by Livia Quinn
“He doesn’t think he’s stubborn.” She giggled, gave another little hic, then her shoulders relaxed.
“They never do,” Phoebe and I said at the same time.
Montana strode in and walked over to us. Her expression turn grim when she looked down at Dylan. “Are we too late?”
Mystiq didn’t answer which sent my stomach rolling. Her worry was evident. “Hurry, Montana.”
I felt Jack’s arrival before he came through the door. A flush of emotion jittered across my skin. If menori were a cat she would have snapped her tail and said me ee ow.
Chapter 22
Tempe
Ain’t nuthin’ but a hound dog.
Jack walked straight to me. As if he could feel my thoughts centered on him, he took my hands briefly, and with a sweetness that stole my breath leaned down to give me a deep “welcome back” kiss. I knew we had no time, but I wanted more. My arms went around his neck and I deepened the kiss. Zeus’ profound vibrations!
Menori was the only part of me that changed when I hit my teens and feeling her rise now in response to Jack’s kiss was amazing. She is my Qi, the root of my power, but she’d been relegated to sniffing and searching like an elemental hound dog until recently when my Tempestaerie showed up just in time to save my brother then promptly disappeared again with the onset of the Para-moon.
I kissed him back with enthusiasm wishing it could go on and on. Jack’s lips released mine slowly, and something besides his smile told me how happy he was to have me in his arms.
“Could use some help here with the heavy postal inspector…” muttered Montana. We broke apart and rushed over to help. Dylan may have looked like he was wasting away but he was heavy as heck. Mystiq pointed to the stones she’d placed at various points on and around his body, and instructed us to pick up the cot.
“Wouldn’t it be quicker if I just threw him over my shoulder?” asked Montana.
Mystiq said, “No, Montana. It’s crucial that we carry him this way so that the herbs and stones remain in place. Now, go.” She and I took one corner, Jack and Montana the other end, and Phoebe and Aurora the remaining corner. It was slow getting down the front steps around the house and then down the slope without tripping and spilling Dylan and the crystals onto the grass. Jordie followed.
I spotted Freddie on the bank when we arrived. Mystiq asked him to take her place while she walked into the murky swamp. She sank into the foot-thick muck at the bottom and raised her arms out, I supposed doing her energy-seeking thing. When she turned back to us minutes later, her face was no longer anxious.
“It’s free of negative energy and I could be wrong…” she frowned as she sifted her fingers through the surface “…no, I don’t believe I am. There’s power here, fresh power—both earth and fire, which will aid in Dylan’s healing. Let’s go, what are you waiting for?” she said, suddenly, spurring us into action with the clap of her hands.
We all scurried forward, splashing into the swamp, the freezing water easing up over the edges of the cot and surrounding Dylan’s supine form. “I can’t imagine water this cold is good for him,” I said. “The herbs…” I cried as they began to float away. Jordie waded through the water trying to gather them.
Mystiq smiled, “It’s okay, Jordie. Let them go. The gems will stay put until they are not needed. The waters will do their work more quickly than I’d hoped with this added power.”
Freddie said, “I think that was Vivie’s thank you gift.” He beamed like a proud papa.
Mystiq just smiled, “That explains it. Let’s hope she finds peace at home.”
It was easier to hold Dylan now that the water was supporting his heavy muscled body. It was chilly and the sun shown steadily for the first time today. Almost everyone sighed with relief. It wasn’t a sign, but it felt like one, after the snow and cold and heavy clouds, not to mention the psychological effects of the power down. It seemed like way more than nineteen hours had passed, and I had slept through much of it.
My eyes met Jack’s red-rimmed ones across Dylan’s body. When this is over I’m going to put a closed sign up, and sleep for a month.
I gasped. Had I just heard his thoughts? My mouth dropped open and his head tilted, giving me a curious look. Then he whispered, “Bugs,” and smiled. The fatigue faded from his beautiful face.
Zeus’ lusty loins! Desire raged through me, making me feel alive for the first time today. The first time I’d seen him he’d been dripping shaving cream and I’d wanted him. Bad. And now that I wasn’t going to die or anything—far as I knew—I wanted him even worse. Sorry, Jack. You’re not getting a nap until we make love, but I’ll make sure when I’m through with you…you’ll sleep like a baby. No response. Apparently, this was a one-way conversation.
Montana said, “He’s a heavy sucker.”
Mystiq said, “Be still now. It’s working.” The white stones had begun to vibrate and Mystiq placed her hand over Dylan’s heart. He started to convulse. That couldn’t be good.
“What’s happening?” Jack asked.
“Hold on,” said Aurora. The stones surrounding Dylan’s body glowed and heated the water to steam. The fabric of the cot began to burn and Dylan’s body sank through the surface a bit. Jack and Montana grabbed for him but Mystiq cried out, “Don’t. It’s working.”
If you call drowning in swamp water a fix for being comatose. Maybe this was a version of going toward the light, like a near death experience. I watched the water where he disappeared. No lights, still a brown murky mess, a bad choice for a healing pond if you wanted to know what I thought.
I looked at Mystiq. “Shouldn’t he be like, coming back up, or bursting up or something by now?” Mystiq pointed as a splash of water sent spray over us, and a deeper swirl moved steadily toward the bank.
The seven of us stood wet and gaping as the shallow wave gathered momentum, headed out toward the deeper water then circled back. Jack and Montana, true to their natures, drew their weapons, Jack sighting in on the movement in the water. Good thinking. I guess it could be something evil like that earlier Dark Faethat went after Freddie.
“Jack.” My mother put one hand on each of their weapon hands. “If it’s not Dylan, it might be Petre’s folk coming through.” Their weapons came down just as a wave slapped the bank and a young gray and black dog shot out of the water, barely taking the time to shake the water from its coat before hightailing it—now I knew where that word came from—for the top of the hill. Fear hit me like a straight-line wind and knocked me off balance, figuratively speaking.
“What—”
“Daddy, it’s a puppy,” Jordie said her eyes lighting with concern.
Montana sheathed her sword and extended her leg across the bottom looking for Dylan’s body.
Mystiq said, “That was Dylan.”
Aurora’s mouth dropped open. “But that was just a dog.”
As Dylan’s furry backside disappeared around the house, Jack sighed and said, “I’d better call Animal Control. He’s outta here.”
“What happened, Mystiq?” Phoebe frowned at the healer. “Are you sure…?” Her shoulders slumped. “Of course you are.”
Sadness swept over me, an unsettled grief. Where was it coming from? Then reality hit me. That young pup was all that was left of our big strong friend. And he’d run away from us as if his life depended on it. “He was scared—of us,” I said, as I accepted Jack’s help pulling my shoe-covered feet out of the mucky bottom.
“What are we going to do? He might get run over. Will he change back to Dylan? What went wrong?” My voice trailed off as I realized they’d all made it to the bank and no one had any answers.
Jack had his phone to his ear. His compassionate gaze traveled to mine as he said, “Peggy, I have an unusual request…”
Jack
Where’d you get that blood?
Making a round through Destiny, I had several calls in short succession. Peggy called to say people were submitting some odd reports. “The manager
of the UPak-It called about strange people loitering outside. Mrs. Thompson called in about some odd looking birds on her lawn that looked more like reptiles. She’s locked herself in her house.”
And on it went. I mollified her by saying I’d send Ryan and his Halloween date. My phone rang again. It was Ridge. “Smoke snuck up on a flock of your shmoo and scared them up so Tank could send them to shmoo hell.
“Don’t forget the last step,” I reminded him.
“Slade is taking care of it with his flamethrower,” said Ridge.
I was impressed. “I just want to clarify, they aren’t my shmoo. I’ll claim any of the good supes. Have you seen any squonk?” The larger of the goofus species would be more difficult to contend with and would make it hard to keep the goods citizens in the dark.
Ridge said, “My equipment is picking up several bands of what could be weather, but I’m afraid it looks more like the pattern we see with large flocks of birds migrating.” Shit. “How is it going there with Tempe and the others?”
“She’s getting her feist back,” I said. When she’d started spouting Zeus curses I knew she was feeling better. We hung up and Ryan called.
I made him repeat his location and asked, “How are you hiding RC?”
“I’m not. RC is giving autographs to the kids in front of the movie theater. Coming soon, Robocop, The Next Generation.” He snickered.
“Good thinking, Ryan.” I grinned. “I’ll be in touch. Ridge says he’s seeing something flying low on the radar. Be ready.”
Then the medical examiner called. His first words made me frown. ”Where did you get that blood?”
I squinted, the scenery around me fading as my mind raced. I didn’t answer his question but said, “That was quick.”
Dan breathed heavily into the phone, “Yeah, well it doesn’t take long when you get such obvious results. I got good news, good news, and you’ll have to decide about the other.”
“Give it to me.” I pulled over and braced myself, concentrating on his report.
“Jordie is definitely your daughter.” My head swam and my breath whooshed out. I was more relieved than I’d expected, and finally admitted to myself that this had been my greatest fear. I took a few deep breaths to quiet my racing heart and asked “What else?”
“I found some blood that doesn’t match the G sample on the floor, and some that does. Thing is, it doesn’t look like the G product is any kind of blood I’ve ever seen, except maybe reptile fluids I once studied in the Peace Corps…”
So the other good news was that Georgeanne was probably my perp. Yes!
The ME went on, “You said the G sample was your ex? If so, then it got contaminated somehow.”
I got him off the phone by promising to get him another sample, explaining that one was probably bad because it’d spent time under my fingernails in an unsterile environment. He didn’t sound like he believed me.
I felt a smile reach all the way to my ears. I had the bitch. She wasn’t human, and she’d killed Fritz. The only thing that could’ve simplified my life was if Dan had told me Georgeanne wasn’t Jordie’s mother. But I’d bet my house we wouldn’t see Fritz or Georgeanne again.
She’d been made.
Chapter 23
Tempe
If wishing could only make it so…
Everything was eerily quiet by the Forge, like the unnatural calm before a storm. That wasn’t always true. Often I’d seen fish leaping out of the water, a flurry of birds and squirrels running to cover, or taking advantage of their prey that were doing the same. This wasn’t like that. If I had to describe the aura of the swamp, it would be expectant. I looked over my shoulder beyond Harmony where the feeling I got was menace.
Then the fresh scent of spring hit like someone had sprayed “Natural Forest” air freshener nearby. I whirled at the light footsteps behind me. A profusion of chatter and fluttering noises announced the arrival of Petre and Arabella along with their folk. With their presence, the swamp came alive with color and sound. Arabella leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Tempe, how are you?”
“Getting stronger by the minute,” I said, and meant it.
My friend’s concern bolstered me, as it had for years. For a long time now, whenever I had Saturday off from the mail center, which was almost every weekend, she flew over from the Faerie Inn and we had refreshments at dawn by the Forge. Mine was coffee, hers, the many varieties of shad and minnow that skipped along the bank. We’d been doing that very thing two days ago when we sensed a sinister presence in the swamp. Now we knew it wasn’t the Vouivre, so what was it?
Aurora and Phoebe appeared at my shoulder, and my mother and my friend embraced.
“Bella, I’ve missed our visits,” my mother said. Why did I resent the feeling that my mother had been there first, with Dylan, with Arabella, even River? But it hurt a little less each time I had to face my perceived betrayal by friends and family. Before long it would be just another event that had shaped my present.
Stop the pity party, Tempe. Was that my mother sending me a message through our until now broken mind link? Or was I giving myself yet another lecture? Phoebe’s eyebrow arched as she glanced over at me. Uh-huh.
Phoebe said, “Bella, I must ask you and Petre for an important favor, if you can do it.”
Every eye turned to Phoebe, including many of the smaller fae. “I need to know if you can open this.” She knelt on the ground and whisked the fabric away from an object to reveal the sealed box I’d buried the LIAB in.
I said, “Wait, Mother. Maybe I can unseal it now that Cache´ is waning and I’m feeling stronger.” Cache´ is the larger rebel moon that created this whole lack of power problem. My energy was coming back steadily though.
Phoebe considered this, then waved her hand toward a dead Cypress. “Call on your Tempestaerie power then, but point in that direction, away from the swamp in case it’s erratic.”
She was such a party-pooper. My lips twisted in concentration. My eyes narrowed as I aimed at the remains of the cot we’d used to carry Dylan and called the storm. I felt the charge of ions in my blood like a pot on the verge of a full boil. Power backed up into my hand until I thought it was going to blow up. “Ow,” I said, and shook my hand, which resulted in a kind of smoking Fourth of July sparkler that sailed into the air and dropped onto Montana’s foot.
She jumped back stomping the sparks. Phoebe gave one silent don’t question your mother look and turned back to Petre and Bella. “Tempe sealed it with lightning, Petre. I think your magic can help us open it.”
Petre picked the heavy box up easily and inspected it. “May I retire to study it further?”
Phoebe said, “Yes.” She was being so formal. What did I know? Maybe it was part of the process like the formal request for their help.
Aurora said, “I’ll go with them. Maybe I can help.” She followed Petre and Bella to a stand of Cypress where they put their heads together on getting the box open.
“What are you planning, Mother?” I asked.
“If they can get the Ignis Orbis out of the box, we’ll have a chance of correcting this fiasco,” she said.
Ignoring her tone, I realized she’d answered through our mindlink. Thank Zeus! It was really back.
Mind link, check.
Aura-reading, check.
Zapper, not so much.
And there was that added benny of being able to hear Jack’s thoughts. I smiled.
Petre and Aurora huddled in discussion with Arabella. It was such an odd looking addition to my backyard, the Jolly Green Giant; my colorful feathered friend, his queen; and Aurora’s elegance. When they had reached a conclusion, Petre turned and glided over, looking down at me from his great height. I’d often thought of him as an uncle even though he was my friend’s mate. I never thought of her as an aunt though, nor the Queen of the Fae, just my friend.
“Ahem, Tempest?” I looked up, and up, mesmerized by his giant purple gaze, the long green lashes drifting down, then gracefu
lly lifting.
He smiled. I asked, “Did you get it open?”
“I’m afraid not. Your magic is much stronger than you think. We believe you are the only one who has a chance of opening it. If my instructions don’t get it done, then we’ll have to wait until your Qi is fully restored.”
“But I just tried, and sparklers aren’t going to get that box open.” I looked at Aurora and Phoebe.
Aurora walked toward me. She said, “Keep an open mind, Tempe. I think Petre’s on to something.”
I sighed sounding too much like a grumpy teenager. I squared my shoulders and vowed to get it together. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so...negative. The Para-moon had to be partly to blame. Then I thought about Jack and what he was up against without all of the Paramortals behind him. “Tell me what to do.”
He held out all eight of his long green fingers and said, “Give me your hands and close your eyes.”
I did, and Aurora’s soothing voice said, “Breathe in as slowly and as long as you can until you’ve filled your lungs. No, try again, slower this time. Release the air very slowly, gently.”
I did as she said. “Feel your hands grounded to the earth through Petre.” She thumped me on the shoulder. “Stop moving ahead, Tempe. “Feel you hands and your power grounded through Petre’s. With your eyes closed, glance to the four points of the earth.” Slowly in a low soothing tone, she said, “North. South. East. West. And down into the dimension of spirit.”
I was separated from everyone, in another realm, a free space where time didn’t exist. I walked toward the bank, took in the lush green abundance, the water so alive with native creatures.
Petre’s voice came from far away, “Go back, Tempest, to where you placed the box, before you sealed it. Use all of your gifts. Remember the gifts of your family, harness them in your mind. Remember. Pinpoint the day, and exactly when you sealed the ‘Lightning in a Bottle’.”