The Monster Ball Year 2

by Heather Hildenbrand

  He was right. This had been stupid and dangerous. Nia was trapped. How would she get out of there? I wrung my hands, deaf to the laughter, music, and sensual sounds all around me. This Ball was coming to a close way too fast. I peered around at the pods, wondering if I could pay some fae to seduce him, but the pods were filled, and all of my coins were earmarked for paying Henrique.

  Slowly, I made my way forward. When I got to Henrique I leaned against the railing, pretending to watch the band playing. I felt him step closer, and I peeked over at the magpie, whose full attention was on the door like a vicious stalker. My heart gave a pound.

  “She is trapped,” Henrique said under his breath, right at my back. We spoke without looking at one another in case the magpie turned around.

  “I’m going to talk to him.” My voice shook.

  “No.”

  “I’m going to talk to him,” I said with more force. “And while I distract him, if Nia opens the door to check, please point her up to the rooftop.”

  “I don’t work for you yet. This is too dangerous.”

  “He can’t kill me,” I hissed, frustrated that he wasn’t being helpful.

  “He can do worse than that,” Henrique said. His voice lowered and went gravely as if imagining the things he’d seen.

  “You don’t understand! That’s the chance I have to take!” I clutched the railing as I stared at the band, my knuckles turning white. “You hardly know me, so it’s unfair of me to expect your loyalty, but this is something I must do, with or without your help.”

  I glanced over my shoulder to meet his eyes, and a bolt of heat shot to my core at the dark passion in his gaze, saying far more than any words could. Yes, he hardly knew me, but if that look was any indication, he was worried. For some reason, his concern fueled me. I took a deep breath and let it out steadily. And then, I pushed away from the railing and moved. Behind me, I heard Henrique release a growly sound of frustration, but I ignored him, not stopping until I was a foot from the magpie. It felt like a nest of electric eels wriggled in my stomach.

  “Excuse me,” I said, my voice trembling. “Are you waiting for a reading from the fortune teller?”

  The magpie spun, the pelts brushing against my arm and making me suck in a breath. His eyes were distant with distraction and annoyance until they honed in on me. A squeak sound cawed from the back of his throat.

  “Is that what is going on in there?” he asked. His sentence ended with a warble sound that was oddly soothing.

  “Yes,” I said, forcing a smile. I was still shaking, and he could obviously tell as his eyes roamed over me. I thought fast. “Sorry…I have to admit, I’ve seen you a few times tonight and wanted to talk to you but couldn’t work up the nerve. I’m a little nervous.”

  Gag.

  His head cocked in a jerky movement. “Is that so?” He sniffed the air. “I smell brine. What are you, pretty thing?”

  I gave a shrug and moved slightly to the side, away from the door. “Just a lesser fae. I live along the Northern Sea. I know I’m far beneath your station—such a formidable being.” To my shock, he moved a step forward with me. Over his shoulder, I saw Henrique move closer to the pod. I knew I’d have to do more than speak shy words if I really wanted to distract the magpie enough to let Nia escape.

  My foot moved back again as I bit my lip and gave him my most sultry gaze. “I’ve never been with a supe.”

  He came forward, stalking me into the shadows beside the pod. His thin, long hand reached out and I braced myself. It took every ounce of self-control not to flinch away when his hand curled around the side of my throat, digging into the soft skin there. When I let out a light gasp of pain, his eyes flared.

  Behind him, a quiet knock sounded. When the magpie began to turn his head, I reached out and placed a palm on his skeletal chest.

  “I sense such power in you. I’m not sure I could handle it…”

  His nostrils flared, attention back on me. “Oh, little thing. You could not handle it.” His head cocked again. “And that is precisely the point.”

  A sound of disgust rose from the back of my throat, and he smiled, the angles of his face sharpening. He tugged me forward by the throat just as the band began an announcement. His face hovered an inch over mine, and I got a whiff of rotted seeds.

  “We hope you’ve all found love. Even if only for a little while. Everyone to the rooftop!”

  Chaos seemed to break loose, the sounds of shuffling feet all around us. I nearly laughed with relief at the sight of Nia’s dark head bounding down the walkway, weaving through people, my pelt fanning out behind her. And before the magpie could think to turn his head, I lowered my hand down his flat stomach to the line where his trousers began. Ew.

  He pulled me fully into his embrace, all fingers and angles grasping me like painful hooks. I cried out at the jabs of pain, knowing he would love it, and he did.

  “Sir, it’s time to go to the roof.” Henrique’s voice was beyond welcome.

  Without releasing his painful hold on me, the magpie’s head swiveled back to hiss at Henrique. In that moment, he seemed to realize what was going on. People were moving. The pod door was open. He dropped me and spun, raising his nose to the air, and I had to catch myself from falling.

  “Stupid girl—you distracted me!” The magpie raged before darting away, shoving people from his path. Once again, Henrique followed him, and I followed them both, heart in my throat. One wolf shifter in particular did not appreciate the pushing and grabbed the magpie by the pelts, growling his anger. Before they could get into it, Henrique stepped in, yanking the shifter back as the magpie continued forward, but the necromancer didn’t stick around to fight. He kept moving, ignoring the wolf’s shouts.

  Everything was happening so fast. I couldn’t let the magpie get near my pelt!

  “Excuse me. Pardon me.” Thankfully, I was petite, so it wasn’t too hard to move through and keep Henrique in sight as we made our way up with the hordes of supes to the roof. Most were drunk and laughing, their faces like freakish masks that mocked the panic I felt.

  Must get the pelts. Please, Gaia, Mother Earth, please.

  On the roof, I couldn’t help but take in the open-air glitz, lights twinkling along the edges, supes filling spaces around glowing fire pits under the stars. It was huge up here. For a few seconds, I lost sight of Henrique as bodies continued to converge all around me. I rose up onto my toes and stretched my neck until someone grasped my arm and spun me.

  “Ada!”

  My heart leapt at the sight of Nia. I began to smile until I looked her over and realized…my pelt was nowhere in sight.

  Chapter Seven

  “Don’t panic!” Nia said, grasping my hands. “I’m so sorry, but I passed it on to Davlin to confuse the magpie. Come this way!”

  I was going to be sick. Nia pulled me along the edge of the roof. In the far distance, a haze of light touched the horizon, the promise of dawn.

  Behind me I heard a high-pitched squack. Nia and I both turned to see the magpie moving, gliding, as if he were flying right toward us, forcing the crowd to part.

  “Go!” I screamed. But we’d barely moved when he was upon us, grasping us both in his talon-like fingers.

  “Where is it?” he hissed. “You think to trick me? Two stupid little girls?”

  The magpie jerked back as something came out of nowhere, like vines, winding around his neck. It took me a moment to realize it was Nia’s hands sprouting and growing as she yelled, her face twisting with power and anger.

  Taken by surprise, the birdman clawed at the winding branches that lifted him onto his toes. I didn’t waste a moment. I leapt onto his back, reaching for the pelts where they clasped together, but it was difficult because I had to reach under Nia’s vines. I knew I couldn’t rip the pelts off him yet because Henrique would have to stop me. I just had to get a good hold on them. If Henrique’s contract ended at the close of the Ball, which I believed it did, I had to be ready to get the pelts
the moment the Ball ended. As the magpie thrashed, trinkets flew from hidden pockets, tinkering against the rooftop all around us. Gaia above, how much had he stolen in one night?

  Just as supes were beginning to surround our group, cheering and laughing at the spectacle, explosions erupted around us, lighting up the sky in blinding bursts of colors.

  Fireworks. The perfect distraction.

  Henrique grabbed Nia around the waist and yelled through clenched teeth, “Let go, dryad—he will break you.” But she refused, and to my horror, the magpie finally got his bearings, grabbing ahold of Nia’s extended arms and snapping them. She fell to her knees crying out, mangled wrists where her hands used to be.

  “Nia!” My heart shattered at the sight, and I fought the urge to let go of him to help her.

  The magpie spun so fast that my legs went straight out and I screamed. As a selkie, I didn’t have many powers, but I at least had fae strength. I held on with all of my might.

  In the craziness of the fray, Davlin pushed his way through the bodies and shouted, “Cemente!” His palms pointed at the magpie’s legs, and it was as if he suddenly had cement around his feet. He could no longer spin or try to fly though the top of his body still flailed and clawed at my arms. Henrique watched, poised to move, his face appearing pained.

  “Tend to the dryad,” Henrique told Davlin, pointing to poor Nia. “She’s injured.”

  Davlin bent and scooped her up, cradling her to his chest. I could see her wrists were already healing over with new, green growth sprouting from the ends.

  “I’m okay,” she said, though her face was strained.

  “Get her off me!” the magpie screeched at his body guard, letting out another squawk.

  Henrique moved beside me, and I prepared myself to feel him pulling me down, but it never happened. Instead, he said, “Hold on a moment longer. It’s almost time.”

  “Guard! Useless fool! I will have your eye!”

  Henrique eyed the magpie. “You are not in danger, birdman.”

  “She’s on me and I can’t mooove!” he cawed.

  “Minor inconveniences.” I would have laughed at Henrique’s blasé tone if I weren’t so busy. My muscles hurt from hanging on, and my skin stung where he scratched at me. I couldn’t do this much longer.

  From somewhere in the crowd, an excited countdown began.

  “My pelt!” I yelled at Davlin. He set Nia down on her feet, holding her waist with one hand and pulling my pelt out from under his shirt.

  “Put it on her!” Nia shouted. I screamed again as the magpie began a fresh round of jerking and screeching.

  “You are the selkie!” the magpie yelled. “I will have you!” A maniacal laugh went through him, puncturing my soul with fear.

  “You will not have me, you vile prick!”

  “Dawn is breaking!” Nia called to me. “Hang on, Ada!”

  The magpie thrashed so hard I couldn’t see what happened next. All I knew was that I felt whole again as my pelt covered me and someone threw the hood over my head. In the span of a brief second, the warm air against my skin abruptly turned cold. My last thought before I shifted was that I was back in Scotland.

  And then I sank my many sharp teeth into the magpie’s neck. He flailed beneath me, but I latched on, locking my jaw.

  “Let go now, Ada!” Henrique shouted. I obeyed without question, grabbing hold of the pelts with my teeth and yanking until I fell onto the sand. I shifted back to human and scrambled to my feet, holding the heavy pelts in my shaking arms, scarcely recognizing the magpie’s dreary land all around us while sea spray floated on the wind.

  All I could see was Henrique standing over the lashing magpie, the necromancer’s eyes black, his hands around the birdman’s mangled throat, his full lips chanting something. I breathed hard, watching as the magpie grasped Henrique’s wrists, staring up at him in absolute horror as his eyes began to glaze over.

  Gaia above, whatever Henrique was doing to him—wherever he was sending him—was not pleasant. With an arch of his back and a last gasp of air, the magpie went rigid, his eyes bulging. Henrique shoved himself up, standing and staring down at the body with loathing. He wiped his bloody hands on his black trousers.

  “Is he…?” I whispered on the breeze.

  “He is dead.”

  I covered my mouth against a sob of relief, and then I wiped my mouth and spat the taste of the magpie onto the sand.

  “Thank you.” I swallowed, overcome with emotion. I couldn’t believe this. I had the pelts! My kin-women were no longer in danger. So many feelings rose inside of me. I fumbled with my pelt until I found the pouch with the sack of coins and held them out to him with a trembling hand. “This is your payment, but you deserve so much more. I can speak with my father—”

  “I don’t require payment, Ada.” He put a hand over mine and pressed it back down.

  “For our contract,” I reminded him. “I didn’t mean for you to kill him, but…thank you.”

  “There is no contract.”

  I stared at him, confused, and he stepped closer.

  “The warlock’s binding agreement was not properly done.” The corner of his mouth quirked up, and my stomach jumped.

  “Wait.” I blinked. “But…you did this…”

  “Because I wanted to.” He stepped closer again until all that was between us was the pile of pelts in my arms.

  “Oh.” I nearly laughed with shock from it all. I thought about Davlin and Nia.

  “Do you think Nia is okay?”

  “Yes. Dryads heal quickly, but we can check on her. First, let’s get these back to their rightful owners.” He nodded down at the pelts and I nodded too.

  “We will,” I said. “In just one minute.” And then I did something I’d never, ever done. I set the pelts down at my feet. Then, I removed my own and draped it over top before looking up at him. My body shook, overcome with gratitude and a strange tenderness for this man, practically a stranger, who’d helped me. For a selkie to willingly set her pelt aside in the presence of a man was the ultimate sign of trust. Judging by the way Henrique stared down at the pelts and then back at me with surprise, he was well aware.

  We reached for each other at the same time, our hands pulling and our mouths meeting. Power rolled off him in waves like the ocean crashing behind him. I felt the darkness he kept at bay as his mouth moved against mine, his hands behind my neck and lower back, holding me against him with the promise of a man who could take good care of a woman in every way. We broke apart, our foreheads touching, both of us breathing hard.

  “Why do you taste like…” He stopped and pondered. “S’mores?”

  “Dragon’s Breath.” At this, he narrowed his eyes and I giggled. “Just a drink, don’t worry.”

  “Hm.” He pulled me closer again, and I wanted to drag him down to the sand. I had to force my body to focus on finishing this task.

  “The pelts,” I said.

  “The pelts,” he agreed, but before he let me go his thumb ran across my bottom lip and along my jaw. In his eyes was the assurance of so much more to come. Heat pooled at my core and I took in a deep, shuddering breath and let it out in a rush.

  “Will you come with me?” I asked.

  “I will stay until you send me away.”

  I smiled, feeling playful. “You might be staying quite a while then.”

  He gave a nonchalant shrug and a true grin that warmed my belly even more than my earlier drink. I sucked in a breath when Henrique leaned down and picked up my pelt. And then I nearly dissolved to mush when he slung it around my shoulders, giving me a sexy, small grin as he clasped it at my lower throat, his fingers brushing my skin.

  I reached down and lifted the pile in one arm as Henrique took my other hand in his. With one last glance at the magpie’s lifeless body, I vowed not to give him another thought. Already, birds were beginning to circle his body. How apropos.

  I looked at Henrique, whose eyes flamed with untold thoughts as he nodded. Toge
ther, we headed for the dilapidated castle to free my mother and aunts and reunite them with their essences.

  I’d stolen from a thief with the help of new friends and a mysterious supernatural male who understood the importance of my pelt as a part of me—a male I couldn’t wait to know better in all ways. And most importantly, I now knew my own self-worth and power. Because even the sweetest, most innocent females can show their teeth when need be.

  And bite.

  A chill of disgust and fear ran through me as the castle came into view, but then I remembered I had nothing to fear anymore. And neither did my mother or aunts. I let go of Henrique’s hand and began to run. As soon as I got close enough I shouted.

  “Mum!” By the time we got to the window and looked up, all three of them had their faces pressed to the glass, their threadbare dresses hanging off bony shoulders. I held up the pelts and yelled, “This is Henrique—you can trust him! He killed the magpie!”

  The shock and joy on their faces would forever stay with me. And when they all let out cries of liberation and began to hug, jumping up and down with tears flowing, I couldn’t help the tears that streamed down my own face.

  “I’m going to the door,” I told them, but Henrique stopped me with a hand on my arm.

  “Wait.” He went forward and pressed his hands to the stone wall. Immediately, he jolted and cringed as if encountering voltage, but he didn’t pull away. “It’s enchanted.”

  “Oh, no.” My stomach dropped. I’d forgotten about that.

  “Stay back,” he said to me, then a bit louder toward the window, “Everyone step back.”

  We all obeyed, and I watched with bated breath as Henrique began chanting again, his eyes closed, all of his muscles tensing and flexing, his hands curving as if grasping something. A zap of electricity wrenched through the air, causing every tiny hair on my body to stand on end until Henrique let out a terrible, beautiful, guttural yell, and the window shattered.

  I gasped and held up an arm, watching in wonder as the glass pinged off an invisible shield around us. He dropped his arms and surveyed the wreckage. It was more than just the glass. Part of the sill and wall had crumbled as well, making a small hill of debris.