Reality Ruptured, page 6
part #8 of The Gallows Series Series
“Gag me,” she muttered.
“All you need to know is how good I am at pleasing women,” he started, clearly not taking her hints. Adrian seemed to want him to make a start on producing the heir he so badly wanted.
Teri rubbed at her eyes. “Adrian will kill you if you defile me.”
The hand that had crept onto her knee now froze in place. He didn’t speak but he didn’t need to. She could see into his head and the sliver of fear at her words was small but entirely present.
“He’s not sure about what he wants and you know it, if you merged with him it would have been obvious.” Not that she was totally clear on what the merging process entailed, but she was sure the spell had to be an intimate one.
The fairy removed his hand from her skin. “He would destroy you if he touched you himself. He hates women. He can’t lie with one without spilling her blood.”
“That’s true,” she said. “It’s also true that he’s not ready to just sit back and let someone else impregnate his queen. He would kill you afterwards. Especially if he touched me and knew how good it felt. You know how angry he gets.”
He swallowed audibly and stood up.
She looked at him. “I can’t sleep in this bed.”
He nodded slowly. When she turned, the bed-sheets had changed to plain white cotton. She touched the fabric and was comforted by the lack of visions. The fairy was gone when she looked back up. In a way she was relieved. In another she was afraid. If she scared the guy too much she knew he’d back up to the point that Adrian would be doubly tempted to force her into something violent. She’d just have to hope she could keep him around for long enough to allow her rescue team a chance to grab him.
Chapter Thirteen
Teri’s plan to get out of Adrian’s grasp was making slow headway the night Roman visited her. Three months into her stay at the castle and she was beginning to wonder how much longer she could handle the torture of waiting. In that time, she’d managed to turn Adrian’s right hand man, Gio, into the closest thing to a friend that he was capable of being. He was genuinely afraid to seduce her now. The more she enforced his fears about his boss, the more it freaked him out that Adrian planned to kill him as soon as he impregnated his queen-to-be. These days all they talked about were the plans for a ceremony that would tie her to his psycho boss for the rest of their existences. She didn’t bother telling him it was too late to enslave her, she was already spoken for. All she did was try to subtly push him to find out more about Adrian’s plans. So far all he knew was that the next time Adrian came back, he was coming back to do what Gio had failed to do so far.
She shivered. The clothes he’d finally brought her that were actually warm were okay, but she missed her own and she missed home. Staring out the window into the endless night, she wished it was time to come home.
“Teri,” Roman’s voice made her jump.
She turned away from the window and stared in shock at him. He was still dressed in black, still wearing the same old sombre expression.
“Roman!” She rushed into his arms and hugged him tight.
“I’ve been waiting so long for this,” he told her, stepping back when she let him go.
“It’s finally time to get me out of here?” She could barely believe it.
He nodded. “I’ve been pushing for it from the start. They finally relented.”
“Thank god,” she said, taking his hand. “Get us out of here.”
The teleport brought them to a dark place that made her gasp. The woods were always pretty frightening in the Darklands and this had to be as deep as she’d ever been. She kept hold of Roman’s hand.
“Where are we?”
“Somewhere Adrian wouldn’t be able to follow. I’ll get us out of here soon, but we need to wait...”
She blinked, her eyesight adjusting to the darkness. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.” His free hand reached out to stroke the side of her face. He brought his lips to hers and she realised she’d never be able to let him go. The kiss was cut short when her tears met his lips. He held his head against hers, wiping at her tears with both hands.
“I don’t want to go home,” she whispered.
“You’re not safe here.”
“I know.” It didn’t matter. She couldn’t leave knowing she was leaving without him.
“The gates are going to open,” he told her, hesitating slightly as he spoke. “We won’t be apart for much longer.”
“We’re trying to stop them from opening, remember?” She couldn’t quite take in what he was saying. The prophecy wasn’t set in stone. The gates had been fated to open before and they hadn’t. She searched his thoughts and realised he was certain. “How do you...”
“There was always something missing before, when any prophecy came out about the gates opening. This time everything is lining up,” he told her, his thoughts echoing his words. “They’re going to open.”And that means we get a second chance. “I don’t want you to stay here, it’s not safe.”
She smiled wryly, though she knew he couldn’t see her expression clearly in the dark. “It wasn’t safe back home either. He sent Gio to bring me here. I’m safer with you.” She had a point and he knew it.
The teleport brought them into his house. His gaze burned into hers as his mouth set in a thin line.
“Then I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
Chapter Fourteen
Being so close and so far away from Andi was slowly driving Shaun crazy. In the past three months he’d been lucky to see her twice a week, coming out to meet her when she was out on patrol after midnight. Will had taken most of those shifts, and he’d quickly realised that the nights Andi took were his only chance at spending any time with her. Will had a habit of coming back to the house whenever Shaun came over to see her there. It was almost as if he knew, yet if he did he didn’t seem the slightest bit moved by it.
“Hey,” Shaun said, stepping out from his usual spot by the woods.
She smiled. “We really have to stop meeting like this.”
He shrugged, falling into step beside her. “I don’t know. I kind of like running into you late at night.”
“There’s a vampire in Burrow Meadows woods,” she told him, glancing in the direction of his old town.
He might as well still be living there for all the time he got to spend with Andi. “Sarah will get it,” he reminded, finding the scent kind of familiar but not enough to make him question it. “She’s all over vampires like white on rice.”
Andi laughed and he felt a smile twitch the corners of his lips.
“I like it when you laugh,” he blurted, cringing at his own enthusiasm.
She glanced at him. “I wish things were different.”
“I do too,” he said, checking his senses as they walked. “Maybe one day they will be.”
She nodded slowly but he could tell she didn’t really think things would ever change. Every time they were together she went from happy to frustrated to miserable.
“Jess is so happy with Will back home,” she said, sounding bitter. She folded her arms. “She has no idea...”
Shaun’s jaw clenched at the thought of it. He knew Jess thought Will was Andi’s boyfriend. That had been their cover in the first place and Jess had liked him. She was apparently ecstatic that her cousin was back with her ex, which was driving Andi up the wall even more than it was aggravating him.
“I can’t stand the way things are,” she admitted, stopping at the limit where the protective magical barrier lay. “It feels like my whole life is on hold.”
“You’ve spent a long time protecting her,” he said, trying to find the right thing to say to make her feel better. “I don’t think anyone else would have been able to do that. You’re amazing.”
“You make it sound like a chore,” she said, with a sigh.
“I know you love her like family, but you shouldn’t have to live like this,” he said.
“I don’t think I can anymore,” she admitted. “It’s too much. It’s asking too much.”
They stood in silence at the barrier, staring out into the night.
***
Andi got home and went straight into her office and pulled out a book. Will came in with a cup of tea a few minutes later. She looked up. “Shouldn’t you be leaving?” She’d used his idea about taking turns on patrol against him. It had sort of worked so far, but he wasn’t strict about it.
He shrugged. “Three fairies are out there. They’ll catch anything that’s lurking.” He put the tea down on her desk. “I know it’s been an adjustment, but I like being back here. It feels like home.”
She kept her mouth shut. He’d been trying to behave himself but every so often she’d caught him staring and she couldn’t get to sleep unless she wedged a chair under her bedroom door handle. Not that he’d ever gone that far. It was just the thought of having him around that made her feel sick. Jess had been so happy. She hadn’t even commented when she’d noticed Will was sleeping in the guest room.
“It’s getting close to Jess’s birthday,” she said, ignoring the tea he’d apparently made for her. “We need to be preparing for an attack.”
“Three months away,” he said, looking at her book shelves. “And we don’t know for sure that her sixteenth will be the celebration the books always bang on about.”
Andi went back to her reading. The book open in front of her, she blanked Will, wishing he’d take a hint and go away. If he never came back this time she’d be ecstatic.
“I found this, after the Gallows kid left.”
She looked up and watched him toss a crystal and catch it. He did this a few times before he set it down on the table. She recognised it, but only as something Will had tried to get her to use when they were younger. He’d been determined to prove to her that he was her soul-mate at the time. She’d refused to play his dumb game, telling him she didn’t need a crystal to prove she wasn’t his. He’d dropped it, but it had pissed her off.
“That looks like yours.” She rolled her eyes, wondering what his problem was with Shaun. It wasn’t as if he knew anything was going on between them. He just didn’t like the guy.
“Well, it’s not,” Will said. “I wonder why he’d be carrying it around. Did he get you to use it?”
She looked up at him. “Shaun doesn’t care about that soul-mate bullshit. Stop trying to bug me with your weird games, Will. I’m busy.”
“I think he likes you.” He sounded amused, as if she should find it gross or creepy. It was hideously high-school and she seriously couldn’t be bothered with Will right now. The way he was behaving was more than annoying. It was pathetic.
“So what?” Andi shook her head. “I don’t want to miss anything here. Why don’t you make yourself useful and check on Jess?”
He walked away and she breathed a sigh of relief. The map on the table made her bite her lip. The soul-mate test was probably garbage. She’d always suspected it just pointed out the closest tracker. Now was her chance to find out. She whispered as she poured energy into the crystal. It rose the instant she put it down, floating through the air and out of the room! “Shit!” she hissed, rushing after it. It flew out of the open living room window and disappeared into the night. She flushed as she realised it must have been some kind of trick played by Will. “Asshole,” she cursed under her breath as she went back to her book.
***
Shaun went into his empty house and called on Roman. Being taken to the Darklands to check on things was becoming a regular occurrence ever since he’d been moved out on his own in Ravenstow. Andi’s mother had given him his new orders herself and he got the distinct impression she wasn’t overly fond of him. He’d tried not to roll his eye when she gave him an obviously pre-prepared speech about responsibility.
“So where are we going this time?” He asked Roman as the guy touched his arm and teleported him to the Darklands.
“The Unseelie Queen wants to meet you. She’s worried about her son.”
Shaun raised an eyebrow. “The Queen wants to meet me?”
“She thinks Adrian took him,” Roman went on. “Which makes you her best chance at finding him.”
Shaun sighed. He’d considered going after Adrian several times in the last few months but the guy was slippery as hell. Half the time he used his newest henchman as a decoy. As much as Shaun loved smacking that creep around, the sooner he destroyed his nemesis, the better for all of humanity.
“So how’s Teri?” He hadn’t spoken to her in a while considering she’d chosen to stay in the Darklands. They weren’t big on electricity there and having his bathroom mirror become a video-phone was just not happening.
“She’s great. She still refuses to go back home,” Roman said, sounding uncertain even as he smiled.
Shaun shook his head. “She knows she’ll never be safe. Maybe she’s just better off being around you and the Unseelie Knight.”
Roman shrugged. “She seemed okay when we got her out of the castle, but something happened that she won’t talk about. I wish she’d just tell me.”
Shaun kept his mouth shut. The one conversation they’d had about it had made Teri tear up. He wasn’t sure what happened either, but it wasn’t as simple as it sounded. She’d been put through some shit, and her guardians had let it happen. All to try and find out what that bastard Adrian was really up to, and in the end nothing was gained. She’d been through two months of hell for nothing.
The Unseelie castle wasn’t that much different on appearances from Adrian’s castle. Shaun walked on, sighing as he went. It was like they were all just waiting on Adrian making his big move. He felt useless. He wanted to find the guy and stop him. Everyone could stop worrying about the gates opening and he could finally be with the girl he was falling for.
Roman led the way, quick on his feet as he led Shaun to a big, spacious room a woman with a long black dress was waiting in. She had dark hair and pale skin, vibrant purple eyes and thin lips set in a straight line. Her thin figure was somehow frail and imposing at the same time. He bowed slightly, following Roman’s lead.
“This is the Seelie Knight, your majesty.”
Shaun held back a snort at Roman’s respectful tone. The woman might be a queen in the Darklands, but that meant nothing on earth.
“Hey,” Shaun said, folding his arms.
She looked him over in vague interest before sitting down on what looked to be an overstuffed sofa, motioning for them to sit opposite. Their chairs were equally plush but set lower to the ground. Typical, Shaun thought, hoping his thoughts weren’t entering the queen’s head. He’d been told he was hard to read, but the Fey found it a lot easier to get into the minds of living humanoids than psychics, in general.
“My son, as you’ll have been told, is missing.” She kept her posture amazingly straight in the sink-ably soft seat. Only her fidgety hands gave away her less than solid composure. “It’s... He’s run off before. He’s an unruly child. But this...” She shook her head. “Something was missing from the family vault when I went to get our book of prophecy this morning. I haven’t checked the vault for a few months. I believe he took it.”
Shaun glanced at Roman who gave a gentle shrug of his shoulders. He turned back to the queen. “If you don’t mind me asking, what did he take, exactly?”
She sighed softly, her fingers crumpling sections of her skirt. “It’s a ring. One that was never meant to be worn.”
Shaun straightened. “A ring with a Darklands crystal in it?”
She nodded slowly. “I’m worried about what’s going to happen. I’m afraid for him. I know the Seelie Prince has plans to bring the Darklands back to earth.”
“What exactly are you worried about happening?” Shaun had to ask, even if he suspected already.
“I’m afraid he’ll give the ring to the Seelie Princess. I’m afraid it will open the gates. I’m afraid he doesn’t understand what he’s doing.”
“I’ve seen the ring in a vision,” Shaun admitted.
She blinked, her eyes widening slightly. “A vision?”
“The Seelie Princess was wearing it.” Shaun smiled wryly. “I think we know how the gates are going to open. Why do you think Adrian is involved?”
“He’s been gone for three months. I think,” she said, with a shudder, “that he’s been kept captive all this time, waiting, for something...”
“Waiting for what?”
“I think that’s the big question,” Roman told them.
Shaun wasn’t convinced it was. The biggest question for him was how the hell was he supposed to stop it from happening? “Is there any rule to how the ring works? Anything in the prophecies about when the prince is supposed to unite with the princess?” He needed some sort of time frame, and he figured the best person to ask was the one who had the ring that was going to destroy the world in the first place.
“It’s a slave ring,” she whispered, shame lighting her features. “The princess will belong to him when she accepts it.”
“The prophecies tend to lean towards the summer as the time their union will happen,” Roman added quietly.
Shaun took a breath. They only had a few months to prevent this disaster. He hoped it was going to be enough.
***
Roman took Shaun home and made his way back to the Darklands where his girlfriend was waiting for him. She got up from her seat, brushing her skirt down as he entered.
“So how’d it go?”
“The gates will probably open in a few months, once the Seelie Princess accepts a ring from the Unseelie Prince.” He thought it over after he said it. Only a few months until he could walk back to earth with Teri. It wouldn’t be the same earth she’d known. He shouldn’t wish it into being. As awful as it was to admit, he didn’t like her being in the Darklands. It was too dangerous. He was worried for her more every time he left her. Adrian had too big an interest in her. He wasn’t going to just forget about her because she’d escaped his castle. When he thought about it there was only one real solution—Adrian had to die.
