low, and full with feeling. He was pulling her along with him. He was moving backwards the remainder of the way into the library. His blue eyes were on her lips. His tongue was licking his bottom lip, and Max was mesmerized. He led; she followed. All the harsh words, all the anger—gone!
She was looking at him because she couldn’t look away. His black hair fell in layered waves around his chiseled, handsome face. That face was shaded with a dark shadow of overnight growth that was oh, so sensual. He wore a long-sleeved black silk T and a pair of black silky pants. She felt the muscles at the apex of her thighs clench. Oh hot damn, this is not good, she told herself.
He wore black very well. He looked like a hunk ready for action, and she wanted that action. She shrugged out of her jacket and just let it fall to the floor with her leather bag. This was very unlike her—she was a put it away, hang it up kind of gal. His glinting eyes still watched her languidly from head to toe and then from toe to breasts. She felt her nipples perk and beg for relief. He looked like he wanted to give her that relief. For a moment, it felt as though no one else was in the room. However, there was someone else in the room—two someones!
Uncle Kennet had leisurely walked in and engaged the prince in a lively conversation. They had moved over to the long table and were seated there poring over some ancient manuscripts. The prince was complimenting Uncle Kennet. “Good … at least this goes well. You have the ritual of Beltaine approaching in two days. Nothing must get in its way. Are you ready for that, Talbot?” the prince called across the room.
Maxie managed to break away from Julian’s luscious blue eyes and went to drop a kiss on Uncle Kennet’s forehead. He was still reading, but he patted her hand affectionately.
Julian moved towards the prince, and somehow he managed to still look at Maxie, catch her eye, and meaningfully give her a smile. She felt as though her body was really giving way from the heat, and it wasn’t just emanating from him. A whole lot was coming from her.
“Yes, Breslyn, I am ready, but Maxie-girl is not. I need her to spend s
ome time with me so she can learn her part in the ritual. So don’t be spiriting her away to Tir or anywhere else.”
She heard him say Maxie-girl and almost blocked out all else. Just what was going on here? What had happened? What had changed? Who was this man? What happened to Miss Reigate?
“Yes,” agreed the prince. “There is a chant she must perform while you recite the Beltaine custodial.” His silver eyes narrowed as he looked from Julian to Maxine, and a sudden sadness came over his face. “At any rate she will be safe here with you on warded grounds. Something new has entered the mix. I believe things are going to get, shall we say, intense.” He stood in thoughtful silence for a long moment before giving Maxine a sweet smile. “We had better bring you up to snuff as I need to return to Tir at once.”
“Yes, but, Breslyn …” Julian had moved closer and reached out to take hold of the prince’s arm. “You and Maxie need to know … about DuLaine!” Julian’s face was grim.
Maxie rolled her eyes. More … there’s more? This is insane. Everything is happening at once! It dawned on her again that Julian was referring to her as Maxie. She took a step towards him. He had already dropped the prince’s arm and moved towards her. They almost bumped into one another. He gave her a look that again sent shivers up and down her spine, and then into other places she couldn’t think about.
“DuLaine—what about DuLaine?” A dark frown covered the prince’s handsome face.
“She and Shamon will be on their way to Inverness tonight.” Julian dropped the bomb quickly and watched their reaction.
Well, that was hitting them with both barrels, Maxie thought as she sank onto the brown leather sofa. Julian immediately took up a place right beside her and touched her hand. “Don’t worry, Maxie … we will do.”
Maxie stared at him and wondered if she had slipped into another dimension. Was he a parallel Julian Talbot? Why was he suddenly calling her Maxie? Who was this man? She couldn’t trust herself to speak, so she didn’t. The prince however, did.
“What the bloody hell are you saying?” Breslyn roared.
Maxie thought it a very reasonable question and sat back to hear the answer.
“It is my doing. I called Shamon and told him to start the game.”
Okay now she had something to say. “Game? What game? This is real life, and Lamia is real dangerous. What exactly do you mean game?” Maxie hung over the edge of the sofa awaiting his reply.
Julian took Maxie’s hand and put it to his lips as though to steady her. “You are right to question me, but here is the situation as I see it. She knows I am alive. Eventually she would find me … us. Better sooner than later because she is not at full strength yet. She is out of her comfort zone in this century, but eventually she will find a way to fit in and restore all her powers to herself. We are protected by wards here and therefore relatively safe. I thought it best to face things head on and handle them … together. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can get on with our lives.”
Maxie looked into his blue eyes and digested this. The prince took a turn about the room. “You may be right, Talbot. Now it is up to the queen and me to find this Fae and run him through with my Sword of Dagda!”
Maxie was pressed against Julian. She didn’t know if he had moved into her or if she had simply slid into him. She saw the prince approach her. He was taking her hand and pulling her up and away from Julian. She didn’t want to leave his side, but she couldn’t reject Breslyn so blatantly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Julian had stiffened.
The prince still had her hand, but all he did was to take it to his lips Old World style. “My sweet lass. Tell your uncle and Julian about today …” He turned to Julian. “A wee brave lass she is. None braver. Guard her well until I return, which I believe will not be for at least two of your days.”
He was gone. Just like that! Maxie always found it disconcerting. No matter how many times he shifted in and out of her personal cosmos, sometimes with her in tow, she found it difficult to believe.
“He is off to kick butt in Faery,” Maxie told both Uncle Kennet and Julian because they were looking at her.
“Is he?” Julian was thoughtful. “But what did he mean? What do you have to tell us about today? How and why were you brave?”
Maxie started off slowly, trying to find the beginning, but once she had found it everything rattled off in quick crescendo. She couldn’t stop. She described it all, the evil Fae in her car, Breslyn dropping in, the winged Fae, and how the Rowan Wand had saved her twice in one day. She told them everything, and still both Julian and Kennet shot questions at her left and right. She answered them in detail and watched both men’s many expressions.
Quiet contemplation took over the mood. Julian was the first to interrupt the silence. “This complicates matters. You put this winged thing off this time, but this particular Daoine could be very big trouble.”
“Indeed … we know very little about them. The Daoine retreated even from the Tuatha Dé and have their own set of rules, but I did not think they bothered with humans.” A troubled look came over Uncle Kennet’s face. He took off his glasses, closed his eyes, and then put them back on with a sigh.
“As a rule, I don’t think they do bother with humans. This Daoine—the Sluagh—seems to have a fetish about flying about with human women. He has that mile-high thing going on, and obviously the traitor Fae needed to trade something for a favor. He decided a Shee Fios would do, so … bam … there I was even though technically I am not a Fios.”
“This Rowan Wand the queen gave you,” Julian said softly. “Was the Sluagh frightened by it? Does it have the Power of a Seelie Hallow?”
“Not the power of a Hallow, but very powerful all the same.” She got up and went to her bag, which lay on the floor near her new, discarded jacket. She picked both up and deposited them on a nearby chair and then pulled out the wand from her bag. She put it on the table. “Go ahead … Try and pick it up.”
Julian got up and reached for it, but like a live being it flew off the table and found the comfort of Maxie’s hand. She beamed. “Wow … it is just as the queen said. It won’t be taken by anyone else. Just the queen and little ole me.” With a smile and a sigh she put it back into her bag. All at once she felt exhausted and plopped down on the far end of the sofa.
“Astounding!” Uncle Kennet was very impressed.
Julian was thinking hard as he regarded Maxine. He repeated his question. “Was the Daoine frightened of the wand, Max?”
She recalled how the Sluagh reacted when he saw it. “Not exactly frightened. He respected it … and was very angry that a mere human was touching it. I think he was highly insulted. It was soon after that he went poof and was gone.”
“I would say this winged creature might now have quite a beef with our traitor Fae. This might prove helpful.” Uncle Kennet had taken to walking about the room. He stopped and looked at Maxie. “It is all very remarkable … the queen visiting with you again … knowing that you might need the wand—fascinating.”
“I totally agree.” Julian moved towards the fire as he collected his thoughts. Maxie watched him. The fact was she couldn’t get her eyes off him. Her heart tickled her to admit … He’s the one.
Uncle Kennet mumbled and returned to his table to pick up one of the ancient manuscripts he had been studying. “I suggest you two get to work on these rituals. There isn’t much time. May first is around the corner.”
He started to move off, and Maxie called out, “And where are you going?” A wicked smiled and glinting eyes followed his progress.
“I thought I would go to the kitchen and have a spot of tea …”
She was kind enough not to burst out laughing at the blush on his cheeks, but the tease was in her voice, “Yes, Uncle Kennet you do that … tea … we can’t do without … er … Tally’s tea.” She sighed dramatically. “Hmmm, maybe we should join you?”
“Sure, Maxie, join me for tea,” he said without any enthusiasm.
; She laughed. “In a bit.” She was hungry, and it was way past lunch, but she found she couldn’t leave the sofa, couldn’t leave the room while Julian was still in it. She wanted to be alone with him and explore what she was feeling, what vibes she was getting from him. She watched her uncle leave and turned to find Julian seated beside her on the sofa and his eyes on her face, her lips …
His voice was low and husky as he whispered, “Look … I want to apologize for last night. No excuses. I behaved like a mad bull. I can’t imagine what you must think of me. I had too much wine and too much worry goading at me—”
“Forget it, big boy.” She cut him off with a light tone. Last night was gone. Here and now was oh, so different. She was leaning over him, reaching to scoop up one of the ancient manuscripts.
She heard him suck in breath, and involuntarily looked up at his face to find his blues staring hard at her. She trembled—his glance made her tremble. She felt herself actually shake with anticipation. She wanted him to kiss her, and this time she didn’t want him to stop. Would he? Would he kiss her? She hoped that her eyes and body language were getting through to him on every level. Apparently they were.
His hands were on her, pushing her back, his blue eyes were intense with emotion and blatant desire, and his mouth was halting any objection she might have made. She had no thought of objecting.
He murmured something low and hungrily as his mouth nibbled first at her ears, down her throat, and then to her mouth. After a moment of tasting her, she heard him say in a voice that was intense and determined, “Maxie … I can’t deny it any longer. I have lost the battle.”
She didn’t have time to think about what he was saying. Something about a battle? His mouth was on hers, and his tongue parted her lips and dove to find her own with a gentle yet firm prodding that would not be denied. She wasn’t denying. She wanted his tongue, and hers licked at its velvet, moved with it, showed him he was welcome. He tasted her in slow degrees. She returned the favor.