The Timekeeper (20 page)

I hadn’t been crazy about the idea either. Planning to be a part of another marriage did nothing for my attitude, but I cared deeply for the man I’d chose to marry. Trying to deal with such mixed feelings regarding the affair tore me into pieces, and I didn’t know how to convey them to Darius
,
or anyone else for that matter.

My father would understand, but I’d been avoiding speaking to him. The Council had been watching my movements in and out of my kingdom. I couldn’t go home while I remained in their service. Sneak all over the world and they wouldn’t give a damn, but as soon as I set foot in Belt ta `Demm
,
I popped up on their radar.

I’d always had the suspicion of a spy, but we still had no idea who the rat might be. I’d managed to find a way around their barriers, but the plan was complicated and had only worked once. Since I’d only tried the evasion twice, the odds of success again, well, they weren’t the best. Speaking to Azazel became a low priority, no matter how badly I wanted
,
or needed to.

Tracking down another monarch was always an option
,
but I didn’t see eye to eye with the Queens of other Colonies. I remained pretty thoroughly hated and feared around Aliis despite my absence. Oh, I stayed a friendly person, and I maintained excellent manners. I still possessed a reputation for being quite courtly. They tended to be terrified of me, rather an accepting my company and good will.

I held enough power to rip their lands from them, a fact I never tried to hide. Every once in a while a new Queen would take the throne in a Colony I’d previously been feared in. I made sure to give the matriarch a warm welcome.  They’d been warned by their predecessor and banned me almost immediately after I departed. I found the prejudice rather unfair.

The only exception had been the Queen of the Desert Colonies. We’d been neighbors, allies and never picked fights with each other. Queen Angelique Abaddon was a distant cousin, one I’d been lucky enough to grow up with, and my granddaughter, Aural, was a Duchess in her Colony.

Angelique and I kept the bordering Colonies on the right side of the family. I refused to deal with the Noire branch, my half-sister
,
Nicolette and I’d never gotten along
,
and after she assisted Zev with his extramarital affairs, our rocky relationship deteriorated from civil to hateful.

Despite the Noire’s efforts, my family maintained our world power status, and when one of us got married, it was a big to do. All of Aliis would be looking to see who held the next alliance with us
,
or if the monarchies would remain in control of the group of cousins.

We ruled the entire Desert continent, with the exception of the Elven province in the Forbidden Lands
.
While I refused to intermarry, that didn’t stop the rest of my family from doing so. Zev was as close as I’d come, settling for a powerful bloodline completely unrelated
,
but still from the area.

It sounds more disgusting than it really is. With thirty-one branches of the family, it could be pretty easy to lose track of who belonged to whom as time progressed. If we went back six or seven generations and the potential pair didn’t claim the same person twice in the tree, we considered the match good enough.

Very few married outside of the royal families, only happening occasionally. Bastard children had remained a common occurrence.

Dexter held no lineage to a King or a Prince, but he didn’t need to be. As one of the oldest Vampires in either world, he harbored a power all his own. The Vampires had a government and laws every citizen had to adhere to, despite their location.

Local chapters covered the cities and towns, but if someone went a little crazy, they would be taken into custody and dealt with by the Vampires who ruled the world. Dexter was on the Vamp Council, I had no idea how far up the proverbial food chain he was, but I imagined he was close to the top. I’d inadvertently aligned myself with the Vampire Council of Kambuis in both worlds.

I hadn’t given the political implications of this marriage much thought until now. My wonderful Dexter would need to give up his assumed name, as was customary. I prayed he didn’t make a habit of collecting enemies. If my kingdom got sucked into a war that had nothing to do with the Djinn
,
and everything to do with the Vamps, I would be pissed
.
I would also be obligated to my husband and his political commitments.

To make matters more unbearable, my father found it necessary to fight with the High Council and Queen Ariannona endlessly. I knew why
,
and I wasn’t interested in pulling any of my husbands or their people into their bullshit
.
I’d never been enthralled with the power struggle.

I sat at the kitchen table, drank my coffee and waited. The situation in Aliis had been slowly growing dimmer; too many things happened in too short of a timeframe, I couldn’t keep track of everything from here. I needed to get back and devote my attentions to the things that mattered. My presence would be essential every night.

If I quit working for my company I wouldn’t be able to afford to live in the mortal world. Darius didn’t make enough money to support us alone, and I required his services in Aliis as well. He’d never approve of going back without him, especially not for an extended period of time.

I put my head in my hands
.
If everything went in the shitter, I’d commit suicide. I was giving the Council more than enough advanced warning. Those dumb asses should be capable of finding someone to cover for me. I planned to give notice at the meeting this evening.

I demanded permission to speak to my father. The prospect of going home gave me mixed emotions
.
The King and I didn’t always get along. I had a duty to make a decision regarding Zev, but I still wanted to ask someone else’s opinion. My head started swimming with urgency. Ugh.

All right girl, time to focus. First things first, find out what could be done about the damn Angels following me. Chester and Gideon were easily dealt with later, but Asher and Zamir would soon become an emergency.

Murderous Angels running around Denver would never be considered a good thing. Step one, get to the bar and talk to Echo and Nathan. Nathan always had Intel on things he shouldn’t have a clue about, precisely the reason we got along.

I was preparing to track down Darius when he finally made his grand appearance, dressed like a leather-clad, battle-ready biker.

“You all ready to go
,
sweetheart?” I noticed he had taken the time to shave.

“Please, before I start having a panic attack. I shouldn’t be alone with my thoughts anymore.” His chuckle rumbled in his chest.

“Why in the world are you panicking? You’re solid woman, or did you forget who you are again?” I sighed, ignoring his comment as I walked out of the house to the car.

The temperature had dropped to the low teens, regardless of the sun’s bright rays, forcing me to bundle my black flight jacket around me. God I hated winter, thank the Goddess for the Army Navy Surplus.

“I’m a little stressed out right now. I mean for fuck-sake I’m on my way to the bar, to speak to Echo and Nathan about homicidal Angels trying to kill me
,
and then toss in the mention of a wedding, cause my life isn’t strange enough. Then I’m off to a meeting with the High Council in the attempts to prevent a Vampire rebellion
.

“ After I force them into dealing with the rebellious bloodsucker situation, I’ll inform them of my marriage and listen to them meltdown over that for a while. Directly after, I’ll march into Belt ta `Demm to speak to my Demonic father about marrying a man he already forbade me from cultivating a serious relationship with
,
and a crazy Norse Goddess trying to kill my goddaughter.

“Situations are blowing up all over the place. I don’t know what to take care of first. So, forgive me, I might be just a tad stressed and in serious need of a mental health day.” I hopped in the car, buckled myself in and waited to resume the conversation, turning the seat warmer on
.

“Nothing to worry about, babe. We’ll handle the Angels. No one’s ever successfully killed you mortal or not. Why are you stressing over the wedding? You and Dex picked a date already? You only recently proposed to your fiancé. As far as situations blowing up all over, you’re managing the best you can quickly and efficiently. I don’t see what the problem is, Ilana.” I grumbled, seriously annoyed. If he didn’t get the issue, well, then I wouldn’t bother explaining it to him.

“Things are being handled in a timely manner, but everything is happening all at once
.
I feel like I’m losing control. I’m aware I still grasp the power, but the contradictory emotions are wearing on me
.
I just need to calm down. I know I’m rambling, and I’m overreacting.” He had called me on it, I was freaking out for no reason. This wasn’t like me, must be something else bothering me. Damned if I knew what it was.

“You’re not pregnant already
,
are you?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Really? Explain to me why anytime a woman gets emotional about anything
,
you men assume it’s got something to do with our reproductive cycle? Geez, no I’m not knocked up. Nor am I on my period, or PMS
-
ing. This is wearing on me. I’m tired, I want a vacation, I need some prescription sedatives.” He chucked again.

“Sweetie, I was joking. Take it easy. I get your exhausted. You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met, if anyone is going to find her way through this, you will. I shouldn’t need to tell you, I will do everything in my power to help you, and Dex will support you any way he can. If what you say about Zev is true, he’ll be around for you as well. If your husbands aren’t good enough, Azazel is more willing to aid you than he leads you to believe.” I nodded, taking a deep breath.

With the exceptions of Zev
,
I knew the men in my life would keep me safe. I wasn’t alone, just mentally unstable.

I zoned, gazing out the window, staring at nothing. I couldn’t focus on anything
,
content in my foggy haze. I hadn’t realized we’d reached the bar until Darius said something to me for the first time since I ended our earlier conversation.

“What?”

“Way to pay attention, babe
.
Do I need to pick you up or are you catching a ride with Echo?” I’d never finalized my plans with her, but Echo wouldn’t complain about taking me home. Chances were pretty good Dalvin would be at my house playing video games with Darius anyway
.

“Don’t worry about it.” I leaned over and gave him a kiss goodbye, sliding out of the car quickly. I needed to get inside; thanks to Darius I was now fifteen minutes late.

I huffed into the bar and spotted Echo and Nathan sitting in a secluded booth in a back corner. I stormed over and plopped my booty into the bouncy
,
red bench seat. I hated relying on people as much as I loathed being late.

“Sorry, Darius took his sweet time getting ready and refused to let me drive myself. Echo, I need a ride home later.”

She chuckled, “No biggie. Dalvin is hitching a ride up to your place with Darius later, so I’ll be picking him up anyway. The boys had some errands to run.” Figured those two would’ve worked everything out behind my back, they always did.

Darius hadn’t mentioned anything about any running around, but I didn’t care enough to ask. I glanced down and found a drink in front of me, waiting for my arrival. I looked up at her and she winked. Damn
,
I loved that girl.

“Thanks, E, you’re the best. So, Nathan let’s get down to business
,
I know you’re a busy man.” He nodded and shot me a smirk.

“I appreciate that, I’ve got somewhere else to be a little later, and unlike some people, I don’t have an excuse for being late.” I scowled at him
.

“Fucking smart-ass
.
” He directed a half-cocked grin in my direction that made me want to smack the shit out of him. He constantly did that to me, he was a bigger ass than I was
,
and he always seemed to make me realize how irritating it could be.

Nathan was a normal looking guy
.
Nothing special worth mentioning as far as his appearance went. Average height, brown hair in a boring cut, plain brown eyes, slightly crooked nose and a goofy cock-eyed smile.

His remarkable intelligence made up for guy next-door look. The man could find any piece of information, whether in this world or Aliis. When he wasn’t moonlighting as an Aliis Mundi consultant, he ran his own private investigation firm. It was the perfect job for him.

“I was wondering if you’d heard something about renegade Angels or if any mention about a Fey revolution that might carry into this world has come up, stolen objects maybe? They’re strange requests, but anything you can tell us would be helpful. My whole world is falling apart and I’m currently maxed
-
the
-
fuck
-
out.” I took a sip of my drink, of course a rum and coke, and waited for his response. He thought about it for a brief moment.