by Jones, AE
“Yes.”
“When?”
She looked from Andrew to McHenry. “Three days ago.”
Andrew frowned. “That’s when we were attacked.”
“Attacked? I thought you said it was an accident.”
“Someone messed with our heads and made us think it was an accident.”
Selina shook her head. “No, Andrew. My dad wouldn’t hurt you.”
“If he wasn’t the one, then why did I think you broke up with me? And why did he tell you Mac wouldn’t let me be with you?”
Selina’s face lost all its color.
“So we’re dealing with a pissed-off father?” Connor asked.
McHenry looked at his nephew. “I wish it were that simple.”
“What aren’t you telling us?” Darcinda asked.
Before he could respond, the air came to life around them, vibrating with energy like an electrical storm.
Hells.
“What is that?” Jack and Connor said at the same time.
“He’s coming,” Selina whispered.
Darcinda looked out the window. “Who’s coming?”
The hair stood up on McHenry’s arms, and it had little to do with the electricity in the air.
“The demon king.”
I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house down.
Chapter 9
Darcinda couldn’t have heard him correctly. Did he just say demon king …as in the demon king? The head of all the demon factions? One of the most powerful leaders of supernaturals anywhere? And Andrew was in love with his daughter.
Was this a joke? You know, a supernatural version of Candid Camera or Punk’d , or whatever TV show now followed unsuspecting people around and filmed them as they were presented with something ridiculous.
Darcinda didn’t know much about the king. He was almost as reclusive as McHenry, and he didn’t venture far from his lands, of which the Burrows were a minor part. If memory served her right, Selina was an only child the king raised after his mate died. And she was a recluse as well—or maybe it wasn’t her choice, if her powerful father had put his demon foot down.
“Hello? Is anybody home?” A sing-song male voice sounded in the room as if he stood right in the middle of them.
Everyone jerked to attention, the twins’ eyes glowing as if their wolves were thinking about making an appearance. The static in the room kicked up a notch.
The level of power the king harnessed would explain why Darcinda hadn’t sensed his memory spell at first. And now his power surrounded them like a curtain of electricity, she wasn’t sure what to expect, but she also wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing.
She held up her hands and chanted, turning in a full circle.
McHenry frowned at her. “What did you do?”
“Placed a protection spell around the house.” It might not stop the demon king, but it could slow him down. Although the electricity in the room still swirled, so this could be a magical crapshoot.
“Everyone stay inside. I’ll talk to him,” McHenry announced.
“You’re going to talk to the demon who filled you full of shrapnel?” Darcinda blurted. This was not a smart idea.
“He could have blown us up already if he wanted to.”
Selina let out a sob before Andrew pulled her to him.
“McHenry, what the hell?” Connor said.
McHenry’s scowl ramped up, even for him. “Stay in the house.”
He looked at Darcinda. “Once I leave, put a spell over the door again. It should keep him out.”
She gaped at him. It would keep McHenry out as well.
As he opened the door, she stepped up to cast the spell, but something in her faerie gut told her not to let him go alone.
She followed him outside and held up her hand, chanting the protection spell.
McHenry turned to her. “Get back in the house, faerie!”
There was no time for an argument, so she kept it short and sweet. “No.”
A man walked into the courtyard.
“You should have stayed inside.” McHenry pushed her behind him before he faced the demon king.
Darcinda peeked around his arm to get a look.
The king had black hair and glowing eyes in a midnight blue that took in the courtyard before landing on McHenry. He was wearing a black power suit and red tie, of all things, both designer, and way over her budget. But his conservative look didn’t mean he wouldn’t wipe them off the face of the earth.
“It’s been a long time, McHenry.”
Darcinda bit her lip. Were they going to play games instead of getting to the point?
“What are you doing here, Roderick?”
So they were going to play games. And first-name basis? Darcinda didn’t know for sure if that was an insult or not. Should he have bowed or something first? Although she didn’t think McHenry would bow to anyone.
Red ran along the king’s cheekbones. He wasn’t happy about the informal greeting. “I heard there’d been an accident.” The king looked toward the house for a moment before frowning. Was her spell not letting him sense who was inside? “Is everyone okay?”
“Your concern is touching, but we’re fine here.”
The king tipped his head to the side before scowling. “I sense faerie.”
There wasn’t any point in hiding behind the demon lumberjack. Darcinda ducked out from behind McHenry and nodded slightly.
The king’s face darkened beyond angry red to livid purple. “You brought a faerie onto my lands!”
What did these demons have against faeries?
McHenry took a step toward him. “This is my land.”
Andrew walked out onto the porch. “I brought the faerie here to heal McHenry. He almost died because of you .”
The demon king’s jaw clenched for a moment before he schooled his features.
“Go back inside,” McHenry growled.
The demon king’s eyes glowed like beacons. “You must be Andrew. Where is my daughter?”
“Safe from you.”
The king clenched his fists and energy pulsed from him in crashing waves. Darcinda locked her legs so she wouldn’t fall over.
The twins rushed out onto the porch as well, flanking McHenry.
“Why doesn’t anybody listen to me?” McHenry hissed.
“Where is my daughter?” the king demanded in a low tone that had the hairs on Darcinda’s body standing at attention.
No one spoke.
“You will not keep me from my child!”
“Dad, don’t!” Selina cried as she and Jamie burst out onto the porch.
The king’s demeanor changed immediately, and the air calmed around him. His gaze locked on her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. Andrew put his arm around her. The king’s eyes flashed for a moment before he visibly brought himself under control.
Selina stepped away from Andrew toward her father. “Tell them you didn’t do this. That you didn’t hurt them. That they’ve made a mistake.”
The king looked at her for the longest moment, a flood of emotions flashing over his face. Darcinda wasn’t sure what they meant…resignation? Fear? But the last look was fierce, and it was all about love.
Everyone held their collective breath, waiting to see what he would do or say in the face of his daughter’s questions.
He opened his mouth and then closed it again, along with his eyes. When he opened them again, they were focused and determined.
“I will do whatever it takes to protect you.”
He reached for Selina and she flinched back from him. He reacted like someone slapped him.
Jack put his hands up. “We’re with the Tribunal, King. Please don’t make this situation any worse.”
The king shook his head, and everyone tensed around her. Darcinda held up her hands to ward off his magic.
The air swirled around him like a cyclone—right before he disappeared as if the earth had swallowed him.
&
nbsp; “Everyone back in the house,” Connor ordered.
The twins ushered them inside, Andrew half-carrying Selina into the house while she cried on his shoulder.
“Reactivate the shield,” McHenry said.
Darcinda circled again, chanting the spell. McHenry held up his hands and recited something in a language she didn’t recognize.
“What did you do?”
“Some additional magical insurance.”
“He’s gone,” she said.
“He’ll be back,” McHenry said.
“How do you know?”
“Because he won’t leave his daughter here with me.”
That was a weird way to phrase things. Selina was with Andrew, not him.
Before she could ask him what he meant, McHenry turned to the sobbing girl. “Lass. Can your father appear inside a building, or can he only travel through the earth?”
She hiccupped slightly before answering. “I don’t think he can move through the flooring. I’ve only ever seen him disappear outside. Why would he do this? I can’t believe he did this.”
Andrew took her in his arms, and she started to cry again.
The twins checked the windows in the front room and then jogged around the house to check the other windows and doors, McHenry assumed.
A minute later they returned. “Where is the cell phone Tim made?” Jack asked. “I need to get ahold of Devin and let him know what happened.”
McHenry held up his hand. “You don’t need to call Devin. No one needs to know. I’m not pressin’ charges.”
Darcinda grabbed McHenry’s arm before she could stop herself. What in the Fates was he up to?
* * *
If the situation hadn’t been so damn dire, McHenry would have gotten a kick out of the shocked expressions facing him right now.
The twins looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. Jamie’s mouth hung open, and Selina’s teary gaze widened. Andrew’s expression was the hardest to take, with anger and betrayal sparking from his eyes.
A hand landed on his arm, and he looked down to see the faerie healer who was damn lucky the demon king hadn’t incinerated her. Her expression was less about confusion and more calculation, as if she was trying to reach inside his head to figure out what the hell he was doing.
Good luck with that. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing. He was improvising before this situation got any worse. He needed them all to leave, including his nephews, so he could deal with the king on his own. This had been a long time coming, and he would take care of things.
Connor cleared his throat. “Ahh…we can’t let this go.”
“Why not?”
“Because the attack on you is no longer a secret. Devin has more than likely met with the Tribunal to let them know what happened.”
“But he doesn’t know everythin’ that happened,” McHenry argued.
The hand on his arm tightened on his shirt, and he looked down at Darcinda. “At this point it doesn’t matter whether you press charges or not. This is bigger than that. This is a Royal Decree.”
“You’re talkin’ gibberish.”
She sighed. “I forget how secluded you are. If there is any misuse of power by a supernatural leader or royal, the investigation falls under what is called Royal Decree. Unlike humans, who hide behind their diplomatic immunity rules, supernatural leaders are held to a higher set of laws. Connor and Jack have to tell Devin, and a Tribunal will be called, even if you refuse to press charges.”
Damnation. “That makes no sense.”
Jack spoke up. “The law was put in place so leaders can’t intimidate others so they won’t testify against them.”
Jamie spoke up. “The phone is in the office in the top desk drawer.”
Jamie, Jack, and Connor headed toward the office.
“Andrew, why don’t you take Selina upstairs so she can lie down?” he said.
His nephew nodded and escorted the girl upstairs.
A throat cleared next to him, and he stepped away from the faerie before she could touch him again.
Her eyes tightened on his face. “Are you okay?”
How should he answer that? He simply stared at her.
“Why aren’t you willing to press charges? Are you afraid he might retaliate?”
“No,” he growled. Hells, he wasn’t nearly as scared of the king as he was scared about what might come out in a trial. He needed to be the one to handle things. “I just want everything to go back to normal.”
Darcinda’s expression softened. “Well, there’s your problem, McHenry. We don’t live in a normal world.”
New, more creative curses spewed from him before he walked away without looking back.
Magic can’t fix disappointment.
Chapter 10
What. Just. Happened?
Darcinda watched the grumbling demon stalk toward the kitchen. Serving as a supernatural healer meant she had witnessed a lot in her lifetime, but the past few minutes had her flummoxed in more ways than one.
Why didn’t McHenry want to press charges? Why was he evasive when she asked him if he was scared of retaliation? He didn’t strike her as being afraid of much. Didn’t he want to punish the demon who’d attacked him?
And an even bigger question… Why hadn’t the demon king fought them? As confrontations went, it started out dicey and ended on an almost cordial note. She remembered in technicolor detail the viciousness of McHenry’s injuries and tried to match it up with the male who had disappeared after looking hurt when his daughter pulled away from him.
Nothing appeared as it should, but maybe that was the point. Hadn’t she just told McHenry they didn’t live in a world of normal?
Now if only she could figure out what really happened and convince McHenry to tell her what was going on in that stubborn head of his.
She followed the path McHenry had taken and was surprised when she didn’t find him in the kitchen. She opened the back door. It led to a glassed-in room that overlooked the woods. McHenry walked in one direction and then turned around and walked back.
The frustrating demon was pacing.
“Why did you follow me?” he asked without stopping.
Why had she followed him? Really?
“I want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.” Stomp, stomp, stomp. “You don’t need to take care of me anymore, faerie.”
So they were back to that, were they? “I’m a healer, demon . Taking care of people is what I do.”
He stopped then and faced her, his eyes pinning her like a butterfly on a specimen tray. They were a dark honey color, and they sparked with fire. As did the hints of auburn in his beard.
“I can take care of myself.”
And she believed him…to a certain extent. He was a powerful male who’d raised his nephews and would do anything for them. But those honey eyes held more than anger or determination—there was something else there. Something she couldn’t put a finger on, but she would figure it out.
“Is that why you didn’t want to press charges, because you’re going to handle this on your own?”
He shook his head. “You don’t know me.”
“I don’t think you let many people know you, McHenry.”
Again with that stare.
She was sure he used The Glare to keep people far away. But she wasn’t intimidated. She’d been bullied by far more powerful beings and lived to tell the tale.
“At least you won’t have to stick around for the drama,” McHenry said.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m healed now, and Andrew and I have our memories back, so as soon as it’s safe, you’ll be leavin’.”
Did he have to be so eager about it? “In other words, don’t let the door hit me on the butt on the way out?”
He cleared his throat. “I appreciate what you did for me.”
She blinked and then blinked again. “Why, McHenry, that sounded sincere.”
His mouth quirked up. �
�Don’t be gettin’ all mushy now.”
“No worries. I think I’ll leave you to your pacing and go check on Selina. See if I can do anything for her.”
“You can’t help yourself, can you?”
“Nope.” She hesitated. For some reason she didn’t want to go. “But because of everything going on, promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”
“Of course not.” Then he smiled. And that scared her more than all his glares combined.
Darcinda left the demon and headed upstairs. She found Andrew walking back and forth in the upstairs hallway. Pacing must be a family trait.
“Where’s Selina?”
He pointed to the second closed door. “In there. She wants to be alone for a while.”
Darcinda nodded. “And can I deduce from your frantic pacing that you don’t agree?”
“I’m worried about her. This whole thing with her father. I want to be with her, but she insisted on being alone.”
“And you don’t want to upset her more. Got it. Let me check on her. I’m a neutral third party, right?”
She knocked on the door before he could protest. A voice answered from inside.
Darcinda opened the door and peeked in to find Selina lying on the bed with her knees pulled up in the fetal position.
“I don’t want to talk right now, Andrew.”
“It’s not Andrew. I’m Darcinda. We didn’t really get a chance to meet earlier.”
Selina sat up. “Is my father back?”
Darcinda held up her hand in a calming gesture. “No.”
“What do you want?”
“I’m a healer.”
Selina shook her head. “I don’t think you can heal this.”
“Maybe not. But I’m here to check on you. Can I get you anything?”
“Can you make this all go away? Can you convince them that my father wouldn’t hurt anyone?”
“I don’t have that kind of power.” Darcinda paused for a moment before continuing. “Your father ran.”
Selina’s face crumpled. “I know. But there has to be some explanation.”
What was she supposed to say to that? “He seems very protective of you.”
“He is. It’s been just the two of us since my mom died.” She swallowed. “I don’t know what to do.”