Kindling Flames: Stolen Fire (The Ancient Fire Series Book 4) (19 page)

“How did you plan for the spell to reach Kian?”

The entire flock of fay answered, but each individual yelled slightly out of unison, so the word ‘kisses’ was hard to make out.

Lady Aine raised her hand to calm them again. “But Kian didn’t play your games.”

“He resisted,” one of the three grumbled unhappily.

“Did you send Zak to help with this?” Darien’s voice was hard as he asked the question.

Zak growled and thrashed his tentacles at the accusation in the question.

“No,” the smallest one admitted. “He nearly ruined our plans.”

Zak growled at them.

Lady Aine smacked his grasping ends away from the three fay. He has slowly wiggled them out while the fay had answered. “I will deal with these little ones.” Pulling one of the tentacles up, she rubbed it lovingly. She looked back to the three fay that had raised up away from the floor now flowing with feelers. “You are lucky I don’t let the hellhound have his way with you.”

Zak gurgled his anger at them.

“I assume if Kian had kissed her, your spell would have been immediate.”

The fay nodded their heads in agreement.

“Then we could have kept him,” the smallest admitted.

Darien rested his head on top of Vicky’s. He was starting to see the entire scope of the fay’s intentions.

“And you let him escape?” Lady Aine sounded disappointed in the little ones.

“Cailín’s protections were too great for the sleeping spell,” the female in the group admitted.

“And that was why you enchanted her dress,” Darien added as he put things together. The giggles sounded again, and a few fay zoomed around in excitement.

“Still, Dubhlainn was strong,” the girl sighed.

“So how did you do it?” the Queen finally asked.

“The spell was weak,” the smallest giggled.

“It did no harm to any,” said the second fay.

“It ties them all together,” the female added.

“Can you undo it?” the queen asked. All three of the fay shook their heads.

“We gave our word,” the smallest explained.

“And you can’t break your word.” Lady Aine sighed and nodded her head. “Very well, I’ll deal with you later.” She waved the three away. They fay zoomed up to the rest of the waiting lesser fay. They quickly scattered, leaving the air in the great chamber empty. Lady Aine turned her attention back to where Vicky and Darien were standing together. “Does that answer your questions?”

“Some of them,” Darien admitted, “but how do we unravel the enchantment?”

“Don’t you like being mortal?” Lady Aine smiled.

Vicky shivered from the look in her eyes. The queen was definitely enjoying his plight.

Darien drew in a deep breath and let it out heavily. “It’s not the matter of enjoyment,” he explained. “I have responsibilities to others that require my strength. Plus, there is a man out there using my powers to hurt others. He has to be stopped.”

“Always the noble one.” The queen shook her head. “So, Lord Dakine, what do you think?” They all turned eyes to the waiting elf lord.

“The only way I can see to break it is to destroy one of the anchors.”

Vicky tensed up and shifted, uncomfortable in Darien’s arms. “What do you mean by 'destroy one of the anchors'?” she asked, not liking the thoughts that popped into her head.

“Since the anchor is in the life force,” Dakine explained, “you would need to end the subject’s life.”

“Like, kill them?” she said, shocked that he would even suggest something like that.

“Yes,” Dakine clarified, “like, kill them.”

“But, how do we find them?” Darien asked the question that he really wanted the answer to.

“You have one of them right here,” Lady Aine pointed out with a wicked smile. “But, with so little of your power left in you, if you cut this end of the spell, you may lose the rest to your foe.”

“Out of the question.” Darien shot down this idea before Vicky could process the suggestion. “How do we find the other anchor?”

“A tracking spell is what you need.” Lady Aine stood up from her chair to bargain with them. “I could help you with that, for a price.”

Vicky turned to look at the queen.

Darien held her tightly to his chest as he considered the offer.

Seeing how hard he was thinking about the possibilities, Lady Aine added, “I am sure your simple magics could get the job done, but how will you identify the culprit? I have the three responsible and everything they used to set the spell.”

Seeing her logic, he tipped his head forward in surrender. “And what is your price?” Darien asked.

“In a few months’ time, you will both come to me and submit to one request without question or pause.” Lady Aine held up her hand to stem the flow of Darien’s immediate refusal. “I give you my word that my request will cause no harm to you or yours, and it will not compromise cailín’s ideas of decency.”

Darien bit his lip, considering the demand. To give this woman carte blanche on one request was just asking for trouble. He looked down at Vicky. “What do you think?” This was not a decision he was about to make on his own.

Vicky looked up into his eyes. “I don’t see a problem with it if it won’t hurt anything.” She shrugged.

Darien smiled at her innocence. He could think of a lot of things that wouldn’t hurt or cross Vicky’s sense of decency, but would be very unwelcome. “So trusting.” He kissed her on the side of the head. Darien turned his attention back to Lady Aine. “You price is within reason, and your help would be much obliged. What do you need from us?”

“A dram of blood from each of you, to be used for this one enchantment alone.”

Darien paused for a moment, considering her demands. A tracking spell should only require a few drops of blood. Why would she want a full vile from each of them? “And what happens to the leftover blood?” he asked.

“Any extra will remain with me, not to be used in any magical context,” she reassured him.

Darien studied her for a moment, trying to think of what she might do with the blood outside of a magical spell. He shuddered at the possibilities but could see no harm in letting her have a little blood. He had taken a lot more than that in his lifetime. Looking down at Vicky, he made sure she was okay with it.

She nodded her agreement.

“Deal,” Darien agreed.

***

Vicky looked down at the red line on her hand as she leaned back in her seat. Things had happened rather quickly once Darien had agreed to Lady Aine’s terms. It had taken Dakine no time to produce an ornamental dagger and two vials. Lady Aine had tried to convince them to stay for the next feast, but that was a few hours away. Darien politely bowed out, using work as his excuse.

“Will her spell really work?” Vicky wondered. She wasn’t sure if she trusted the fay queen. The woman had taken an unnatural delight in Darien’s troubles.

“Oh, yes,” Darien answered as he moved the SUV through evening traffic. “And it better.” He let out a slightly sickened laugh. “We’ve just given her something she’s been after for centuries.”

Vicky looked confused. “What?”

“Carte blanche.” 

“But, she said her request wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“True, but handing that woman a blank check to do with as she pleases still scares me.”

Vicky looked at him, shocked. “Then you should have said something.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice.” Darien sighed. “I probably could have worked up something to help find our man, but it would have taken time we really don’t have.”

Zak gurgled reassuringly at both of them.

Vicky scrubbed her fingers into his fur. “It will be all right,” she stated, trying to push away the horrible feeling that they had just done something terribly wrong. Lady Aine had promised her request wouldn’t hurt anyone, so it had to be okay… right?

“Yes.” Darien reached over and took a hold of her hand. “Dakine will get us the spell later this week, and everything will be okay.” Now, he just had to make himself believe those words.

“I can’t wear that.” Vicky took the negligee from Vanessa and put it back on the rack. The garment was more sheer than there. “I might as well not wear anything at all.”

“That’s the point.” Vanessa pulled another one out and held it up to Vicky. “How about this?” This one looked like someone took scraps of lace and cobbled them together for strategic cover.

“I could fit this in a sandwich bag.” Vicky took the hanger away from Vanessa and held it up to look at the skimpy outfit. “With room to spare.” She tucked it back on the rack. “How about this?” Taking out another hanger, she held up a white, lace corset with matching thong.

“Egads!
No!”
Vanessa took the bridal set away from her friend and shoved it back to the rack. “I’m sure your baby wants something more interesting than that.” She walked across the room and picked another set off the wall. “Like this.”

Vicky cocked her head as she looked at the strips of red satin. “What is this?” she asked as she pulled on the inch-wide straps. There were definitely cups for a bra and bits that looked like a thong, but it was hard to tell what the jumble of straps should be.

“Oh, that’s the newest in our bondage line,” the helpful sales clerk chirped as she closed on them. “Here.” She stretched the straps, showing them how the outfit would look when worn.

“I think
Master
Darien would love it!” Vanessa squealed.

“No.” Vicky shook her head. There was no way they were going to get her into a strap harness with a bow at her neck.

“We’ll take it.” Vanessa pushed the harness into the saleswoman’s hands. “And this,” she said, handing over the blue lace bra and matching thong she was holding. Pointing to something mounted on the wall, she added, “And one of those.”

Vicky turned around as the clerk took the selection to the counter and fished something out from under the counter. Her eyes widened as she saw what Vanessa had requested. “No.” Vicky shook her head at the suede flogger. “I am
not
taking that home!”

The clerk paused, waiting for the girls to decide if they wanted it or not.

“Yes. You are,” Vanessa said pointedly. “Wrap it up,” she told the clerk.

The woman added it to the pieces she had already placed in the bag.

“Vanessa,” Vicky complained, “no.”

“If you don’t take it, I’ll just give it to Darien at the wedding.” Vanessa grinned at her evilly. “…Along with a pair of handcuffs and possibly a few other items requiring batteries.”

A smile slipped across the clerk's face as Vicky turned bright red.

“You are evil,” Vicky huffed as Vanessa paid for the indecent purchase.

Vanessa took the bag and held it out to Vicky. “Oh, you’ll love it.”

Vicky just looked at her.

“Take them, or they and a few other choice items will decorate the groom’s cake.”

Vicky growled and snatched the bag away from her friend. She stormed out of the lingerie store to sound of the clerk snickering. “I hate you,” Vicky growled at Vanessa.

“No, you don’t,” Vanessa purred back. “You love me.”

Vicky crunched the top of the bag shut so no one passing could see inside it. “I’ll get you for this.” This was the last stop before they were supposed to meet up with Darien and Elliot for dinner. Those two had been sticking pretty close together since Darien had come back from New Orleans.

“I would expect nothing less,” Vanessa chirped cheerfully.

Vicky let out an exasperated sigh. “What else is left to do?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Oh, lots!” Vanessa grinned. “Elliot and I fought about the flowers for a long time, but we finally decided on white and red roses. Simple, yet elegant. But there are still the decorations and invitations. You know, you still haven’t given me colors.”

Vicky pondered this for a moment. She had asked Darien what colors he wanted, but he claimed not to care. “How about green and black?” Vicky offered. That would cover both of her boys.

“Eww.” Vanessa shook her head, disgusted. “Too dark.”

“How about emerald green?” Vicky suggested again.

“That I’ll give you,” Vanessa conceded, “but not the black. Pick another color.”

Vicky looked around at the shops for some inspiration. The mall was decked out in festive Christmas decorations, and her eyes were drawn to a catching display. “How about red?”

“Mmmm…” Vanessa made a negative note. “Too Christmasy. We could do red and blue.”

“I’m not marrying Superman.” Vicky looked at the movie poster that had drawn Vanessa’s eye. “How about blue and green?” she countered.

“Not enough contrast.”

Vicky stopped at a shop showing amazing, hand-blown, glass ornaments. “How about green and gold?”

“That’s…” Vanessa stopped to consider the combination. “…Perfect! And we can use these to decorate the tables.” She pulled Vicky into the shop to look at the glass spires.

“How many tables will there be?” Vicky asked. Other than her few friends and her mother, she had no idea who was on the guest list.

“Mmmm…” Vanessa made another unhappy noise. “I’m not sure.” She looked at the bobbles again. “Let’s just get one of each and the artist’s name. Then, we can commission as many as we need.

Vicky agreed, and they left with several bags of carefully wrapped glass.

“Now that we have colors, we should start to think about dresses.” Vanessa went back to her planning. “I saw the perfect dress for you over at this new bridal shop.”

“Let’s check with Elliot first,” Vicky suggested, unsure if there was something special that she should be wearing. She kind of wanted to wear that white spider-silk dress from Halloween.

Vanessa gave her a cross look.

“What?” Vicky asked, slightly offended. “You’ve insisted on his opinion on everything else.”

“That’s because Darien refuses to give me one,” Vanessa huffed.

“Darien gave you his opinion on the cake, yet you still insisted on force-feeding it to Elliot.” That had been quite the experience. Vicky had tried to convince Vanessa that Elliot wasn’t needed for the tasting, but Elliot wouldn’t let Darien out of his sight. Therefore, they both got to eat cake. Vicky gave Elliot an apologetic look as Vanessa practically shoved the bites down his throat. For a moment, she thought he was going to enthrall her to get out of it, but there were nearly a dozen people milling around the cake shop. Reluctantly, he submitted to the redhead’s whims. Hopefully, his system could handle a few bites of cake.

“Yeah.” Vanessa walked a little while in thought. “Have you noticed anything funny about Elliot?”

Vicky drew in a slow breath to keep from showing anything. “No. Why?”

“Something about him just doesn’t sit right with me.” A crease formed in Vanessa’s brow. “I mean, he’s sweet and fun to be around, but there’s just something about him.”

“Like what?” Vicky asked as nonchalantly as she could.

“He’s polite,” Vanessa pointed out.

“Isn’t that good?”

“Yes, but he’s too polite.” This earned Vanessa a sideways glance from Vicky. “He opens doors, pulls out chairs, carries everything, and insists on paying for dinner even if he doesn’t eat it. Which is most of the time.”

“Doesn’t eat it?” Vicky had known that Elliot and Vanessa were meeting, but not that he had been taking her out to dinner.

“I’ve never seen a man worry his food as much as Elliot does.” Vanessa’s face scrunched up in thought as remembered the time she had spent with Elliot. “He mashes it up and pushes it around, but I can’t recall him actually eating any of it.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s just your imagination.” Vicky shrugged it off. “Maybe he has a sensitive stomach.”

“Maybe,” Vanessa agreed reluctantly.

Vicky made a mental note to let Elliot know about Vanessa’s worries. The two women walked on through the lower levels of the mall towards the parking garage where the men were supposed to have taken the rest of the shopping.

“What have we here?” A male voice behind Vicky startled a squeak from her. Both she and Vanessa spun around to face a man who was much too close to them. The girls retreated a step.

“Can I help you?” Vicky looked around at the empty hall. They had left most of the shops behind. She relaxed the tension from her shoulders, preparing for action. Her two, rather-full bags would be perfect to swing at the man.

The man ran his eyes up and down Vicky. “I just came for a good look.” He made a noise that raised the short hairs on the back of Vicky’s neck. “Aren’t you a precious little thing?”

Vicky rotated in place as the lean man started to circle them. There was something familiar about his chocolate brown hair and hawk-like features.

“Did you enjoy my flowers?” He gave Vicky a toothy grin.

“What flowers?” Vicky asked.

The man raised a hand to his heart as if her words wounded him. “How could you forget my roses, Victoria?”

Vicky just stared at him, openmouthed. This was the person responsible for the roses sent to her office. “Who are you?” She could not remember meeting him before.

Quick steps brought the man up to Vicky. His arm snaked out, pulling her against him. “I’m the one who’s going to destroy you, sweetheart,” he whispered, looking into her eyes.

A tingle of power rose between them, leaving Vicky shocked. She recognized the feeling, but it was coming from the wrong man! “
You!
” Vicky pushed out of his arms and stepped back. “You’re the one who stole Darien’s powers.”

The man laughed and bowed to her. “And, oh, what a shock that was.” Grinning, he bared fangs at her. “But, I intend to take much more than that from him, my sweet.” He advanced on Vicky, making her step back.

Vanessa dropped her bags and threw herself at the man. “You leave her alone!”

He twisted around with inhuman speed and grabbed her up from her attack. Vanessa screeched as he sunk his fangs into her neck.

“
No!
” Vicky shrieked as she dropped her bags. She aimed a good, old-fashioned punch at his face—a move he hadn’t expected from her. It connected, knocking him backwards. His fangs popped out of Vanessa’s neck spraying blood across the front of Vicky’s shirt. Vicky slapped her hand over the torn skin and pulled Vanessa away from the rogue vampire.

The vampire pressed his hand up to stop the blood pouring from his busted nose. “The kitten has claws.”

Panicked, Vicky pressed on her connection with Darien and Elliot for help.

The mystery man stood up and laughed at her. “I can feel your terror.” His voice was rich with enjoyment.

Vicky dragged Vanessa farther away from him. The boys would be there soon. She just had to find a way to delay the man coming after them. Casting her eyes around, she looked for something to help.

The man held his arms wide to the empty area. “There’s nowhere to hide!”

Where did everyone go? A flash of metal on the floor caught Vicky’s attention, and she pulled Vanessa along faster. The floors in this part of the mall had been designed by local artists. Each design was laid out in brightly colored tiles surrounded by brass edging. Vicky had no idea if her plan would work, but she had to do something. The crazed vampire stalked after her as she dragged Vanessa across the points of a compass rose.