by Shéa MacLeod
My mind was still in a whirl over the text from Trevor. It had sounded important, and yet the whole thing was just so weird. I didn’t quite know what to make of it. Part of me wanted to brush it off as a joke, or an over-exaggeration. But another part of me was worried it was something much more serious.
“Happy birthday.” Kabita handed me a neatly wrapped package, then dropped into the seat opposite me.
The waitress scurried over to pour her a cup of coffee and then left to get us our blueberry pancakes. Blueberry pancakes are a necessity of life. Especially on one’s birthday.
“Thanks.” I turned the shoebox-size package over in my hands. Heavy. “Can I open it now?”
“Not until after the ceremony.”
“C’mon. Just a peek?”
She shook her head. “No way. Try and peek, and I’ll take it back.”
“Fine,” I huffed. “When’s the ceremony?”
Kabita was a natural born Witch and enjoyed forcing me to participate in random rituals and rites just because she knew they drove me nuts. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in them or had a problem with them, I just thought they were incredibly boring. This one, though, was all about me.
“Tonight. Your house.”
“Why my house?”
She rolled her eyes. “You can’t do a proper purification ritual without purifying your personal space, too.”
“Don’t know why I need a purification ritual,” I muttered around a mouthful of blueberry pancake.
One eyebrow went up. “Seriously? After what you’ve been through over the past few months, you don’t think you need a purification ritual?”
She had a point. Between channelling the powers of Fire and Darkness, nearly getting killed more than once, confronting my murderer and ditching a Templar Knight for a Dragon (or half-Dragon), crazy didn’t even begin to cover my life.
Maybe Kabita had a point. “Ok, fine. I suppose I should get a couple bottles of wine or something. Maybe bake some brownies.”
She laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m bringing cupcakes.”
“I like cupcakes.”
“Who doesn’t?”
Good point.
***
I was not thrilled about having to wait to open my gift. I’d always been sort of an instant gratification kind of girl. Which had gotten me into trouble on more than one occasion.
I had to admit, though, that the package Kabita had given me looked pretty on my kitchen table. Er, birthday altar.
Kabita had given me a list of items I was supposed to have on my birthday altar. Since I didn’t have an altar, I’d used my kitchen table and piled it with candles, photos and random memorabilia. That included the Dragon scale Kabita’s father had given me. Well, not so much given me as shown me, and I’d just kept it.
The doorbell chimed. I frowned. Kabita and Inigo weren’t supposed to arrive for another hour.
It wasn’t Kabita or Inigo at the door.
“Jack.”
“Happy birthday, Morgan.”
He looked delicious as ever with his broad shoulders practically making mincemeat out of the seams of his leather biker jacket. His ocean-blue eyes drank me in.
“Stop it, Jack.”
“Stop what?”
I glared. “You know what you’re doing. You made your choice.” He’d given me up for duty and honor. Bullshit, if you ask me. “And I’ve made mine.”
“So I hear.”
“Inigo’s a good man.” He was more than that. He was an amazing man. Dragon. Whatever. “What do you want?”
“Are you going to let me in?”
Hell no. “What do you want?” I didn’t move an inch. I wasn’t feeling especially forgiving toward our local resident Sunwalker. Never mind the fact that I was quite possibly a Sunwalker, too.
He sighed and ran his fingers through sun-streaked brown hair. “Fine. I came to give you this.” He handed me a small black box, like something you get from the jewellery store. “Open it.”
I flipped up the lid. Inside on a bed of black velvet an amulet nestled. The same amulet that had started this whole mess: The Key of Atlantis.
I started to hand it back to him. I didn’t want it. I didn’t want what it had given me. “No, Jack, I …”
He closed his hand around mine. “It’s yours, Morgan. I want you to wear it.”
“No freaking way. This thing has fucked up my life enough already.”
His face grew hard. “And your life will continue getting fucked up until you wear it.”
I gave him another glare. “What does that mean?”
He sighed. “It means that it protects its wearer just as it’s protected me all these centuries. It will keep you safe, continue to teach you.”
I swallowed hard. “It woke the Darkness in me, Jack.”
“And it’s the one thing that will help you control the Darkness. Promise me you’ll wear it.”
I’d wear a frigging dog collar if it would help me control the Darkness. “Fine. I promise I’ll wear it.”
We stood there on my doorstep with the awkwardness of people who were once lovers but have now become strangers.
“Well,” he sounded as awkward as I felt. “I’ll be going now. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday.”
“Thanks, Jack.”
He started to head down the walk then turned back. “I’ll still be around, you know. I still have a duty as your Guardian.”
The Guardian of the Royal Bloodline of Atlantis. How could I forget that? “I know.”
He nodded once then disappeared into the darkness. I sighed. Gods, I hated awkward.
***
I stood in the middle of the circle feeling ever so slightly ridiculous. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in magic rituals. Heck, you can’t kill vampires and demons for a living and not believe in magic. It’s just that I’d never been much for religious ritual in any form.
The circle itself was made up of Cordelia Nightwing, Eddie Mulligan and Inigo Jones, my boyfriend, for lack of a better word. Not that it was the wrong word. It was just that calling him my “boyfriend” made me sound sixteen.
Before the mysterious text Trevor had already told me he wouldn’t be able to make it. Some work thing. Gods, how weird was that? I actually had a brother to invite to my birthday parties.
Six months ago I hadn’t even known I had a brother. I’d thought Trevor Daly, our government liaison, was nothing more than your run-of-the-mill, pain-in-the-ass, suit. But after everything that had happened in London, Trevor had finally told me the truth. Now I had a brother, half-brother actually. Talk about crazy.
Kabita was inside the circle with me. She fanned me with a big bundle of burning sage Eddie had brought from his New Age shop and muttered in whatever language it was she used to do her spell work. The sage smoke tickled my nose and I let out an almighty sneeze.
Inigo smirked, his blue eyes shining with laughter behind his geek chic glasses. I blew him a kiss.
“Would you two stop? Honestly, I’m trying to purify your aura here,” Kabita snapped.
“You could use some purification, Morgan,” Cordy gave me an innocent smile.
Eddie piped up, “This is a very simple ritual to cleanse the old life and start afresh in truth.”
He had a point. My life up to this point had been shrouded in untruths and half-truths.
“Oh, for goodness sake. Fine, but hurry it up. I want a cupcake.”
Kabita glared at me. “Spellwork shouldn’t be rushed,” she said in her best school teacher voice. “Now repeat after me:
Bless me Goddess, for I am your child.
Bless my mind so that I may be smarter and stronger in my knowledge.
Bless my eyes that they may see clearly the path you set before me.
Bless my lips that I may speak truth and justice.
Bless my heart that I may know love and faith.
Bless my womb that I may know and nurture creativity within and without.
&nbs
p; Bless my knees so that I may pray before you.
Bless my feet that I may walk in a more balanced connection to all life.”
As I repeated the invocation, I felt a sort of serenity flood my body. I’m not exactly the type to hang around feeling One-with-the-Universe, but it was kind of nice. I managed to stand still through the rest of the ritual which involved more sage smoke, more invocations, sandalwood oil smeared on my forehead, and a lot of pointing with a very sharp-looking dagger. Finally Kabita opened the circle and I released a pent up breath.
“See, it wasn’t so bad,” she said.
I sighed, fingering the amulet that now hung around my neck. “It was okay. Thanks for doing it. Now can I open my presents?”
She grinned. “Only if you open mine first.”
Inside the shiny purple box Kabita had given me were an equally purple pair of gladiator stilettos. “Oh, my gods!” I squealed. “Are these the ones from Tesselah?”
“You better believe it.”
Tesselah made specialized supernatural weaponry. Which meant that secreted in the heels of my new shoes were silver tipped picks sharp enough to stab a vampire through the heart. Freaking fantastic. I practically squealed in delight.
From Eddie there was a small leather-bound book, no doubt from his shop. Inside were beautiful drawings of Dragons along with ancient, swirling script. It was hard to read, but it appeared to be some kind of history of Dragons.
Eddie had worn a satin purple and cream striped waistcoat for the occasion. Unfortunately, it clashed rather badly with his mustard yellow pants. Classic Eddie. “I thought such a book might come in useful,” he twinkled.
I laughed. He was no doubt right about that. “It’s real?”
“Absolutely. One of the few human accounts of dragons that survives. They say it was written by a Dragon Child.”
Unbelievably cool.
Cordelia handed me a hot-pink gift bag. “This is from Bastet and me. She assured me you’ll like it.”
I barely refrained from rolling my eyes. “Um, thanks, Cordy.”
Inside was a piece of lingerie that was more piece and less lingerie. I blushed bright red and stuffed it quickly back in the bag.
“Perhaps it isn’t as useful as the other gifts, but I have a feeling it will come in handy.” She gave me a wide smile. Inigo leered.
If only the floor would open up and swallow me whole. “Um, thanks again. Very … nice of you.”
As we all dove into cupcakes, it hadn’t escaped my notice that Inigo hadn’t brought me anything. I tried not to let it bother me. Relationships aren’t about material stuff, right?
Right.
“Uh, Morgan,” Kabita’s voice jolted me out of my pity party.
“Yeah?”
“Your amulet. It’s glowing.”
I glanced down. Sure enough, the stone in the middle of the amulet glowed a deep sapphire blue. Ah, shit.
“What does it mean?” Her voice held a mix of fear and wonder.
I had no idea. But with my track record, it probably wasn’t anything good.
Chapter Three
Fringe was packed with writhing bodies when we arrived. Eddie had begged off and I wished I could, too. It wasn’t really my scene. But the rest had been keen to go, so I gave in gracefully.
On the way there, I tried calling Jack about the weird glowing thing, but he didn’t pick up. For a man who insisted on shadowing my every move, he sure made himself unavailable at the most inopportune times.
The minute we walked through the door, Inigo was the center of attention, as always. I understood it now, that animal attraction he exuded. It really was animal. Or dragon, anyway.
Inigo wrapped one arm around me and pulled me snug against his side. I snuggled into the heat of him, loving the sizzle that sparked between us. It was the first time we’d been to Fringe since we’d become a couple. I admit it was kind of weird. I was used to seeing women draped all over him, but this time they stood back warily.
“They’re scared to death of you,” he whispered, his breath tickling my ear.
I laughed. “Yeah, right.”
“No, really.” He flashed me a wicked grin. “Your reputation precedes you.”
I snorted at that. I was a Hunter. I killed vampires and demons and other really bad creatures that harmed humans. I did not kill supernaturals for the fun of it. Though I supposed in this instance, reputation had its use.
Inigo dragged us to the middle of the dance floor. His blue eyes danced with laughter. He knew I hated being the center of attention. I guessed I’d just have to get used to it because he loved having all eyes on him.
He wrapped both arms around me and pulled me flush up against him. I could feel my cheeks heating. I’m all for a little dirty dancing, but Fringe was awfully public.
“Relax.” He nuzzled my ear, sending shivers down my spine. “Forget them. Just let yourself enjoy the moment.”
“I’d prefer to enjoy the moment in a really dark corner.”
“Later.” I swear to the gods he leered at me.
I laughed and wound my arms around his neck, burying my fingers in the silk of his hair as we moved to the music. Heat flooded me as the pounding rhythm took over. It was so primal, so intimate. Everything narrowed down to me and Inigo. I forgot everyone and everything else, lost in the feel of our bodies writhing against each other, our breaths mingling.
Until the screaming started.
The club went from crazy to full out stampede. As the crowd swarmed by us, I grabbed a woman by the shoulders and whirled her to face me. “What is it? What happened?”
“I don’t know.”
The panicked look on her face told me otherwise. She struggled to get away from me, but she was no match for my Hunter strength. “Don’t lie to me.” I infused my voice with every bit of power I could muster without calling my new super powers. The last thing I wanted to do was burn the woman alive. Or worse.
Her expression turned defiant as she continued to struggle. “I told you, I don’t know.”
She was trying to pass as human, but I could feel her magic pulsing against my skin. I knew what she was, too. I narrowed my eyes and gave her a little shake. “Listen succubus, you will tell me right now or I will drain the life force out of you.”
Okay, so I couldn’t do any such thing. Probably. But she didn’t need to know that.
“It’s the sidhe.” She cast a frightened glance behind her as though expecting one of the fae folk to pop up out of nowhere.
“What do you mean?” My stomach lurched. I had a really bad feeling.
“Look for yourself,” she hissed and yanked her arm out of my grasp.
I let her go. It was obvious she was terrified out of her mind. The screams had come from the direction of the bar, so I headed that way.
Inigo and I forced our way against the tide of humans and supernaturals flowing toward the exit until we reached the bar. A sidhe sat at the bar, calmly sipping a glass of glowing, golden nectar. He was tall, slender, and impossibly beautiful as his facial features shifted and molded into various incarnations. Not something normal humans could see. They’d just see a pretty face. But I was a Hunter. I could see his true face. Or faces.
Above him, suspended in midair, hung Cordelia. The look of terror mixed with anger on her face sent fury coursing through me. The Darkness roared to life. My vision narrowed to a pinpoint focused on the sidhe’s ever-shifting features.
“Put her down.” The voice was mine and not mine. This wasn’t the first time the Darkness had filled my voice. “Carefully.”
The sidhe sneered at me. “Or what?”
There was no magic, no creature, more powerful than the sidhe. Or at least there hadn’t been. I let the Darkness out to play.
My hand flashed out and grabbed the sidhe around the throat, hauling him off the bar stool and nearly crushing his windpipe. The golden nectar splashed across the floor as his glass splintered to pieces. The sidhe tried to call his magic, but the
Darkness blocked his access to the Earth Magic he needed. His facial features stopped shifting as he struggled to breathe.
With the access to his magic cut off, Cordy came crashing down. Fortunately Inigo was a lot stronger than he looked. He managed to catch Cordy before she hit the floor.
“Cordy, you okay?” I didn’t dare take my eyes off the sidhe to make sure.
“I’m fine, Morgan. Either deal with the cretin or I will.” Her voice was a little breathy, but the tinge of anger was obvious. I’d no doubt she’d kick fairy boy’s ass if I gave her half a chance.
A second sidhe flashed into the room. “Release him,” he snarled.
The Darkness didn’t answer.
The second sidhe stepped toward me, murder in his eyes.
“Not another step.” Kabita stepped up behind the second sidhe.
The sidhe ignored her and kept going.
“I said, not another step.” She laid a naked blade against the sidhe’s throat. He shrieked in agony. “I may not have her power,” Kabita said to the creature, “but nothing beats cold pressed iron.”
An iron blade? Go Kabita.
The Darkness snatched my attention. It wanted to hurt the sidhe and hurt them bad. But hurting a sidhe was not a good idea. The Fairy Court sort of frowned on it, actually. And having the Fairy Queen as an enemy was never a pleasant experience. Not that I knew this first hand, mind you, but I’d heard things.
I struggled to tamp down the Darkness, or at least rein it in a bit. It wasn’t easy. “Listen to me, sidhe. You do not come into my town, to my club, and mess with my friends. You got that?” Shit, what was I? Clint Eastwood?
“We apologize, Morgan Bailey,” the second sidhe spoke. “It was not our intention to cause offence.”
I wasn’t surprised they knew my name, but I didn’t like it, either. “No, you just enjoy torturing those you deem beneath yourselves. Well, this time you picked on the wrong human.”
“Again, we apologize. My … colleague will be reprimanded.”
Reprimanded? Now that was a new one. The Fairy Queen didn’t give a shit who her subjects harmed. Especially if one of those harmed was human. Humans were lower than trolls as far as the sidhe were concerned.