by Jayne Hawke
ELEVEN
Ethan brought out a sleek new laptop and took the seat next to me.
“I have a list of drug dealers and potential sources of the magic,” he said as he nodded at the screen.
I looked down the very long list and recognised a few of the names. They were a mix of witches and lower level fae who were working for the higher level fae, not that anyone was supposed to know that.
“Unfortunately, the last user didn’t survive long enough to question, and none of her family members knew anything about her drug use,” Ethan said.
“So, we’re starting at square one?” I said.
“Yes.”
Ethan got back up and began making more of those wonderful ham sandwiches.
“Do you have any ideas? You’re coming at this from a different angle to me.”
Should I mention the hounds? I wasn’t sure if normal people knew exactly what the hounds did, or if Ethan was involved in that. It wouldn’t be unreasonable for cu sith to work with them to bring in the beings the gods took a dislike to. As much as the fae and the god touched didn’t get along and mostly wanted the other dead, there were still alliances forged.
I decided it was better not to bring that up. If he didn’t know that the hounds stripped the fallen gods and dark witches of their magic, siphoning it off to somewhere I didn’t know, then he would ask how I knew. That would open up far too many questions.
“Well, could a god touched be involved? I mean, the gods don’t exactly like each other. So maybe one of them is working to siphon off magic from one of the other gods, or some other god touched?” I offered.
Ethan smiled and nodded.
“I hadn’t thought of that. Write it down. We’ll put together a list of all known god touched in the area, their alliances and affiliations.”
This was sounding like a lot of paperwork. I’d managed to avoid paperwork to date, and that had suited me just fine.
“Witches are the obvious choice, I have the main known drug-producing and dealing covens on the list. Do you know of any others? What about the fae mutts? Do any shifters in the area dabble in drugs?” He asked.
“No, the shifters take pride in not having anything to do with drugs. I’ve heard that there’s a pack in Manchester that tries to get drugs on the York streets sometimes, though. I don’t really have any dealings with any form of fae-”
“-apart from your brother,” Ethan said.
“You know a hell of a lot to me. Tell me about you,” I said.
Ethan wrapped something in brown parchment paper and turned to face me.
“What would you like to know?” he asked as he crossed his strong muscular arms over his chest.
“Everything,” I said with a grin.
He laughed. I liked hearing that laugh far too much for my own good.
“I’m older than I look. I’m the alpha of a small group of cu sith. We’re very good at what we do, and we have no ties to any fae other than Ryn.”
My blood ran cold. I wasn’t just dealing with a single cu sith, there was a pack of them. If Ethan decided to hunt me down, I’d be dead before I could think about getting out of the country.
I waved my hand and tried to be nonchalant.
“That’s not really you, though, is it? I want to know more than the facts of your species.”
He smiled, a warm smile that lit up his beautiful golden-amber eyes.
“I paint when I’m relaxing or need to think something through.”
“Are those paintings in the hallway yours?”
I was impressed. They were seriously good, far better than I could do. I could paint a stick figure on a good day.
“Most of them, some are by Cade, one of my packmates.”
“So, are we going to interrogate some of those witches or...?” I asked.
“No. You are going to go home and rest, you’re stiff and sore. I’ll give you a healing potion to make sure you’re on top form tomorrow. Then at 8:00 am. tomorrow, I’ll pick you up and we’ll begin this investigation in earnest.”
I prickled at the matter-of-fact tone. I’d never been one to bow to authority, but there was no point in getting into meaningless fights.
“Oh, and I’ll send you some clothes. You’ll be working under my name, I can’t have people associating my name with... that,” he said gesturing at me.
“Excuse me? These are my best jeans!”
He raised an eyebrow at me.
“My point exactly,” he said drily.
“If it’s so important to you, you can give me the money and I’ll buy my own clothes,” I said as I stood up.
“No. You are going to rest, and I will arrange the clothes. I need to be sure that you’re going to be presentable,” he said.
I remembered that I quite literally belonged to him. There wasn’t much room for argument here. Not that I was going to let that stop me.
“I can choose perfectly presentable clothes,” I said.
“Now, I’m going to take you home.”
I glared at him, but I clearly wasn’t going to win this battle.
Ethan drove me home without asking for the address. He knew a lot about me, and that was making me increasingly uneasy.
“How did you know where I live?”
“I needed to make sure I worked with the best and could trust you. So, I did my research.”
Shit. Did that mean he knew who and what I was? No, he couldn’t. He’d have locked me up somewhere to auction off if he did. Dad had been careful. He’d covered his tracks. I had to trust that.
“Well, thanks,” I said as I went to get out of the car.
“Wait,” he said as he leaned back to get something off the backseat.
He handed me a large brown paper parcel and a big bottle of healing potion.
“Drink the entire potion, I need you on top form tomorrow. The sandwich is for your brother.”
I was torn between that being a sweet gesture, and being incredibly creepy. I smiled and chose to take it as sweet. I was going to have to work in close proximity with him, after all.
TWELVE
“Why do you smell of dog?” Matt said from the living room.
“I do not smell of dog!” I shot back.
Although I did notice that some of Ethan’s scent lingered on my skin.
Matt’s head popped out of the living room, and I handed him the package of sandwiches. He looked down at it and carefully unwrapped it.
“Did you steal these?”
“No, my new boss gave them to me.”
“Don’t tell me Elise fired you...”
“No, I was chosen by a very wealthy client to work a case with them.”
Matt went into the kitchen and pulled a plate out of the cupboard.
“Seriously? Why?”
“Hey! I’m damn good at what I do, thank you very much,” I said.
Matt grinned up at me.
“You don’t do cases, though, you’re a hack-and-slash girl. Nothing wrong with that, of course.”
“Not all of us can be marketing geniuses,” I said as I looked for a glass to put the healing potion in.
“Dude... did you have one of these sandwiches? They’re incredible,” Matt said around a large bite.
“I know, he didn’t think anything of making me a couple.”
“You need to keep working for him, then!”
I laughed.
Matt paused and really looked at me.
“Wait, you smell of dog. Who and what is this client?”
“Rich, and hot, what else matters?”
He sniffed the air and narrowed his eyes.
“Kit, is he a cu sith?”
I shrugged.
“Sure.”
He placed his sandwich slowly down on the plate and levelled a Dad glare at me.
“You know what will happen if a cu sith finds out what you are...”
“And I also know that he’s going to pay me enough to put you through college for a year.”
&
nbsp; Matt looked at me for a long beat before he picked the sandwich back up.
“I can pick up more shifts at the bar.”
“No, and stop trying to protect me. I’m older than you, I’m supposed to protect you.”
“It’d be safer than you working with a cu sith,” he grumbled.
“You need free time to chase down internships. You’re going to be a marketing executive. I’m not going to risk losing that future for you,” I said.
“Well... he does make really good sandwiches.”
I laughed.
“Priorities.”
We both laughed. The risk was ridiculous, but what choice did I have? Pulling this off could change everything.
The healing potion knocked me out, and I slept through the night for the first time in forever. Unfortunately, I was woken up by banging on the door. Groaning, I pulled a scruffy old hoodie on over the top of my sleep cami and jogged down to the front door.
A group of delivery people were lined up waiting for me.
“Kit MacGowen?”
“Yes.”
“These are from Mr. Hale,” the first deliveryman said.
I looked down the line of uniformed people carrying large cardboard boxes. I’d expected him to buy me a pair of slacks or something. I was going to have to tell him to return it all, that was just too much.
“I can’t accept all of that,” I said.
“I’m afraid that you do have to. To turn down the gift would be incredibly rude and go against fae social contracts,” the man said flatly.
“Ok, fine,” I grumbled.
Fae politics and contracts were a nightmare. I stepped to the side and gestured at the hallway for them to drop the boxes there. I’d have to argue with Ethan myself. That was just too much. I worked hard to pay my own way in this world.
Once the boxes had all been dropped in the hallway, I began opening them up to at least see what he’d picked out. Only one box was clothes and boots. He’d given me the most stunning oxblood knee high boots. A soft tingle of magic wrapped around my fingertips when I touched them. They’d been imbued with magic to make them act as armour. A matching leather jacket was also in there, along with an array of stunning shirts and the most gorgeous jeans I’d ever set eyes on. He had taste, I had to give him that.
The rest of the boxes were food. There was enough to stuff out little fridge to overflowing and fill all of our cupboards with some food left sitting on the table. We’d never had that much food in the house before. As much as I wanted to return it, I wanted Matt to enjoy that food more.
A note written on crisp white paper caught my eye at the bottom of a box.
You’re no use to me half-starved and feral.
I thought back to the way I’d wolfed down the sandwich at his house and laughed. He might have had a point.
THIRTEEN
I left a note on the kitchen table for Matt telling him to eat his fill. The clothes Ethan had sent me had all fit perfectly. I’d thought twice about throwing out my scruffy old jeans, but it was for the best. The new jeans were better in every way, and they looked amazing with the boots.
He arrived at my door exactly on time. I stepped out as he was lifting his hand to knock. I didn’t want to disturb Matt. He needed the sleep. Ethan didn’t hide the way his gaze roamed up and down my figure.
“I’m glad they fit,” he said with a smirk.
He didn’t look bad himself. The suit was gone and had been replaced with a pair of jeans that hugged his slender hips and a long-sleeved shirt in the perfect shade of blue to really make his golden-amber eyes shine, his hair left slightly messy. The imperfection made him even sexier than he had been. I looked away. It was dangerous enough working with him, I couldn’t afford to fall into his bed, too. Even if it had been way too long since I’d fallen into a guy’s bed.
Ethan’s phone rang as we got to his car.
He turned to me after a short conversation where he answered with single words.
“We have a potential case. Another god-magic-fuelled person is attacking someone,” he said.
I hopped into his car and held on as he pushed the monster down the road. He wove between the morning traffic like a river flowing around rocks. We’d crossed the city and were approaching a quiet suburb within what felt like a minute or two.
Ethan wore a brilliant smile as he drove. He was loving every second of this. The car’s back end started to swing out as Ethan threw it around a tight corner. The tyres gripped, and we were flying again. And then it was over. He pulled up to stop in front of an expensive detached house with immaculate flower beds in front of it.
We got out of the car and looked around for this god-fuelled guy. A scream cut through the air, and we set off running. Ethan’s longer legs meant that he was faster than me, but I wasn’t going to give in that quickly. I pushed myself. Years of training meant that I was an athlete. We ran around the last corner before a small park at the same time.
A middle-aged witch with burnished copper hair with small twigs tangled in it was waving her hands at a young guy with blazing blue eyes. Ethan paused and looked at the situation. I knew what I needed to know. The guy was the one we were after, and the witch was way out of her depth.
I raced towards the guy with my daggers in my hands. My magic was running down over the daggers before I’d even thought about it. The witch was distracted and wouldn’t notice it. Ethan was different. If he got within six feet of me he’d know. Shit.
The god-fuelled guy turned his attention to me. His mouth split open revealing two layers of sharp needle-like teeth. I had no idea where the hell they’d come from, but I wasn’t going to let them sink into my skin. We circled around each other as I looked for an in.
The guy’s eyes flickered like brilliant blue fire. That same fire slowly crept down over his arm. I glanced over my shoulder to see Ethan smiling at me. He nodded towards the guy who reached out to grab onto my arm. I side-stepped and shot forwards with my daggers close to me.
He moved far more quickly than I’d expected. I went to thrust my dagger into his stomach, but I hit empty air. He was almost behind me by the time I’d started turning to find him again. I’d been up against shifters who didn’t move that fast.
Ethan was watching our every move. Had he set this up? Was it some weird test to make sure I was worth the money?
The god-fuelled guy ripped his green t-shirt off, revealing a very hairy chest which I really wished he’d kept covered. He roared before he lunged at me. I tried to slash his throat, but he moved away again too quickly. We were twisting and dancing around each other and getting nowhere.
The guy feinted to the left and suddenly he was driving me to the ground. His teeth were closing in on my throat. Hot spit dripped from my mouth and trickled down over my collarbone.
“Seriously?” I said as I fought to free my arms.
I threw my centre of balance around, trying to get him off me while keeping those teeth away from me. He lost control when I threw my hips to the right. I took the opportunity to drive my knee into his ribs, drawing a grunt from him. My dagger caught against his rib when I tried to stab him in the heart. He laughed, a manic laugh that echoed all around us.
He threw himself forward and tried to bite me in the face, which was not how I’d planned on spending my morning. I drove my dagger deep into the side of his neck and took a deep breath. It wasn’t over. He stumbled sideways but grabbed onto my calf when I went to stand up. I stamped down on his wrist. It shattered beneath my heel, but he hadn’t given up yet.
I was leaning down to stab him in the temple when he sank his teeth into my thigh. Hot blood streamed down my leg and stained my beautiful new jeans. I snarled and stabbed him through the temple with everything I had. His eyes dulled and he fell backwards with a heavy thunk.
“I’d been hoping to question him,” Ethan said drily.
“Then maybe you should have joined the fight,” I said as I stepped away from the corpse.
My
magic slipped back within me before Ethan could get too close. Had he felt that?
The witch had brought a couple of friends, and they were edging in towards the body.
“No,” Ethan snarled at them.
The witches fled. No magic was worth crossing a cu sith for.
Ethan looked down at the body with a look of dismay. He stepped over it and gently touched the bite wound on my thigh.
“There’s some unpleasant magic in there. We’ll have to fix it at my place.”
He put his arm around my shoulders as I began to feel dizzy.
“And well done, you’re rather beautiful when you fight.”
FOURTEEN
Ethan tried to carry me into his cottage, but I refused to allow him. I still had my dignity. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and I had to lean on him as my leg was becoming very weak. It was a good thing Ethan had been there. I couldn’t afford anything to help with whatever this magic was.
“What was going on with that guy? I’ve never seen teeth like that.”
Ethan opened the door while helping me stay upright.
“I suspect that he mixed god magic with fae magic, specifically pixie or sidhe magic. They both adapt to the user’s personality.”
“Fantastic, just my luck,” I muttered as I wrenched my boots off.
Ethan helped me into the downstairs bathroom, which was as big as my bedroom at home. I sat down on the little seat near the bathtub, which seemed like a ridiculous thing to exist.
Rich people I thought to myself as I shook my head.
He pulled some brightly coloured vials out of the oak cabinet hanging next to the sink.
“Drink this one, then I’m going to have to remove your jeans so I can clean and treat the wound,” he said.
I looked up at him. The idea of being down to my panties, which were neither sexy nor flattering, was not my idea of fun.
“The magic is spreading through your system. If you’d rather lose that leg, we can just go and relax in the garden,” he said.