A Lady of the Realm (9 page)

“What might I assist you with Lord Alek?”

“I need a divorce decree. My paperwork’s been filed.” Sasha conjured up a roll of papers, neatly tied with a black ribbon, and handed it to the fairy. “Set the rules so that the proceedings will be legal, fair and most of all, Horace, final.”

The fairy undid the binding and scanned through the first few sheets. He looked at me and smiled a large toothy grin. He rolled them back up and tucked them into his robes. He turned, arms raised towards the sky, bowing deep in all four directions. His lips moved softly as he spoke in a strange language. He finally settled in one place, placed his hands upon a large staff, and gave his edict.

“The time and place for the proceedings will be tomorrow at dusk, our cemetery in this city. Vault X.” He looked pointedly at Sasha, “One of you must die by …” He didn’t have a chance to finish the sentence.

“I want that witch also.”

Sasha whipped his head.

“She isn’t part of the proceedings.”

Lilith snickered softly. “I don’t care.”

Sasha was shaking his head violently as Lilith spoke. With another toothy smile, Horace waved his hand towards Lilith, his voice booming in the clearing.

“The rules are set for a divorce proceeding.” He directed his gaze at Lilith, “You must petition your grievance before tomorrow. As it stands, one of you must die by the sword. You must both agree before I can place the decree in the tomes.”

“This is the only chance you’ll have at escaping with your miserable existence. See me formally and we’ll discuss compensation. No one will interfere.”

“You say that as if I should trust you.” Lilith answered, clearly not as sure as she was a few moments ago.

“You don’t?” he asked.

She paused a second before answering, biting her bottom lip slightly. “If I win you’ll die, if I lose I’ll die.”

He smiled. “That is the gist of it.”

“You’ll satisfy me on the adultery charges?” she asked suspiciously. He waved his hand in assurance.

“Brothers?” she asked ticking off the point on her hand.

“I doubt very much they’ll care,” he said.

Horace coughed. “The conditions are honorable. We’ll be ready. Are you sure you want to commit?” He looked at Lilith first, than his gaze shifted to Sasha where it remained. Sasha nodded and walked forward. Horace gazed once again at the bitch that was itching to kill my ticket in.

“Lilith, you know what must happen once you commit to this road?” Horace asked as Lilith nodded and walked forward. Beside me, the air shifted just as Lilith and Sasha placed their hands upon the fairy’s wooden staff.

“Are you mad, Alek?” Trystyn yelled. Sasha turned around, his eyes an odd shade of violet.

“It’s the only way. The rules will make sure of it.”

“She can kill you.”

Sasha smiled. “She can try.”

Trystyn faced the fairy, “How could you condone this?”

“His paperwork is in order.”

Lilith laughed, “I guess you’re stuck in a hard place, Trystyn.” She turned towards the fairy who smiled and clasped her hand.

“Good luck on the evening, Lilith.”

She grinned. “Thanks, until we meet,” she said.

She bowed first to Sasha, then to the faeries and took off, running towards the city at blazing speed presumably to take care of business. The fairies disappeared after shaking their heads in glee. The other beings that had appeared to watch the show stayed long enough to see Sasha turn towards his brother with a look of utter contempt.

“Can’t you stick to a plan for once?” Trystyn asked.

“‘Tis better this way, it’ll be legal. Fear not, I know what I’m about.”

Chapter Eight
:
Eidos

Trystyn popped out of the gardens, grumbling about Sasha’s lack of logic. Sasha hoisted me over the wall, and we walked back towards the car parked out in front of the museum. He spoke, but I didn’t pay much attention. It was like listening to Charlie Brown’s parents. Blah, blah, blah.

I didn’t have to pay strict attention to everything he said anyway. His emotional energy was so strong in the confines of the car that it made words useless. If anything, words were only a distraction from the truth.

He was mad at everything. He was mad at Lilith, at Trystyn, and even me for some reason. He was distrustful of the proceedings and of his brother. The metallic tang in the air alerted me to his scheming as he prattled on about some upcoming boxing match he had wagered on. I uttered ‘oh’ and ‘ah’ at the appropriate times and places.

The meeting with Lilith, well it bothered me. I didn’t want to explore too deeply the reasons why but my mind, the treacherous thing, kept wandering in that direction. This I could blame on my mom and dad. If they would’ve told me more about the races, I would’ve been prepared for certain things. Such as the fact that Sasha married a vamp, a woman below his status.

Elves weren’t supposed to marry. They had heirs. The elite aristocrats, they all had heirs. Political allegiances, marriage contracts, were business relationships. But Lilith acted as if their connection was personal. I knew about Sasha’s unconscious pull to everything feminine. The elf was used to getting his way. I used the mutual attraction for my benefit. A full needle of brown sugar, it sang in the edges of my mind. His energy begged for my touch, for words of comfort, for consent. It was a sugary sweet trap, a deadly illusion.

I collapsed into bed as soon as we walked through the doors. I was beyond tired. My muscles still ached from shifting space. I stretched out, throwing my arms across my eyes, hoping a little time out would help with the pain. I immediately dozed off, not even bothering to be aware of where Sasha was or what he was doing.

I didn’t fall asleep. At least it wasn’t what I was used to when I closed my eyes for some much-needed rest. That boy from my previous spell came back. I could see him clearly this time around. He smiled, his teeth gleaming in the bright light, as he beckoned me forward. When I looked around, I was surprised to be in a neon green meadow surrounded by orange flowering trees. The meadow was so green that I had to be dreaming. No way was this shade of green a natural color for plants. Everything was surreal, straight out of a Dali gallery.

The trees swayed as if with life. Yeah, yeah, they’re alive, but these trees swayed as if with consciousness of their life. There was a stream running parallel to where I walked. The water flowed slowly, and I was able to make out each drop of moisture. Tiny rainbows in each droplet captured the light in fantastic brilliancy. The rocks which banked the bed glistened against the water, each turning as I walked past it.

A profound feeling of relief washed over me as I stood in front of the young man. His name came out in a whisper. ‘Ian’. Yes, that was it. He smiled as he nodded and raised his hand towards mine. I took it in my grasp, and I knew immediately who he was. Not just, Ian. No, he was my cousin. A distant relation on my mother’s side. He had a choker with a red gemstone that sparkled.

He spoke yet his lips didn’t move.
Beth. I’ve been waiting a long time for you.

“Where are we?”

Welcome to Eidos.

“What are you talking about? Isn’t that some philosophical bull from some ancient Greek philosopher? ” I asked astonished that I would remember such a useless term from a philosophy class from three years ago. Professor Blick would have a heart attack on the spot if he ever found out that I actually learned something.

That’s one definition.

“It’s hard to get a straight answer these days.”

His smile intensified.
This is where the top tier pops through space. From here, there are thousands of doors that open up to the human world. The name changes from era to era. Eidos, Otherworld, Olympus, Valhalla, Baji, even heaven and hell depending on who visited and why, are just a few of the names. Nowadays it’s just called the Realm.

“Catchy. What’re we doing here? We’re on the bottom rank.”

Like way on the bottom rank of the Realm hierarchy. We were one step above humans, barely.

We full-blooded witches can visit when sleeping. I wanted to meet you.

“Is this really happening?” I asked as I ran a hand through my frizz free hair.

He nodded
. Yup. Do you want to see where your body is now?

I dipped my head, interested to see what he was about to show. Before us, the air glimmered and parted into the shape of a full-length mirror. As I stared at it, I saw myself looking seemingly asleep on top of Sasha’s bed. He was trying to wake me, all to no avail. I felt immediately guilty. I had to get back.

Time moves differently here. Which is a good thing ‘cause we need to talk about the dark elf.

“What?” I asked cryptically.

My eyes narrowed as I thought about the thousand and one ways that men like to fuck with you. I didn’t know this guy from Jack.

Alek has agreed to an illegal duel. He can’t back down or he’ll forfeit the fight. Lilith’ll win by default, and the others will ensure of his death and yours since you’ve made her shit list for the decade.

I thought that over for a second and drew in a steadying breath. I was only going to address one part of that observation.

“How could it be illegal? Head honcho swore no rules had been broken.”

Ian smiled.
Only enforcers or bounty hunters may legally kill a Lord or Lady.
Alek may be many things, but he’s neither of those. Even if he has a divorce decree he can’t, by law, kill his wife.

“Damn,” I said. That’s why Trystyn had been upset when he got to the clearing. Sasha had somehow circumvented the system to get his way. Ian continued in a bored tone.

The majority of the council doesn’t want Sasha to control such prime real estate in America. He’s to take over this year, and they want to stop him. If they can find a way, they will.
He shook his head mournfully.
If he manages to die, the Region will go straight to Nicholas who is more sympathetic to certain leanings.

“But it was the faeries who made the pact. They said everything was kosher,” I spluttered in frustration.

Their tune will change if he happens to win. Cruel isn’t it?

We were holding hands by this time, and we moved away from the scene in the glimmering space.
What was I doing here?
I thought in irritation. I had things to do, and it didn’t include wasting my time with a complete stranger on an acid trip.

I thought you’d never ask.

“You can read my mind?” I asked defensively, shutting down my mental barriers instantly. Stupid. I’d been using that adjective a lot lately. Safeguarding my mind was the first thing that Sasha had taught me. He’d been shocked at how weak my shield was.

“Only when we’re here most likely,” he said aloud. Once my mind had shuttered, I couldn’t hear him and vice versa.

“Don’t do that again. What do
you
want?” I asked because this wasn’t some friendly family reunion.

“Nothing, I swear. I’ve been trying to see you for years. Betty had you well hidden, and your mind was a black hole. I only found you when your amulet made contact with your skin.”

I yanked my hand out of his and glared. I might be new to this life, but I was nowhere near stupid. He needed something, or wanted something, or was hoping for something. But, I could make a safe bet that it was something only I could do for him.

“Get on with it, Ian,” I said.

He took a deep sigh. “I heard Alek has inquired about the DeDe estate. Did you know that over 400 humans died when the last DeDe was his allodial? He’s the one who disposed of the House.”

According to Sasha, the last DeDe had cursed the city with yellow fever when she didn’t get her way. According to the humans, Sasha had disposed of the witches in a fit of rage. I wasn’t sure who to believe and didn’t really care. It was almost a century ago.

“I know all about it. Don’t worry, I learn from others mistakes, and I’m not weak,” I said while gazing out into the horizon. I felt the slight inhale of a breath before he answered.

“No,” and he truly sounded disgusted with the notion, “you’re not weak, but you’re naive. Alek also has a contract with your name on it. He’s using you, Beth.”

Gossip, gossip, gossip. At least I was prepared. Tilting my head to the side, I smiled faintly, “That’s my problem not yours.” I tapped my fingers lightly against my thigh.

He grunted. “You think you can play with the big boys, cuz? You haven’t tapped into the alien genes that gift the upper elite. Without powers you’ll never survive a day as a Lady.”

“Again, that falls under my problem. But while we’re on the subject, do you know what my powers are supposed to be?” I asked focusing on the minute changes to his energy. He glowed faintly in a rainbow of colors.

“Our powers are dictated by all sorts of things. You have to take into account bloodlines, personality, and intelligence. Those are only the key points. I’ve an affinity to water.”

Bartending had its perks. I’d learned that people speak with their bodies, their eyes; they emit scents, and different auras. I was a people watcher and because of this, I knew that Ian wasn’t telling the truth. Citrus and cinnamon perfumed our conversation. Fear. Greed.

“I don’t think you should see Alek,” he said meeting my eyes.

The expression on my face was incredulous. His, on the other hand, was suspiciously innocent. I quelled my initial retort remembering Sasha’s advice. Listen first. If I was sure of anything, I was sure that I shouldn’t trust anyone, including my ‘cousin’. He took a step towards me smelling the mistrust.

“We’re blood, even if it is distant. No one can connect on a deeper level than those with a blood tie. Trust no one, Beth, including the dark elf. Listen to the stars; you’ll know what to do.”

“That sounds a lot like the last bullshit fortune cookie I ate,” I said tensely.

He chuckled good-humouredly. “I know. I’m good with words.”

I finally took a real good look at him. He was taller than my 5’3”, at least by half a foot. His dark brown hair was cropped in the latest Beatles mode, his eyes an intense brown. He wore a pair of blue jeans, a pink Floyd t-shirt, and a pair of red Doc Martins. His features were not pretty, but handsome in a harsh way. He would only get better looking with age.