A Lady of the Realm (12 page)

We got off on Canal and headed away from the French Quarter. I was hoping that his vehicle would be where we left it the last time I was in it. Since I was concentrating on Sasha, I didn’t immediately realize the cacophony of extra voices in the air until one statement made me blink in disbelieve.

“I’ll not be surprised if Alek kills the witch himself.”

I stopped dead and glared towards the area where the offending words came from. There was a black and white cat sitting on the steps to the Convention Center, his bushy tail curled around his slim body. He was in deep conversation with Malachi.

Malachi’s semi—silvery hued skin shimmered underneath the streetlamp. He was in nothing but a pair of cutoff denim shorts, his right eye covered by a black patch. A couple of tourists walked around me hastily in order to take a photo of the hottie on the stairs. Vain creature that he was, Malachi actually posed, flexing his muscles several times as the women ohhed and ahhed. I waited around impatiently for the tourists to be far enough away that they couldn’t hear me, and then turned my full attention on the two.

“What did you say?”

I directed my question towards both of them. Malachi winked and pointed with his chin towards his feline companion. The cat twitched his tail nervously, his ears flattening on his head in distress.

“Boy, things are crazy these days, Malachi. I could swear that the witch understood what I said. Not possible. Hey pancake face, pull that witch away before I give her some cat scratch fever. This one here’s on my side, if you’re too slow to figure it out.”

“Shut your mouth, you flea trap.” Peaches growled, drool coming out of her mouth.

“You’ll be sorry if she comes any nearer. I don’t hold with the current state of affairs. She’s nothing more than a huge distraction. The dark elf needed to get rid of his ball and chain neat like.”

To say I was angry would have put it mildly. Malachi simply grinned wider. He looked down at his companion and spoke in a clear, precise voice.

“I believe, Fritz my dear, that the lady is taking offense at your words.”

“That inbred disaster is not a lady.” Fritz sniffed back scornfully.

“Me and my master are both ladies,” Peaches snarled, the hair on her back standing up as her aggression grew. Malachi moved away from the cat, his body shimmering in the night air.

“Pardon his rudeness, duckie. Cats!”

As if that one word should explain everything. I stared at Malachi. I knew he and Sasha were close, closer than brothers. I tried to compose myself, thinking of what I wanted to know.

“Where the hell have you been?”

I considered Malachi the reliable one of my boys. I could count on him for everything, whereas I had to hope with the elf. I was beyond irritated that I had to spend the last few hours walking.

“The paperwork this time of year is ludicrous,” he said with a grin on his full lips.

He was always busy. The freak lawyer was swamped with business, legit and not. With Court convening in a few months, people were settling, filing, or negotiating all kinds of deals.

“Have you any idea how off the deep end Sasha went? Oh, you do ‘cause you’re grinning like a moron! What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked stomping on the ground.

“I was coming to get you, duckie, when I realized you were on the ferry. Decided to give the tourists a good time while I waited,” he said.

I couldn’t smell a lie, but his devilish grin made me doubt his words. I thought about the damn cat. It had mentioned kill, witch, and Sasha all in the same sentence.

“What did Fritz mean that he’d kill me himself?”

“The cat? It’s the others you should be worried about.” He looked around to see if anyone was watching. I followed his gaze up and down the street but saw nothing amiss.

He shimmered forward, his appearance changing before my eyes. At 6’1, muscular, with dark brown hair spiked out, he was gorgeous. The eyepatch over his right eye disappeared. A snug fitting black linen shirt was tucked into a pair of black tailored pants. His boots gleamed in the night they were polished so brightly.

“Don’t trust him, my Lady. The fairies always have their own take on events, and Lord Malachi has ties to the First Ruling House.” Peaches whispered beside me.

“We shouldn’t judge,” he said softly as he settled down in front of me with a grin. His hands carelessly crossed across his wide chest. “Where are you going? I’ll walk with you.”

“
Why
would he kill me?” I asked.

“Tunnel vision is a witch trait,” Malachi said. “Fritz was thinking about Sasha’s seemingly irrational behavior,” he finished.

“Right and you want to escort me why?” I asked hotly as I marched forward in a new wave of irritation. He kept pace with me as he shrugged.

“I won’t go all the way; I can’t if you’re going to your lover.” He smiled, a glint of true humor vivid in his eyes.

“Don’t call him that,” I said through clenched teeth.

“The truth is bothersome?” he asked.

Tonight wasn’t the night to play word games with me. I began speed walking down the block.

“I need to make it to the house ASAP. Don’t slow me down.”

He fell in beside me, slowing his steps because, let’s face it; I was the one who was the slower of the two. Peaches grumbled along behind, and Fritz was left alone on the corner muttering to himself about dogs, fairies, and unreliable females of every race.

“You’re in a foul mood tonight,” Malachi said as we strolled down the uneven street.

“It’s my best trait.”

“I told Sasha, witches make poor pets.” Malachi kicked at rocks on the street as he walked, completely oblivious to my darkening mood.

“I’m not his freaking pet, half-breed,” I said menacingly. He laughed boisterously shaking his head in wonderment.

“I have papers that say otherwise. No matter, I’ve also a contract in my office with a better offer,” he said.

I stomped on the ground furiously. I never did get a chance to ask about the damn contract. I knew how Realm contracts worked, generally speaking, but I didn’t know what Sasha had put on paper.

“How’d you manage to escape from where he had you?” Malachi asked with a grin.

I didn’t answer. I was practically running towards the car. He continued, “You signed the dog’s death warrant when she helped you. You need extensive tutoring on the laws. Did Ian tell you anything useful?”

“Ian?” I asked shocked. How did he know about Ian when I had just found out hours ago?

“Your cousin, I believe. Let me guess; you shouldn’t trust Sasha?”

We had reached the house by then, and the car was right where it was supposed to be. I clicked the safety, and the sound of the locks popping open seemed loud. Climbing into the driver seat, Malachi slid in on the opposite side after helping Peaches into the back.

“Think you could explain something in easy to follow words?” The beginnings of a headache was pounding away behind my eyes. I could use some vodka, but I was using Sasha’s car. I didn’t feel like explaining shit, let alone sweet talk or threaten my way out of inquiries.

I could hear the smile in Malachi’s voice as he spoke. “Not likely. Sasha likes you, Beth, don’t overthink the board.”

He said nothing further as I processed the information. Sasha liked me. For an elf to like a person was a big thing. My status was unimportant because no one knew my true understanding with the elf. I could go with that.

“I’m not his possession.” I wanted to make sure he knew that. Whatever else happened tonight, I wasn’t about to allow that misconception to live another second.

Malachi tapped on the armrest as he digested my tart words.

“You are, Beth, you’re his allodial. You must play your cards carefully if you wish otherwise. Why are you cross?”

Cross? I’d like to see how calm, rational and collective he would be if someone he trusted tied him up. I smiled grimly, switching the subject to an innocuous detail he’d mentioned.

“You know, the only one I need protection from is him. Tell me how to achieve that, half-breed.” I sighed deeply as I turned the corner. “I know about the Lilith agenda. He didn’t have to put on such an elaborate ruse.”

“Beth...”

I turned to look at him more closely. He had his head down; his hands held loosely on his lap. He glanced up; his eyes smoldering deeply as he stared into mine.

“You’re going to do well in Court.” He shook his head slightly and continued. “We need to discuss the contract with your name on it.”

Clenching my eyes briefly from the pain pounding behind them, I hissed softly. “Yeah, I know, Malachi, but not tonight. I’ve got other things on my mind.” I said concentrating on the road.

He laughed as he shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s what I like about you guys with human blood. Is it always one thing at a time?”

“Do you guys jump from subject to subject like hotcakes?”

“Summer solstice is fast approaching.”

The pounding was increasing. I didn’t like talking to non-humans when my head ached. It took effort to keep up with their wandering thoughts. I licked my lips and swallowed.

“I know exactly when it is.” I had it marked on several calendars in my place and at Sasha’s. I wasn’t subtle about the convention. I wanted to go, to claim my title.

“You don’t have much time.”

I squinted my eyes, shaking my head slightly. This wasn’t something I wanted to think of. Politics was such a tedious subject. Right now, I wanted to resolve the Sasha question. The guy I thought was a friend. I shouldn’t think so much. My head began to throb.

“Not tonight,” I said absently as I reached out one more time with my mind.

“Of course” he said.

“Good.”

I was drawn to Malachi just as I was drawn to Sasha. Again, the feeling had intensified lately, and I didn’t understand why. It wasn’t exactly romantic. It
was
partly lustful. What I felt was a yearning to be with him. It wasn’t the wasting feeling I often felt with Sasha. Peaches, sensing my mood, was grumbling in the back seat about not trusting anything with fairy blood.

As I pulled around the corner of the last city block, I groaned in disgust. Why was it that all occurrences happened at St Louis Cemetery Number 1, as if there were no other cemeteries in the city? I stopped the car outside the large iron gates and turned the engine off. The night was abnormally quiet for the city. I couldn’t even hear the reliable sirens in the background. Malachi gripped my upper arm; I turned around, staring into his vibrant eyes.

“I can walk with you a little farther.”

His eyes did that smoldering thing again, and he leaned forward. He kissed me on the forehead softly. My hand came up of its own volition to stroke his face gingerly. Ahhh. I could get used to this kind of attention.

My breath came out in a soft exhale. His eyes glittered, but he kept still. Peaches was growling in the back seat, or maybe she was having a difficult time breathing; it was hard to tell. He spoke first, his breath coming out soft and warm on my flushed face.

“Shall we?”

I nodded, unwilling to say anything. Peaches stumbled behind, keeping up despite our brisk pace.

I knew which way I had to go. Malachi’s presence was reassuring, and I leaned further towards him. As we walked, I felt increasing pressure on my legs and chest with each step. Malachi stopped, his eyes slitting slightly as he turned me around to face him.

“This is as far as I may go, though the bitch can follow, she’s yours.”

He touched my face with his hand and gently kissed each cheek. He looked at my necklace and grinned.

“Good luck, I’ll see you soon.”

“Will you now?” I asked.

“But of course. I’ll be home waiting.”

“Give me your number, half-breed,” I demanded.

He cocked his head and eyed me skeptically. “Why?”

I smiled. “I’m taking a vacation.”

He grinned. “Ah duckie, I do love your sense of justice. Let’s say I wait for your next move.”

He dug in his pocket and retrieved a business card, which he handed me.

“My cell number is on it. Might I suggest you memorize it before the night’s over, just in case. Or give it to the bitch to memorize for you.”

The business card was heavy. Beige cream recycled paper emblazoned with a burgundy script font. It read Lord Malachi, House of Blaine. The cell phone number was a 504 number, local. The firm associated with him was one I’d heard of too. It advertised in all the papers. Generous bleeding hearts with the huge donations they made to just about everything in the city. I looked up.

“If I lose this, can I find you at the office? I mean can they find you for me?” I asked as I slipped the card into my back pocket to join the number on the book of matches.

He cocked his head and nodded before he answered.

“Of course, luv.”

He bowed low, turned around swiftly and vanished in a burst of purple color. Peaches immediately began her tirade.

“Whatever else might be going on my Lady, you can’t trust that swine. You can’t trust anything with fairy blood, especially him. Neither the fairies nor the elves trust him and that says a lot about a man. The outsiders don’t trust him but of course, they don’t trust anyone. The vampires are scared of him. The shifters don’t acknowledge him, scared of his power they are. The only two who acknowledge him openly are Lord Alek and Lord Caius. Both of those are rumored to have corrupt blood by all accounts. I tell you m’lady, the truth is a concept that he isn’t familiar with.”

I stopped in my tracks, exasperated by the obvious prejudice.

“I don’t want to hear this. I can make up my own opinion. Some people are just misunderstood.”

Peaches stilled and sat on her haunches as she stared up into my eyes. “There’s a difference between misunderstood and a person only showing a mask,” she said I ignored the dog. I liked Malachi and didn’t care for her attitude concerning him. I turned towards the pull, disgusted with everything about tonight. I was going to find the no—good elf.

Chapter Eleven
:
Divorce