by T. A. White
The spooks around us writhed and raged in time to the music, its beat picking them up and carrying them off. I felt the notes humming through my blood. Magic was in the air, potent and powerful and difficult to ignore.
There was an almost wild look in the men’s faces, the magic setting their instincts firing. It seemed the Fae weren’t the only ones affected.
We stood on the edge of the crowd observing, for which I was grateful. Already the magic had raised hairs on the backs of my arms and set my blood pumping. It was like standing on a precipice, the anticipation coursing through your blood, and the knowledge that you were just seconds away from death making you feel more alive than you had any right to be.
“Remind me again why we’re here. What if they try another attack?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“As the master of the region, Thomas has no choice. To not attend would imply insult and make him look weak,” Liam murmured.
“And me?”
“You’re here for appearances. As the master’s yearling, you affect his image. For the same reason he couldn’t miss it, neither can you. I had your witch friend increase the wards against their magic. It should be safe.”
Should, maybe, could. I didn’t have a lot of faith in such words, especially when dealing with the Fae.
A Fae man stumbled into our path. He leered at me as he struggled to focus. “It’s the dancing vampire. Sing for us, pretty vampire.”
I was going to kill Caroline when I next saw her.
“Move along or else you’ll be the one singing,” Liam said, the threat in his voice clear.
The Fae held up his hands. “Alright, jeez. I just wanted to hear her sing again.”
I narrowed my eyes at him as he slid back into the crowd.
There was a choked sound beside me and I swung my glare to Liam as he fought to keep his expression neutral.
“Don’t start,” I warned.
“As my lady wishes,” he said, in an admirably neutral voice.
I stalked forward as he murmured, “Though if she wished to dance, I would not object.”
I stiffened but didn’t turn, not wanting to dignify his ridiculousness with a reaction. After that, the Fae didn’t bother us, content to turn their attention to those there to celebrate.
We were only a third of the way through the gathering when several women stepped into the clearing, surveying the area with cunning eyes. They weren’t Fae—they lacked that sparkling aura and otherworldly beauty. They were human with only the slightest of glimmers around them.
“When you increased the wards, did you think to protect against witch magic as well?” I asked, watching as the gaggle approached.
There were at least five of them, their hair glossy and bouncy. They wore dresses that were short and more suited to a night in a club than a forest. Every one of them had smooth skin and seemed young. It was like watching a swarm of co-eds approach, only their eyes showed they weren’t quite the lambs they appeared. More like deadly tigers waiting in the brush to ambush their prey.
The curse Liam muttered was in a different language. “What are they doing here?”
“Looks like we weren’t the only ones the Fae invited tonight,” I said, watching the women greet one of the twins. Baran, I thought.
They giggled, twiddling their hair as they tittered. The look of superiority on Baran’s face said he was used to this behavior and tolerated it because he had nothing better to do.
“Sarah,” Thomas said, appearing by our sides. He looked almost stricken as he watched the group.
I looked the women over, not spotting the witches’ crone. It should have been easy, given all that nubile young flesh.
But then a woman looked over at us, her smile turning cruel as she caught sight of Thomas. She was obviously the ringleader of the group.
She wasn’t just beautiful in a gold-colored dress, her luxurious hair in soft waves around her face. She was stunning—the type of woman who could walk into a room and command the attention of everyone there. It wasn’t just appearance either, she possessed a charisma that made it hard to look away.
The structure of her face was familiar. I’d seen her before. I squinted at her, mentally adding wrinkles and age spots.
I wasn’t sure, but it could be Sarah, only a few centuries younger. Which was impossible, unless she had discovered the fountain of youth or had access to powerful magic. Maybe magic like the Fae were said to be capable of?
“I guess that answers the question of why they’re working with the Fae,” I murmured, looking over the other women.
I had a feeling Sarah wasn’t the only one who’d benefited from their little alliance.
“Sarah wouldn’t align herself with a dangerous ally like the Fae for such a superficial reason,” Thomas hissed.
I wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure about that? Because it sure seems like it to me.”
As we spoke, Sarah took Baran’s arm and let him lead her into the crowd as she sent a triumphant smile to Thomas.
Neither man responded, watching the women as they followed their crone. More than one gave us a sideways look, flicking their hair like they were a group of mean girls in truth. I was interested to note I was the target of several of those hostile looks.
“Just how bad was your breakup with that woman?” I asked.
A woman scorned was dangerous, but to hold onto a grudge for a few centuries? That was next level stuff.
Niamh glided out from the trees just then, wearing little to disguise what was underneath. The thin scrap of material she wore was nearly see-through, with the torches set up throughout the clearing highlighting her figure beneath, giving those present a glimpse of everything in the cookie jar. In the ballroom the other night she’d been beautiful. Here, surrounded by nature, she was otherworldly.
I could see why humans through the ages have been obsessed with her kind. It would be so easy to get caught in her trap, to think beauty equated with good and righteousness instead of a facade meant to trick and tempt.
It was Liam’s turn to become stiff and unyielding as she glided past. I couldn’t help a spurt of amusement at the entire situation.
I slapped him on the back. “Look, both your and Thomas’ old flames are here. Tonight should be super fun!”
There was a choked sound of amusement from Anton a few feet away. Neither Liam or Thomas seemed to appreciate my humor as they turned serious faces on me.
Thomas shook his head at Liam as if to say “you deal with her,” before moving away.
I gave Liam an innocent look. “Is it something I said?”
His answering frown was long-suffering as he followed Thomas. I lingered behind, checking my phone messages.
A text from Caroline in answer to the one I’d sent earlier that night asking if she’d found anything.
Nothing useful.
I could almost sense her frustration over the phone.
Keep checking, I typed back.
Will do. Let me know if you need me. My car can be used as a getaway vehicle and to run any would-be hunters down. It’s a twofer special, she typed back.
I huffed out a laugh before sliding my phone back into my pocket. I looked over the crowd, surprised to see most of them had thrown off their glamour.
I’d never seen so many Fae in one place. All types, some I recognized, many I did not.
The definition of what was Fae fascinated me. It didn’t seem to matter what species or type of Fae they were as long as a spook fit into their pantheon somewhere. The characteristics of what made someone Fae seemed to be loosely defined.
I spotted harpies in the trees, not a creature I’d ever associated with the Fae, but who knows, maybe they were just here to play. It was the sort of out of control party that seemed to attract them.
Dryads frolicked through the clearing, their leafy hair and bark-like skin distinctive.
“Someone should have told me Wild Hunt was code for a rager,” I muttered, following slowly after Liam
.
I’d dropped back a few paces which was why I was in a better position to notice the gnome, Tom, a man who had proven himself an enemy, as he ran through the crowd, deftly avoiding the High Fae present.
I don’t know what made me follow, but I turned on my heel and chased after him. I waited until we’d neared the edge of the crowd, grabbing the back of his jacket and using it to propel him into the trees.
“Hey Tom, fancy meeting you here,” I said.
He tried to jerk out of my hold. He almost succeeded, too. Gnomes were known for their strength, and Tom had the additional benefit of being wily as hell.
I managed to retain my grip, my newfound strength making it possible, where the old me would have failed.
“Let me go, you worthless fanger,” he snapped.
I did just that by shoving him forward. He crashed into a tree and bounced off it before aiming a baleful glare my way.
“Now is that any way to treat the woman who holds your fate in her hands?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. “The vampires are still pretty pissed about your interference in their selection. Just imagine what they’d do if I called one of them over here.”
Tom jerked his shirt into place, straightening it before aiming a fierce frown my way.
“Go on, do it. I know you’re just dying to see me torn apart,” he snarled.
“Don’t tempt me.”
The little bastard would deserve it if I did. He’d nearly gotten me killed the last time I saw him, not to mention his actions had resulted in Caroline being turned into a wolf.
It would be so satisfying to turn him over to Thomas. Unfortunately, there were several things preventing me from doing just that.
The first, was that I knew Tom wouldn’t be here unless he had a very good reason. He had several things in common with a cockroach. He liked to scurry around the edges and he had the enviable ability to survive pretty much anything.
The second was that despite what he thought of me, I was not a stone-cold killer. I had no wish to see the vampires exact their revenge on him for something that had turned out in their favor.
Tom’s grumpy face got even grumpier as I made a gesture for him to hurry it up.
A thought occurred to me and I cocked my head. “Is this about Jerry?”
His expression turned defensive. “What if it is?”
“I just didn’t think you had any loyalty in you, is all.”
The gnome had made a habit of being as snappish and difficult as possible the few times I’d seen him. He’d also made no secret how much he disliked vampires in general, and me in particular. Evidently, he blamed me for getting the courier job he felt should have gone to his nephew.
“You don’t know anything about me,” he snapped.
“I could claim the same about me.”
His frown was grudging, as if he might concede that point if he’d been a different, less difficult man. “I don’t have to justify myself to you, but if you had even a little bit of loyalty to Jerry or any of Hermes, you’d let me go.”
I cocked my head. “Is this about the fact that Niamh has enslaved him to her will?”
Shock crossed his face. “How do you know about that?”
I gave a small snort.
He turned suspicious. “She’s got her hooks in you too.”
I couldn’t help the guffaw that escaped.
He didn’t look appeased, his eyes narrowed as he tensed as if in preparation for flight.
My laughter wound down. “No more games. Tell me why you’re here.”
“I’m interested to hear that myself,” Liam said in a silky voice full of threat as he stepped out of the trees.
Tom blanched, the presence of the other vampire doing what all my threats could not. His bravado drained away, leaving behind exhaustion and defeat.
“I was just trying to help Jerry,” he whined.
“How?” I asked.
His shoulders slumped. “It’s the hunt. Who do you think she’s going to use as prey?”
I considered. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who’d received the half mark. That didn’t make me much happier than the thought of me being prey.
“I know you don’t like me much,” he said, misreading my silence. “But Jerry gave you a home. He and the others don’t deserve to be hunted down like animals for their amusement.”
There was a world of loathing when he referred to the High Fae. Hate showed on his face, the type that went right into the very heart of a person. It was the sort of emotion that could rot you from the inside out if you let it, festering and growing until it consumed you and led you down some very dark paths.
“How were you going to do that?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I thought if I knocked him unconscious and carried him away it would remove him from the hunt.”
I stared at the being who stood no higher than my hips. Jerry was even taller than I was. How exactly had Tom planned to knock out a man when he could barely reach above the man’s knee?
My skepticism must have shown on my face because he bristled. “I could do it.”
“Uh huh.” My voice didn’t sound very certain.
“It wouldn’t work,” Liam said crisply. “The hunt would have just eliminated him first before going after the rest of the marked prey.”
“How do you know that?” Tom asked, giving Liam a sideways look.
Liam arched an eyebrow and gave him an unamused smile. “Because I used to run with the hunt.”
Both of us jerked toward Liam, surprise on my face, a sick horror on Tom’s.
He scrambled away from us. I lunged after him and grabbed his pants.
“I’ve heard of him. He’s her vampire lover! The master of the hunt. Everyone knows it.” I dodged a kick he aimed at me as I dragged him back. He snarled at me. “I knew I couldn’t trust you, you damn fanger.”
“Settle down, Tom,” I said through gritted teeth.
He fought harder, thrashing in my grip. His pants came loose and he wriggled out of them, darting away, only a small pair of boxers and his shirt preserving any modesty he might have.
“He sure is fast for such a little guy,” Liam remarked, watching as Tom moved through the trees.
He moved faster than I’d ever seen him, disappearing before either of us could stop him.
“Great, I had more questions for him,” I said, standing.
Liam’s shrug was unconcerned. He didn’t seem to care that the gnome had escaped.
He held a hand out to me. “Come, let’s go.”
“What did he mean when he said you were the lord of the hunt?” I asked.
Liam sighed. “It’s been a long time since I was called that.”
I waited as he stared into the darkened forest, a pensive look on his face.
It was hard enough dating a human man with a mortal lifespan, given all the baggage people tended to accumulate over a few decades. I couldn’t imagine how much more baggage someone with centuries behind them might have.
It made me wonder if I knew Liam at all.
“It’s not a time in my history that I’m proud of,” he said, his words surprising me. Liam had always been reserved, keeping a large part of him a mystery. “For a time in my youth I was known as the lord of the Wild Hunt. One of them anyways.”
“I thought only the Fae could participate in the hunt. How could a vampire become its lord?” I said, watching him.
He shook his head. “Anybody can be called to the hunt, whether it be hunter or prey. It helps to have Fae blood in you, but it isn’t necessary. Fairy magic is strange. It doesn’t always obey rules. It deemed me powerful enough and so I became the hunt’s lord.”
“Why did you leave it?” I asked.
He looked away. “In the hunt, little else matters except the kill. It was a different age and I was a different person. I’m not that person anymore.”
There was a hint of vulnerability in his expression, as if he expected me to reject him because of this. I cou
ldn’t exactly blame him. Until now, our entire relationship had been a matter of him pushing and me running away.
We moved through the trees together, heading back to the clearing and the revelry that was waiting there.
As we prepared to step out into the clearing, I noticed a slight glimmer on the bark of several trees. I looked further, noting that all the trees rimming the clearing had something similar.
I grabbed Liam’s arm. “Wait. I see something.”
He went still, his head lifted as his eyes turned alert. “What is it?”
“There’s something on the trees. Some kind of symbol.”
His arm relaxed. “We warded the clearing to prevent Niamh pulling any of her little tricks again.”
I frowned at him, looking past him to where the Fae gyrated to the music. Pockets of the clearing had descended into an orgy, the occupants coupling with mad abandon.
I blinked as a satyr mounted a dryad. They certainly weren’t shy.
Niamh’s laugh rang out, the sound of tinkling bells lifting above the music. She hung onto Arlan’s arm, her face turned toward his.
This was the woman who had once held a large piece of Liam’s heart. He’d given up his humanity, embraced his baser nature for her. What did it say about me that jealousy still managed to bite at me? A simple thing like her laugh made me want cringe. I doubted I’d ever be able to listen to bells without flinching again.
Her gaze slid our way, turning vindictive and cruel for a split second before smoothing into the same too-beautiful lines.
Oh yes, that she-demon definitely had something planned for the evening.
I glanced around. Thomas had Eric and Makoto with him as he stood in the middle of the clearing, watching Sarah and her witches as they cavorted with the rest of the Fae, some of the women already half-naked as they danced.
I couldn’t read the look on his face. It could have been desire or hatred as he watched his former lover.
Movement in the crowd drew my attention. Nathan headed toward us, cutting through the party goers as if they weren’t even there, stepping over bodies writhing on the ground or knocking people out of his way.
I started to raise my hand to wave, a smile already on my face.