Authors: Calista Fox
“Me either, but that’s how you defeat shifters. Tanner made
me practice on a chicken.”
“That’s disgusting, Jade.”
“Yes it is.” She paused then, ventured, “Maybe you’d like to
join us for some lessons? Tanner is still training me.”
He gave her a curious look. “Really, you’d allow that?”
“Doesn’t hurt to know how to properly defend yourself.”
“Interesting offer, especially coming from you.” If she
wasn’t mistaken, his chest puffed a bit, as though he was proud of himself that
he’d won her approval. “I’ll take you up on that.”
“Good. Now there’s something else. I need to quit my job.
It’s been hell juggling my work here and slayer duties. I barely sleep.”
His delight dimmed significantly. “Sure, I understand.
Besides, you can’t serve up beers at a tavern when you’re the Demon Queen.”
Her heart sank even further. “I won’t be crowned in the near
future, if ever, so stop looking glum. I have sufficiently pissed off Darien.
For the last time, I suspect.”
Michael seemed to debate whether he wanted to continue this
topic but finally asked, “How’d you manage that?”
“Turns out, I’m a huge pain in the ass. Who would have
thought?”
His eyes narrowed on her. “That’s not exactly a New World
Order, Jade. I’m sure he had to know this going into the relationship. You did
challenge him after Jinx died, remember.”
“Seems there are some boundaries he’ll let me cross.
Disobeying him is not one of them.”
“Ah yes. You do have a rebellious streak.”
“He told me to stay in the village last night. But I had no
choice than to go with Tanner, and I defend that action. Still…” She rubbed her
finger along a groove in the wooden bar. “I understand where he’s coming from.
I got a healthy dose of my own medicine during our battle.”
“How so?”
She smiled softly at her friend. “I was worried about you,
until I realized you were doing exactly as I’d asked by staying out of the way.
You reacted when you needed to, rather than purposely putting yourself in
danger. I tend to find myself in it when I don’t sit tight the way I’m supposed
to.”
“Actually,” he mused in a low tone, “maybe you’re not meant
for the sidelines, Jade. As potentially deadly as it could be for you, I get
the feeling being in the thick of conflict is your strong suit.”
“Wow,” she said as her gaze locked with his. “You finally
get me.”
“Little late in the day,” he admitted. “But it’s exhausting
to keep fighting you, Jade. You’re going to do and say whatever the hell you
want, anyway. I’m not the one who can tame you.” He frowned, as though he found
that a disconcerting notion. Then added, “I’m not sure the king can either.”
With a sigh, she said, “There’s a very good possibility he’s
given up trying.” She lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers to show she
wasn’t wearing his ring. “I think I’ve gone beyond infuriating him.”
Michael reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Maybe that’s for the best. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to gloat. There’s
much more to you than I can handle, Jade. I’ve learned that over the past few
months.”
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out between you and me,” she said
in a humble tone. “I’m a little more complicated than the average woman.”
“You can say that again.”
She laughed. “Let’s not rub it in.”
He was quiet a moment then said, “I realize it’s time I move
on. Maybe ask Jessica Delfino or Krista Parks on a date.”
Her brow furrowed out of curiosity. “Where would you go?
What would you do?”
“Beats the hell out of me,” he said with a shrug. “I’ve
never been on a date.”
“Well, whatever you decide, make it romantic. Apparently, we
females like that.”
He grinned. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
She stood on the foot rail of her stool and leaned over the
bar. After kissing Michael on the cheek, she said, “You’re still my best
friend.”
“Even though I’m not a demon?”
“Don’t be a jerk.” She jumped to the ground. “Gotta go. I
have more work to do.” She headed toward the door but turned back and said,
“You know, people around town started sprucing up their storefronts and
displays when the king began sending a variety of new items our way. Maybe you
should consider sanding the ridges out of the bar and jazzing the place up a
bit.”
“Is this your idea of spreading goodwill?”
She gave it thought, then nodded. “Part of it. I’ll see you
later.”
As Jade wandered toward the library, she realized what she
was doing with her unplanned visits. She’d consciously chosen not to stay at
the cottage and wallow in her sorrow.
Granted, she wasn’t facing the pain of heartbreak head on,
but she also wasn’t holding back when it came to discussing her ill-fated
romance with Darien. Surprisingly, she found a measure of relief in not keeping
the tormenting debacle locked inside her. For the first time, she was truly
confiding in her human friends. And it felt good.
Entering the library, she smiled as Lisette glanced up from
a book.
“No coffee?” her friend quipped.
“Totally forgot it. You want some?”
“No, I was only joking. What brings you by?”
Jade pointed to the desk in the corner. “Typewriter. Will it
bother you if I peck away a bit more? I’ve decided I am going to write a book.
At least attempt to, though it’ll take me several years at the pace of my
clicking on the keys.”
“I told you, you’ll get used to the arrangement and will
gain more speed. But the machine is also designed for slower progress so you
don’t jam the metal arms that hit the paper.”
Lisette came over and demonstrated, pounding out a slew of
letters that caused the short rods to stick in a clumped mess before they could
tap the paper and leave their mark.
“Gotcha,” Jade said. “Slow and steady isn’t such a bad thing
after all.”
She discarded the sheet and inserted a fresh one. Having no
real idea where to begin, she let her instinct and her heart guide her.
Chapter One
Not all humans are good. Not all demons are evil…
* * * * *
“You didn’t enjoy the veal, my Lord?” Sheena asked as she
swept into the main dining hall.
It was well past midnight and the diners had long since
dispersed. Darien had not joined them earlier, opting to eat alone, as he’d
done for over a week now. Tonight he’d merely picked at his food, not having
much of an appetite.
Ignoring Sheena’s question, he asked, “Have you been to the
village?”
“Not since the night of the battle.” Sinking into a chair at
the long, wide table that sat fifty, she said, “I feel bad about that. I
chastised Jade and told her she wasn’t in this alone, and then I stopped seeing
her. That’s not how friends treat each other.”
Darien agreed but then again… He’d not spoken with the woman
he loved since that fateful night either. Therefore, he took great interest in
Sheena’s reason for her actions. “Why haven’t you gone to see her?”
The vampire shook her head. “I’m not sure.” Her gaze lifted
to meet his. “Why haven’t you?”
Darien pushed aside his plate. Surprisingly, his answer came
without thought. “I’ll cave if I do. I’ll let her convince me she did the right
thing by disregarding my orders. And I’m not inclined to let her off the hook.”
“But you’ll forgive her someday, won’t you?”
He stood. “Forgiveness isn’t the issue. I owe her that, if
for no other reason than the things I’ve done that she’s forgiven
me
for. But accepting her actions will only encourage her to continue doing as she
pleases, without much thought to her own safety.”
“I disagree,” Sheena said in a low tone.
He stared at her, perplexed. “Meaning?”
“She’ll be this way regardless of whether you condone her
behavior. You can’t change her, my Lord.” Sheena stood as well. “And isn’t that
one more thing you admire about her?”
She left the dining hall without another word. Darien hung
his head and sighed. With a half-snort, he wondered why he couldn’t have fallen
in love with a woman with an obsequious and pedantic nature.
But then a sentiment Jade had shared with him
one night came back to him.
How boring would I be if I did everything you asked me to
do?
Jade Deville could never be boring. Nor could she ever truly
be safe. Unless, of course, he married her and granted her immortality.
He walked out of the room as he stewed over the conundrum.
By the time he reached his study, he wasn’t any surer of his situation with
Jade than he’d been a week ago, following the fight. Maybe humans and demons
weren’t meant to interact socially. Perhaps they were meant to stay on their
sides of the border, coexisting from afar.
Naturally, the painful part of this theory was the obvious
fact he loved Jade. Deeply. More than he’d ever imagined loving anyone. He
agonized over how desperately he wanted to see her, how much he missed her.
Conversely, he’d still not gotten beyond wanting to wring her neck.
So he poured a glass of brandy and sat at his desk. He had ample
work to do, particularly correspondence amongst the stewards under his charge
and the kings on the six other continents that would occupy his thoughts and
time. Keeping Jade from his mind was not easy, but it was necessary.
Chapter Sixteen
Weather-wise, March was a tricky month for
Ryleigh. The sun could break through the clouds on a day when the snow didn’t
fall and help to melt the drifts. The temperature overnight, however, would
turn everything icy. Yet if there were enough sunny days, the banks slowly
diminished. Only to be rebuilt when another storm hit.
It had been all Jade could do to keep from
shoveling a path from her house to the church, tunneling her way to the snow
level that had been about mid-calf deep the night she’d lost the necklace. But
doing so would have increased her chances of moving the pendant unwittingly and
tossing it aside with a shovelful of snow.
The white mounds, though, had succumbed to a
week of unseasonably warm weather, and only barely covered the ground. So the
search was on.
She traded her day shifts for night ones with
Tanner and scoured the area in front of her cottage, hoping the rays from
overhead would catch the diamonds and make them sparkle enough to signal her of
the necklace’s whereabouts.
Three days later and still unsuccessful, she
branched out to the east. She was in the woods after the sun set when she heard
footsteps behind her. They were so light and perfectly measured, she didn’t
reach for her sword.
Standing, she turned and faced Sheena. “Hi.”
“Hi,” her vampire friend said, a contrite look
on her beautiful face. “I’m sorry I’ve waited so long to see you again.”
Jade swallowed a lump of emotion. “I figured
you’d given up on me.” As Darien clearly had. She tried not to dwell on that
excruciating thought.
“No, of course not.” Sheena seemed to fight to
conjure the right words before saying, “I’ve been struggling with the
difficulty of having a mortal friend. It’s…challenging.”
Jade didn’t dispute that fact but said, “It’s
not my blood that bothers you.”
Sheena shook her head.
With a sigh, Jade said, “You think I’m
reckless and that disturbs you.”
“No. I think you’re
determined
and that
disturbs me. Plus you’re a trouble magnet. It’s unnerving.”
Temporarily giving up her search for the
necklace, she said, “I have to be out on patrol. Do you want to join me?”
Sheena nodded. “I’d like to spend time with
you, yes.”
They headed back to Jade’s cottage for her to
start her counterclockwise routine, which she and Tanner changed up regularly.
Not that they’d had any indication they were being watched, but it was a
guideline Walker had implemented long ago.
As they started the patrol, the vampire asked,
“Do you enjoy this?”
“I’m usually on horseback, but the exercise
this evening is nice.”
“I meant, do you enjoy being out here alone.
At night?”
She glanced up at the clear sky and the
near-f moon. “It’s peaceful. I like how quiet it is. If I put all my
concentration into hearing something—like the snap of a twig in the distance
from an animal—I don’t have to think about anything else.”
Sheena strolled alongside her. “What would you
think about if you didn’t have something else to distract you?”
With a shrug, Jade said, “Everything.”
“The king?” the vampire ventured.
Jade let out a long breath. “What would be the
point?”
“I don’t know, the fact that he loves you?”
Her stomach twisted. “That seems unlikely. I
haven’t seen him in over a month.”
“He’s been busy.”
“Right.”
They continued in silence. Jade typically
diverted her route every other night to cover more territory. The intent of the
patrols, Tanner had explained, was to search for any sign of a demon inhabiting
the woods. Or more than two of them crossing the boundaries.
She wondered how the checks-and-balance system
worked at the castle. She surmised the demons had to report to someone that
they intended to go into the village to ensure they kept to the king’s law. She
had no doubt Sheena possessed enough clout to supersede another demon’s
request. Not that they came into the village all that often. They didn’t hang
out at the tavern and shoot the breeze. But they seemed interested in seeing
how the humans fared in this new world.
Sheena eventually interrupted the quiet
respite by asking, “When you accepted the king’s marriage proposal, which I
heard about from Morgan, did you do it simply to keep the mortals from feeling
threatened by his army encircling the village, or because you really wanted to
be his wife?”
“First,” Jade said, “since you and I are
friends, you can call him Darien in my presence. I really don’t need the
constant reminder he’s the king. Believe me, that fact is never far from my
mind, and when he’s mad at me, he makes a point of reiterating his authority.”
“Fine.”
“Second,” she added as they wandered through
the west woods, Jade’s gaze scanning the area, “I wanted to say yes to him the
night he asked me. I was completely taken aback when he gave me the necklace,
but that ring meant even more to me.” She didn’t bother mentioning the
inscription.
“Is that what you were doing in the forest by
your house this evening? Trying to find the necklace?”
“Yes. I still can’t believe I lost such a
valuable piece of jewelry. A family heirloom, no less. I’m sick about it.”
“Darien would never hold it against you, Jade.
Despite the fact the pendant is priceless, he wouldn’t fault you. In fact, he
was more concerned about you being hurt by the fire wraith than the fact the
necklace had fallen off during the attack.”
“That’s very kind of him. Doesn’t make me feel
any better though.” They wove their way south. “I’m going to search on hands
and knees until I find that damn thing.”
“I’ll help you,” Sheena said. “I can look at
night while you’re out on patrol. I have excellent vision and the moonlight
will catch the diamonds, which the star is reported to be covered in.”
“You’ve never seen it?”
“No.” She looked fascinated by the prospect.
“I’ve heard it’s stunning. But that’s really all I know about it. There are
some hush-hush rumors from centuries ago, yet no one has ever confirmed
anything. Except that it’s striking, of course.”
“That it is.”
The icy ground-covering crunched under their
feet. Jade asked, “How long have you been a vampire?”
“Not long at all. Sixty-nine years. I was born
in 1982.” Though she appeared no older than twenty-eight or nine.
“Born? Or is that when you
became
a
vampire?”
“I’m a purebred. Most vampires born at the
turn of the twentieth century are.”
Jade had no idea. She said, “Your parents were
both vampires then?”
“Yes. We come from a long line of them. The
coven I belong to is mostly composed of my relatives. But when the
king—Darien,” she corrected for Jade’s benefit, “built the castle and needed an
assistant, I didn’t mind leaving my family because so many demons from his
alliance intended to settle close by and within the castle walls. I’ve told you
before, I prefer company.”
“Interestingly, I’ve been enjoying it more
than isolation recently. I suppose it was easier to not get too close to anyone
after my parents died.”
She stopped abruptly. They’d reached a road
cut through the forest. Jade glanced over her shoulder, back toward the
direction from which they’d come. She’d veered off course while talking and
they’d ended up at the one place she’d avoided for fifteen years.
“What’s wrong?” Sheena asked, alarmed. “I
don’t hear or see anything. What is it, Jade?”
Her insides tightened and her breathing picked
up a few notches. “This is where my parents were killed. I subconsciously
brought us here.”
She turned to the woods they’d just exited,
bewildered.
Sheena asked, “This isn’t your normal route?”
“Not at all. I haven’t been here since…” Her
voice trailed off.
She walked back to the edge of the trees. Her
stomach coiled. With a shake of her head, she said, “I hid right over there.”
She pointed to a thick patch of tall pines. Nausea suddenly welled inside her,
but she fought it. “My parents took this road to a neighboring village one
night. I was supposed to stay behind, with Michael’s family.”
Sheena instantly appeared by her side. “Of
course, you didn’t do as you were told.”
“Of course not. I followed them. I was just
about to pop out onto the road, knowing I was far enough away from Ryleigh that
they wouldn’t send me back, when two wolves came out of the forest on the
opposite side of the road. I crouched down, shrouded by foliage.”
Unable to stop the flow of memories, Jade
suddenly felt transported to that gut-wrenching day when she’d witnessed her
parents’ brutal murders.
Yet she felt slightly detached from the
recollection and her voice sounded far off as she said, “My father shoved my
mother behind him as the shifters moved toward them. He reached for his sword.
She had one too. Mine. But I think she was too scared to pull it from its
casing.”
Sheena asked in a soft tone, “What did the
shifters want with your family?”
“My father was the leader of the village,”
Jade told her. She had no concrete answers but surmised, “I suppose they wanted
to start at the top and work their way down. If they eliminated him and the
slayers, the people within the borders would be easy to kill and they could
take control of the village. Set up camp at the base of the castle as they
awaited their army to arrive and take on the king’s men. At least, that’s what
the slayers suspected, and I’ve always subscribed to that theory.” Further
consideration made her add, “This is probably the reason I was so adamant about
following Tanner when the fire wraith’s army arrived before Darien’s.”
Jade crossed to the patch of trees she’d
gestured to. She reached out a hand and her fingers grazed the bark of a wide
trunk. A chill ran down her spine.
She said, “I remember thinking I should run
away. Find a slayer. But I couldn’t move. I was literally paralyzed with fear.
I wanted to scream.” The burn in her throat now was as strong as it had been
fifteen years ago. “I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. And I know why.”
Sheena didn’t speak.
“I knew there was nothing I could do,” Jade
continued. “If I did cry out, the shifters would come after me too. If I ran,
they’d follow me and kill me. Yet in my mind, I was yelling at myself to do both
of those things to distract the shifters’ attention from my parents. I wanted
to get the wolves to chase me, but I was completely immobilized. Something I’ve
never forgiven myself for.”
The vampire’s hand rested gently on her
shoulder. “You simply can’t accept you’re not always the target.”
Jade’s eyes flashed to Sheena’s concerned
face. “I never thought of it that way.”
“Why must you always first think that
you
should be the savior?”
Their gazes locked. Jade’s heart beat a bit
faster. She had no answer for her friend’s question, other than to say, “I have
abilities others don’t. Doesn’t that mean I should try to save those weaker
than me?”
Sheena looked stricken. “You’re not
invincible, Jade. You’re human and mortal. So even if you had distracted the
shifters, you wouldn’t have gotten away from them or survived their swift
attack. They would have circled back for your parents. Then, Jade, all three of
you would be dead.”
Tears crested her eyes. “I know this, Sheena.
But it doesn’t comfort me. Can you understand that? I cowered here, and while
my mind raced with all the things I should do—all the things I
wanted
to
do—I couldn’t physically move, other than to turn my back and cover my ears and
close my eyes when my mother started screaming.”
Her body jerked at the memory and her tears
came faster.
“Eventually,” she managed to say, “the ground
vibrated and I peeked again, seeing a rider descending upon the shifters with
fury. They’d already…dismembered…my parents.” She swallowed down the bile that
rose in her throat. “They took off and the rider followed. I only recently
learned who he was—Morgan. He killed the shifters.”
“And then came back for you?” her friend
asked, her voice suddenly soft and soothing.
“No,” Jade said. “Walker found me. He took me
back to Michael’s parents’ house and I had a horrific couple of weeks there,
with nightmares and sobfests.” She shook her head. “Nothing and no one could
console me. I wanted to be alone. I hated how everyone kept trying to calm me.
I didn’t want to be calm. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t do that with all
the people around me. So I decided to go to the cottage.”
“And they just let you?”
“I left when they were at the town hall on a
Sunday. Michael’s father came to the cottage and tried to persuade me to return
with him, but I refused. I think he had it in his mind to forcefully remove me,
but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He let me stay.”
“How awful.”
Jade considered the first few years and had to
agree. “It inevitably got better. The solitude was somehow helpful. And the
fact I felt a connection with my parents when I was at the cottage—that got me
through some very tough times. That connection has never gone away.”
“I’m sure your neighbors checked on you
regularly.”
“They did. Everyone found some way to assist
me, though I’ve always had an independent nature, so I didn’t have trouble
fending for myself.”
Sheena considered this then admitted, “I
suppose that’s a good thing. Here we’ve been criticizing you for being so
autonomous, yet it’s a characteristic that has obviously seen you through
difficult situations.”
Jade thought of how she’d recently opened up
to her human friends, and how she’d mindlessly brought Sheena to this sacred
spot she’d never come to on her own—nor had she ever shared this much detail of
the worst day of her life with anyone else.