by Nina Bangs
She’d allowed the cosmic troublemaker free rein, and Sparkle had created a minor miracle. When Ivy had looked into the mirror, she’d barely recognized herself. And her red dress hugged her bottom and plunged just as far as Sparkle’s dress. If Murmur said he preferred the natural look, she’d know he was lying, because the mirror told the truth: Ivy had never looked better.
Still, Ivy felt jittery when Murmur opened the door.
Sparkle leaned past him to see who was in the room, and he looked past Sparkle to meet Ivy’s gaze.
Murmur’s eyes widened, and then his gaze slid slowly down her body, lingering on strategic spots. When he finished the return journey back to her face, he simply smiled.
That smile made sitting still for an hour so Sparkle could do her thing worth every minute. She returned his smile.
“Ganymede isn’t here yet?” Sparkle sounded disappointed.
Murmur finally looked at her. “No. I suppose that will ruin your grand entrance. I didn’t know you were coming.” He glanced at Ivy, proving he had a good idea how Sparkle had found out about the meeting.
“I don’t need a grand entrance.” She swayed past him into the room. “And this is my castle, so I have every right to be here.”
Murmur’s gaze stayed on Ivy even though he was still speaking to Sparkle. “Where’s Braeden?”
“He’s attending some cultural event with Asima tonight.” Her smile was a wicked twist of her lips. “I’m hoping that when he abandons her she’ll go into a decline and disappear. Do you think I’m asking for too much?”
Sparkle didn’t wait for an answer. She took a seat in the middle of the couch. She leaned back and crossed her long legs. She patted the seat beside her. “Sit here, Ivy. I might want you to take notes tonight.”
Ivy joined her on the couch. She mentally scrolled through the actions Sparkle had tried to pound into her head while she’d worked on Ivy. Attempting to look casual, Ivy crossed her legs. Only an iron will kept her from trying to yank her dress down farther on her thighs. She barely remembered to dangle one stiletto from her toe. According to Sparkle, this drove men crazy. Go figure.
Murmur didn’t look as though he’d need a mental health facility anytime soon, but he did watch her as he closed the door and then returned to his seat. When he met her gaze, she saw the hunger there. Yes!
“Why is she here?” Tirron sat on the end of Murmur’s bed. He didn’t try to hide his outrage that not only would he have to tolerate Ivy, but now Sparkle would be cluttering up their meeting as well.
“She’s here because she wants to be.” Sparkle’s voice was a dangerous purr. “You look uncomfortable. Why don’t you scoot back and lean against the headboard?” Her expression turned sly.
He scowled. “An iron headboard. Not exactly an enthusiastic welcome for your fae guests. And I still don’t think you should be here.”
Sparkle widened her eyes. “Oh, we have alternate headboards for those we truly welcome.”
“Did you miss the part where she said she owned the freaking castle?” Bain sounded frustrated as he leaned forward in his chair.
Tirron seemed ready to quote the Privacy Act, but someone knocked on the door.
Sparkle still looked casually sexy, but Ivy sensed her tension. Ivy was feeling her own tension. She nervously twisted her ring. Loose stone. She’d have to get that fixed. She hoped everything went well, because if anything bad happened, she’d have to grab Kellen and run. Not something she wanted to contemplate right now.
Murmur didn’t even get to the door before it swung open and Ganymede padded into the room, still in cat form. Someone else was with him.
The someone else was male. Tall and muscular with a tangle of dark hair and eyes a shade of blue so dark they almost looked black, he fit right in with the other men in the room. Crossing the room, he took the seat on the other side of Sparkle.
Ganymede leaped onto the coffee table and lay down with his back to Sparkle. His tail twitched, each twitch thumping against the glass top of the table. He didn’t look happy.
“I brought Dacian with me. He’s my bullshit meter for the night. That means if I think you’re handing me crap, I’ll confer with Dacian. If he agrees that you’re bullshitting me, then the meeting is over, and you’ll need to find a new home.” He turned his unblinking cat stare on Bain. “That means all of you.”
“Not so fast.” Sparkle uncrossed her legs and leaned forward.
Every male gaze in the room except for Ganymede’s snapped to Sparkle’s plunging neckline. Ganymede didn’t turn his head to look at Sparkle, but his twitching tail pounded out a furious rhythm on the table.
“As the castle’s owner, I have the final say on who stays and who goes. Remember that.” Satisfied that she’d asserted her authority, Sparkle leaned back and crossed her legs once again. Slowly.
Ganymede chose to ignore the interruption. “Dacian, you know Bain and Murmur. The two new ones are Tirron—he’s the faery who looks like he has a stick up his ass—and Ivy. She’s sitting next to the freaking ‘castle’s owner.’”
The temperature in the room dropped about ten degrees.
Ivy ignored Sparkle’s hiss. Well, at least she’d finally gotten to meet Dacian the vampire. She offered him a smile and a small wave. He smiled back. Wow, Cinn hit the mother lode with this guy.
Ganymede indicated he was ready to get down to business by sitting up and wrapping his tail around himself. He scanned the others, skipping over Sparkle. “Today a damn Gancanagh showed up at the castle.”
Dacian looked interested. “I thought there weren’t any more of them.”
“Yeah, well I wouldn’t mind making them extinct.”
Sparkle narrowed her eyes to amber slits, and Ivy decided that Ganymede needed to cut out those kinds of comments if he wanted her back. Ganymede seemed blissfully clueless, because he kept sticking his paw further into his mouth.
“Anyway, a bunch of dumbass women were all over him.”
“Jerk.” Sparkle didn’t even try to lower her voice.
Ganymede flattened his ears but kept going. “The faery calls himself Braeden. He claimed Murmur’s music drew him to the castle. And since he was blasting Murmur’s music all over the great hall, I sort of had to believe him.” He speared Murmur with a hard stare. “I know you don’t make those kinds of mistakes, demon. I want an explanation.”
“Guess that’s my job.” Bain sounded resigned. “I asked Murmur to use his music to draw the Sluagh Sidhe to the castle.”
Sparkle clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and horror-filled. For the moment she was speechless.
Ganymede had no problem verbalizing his reaction. Ivy winced. She’d never heard so many curses strung together in one sentence.
“You’re bringing the fucking faery host down on my castle?”
Ivy didn’t for a minute believe the flash of lightning outside their window, followed by a deafening clap of thunder, was Mother Nature’s idea.
She frowned. Faery host? What did that even mean? Sparkle had removed her hand from her mouth and was glaring at Ganymede. Evidently the cat’s “my castle” claim trumped the faery-host news.
“You have about two minutes to exist, so you’d better start talking now.” Ganymede stood, ears pinned and a low growl warning of bad things to come.
Jeez, could Bain be more freaking stupid? Didn’t he know you worked up to bad news gradually? You eased into it to avoid triggering messy slaughters. It was called being subtle. Murmur raked his fingers through his hair. Instinctively, he began building a tune, one with the power of a heat-seeking missile. He’d have to disable the chaos bringer before he could visit death and destruction on them. Not that Murmur was feeling a deep need to save his fellow plotters at the moment.
Murmur glanced at Tirron. The faery looked as though he was mapping out the best escape route. Figured. Tirron was a runner not a fighter—unless the odds were in his favor.
Murmur had to admit, though, that Bain
made the best use of his two minutes. He told his tale of woe with lots of extra embellishments.
The kidnapped woman had been the great love of his life, and the Castle of Dark Dreams was the best place for his heroic last stand against the evil faeries, because of the insanely powerful entities that lived there.
And those insanely powerful entities were also heroic beings who would step up in defense of a helpless woman and her devoted lover, because they were fierce defenders of what was right and just.
Murmur thought he would puke. Bain was absolutely driving nails into their coffins with every word he spoke. Time to stop this train wreck.
“What Bain is trying to say”—Murmur shot a shut-up glare Bain’s way—“is that no one would be dumb enough to attack the Castle of Dark Dreams, because they know Ganymede would be here waiting for them.”
He stared at the cat. Because as the cat went, so went the rest of the nonhumans. Edge was almost as powerful as Ganymede, but he wouldn’t challenge the other troublemaker over castle business. The only problem Murmur foresaw was with Sparkle.
You’d think that a being who had existed for millennia would’ve learned something about women along the way, but Ganymede was a total dumbass when it came to Sparkle. And she was pissed at him. But right now Murmur couldn’t worry about her. He had to concentrate on the most powerful one in the room.
“Of course, we all want a peaceful settlement.” Not. Tirron would be doing everything he could to precipitate a battle so he could slaughter the Unseelie horde. Bain? Well, his friend just wanted the woman back, and he didn’t much care if it involved a few hundred bodies along the way.
And Murmur? He gave lip service to the peaceful-settlement concept, but inside, where his demon lived, he wanted blood. Lots of it. He wanted to free his music to tear apart bodies, to destroy and destroy and destroy until nothing was left alive.
A red film slid across Murmur’s vision, his heart beat faster, and music leaked from him. Poisonous and corrosive, it searched for a victim.
He heard Ivy’s gasp at the same time Dacian’s voice slammed into him.
“Shut it down, demon. Now.” The vampire curled his upper lip, exposing his fangs.
Murmur took a deep breath and shoved his music back into his mind. He shook his head to clear it. This was what it meant to be a demon, and he’d better always remember it. No matter how much he might seem human, he wasn’t. He would always have to guard against moments like this, moments when he could lose control. Somewhere in the Underworld, his master was laughing.
And what had happened to his claim that he didn’t want a war with the faeries? His bloodlust swept rational thought away.
He dared a quick glance at Ivy. She stared at him wide-eyed, and there was fear in those eyes. Shit. She’d heard the music.
He took a deep breath. “Sorry. Where was I? Oh yeah, the peaceful settlement. We all want it.”
“Some more than others.” Ganymede’s amber eyes said he knew exactly what Murmur hoped for.
“But if the faery host won’t give Elizabeth back to Bain, we’ll have to fight.” He slipped Ganymede a sly glance. “I know your Big Boss has set limits on how much carnage you can create, but surely you have a right to protect what is yours. And if the faeries are the aggressors…” Ganymede could figure out the rest.
Everyone not named Murmur, Bain, or Tirron sat frozen. Murmur couldn’t read their expressions.
The silence dragged on and on and on. Finally, Ganymede spoke.
“Can’t take a chance. Now that Sparkle is Big Boss in Training, he’s keeping closer tabs on the castle. I’d be in deep shit if he turned up in the middle of things and caught me using… unnecessary force to flatten the faeries. So you probably need to go somewhere else. Hope you get your woman back, though, Bain.”
Then Ganymede remembered his original mad. “I think I’ll still kick your butts down the stairs and out the door for sneaking behind my back and trying to draw me into your fight.”
Murmur cursed. They were screwed.
“Not so fast.”
Sparkle uncrossed her legs and stood. She did her sensuous swing around the coffee table until she stood behind Bain. She put her hands on his shoulders, and he tensed. Ganymede flattened his ears.
“Bain’s story touched me. It made me teary-eyed. I want to help him recover his love.” She met Ganymede’s glare. “Besides, Murmur can’t leave yet. We have unfinished business.” She smiled. “My castle, my decision.”
Murmur fought not to smile. Laughing at Ganymede never paid future dividends.
“What can you do against hundreds of faeries, compel them to have sex with each other?”
Ganymede had a convenient memory. Murmur remembered Sparkle doing just that a few weeks ago. Okay, so most of those involved had been human, but not all. Bain and Holgarth had fallen to her compulsion. Sometimes the cat forgot that Sparkle had her own brand of power. The Big Boss wouldn’t choose anyone other than a heavy hitter to take his place.
Sparkle’s laughter taunted Ganymede. “I could, but when I’m really ticked off, I simply take away their balls. Men seem incapable of thinking without them.” She shrugged. “Women are more reasonable. I could probably sit down with them and come to an agreement.”
“Really? Their balls?” Tirron sounded strangely fascinated.
“Really.” Sparkle brightened. “Would you like a demonstration?”
Tirron tried for his usual cold and aloof expression, but Murmur figured he was mentally clapping his hands over his endangered body parts.
“That won’t be necessary. I believe you.”
“Good.” She glanced around the room. “Anyone have problems with my decision?”
No one spoke. Even Ganymede had enough sense to shut up.
With a furious hiss, the cat leaped from the coffee table and headed for the door. “Let’s get out of here, vampire.” He narrowed his feline eyes at Bain. “Whatever happens when the Sluagh Sidhe gets here is on your head. I hope you have a big bank account, because I don’t think the insurance covers faery attacks.” The door swung open ahead of him. He padded through, followed closely by Dacian, and the door slammed closed behind them so hard that Murmur was surprised the walls didn’t shake.
“That went well.” Sparkle’s smile was triumphant. “I love bursting pompous bubbles.” She glanced at Ivy. “Let’s celebrate with a drink.” Her attention shifted to Bain. “Keep me informed.”
Bain nodded. “Will do. And thanks.”
Murmur watched Sparkle and Ivy leave. Ivy didn’t meet his gaze. He didn’t blame her. His music had oozed evil, once again reminding her of exactly what he was. He tried to convince himself that he didn’t care, but it wasn’t working. He cared too much. And what the hell was he going to do about that?
“You scared the woman, demon. Be careful. Things will go smoother if she remains docile and ignorant.” Tirron’s stare said that Murmur was a clumsy idiot.
If Bain didn’t need the faery, Murmur would show Tirron exactly how much power his music had. “The woman has a name. She’s Ivy.”
“She’s a tool to secure the release of Bain’s human toy. Don’t forget that. And don’t forget your part in our plan. Keep her happy and focused on you. Make her want you so much that she’ll follow you anywhere. When it comes time to trade her for Bain’s woman, we don’t want her distrustful or unwilling to follow where you lead her.”
Murmur had taken as much crap as he intended from this dickhead. It was time to clue him in about Asima. He opened his mouth to speak, but Tirron held up his hand.
“I hear something.” The faery stood and stalked to the door.
Bain and Murmur remained seated. Murmur amused himself by imagining how much he’d enjoy watching Tirron dance until his feet were nothing but bloody stubs.
Tirron paused in front of the door, and then suddenly yanked it open.
Ivy crouched on the other side, her hand frozen in the act of reaching for something sparkly on the r
ug. She looked past Tirron to Murmur.
Horror, fear, and soul-deep betrayal lived in her eyes. And even as he watched, disgust and fury joined the other emotions.
She’d heard.
She knew.
13
Ivy crouched in front of Tirron, the lost stone from her ring forgotten. He looked down at her—cold and not even close to human.
She’d known none of them were human, but for the first time she really understood what that meant. Not only had her rose-colored glasses hit the dirt, but Murmur and the faery staring at her now were grinding them into dust beneath their supernatural heels.
“Well, this is a complication.” Tirron seemed mildly annoyed.
At the sound of his voice, whatever had held her frozen shattered. She came out of her crouch and ran.
Not the stairs. Too easy for him to catch her. The elevator doors were open. Was the elevator iron? Tirron wouldn’t go near the iron headboard.
Maybe surprise would freeze him for a moment and give her a head start. He didn’t look surprised.
Maybe some random person would come out of a room or up the stairs. The hall was empty.
If she could get inside the elevator, close the doors, and reach the hotel lobby before Tirron caught her, she’d be semi-safe. There’d be too many witnesses. Human witnesses. The human part was important. Of course, she didn’t know how powerful he was. Maybe he could make them all forget what they’d seen.
Stop worrying about what-ifs. Think survival. She’d get to the lobby. Then she’d lie, make someone from the registration desk go with her to Kellen’s room. She’d pay the person to stay with her while they packed and left. No, forget packing. Just leave.
Even as the disjointed thoughts flashed through her mind, the few rational brain cells still functioning screamed that she’d never get to the elevator in time, never get the doors closed. Please, please, please. The ragged plea was in sync with her rasping breaths.
Ivy didn’t dare look behind her. She tried to scream, but all that came out was a hoarse croak. Panting from terror, she flung herself into the elevator and hit the ground-floor button.