Said boy pushed between us, and grabbed my hand to pull me forward. My skin crawled. I tried to pull away but he held on firmly. Breandan held on and stopped moving. I was stuck between the two and Devlin was determined to keep going, so I squeaked when my arms nearly yanked out of their sockets. Brendan growled, literally hunched his back and bared his teeth. The sound was a low rumble, but resonated loud enough to be taken as a warning. Despite this display he had to let me go to avoid hurting me, but he was not happy about it.
Devlin barely broke stride as he half turned and smirked. Turning back to my puzzled face, he feigned innocence. "Possessive isn"t he?"
I looked over my shoulder and sent Breandan a wobbly smile. The reason known only to the complicated workings of my heart, I wanted to rea.s.sure him that I was okay. Jaw working soundlessly, he walked close behind us and kept his eyes locked on Devlin"s long fingers wrapped around mine.
Devlin let my hand go and I sighed in relief, we reached the Temple wall and I wondered what was coming next. Breandan seemed quite unconcerned at how this was turning out, and I was curious to see where this adventure was headed next. Seriously, where was it headed? There was no way through the barrier here unless you could jump higher than twenty feet like a vampire, or scale smooth, seamless concrete.
"Rae, place your hands over your eyes" Devlin said.
I planted my feet, ready to fight it out. Whatever these boys were planning would not go down as easy as they thought. "I will not close my eyes. Do you think I"m that stupid?"
He blinked in shock; face dumbly surprised. It was like he"d never been told "no" before.
The side of Breandan"s mouth tugged up. "Please close your eyes," he simplified.
Breandan was asking me to do what Devlin wanted? Why? I looked between them. Something else was going on in front of me, wasn"t it? Thoughts swirled in front of my eyes. Devlin had joined the Sect a month ago. The sightings of fairies at the Wall by the Temple had increased in the last month. Breandan had been looking for me and the vampire a month. Devlin had not reacted to Breandan"s presence, or his strangeness with shock or fear. The fairy-boy had done some freaky stuff, like strutting around bare foot, glowing and growling. These were not human traits. More than this, Breandan had revealed himself to Devlin, even spoken to him.
"You know each other," I said, the challenge for denial clear in my voice.
"Yes," the boys replied.
I blew out a breath. "May I ask how?"
"Ye-"
"Not yet," Breandan said.
They were both on edge again. I had a feeling this was only remaining peaceful for my benefit.
"I don"t like not knowing what you"re dragging me into. I don"t think I"m so curious anymore."
"I told you, you are safe." Breandan seemed annoyed I had not trusted his word. "There are other things you need to know and see," he explained, "Before I can tell and show you everything."
"And right now you don"t want me to see how you got in here," I guessed. After a few moments of stubborn silence, I shrugged and did as Breandan asked. "I don"t see how this is going to-"
My eyes flew open and I gasped. Breandan"s lips were pressed against mine. His eyes were open, watching me. He leaned away a little and made a low humming noise.
"This would be easier if you trusted me," he murmured. "I"ll come back soon. Behave until then." He leaned back in, but paused. "And Rae, do not agree or give anything you don"t want to." His eyes flicked to Devlin and his eyes narrowed into slits. His gaze darted back to mine. "Alright?"
Confused, I nodded and closed my eyes as his lips met mine again. When I opened them again he was gone. My first kiss, and it had made my toes curl in my boots and my heart swell. I swallowed thickly and looked to the west. The sun had nearly set. My vampire-boy would rise soon.
Devlin stared at me, considering. "I can almost see the questions tumbling around that head of yours."
"I"ll even tell you a few. At best guess you"re some kind of demon pet," I said and paused deliberately. "A human spy feeding the fairies information, I mean." I didn"t give him a chance to answer. I started to walk away but then I spun around. "You haven"t told anyone about the person you saw me with this morning have you?" He said nothing for a long while and I looked up in alarm. At the steady, appraising look he was giving me I felt a tide of stupid rising inside me, and I stared to babble, "You"re not double crossing demons are you? By working for the Sect and pretending to be the demons inner eyes and ears, because that would be really dumb."
"As dumb as stashing a vampire in a wardrobe?"
I swear my face must have turned the colour of snow again. Devlin rocked on his heels, sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and chewed it thoughtfully. I caught the smile he tried to hide.
"No," he said finally. "I haven"t told anyone. And you"ve got me all wrong." His eyes became wicked keen, fixed on my face. "You should stay away from him. He could be dangerous."
"The vampire or the fairy?" I asked before slapping myself on the forehead.
He laughed. It was a delicate, carefree sound. "Both."
My fingers curled into claws, and I squeezed them so tight my nails split skin, gouging out a chunk of my palm. My blood trickled down my wrist before my whole hand burned and the skin repaired itself, spreading over the cut. Healed, I froze and slowly raised my gaze. Devlin didn"t look shocked or scared. Simply amused. He quirked an eyebrow and motioned with a sweep of his hand "lead the way", it said.
I stared at him, waiting. He stared at me, waiting.
He broke first and did a good imitation of a long-suffering huff. I could see he was having a good time at my expense.
"Am I to keep what just happened a secret too?"
"What just happened?" I said evenly.
I felt crazy confused. It was like there was this big, obvious thing dangling in front of my face that I was too silly to see.
He stepped forward, and the stare he gave was so intense a tickle at the back of my brain made me shudder. His encroachment on my personal s.p.a.ce was uncomfortable.
"I don"t like people so close," I told him and stepped away.
Boldly, he stepped forward again and reached for my hand. "Come with me," he said softly and as an afterthought half a beat later added, "Please?"
A warning from my intuition fired in my head, and I yanked my hand away before he clasped it. "I have to get back."
I looked over toward Bayou, conscious a demon was waiting for me, but couldn"t help but stay still, and keep trying to find that elusive obvious thing. There was something about Devlin I was missing. I just knew it. Usually, if I didn"t want to talk to someone I could ignore or drown them out, but when Devlin asked me a question I felt I had to answer. When he spoke it was like I had to listen.
"Breandan warned me away from you," I said quietly. I backed up, wanting much, much more distance between us and watched his face for signs of falsehood. "If you were a fairy informant, why would he do that? Wouldn"t he trust you?"
"I told you had me wrong, you came to that conclusion by yourself. Regardless, trust is a complicated thing."
"He trusted you enough to leave me here, but not enough to warn me about you."
I struggled to understand where my thoughts were headed. It felt like I was trying to lead myself somewhere, but failing to use the clues I already knew to finish the riddle. Come on brain, do your job and work.
"Of course he would. The idea of compet.i.tion for your affection will frighten him now. He"s terrified you may choose to go another way. The right way." He gave me a quick fire grin, happy and out of place. Now I thought about it, everything about him was out of place.
Tired of standing so still, and tense, I shifted and I stumbled over my own foot. I scowled at them before remembering I had more pressing issues than my own clumsiness. My eyes darted to the dorm and back to Devlin"s face. His white-blonde hair did that weird shimmering thing and his eyes sparkled, even in the dark.
It clicked.
"No, no, no, you too," I said, surprised and pointed at him. "You"re a demon too."
He said nothing and that was more than answer enough for me. I reverted back to my original plan. I turned and ran.
"I didn"t want to have to do this," he called.
The next moment he was in front of me, sighing. I stopped before I slammed into him, my arms flapping either side of me. My knees knocked together and I squeaked in alarm.
Oh G.o.ds. How could I have not seen this coming?
He moved, body blurring to close the distance between us. Crying out, I brought my hand up to ward off an attack, but he halted, and pushed against my palm until all between our bodies touching was my hand. The steady thump of his heart pounded against me and the sweet scent of his body made me dizzy. Then I felt something cool and hard pressed against my chest. There was a subtle vibration, a p.r.i.c.kle of energy rolling outwards. A tingle ran down my body and I wiggled. Looking down, I couldn"t see anything, our bodies were pressed too tightly together, but I was sure his pendant was pressed against mine through the layers of our clothes.
"Don"t worry, you"re safe," he said and cupped my cheek. The touch was not romantic, but somehow authoritative and belittling. "You"re coming home with me. Okay? Your real home."
"No," I said so quietly it was more a squeak. I raised my voice and it was strong this time, "No."
The world spun and disappeared inch by inch the longer he was close, swallowed by the dark. He was shorter than Breandan, and I stared into his eyes without craning my neck. Fixed in place by the presence of him, the ability to move left me though the urge remained. I tried to focus on anything apart from how close he was.
"Please," I said. "Please move back. I can"tI can"t think straight."
Devlin"s hand trailed across my face and caused a squirm. "I can see you"re confused, frightened. I can make it all go away." His hand moved down my neck and across my collarbone. His finger hooked around the leather tie that held my pendant, and pulled it up so it slipped out from under the neck of my tee, and swung between our faces. There was a wicked gleam in his eye. "All you have to do, to make it all go away is come with me. Or, give me your necklace."
"I"ve had it my whole life," I said and catching his hand I yanked the tie away from him. I sucked in a shaky breath. "I told you what it means to me. You can"t have it."
"Don"t you want everything to go back to normal?" His smile made the world dim and him bright.
I ran my eyes over him again, because he was too bright. There was something glowing and pulsing around him. I tried to move away and as I did he took hold of my head in both of his hands. They were overly warm and almost feminine, delicate. His eyes locked mine down and I stilled. Something pressed on my mind, tethered inside me.
Clasping a hand round my neck he tugged. "Give it to me," he commanded.
I was sweating. Was I being foolish? If I gave him my necklace he said everything would go back to normal. I whimpered. I didn"t want to give it to him. It was the most important thing I owned. The only thing I had that was of any value, it was important to me. The necklace was my only connection I had to a family that had given me up at birth, and was my reminder to be strong and independent. A wrinkle of cold rolled over my skin and I shifted back, brought to by this out of place feeling. I hesitated and leaned back further, a question in my eyes. He had been doing something to me, making me forget myself.
Pushing him away, I shook with fear and anger. "What did you do to me?"
"Calm down, Rae." He was distracted, looking around him cautiously. Then he spun and cursed, peering at nothing. He seemed to see something I could not, for a wicked smile stretched his lips. "Fool," he sneered. "Come. Let me mark your face again."
Chapter Five.
A streak of silver light flashed past and knocked me off balance. I stumbled, blinked, and Devlin was gone. Standing alone in on the gra.s.s where he was I clucked around. Looking up, down, left and right before understanding he was gone. I was seriously considering getting my eyes checked. I freaked out in a big way; I had no doubt in my mind that Devlin was not who he said he was, And that he was up to something, a "no good" something. I didn"t know what to do. Oh G.o.ds, what was I doing? I needed a sign I was going to be okay, and that I was making the right choices. Tomas would have risen by now and would be waiting for me. And here I was looking for a Disciple, who was not really a Disciple, who knew about said vampire in wardrobe, and knew I knew a fairy.
"There you are, Rae."
"Gah!"
I jumped and landed at such an odd angle my right foot jack-knifed out painfully, and I fell. How many times was I going to land on my a.s.s today? It was a d.a.m.n good thing I didn"t bruise easy.
A hand appeared in my line of sight. Unsure of what to do, I studied it intently before slowly lifting my head to look at the boy offering it to me.
Long ebony hair pulled into a ponytail, his ears were pointed at the tips and his gold eyes glowed. I had never seen anyone other than myself with such light hazel eyes before. His were striking and almond shaped, like mine. His face was all hard angles, smooth expanses of skin, and incredibly beautiful. Chest bare, his lower body was encased in leather plates intricately engraved with leaves. A sword, the length of my torso and latched to his back, triggered a shudder.
"You have nothing to fear from me." The fairies voice was warm, friendly. "My name is Conall. Breandan sent me."
Conall, I remembered the name. Breandan had said it before, I was sure of it. The fairy didn"t make any other move and he seemed friendly, so I swallowed the yell I"d had ready. With my eyes darting from the hand to his face, I clasped it. He yanked me up with more force than necessary, and stumbling over my own foot, I crashed into his chest. I flushed as he clamped a hand around my shoulders, set me away from him, and held on until my legs steadied.
"You guys think it"s okay to just pop up out of thin air. It might be normal where you come from, but I"m used to seeing people coming a good few seconds before they"re there." Placing a hand on my hip, I clutched the other over my poor, poor heart that may give out any day. "You scared me, do you understand? I don"t like it."
He bowed, arm coming across his torso to rest upon his chest. He moved with effortless grace and predatory bearing. A demon. He smiled at me. "It won"t happen again. Do not be alarmed, but I sense something, odd." His hands seemed to feel something out in the air in front of me, pushing at it thoughtfully. A crease appeared above his brows in the middle of his forehead. "Its power pulls at my nature then resists contact."
It seemed wise to keep quiet. Maybe I also should have told him I didn"t like ambiguous statements.
I filed the phrase away for later and instead took my cue from Conall. His face became grave, so my face became grave. The fairies jumped from one emotion to the other so swiftly it was hard to keep up naturally. I had decided to play monkey see, monkey do. He gazed at me silently for so long, I became uncomfortable. I don"t think I would ever master the blink-less stare these demons seemed to be so good at.
"You seem stressed," he said.
"Conall, I"ve had a h.e.l.l of a day and you seem to be gearing up to let me in on big demon secrets, but I"ve got to be honest with you, now is not a good time."
I backed away. I was halfway back to Bayou and it was full dark. I didn"t feel any danger from Conall, but I was worried about what Tomas would do if he remained in my room much longer. What if he got hungry? I had to get him out of the Temple as soon as I could. I didn"t know what the h.e.l.l had happened to Devlin, but I was guessing the silver streak was Breandan. If Devlin got away from him he might tell the Clerics I had a vampire in my wardrobe. I had stuff to do, and surely whatever this fairy had to tell could wait a few hours.
"This cannot wait. Breandan would show you himself, but he thought it was better in the long run if I am the one to show you. I must help you adjust to your true form and help you with your first conjuring, or it could end badly."
I frowned at him. Then I frowned over my shoulder where the silver streak had disappeared. "That was Breandan then."
He nodded. "You came close to being lost to us." Pausing, his eyes flicked to me then swiveled around the compound as the corners of his mouth pulled down. "You must be careful who you"re alone with."
He walked off prompting me to follow.
"Uh, where are we going?"
The fairy strolled along unconcerned but I glanced around, worried. There had been many strange occurrences connected to me, and I was becoming more noticeable. For someone used to living under the radar it was unsettling. I didn"t want to draw any more attention to myself, but I couldn"t just let him wander around the Temple.
"I really do have something important to do," I added after a beat since he didn"t answer. "Breandan said he was going to come back, so I don"t think it"d be too big of a deal just waiting until later."
"He"s dealing with Devlin," Conall said. "I"m to protect and guide you to the white witch and he"ll meet us as soon as he can."
A pickle of fear seized me all over. "Witch?" I said sharply. "Witches are bad, and we are going to go visit one?"
"She is someone who will help you to understand what is happening."
"Huh. Why didn"t Breandan send someone else after Devlin?" In my head I appended the sentence with, like you.
He heard the unspoken and slid a sly look my way. "They both want something only you can give, and you can only give it to one of them. Devlin is as cunning as Breandan is frank. He needed to deal with it personally."
"I"m not on the market, nor is anything I own." I pressed a hand over my chest were my pendant lay. Now Conall had given me the heads up I would not be letting it out of my sight. Not that it had ever left my neck in the last eighteen years.
"Being difficult won"t help you in the long run. Stop trying to reason as a human would. You are not one and you"re not built like one. Your body and mind can handle much more. Soon, you will learn this. You will learn there are rules that must be observed and respected."
I ground my teeth together. "You"re making a.s.sumptions. I have respect, and I just know, no matter what anybody says I am not giving this necklace up."
I had decided the moment I met him I"d be safe with him, but I was anxious of what was coming next. Feeling foolish, I tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He looked a question at me and I waved him closer. He leaned down from his lofty height to peer into my face quizzically. "I"ve figured out you guys can jump really high, but I can"t. I can"t jump over the Temple wall." Stepping away I shrugged to show nonchalance, but reddened. At a moment like this Tomas would have come in handy. He had jumped it in a single bound. "We can"t go out the gate either. I don"t even want to think how I would explain you."