Guardian (16 page)

“Etta.”

Ian stopped, turning back to me with his mouth hanging open.

I shrugged, my shoulders felt as if they had lead weights strapped to them. “If we can talk her into it. She’s pretty pissed at us right now I’m sure.”

Ian nodded. “We’d need to find her first.”

“The Watcher.”

Ian’s gaze slid to my wrist and I sighed. “Dammit!”

Ian turned away from me, striding toward the window. After a few moments he said, “Another guardian could probably find her.”

My heart lightened. He was right. “Yes! All we need to do is find another guardian and send him or her to the Watcher with a message from me.”

Ian nodded, looking uncertain somehow. “We’ll return to the human realm in the morning. You look like you need some rest.”

I shook my head, but, as if the words held some sort of compulsion I did suddenly feel tired. My limbs were heavy and my eyes drooped. I looked at the goblet and back at Ian. He laughed. “It’s not drugged. You just need to rest, there’s no treachery involved.

Sighing I finally nodded, getting to my feet. I headed toward the large bed in the adjoining room, suddenly feeling as if I wouldn’t make it. I realized, too late that I hadn’t donned the pretty nightgown Tana had sent up for me. But I was suddenly too tired to care. I dragged the covers back, shrugged the silken robe off my shoulders, and slid naked between the warm satin of the softly scented sheets.

I drifted into sleep immediately.

My dreams were filled with angry elves, demanding faeries, and the Watcher, looking for me everywhere but unable to find me. I was trying to find him in a travel layer, walking and walking, always feeling as if I were getting closer but never really reaching him.

Something always stopped me. Something interfered. Then the layer disappeared and I found myself back in the cave of the harpies.

The stench was terrible. The cave was dense with silence, broken only by the occasional wisp of a wing against the thick, moist air.

I stood alone in the center of the cave, surrounded by the horrible things. I had nothing in my hands with which to fight them. I turned in circles as they flapped their magnificent wings and hovered above me in the air, grinning at me with huge, horrible mouths, filled with blood coated teeth.

I closed my eyes and prepared to die.

In the dream, my eyes snapped open again as a voice whispered across my mind.
Beware your friends.

Then the harpies shrieked and plunged toward me. I screamed in agony as the first deadly set of claws ripped into me.

I jerked awake, throwing myself upright in the bed.

Ian sat up, looking fully awake. “What is it, Nuria? What’s wrong?”

I blew out a breath and sagged back onto the bed, scouring my face with a shaking hand. “Just a bad dream.”

Ian perched himself on an elbow and fixed his gaze on me. I took a couple of deep breaths and felt the nightmare sliding away. My gaze slid to the windows and I saw that the sun hadn’t quite risen. It was still early.

When my gaze slid back I found Ian staring at a spot below my chin. I looked down and saw that the sheet was pooled around my waist. My breasts tingled and my nipples peaked in response to his open appraisal.

I grabbed the sheet and pulled it up, feeling self conscious. “Pervert.”

Ian laughed and reached for the sheet, trying to pull it back down. “Don’t do that, let them back out, they like me.”

I giggled despite myself and smacked his hand away. “They don’t like you. And they aren’t play things.”

His grin widened. “Oh, yes they are, drunkin’ spirit. They are most decidedly play things. And I’m determined they will be
my
playthings.” He jerked as the words left his mouth and I became very still.

Ian dropped his hand and turned away, climbing quickly out of the bed. I watched him saunter, completely naked, toward the bathroom, enjoying the way his firmly rounded buttocks flexed as he moved.

Watching him walk away, I licked my lips and fought against a serious sense of regret. He had a few things I wanted to play with too.

As soon as he disappeared from sight I jumped out of bed and started pulling clothes on. Fortunately for me Tana had provided some faery leggings and a soft, earth-toned tunic to drape over them.

Buckling the silver belt she’d provided with the tunic, I felt better than I had for days. I slipped my feet into soft, flat slippers and sighed in pleasure. It was amazing how one took things as simple as clothing for granted. Unless one had to scamper around the world without them for a couple of days.

By the time Ian emerged, wearing only a towel wrapped around his narrow waist, I was ready to face the day. His response to my fully clothed state was to lift a single eyebrow.

“I’m going to go check on the shade.” I informed him.

“I’ll come too.” Ian dropped the towel and sauntered toward the chair where he’d left his clothes. I forced myself to look away, but not before my eyes were drawn reluctantly to the large and happy package at the front of his body. I gritted my teeth to stop from licking my lips and fled toward the sitting room.

The smell of cold food from the night before made my stomach grumble and I cast my eyes toward the table hopefully. Ian joined me, wearing the fresh set of leggings and tunic Tana had provided for him. His legs were encased in soft, form fitting black leather from the knees down. Tana’s leather smiths made the world’s softest boots.

I made myself a mental note to get a pair before we left the kingdom again.

“Ready?” His handsome face was carefully empty of emotion.

I fell into step beside him and we left our rooms.

Despite the very early hour, the palace was a hive of activity. Servants scurried from place to place carrying large trays of spicy scented food that made my mouth water. Ian caught me staring longingly after one of the servants and called out to her.

She stopped and turned, curtsying prettily with the tray carefully balanced above her head. “Sir?”

“Bring a tray for four to the shadow woman’s room. Quickly now.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. He seemed very comfortable giving orders.

The young servant girl seemed to think so too. “Yes, sir!” She stood up out of her curtsy and started running, tray and all.

I glanced at Ian. “Thanks.”

He shrugged, grinning. “I couldn’t hear myself think with all the rumbling coming from your direction.”

I flushed and placed a guilty hand over my stomach.

The shade’s room was lit only by a small light beside the bed. The girl on the bed lay completely still, looking as if she hadn’t moved since we’d last seen her the night before.

The woman sitting beside the bed jerked when we entered as if she’d been asleep and stood quickly. She bobbed her head at us and curtsied. “Sir, Ma’am.”

Ian acknowledged the greeting with a nod. “Has she woken?”

The woman’s pretty, mid-aged face turned toward the form on the bed. “Nay sir. She sleeps deep, like the dead.”

I shivered. Walking over to the bed I slid past the servant and lay my hand over the girl’s chest. If I concentrated hard I could just feel the rise and fall of her breathing, but they were extremely shallow breaths. My gaze slid to her pale face. It was so very still and white, like flawless porcelain. “She looks poorly.”

“She will live.”

I jerked at the unexpected sound of Tana’s voice. We turned and saw the faery queen, followed by two servants, a man and a woman. The man carried a light above his head to light Tana’s way. The woman carried one of those fragrant trays.

My stomach growled into the silent room and I covered it with my hand, trying to ignore Ian’s low-pitched chuckle.

I moved aside so Tana could check her patient and Ian grabbed my hand, pulling me to the side of the room where the servant woman was laying out food on a small, round table. He shoved me gently into a chair. “Eat, before your insides consume themselves.”

I glared at him. A
real
gentleman would pretend he hadn’t heard the voracious rumblings of my stomach. “What about you? You barely ate last night. Aren’t you hungry.”

His dark gaze slid over me, a predatory spark lighting them as they hesitated for the briefest moment at the deep V of my tunic, and then continued downward to my legs. “Starving.” He nearly growled. “But that will have to wait I’m afraid.”

He gave me a long, slow promise of a smile and turned away, joining Tana at the bed.

I squeezed my thighs together and took a trembling breath. All the man had to do was look at me and I went all gooey. It was very disconcerting. And not good for my mission. I would have to renew my efforts to resist him. It would take more of my energy than I had at the moment.

Sighing, I dug into the small mountain of food before me, closing my eyes in pleasure as the spicy meat melted against my tongue. I listen to the incomprehensible murmurings across the room as I filled my stomach, catching only about every tenth word, and thought about my predicament.

I needed to get the damnable bracelet off my wrist so I could return to Olympus. I knew it would be risky, but I couldn’t do anything about the current problem unless I could get closer to the seat of the problem. And unfortunately that meant getting closer to the gods. I was suddenly anxious to put my plan from the previous night into motion. I needed to find a guardian. And, unless I was mistaken, there were no guardians in Tana’s kingdom. Guardians were for humans. The mystical realm had Monad spirits to protect them. A fine distinction that had, somehow, worked just fine over the millennia.

Except for the occasional instance of mistaken identity. As in Ian Lavelle’s case.

My eyes lifted to the aforementioned Elfaery and I smiled. I didn’t know how Ian had fooled the Officer of the Guardians all these years, but he had apparently presented himself as a very creditable human. Though it seemed he’d gone through quite a few guardian angels over his lifetime.

That certainly should have clued somebody in.

The door opened and two of Tana’s guards hurried in, looking very serious.

Tana turned away from her patient and folded her hands in front of her as they stopped and fell to a knee in front of her. “My queen,” the tallest one said, “we have important news. The prisoner…”

“Not here!” Tana’s gaze slid quickly to me. “In my chambers.”

The guards stood and split apart to allow Tana passage between them. Then they followed her out of the room. As the door closed behind them I looked at Ian, who was staring after them with a slight frown on his handsome face.

“What was that all about?”

Ian’s dark gaze didn’t leave the door. “I’m not sure. But secrets are Tana’s trademark. I wouldn’t put too much import in it.” His lips formed the words, but his face belied them.

I wasn’t reassured. “Maybe we should follow.”

Ian stared after her for a second more and then reached into his pocket, “Stay here.” Before I knew what he was doing he’d thrown a handful of faery dust over his head and disappeared.

Swearing colorfully, I started after him.

“Where am I?”

I jerked in surprise, turning toward the bed.

The shadow woman was awake, her weary, grey eyes focused on me with just the slightest tinge of fear. Her fingers twitched on top of the covers.

I was torn. I glanced toward the door and then back to the bed, locked in a comic moment of indecision. I finally sighed, deciding I could do more good in that room.

I walked over to the bed. “You’re in Queen Tana’s castle.”

The young girl frowned. “Why?”

“You were dying. We knew she could save you.”

Her frown deepened. “But…you were the one who injured me.” Her confusion was a tangible thing, roiling between us. How could I explain it to her? Finally I just shrugged and grinned. “What can I say, I’m a complex creature.”

Amazingly, she laughed.

My sense that she was important only increased. “Why did you come into that shop to kill us?”

The laugh slid from her pale lips. “Kill? No. Only subdue and collect. Not kill.”

“Under whose orders?”

She looked unsure for a moment, doubt darkening her clear, grey gaze. “I cannot say.”

I frowned. “Were you working for Aubrie? Or Dawnia?”

Surprise lit her features. She obviously hadn’t thought I’d know who was pulling her strings. But she simply shook her head, remaining mute.

The air shimmered beside me and suddenly Ian was there.

“What did you find out?”

He shook his head at me and pressed a finger to his lips just as the door to the room opened. Tana glided regally into the room. She looked surprised to see our patient awake.

Smiling, she approached the bed and touched the girl’s hand. “You are looking much better young shadow.”

The girl in the bed gave her a soft smile. “Thank you for your ministrations, your Highness.”

Tana tipped her head in acceptance of the girl’s thanks. “What is your name child?