rogue shifter 07 - cut off (25 page)

"I do care for her. I'm partly responsible for what she has become."

I sat on a nearby fallen tree limb and Aedus joined me there. He took my hand and squeezed it in support, once again surprising me with his compassion.

I glanced between the two males. "Can we talk about Liam?"

"No." Caelen's voice was firm.

"Yes." Aedus' was hopeful. "Father, Jackie is his friend. She has insight we do not possess." Aedus wanted his dad and Liam to get over their disagreement and for things to get back to normal.

I bit my lip. "He'd be mad at me if he knew I was talking about him."

"He confides in you. Please." Aedus said.

"He's half human. You two keep forgetting that fact."

"He grew up with us in Faerie."

"He loves the people of Cascade, especially his family."

"If this is true, why won't he return home?" Caelen grumbled.

"He has two homes. If you'd welcome him whenever he shows up in Cascade instead of criticizing him, he'd come more often. Then he'd invite you to his."

"You think it is that simple?" Caelen asked.

"It would be a start." I shrugged. "He wants your respect as much as you want his. Even though Lady Erin is human, she's been in Faerie so long that she might as well be fae. Sometimes he just needs to talk to a friend who understands what it means to be different. I guess I fit that bill, right? I'm a mutt."

"A mutt?" Caelen frowned in confusion.

"A mixed breed." I laughed.

Aedus' eyes crinkled at the corners. "You are not fae, yet I find you every bit as elegant."

I laughed. "Elegant? You're definitely talking about someone else. Philly, maybe."

Aedus shook his head. "You mistake me. Elegance is not only physical grace and style. Your grace is born of compassion, a healer's heart, but also the flame of passion. Your aura glows like an emerald star when you heal, then turns to wildfire when you protect your own. I've been on the receiving end of both and will not soon forget either experience."

I nodded at my friend and he nodded back. All was forgiven.

"You and Liam are certainly equals when it comes to stubborn willfulness." Caelen added with a frown
. Pot-kettle
, I thought, choosing not to speak that little gem out loud. "We have lived in this way for millennia. Liam will follow my advice—or not—as he wishes, but..." He kicked at a stray acorn lying on the ground by his feet. It hit a tree, and a scraggly creature resembling a possum ran down the trunk to grab the treasure. Aedus smiled. "His mother is distressed by his behavior. She misses him. As do I."

He'd revealed the deeper truth. "He misses you, too." I shrugged, catching the hint of a smile from Aedus. He loved his brother and wanted him happy. He was only annoyed because he felt Liam didn't show their father the respect he'd earned.

I hadn't really thought too much about how this was affecting Lady Erin. If Charlie ever went off somewhere and never came home for visits, I'd be crushed. "I'll talk to him, but the next time he comes to Cascade, can you try not to tell him that he's behaving like a child? That stuff doesn't really help."

Caelen laughed. "I'm sure you never tell Charles that he's behaving like a child."

"At least twice a week. It doesn't help."

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

This glamour thing was off-the-charts crazy.

Following behind Brina, I rolled my shoulders in an attempt to feel more comfortable inside this alien body. I hadn't imagined it would be so tough, since I'd spent time with Farrell every single day of my life. I learned pretty fast that observing him from the outside was totally different than experiencing his body from the inside.

The good news was that my magic was working great. Thanks to drawn-out negotiations held inside my head, my inner triumvirate were sharpening their claws, excited to get to work.

The real Farrell was hanging out with his uber hot werewolf girlfriend this evening, trying to get his mind off the fact that he'd be thrown in prison or banished to an icy cave if my little experiment didn't go so well. Since he'd agreed to my plan, my death or capture would put him in the hot seat, even though it was Isaiah who'd taught me this impersonation skill.

When I'd first shown up at Farrell's door looking like his not-so-evil twin, he'd stared at me like I was nuts. Then his eyes started to go all sparkly gold. It wasn't the reaction I was hoping for.

"What the fuck are you doing, Charlie?" He grabbed me by the arm and yanked me inside, checking the hallway, then slamming the door. Farrell had this really nice top floor apartment in a new mid-rise building near the ocean. He liked spending down-time in my world. Like Liam, he enjoyed hanging out with other species, especially one particular female werewolf.

"How'd you know it was me?" I asked, with a surprised squeak. He'd pushed me hard onto the couch, my knee banging into the coffee table. Even when I'd pissed him off royally, he'd never punched me. Let's hope he wouldn't start now.

"Brina can use glamour, but she's already going to court disguised as you, so—hmmm—who else might have the same gift and also be willing to risk ALL OF OUR LIVES to be there?" He was fuming, hovering over me like a vulture ready to poke out my eyes.

I straightened my body and relaxed back into the cushions of the couch. It was important to seem confident. "I'm going instead of you..."

He interrupted, even though I kept right on talking. "No. You're not. I'm sending you back to Isaiah, even if I have to take you there myself."

"...so I can protect Mom while everyone else deals with getting Dad back."

He looked even angrier. "You think I'm not capable of protecting your mother?"

His left fist was clenched tight. I knew all the signs of an angry Farrell, and this was not good. "She's my mom. I can't take any chances."

"This is crazy. You're new at this magic. You can't hold onto this level of glamour for hours. You'll change back in the middle of negotiations and then Brina's cover will be blown and we'll all be in deep shit. Plus you'll give your mom a heart attack."

We stared at each other intently as I took a minute to plan my attack. Farrell was smart and level headed. If my argument was sound, he would be persuaded to go along with my plan. I couldn't allow myself to doubt.

I talked non-stop, first begging for him to listen, and then reasoning with him, occasionally annoying him to the point of imminent violence. At one point he'd shaken me hard enough to make my dagger fall out of its sheath, but I wasn't giving up.

At first, his responses were along the lines of: no, absolutely not, it will never work, etc...

After fifteen minutes of getting nowhere fast, I blurted out in frustration, "You're full blood fae!"

He answered me like I was mentally deficient. "Yes, Charlie. I'm full-blood fae." Having paced the room for most of this discussion, Farrell finally lowered himself into a chair.

"You're the queen's subject." He nodded. "You have to do what she says. She's your alpha." His eyes became slits, but he nodded again. "She can force you to do what she wants. She can control you, even against your will."

"She can, but she won't."

"Where have you been the last few days?"

"We come before her under a flag of truce. She is our queen and is blood sworn to protect all of her people and to honor the laws of Faerie." He smiled at me. "You are also one of her people."

"I can't be controlled by her."

"Why do you think that is so?"

"Because of my mixed blood. My demon will turn my shields to iron against her."

"But you'll have no demon magic in Faerie."

"My fae magic will be at its strongest at court. I'll use it to fuel my demon magic. They work together now."

"Isaiah taught you this blending?"

"He told me it was possible. I did the rest."

"Your time with him has changed you, in good ways, yet I still hesitate to agree to your scheme. Fionna knows that if she does anything to hurt your mom, you won't cooperate. Jackie will be safe with me beside her, and Brina risks her own life to keep you out of danger."

"But what if mom's in danger from my birth dad? What if the queen commands you to step away and then Kennet comes over and...and kidnaps her again?"

His expression turned grim. "I hadn't thought about Kennet's presence."

"I can reason with him better than you can. I know what to say. My demon shields will protect me, and I have this." I pulled out my dagger, the one Kennet had given me on my fifth birthday. "We may be forced to leave all of our weapons with the guards before we can enter the throne room, but I can mask this one."

He looked thoughtful. Like most fae, Farrell, would usually take the time to organize his thoughts before he spoke. I was impatient for his response, but I forced myself to keep still. "Your argument may have merit."

Gotcha, I thought. After another few minutes of discussion, and a couple of forced promises to be careful, he'd finally agreed. In the end, what brought him over was my solid argument that Fionna would have no control over my demon/cheetah/fae magical combo and neither would Kennet. I kept my mental fingers crossed in the hopes that my deductions were correct.

His parting words were harsh. "Don't fuck up. Keep her safe. She's important to me, and so are you."

"Thanks, Farrell. I know what I'm doing."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "That's up for debate. You've put both of our asses on the line. If you aren't killed or taken hostage, be prepared for some hurt on the training field."

"You'll be waiting in line."

So here I was, pushing aside branches and rushing to keep Brina in sight, I focused my mind on what I needed to do and tried to behave as much like Farrell as I could. In court, I'd stick close to Mom and not get involved in anything else. I'd leave instantly if there was any serious trouble, like I'd promised Isaiah.

Lost in thought and not paying attention to where I was walking, I stumbled over a tree root, and banged into Brina's shoulder. "Shit."

"Shush." Brina gave me a stern look then continued on.

This was much tougher than it looked. My brain and body had to adjust to a slightly higher muscle mass and center of gravity plus longer arms and legs. Farrell's ability to move silently was equal to my own shifter skills, so that part was cool, as long as I started paying attention to where I was walking.

Even though I was pretty sure that no one was gonna be fighting for real, I was hopeful that my personal fighting skills would work out okay with the sword that was currently strapped to my back. I wouldn't want to end up chopping off my foot. The sword I usually trained with was shorter and lighter. Farrell had warned me off bringing my sword instead of his, because Aedus and Brina would notice the difference instantly and then I'd be busted and sent back.

The evening was warm and humid. Farrell's thicker reddish brown hair weighed more heavily against my neck. I was dying to lift it up so the breeze would cool my overheated skin, but I didn't think I'd ever seen Farrell bothered by the weight of his hair. I figured it was best just to leave it alone and not draw attention to myself.

The heavy tunic didn't help either. I was sweating. Did fae sweat? They did now. The arcane dagger hidden in my boot tingled in response to my nerves, always in tune with my energy. I could only use it in an emergency. The minute I pulled it out, it would glow with my aura, like I was wearing a neon sign saying "Here's Charlie."

I tried my best to stay out of Brina's line of vision. I hadn't counted on being sent off with just one of them, and she was probably the worst of the bunch when it came to figuring out my little secret. She'd grown up with Farrell. To make matters worse, she kept glancing back at me as if I'd done something weird, but then she'd scowl and shake her head and continue on.

Brina had stopped and was looking at me strangely. She was glamoured to look like me, but Isaiah was pretty sure she couldn't tell if someone else was using glamour the same way. I mentally crossed my fingers

She whispered, "Should I be worried? You haven't responded."

"You spoke?" This was the big glitch in my genius idea. Speaking to me mind-to-mind had to be on a very superficial level, because they'd know it was me if I let down my outer shields. They'd see right away, that all my thoughts were in English—not Seelie Fae—and that I was busy translating everything. Also I had to make sure that I used fae-like words and not American expressions."

I came up with a quick explanation. "I have kept myself locked up tight for security. Being the youngest, I am the most vulnerable to attack. I apologize."

It was so weird talking to someone else who looked and sounded just like me while I looked and sounded like Farrell. This was turning into an episode of American Horror Story.

She took a sniff and scowled. "Are you using a different soap?"

"What, you do not like it?" She glared, but didn't answer. "If it looks like me and sounds like me, it must be me," I rattled off with a smile. Hoping to reassure her, I said, "You smell just like Charles and you look exactly like him. Excellent glamour work."

Brina's eyes widened then narrowed to slits. When was I ever going to learn to keep my big mouth shut? She started talking in Seelie Fae at lightning speed. Good thing I was fluent. I answered her questions and made logical responses, but by this time her eyes were glowing gold. Crap.

"You never call Charlie,
Charles
." She circled to my rear, checking the sword, then back around, eyeballing me with suspicion. I stayed perfectly still, hoping for the best. "What color are the walls in my bedchamber?" she asked, poking me hard in the chest with her index finger.