“That’s kind of what we figured too.”
I thought about how to bring up the subject I really wanted to talk about, and finally just took the direct plunge. “So, do you know the human child Kylee?”
Macy looked at me. I hadn’t told anyone about my deal with Viola. Dunwood knew, but then he wasn’t himself these days, was he?
My mouth stayed shut. The deal was between me and Viola, but there were a lot of hard feelings between my team and hers. If Macy knew Kylee, chances were good that she knew whose daughter she was.
Finally, Macy looked away again, eyes back on the rift.
“You know she’s Viola’s daughter, then.” It wasn’t a question. “Do you think she’ll come for her?”
My laugh may have sounded a bit more like a bark. “If the situation was reversed and you were in Viola’s place, would you?”
She was quiet for a minute and then shook her head. “No, but it would be damn hard to give her up. Kylee is quite a beauty. Sweet too.” She paused. “Guess you can’t choose your parents, can you?”
“No, you can’t.” And sometimes you never got a chance to know them, either. Kylee and I might have something in common with that one.
Before our conversation could continue, there was a voice from directly behind us.
I knew my girls were expecting Cin to come for us soon, as I was. That didn’t stop each of us from training our weapons on her when she appeared out of nowhere. Along with Jed and five strange men.
“I am so sorry I forgot you,” she said, her face back to the stone model. “My head hasn’t been quite right lately.”
I could get that.
Jed had called his mother before we left for the rift and gave her the bare bone details of our situation. Nothing concrete, but enough to let them know that a speedy wedding was of the utmost importance.
His parents had been packed and ready when they got there. After delivering them to the main house, Cin and Jed had almost immediately left to gather his volunteers.
It might sound like a lot, but it really hadn’t taken her all that long. The plus side was that it had given me the chance to learn a little about my new daughter to be.
I waited just long enough to make sure the men were going to be okay with my girls, and then got ready for Cin to pop us back to Taz and the wedding ordeal. That’s when I ran into my first snag.
“My duty is here,” Elmer said. “Guarding this unholy rift. I won’t be much use to your preparations, but I can help keep the peace here.” He glanced at the rift, then smiled back at me. “And I do believe my presence here is quite upsetting to the creatures on the other side.”
That couldn’t be a bad thing.
Jed must have seen my indecision.
“Taz really needs you and Shaylee right now. Family is everything to her, and you two might be able to help her keep it together during all this.” He paused. “I know you want to protect Dunwood, but Elmer is right. His place is here, but yours is not.”
I took a deep breath and then pointed at the cell phone now clipped to Elmer’s belt. “Use that at the very first sign of trouble.”
His right hand lifted and made a cross my heart gesture. “I give you my word.”
That was really all that I could ask.
Then we popped into sheer chaos, and I knew why Jed had been so desperate to get us back to Taz.
Chapter 24
As soon as we popped in, I looked around to find Jed’s parents but they were nowhere to be seen. Taz’s house was fairly crowded, but with people I already knew. Everyone seemed to be busy doing something wedding related. Then Taz’s eyes locked on Jed.
In a matter of seconds, she had him backed into a corner.
“I thought this was going to be a practice wedding, with the real one ten days from now,” she said. Her voice was shaking with anger. “It was totally unfair to pop your parents in without telling me first. The house is a mess, and now your mom is going to totally think I’m a lazy slob not worthy of you.”
Jed was a braver man than I had thought. He actually laughed at my sister. Then he placed a hand on either of her shoulders. At least that was a bit smarter, as his arms were longer than hers were.
“First of all, my mom is not going to think that. When you see my parent’s home, you’ll understand why. Mom is not the most organized of people. And our house isn’t dirty, it’s just a little scrambled with all the wedding stuff. Believe me, Mom wouldn’t expect anything different. If anything, she’ll love you more for being just like her.”
Taz looked doubtful, but at least she wasn’t still going for Jed’s throat. He must have taken that as the good sign that it was.
“Secondly, you heard Elmer say that we needed all the friends and family that we could get to help close that rift.” He made sure her eyes were on eyes before he went on. “We have one shot at this, Taz. We have to pull out all the stops and, in your heart, you know that.”
My sister’s shoulders slumped. She knew it all right.
“Besides,” he said, drawing her in to him for a big hug. “I didn’t want you stressing out for another week and more over meeting them. Now you have. The hard part is over. Right?”
She sighed and then gave a slow nod. “I guess so. They seem pretty nice.”
Jed smiled at me over Taz’s head. “They are. I promise. And you are going to be part of the family very shortly, so now we just have to get the rift dealt with so that we can enjoy our honeymoon.”
“Honeymoon?”
He so had her attention now. Taz had admitted to me before that she had never even been out of the state of Indiana. The thought of travel was drawing her in. Jed must have been saving that part for last for a reason.
“Yes, honeymoon.” He kissed the top of her head and then released her. “But first things first, wedding, then rift, then honeymoon.” He paused. “Technically, the real honeymoon won’t start until after the announced wedding. If you even still want to have that.”
Taz took a deep breath. “We’ll see how this one turns out before we decide that, okay?”
“Okay.”
That minor detail dealt with, Taz turned to me and Shaylee who were both pretending we hadn’t been openly listening in on their conversation.
“What are the two of you doing just standing there? Don’t you know how much there is to do?”
I glanced at Shaylee, and we both shrugged. “Where do you want us to start?”
Taz thought for a minute. “Shaylee, you can help Rose and Mrs. Crowe with the food. I’m sure they could use another hand.” She paused, trying to think of something I could handle.
I wasn’t trained for this kind of disaster. Have someone to track or to fight, and I’m your girl. Want to pull together a last minute wedding? I was struggling to think how I had any chance of helping with that.
Finally, she looked at Cin instead. “Do you think you could pop you and Steele back to the rift along with the second big event tent? Then make sure it’s all set up and good to go?”
Perfect. I could shoot two rabbits... I mean birds... with one arrow with that assignment. Help Taz out and guard my man at the same time.
Not to mention the fact that it got me out of the house. I really wasn’t much of a one for crowds of people. And pretty soon, it was going to get even busier as the congregation started to arrive.
We were guessing that whatever Titania had planned for the evening would happen in the dark of the night. We’d be cutting it very close as it was. Just as soon as the tents were set up and ready to go and everyone got to the house, the wedding was going to happen. Hopefully that would be well before dark.
The plan with the tents had been Rose’s idea. If we could pull it off, it would be the very best scenario. Cin seemed to think we could do it, and she was the one that would be doing the heavy lifting on this.
Jed had ordered two tents. One for the wedding, and another for the reception. Turned out, that was a very good thing as our plan wouldn’t wo
rk without two separate tents.
One would be set up in the backyard at Taz’s house. The other would be set up just far enough away from the rift to be safe from any invading demon souls. We were trusting Elmer’s judgement for the placement of that one. We wanted it close enough to count, but far enough away to be safe. Somewhat tricky that.
Then, as the congregation entered into the backyard tent, Cin was going to instantly transport them to the other, remote sight. All four sides of the tent would be closed, and with any luck the congregation would never have to know they weren’t still in the backyard.
If anything major happened, they would all be transported back to the original in the blink of an eye. It was a good plan.
When we popped in, it was to find several weapons pointing our way. Now I knew how Cin felt. Not that I blamed them, of course. I was guilty of the same thing. Tensions were running high right now. Too much was at stake.
Macy shook her head as she lowered her bow. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” she said. “At least the Fae can’t do that. It’s freaky as hell.”
“Don’t say that too close to the rift,” I said. “We don’t want to give them any ideas about how to best use whatever power they gain from the tithe.”
Her eyes widened and she glanced back over her shoulder at the rift behind us. “Point taken.”
It was soon evident that Elmer would be a far better hand at putting up the tent than I would be, so we switched duties. My guess was he thought that would be okay since he was still on site. It still made me feel good to know that he trusted me to keep an eye on the rift while he was distracted with other things.
Things like that mean a lot to me. Especially as most of my special skills don’t mean a whole heck of a lot in this realm.
It took us two hours to get everything set up and ready. That included popping in chairs, the food table, and a sound system with some pretty high powered speakers. We weren’t sure if the added volume would help or not, but there was no reason for not using it. Just in case it would.
We had barely set up the last table when the cell phone on Dunwood’s belt started ringing.
It was time.
Chapter 25
I’ll admit to being a bit anxious as everyone arrived. But watching the new arrivals very closely, it was evident that they had no idea they’d just been transported many miles away in the blink of an eye. Less than a blink, actually. Cin’s work was pretty much instant.
Then Taz walked in and, just for a second, I lost my focus on our main mission. She was that beautiful.
She had told me that her wedding dress was the same one our mother had worn when she married our father. That made it special enough. But it could have been made just for Taz. It was that perfect.
The dress was long, but there wasn’t any train. No self-respecting wolf would allow anything that would impede their progress that badly. There wasn’t any lace or ruffles, either. A plain white gown with long sleeves, a high collar, and a flowing skirt. The only ornamentation was the exquisite embroidery around the collar, waistline and sleeve cuffs.
According to Taz, our mother had done that hand work herself. I swallowed past the knot in my throat and tried to remember we were here for more than just a wedding. Finally, I realized why the event was so special for Taz, and why she had been so adamant about wanting it perfect.
In her own way, she was trying to do justice to our parents. I blinked away the sudden moisture in my eyes just as Taz reached me and the rest of the wedding party at the back of the tent.
Everyone sat down, and Pastor Rand started the ceremony. I’d never had even the tiniest desire to cry at a wedding before. This one, I was really struggling with. The only thing keeping me from bawling my eyes out was the knowledge of that rift several yards on the other side of the tent wall.
The pastor did us proud, and I wasn’t the only one with damp eyes by the time he announced Taz and Jed husband and wife. At that point, everyone rushed the happy couple to congratulate them.
Which put two of our main warriors in a circle of well meaning, but very impeding, mass of people. That’s when the portal appeared.
I’m not sure the newly married couple even saw it, it all happened so very fast. The glimmering portal appeared directly behind Elmer, and a perfectly formed female hand reached through, grabbed him, and pulled him through.
I darted for the portal at top speed, but a furry flash of auburn fur knocked me down right before it flew through the portal. Before I could regain my feet, the portal was gone.
Not only did I not know where it had led, I had no way to follow them. My transportation had left.
I glanced at Taz and Jed, but they were busy accepting their well wishes. Hugging the tent walls to avoid the crowd, I made my way to the tent door and ducked through it to the outside. Running, I got almost to the rift before I screamed for Coyote.
Risk or no, I needed him.
The guards were gathering around, most of them talking at once, wanting to know what had happened. After all, they were all standing right outside the tent and had seen nothing untoward. They wouldn’t have.
But I didn’t have time to explain the situation. I had to get to Dunwood and Elmer. Now. Titania wouldn’t waste time. The rift before me was almost gone, one tiny wave in the middle of the air. My guess was that she had taken him right before it had winked out entirely. She would know she had to act fast to keep it open.
Coyote appeared in front of me.
“Send me to Dunwood,” I said. “Please.”
To his credit he only hesitated a second. Then there was that annoying flash that I didn’t mind at all this time, and I was standing only yards from my man’s body. He was still in it, but I had cut it close.
We had thought Titania had twelve witches or so. We had been wrong. She had triple that number. And from the way they were acting, and the gleam in their eyes, I didn’t think many of them were still one hundred percent human. There would be no going back for those unlucky souls. The human ones any way. The demon ones, I planned to personally send back to Hell. But I needed help.
“Cin!” I yelled. “Bring the guards!”
In an instant the odds were down to just over three to one. And some of my team had fancy weapons. Titania seemed to have failed to arm her lot. A huge point in our favor.
They had been in the process of trying to secure Elmer to a large stone slab, obviously in preparation for yet another human sacrifice. I’m sure Hell would have given a lot of power for this one, even if it wasn’t tithe time yet. Titania must have found out exactly what he was and targeted him specifically. For all I knew, the devil himself had told her.
My girls and the men spread out quickly, surrounding Titania and her group on one side. They formed a half semi-circle around them. These were smart warriors. We didn’t want any of our group caught in the cross fire when the shooting started.
It didn’t take long.
At the queen’s orders, her witches attacked.
At this point, I didn’t even worry about the crossfire. I ran toward the queen and Dunwood. She must have sensed what I carried with me, because her eyes flew from her task with Dunwood to me.
“Stop her!” she screamed.
But her minions were busy with my friends. I felt a presence beside me and a millisecond before my sword flashed, I realized it was Cin.
We stopped a mere ten feet away when Titania held an ornamental dagger to Elmer’s throat.
She hissed at us, her beautiful face for once showing the true evil behind it. “You’ve ruined everything! All my perfect plans undone. You’ll pay for this!”
I hesitated as I looked into Elmer’s eyes. There was sorrow there. He knew he had failed me. But I wasn’t done yet. By now, the queen had seen the damage the guns the male guards carried could do, and I didn’t think she would be so willing to kill her only shield from their bullets.
So, ever so slowly, my eyes never leaving Titania’s, I swung my bow
around and lifted the arrow from the special pouch I had hanging at my belt.
Her eyes widened as she recognized the arrow.
“You wouldn’t!”
I just smiled at her as I drew the bow, the arrow pointed at her heart.
The thing with the royal Fae is this. They are pretty much immune to the effect of the lesser Fae’s magic. But their own magic? No immunity whatsoever. I wasn’t entirely sure that being shot in the heart with an arrow that had been personally spelled by her royal self would be enough to end her. But it was a distinct possibility.
“You can wipe that smirk off your face,” Titania growled. “It won’t kill me.”
I lifted a shoulder. No easy feat that, without the arrow’s tip moving an inch. “Maybe it won’t, but it will sure as hell hurt you badly.” I upped my smirk to a full-out grin, trying desperately to keep her from knowing just how important to me her hostage was. If she knew that, there would be no hope. “And it will take you years to recover, from what I’m told.”
The queen’s eyes burned into mine. I was so glad she didn’t have the ability to read my mind. Then she gave me an evil smile.
"But recover I will. The backlash of my magic to your bow will obliterate you from the face of the earth.”
I nodded. I mean, what was there to say? My life for the entire mortal realm? Seemed like a fair trade to me. Something Titania would never understand.
There was movement at the edge of the trees behind Titania. Faerie reinforcements.
“If you value the members of your court, Queen, you’ll tell them to stop right where they are.” That was Cin talking, not me. I had eyes only for the queen and her blade.
“I have too much invested in this to give up that easily,” Titania said, the blade still in contact with Elmer’s throat.
I had to find a way to get her to move that blade. The trouble was, if I offered a trade for Elmer, she would know what he meant to me. And I’d be in even deeper trouble.
My arrow’s tip moved a fraction of an inch. Just enough to get her full attention.
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