by Amy Sumida
“There's no reason for anyone to go after Seren,” my father narrowed his eyes on Tiernan. “All of her kills have been legal.”
“Legal or not,” Tiernan looked back at me, “someone powerful enough to command the Sluagh is after your daughter.”
“You don't think they were simply trying to get to me through Seren?” Aideen asked in a small voice.
“No, I don't and I don't think Seren does either,” Tiernan was staring at me strangely. “You have an odd look on your face.”
“You don't know her well enough to judge whether or not she looks odd,” my father was edging in belligerently towards Tiernan.
“Evidently he does,” I didn't take my gaze off Tiernan, “because you know as well as I do that he's right.”
“Let's take this inside our suite,” my father sighed and unlocked the door for us.
We followed him into the central living area, a spacious room with wall to wall navy blue carpeting and black leather couches gathered in the center. There was a modern kitchenette in the far right corner with a small wood table in front of it and a door to the right of that. Then to either side of the room were two more doors. All three of them led to bedrooms, one for each of us... not including Tiernan. He'd have to sleep on the couch. I stared at one of the sleek leather couches, an image of a sexy, sleepy Tiernan stretched across one, filling my head until Aideen walked through my line of sight. She went to the kitchenette and put a kettle of water on the stove.
“Explain,” my father shut the door behind us.
“You know this already,” I sighed, “I told you on the plane.”
“What? That the fey bitch attacked you first instead of Aideen?” He scoffed. “So what? Any warrior knows to take out the strongest first. Aideen posed no threat, even if the girl had run, they would have been able to catch her.”
“Um, I'm four-hundred-fifty-six years old, hardly a girl,” Aideen interjected timidly.
“Lissa attacked you first?” Tiernan ignoring both my father and Aideen.
“She grabbed me and pulled me into the air,” I nodded. “She seemed rather intent on separating me from my father.”
“That makes twice that unseelie fey have tried to carry you off,” Tiernan frowned.
“Carry me off?” I cocked my head at him. “Are you saying they may not have been trying to kill me?”
“No,” he ran a hand through the hair at his temple and I found myself staring at his long, elegant fingers. They were more the hands of an artist than a warrior. “I don't know,” he admitted. “But it's strange that they both would try to remove you from the ground.”
“Well none of us can fly,” Dad huffed as he fell back into a couch. “It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a fall could kill us.”
“None of you can fly but I've heard that some of you can levitate,” Tiernan cast me an assessing look as he gestured towards the couches and I took a seat. He sat beside me, turning his body towards mine so he could still look at me while we spoke.
“Yes, I can levitate. That's what I was doing in the forest,” I admitted. “But hovering mid-way between earth and sky doesn't have a lot of benefits. Being able to run faster and more quietly has been the best so far and I just learned that trick tonight. Levitation wouldn't have saved me from that fall earlier. You did that.”
“Between earth and sky” Tiernan whispered as he frowned but before he could say anything else, the kettle began to whistle.
“Oh, here we are,” Aideen interrupted.
She took the kettle off the stove and poured the water into a waiting teapot. She put the teapot on a tray with four mugs, a bowl of sugar, a pitcher of cream, and some spoons, then brought the whole thing over to us. She carefully placed it down on the coffee table in the middle of the gathering of couches and smiled as if it were a marvelous accomplishment.
“Tea?” She asked brightly.
“Thank you,” Tiernan politely accepted a cup but my father and I just gaped at her. Was she seriously interrupting us for tea?
“A warm cup of tea will help you think,” she insisted and handed me a teacup.
“Thanks,” I frowned down into my tea, then shrugged and spooned in some sugar.
“Cream?” Aideen asked but I shook my head. “An Irishwoman who drinks her tea without cream?”
“I only like cream in my coffee,” I shrugged and Aideen glanced at Tiernan with wide eyes. He narrowed his on her.
“What?” I snapped.
“Nothing,” she smiled. “It's just that most fey feel the same way. We like our tea sweetened only. Cream ruins the natural flavors.”
“Anyway,” I rolled my eyes. “There's no special reason to lift me into the air. It doesn't make a difference.”
“Unless they didn't want you to levitate,” Tiernan tapped his cup as if he were trying to put his finger on a thought.
“How about a snack?” Aideen popped up from the seat she'd just taken and ran over to the refrigerator. “I think I saw some things to make sandwiches with. Anyone want a sandwich? I think we're supposed to have little ones when we drink tea. I could cut them up small.”
“We're fine, thank you,” I narrowed my eyes on her. Why was she so damn nervous? Then it hit me and I sighed. “It's okay to be scared, Aideen. After seeing the Sluagh in person, I totally understand how even the thought of them is enough to disturb you.”
“Oh, I'll be okay,” she laughed nervously and came to sit back down beside me.
“Why would they want to keep me from levitating?” I looked back to Tiernan.
“Are you sure you don't want a sandwich?” Aideen asked again. “Not even a little one?”
“Aideen, please,” I huffed. “Relax, we're all safe in here. This house is charmed against unwelcome visitors, especially fairy ones. Unless someone welcomes the Sluagh in, they won't be able to step one foot... er... tentacle... hoof... whatever, inside.”
“Let me pour you a cup, Aideen,” Tiernan reached over to the teapot and poured a cup of tea, then handed it carefully to the dryad.
Aideen nodded her thanks as she reached for the cup and some delicate, flexible branches slipped out of her hair. They were thin like vines but definitely branches, with fluted, delicate, pastel flowers whose color matched her hair perfectly. She inhaled sharply and slipped them back into her tresses self-consciously but not before their scent drifted over.
“Is that night blooming jasmine?” I asked and she flinched, spilling a little tea into her saucer.
“Drat,” she huffed and got up to fetch herself a napkin.
“You're a Night Queen?” Tiernan's eyes went round. “But that means-”
“Yes, let it be!” She snapped at him and he jerked as if she'd hit him. “I apologize, my lord, I'm a little on edge. I only lose control of my blooms when I'm under strain.”
“Of course,” Tiernan nodded gallantly but his eyes held a strange look. “Think nothing of it.”
“I love night blooming jasmine,” I smiled at Aideen. “I'd forgotten that it was also called Night Queen. The name suits it though, we have a tree in our yard back in Hawaii and when I come home at night, the fragrance rules the night. It suits you as well.”
“Thank you,” she settled in beside me again and gave my hand a pat.
“This is ridiculous,” my father growled. “We don't have time to talk about flowers and drink tea.”
A knock at the door startled all of us but Dad got up and went to answer it immediately. It was one of the council aids, letting us know that extra guards had been posted to watch for the Sluagh and that we were expected to report in tomorrow at 8 AM for the briefing before we left for Gentry Technologies.
I groaned and looked at my watch. It was 3 AM so that meant I'd only get about four hours of sleep. I put my teacup down, stood up, and started heading towards my room. At that point, I didn't care what anyone else did or said, I was getting into bed while I still had the chance.
“Seren,” Tiernan stopped me.
&nb
sp; “What?” I asked in a whiny groan.
“Sleep well,” his low voice followed me into my bedroom and I determinedly shut the door on the sexiness within it.
Shivers coasted over my arms as I started to undress for bed and all I could think about was being held by him under that tree, our hearts beating together and his lips pressed to my skin. Tiernan was going to be a problem, a big one, and I had no idea what to do about him. I just knew that it couldn't be what I wanted to do.
Chapter Sixteen
I cast a look around the crowded van, my gaze landing on the two fairies amidst the mass of Extinguishers. We humans were wearing combat gear; kevlar body armor, thick boots, and helmets reinforced with iron to guard against fairy mind tricks. There were pockets in our pants which were filled with anti-fey charms such as four-leaf clovers and St. John's Wort, even though all of us were gifted enough to see and battle the fey all on our own. Charms added just a little bit of extra protection that sometimes made all the difference in a magic based fight.
I could tell that Tiernan and Aideen were feeling very uncomfortable around all those charms and iron weapons but the Council had done its best to make them as safe as possible and they were both wearing full combat suits as well... just without the charms or helmets. The suits would protect them against any accidental cuts from our iron weapons. Even a careless brush against one of our blades could burn them.
I glanced over into Tiernan's silver eyes and ended up staring. The outer ring of black around his iris made their strange metallic color seem brighter in the dim interior, almost hypnotic, like those rings were drawing me in. He gave me a slow, knowing smile and I looked away, my gaze landing on Brendan, who was three men down from Tiernan on the bench across from mine. Brendan's look was a disturbing mix of sadness and anger. Disturbing because I knew that look, my father had worn it since the day Mom died. Men who looked like that didn't care who they hurt as long as they found a way to make their own pain diminish. I knew then that Tiernan was right, Brendan was not for me.
Mini Murdock might not have thought I'd be an easy win but he obviously hadn't expected to work so hard for me either. Tiernan was amazing but he was also off-limits to me, a fact that Brendan could have used to his advantage. If he had manned up and accepted a little competition, I may have been impressed enough to give him another chance. Instead, he threw tantrums like a toddler until he just gave up and sulked. No woman wanted a sulker, no matter how attractive he was.
The van jerked to a stop and the back doors opened, revealing our team leader; Extinguisher Eric Kavanaugh. Eric was a cousin of mine but we weren't close. Maybe it was a side-effect of the work we did but families, beyond the basic unit of parents and children, didn't spend a lot of time together. Perhaps because we didn't really have a lot of free time and our main family unit spent most of its time training. Even if we had been close, Eric was a professional and would never have given me special treatment.
He nodded grimly to us and we filed out onto the sidewalk without a single word. The street in front of the looming office building had already been cleared in preparation for our arrival, though the human police had no idea who we actually were or what we were doing there. Only the highest up in law enforcement knew of our existence and helped pave the way for these little excursions.
Although the deserted sidewalk was a plus, it was also an annoyance. Gentry Technologies would have had ample time to prepare for our attack after the ample warning we'd given them. I was kind of looking forward to a fight, a way to expend all this nervous tension that had been building up inside my muscles, but I was hoping to have the element of surprise on our side. It was bad enough to be fighting in an area controlled by the fey, but giving them time to prepare, virtually ensured an ambush.
That was all warrior whining though. The Council had made the decision to clear the streets for good reason. They had weighed the options carefully and determined that innocent lives were more important than the extra risk to ours. It was the right call and one which I would have made in their shoes. We signed up for this, they didn't. The possibility of an ambush sucked but the possibility of civilian casualties sucked more. I guess sometimes that's what being a leader was about, choosing the path that sucked the least.
Tiernan and Aideen were right beside me as we entered the main lobby and found it completely deserted. The large windows which made up the entire front wall let in lots of light, illuminating the abandoned reception desk to our left and the empty waiting area with its collection of modern looking couches to our right. Large silver letters hung on the cream marble wall directly across from us, proclaiming that this was; Gentry Technologies. I narrowed my eyes on the sign and tried to figure out what exactly bothered me about the name. The Gentry part wasn't too surprising, it wasn't even all that original, Gentry was another name for the fey, but the Technologies made it seem like an oxymoron. Fairies had magic, they didn't need technology... and that's what bugged me. If the fey combined their magic with our technology, they could do anything. They could... create biological weapons and destroy us all. I sighed and silently called myself an idiot as I realized that even if we won today, this was merely a skirmish, the war had just begun.
I let go of my doomsday thoughts to look around again. There were elevators to our right, just past the waiting area, and across from us, beneath the silver sign, were three polished wood doors, each with security pads set into the wall beside them. A glance to my left showed two more doors just past the reception desk. One was marked: stairs and the other: parking. Lots of places for fairies to jump out of but no one did. It was just us in our stark black suits, stark against the perfect shine of the empty room.
I wasn't surprised by that. It made sense to lure us in to a location of their choosing. With this being a fairy business, there could be anything waiting for us on the upper floors... perhaps even a lack of floor entirely. We could walk out into empty air or water... or a Sluagh ambush. I swallowed hard and glanced at Tiernan. His look was not reassuring.
“Ms. Evergreen,” Eric came up to us. He cast me a quick side nod in acknowledgment before focusing his dark eyes back on her. “We're relying on you to direct us. Where's the lab?”
“The fourth floor,” Aideen said immediately and waved a hand towards the elevators.
“The elevators are too risky,” Eric shook his head. “We're doing this as planned, we go up the stairs.”
“They're right there,” she pointed to the door marked: stairs, with a look that clearly said she didn't think he needed her to point it out.
“Alright, let's move,” Eric didn't even notice her look, just waved a group of Extinguishers forward. “Ms. Evergreen, you have the comm link on, right?” He touched his hand to a spot on the side of his helmet.
“Yes,” she moved her hair and a little ear bud with a small extended microphone was revealed.
“Good, I want you three to bring up the rear but I'll still need you to guide me through the link,” he nodded.
“I'll get you there,” she nodded nervously.
He didn't even reply, just ran for the stairs and edged his way in front of the Extinguishers filing into the open door. He disappeared from sight, probably heading to the front, as we got into place behind the others and began running up the metal staircase, creating enough noise to wake the dead.
Which is what we'd be if they caught us in those close quarters. An icy cold was working its way down my spine. I knew the elevators would have been worse but suddenly the stairwell seemed more like a very tall coffin than a means of getting up to the lab. Someone could come out of one of the top floors and simply lob some fairy magic down at us. It would be like one of those carnival games; Shoot the Extinguisher. I bet they'd win first prize.
“We're here,” I heard Eric through my own earpiece. “It's empty... wait. What the hell?” Then there was a loud crackling and the communication faded into an obnoxious, buzzing tone.
“Fuck!” The men ahead of us swore and rushe
d up the stairs but Aideen grabbed me and pulled me out a door marked: Two.
Tiernan followed behind me and the three of us came out onto the second floor; a dark, open space sectioned off by cubicles. There were offices on our right but the doors were shut and no sunlight made it through to us. Aideen started running down the aisle in front of the offices, still holding my hand.
“Wait!” I tried to pull back but she was stronger than she looked. “We've got to help them! I can't just run away! What are you doing? Aideen!”
“How?” She finally stopped and stared at me with huge, frightened eyes. “How are we going to help them?!”
Then a low growl came from the far left of the room. I froze and turned towards a growing darkness there. The black cloud puffed up, larger and larger, so dark that it didn't seem to have substance at all, it was simply an empty void consuming everything in its path. Except it wasn't empty. Creatures lurked within it, monsters who had haunted my dreams the night before. The Sluagh had arrived.
“Run!” Tiernan shouted as light began to fill his hands.
We ran. I followed closely behind Aideen, who had angled into the cubicles and was weaving her way through them. Loud crashes vibrated through the floor us as the Sluagh moved forward, crushing everything that stood in its way. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a ball of light fly out towards the oncoming nightmares and I glanced back. The dark was pierced. Monsters cowered back from the invading light and shrieked. Then the strangest thing happened; the shadows formed by the golden magic, solidified and lashed out at the monsters, tendrils of black clawing at their eyes and other vulnerable places. The screaming intensified.
“This way!” Aideen shouted and opened a door in front of us.
We rushed into another stairway, this one much narrower than the first. It spiraled downward like some relic from a Gothic novel. It was made of stained wood with intricately carved railings and it barely made a sound as we followed it down and down and down, much further than the first floor would have been.
“Where are we going?” I asked Aideen.