Artistic Vision tgc-3

by Dana Marie Bell

  Dear gods, what if Shane changed somehow? Would the poison drag him down into the Black? Could it?

  He moaned, then coughed, the smoke of the burning barn becoming thick and fierce. Akane lifted her mate from the table and raced from the barn, taking flight once they were free. She had the scents of both the female and the male. She would recognize them again. The male bore traces of Shane’s blood on his claws, something he would pay for.

  But first things first. Her mate was in her arms, and he lived. Akane raced to the Dunne farm and the one place he’d want to be when he awoke.

  Bres struck, just as Robin thought he would, at the weakest link: Leo. Fortunately the Sidhe had come prepared, using the earth itself to protect him while he unsheathed his sword. It swayed and buckled, forcing Bres back a step.

  The leader of the redcaps smiled at Leo’s sword. “Cold iron doesn’t work on me.”

  No. Robin had known that. Neither the Tuatha Dé nor the Fomorians shared the Sidhe’s allergy to iron. It took something else to kill one such as Bres. The only one who had come close had been Lugh, who’d tried to poison Bres by filling three hundred wooden cows with a bitter red liquid, then “milking” them and forcing Bres to drink the liquid. Bres, under a geas to obey the rules of hospitality, had drunk the liquid, but instead of killing him it had merely forced him into a slumber so deep they’d all thought him dead. When he awoke, a thousand years had passed and Oberon, his queen Titannia by his side, was on the throne. The Tuatha Dé and the Fomorians had been nothing more than a memory, even to those whose lives were measured in centuries.

  What part Bres played in Titannia’s fall Robin didn’t know, but some day he intended to find out.

  Robin carelessly blocked a redcap, skewering it on the point of a claw before turning his attention once more to Bres. The man was attempting to take down Leo by any means necessary, ignoring the Hob as if he wasn’t even there.

  Well. Robin would have to fix that.

  Robin smiled sweetly, and Bres tripped, almost falling on the point of Leo’s sword. He flicked his hair back from his shoulders and Bres’s belt broke, his pants slipping from his narrow hips. When Robin sighed, bored of the game already, Bres’s sword broke.

  Unfortunately, the tip flew through the air and gashed Leo’s face, narrowly missing his eye. Startled, the Sidhe backed up a step and right onto the point of a redcap pike.

  “Damn. Missed one.” Robin muttered to himself in disbelief. How could he have missed one of the little fuckers? He reached out his hand and twisted. The redcap fell in screaming agony, his kneecap shattered.

  But it was too late. Leo was on his knees, his hand pressed to the wound at his back. Bres stood over him and knocked Leo out with the butt of his sword.

  Robin sighed in relief. The boy was out, and relatively safe; the last redcap was a whimpering mess, and who cared what they saw?

  A toothy grin on his suddenly inhuman face, Robin squared off with Bres.

  Now it was Robin’s turn to play.

  Chapter Eight

  Shane stirred, moaned. Pain was etched into every cell of his body. Nausea raced through him and, barely managing to turn enough that he didn’t choke, Shane puked. Thick, viscous black goo poured from his stomach, as foul tasting as it smelled.

  “Ew. What the fuck is that? Tar?”

  His baby sister’s voice brought a weak smile to his face. He couldn’t even open his eyes, but he could imagine the expression he would see there if he did. Her nose would be wrinkled in disgust, but her green eyes would be lit with worry.

  “Ugh. What the hell have you been eating?” Footsteps sounded on wooden floors; Akane hadn’t taken him to his studio. He must be in his parent’s house. “Ma!” Moira bellowed, confirming it. “He’s awake and he puked!”

  “I remember when I used to bellow that,” Shane tried to joke, but the words were barely whispered. He tried to remember what Constance and Klaussner had done to him, but he couldn’t think past the pounding in his skull and behind his eyes. Pain wracked every inch of his body. “I think I was hit by a burning oil truck.”

  “Close enough.” Warm fingers pushed back his hair, soothed him. His mate’s touch burned him, warmed the cold places that had started to settle through him. “Welcome back.”

  He managed to open his eyes, but it was like a film had been drawn over his sight. He could barely see her, and what he did see was shrouded in shadows. “What did they do to me?”

  Smoke curled from between her lips. “They hurt you.”

  He blinked. “I got that. What exactly did they do to me?”

  More smoke. His dragoness was ticked. “They put things into you, pumped poison through you.”

  Oh. That. No wonder she was upset. Shane was in for a rough time of it, but when he told her the cure she was going to be really upset. He held back the shivers threatening to rip him to pieces. “I see.”

  Her head tilted, her expression fierce. “Do you?” She lifted him in her arms, startling him. “Strip the bed please, Moira.”

  Moira huffed but obeyed. Akane’s tone left no room for argument, but at least she’d said please. “I’m okay, a ghrá.”

  Akane snorted. “Sure you are. You puke up black goo every day.” She placed him down on cold, fresh sheets, then curled up around him. “I thought you were dead.” She stroked the dragon on his arm, the tears she was desperately trying not to shed obvious in her voice.

  “I know.”

  “You knew they were coming for you.”

  He nodded. He wouldn’t lie to her. He couldn’t. “Da?”

  “He’s fine. Whatever they used to knock him out didn’t last long, but he is seriously pissed off.” Moira took the one seat in the room that wasn’t the bed and rubbed at her face wearily. “You are in big trouble.”

  “Anyone hurt?” Shane could barely stay awake. All he wanted to do was sleep in his dragon’s arms.

  “Leo.”

  His eyes snapped open at that. He struggled to sit up, but Akane held him down. “What happened?”

  “The leader of the redcaps showed up at his place to take him and Ruby to the Dark Queen.”

  Shane shuddered. He hadn’t seen that possibility. “How badly is he injured?”

  “Bres sliced him up, but he’ll be all right. Mostly cuts and bruises. He managed to take out most of the redcaps by himself. Robin was seriously impressed.” Akane stroked his arm, trying to calm him down.

  Shane sagged back onto the bed in relief. “They shouldn’t have attacked him on his own land.”

  “Ruby is pissed. She wants Bres’s head on a pike. Apparently one of the blows came close to Leo’s eye and she thinks it will leave a scar on that perfect face of his.”

  Shane shuddered. “He’s all right?”

  “Yes, Shane. He’s all right. It would have been different if Robin hadn’t been there, but he’ll be fine.”

  “We owe him.” He snuggled back, Akane’s warmth once more driving away the strange chill, lulling him to sleep.

  “Yes. We do.” She kissed the nape of his neck, and he got the feeling she wasn’t talking about Robin.

  “Tá grá agam duit.”

  She sighed. “What the hell does that mean?”

  He smiled, unable to answer, as his sister did it for him. “It means I love you.”

  Akane’s face burrowed into his hair, her breath hot on the back of his neck as he drifted off to sleep.

  “Tá grá agam duit, you stubborn son of a bitch.”

  If he’d been capable of it he would have demanded she repeat the softly whispered words, but the exhaustion wouldn’t allow it. Shane let himself fall into darkness, knowing when he woke he’d have little time to hear those words again.

  Akane lay beside her mate and breathed him in. Her dragon slowly calmed, but something was off. His scent had changed, and Akane was terrified over what it could mean.

  “Moira?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Get Sean.”

  Moira
nodded and left the room.

  “What’s wrong with him?”

  Akane wasn’t surprised to find Jaden had slipped into the room. The vampire would scent the change in Shane and come to investigate, especially if it involved her mate’s blood the way she thought it might. “I think the poison they pumped into him is hurting him.”

  Jaden leaned down and sniffed, wrinkling his nose. “Let me check something.” A black claw curled from where his nail had been. Jaden sliced Shane’s arm, a shallow cut that should have bled a sluggish red.

  What came out of Shane’s body was neither sluggish nor red. Tiny black tendrils oozed out, reaching for both Akane and Jaden, a parasite eager for a new host.

  “Holy fuck!” Jaden leapt back, forcing Moira, who’d returned with her father, out the door. “Don’t come in.”

  Moira, like every other member of this crazy family, was having none of that. She tried to push past her mate, but Jaden held her fast, one eye on the ick that slithered from Shane’s veins. The vampire gagged. “That is so fucking gross.”

  Akane leaned over Shane, allowing one of the tendrils close to her face. She breathed out, her flames engulfing the tendril.

  An almost inaudible screech of agony raced across her senses. The tendril curled in on itself, bubbling into inanimate black goo. The remainder of the tentacles pulled back within Shane’s body, writhing beneath the skin of his arm.

  “Double gross.” Jaden allowed Moira in, ignoring the smack to his stomach. Sean raced toward his son, growling at Jaden when the vampire pulled him up short. “You don’t want to do that.”

  “That’s my son.” The ground outside the farmhouse rumbled, a sure sign of Sean’s displeasure with his son-in-law.

  “Listen to me. Whatever’s inside Shane is dangerous.” Jaden eyed Akane. “How fireproof is your mate?”

  She blinked. He could not be suggesting what she thought he was.

  His brows rose. “If he’s truly your mate, he’ll be safe, but the…thing should be fricassee. Think about it.”

  Once again her dragon nature took over. She found herself crouched protectively over her mate, growling at the vampire. Her wings, which she hadn’t consciously unfurled, fluttered in a dominance display that would have sent another dragon either running for the hills or accepting the obvious challenge.

  Jaden threw his hands up in the air. “Well, I sure as hell ain’t sucking it out.” He shuddered. “There’s no amount of Listerine or blowjobs in the world that could convince me to do that.”

  She hissed at him. He wanted her to set her mate on fire or somehow drain his blood? Was he insane?

  “It could work.” Moira leaned against Jaden, smiling slightly when his arm went around her waist. “Aren’t dragon mates immune to their mate’s flames?” Moira looked at her expectantly.

  “I’m not a full dragon, remember? I’m a hybrid. For all I know I’ll accidentally barbecue him.”

  Sean leaned close and grabbed something off of Shane’s nightstand. It was only when he pressed a button that she realized it was Shane’s cell phone. Sean’s eyes never left hers as he called the one person she should have thought of. “Is this the Seer?”

  Akane bit her lip, hoping her mother had the answer they were seeking.

  Apparently she did. Sean didn’t even get to asking his question before her mother’s quiet voice began speaking. Sean paled, but his gaze was glued to his son’s body.

  The thing Shane had been injected with was moving under his skin, not just in his arm but in his abdomen, his thighs, even his face. They could all see it writhing like worms under his skin. Akane grew worried as his skin began to take on an unusual pallor. His bright hair darkened, turned copper. “He’s changing.”

  Sean hung up the phone and turned to Jaden. “Take him into the yard. Please.”

  Jaden nodded, silent for once. He picked up Shane and followed Sean out of the house, Akane and Moira hot on their heels.

  “Why is Jaden carrying him?” Moira was watching her mate with a worried expression.

  Sean grimaced. “The Seer said that whatever is inside Shane can’t hurt Jaden because his blood would destroy the invader. It’s part of Jaden’s nature.”

  “Oh.”

  “But it can still gross me the fuck out.” Jaden shuddered.

  Aileen gasped at the sight of Shane in Jaden’s arms. The tea she’d been pouring for Duncan splattered on the tile floor. “What are you doing?”

  Sean shook his head, unable or unwilling to speak. Jaden’s mouth was grim, his eyes glittering with green fire. Duncan stood and started to approach his mates, stopping when Jaden shook his head.

  He obeyed when Moira gestured him closer. “Don’t touch Shane.”

  “Why not?” Aileen tried to block their exit from the house. “What are you doing? Why is he out of bed?”

  “He’s got a parasite inside him, a Dark Court one. We have to burn it out.” Sean gently set his mate aside and opened the back door. “The Seer says if we don’t…” He shuddered, and for a moment grief dimmed the vibrancy she was so used to seeing in the leprechaun. “I want them dead.” He looked at Akane and Jaden. “If I don’t get them, you will.”

  Jaden nodded. “Damn skippy.”

  Akane bared her teeth and snarled.

  Aileen covered her face with her hands, but followed them out onto the back porch.

  Jaden took Shane to a spot where grass had once been. Sean, using his powers, had cleared away all grass and undergrowth, even digging a shallow, round pit in the ground. There would be no chance of Akane’s flame damaging the house or accidentally setting off a grass fire.

  Jaden set Shane’s body down in the fire pit. Her mate’s arms and legs were twitching, the thing under his skin controlling his movements. She prayed with all her might it hadn’t wound itself through his brain.

  Akane took a deep breath and prepared to burn the affliction from the man who’d claimed her heart.

  “Wait!” Aileen rushed forward. “What if he needs to be Bonded before he’s immune to your fire?”

  Akane blinked. “We test it.” She stepped around Aileen, grateful her partner trusted her enough to let her do what she was about to do. He lifted Shane’s shirt out of the way and moved before Akane blew. Flames danced across Shane’s stomach. She dared not flame his hands. Those beautiful hands had to remain unscarred. A barely audible shriek made her flinch, but it didn’t come from Shane. Where her flame touched his flesh it turned pink once more, the pallor that had taken over the rest of his body disappearing under fire. She nodded, satisfied and curiously aroused at the thought of bathing her mate in her flame. “Strip him, Jade, then stand back.”

  Jaden made quick work of Shane’s clothes, those lethal vampire claws tearing the cloth in a frenzy almost too quick to see. Everyone else obeyed, moving away from the circle of earth Sean had created to cradle his son. Akane crooned to her mate, her song hopefully soothing him. When Jaden stepped back and nodded, she spread her wings and let her inner flame fly.

  He ran, trying to outrace the darkness that chased him, but everywhere he turned, every door he opened only led to more darkness. Soon he would have nowhere left to turn, no place to hide. The darkness wanted to devour him, use him for its own ends, make him like…like… He flinched, the thoughts whispering to him from the darkness too evil to contemplate.

  It wanted him to bow down, to succumb. To become one with it.

  Shane would rather die than do what the darkness wanted.

  Flame licked across his senses and the darkness retreated, screeching in rage.

  Shane grinned. She’d figured it out, his clever mate, and Shane would get to live another day. “Akane.” He followed that glow to its source, the warmth lulling him. He centered himself in that flame, allowed it to protect him. Shane marched in step with it, pointing out all the places the darkness had tried to hide. The flames obeyed his wishes, destroying the invader, eliminating every trace of the darkness within him.

  Shan
e was finally warm again, oh so warm. He basked in it like a cat in the sun, stretching beneath a heat that smelled strongly of his fiancée. He moaned as the heat licked across his inner thigh, danced across his cock with light, teasing touches. The only bad spot was a constant itch across his arm, the last bit of the darkness trying to escape the purifying fire. Shane opened his eyes to see Akane standing over him in all her glory, fire dancing across her skin, licking at her breasts. Her hair danced in the breeze stirred by the heat of the flames. Her wings were spread wide, the delicate tracery of veins glowing with her inner fire.

  She was so beautiful his heart stopped. He must have been a very good boy in a previous life to have earned her love.

  Shane stood and immediately grabbed his arm. The pain there was intense, the fire he’d been basking in missing. The cold was a burning pain. From a shallow cut on his arm black ooze gushed forth, the last of the darkness trying to escape its fate.

  The darkness gathered itself and leapt for Akane, landing on her stomach and began trying to claw its way in. Akane hissed and batted at it, but it clung to her fingers. She breathed at it, but it dodged her flames, no longer shackled by skin and bone.

  When it leapt for her beautiful, vulnerable eyes, Shane lost it. No one, nothing would take his mate from him.

  No one.

  A strange roaring sound filled the air as Akane tried to bat away the black goo reaching for her eyes. The ground beneath her feet began to tremble. There was a faint, feminine gasp, Jaden’s throaty laughter, and Akane looked up, hoping to see what had surprised everyone.

  Multicolored strands of light whipped around Shane’s body in a strangely erotic, lethal dance that entranced her. Within those lights she could see Shane’s visions appearing and disappearing like smoke. His Seeming had dropped, and a snarl was on his face as he glared at the black ooze.

  “Oh fuck.” Akane had heard of this. If anyone attempted to touch Shane in that moment they would die a grisly death, whipped to shreds by the fury of Shane’s Sidhe half.