By the Enchantment of Moonlight (The Forbidden Realm #2.5) (6 page)

“I've never met her,” Amarie said. “But my husband says she seems to be a very pleasant young fairy. He's human, though, so he might not be the best judge.”

“He's
human
?” Pimma said, her wings buzzing so furiously that Swift had to move out of the way. “Your husband is a
human
?”

Amarie frowned. “I thought you two were more enlightened about these things. What did you really do inside that warehouse?”

Given the embarrassed expression on Pimma's face, Swift thought he'd better change the subject. “Look, why don't we go find a safer place to continue this discussion? Clearly we have a lot of questions for each other.”

Amarie gave an agreeable shrug. “Sure. But don't expect me to trust you with—”

A shout cut her off. Two humans appeared at the far end of the alley that ran behind the building all the way to the next warehouse, the one that was actively on fire. Smoke at that end of the alley was getting thicker, and it seemed an odd place for humans to be, especially when one of them wasn't a human at all.

“It's Miranda,” Pimma said quietly, although the commotion at the other end of the building prevented the succubus from hearing her.

And Miranda wasn't alone. She was pulling a man along, urging him to follow her, though it was obvious the smoke was nearly strangling him.

“I know I saw someone inside there, Blake,” she said in her most desperate, needy voice. “You've got to go in there! You've got to save him!”

“But the firefighters…we should alert them,” the human replied.

“They're busy with other things. Please, Blake, you're the only one who can help.”

Miranda put her hands on the man's face and turned him to look at her. It was obvious she was using her sultry skills on him, enchanting him to do her bidding. The man shifted nervously for a moment, but then he seemed to forget all about the fire around them or the sirens from emergency vehicles arriving at the distant end of the long warehouse row.

“Don't you want to be a hero for me, Blake?” Miranda purred. “Go into the building. Help me out here.”

Blake coughed, choking on smoke. This seemed to distract him a little from the hold Miranda was gaining over him. He tried to pull away from her, but she held too tightly.

“I need you to do this for me, Blake.”

“No, Miranda, I don't think it's a good idea,” he said. “The firefighters can—”

Instantly her demeanor changed. Her sweetness disappeared and was replaced by an animal expression, like a predator with prey in its grasp. She pulled the man's face toward hers and pressed her lips against his. Hard. A dark, feral energy fairly sizzled off of her. Blake struggled, but only momentarily. His body seemed to become limp and his arms dropped down to his sides. When Miranda finally released him, he simply stood there and gazed blankly at her.

“That's a good boy,” Miranda said, grabbing the handle of the warehouse door and pushing it open.

More smoke billowed out into the alley, engulfing the human. He didn't even seem to notice. Miranda tugged at his arm and pulled him to the doorway.

“There, see? Go inside. Do it for me, Blake.” She pointed into the building and waited patiently.

This time the man put up no fight. Staring blindly ahead, he walked right into the smoky, gaping doorway. Something was horribly, horribly wrong! What had Miranda done to the man?

Instinctively Swift flew out into the open, ready to call to the man and break him out of this trance. But it was too late. Miranda gave her victim a shove and then slammed the door behind him. It appeared that she held a ring of keys, too, and locked the door securely.

The human would be killed in there! He could never survive long, not with the smoke and the way the fire was growing. Swift had to do something.

“No!” Pimma called to him sharply, darting out to grab his arm in a surprisingly firm grip. “You cannot go over there!”

“But she locked the human in that burning building!” he hissed over his shoulder.

“And she'll do something equally horrible to you,” she warned in a whisper.

“We can't just hang around here and do nothing.” He tried to pry her fingers off of his arm.

“Wait,” Amarie said, buzzing out to hover beside them. “Think before you act.”

It was a timely reminder. Miranda hadn't noticed them and Swift realized he would gain nothing if his rash behavior got them all caught. He let Amarie usher them back into the relative safety of the shadows under the roof eaves. He was not about to stay there long, though. The man's time would be running out.

“He'll die in there,” Swift noted.

“I know, and we can't have that,” Amarie agreed. “That human is important, and he must be saved at all costs. I had no idea Miranda learned his true value, but she must have—this makes things much more complicated.”

“What are you talking about? Who is that human?” Pimma asked.

“His name is Blake. He's one of the engineers who works for Sandstrom Industries, designing these machines that you've recently encountered.”

“He designs them?” Swift asked. “Maybe we
should
let him die in there.”

“No!” Amarie insisted. “We need him. He has to be saved!”

“But how?” Pimma asked.

Amarie turned to Swift and studied him for a moment. “If you can get to him, how far can you transport him?”

Swift checked the contents of his dust pouch. More than enough to transport a couple fairies, but not the full bulk of a human. Not very far, anyway. “I could get him out of the building,” he said. “But that's about it. And that's if I didn't use any dust getting myself into the place to retrieve him.”

“I've got some dust,” Pimma offered. “That should double the distance we can transport him.”

“Very well, then,” Amarie said. “You two stay hidden. I'll open a way into the building for you, and then I'll distract Miranda. You go after Blake and get him as far away from here as you possibly can.”

“What about you? Where will you be?” Pimma asked her.

“The lighthouse,” Amarie said. “There is a lighthouse at the end of the break wall, just beyond the city. Meet me on the upper deck there when you've gotten this man to safety. Do
not
let Miranda follow you.”

Without any more explanation, she darted off, heading straight toward Miranda, who was waiting with her ear pressed against the door she had just locked on the human. It was easy to determine when she noticed Amarie. Miranda straightened, glaring at the fairy baring down on her. If they'd been nearer, Swift was certain they would have heard her snarl.

He held Pimma to make certain she didn't get any wild ideas about assisting. Amarie was putting herself in great danger, and there was no way Swift would let Pimma do the same. They watched from their hiding spot as Miranda swatted in vain while Amarie zipped around her. The golden fairy seemed to be enjoying the game. Miranda, however, was not. She was coughing as smoke rapidly filled the alleyway, and stooped to gather a handful of stones. She cursed angrily and pelted the pebbles upward, toward the row of windows just below the other building's roof line where Amarie had gone to escape the swatting.

The succubus had bad aim, though. All of the stones easily missed Amarie. One, however, shattered a pane of glass. Shards rained down into the gravel alleyway and caused the succubus to swear even more loudly. But the broken window provided a handy way into the building. Amarie must have realized that would happen when the screeching succubus started throwing things.

Miranda still raged and for a moment it seemed the fairy had been injured by another hail of flying rocks. She fluttered awkwardly toward the end of the building. Swift was just about to dive down and assist her, but Pimma held him back. It was a good thing, too. As soon as Miranda lunged for Amarie, the fairy dodged her and darted around the corner of the building. She wasn't injured at all, merely trying to draw the succubus away to allow Swift and Pimma time to get into the warehouse unnoticed.

Furious and clueless, Miranda ran after her, shouting obscenities. “Damn you, fairy bitch! I'm tired of you getting in the way of my plans.”

Miranda was the one playing into Amarie's plans right now, though. The succubus angrily stormed after her, too busy swearing and throwing stones to look around for any coconspirators. She disappeared around the corner of the warehouse and the sounds of her furious curses trailed away, far from Swift and Pimma. Now was their opportunity.

“Come on,” Swift said, taking Pimma's hand. “Let's go save that human.”

P
imma followed close behind Swift. Smoke was seeping through the broken window; the building interior must be nearly black with it by now. There was no time to waste if they were going to rescue that man. Swift insisted on caution, though, and that was slowing them down.

“Hurry! Get in there!” she pressed him.

He touched her arm and motioned for her to be silent. “Let me go first. Once I know it's safe for you, I'll signal you in.”

On one hand, Pimma found it very pleasant that he should be so concerned for her well-being. On the other hand, there was no time for such sentiment. If anything Amarie said could be believed, getting this human to safety was their first priority right now. Still, the way Swift's deep emerald eyes bore into hers with unspoken emotion…she couldn't help but feel her cheeks go suddenly warm.

He slid open through the jagged break in the glass. Pimma clenched her fists and prayed to the Skies that he would be safe. She peered through the opening after him. There were no flames evident inside the building, and all the noise and activity seemed to still be out front, way down at the other end of the warehouse.

Between the rows of crates and shelves and various other equipment stored here she could barely make out the evil orange glow of fire through the darkening smoke. The actual flames were a good distance away in this cavernous building, but this sort of smoke was a serious hazard.

“Where are you?” she called to Swift.

She had lost sight of him. Her eyes watered and stung. Had he fallen to the floor? Was he overcome already? Her heart pounded and her stomach turned over.

But no, he was fine. He called to her and she was able to barely make out his form far down below.

“I'm down here. It's better near the floor. Come on, but be careful.”

She turned back toward the alley and took a deep breath of fresh air. Holding it in her lungs, she slipped through the broken pane into the building. As he said, the air was thick and heavy with smoke, but it got better when they flew lower. By the time she reached the floor, it was almost bearable. They might survive this, after all. One quick glance around told her the human might not be so fortunate.

“He's over there!” she said, pointing just a few feet ahead of them.

The man lay in a motionless heap near the door. He must have been trying to pull it open when he was overcome by the smoke. Were they too late? She hoped not.

“He's barely breathing,” Swift said, making a quick assessment. “We've got to get him out of here. How much dust do you have?”

“Some.”

“We'll have to combine,” he said, prying the human's eyes open and peering at them. “I just hope it's enough. This man needs help quickly.”

“Where should we take him?”

“I don't know. We can't go to the other building, as Miranda will look for us there at some point. She thinks we're still locked in that box.”

Just hearing him mention that awful enclosure send her mind reeling back to what they'd done there. If her cheeks had been warm a minute ago, they were on fire now. How on earth was she supposed to keep her mind on this dangerous rescue when her body tingled with memories?

The quick, smoldering glance Swift sent her didn't help very much. Thankfully a noise just outside the door distracted them both.

“Is that a car? Some kind of human conveyance?” she asked in a startled whisper.

“Sounds like it.”

“Miranda must be back! She's come to finish what she started and make sure this man is dead.”

What could they do? They couldn't fly upward to hide in the rafters; that would be certain death. The loud thud of a car door slammed and footsteps hurried to the door. A key rattled and turned in the lock.

“Get out of here, Pimma,” Swift said through clenched teeth. “Hide! I'll distract her, try to get her to follow me. Use my dust to get this man out of here, out to the alley even, so he can breathe.”

He was going to sacrifice himself to save this human? She couldn't allow it. “No, I won't do this without you. We save him together!”

But it was too late to argue. The door flung open and light poured through, making the murky smoke into a bright cloud. Pimma blinked into it and could see one thing immediately.

This wasn't Miranda. It was the man who had argued with her earlier, Devin she had called him, who was, apparently, the owner of these buildings and all the strange machines in them. He blinked and coughed into the smoke but it was obvious they'd been spotted.

Pimma grabbed for her pouch and pulled out a fistful of dust. She was just about to toss it and transport them elsewhere, but the odd look on the man's face stopped her. His warm brown eyes met hers through the haze and she was surprised by what she saw there. Recognition.

One of his eyebrows went upward and he fanned at the smoke. “Fairies. I should have known.”

Swift glared at the tall human. If this man even so much as made the slightest move toward Pimma, he'd use every ounce of dust he possessed to drop the big hulk. The fact that this human did not seem the least bit shocked by their presence here made Swift even more suspicious of him. Obviously he'd encountered their kind before. He'd seemed uninvolved in Miranda's scheme when he'd argued with her before, but now Swift didn't know what to think. Either way, a human who felt comfortable with magic was something to be worried about.

“What have you done to my engineer?” the man demanded.

“We're trying to save him,” Swift replied.

Devin dropped to his knees, hurrying to examine the unconscious man. His relief was obvious when he determined the engineer was still alive.

“Hold the door open while I get him out of this smoke,” Devin ordered.

Pimma had seemed momentarily frozen with fear, but she suddenly jolted to action and rushed to push the door wide. Swift realize he'd be useless to help carry the huge, listless victim, so he went to help Pimma. The door was heavy and he could see she was shaking from the combination of nerves and smoke. She held her ground, though. Not many fairies he knew would be bold enough for all this, but Pimma was. Together they held the sturdy door until Devin finally had his friend out into the alley. Only then did they let the door swing shut, stopping the flow of the smoke and leaving them gasping for the relatively fresh air of the alley.

Devin laid his friend gently on the ground and tried to revive him. The man groaned weakly, but Swift took that for a good sign. At least the human's lungs were still clear enough for him to breathe. Perhaps they hadn't been too late, after all.

“I need to get him to the hospital,” Devin said.

“You need to get him someplace your friend Miranda won't find him,” Swift said.

Devin glared at him. It was more than a little unnerving to be in such close proximity to a human, especially a human who did not seem phased to converse with a magical creature.

“What about Miranda?” he asked.

“She's the one who did this to your friend!” Pimma said quickly, her voice giving away just a bit of her nervousness. “She lured him into the building and then locked the door.”

Devin frowned, but didn't argue the point. “ I should have seen it. She's been at the heart of this all along.”

“What's really going on here?” Swift asked. “What do you know about that shipment of equipment and where it's going?”

“You're saying you're not a part of all this?” Devin questioned.

Swift was quick to reply. “No. We were sent here to investigate. How much do you know?”

“Not much.” Devin shook his head. “I started noticing inconsistencies in our books, shipments being rerouted, orders coming from dummy corporations. Miranda said she'd look into things, but every time I wanted answers she blew me off. Now…this. Blake is one of my best engineers. He must know something that Miranda doesn't want him to tell. I've got to get him out of here.”

“But if she wants to silence him, she will have ways to do it,” Swift told him. “She's not what she seems. She's not quite…human.”

Now this did surprise Devin. “What? Hell. Why can't you people just stay on your side of the Veil?”

“What do you know of the Veil?” Swift demanded.

“I know it doesn't work very well, that's what I know. If Miranda is…one of your kind…how can I keep her from finding Blake? I need him alive. I need him to tell me how to undo all this crap he's been doing for her.”

“We can use magic,” Pimma offered. “All we need is a nice, secluded place. We can create a localized shield to keep him hidden.”

“You do recall that's highly illegal,” Swift reminded her. “You need special authorization to do that sort of magic.”

She didn't seem the least bit deterred. “This man is dying. Do you want to take the time to go tell Dorn and the rest of the council what we've been doing here? You think they'll give authorization then?”

“By the Skies, when you go rogue, Pimma, you do it incredibly well.”

She rolled her eyes at him, but he could tell she knew he'd meant that as high praise.

But Devin was busily hoisting his friend and carrying him to his car. Swift flew up to unlatch the car door and Pimma helped swing it open. Devin carefully laid Blake in the backseat. Once the door was closed, it would be difficult for anyone to notice him there. That was good. If they could just keep him shielded long enough to get him someplace safe, someplace where magic could hide him securely.

“We'll take him to my boat,” Devin announced. “It's docked in the marina, but we can take it out into the lake. Will that be secluded enough? Can you do your sparkly voodoo and keep him safe there?”

“Doesn't he need a doctor, though?” Pimma asked.

“My wife can take care of him,” he replied.

“Your wife is a doctor?” Swift questioned.

Devin pulled open the driver's door on his car. He laughed.

“No. Not a doctor. She's a mermaid. So, you need to ride in the car with me, or can you put some kind of shield on him right here?”

“We can put a temporary shield on your vehicle,” Pimma offered, happy they wouldn't have to get in the vehicle with the men. She'd had more than enough human interaction today. Enough for a lifetime.

“Your wife is a mermaid?” Swift asked Devin.

“She is. It's a long story.”

“If she is truly a mermaid,” Pimma said, “she will be telepathic. She can communicate with your unconscious friend and be able to heal him.”

“She will,” Devin assured them. “But how long will we be safe? How long will this shield of yours last?”

“Only until midnight of the day it is created,” Swift answered. “We'll come to you before then and provide additional security. First we need to meet someone and hopefully get more information.”

“More dust, too,” Pimma noted.

“How will you find me if we're shielded from magic?” Devin asked.

That was a very good question. They would have to create some sort of signal, some way for them to locate him out there on that huge, great lake. But Swift had a better idea. He held something out and offered it to Devin.

“Take this. We will find you as long as you have it.”

Pimma almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. “A Watcher Stone? You have a Watcher Stone? This whole time, the council has been watching us?”

He shook his head vehemently and pulled out the counterpart to the round, black stone in his hand. “By the Skies, no. I have the other stone, not the council.”

That meant no one had been watching them. Good. More than good. But how did Swift get his hands on both halves of a Watcher Stone? What good would that be? Surely he wasn't watching himself.

He must have seen the question in her eyes. “I intended to give one to you, to hide it in your pouch.”

“You were going to spy on me?” she asked him.

“Obviously, I changed my mind. See? Both stones. We can attach the magic for the temporary shield to Devin's stone so that he's covered no matter where he goes.”

She nodded. “All right. That's a good idea. We should be able to make the shield just big enough to surround him and cover his car or boat.”

Devin seemed confused, but he took the stone Swift offered to him. It was just a tiny pebble in his huge, human hand. “So I just carry this with me and I'm in some kind of magical bubble?”

“Something like that,” Pimma said.

“And you can use that other stone to keep tabs on me?”

“Yes. It responds to emotion. We will know if you need our assistance, if things are going well, or if you are being deceptive,” Pimma assured him. “But hopefully we will meet Amarie soon, so we won't need to monitor you long. She claims to have friends who might be able to help keep you safe.”

“I sure can use a few friends right now,” Devin said, shaking his head and looking sadly at Blake sprawled in his backseat, limp and listless, but breathing. “It seems there are fewer and fewer of them I can trust.”

Pimma certainly knew that feeling. “All right. Hold out that stone.”

He did. She glanced at Swift and he nodded. She pulled a pinch of dust out of her pouch and concentrated on her intent. Wishes worked best, but she wasn't a Wish Fairy, so she'd had to learn to guide her magic through rational intent. She did best with rational things; that's why she'd been made an advocate. It was a good fit for her and seldom required her to fabricate complex magic like this. Still, she'd had well-rounded training. There was no doubt she could do what needed to be done.

The dust glittered in the smoky air as she tossed it over Devin's outstretched hand. It fell into his palm then swirled and circled, spiraling toward the stone until it glowed with a warm, amber aura. She could feel the magic flow through her and knew the shield was set properly. She did peek over at Swift to make sure he agreed.