Facets of Feyrie Box Set, page 66
part #1 of Facets of Feyrie Series
Iza has already decided to help the humans, and with her help, they might stand a chance because she and I are a package deal and I love eating mages.
“Those Schoth people are coming through, aren’t they?” Michael asks quietly.
“Yes, unless we stop them,” I answer, watching the emotions chase themselves across his face.
“Can you stop them?” I can tell by looking at him that he wants me to say yes, but that would be a lie.
“Maybe.” I choose to tell the truth.
“Are you as badass as Iza thinks you are?” His face flushes, but he holds my gaze steadily.
“Yes. You could be as well. The Schoth fear your people.”
“Why?”
I remember that he was orphaned young and was probably not taught much about his true abilities. “Your kind eats Magiks, that’s why you go for the brains of your prey, it houses their power. You’re also immune to most types of it, and only the strongest Schoth can stop you before you get to them.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Then how did they kill so many?”
“It was not them that killed most of them.” And I leave it at that. “You have spent so long trying to fit in with the vampires that you’ve limited yourself based on their weaknesses. Yours are not theirs, but you’re not infallible either. You have to learn, and then you will be able to use the arsenal you were born with.”
“Can you teach me?” I consider him a moment. He will never equal Iza in skill or abilities, but he can be equal to some of the Nightmares in strength. He would be a valuable asset to Iza in the coming times.
“Yes, but you won’t like the way I teach.”
“I don’t like a lot of things that I have to do, that doesn’t stop me from doing them.” He’s sincere in his desire to learn, no matter the method. Yes, a good part of it is loyalty to Iza and belief in their cause; another part is his desire to protect Ruthie because he loves her. Something that frustrates him because Ruthie is always in doubt of it.
“We’ll start after Iza finds the imp and returns to the Sidhe.” He smiles in excitement and then turns back to the news. Michael is smart for his age. He’s also braver than most males I have met, and I have met thousands. Iza chose well in this boy.
The door opens, and a frustrated Iza strolls in, the small frown between her eyes and the clenching of her jaw indicates that she lost her disagreement with Ruthie. I’m not sure how one can argue about menstruation; it seems like an argument for argument’s sake.
“She threw my chocolate gift at me. I’m at a loss, how else can I make her less bitchy? Especially when she refuses to accept that chocolate is the magical food,” she muses, shaking her head as she plops down on the bed next to Michael.
“She’s bitchy about everything. Lately, nothing I do is right anymore,” he mutters.
“She keeps telling me it’s a girl thing, and I’m a girl and don’t understand all of it, so don’t feel bad, Michael. The Google God says this mood should only last for seven to ten years, and then she’ll be our smiling Ruthie again.” She reassures him and pats his shoulder. Not understanding that she’s not truly reassuring. Seven to ten years to Michael is infinite.
She fastens her eyes on the TV and sees the news. Her reaction isn’t one of surprise. Iza understands the Schoth in some ways better than even I do. Her cell phone chimes and distractedly she looks at it. The minute her thoughts turn dark, she gets my full attention. Through her, I can see the text message.
I’m guessing you disposed of my messengers. I shall then make the offer myself. Your life for your mage’s and everyone else in your Sidhe. It is the only way he and the rest of your flock will survive any of this.
He provides an address and time for her to meet him. The address is here in this town we are currently in, Melborn, and the time is an hour from now. Iza, forever dangerously impulsive, made up her mind the minute she read the message. Her life for all of theirs. To her, it’s a simple choice with no in-depth thought required.
The fool believes that they’ll keep their promises.
“Michael, go,” I order. Without questioning anything, he’s up and out of the room in seconds. The resounding slam of the door shutting pulls Iza’s eyes to mine.
“It’s the right thing to do, Phobe. One life for all of theirs.” It. Is. Not.
“Are you insane? These people aren’t honorable. Why are you even considering such a thing?”
“For some reason, this man wants me dead,” she pauses and shifts mental gears. “He’s killing them one at a time anyhow. This way, I can earn them a little more time.”
“To what? Hide and run like scared rabbits for the rest of their lives?”
“To live, Phobe. We’re all living on borrowed time, something everyone knows. If I do this, they can have a little more.” She’s made up her stupid, bleeding-heart mind. I can’t have this. She can’t do this.
I won’t allow her to do this! I cross the room in two strides and grab her shoulders and pull her up to me. Holding her face even with mine, I shake her a little.
“This miserable world… all of these miserable worlds are better with you in them. Someone like Jameson or one of your special children might make ripples, but you’re a tsunami, Iza. You matter more than any of them, and you’re needed—” I shake her again. “They need you. I need you!” My voice tapers off, and I realize that I’m yelling. Grabbing my composure, I release her and cross the room away from her, more to stop me from yelling again than anything else. The fact that I did pisses me off.
Iza is standing there with a smile on her face and her eyes sparkling in humor. How is this situation amusing to her? As she watches me that smile grows and a laugh parts her lips.
“You like me,” she teases, running at me and jumping into my arms. I hesitate, unsure of why her amusement exists. To stop wondering, I dive into her thoughts.
The little twit is happy. I care enough to yell at her. Shaking my head in wonder at how her mind works, I bury my face in her neck and breathe in the smell of her. If only I could take this moment and extend it forever, to always have her like this—happy and in my arms.
Fuck, she has made me into a sentimental monster.
“We’re still going to meet them,” she whispers against my skin.
“You’re not—”
“No, I won’t trade myself… but we’re still going,” she insists.
I never once doubted she would, but I wish she’d learn to lie better.
Chapter Seventeen
We show up late because being on time seems too desperate. I’m not at that stage yet, a finger getting cut off isn’t a big deal. Well, to Jameson it might be, but I can think of worse things they could’ve sent me. Especially the one thing that got him into this mess, to begin with. On second thought, maybe him losing that will teach him a lesson about thinking with something other than his brain. We can hope this whole experience taught him something—with Jameson you never know.
He’s a bit on the delicate side. We’ll be lucky if he’s mentally stable after this mess. I wasn’t, I’m still not, not really, but I do what I can.
Phobe’s eyes are on me, so I walk in the door first. This way if anyone captures me, he can nab them, or eat them, whichever works for him. I’m only half-surprised when no one tries to. Instead, there’s a gathering of people at the center of the large, mostly empty room.
Jameson isn’t here.
The Guide, who’s staring at me rather angrily, is. On either side of him are Schoth mages, each of them powerful enough that the hum of that awful Light Magiks from here is static against my own. Those two combined can kick my ass if I’m not careful, I know it with absolute surety.
The Guide is a different story. There are so much Magiks entwined with his that isn’t his. It's a bit confusing. Someone with a lot of power to spare is helping this fucker, someone who can and probably will kick my ass if not kill me. Internally I shake myself. I won’t waver. I promised Phobe I wouldn’t trade myself, I’ll stick to my word, but it’s hard not to be the martyr my guilt tells me to be.
Common sense won out too. They won’t keep their promise, and they won’t leave the other Feyrie alone. Not unless I’m in the way to be the world’s biggest pain in the ass to them. This thought makes me smile, and that smile is what they see first.
The Guide frowns harder and the mages with him tense.
“Are you here to trade yourself?” Rolling my eyes at his question, I stop a few feet away and cross my arms.
“Na, I figured I’d still stop by though. Have a bit of a staring contest and see if your dick is as small as I think it is.” Watching the emotions chase themselves across his face as I talk is quite enjoyable. For someone with so much power, he’s a bit of an idiot. Speaking of idiots. “So, what happened to my dear uncle? Is he out parking the car?”
“He died on the floor like a dog, as your mother died. Like you’ll die!” Spittle forms little white peaks at the corners of his mouth as he yells at me. This only makes the entire thing more fun for me.
“That’s a better death than he deserved. It’s a shame my dad wasn’t able to do it, but I imagine that he’s having a bit of fun with him right now. Just like he’ll have with you one day soon.” He goes to step forward but freezes as he walked into a wall. With a shake of his head, he steps back, and I know then that someone stopped him.
The smell of the Magiks is similar to those affecting Rido and Val. A sickly-sweet smell that reminds me of decaying meat. The hair on my arms stands up as the Magiks inside of me rebel because of the presence of the other. It's Light Magiks but not at the same time—it’s more and different but similar enough that its source is hidden away by the present mages. Curious, very curious.
Watching the Light Magiks make small movements across the skin of the Guide, to and fro like the waves of the tide, makes me doubt it’s him. The Magiks are doing that because it’s being forced to stay on him, which means the majority of the power he possesses isn’t his. The Magiks you’re born with, lash or swirl around you and are solidly anchored to your soul.
He’s weaker on his own than I realized, if I can find a way to strip him of the Magiks that aren’t his, he’d make an easier target. I’d be able to get my fucking hands on him and beat the smirk right off his face. The owner of that Magiks is the real threat, the boss—the one who made Kael afraid. I know by looking at this little bit, he’s laid on the Guide that I can’t beat him.
He’s like Phobe but stronger. I don’t think any of us can beat him, at least not fairly.
‘If you eat him, how big of a jumpstart does that give your battery?’
‘Bigger than the two mages with him.’ I go to step forward, but his finger in my belt loop stops me. ‘I can’t get to him now, Iza. He’s protected from me.’ The menace is practically dripping off his words. Phobe isn’t happy about this at all, but he’s chewing on it, and eventually, he’ll have an answer. He’s creepy good like that.
It still sucks, because a plan later doesn’t help me save Jameson now. Why does everything have to be so complicated? It’s easier when I can kill them and move on, or Phobe can eat them, and then we move on.
Pain flashes through my head, and the room darkens as black spots fill my vision. To keep myself upright, I take a step back and as subtly as I can, lean against Phobe. Lightheaded, and feeling suddenly nauseous, it’s the only way to give into the tilting sensation without actually falling over. That might ruin my tough girl image, falling on my face.
‘This isn’t the appropriate time for your jokes. Your weakness is still evident, no matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise.’
‘Well, nothing can be done about it.’
‘You could return to the Sidhe and fix it entirely.’ How dare he make sense right now! I need him to be angry and ready to take the whole world on.
‘You can take your logic and shove it up your ass.’ I say instead of what I’m thinking.
‘I will still take the whole world on for you, Iza. Never doubt that.’
Keeping the smile on my face, I stand on my own, gritting my teeth to fight past the cold sweat I break out in. I can’t let them see how sick I am. I can’t let them see how worried I am. I can’t let Phobe see it either.
I don’t doubt he’ll fight them all for me if he needs to, but at this stage, I’m starting to worry about his survival. If his brother, who isn’t his brother, is the enemy—I’m pretty sure he is, all the neon arrows point to him and say, ‘This is the bad guy’—he’s got a distinct advantage over Phobe. He wasn’t imprisoned and kept weak for… well, forever. This entire situation gives me the worst feeling in my gut that I can’t shake no matter what I do.
“Are you ready to trade yourself, girl?”
I turn my full attention to the Guide. “Na. You can keep him. He’s not worth all of this hassle.” As calm as possible, I shrug and turn to walk away.
“What about your precious Sidhe?”
Without turning, I say, “Well, since you’re not at it and haven’t taken anyone else… I’d hazard a guess that you have no fucking clue where it is. See ya.” I keep walking and am almost to the door when he stops me.
“Are you sure Michael and Ruthie will agree with this decision?” Those words stop me dead. “The girl came along after we clobbered the boy a bit. She’s a timid thing, isn’t she?” His chuckle sends a chill up my spine and pisses me off so much that I almost lose what little bit of composure I have. The ingrained refusal to give him the response that he wants is the only thing that stops me. “You have a day or two to think about it before I start cutting pieces off them too.”
Silent, I walk out and as soon as I’m out of sight, break into a run. Pulling out my cell phone, I call Adriem; thankfully, he had the sense to add his phone number to my contacts list. He picks up on the third ring.
“Hello, lovely lady—”
“Go to kid’s rooms and check on them.”
“They’re not here. Ruthie said something about them going to the pool downstairs,” he answers. I hang up on him and dial Michael’s phone.
“Now do you believe me, Iza?” The voice of the Guide comes through loud and clear. I hang up on him too.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He has the kids, that motherfucker has the kids! I run until my legs burn until I’m standing in front of the hotel and see a worried Adriem leaning against the railing in front of our rooms. I jump up to him and go straight to the kids’ rooms. Both of them look normal. There are no strange smells, no signs of a scuffle. Ruthie’s bed is even made.
I start pacing in the hallway. He must have taken them on the way to the pool. I’ll agree to the exchange if he releases them first that way they have a chance to get going to the Sidhe before he gets his hands on me. Any power I have in this deal is done the minute I give myself over.
“You’re not trading yourself, not even for them, Iza.” Phobe’s voice brings me out of my turbulent thoughts and smack dab into reality.
The phone rings and I answer it immediately. “Iza, you have to come, or they’ll kill him!” Ruthie’s raised voice silences anything I was going to say. “They beat him up bad, nothing I did helps… he fought them so hard. Iza, you have to save us!” she pleads.
Phobe reaches over and takes the phone out of my hands. “How did they capture you?”
For a second she sputters, and blubbers then start crying in earnest again, until finally, she says, “We were going to the pool… they came out of nowhere.”
“Did you fight them?” Phobe asks.
“Of course, she fought them, give me the damn phone,” I demand, holding out my hand. He holds my eyes a moment and then does as bid.
“Ruthie, where are you? Do you know?”
“They said if I tell you they’ll hurt him more. I’m sorry, Iza. Just come and save us.” The line goes dead. Angry, I almost smash the phone in my hand but catch myself at the last minute. That was a dumb impulse to have to fight. This is the only way for them to contact me.
Irritated with myself, I shove the phone in my pocket and turn to Phobe.
“Why did you ask if she fought?”
“I was curious, is all.” His fiery eyes hold mine a moment then he shifts gears, “I heard the sound of lots of people walking and talking in the background. Where is a place that this would be?”
“They have a mall a few miles up the road,” Adriem says, coming to join us outside of Michael’s room. “It’s a place that humans like to gather and shop and talk loudly and often. Mom loves places like that.” I know what a mall is, I’m half-dragon and malls represent something incredibly crucial to dragons. Shiny things.
“It’s a place I wouldn’t look for them, normally. Who holds hostages at a mall?” I muse out loud and head towards the car we rented. The one I’m not allowed to drive. Instead of saying anything, I get in the back seat and wait. I have to admit that they’re smarter than I hoped. Holing up in a place like that is a good demonstration. Right under my fucking nose, under all those human’s noses.
“We’re not that far from there,” Adriem says, as he gets into the car. Phobe remains silent and gets into the back seat beside me. When his hand slides around mine and lightly squeezes, I almost cry, almost. Biting my lip hard enough to make it bleed, I manage to keep the tears at bay.
Crying won’t get them all back. I’m not even sure it’ll make me feel better either. I think everything will make me angrier, and angry me doesn’t like to be patient and do the smart thing. Angry me wants to kill things first and ask questions later.
Keeping my silence while Adriem tries his best to reassure me, I keep my eyes on the traffic as we drive and hold onto Phobe’s hand like the lifeline it is. No one is following us, that I can see, but I wouldn’t put it past them. They have vampires and shifters working for them. Hell, they have someone close to me working for them, or getting possessed by them—whatever the case may be. I still haven’t found out who, and at this point, I’m not even sure I will.
