Make Willing the Prey (Dreams by Streetlight) (20 page)

Gritting her teeth, she resisted
it.  Remnants of his spell, of
being
him, assailed her.  It was like
being there all over again, being in his mind, wanting what he wanted.  She
took a deep breath and tried to ground herself. 

For some reason she could only
see him.  His surroundings were black.  He casually spoke to someone.

“I don’t need your money,
Niglith.  No, stop, stop.  You can owe me.”

She couldn’t hear the other half
of the conversation.

“Nonsense.  I’ll be fair, you
know I will be.  I know I’m a liar, but honestly, it was too much fun, catching
her.  What a lovely girl, and so much fun in bed.”

Who were they talking about?

“And such a challenge, making her
marry me.  I’ve never had so much excitement.”

Sandy fumed.  Unless he was a
serial polygamist, he most certain was talking about her.

“Fine, fine, I’ll swear on it.  I
swear I won’t make you pay me any more than the agreed upon winnings of the
bet, no matter how long it takes you to pay up.  Interest-free.”

Bet?  What the hell? She’d been
kidnapped, terrorized, and tortured, her life fucked up forever, all because of
a stupid bet?  Was human life so cheap to these fucking faeries?

“No problem, Niglith.  Yeah,
sure.  See you later.”

Now Perrihaunisplaun seemed to be
alone.  Suddenly she could see his surroundings.  He sat in a small cluttered
room with bare wood walls, a sink, a chair, a desk, and a bed.  He seemed to be
playing with something shiny.

Abruptly he looked up at her and
smiled.

“Hello, Sandy…”

Her breath caught in her throat. 
Suddenly she wished very much that Jina was here.

“First you banish me away from
you and bar me from my own home.  And then you call me up.  Pardon me for being
confused by your erratic behavior.  Do you miss me?  Want me back?”

“I… I…”

He chuckled.  “Don’t worry.  I
can’t really hear you.  Or see you.  This is just a message.  Think of it like
an answering machine.  Nevertheless, I’m touched that you’d be interested in
following up on me.”

Even though she knew he couldn’t
hear her, she growled.  “I want to kill you for what you’ve done, you fucking
bastard!”

“It’s kind of nice to be the one
with a stalker for once.”  He grinned in that horrible, wicked way.  She couldn’t
avoid remembering how he felt when he smiled like that.  Her cheeks turned red
with shame.

“I hope you liked my gift.  I
didn’t need any of that old stuff anyway, and since I can’t use my house
anymore, well… It’s the least I can do to take care of my lovely wife.”

Sandy repressed the urge to throw
the mirror across the room.

“Now I’m stuck living in an
abandoned shack, so far from home.  It’s cold here and the roof leaks, but most
of all, I miss you.”

“I hope you rot in your misery,”
she hissed.

“Well darling, it was good
chatting with you.  Goodnight my love.  Don’t be a stranger!”

With a wave, his face vanished
and she was left staring at her own reflection.

She’d find him.  She’d find him
and destroy him, somehow.  And in the meantime, she’d practice by killing every
other faerie she found.

Text copyright ©1997,
2010 by Luna Flesher Lindsey

Cover art and
illustrations copyright ©2010 by Elizabeth Lindsey

Cover and book layout
design copyright ©2010 by Luna Flesher Lindsey

All rights reserved. 
Published by Luna Lindsey Publishing.

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www.lunalindsey.com

First digital
publication: August 2010
Second digital publication: January 2011

Published in the
U.S.A.