In the Beginning... (60 page)

Aodhan took Mallory’s hand before she could
fabricate an answer. Mallory was grateful when he drew her father’s
attention. “It had to be done that way, I’m afraid. My colleagues
and I were in the midst of a project when we came across what we
perceived to be a credible threat to your two older daughters and
two of your nieces. We didn’t have much time to act so we brought
them here. I’m sure you understand that we were only trying to
protect them. We did not mean to frighten or worry the rest of your
family, but we had to ensure that the threat could not follow
Mallory and the others.”

“What kind of threat? And does it still
exist?”

“Yes.” Mallory wouldn’t lie to her father
any more than she needed to. “Someone has put out a hit on every
member of our family, Daddy. One hundred thousand dollars for the
guys, and a quarter of a million each for the women. And we still
don’t know who. That’s why Aodhan and Rand had everyone brought
here.”

“To a luxury resort? Kiddo, it’s starting to
sound far-fetched.”

“We’ve removed all the guests from the
hotel’s third floor. That leaves it free for your family and staff.
It is the best we can do on short notice.” Aodhan handled her
father’s questions well and Mallory appreciated him not running
rough-shod over her father.

“I’m not happy with this, Mallory. Not at
all.”

“I know. But once everyone is settled, we’ll
have a family meeting and answer any questions.” Not something she
was looking forward to at all.

Mallory took turns hugging
most of her cousins and her aunt and uncles. And Claudette. Finally
they were on their way to their rooms, and Mallory was free to do
exactly what she wanted
step into Aodhan’s
arms.

He held her for the longest time. “I’m
sorry, kitten, that we’ve made this reunion so difficult.”

“I’ll get through it. Was that man
responsible for the threat to my family?”

“We don’t know, yet. He’s in Ft. Collins, at
a lab your grandfather built fifteen years ago.”

“There are no labs in Ft. Collins. Just the
house that Grandfather built. It’s a third as big as the vacation
home. I’ve only been there a few times. I don’t like it at
all.”

“Well, Nalik is there. And somewhere in Ft.
Collins, your grandfather. Your brother had him fetched yesterday
while we were out at your family’s home.”

“I see.” What was she supposed to feel? “So
it’s almost over, as far as Grandfather is concerned?”

“Yes. He’ll face charges in
a House Tribunal. But as far as
we—
the
Equan
Houses are concerned
he’s no longer a threat to us.”

“Now if we could just find out who is
threatening my family...”

“I’ll find them; I promise you this I
will.”

Mallory spent the next day
in the hotel gardens, with her sisters and female cousins.
Ostensibly, they were supposed to be
relaxing
while Becca recuperated.
Instead they were in an intense discussion about who
or what
was threatening
them. They had nothing but speculation. They did all agree on one
thing
they were not going to hide while
their family was threatened.

Aodhan worked nearby, with a
team of security from Taniss Industries. Mallory recognized the
eight men for what they were now. Lupoiux, and part of Rand and
Uncle Jason’s pack. She’d been there when one of the Lupoiux women
Aodhan had rescued realized that one of the members of
Rand’s
security team was
the mate she’d thought murdered three months earlier. It had been a
beautiful reunion, considering the woman was about ready to give
birth.

Now Aodhan worked with some of the men to
beef up their skills when fighting Dardaptoans. These eight had
been specially selected to form the base of the security that would
surround Mallory and Mickey while they were not with their Rajnis.
Aodhan’s reasoning behind the Lupoiux guards was that each man had
given Rand a blood vow, meaning that they could do nothing Rand
would consider treasonous, and because Aodhan was convinced the
main threat to Mallory’s safety was Dardaptoan in nature.

He no longer trusted his own Kind.

Mallory hurt for him for that. Still, she
had no intention of letting anyone collect on the quarter million
dollar price tag on her head.

She watched him as he demonstrated an
ancient fighting technique. He had the form all wrong. It was one
Rand had taught her, and she’d found she favored it. She would have
to show him how to do it properly. It would be fun to spar with
him, like she used to with Rand. They would both enjoy it. She sat
watching him for a while, ignoring the discussion flying around
her. Family discussions always got a bit heated when they really
mattered.

A disturbance in the center of the garden
had her attention sharpening. A blur that was almost imperceptible
started to grow, darken. Everyone stopped, their focus on the
growing cloud. Finally the center of the cloud opened to reveal a
light. Aodhan approached the light, with Cormac and Rydere at his
side.

A woman was thrust through the cloud, her
arms wrapped tightly around a small, dark-haired child. Kindara.
She sat the child down. She was followed quickly by a man bigger
than Aodhan who held Aodhan’s sister in his arms.

The cloud closed behind him as Kindara
fought to reach the cloud again.

Mallory heard her family’s surprised
questions, but she ignored them, heading toward Aodhan.

“I heard the Beansidhe,”
Aureliana told Aodhan as Mallory helped her remove her robe and
replace it with a clean
vestis
and
pardus.
“She was wanting me, but couldn’t get in through
the realm barrier. The coldest, most frightening thing I’ve ever
experienced.”

“Yet you managed to escape her.”

“Yes. For now. I don’t know, Aod. She may
come back. She was not happy to not get my soul.”

Mallory shivered. “And she won’t quit?”

“We don’t know. No one has ever escaped a
Beansidhe before.” Aodhan hugged his sister after she was
redressed. He straightened the blankets over Aureliana’s bed. “I’m
not sure how you did.”

“I heard her and knew she was coming. Until
she reached some type of barrier. I think it was because of the
realm difference. She was angry; a lot like when she can’t get to
someone to deliver her message.”

“And she wasn’t just trying to deliver a
message to you? The first Beansidhe did say something about a
child. Could she have referred to that demon’s daughter?” Aodhan
was worried for his sister, but his words were steady.

Mallory wondered how he did it.

“I don’t know. And I don’t want her to
return for me to find out.”

“Of course not.” Mallory took the hand
Aodhan held out to her and let him pull her to her feet. Aureliana
definitely needed to rest. “We’ll go. Let you sleep. Do you need
anything else?”

“No. I’m just glad to be
back in
my
world.
The demon’s was not what I expected.”

“I just wish Kindara had had time to finish
the search she started,” Aodhan said. Mallory knew what he meant.
Kindara had traveled to Rathan’s home world to find medicines for
the Dardaptoan people. But she hadn’t been gone long enough to
accomplish much of anything. “That information she found could have
been invaluable.”

“Rathan swore he’d come back for her,”
Aureliana said around a yawn. “I believed him. He really loves
her.”

“Does she care about him?” Aodhan asked.
“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“She’d better care about him. They’ve made a
babe. Or a spawn, as he calls it.”

Mallory’s eyes widened. She hadn’t heard
that. Rathan was going to be a daddy? With Kindara? “Does Cormac
know?”

“Yes. That idiot warrior demon who carried me
back here told him.” Auri closed her eyes and winced when she
shifted. Mallory nodded toward the door.

It was time they left. Aodhan nodded once in
agreement.

“Rest, Auri. Your brother and I will be back
later to check on you.”

Aodhan kissed his sister’s forehead. “And
I’m posting a guard outside your door. No more Beansidhe visits for
you.”

“A futile attempt, brother. But one that is
appreciated. Now, go. I’m sure you have more to do than baby-sit
me.”

“Do you think the Beansidhe will come back?”
Mallory asked as she and Aodhan walked through the gardens later
that evening. “For her?”

“I think that the Beansidhe
would have taken her if the Beansidhe wanted to. There has
never
been reports of
someone escaping the Beansidhe. And our people keep very detailed
reports. No. I think the Beansidhe was after Auri to deliver a
message.” He leaned over a flower bed and picked a night-blooming
blossom. It was of a plant she’d never seen before. He handed it to
her casually.

“To her? Or to your family in general?”
Mallory’s fingers wrapped around the blossom carefully. It was the
first he’d ever given her, and she treasured it for its
simplicity.

“We’ll find out. Beansidhe are the most
determined beings in this world.

They will not stop until
their mission is complete.”
“So it will
come.”

“Yes. Eventually. Anywhere from tonight to
sometime next month. Beansidhe know no time but their own.”

“So we have to wait. And wonder.”

“I’m afraid so.”

“How can you be so accepting of all these
things? Beansidhe, demon babies, your sister being stabbed with a
long sword! These kinds of things aren’t supposed to happen in the
real world.”

“Ah, but who said these things are not part
of the real world? They have been a part of my world far longer
than the humans have.”

“I suppose. We should go
inside. Try to work out who it is threatening my family.” Mallory
didn’t want to go inside, to end the moment. A calm had settled
over the resort that she didn’t want to shake. Her family was
within its walls, safe and enjoying themselves
though most knew the reprieve from the harsh realities of the
things her grandfather had done was only temporary. She, Rand, and
Emily had told their fathers and uncles and adult cousins exactly
what it was Grandfather had done. They’d even brought out the
photographs that had been found. And Josey had repeated the
information she’d found.

Their grandfather had experimented horribly
on Josey, causing Josey’s hearing loss. No one in the family would
ever forgive him for that, even if it had been the worst of his
offenses.

Mallory didn’t care. As far as she was
concerned the old man was gone from her life in every way that
mattered. But it was left to her and the rest of the family to
endure his legacy, to try to make right the things that they could.
And restitution for the things that they couldn’t right.

The Taniss Industries lab dedicated entirely
to finding medical cures for the Dardaptoan people would hopefully
be a good start.

Mallory didn’t fool herself
into thinking things would be easy. How could they? Her grandfather
was the worst human the Dardaptoans had ever encountered. Many of
the hotel’s occupants were openly hostile to her and her family,
still others were reserved and coldly polite.
She’d made friends among the residents, as had her cousins,
but it wasn’t by any means a
safe
or
welcoming
place. And she knew it wouldn’t be with these
threats hanging over the family’s heads.

But she had Aodhan and that helped. And
she’d take every opportunity to steal moments with him that she
could get. “Kiss me. Right here.”

“Any particular reason why?” He stepped
closer, pulling her chest-to-chest. Her arms slipped around his
neck and she stretched up to get closer.

“Because...the moon is
shining, the garden is blooming
out of
season
our families are safe, we’re not
trying to kill one another, or escape one another, and most of
all...we’re together. So kiss me.”

“Happy to.”

He did. For several long, beautiful, perfect
moments. Mallory didn’t know who pulled away first but they stepped
apart almost as if of one mind. Had anyone ever been so attuned to
her?

Not that she could remember.

“I think we should check with Barlaam and
Josey. See if that girl is awake yet. I have a feeling she’ll have
some information we need.”

“And tomorrow I will
interview Nalik. A Dardaptoan is causing all of this
who else would know our unique vulnerabilities?
Would know how to get to the
Equa
of the Houses, but someone high in the royal
Houses?”

“We’ll find the threat,” Mallory said as she
slipped her fingers back in his. “And we’ll do what we have to in
order to keep our families safe. I know you will. I trust you.”

At her words he yanked her
back into his arms. Mallory let a squeal escape. It was quickly
muffled against his mouth when he kissed her until her body burned
for him to do more. And she let him, in the middle of the night
blooming garden less than fifteen feet from the balcony steps that
led into their suite. He lowered her to the ground and parted
her
vestis
with
hands that trembled. Mallory covered his fingers with her own. He
pulled away slightly. “Kitten?”

“We don’t have to rush, Aodhan. We pretty
much have eternity...”