by Eva Sloan
“Alright, smart-guy! What was it?”
“The sidhe.”
“The what?”
“The sidhe…faeries…but not Tinkerbell, the kind that rule over the ethereal mists…”
Min just stared at him like he was crazy.
“You’ve had to have heard of them: The Summer and Winter Courts—Seelie and Unseelie.”
“You’re trying to tell me little fairies did that to my mother, and that they smacked me around up stairs like I was a piñata?” She laughed at him.
“You’re a gypsy, a witch. You can’t tell me you’ve never heard of them?”
“Fairies are just…the stuff of fairytales. That’s all.”
“No, they are most certainly real…and they aren’t little. At least the ones you’re dealing with aren’t. They’re also so strong they can smack a mightily powerful witch like you around, like a piñata, and not even be in the same room as you. They probably weren’t even in this world when they did it.”
Min waved him off, feeling like his words were simply madness. “How in the world would you know anything about such creatures, even if they did exist?”
Luca’s face turned from hard cold to almost winsome, a smile touching his lips, and then there was torment. She could suddenly feel his grief. And then Min was slammed with another vision: one of his memories.
An injured fae, a woman, and even injured he would never have been able to take her by himself. There had been half a dozen vampires, all so hungry for the creature’s blood, the scent of the faerie so powerful and alluring, intoxicating and absolutely irresistible. They had fallen upon her in concert, like ravening dogs. One had lost his head to her sword, but the other five sunk their teeth into her and drained her, though it took all their strength to subdue her, her strength finally faded as her blood was sucked away.
They drank her until she was stone cold and dry to the bone. Then they tore her body apart to get at what little was left inside her. It was terrible.
And all the while one of the vampires had Luca’s hand in hers. He loved her, hated and feared her, her glittering black eyes and pale skin—so beautiful and crazed.
Elaina. The name wafted into Min’s mind, cold and sharp. And she knew that this horrifying creature had made Luca into a vampire.
She ripped herself from the vision and she spoke the words that fell from Luca’s lips. “Hard to kill.” And she knew he enjoyed the thought of having killed the fae as much as he loathed himself for ending the life of something so powerful and beautiful.
She was suddenly frightened, for as he spoke again of the Summer and Winter Courts of the fae, and that he could tell just from the smell, and the feel of power, that whatever fae had been in her mother’s room, that it was one of the Winter Courts, the Unseelee Court.
But somehow, someway, it all seemed vaguely familiar. Like, as he spoke of it all, she realized she’d already heard it, knew it once. Yet as she listened, as she tried to pin down and touch those thoughts, they slipped away. As if something were obscuring those things from her mind’s eye. Magic, it had to be. But who had done it? Was it the same thing that had stolen her mother’s soul and life, or was it something else entirely?
Min felt the coldest of sensations trickle like the blood of a corpse down her spine. What else do I not remember? And for how long has this been going on?
After a fuzzy, dizzying moment, min tried to stand on her own. She couldn’t even pull herself to sit up on the side of the bed. How hurt am I?
Min finally agreed to let Luca carry her to the hospital. Moving with his preternatural speed, they arrived only moments after he departed her home. He took her in, setting her oh so gently in a waiting room chair that seemed to magically become vacant, and he talked to the woman at the desk. For a moment the woman flatly told him to fill out the paperwork and they would get to her eventually. But then Min felt a twinge, something cold and dead, and then she realized that the vampire was pushing, glamouring the clerk. Abruptly she was smiling at him, and saying that she would have her in a bed in no time.
Min glared at him, ready to hit him—but as her stomach turned over, just sitting there was making her so very, very dizzy—she let it go. Maybe having him around wasn’t all bad. She cringed at the thought.
The nurses and the doctor seemed a little surprised that Min was in the bed she was. Obviously the desk woman had pulled a bit of clerical sleight of hand, but they shook it off and were quick on the pickup. Min was wheeled off to radiology, where they took some x-rays and a CT scan. Once back in the ER, the nurses cleaned and dressed her wounds, and the doctor breezed in, looked at the results for a couple moments, and declared that min didn’t have a concussion. And that she was very lucky.
“How did you sustain these injuries?” He was looking over her chart, the one the clerk had dashed off so quickly. He was looking for the cause, and was noticeably irritated that it wasn’t there.
“She had a fender-bender with a fire hydrant.” Luca said, rolling his eyes in an intentionally irritated display. It made Min want to reach out and smack him.
The doctor looked down at her, a condescending smirk on his face. “Well, drive safely little lady.” And just like that he turned and disappeared through the curtain.
Min glared at Luca. “You’re not funny!”
Luca gave an elegant shrug that meant nothing and everything all at once. He grinned. “Get dressed and I’ll take you home.”
There were fresh clothes on the foot of the bed. And they were hers. He’d dashed back to her place and raided her wardrobe. Not that she wanted to put those clothes back on. She took them and tossed them in the trash. They reeked of dark magic, and of whatever it was that made the fae’s scent so distinctive. But it bugged her that he could so easily come and go from her come. She’d have to rescind his invitation when they got back to her place. She was almost certain that she should.
Yet Luca surprised her, having called a taxi cab, and paying the driver—and not using even one of his preternatural powers—to drive us both back to her house. He let her decided she needed to hold onto his arm as she climbed the front steps up to the porch, but once they were in the house he scooped her dizzy form up into his arms and without so much as jarring her, took her upstairs to her room. She noticed that he’d closed the door to her mother’s room once again, as if it all hadn’t happened.
But it had, and no matter how long she lived Min would forever have the sight of her mother’s body possessed by that evil, dark force, burned into her memory.
She let him undress her, ever so gently, as he redressed her in a Betty Boop night shirt that was her favorite. How he knew, she could only wonder. But it was her favorite because it was worn and comfortable—and as far from sexy as bed clothes could get. Another point, if not a creepy one, for the vampire’s scorecard.
Luca made to lay with her in the bed, but she put her hand against his chest. His expression turned hurt, but that look vanished almost instantly. Min smiled. “You’re clothes reek of that fairy magic.”
His mouth made a perfect O.
“So take them off.”
He shed his shirt and pants in no time at all, looking so very graceful and beautiful as he did so. Far more beautiful and graceful than I will ever look doing such a thing.
He slid into bed with her, and to his credit, wasn’t even aroused. He just seemed to know that she needed the feel, the touch of his flesh against hers…just not sex. She needed to be held and comforted, and without another word Luca did exactly that.
Maybe being psychically connected to my vampire lover isn’t the worst thing on earth, Min thought right before she passed into a blessedly dreamless sleep.
Chapter 14
Min was only asleep less than an hour when her sister, Andy, burst into her bedroom, flinging open the drapes and brandishing a Danish and black coffee. “Get out.” Min said.
She was lying on the side of her head where the contusion was and probably some nasty bruises by the
n. She could feel more bruises and scrapes on her back and hip. And her arm was sore as hell, too.
“Not a chance!” Andy growled, straightening her glasses and trying to pull a loose wave of auburn curls back into the twist she’d tried to impose on her feral tresses. “You’re not sticking me with this.”
“With what?” Min looked up, thoroughly confused and still in the heavy fog of both sleep deprivation and being pulled out of said insufficient sleep.
“The Winter Solstice…remember?” Andy had her hands on her hips, drumming her fingers with agitation. “It’s in two days and the sale we advertized in The Witch’s Cauldron starts today.”
“Damn…by the pestilent gods…” Min buried her face further into the pillow. “I know, I know.”
“Plus, there’s a freaking Renaissance Fair slash Sci-Fi convention just two blocks over at the Avery Center.”
Min looked up at her sister with fear. “You’re kidding.”
Andy glared at her with haughty exasperation, her dark blue suit jacket matching her eyes exactly. “Wish to blazes I was.”
“How did we miss that?”
“It was supposed to be all the way across town at the Capital Pavilion. But a last minute structural instability forced them to relocate.”
“Structural instability?” Min asked.
“Yeah, a freaking Humvee fell through the third floor to the second when they were setting up the Auto Show two weeks ago.”
Min pressed her face into the pillow again and groaned. She did remember seeing that in the paper. She just hadn’t put two and two together…not with everything that was happening with her mother…and Luca. “That’s what you get for having goblins perform the wards and blessings.”
“Might as well just offer up a fresh corpse to a pack of ghouls and then hand them hammers and hard hats.” Andy agreed.
Min smiled. Yes, they so could’ve done a better job. But she, as her mother and her mother before, had tried very hard to not attract too much attention to the family, or to magic as a whole. And though city governments didn’t advertized that they knew anything about the occult, the use of mystical forces for their benefit was common practice.
Min cringed when she let her mind drift back to the Summer Solstice Sale. Not only did they have real practitioners of the craft coming—a long standing event since the store had been established nearly fifty years ago—but they’d be besieged by Trekkies, wanna-blessed-bees, and the Dungeons and Dragons crowd.
It would be worse than Valentine’s week. All those desperate unrequited human train wrecks wanting love potions before the big day, and then all those jilted ticking time bombs looking for some magical vengeance afterward. The love potions were harmless. They actually had an herb in them that caused calmness. And unless the person had some actual preternatural ability, the voodoo dolls were just rag dolls too.
But Min and Andy always tried to read the customer’s aura first before selling the dolls. And the dark texts were secure behind the magic curtain. But as a sort of backup plan, they put a moratorium on their sale until two weeks after the big day. Better safe than…well, having hexed and cursed people running around with chaos and havoc strapped to their backs.
As Min pulled her stiff and sleep deprived body out of her nice warm bed, she groaned and cursed louder than she would have liked. That’s when Andy’s face dropped.
“Oh my freaking god! What the hell happened to you?”
Min had been so distracted by the Sci-Fi convention bad news that she’d forgotten that she had a bandage on her head. “Um…it’s just a scratch, really.”
Andy looked pale, staring at her sister with horror. She gulped. “There’s blood seeping through the…the bandage...” She was pointing at her own head and looking paler by the moment. “And all those b-b-bruises.”
Min saw she was trembling and looking woozy, so she got up and ushered her little sister into a chair before she fell down or passed out. Andy wouldn’t take her eyes off her sister’s forehead. Min snapped her fingers to try to get her to stop, to look her in the eye, but she had eyes only for the damage. When Min stood up straight again, the room spun—but just the once—so she trudged over to her vanity table and took a look at herself in the mirror.
Yee gads…and holy Hell!!!
She looked like she’d been in a car wreck. The bandage at her temple had soaked through with blood, but it was dried. When she gently pulled it off she saw the wound was sealed with a descent scab. She would just have to shower and forgo washing her hair. She’d pull it back in a bun, or a ponytail, or have Andy braid it. She saw there were bruises down the side of her neck, and down her sore arm. She’d have to wear a turtleneck to cover that, and go heavy on the concealer to cover what was on her face.
Andy shot up out of the chair, her face florid with rage. “Who is he?” She barked, coming toward Min.
“Who’s who?” Min felt confusion mix with the dizziness and nausea.
“The guy. The guy from last week. He’s the one that did this to you, isn’t he?”
Dear Goddess, she thinks it was a man…
“Andy, honey, it’s not—”
“I’ll kill that fucking son of a bitch!”
Min was shocked. Her sister never cursed. She was also as violent as Mini Mouse. But the look in her sister’s eyes was scary. There was murder there, and a sudden dark intelligence. She may not be much of a practitioner of the craft, and casting had never seemed very important to her, but she was still Katarina’s daughter, and she knew more than her share of potent magicks.
Also, those dark blue eyes of hers were lightening, turning an eerie, icy blue.
“Andy, sweetie, calm down.”
“Are you going to tell me where Mr. Goodbar is hiding his coward’s ass, or do I have to scribe for him?”
“Whoa! Stop! No man did this to me…okay?”
Confusion flickered over Andy’s face, breaking up the anger that was so horrifying to see there. “Then what did?”
Min took a long, deep breath and held it. She hadn’t wanted to tell her sister any of it. How she thought she would be able to keep it from her she didn’t know, but she felt such a compulsion to keep Andy safe, she almost tried to tell her a lie anyhow. But just looking into those naïve eyes of hers, she just couldn’t do it.
“I tried to…to cure mom last night.”
Andy’s face turned questioning, and then her big blue eyes got round as saucers and she turned her head toward the door. Min could tell she was looking for their mother, and it broke her heart to see such desperation in Andy’s eyes. Those eyes had welled up with tears, but Andy choked them back, blinking them away, and turned from the door. “It didn’t work.” It wasn’t a question.
“You’re killing me, kid.” Min said, now beside her sister, gently putting her hands on the other woman’s shoulders.
Andy shrugged away her touch and paced over toward the window. “I’m not a kid! And why the hell didn’t you tell me you were doing this?”
“It was dangerous”—obviously, look again upon my face—“and you’re—”
“Not powerful enough? Not tough enough? Right?”
Min tried to say something to comfort her, but Andy started talking again…well, it was more like yelling.
“Don’t want to get stupid little Andy all upset, she might cry all over herself!”
“It’s not like that.”
“Really?” Andy said accusingly. “Mom always said that.”
“She did not.” Or at least Min hoped she never had. But there was a nagging little doubt in her mind.
“No, she’d never have said that.” Andy conceded. “But she did it anyways. Did you ever think that’s why I don’t have the power you two have? Maybe if you two would stop protection me I wouldn’t be so useless to you.”
“You’re not useless…you—”
“I help run the shop, and I’m really gangbusters at tracking down old books for you.” She turned and stalked to the bedroom door
. “Yeah, I’m freaking indispensible.”
Min couldn’t say anything to that. Katarina and she were both guilty of being powerfully overprotective of Andy. And yes, that over protectiveness had stunted her metaphysical growth. It was all true.
Andy stopped at the door, her fingers gripping the blue glass knob. “I could’ve helped you last night.”
“Look at me. It didn’t go well.”
“But if I were there—”
“If you were there you would’ve—” Min stopped. She was about to say something very, very stupid. But it was too late.
“I would’ve gotten us both killed.” Andy just stared at where her hand gripped the door knob. “That’s what you were about to say.”
Min sat back down on the bed, so tired, so hurting, and now feeling so very guilty. “You’re right.”
A few beats of silence spread out between them, and Andy took a few shallow breaths. “I’m not up to momentous mystical battles. But if you two had ever let me try the hard stuff, then maybe I wouldn’t be the liability I am.”
Min wanted to be able to say something to make it better, but there wasn’t anything to say. Andy was right, but she didn’t regret that she’d kept her safe all this time, she just didn’t.
“Go shower,” Andy said as she walked out of Min’s bedroom. “I’ll do your makeup when you’re dressed. I can—you’ll look like a freaking drag queen if you do it. Hells bells, you still use liquid concealer!” And she was gone.
Min sat on her bed, closing her eyes on her own horrific reflection in the vanity mirror. Why did hurting Andy feel worse than any of her bruises?
After the shower Min managed to get her pain riddled arm into a turtle neck sweater. Andy came in with her brushes and little jars of mineral makeup. But first some Neosporin and a small flesh colored band aide, then she made quick work of brushing and then braiding her sister’s frizzy rat’s nest of hair until it was a nice loose style that accented her cheekbones and made her eyes look impossibly big.