Seducing Death

by Cassandra Lawson

  She giggled. “I still can’t believe you have a vampire city called Fangri La.”

  “Yeah, it’s a stupid name, but it’s for the tourists,” he explained. “Back then, the city had no name, but it was where the main vampire government was set up. The new government was still being formed, and we were meeting to discuss territories and rules. I was on guard detail for the head of my territory. Anyway, I hit it off with Si right away, and while he didn’t agree with all of Connor’s ideas about running the settlement, he trusted him. That was more than I could say for the leadership where I lived. There was always a lot of fighting and jealousy. The leader at the time was pretty damn incompetent, and a lot of people wanted to take her place. It seemed like only a matter of time before there was a big rebellion. At the time, I knew nothing about the weather in the north, but that wouldn’t have stopped me from moving anyway.”

  “Did you ever consider going back down there?” she asked.

  “No,” he said without hesitation. “My mom died long before I moved out of the area, and she was all I had. You probably think I only started being an asshole after losing my family, but I was this way before. Granted, I was a lot less mean about it, but bonding with people and making friends has always been hard for me. People thought of me as a fun loving smart ass back then, but I was really just a jackass.”

  Kyleigh found that hard to believe, especially considering how quickly they’d become close. “You’ve been nice to me.”

  Ian leaned forward and brushed his mouth against hers. “You’re easy to be nice to.” He looked down to examine his perfectly healed chest. “I’m much better,” he said.

  “Your soul seems fully connected now,” she agreed, knowing where this conversation was going. “Ian, I’m still not sure if I can just take you back.”

  Ian withdrew from her, and it felt like a slap. Of course, it was her own fault for assuming they had more than just sex and camaraderie between them. How could he not understand that, if she could give him his old life back, she would? Standing, she dusted off her dress, which was silly since she’d been on the blanket. She just needed something to do with her hands.

  Ian stood, his lips pressed as he visibly struggled with his emotions. “Where are you going?”

  “Inside,” she said, looking at the surf to avoid confronting the accusation in his eyes. “You’re angry, and I’m not sure I have the energy to fight with you right now.”

  “I’m not sure how you expect me to react, but you can’t be surprised that I’m pissed off.”

  “I’m not surprised,” she said. “It makes perfect sense that you want to see your son.”

  “This goes way beyond wanting to see Mitchell. Is this my life?” he asked, gesturing to the beach. “Am I just supposed to sit around here waiting to spend time with you? The beach is nice, and I’m enjoying my time with you, but I need more.”

  “You’re right, and I understand why you’re upset,” Kyleigh assured him.

  “I’m not upset,” he insisted before shaking his head. “Okay, obviously I’m upset, but more with the situation than you.”

  Kyleigh wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed when she felt the pull of a summons. They weren’t fighting, but the conversation they needed to have was going to be very uncomfortable.

  The talk she needed to have with Oriel still hadn’t happened because she was a coward. If she asked about returning Ian to his old life, Oriel would know Ian wasn’t really her mate. Then she felt guilty for hoping Ian wouldn’t be able to leave her.

  “What’s wrong?” Ian asked.

  “I need to go,” she said distractedly. “There’s a soul that needs to be released.”

  “Can I come with you?” he asked. “You said I’m healed, so there’s no reason for me to stay here all the time.”

  Kyleigh hesitated. Even with Ian knowing what she did, witnessing it would make it more real. Surely, their easy companionship would end when he saw her role as death. There was nothing pretty about what she did. Still, Ian was part of her life, and he’d have to see it eventually. She couldn’t tie him to this place indefinitely or Ian would lose it.

  Panic about taking Ian where he might run into people he knew set in. Kyleigh still had no clue why the Fae hadn’t moved her to another area. The territory she covered was large enough that she could easily avoid areas where Ian might run into people he knew. Maybe her counterparts would handle the areas Ian was from, though a little voice in Kyleigh’s head kept warning her she was being set up in some way.

  “Okay,” she said uneasily. “We’ll need to dress. I won’t be able to keep both of us from being seen.”

  “Wait! You can make yourself invisible?”

  She almost laughed at the shocked expression on Ian’s face. “I can also flash in and out of areas, just like you’ve seen me do here. I can’t do that when you’re traveling with me, so I’ll have to use a Fae portal to get us there, and everyone we come in contact with will be able to see us. Whatever you do, don’t interfere with what’s going on,” she warned.

  “This is your show,” Ian said. “Wait, I have another question.”

  She stopped and looked at him.

  “If you need to use a portal, how’d you get me back here?” Ian asked. “I’m kind of heavy for you to be moving me to a portal.”

  “Luckily, it sprang up right behind me, and I was able to drag you through it. Getting you undressed and in bed was the biggest challenge.”

  Ian just smiled and shook his head. “You really are something.”

  They dressed in silence, and then Kyleigh walked toward the edge of the beach where the only portal existed. She didn’t understand how the Fae portals worked, but she knew when she walked through one, it took her where she needed to be. The problem was that they didn’t always reappear in a timely manner, so they might be stuck waiting for the portal for hours.

  Within a few steps, they were in the wooded area where the death would occur. Ian’s green eyes widened. “This is kind of freaky,” he said.

  “It takes some getting used to,” she admitted. “Just let me handle this, okay?”

  He nodded.

  A dirty looking human couple was hunting a rabbit. The mother had a baby strapped on her back.

  Ian stiffened. “Please tell me it’s not the baby.”

  Kyleigh examined them for a moment before shaking her head. “It’s the father,” she said sadly. There was no time to worry about how this would affect Ian. Releasing the soul quickly was her top priority. The call had come much later than it should have, leaving Kyleigh with less than five minutes to work with. “Let me do all the talking,” she said.

  With a phony smile on her face, Kyleigh emerged from the woods, clutching Ian’s hand as she waved at the couple. They were skittish at her approach. “Hello,” she said. “We seem to have gotten turned around and can’t find our way to the Treasure Island settlement.”

  The man hesitated before responding. “We aren’t from this area, but I think it’s that way,” he motioned to his left. “Sorry, I can’t be more help.”

  “That’s okay,” Kyleigh said and touched his arm as she walked past. The man’s soul slipped from his body and hesitated. This meant she couldn’t move out of the area right away. She’d hoped to leave before the attack happened. Being around for this part was always difficult. Finally, the soul realized it was no longer tethered to the body and faded away. Souls all left in different ways, a phenomenon she’d never really understood.

  They weren’t more than a few feet away when turned vampires attacked the couple. Kyleigh gripped Ian’s arm to stop him from joining the fight. “We can’t interfere. I’ve already released the man’s soul, and he’ll become as mindless as those vampires without it.”

  “What about the woman and baby?” Ian snapped at her. “We can’t just leave them.”

  “They won’t die,” Kyleigh assured him, but it was too late. Ian rushed in to join the fight. The man went down, and soon ot
her vampires and humans rushed in to help. Many of them looked shocked when they saw Ian, but they kept their focus on the fight.

  Kyleigh didn’t recognize most of them. There were two vampires and two humans in the group. One of the vampires was a couple of inches shorter than Ian, with brown hair and eyes. The other vampire was a petite female, with brown hair and grey eyes. The humans were both male. One had darker skin and long dreadlocks. The last one she recognized as Danny. He didn’t notice her while caught up in the fighting, but she knew he would recognize her. These were Ian’s friends, which meant her day was about to get very bad.

  It didn’t take long for them to take down the turned vampires. The female vampire glared at Ian before moving in to help the human woman sobbing over the body of her mate.

  “You had better have lost your fucking memory, Ian,” Danny snapped angrily. “Otherwise, I’m going to beat the hell out of you for making us all worry.” Then his eyes fell on Kyleigh and widened. “Motherfucker! I can’t believe this.”

  “Knock it off, Danny,” the male vampire said. “Christ, Ian, we thought you were dead. Where the hell have you been?”

  “That’s a long story,” Ian said, looking unsure of what he could and could not say.

  The female vampire moved away from the human female and wrapped him in a hug. “You irritable son of a bitch! I’m glad you’re alive.”

  Kyleigh started to step back, but Ian caught her arm and held her by his side. “You should take care of the woman and her baby before we talk about what happened to me.”

  Kyleigh’s heart ached for the weeping woman. She didn’t usually stick around for this part. If she faced this every time, she would surely lose her mind.

  “This isn’t your fault,” Ian said softly. “You see this all the time. Why is this so hard for you now?”

  Kyleigh shook her head, not really wanting to talk about it in front of everyone. She forced a smile. “I’m fine, just a little overwhelmed.”

  Ian studied her, obviously not buying her nonchalant response. He was starting to understand her pretty well. The female vampire was still trying to calm the woman and convince her to return with them. Kyleigh was having trouble focusing on what was going on around her. What was she supposed to do now?

  “Kyleigh,” Ian said loudly, and she suddenly realized he’d been calling her name while she’d been caught up in her own thoughts.

  “Sorry,” she said softly.

  “These are my friends, Connor, Carla, and Mark,” Ian said. “You’ve already met Danny.”

  “You’re the one who broke into Ian’s house?” Connor asked. It was hard to tell if he was angry or not. Kyleigh got the impression he kept his emotions hidden. If she remembered right, he was the leader, so that would be a good skill to have.

  “Not now,” Ian said. “You can question me about what happened later.”

  “What the fuck?” Danny snapped. “So, you send her to get clothes for you, and now you speak for her? She seems smart enough to speak for herself.”

  “Back off, Danny,” Ian growled.

  Danny made a rude gesture with his middle finger, and Ian chuckled.

  “Almost dying really has improved your mood,” Connor said and then looked over at Carla. “You and Mark transport the woman and her baby back to the settlement. We’re going to head back with Ian.”

  Carla nodded, but didn’t turn from where she spoke softly to the woman.

  “Mitchell’s going to be happy you’re alive,” Connor said and actually smiled.

  “Who is he staying with?” Ian asked with a slight catch in his voice.

  “Simon and Layla,” Connor said. “They insisted he start school like you’d planned, and it’s been good for him. When Si said Mitchell would start school on time, I thought it was cruel, but Simon was right. Mitchell needed the distraction.”

  “I’ve missed him so much,” Ian said.

  “Give me a minute to call for extra jeeps to transport the others back to the settlement. After I get everything arranged, I’ll drive you back. Your friend is coming with you,” Connor said, eyeing Kyleigh with a strange intensity, like he sensed something was off with her but couldn’t figure out what.

  Kyleigh hadn’t spent much time around vampires other than Ian. She actually hadn’t spent much time around anyone, so she had no idea how much vampires could sense about her kind. Connor obviously wanted an explanation about how she’d gotten into Ian’s house.

  Ian hesitated. “I don’t know if I can come back.”

  The helplessness in Ian’s voice tugged at Kyleigh’s heart. With a sigh of resignation, she realized she was going to break yet another rule. At least this one didn’t have dire consequences. It wasn’t technically a rule, so she supposed it wouldn’t hurt. After all, she could have limited interactions with humans. It had been her choice to avoid them. Vampires had never been mentioned, but the Fae considered vampires human. While she couldn’t interact with anyone she’d known from her previous life, they’d never said that rule applied to the mates of her kind. Maybe she could use that excuse when the Fae caught her.

  “Of course, you can,” Kyleigh said with a bright smile. “Your son will be glad to see you.” Even as she said the words, she knew she’d regret them.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Watching Kyleigh ride back in a jeep was funny as hell. Until that moment, it hadn’t occurred to Ian that she’d lived in a time when there were no cars. This was probably the first time she’d ever ridden in anything with an engine. Her knuckles were white from gripping the front of the seat beside her legs.

  “The safety belt will hold you in place,” Ian assured her.

  “Does he have to drive so fast?” Kyleigh asked quietly, but Connor heard her.

  “We’ll be there soon,” Connor said, looking at her in the rear-view mirror. Ian saw the frown on Connor’s face. “Your settlement doesn’t have any vehicles?”

  “No,” Kyleigh said.

  “Makes one wonder how you got to and from our settlement twice without a car,” Connor said. “You must have been pretty close by. Where did you say you were from?”

  “She didn’t,” Ian snapped. “I’ve been there. The place is very remote, and you wouldn’t know how to find it. Stop asking questions about it.”

  “This is my territory,” Connor reminded him. “I know every human settlement in this area, and it’s my responsibility to know this to avoid unexpected threats to our safety, especially one that’s close enough for the people living there to easily walk to our settlement.”

  “She didn’t walk,” Danny said quietly as he stared out the window.

  Ian just shrugged. This was not a conversation he intended to have with Connor right now.

  “Fine,” Connor said. “We won’t talk about the settlement she lives in. How about if we talk about what happened to you? You sent me a message saying you were dying, and you’ve never been one to exaggerate.”

  “I thought for sure I was dying,” Ian said. “That’s why I sent you the message. Well, mostly I sent it so you’d know Simon was in danger. I’m glad you were able to rescue Si.”

  “Layla and some other shifters did most of the work,” Danny said.

  “Back to your message about dying,” Connor said.

  “Kyleigh found me just before I passed out,” Ian explained.

  “One human managed to move you?” Connor asked. “Without a jeep or any other type of vehicle, she got you to some remote village we know nothing about?”

  Yeah, Connor wasn’t buying the story at all.

  Kyleigh ducked her head, and Ian was pissed at Connor for making her feel uncomfortable. He was pissed at himself for not being able to tell the whole truth. His lips came together in a firm line, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest before glaring at Connor in the rear-view mirror.

  “So, neither of you is going to tell me what really happened?” Connor asked angrily. “You come back with some bullshit story about being saved by a woman w
ho took you to her remote settlement to heal you, and I’m just supposed to accept that?”

  Danny had been sitting quietly in the front seat for most of the ride. He turned to study Kyleigh for a few moments before looking at Connor. “Let it go, Con. The woman looks like she’s ready to throw up or pass out. Give her a break. Once she calms down, you can interrogate them both. That is unless Raven gets to her first.”

  Having met Kyleigh before, Danny probably had the most reason to be suspicious about who and what she was. Ian was grateful Danny was considering Kyleigh’s state at the moment.

  Ian chuckled. “Your nymph is not going to let you pick on Kyleigh.”

  “Nymph?” Kyleigh squeaked out.

  “Yeah, Connor’s mate is a wood nymph,” Ian said, studying Kyleigh, who now looked even sicker. “Are you okay?”

  She shook her head.

  When they pulled in through the front gate, Kyleigh slid down in her seat as if she could hide from everyone.

  “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Ian assured her.

  Kyleigh’s hands shook as she climbed out of the jeep. “Ian, this is a bad idea,” she said. “I shouldn’t be here.”

  “It’s too late to turn back now,” he said.

  Around them, there were a lot of gasps. Connor had only told a few people they were bringing Ian back. Mitchell raced toward him, doing nothing to hide his emotions. Ian was surprised to find tears in his own eyes. This was a moment he hadn’t believed possible.

  “Death Fae!” The words were uttered by a male Ian had never seen before. He wasn’t very tall, and Ian was pretty sure he wasn’t human, so he guessed he was one of the shifters Layla had met before. Despite his smaller size, the shirtless shifter was obviously in good shape.

  The guy was eyeing Kyleigh like she might reach out and strike him dead.

  Kyleigh looked ready to bolt as her gaze darted between the shifter and Raven. Ian had no idea why she was so freaked out or why the shifter was calling her death Fae. That must be what the shifters called her kind.