The Banshee's Embrace (11 page)

             
The small smile he gave her warmed her heart as he collected the dog. She heard him speaking in low tones in the kitchen and a few seconds later, the back door opened and shut. Silence descended on the house.

             
"Alone at last." She plopped down on the couch and took a couple of deep breaths before fishing her cell phone out of her pocket.

             
"Hi, honey!" Her mom's voice bubbled over the phone line." I just love this Caller ID thingy on the smart phone. And to think that all my other phones were dumb phones! Now I always know who's calling."

             
"That's great, mom. Glad you're liking your new phone." Jacqueline took a deep breath. "So mom, there's something I want to ask you."

             
"Sure, honey."

             
"Am I adopted?"

             
Jacqueline could almost feel the happy energy seep from her mother.

             
"Mom?"

             
"Why would you ask that?"

             
"Because there is some strange things going on and I really need to know the truth. Am I adopted?" Jacqueline waited for her mother to speak.

             
"Yes."

             
"Do you know my birth parents? Are they Irish?"

             
"Jackie, how do you know that? Where is this coming from?" Tears strained her mother's voice and Jacqueline felt bad for causing her mother pain, but she needed to know the truth.

             
"Mom, I can't explain everything to you right now, but I've run into someone who knows about my birth family. I'm just trying to confirm if what they say is true."

             
"Oh, Jackie, you know how much your dad and I love you, right? We just wanted a baby so badly and we couldn't have one of our own."

             
"I understand, mom. Really I do. Was the family Irish?"

             
"Yes. Your biological mother's last name was O'Grady. I know that for sure because her story just about broke my heart." Jacqueline's mom sniffled. "She was a young girl who'd given birth to you, but had been killed in a car accident. I guess she didn't have much family to help her out. The adoption agency gave me the impression that she was sort of the black sheep of the family and very much on her own."

             
Jacqueline sucked in her breath, feeling dizzy. So it was true. She was part of the O'Grady line.

             
"Honey? You still there?"

             
"Yes, mom." She managed to get out. "I need to hang up though. I'll talk to you later."

             
Jacqueline ended the call, despite the fact that her mother was protesting and trying to explain what had happened. She would deal with that later. Right now, only one thing was important.

             
She was an O' Grady, one of the most prominent families in Irish history. Rationally, she knew that it didn't change much--her adoptive parents would always be her family and they'd loved her, given her the best of everything. She couldn't find it in her heart to blame them for keeping the secret. Still, the confirmation of her heritage was a game changer.

             
It meant that she couldn't deny what she was or how she felt. About anything or anyone.

             
Toby. She pictured him and felt her body tingle in response. That was an area of her new life she wanted to explore in detail even though it seemed his life was a mess of complications.

             
I’m the one who's going to have to kill you.

             
His words from the night before came back to her. Why would he think that? Surely, she could control her banshee side enough to not be turned into a weapon. She was a strong woman. No one would boss her around!

             
The doorbell rang. When she didn't immediately get up to answer it, someone knocked on the door.

             
"Jackie? You in there?" Angela's voice drifted through the door.

             
Relieved, Jacqueline opened it. Angela stood on the other side, her facing beaming with happiness.

             
"Hey, girl! Just thought I'd drop by and check on you. I've been out and about this afternoon with my new guy that I've been telling you about," Angela gushed. "He's in the car right now. Isn't he gorgeous?"

             
Jacqueline looked over her friend's shoulder. She could barely make out the countenance of a young man sitting behind the wheel of Angela's car. The man waved at her.

             
"Sure, I guess so. It's hard to tell from here," Jacqueline said.

             
"So are you okay? I was worried about you after the craziness of last night. That Toby didn't hurt you or try to get too friendly, did he?" Angela asked.

             
"Well….." Jacqueline blushed and her friend gave a squeal of glee.

             
"He did try to get friendly, didn't he? I knew he had a thing for you!"

             
"It isn't exactly like that…" she began but Angela cut her off.

             
"Wait! Don't give me the details yet! I have to go, but Derek and I are having dinner tonight and we totally want you to come. Say yes!" Angela pleaded. "It will be so much fun!"

             
"I'll think about it." Oh god. Going out with Angela in a normal situation would have been fine, but so much had changed. Jacqueline didn't know if it was safe to make plans. "I need to check with someone first."

             
"Who?" Angela's eyebrow lifted. "Oh. Wait. Do you have to check with Toby? Are you already…well, you know."

             
"No. I mean, yes, I do need to talk to him first, but not for the reasons you think. How about I call you?"

             
"Hmm…." Angela pouted. "Okay, but I'm not taking no for an answer. I expect you to come with me. You'll just love Derek! "

             
The car horn honked. With a wave and a promise to harass her if she didn't call, Angela left. Jacqueline watched her drive off and then stepped back into the house. She headed upstairs to the bedroom.

             
With a sigh, she lay on the bed and closed her eyes. Just a few minutes to think, to plan. That was all she needed. Yet, even as she lay there, she had the feeling that something was off.

             
Jacqueline opened her eyes and then covered her mouth to keep from screaming. There at the foot of her bed stood Gabe, the Keeper of Souls. His green eyes glittered with rage, offset by the deadly looking knife he carried in his hand.

             
"You should never have been born," he whispered angrily.

             
With the blade pointed at Jacqueline's heart, he lunged for her.

             
Worry gnawed at Toby.

             
He'd been working for thirty minutes and couldn't get the feeling to go away. Normally, the cleaning up of Merlyn's Bar was enough to get him into the routine of the day, but the last twenty four hours had been a little crazy. Banshees, rogue wizards, soul keepers and near death experiences would take a toll on even the best of men.

             
I shouldn't have left Jacqueline alone
.

             
There. That was the thought that bugged him. Yes, he understood that she needed a little breathing room, and he placed his best and strongest spells around her home in order to protect her, but something about it just felt…off.

             
The Keeper the Souls, Gabe, had insisted on staying behind, saying he could keep a watch on the place and wasn't able to wander too far from the box anyway. That made him feel a little better.

             
I like her, banshee freakiness and all.

             
Oh shit. That was another thought that plagued him. He could sense an attachment forming towards the woman, one that he shouldn't have allowed to grow. The explosive kiss they'd shared had caught him off guard, and he couldn't help but imagine her in his bed. The thought of that soft blonde hair, resting on his pillow, the way her plump lips would tug at his--it made him a little dizzy. But as far as he could see, there was no happy ever after in this story. Jacqueline would have to die in order to become whole.

             
Unless…

             
No. There was no unless in the scenario. She was going to die and face her destiny, and for Toby, that meant no further attachments to her. From now on, Jacqueline Huston was just a supernatural who needed assistance. She was not the object of his affections. She was not a woman he intended to have any further thoughts about that weren't strictly professional. He'd done as the Brotherhood had instructed a year ago- keep an eye on the half banshee and made sure she stays out of trouble. However, the Brotherhood had told him that if trouble came, it would be up to him to deal with the fall out.

             
Still…she is really hot
.

             
Toby shook his head, mad at having thoughts that just wouldn't go away.

             
"What's the matter, Toby?" Matilda sat in her usual spot at the bar, sipping on a cold beer. "You got it bad for that girl, don't you?"

             
"No, I don't."

             
"You don't have to pretend with me."

             
"Good. I'm not pretending. Jacqueline means nothing to me."

             
"Really? I saw you kissing her. Didn't look like nothing." Matilda smiled, her eyes rimmed red from excessive alcohol use.

             
"Mom, it can't happen. Jacqueline's fate is on a different path."

             
"You're just afraid."

             
Toby glared. "Afraid?"

             
"Sure. You're thinking about Gabriella and how that didn't work out. You don't want to be attached again." Matilda sipped her beer. "I could have killed your father for interfering. He should have just left you two kids alone. Then maybe you wouldn't be so gun shy about relationships."

             
"He got his way in the end." Toby grabbed his broom and stabbed the floor with it.

             
"Maybe."

             
For a few minutes there was nothing but the sound of the bar's television. No other patrons had found their way in yet, and the shadows from the trees outside gave the place a cozy feel. Matilda grabbed Toby's arm as he swept the broom past her.

             
"I wish your son had lived. I would have been proud to see him." Her eyes filled with unshed tears. "I never could look at your father the same after all that mess died down."

             
"Mom." Toby gathered his courage, not liking these intimate conversations with Matilda, but for once, he wanted to get to the bottom of something that had always bothered him. "Did my father kill my son?"

             
Matilda looked him, her expression blank.

             
"I think he meant to kill the baby. You know how your dad was about mixing wizard blood lines. How many times did we hear him say that doing so caused an unthinkable balance in power? But I don't think he did it. I talked with Gabriella, you know. She told me the baby was stillborn," Matilda spoke softly. "I believed her."

             
"That spirit that came out of the Box of Souls, Gabe, he says he looks like Trevor would have if he'd lived to be this age," Toby said.

             
Matilda turned away, silent again.

             
Toby resumed sweeping, careful to keep his thoughts from straying too far towards the lovely, Jacqueline Huston.

             
Or his dead son.

****

             
"What are you doing!?" Jacqueline screamed as she rolled to the side of her bed. The knife Gabe held slid into the mattress instead of her.

             
"You should have died! I'm helping you!" Gabe pulled the knife free and turned to her. "Your kind should never have been born. It's an abomination!"

             
"I can't help that my parents conceived me, you freak!"