rogue shifter 07 - cut off (15 page)

I was still puzzling out his arrival. "You didn't travel the lines just now. There was no flux."

"I walked through the usual door." He nodded in that direction.

"I can see the terrace door. You didn't come that way." He gave me one of his annoying smirks as I put the guitar in its case, then twisted when a surprising idea slammed me. "Wait. You can make yourself invisible?" I sat up a little straighter.

"Not truly. I believe Marie could sense me." He gestured in her direction.

"Yes, but I did not
see
you, Lord Isaiah." She smiled and nodded.

Isaiah leaned back, resting his ankle on the opposite knee. "I shadowstalk, or if you like, blend into shadows. It's similar to blending into your surroundings when you first learn to travel the lines, only you remain in solid form. The fae are creatures of light, so it is not one of their particular gifts. Ancient vampires are able to shadowstalk if it is in their bloodline. Among my people, few are gifted with this skill."

Flashing on a super idea. I jumped up, my heart pounding with excitement. "If you teach me to shadowstalk, I can go with Mom to the court to get Dad back. I'd be safe. No one would see me."

Isaiah cleared his throat, gave me a look that meant
later
, then turned toward Marie. "Are you well, my dear?"

She returned his smile. "Oui. Merci." Isaiah had found her at Eleanor's old villa, locked away with a spell that Garrett had ordered cast. He'd been able to encourage my mom to free her and then to make her a familiar. Since then, she and Isaiah had become friends.

She stretched out her hand and he leaned forward, clasping it in both of his. "I apologize, but I cannot stay to converse, although I would like to. Jacqueline is expecting me back with news of how Charles is getting on."

"He's doing great, right kid?"

I rolled my eyes at Isaiah, rubbing my bruised ribs. "Tell her I'm fine and that I miss her."

Isaiah added. "You may visit at any time, Madame." He kissed her hand in an old fashioned way, which she seemed to like a lot. When she disappeared, he directed his gaze toward me.

"I will not teach you to shadowstalk."

"Why?"

"It's traditionally a self-taught skill, one you earn through hard work."

"How long did it take you?"

"Once I knew I had the ability, two weeks to perfect."

Why couldn't he see how important this was? "I don't have two weeks. You've advanced me faster than I would have on my own. Just give me a push in that direction."

"No. You're not ready." I opened my mouth to complain, but he lifted a finger. "At least it's learnable. Some skills are even more rare."

"Like what?" I grumbled.

"True glamour. I can disguise your look, your scent and your aura, as well as my own. Brina has also inherited the gift, although she's only able to glamour her own body. With time she'll be able to glamour others as I can."

"Grady told me Finvarra..."

"Never say that name in the DR. Mother will roast your gonads on a spit and feed them to the dogs while you watch."

I cringed. "Why?"

"Long story."

"He's gone." I pointed out.

"But not dead." He lifted a finger.

"As good as..." I never understood the purpose of holding onto a stupid feud. Wouldn't they live more productive lives if they just let go of those old grudges?

He shrugged. "Let's hope that's true." Isaiah conjured a barbeque grill and a minute later a goblin, carrying a platter, showed up to cook for us. "Steak?" Isaiah asked.

I shook my head and laughed. "What shifter ever says no to a steak? Or two. Or three?"

"Shifters are lightweights compared to goblins, especially the royal family. Those kids can eat!"

A plan formed in my head as I watched Isaiah sip his wine out of a golden goblet. Somehow I had to get him to teach me what I needed to learn so I could go to court and protect Mom. I decided to try something I'd been working on privately, allowing my voice to turn silky smooth, my mind focusing intently on his. "You can teach me to shadowstalk when we finish dinner."

A deep line formed between Isaiah's brows. He put down the goblet very carefully, his eyes going all glassy. "Whatever you want, Master."

His tone was kinda cartoon robotic. Too weird. Wasn't he supposed to just agree and then...?  I scratched my chin while he sat there like a statue. "Umm...okay..."

The next second I was hanging upside down over the pond and Isaiah had his dagger out and pointed in my direction. "You little shit! Kennet worked with you on mind control, didn't he?" I didn't answer because it was stupid to deny it. "I should drown you." he snarled.

"Isaiah..." My hair was dangling into the pond. Some of the fish were nibbling on it.

He raged on. "Jackie will ground you till you're forty and Liam will make you dig a path to China, but what I dream up for you today will make those punishments look like a jaunt through Disneyland." He was pacing back and forth. From my upside down position I thought I saw a hint of fang. Holy crap.

"Put me down." He glanced at the grill and raised an eyebrow. "Not onto the grill." I was flipped right side up then dropped into the pond, startling the fish, my shorts, socks and sneakers soaked through. "Gee, thanks." I scrambled up the bank and tried to wring out my hair. Now I was pissed too.

"You deserve a beating, especially after what I told you about your mom. Fucking with someone's mind in that way is rape." I was happy to see he'd sheathed his dagger.

"Jeez, calm down. It didn't work. Anyway, you play mind games," I shouted back. I didn't see why he was blowing a gasket over this.

Isaiah hesitated, clenching and unclenching his fists. His voice had grown softer and lower, which made me very nervous. "It's true that I'll break through someone's shields to communicate or to get information, but never, NEVER will I rip through the personal shield of someone I respect and take away their will. Do you think I don't share Kennet's gift? I do, as does Naberia, but have I ever used it on you? Or Jackie? Or even Caelen?"

"No...but..."

"The only reason you haven't already been stripped, chained and whipped raw is because from the age of five you were brainwashed by a freak with more mental power than any fae I've ever met, save one."

Wincing at the description of my punishment, I looked around for a towel, but no luck. I kicked off my shoes and peeled off my socks, hanging them on the back of a bench. "Look, I'm sorry. I just wanted to help Mom."

His voice rose as his anger turned volcanic. "Sorry doesn't cut it. What did Kennet tell you? Did he say that it was fine to force people to do what you wanted them to do because you're the prophesized hero of Faerie? Or maybe it was because you were his son? That it was your right to take away someone's will?"

He was up in my face, his eyes on fire, his fangs fully extended. Holy shit. I had to fix this. "Do it to me." I spurted out.

"What?" He stepped away in surprise.

"Kennet did it to Mom, didn't he?"

"Yes." He didn't explain, but I figured what Kennet pulled must have been really bad. I was glad to see that his eyes weren't glowing, which meant he'd calmed himself down. A minute ago I could've sworn he was gonna beat me unconscious. "Charles. Now may not be the best time to ask this of me."

Okay, he never calls me Charles which meant he was still really pissed. "I trust you."

"I'm going to hurt you."

"Do it. Do it and make it—make it bad. Make me understand. So—so I don't forget."

He met my gaze, apparently taking my request seriously. An icy shiver ran over my skin, like I'd been dunked in a snow bank. "You're sure?" he asked, an eyebrow arched.

I gave myself three heartbeats to change my mind, but even though I wanted to back out more than anything, I couldn't do it. "Yes." I said, surprised by the hoarseness of my voice.

I had to know what my psycho dad had done to the people that I cared about, even though my stomach was a queasy mess and my knees were threatening to give out.

This was me being an adult, and boy did it suck.

Isaiah said something in Rux and the goblin put the steaks on a platter and disappeared.

"I'll ask you once more. Do you want me to control your mind? Do you want me to force you to do something you don't want to do?" His voice had lost any hint of emotion, as if he'd pulled away from me. The Angry Isaiah of a few minutes ago had freaked me out, but this coldness was worse.

I tried to swallow, but my spit had dried up. "Do it now."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Lord Folont had finished with Elle. She was curled up on the floor of my chambers bleeding badly so I stopped the flow and left the rest for her to heal on her own. Folont was an amateur, his use of the cane awkward at best. His victims always passed out too soon.

"Stand." With the help of a nearby table, she pushed herself up with great effort, shaking and staring at the floor. "Drop your shields." I demanded.

"No, Lord Kennet."

I stepped closer, running my hand through her messy hair. "Your shields are strong for a mongrel, however, when I rip through them, you may lose your mind." She choked on a sob and complied. "Good girl." I patted her wet cheek.

A tear splashed on the floor by her foot. I placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face. "Tell me about the vampire, and I may not go into your mind at all."

"He is kind." She met my gaze with the tiny thread of courage that remained within her.

"He is weak in that way." I ran a finger over her bottom lip and felt the vibration of her shudder. "What else?"

"He believes that his mate will not allow his son to come to court."

I grabbed her ear and twisted it hard. She cried out and tried to pull away. "
My
son. Charles is
my
son. Say it."

"Charles is your son. Forgive me, lord."

I threw her to the floor in disgust. She hit the rug hard, barely keeping her face from smashing against a table leg. I gave her a moment to catch her breath, then asked, "Does he believe Jacqueline will come?"

"Yes." she panted. Her ear was bright red, standing out against the background of her pale skin. "He believes she will try to rescue him. He fears for her safety. He loves her."

I turned away, unable to stomach her romantic notions. "She will come to me. I know it." I glanced back at the female spread out on my rug, her wounds still raw. Jacqueline had never looked so pathetic. She had always seemed strong and lovely, even when she bled from my strokes with a leather cat.

"You may leave. I won't touch your mind today. I have more pressing matters." I flicked my hand, sending her through the lines to her new protector. Next time I'd play with her for hours to make it clear who owned her. It certainly wasn't the vampire.

The knock came a moment later. My captain bowed low. "Sire."

He was fearless, this one. If the queen heard him referring to me by that name, he could be thrown to the slaugh. After his initial bow, his gaze never faltered, despite the fact that he was underfed and lacked sufficient sleep. His motives were clear to me. He was counting on my protection, seeing in me a future where his magic might be returned to him full force. I understood ambition, but also discretion. "Lord is sufficient."
For now
.

"Yes, Lord Kennet."

"I have a job for you." I sent him the information mind-to-mind.

"I will see to it."

"I am certain you will."

"It is an honor to serve you, lord." He bowed again and dissolved into the lines.

I opened my terrace door and strode to one of the cages that housed a captured demi-fey, intending to give her a piece of fruit and perhaps a tidbit of meat. Unfortunately, her spirit had faded, making her final journey to Tir Na NOg. Perhaps she'd meet up with my father and Queen Aine. Thinking of those two brought a frown to my face. If it were up to me, the former rulers would be burning in some Faerie version of Hades, but then Finvarra had good reason to take the jealous queen away from court.

As I wandered the outdoor paths behind the palace, I took in the flavor of the evening. Nighttime in the Faerie Court glowed with a brightness unusual in worlds where the dark was not perceived as an enemy. As a child, Fionna had been afraid of the dark, so as queen she used much of her magic to keep our nights bathed in bright moonlight and starlight, almost to the point of dispelling all shadow. A victim of night terrors, she was brought to her mother's bed and coddled, sometimes driving her father, the king, to other beds. My nighttime terrors were real and painful, as my mother dispelled her mad fits of loneliness by beating my sister and myself. The childish anger and sense of betrayal I felt at the time was transformed as an adult into a raging sirocco that can only be tamed at the controlling end of a whip or cane. The irony is not lost on me.

I passed a fountain that spouted crystal blue water from the graceful hands of a marbled likeness of the old king and queen. They were a glorious pair in many ways, sustaining the court's health and power, ensuring that all fae were fit and battle-ready. We could have taken down the Demon Realm itself in those days, yet in the end Aine and Finvarra chose another path. They now live in a new reality, one without pain or conflict, passion or significance. I am left alone in this one, although soon that too will change.

Jacqueline's courageous spirit and sensuous body drove me to an act I find to be tedious with most females. They hand over their minds without much struggle and I guide their bodies as I wish. Love is a fantasy, as is loyalty and friendship. In my world, there is only strength, patience and cunning.

Yet in Jacqueline's presence I experienced an ablution of...of something restorative. I surmised it was the energy of her healer reaching out to my empty soul. I crave to feel it again. I will have her, and with her, my son.

And then another child.

Before I passed through the door to my bedchamber, I looked once more at the tiny body of the demi-fey, no longer animated, her spirit lost to this world. Soon she would disappear completely. I would ask Fionna for another. A male, I think.