A Lady of the Realm (25 page)

“You’re welcome.”

Sig and I headed to the North Shore to visit my parents afterward. I’d given Sig as much information as I could on them, and he provided me with what he knew. Max had worked for the Outsiders when he was in Court. He’d left, claiming the pure blood religion of humans called him, twenty-four years ago. I wasn’t supposed to be here now that I was a Lady, much less bring a demon within the boundaries of the purist community, but I didn’t think Max would yell foul.

“Make it short. If Maxwell is still on the banker’s payroll, we don’t know why he was keeping you hidden. Love? I don’t hold much stock on it,” he said as I rang the bell.

“But you think Sasha and Malachi love me?” I asked as we waited for the door to open.

Sig and I couldn’t keep our inner thoughts and emotions to ourselves any longer. We could give each other privacy but on certain topics, it wasn’t possible. I had dropped my glass of vodka when Sig mentioned the boys, love, and me in one sentence. It wasn’t the words but the absolute certainty in which he said it.

“The poor devils don’t have a choice,” he said and slipped his glasses back on.

I turned away from him as Max answered the door. He didn’t look surprised to see me. He did looked surprised to see Sig. Sig walked in and motioned for me to enter. I shook my head absently.

“Where’s mom?”

“Beth, are you attracted to killers?” Max asked as he closed the door. Sig lashed out, slamming Max with a wave of energy into the far wall.

“Sig, don’t be so irritable. He’s technically correct isn’t he?”

Sig didn’t answer. Instead he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, propping himself against the door and checking his watch. I turned back towards Max who was getting to his feet.

“Where’s mom?” I asked again.

“I’m here, honey. Welcome back, how was your trip?” she asked as she came around from the kitchen. She stopped when she saw Sig by the door, smoking in her filtered, dust free entrance.

“Sir Sigmund, it’s been ages. No smoking in my house, please.”

I could practically hear Sig’s eyes roll from behind his shades as Max grumbled to leave the demon alone.

“Miss Beatrice, I apologize,” he said. The cigarette disappeared.

“Hey mom, I’m moving. I wanted to stop by and let you know I’m back. Sig here’s been upgraded to Lord Sigmund, he’s my shadow. If you need me and can’t reach me, call him.” I handed her one of the business cards. She took it gingerly in her hands and read it.

“You’re a Lady?”

“Yes, mom, I am,” I said.

“And Sigmund is your shadow?” she asked.

“Yes. I’ve got to run. See you later.” I hugged her tightly. I wasn’t sure when I would see her again. She had chosen to live outside of my new world, denying who she was. I was embracing my heritage, not running away from it.

We made a pit stop at the Pink Pussycat. I was in luck. Cindy was in her office.

“Hey Cindy,” I called out as I came through the beaded doorway.

“Beth, where have you been?”

“You wouldn’t believe me. I’m not coming back. I’ve got family business to take care of, and it’s going to kick my ass if I don’t concentrate.”

It wasn’t a total lie. Sig had hired a witch tutor to help me with magic and spells. He promised me the new tutor would be just as effective as he’d been. I expected a lot of burns and bruises in the next year.

“You’re my best girl. You can’t do this to me,” Cindy said as she got up from behind her desk. I was already making my escape. Sig was waiting for me, and I grabbed his hand as I rounded the corner.

“Is that your new man? Is the elf free?” Cindy asked as I headed for the door.

“No and no. See you around.”

Our next stop was Ms. Bunny’s place. I began the tedious job of packing up my room full of belongings. I tried to magic it all into the luggage and boxes, but all I got for my efforts was a scorched book, a gi
ggling demon, and a screaming smoke alarm. Nola came and helped after she knocked the alarm off the ceiling.

“I don’t know about moving in with so many freaks,” she said. I had offered her a position with my fledgling House. A move Sigmund wasn’t happy with.

“You don’t need to strip anymore, Nola. It’s a different world. I thought you wanted it as much as I did.”

“I do girl, but Sasha scares me. And you’ve got that demon with you.” Sig glowered from the corner of the room, and I threw him a scathing look. He smiled.

I handed her an envelope, which she took grudgingly. “You weren’t paid for the last few years you’ve been helping me; I thought you should get something.” Nola opened the envelope, and her mouth fell open.

“This isn’t funny, Beth. You don’t have one percent of this in your savings.”

“I inherited.”

“Slap yo momma!”

“Tell me about it. You don’t have to make a decision any time soon, but if you do come, I’ll put you to work immediately. I need you.”

“I’m taking a vacation.”

We finished packing, the atmosphere lighter in the room. Sig even helped, conjuring the boxes and luggage into the Hummer without lifting a finger. He could’ve done that before, but he said he didn’t want to spoil me. Ms. Bunny was sad to see me go. I made a lot of promises about keeping in touch and coming over.

The short drive to my new place seemed to take just a mere second. I had to blink several times when I first stepped out of the car. It was beautiful, and it was all mine. The place was just as I’d envisioned during my many sleepless nights.

Through a wrought iron fence, a courtyard greeted us. Purple wisteria hung from arches, obscuring the brick façade of the ancient building. Sig led me to a door propped open. We entered into the kitchen where Michelle was busy cooking something. Peaches was comfortably settled in a corner doing her best impression of a opossum.

Sig took my elbow and led me away. “The place has been renovated with all new amenities. The master suite is on the top level.”

Upstairs a large bedroom with wicker furniture and adjoining bathroom was all mine. A set of French doors opened onto a balcony in the courtyard. The living room was equipped with a bar any nightclub would be envious of. There was a library and some sort of formal living room I was envisioning for poker nights. On the other side of the courtyard, there were several guest rooms, and I offered Sig the biggest. He blinked in confusion.

“You’re staying with me aren’t you? Sasha said it was protocol.” I said hesitantly. I hoped I hadn’t offended him in any way.

“It is but you don’t have to offer me accommodations out of a sense of duty,” he said.

“It’s not a sense of duty, Sig. I need you. I fall down a lot if you haven’t noticed. Besides, you’ve grown on me,” I said as I placed a hand carefully on his forearm since I didn’t want to wrinkle his designer suit.

He smiled broadly. He seemed a lot younger when he did. With no shades on, his blue eyes blazed beautifully along the edges with red.

“You’ve grown on me as well, young one. I thank you. Can’t wait till the ballroom classes.” He bowed low and chuckled. “I’ll leave you to deal with your first house servant.” He left, still chuckling at some private joke.

Michelle was in the kitchen busy doing God knows what. When she saw me she stilled, her eyes widening in fear.

“Yes, m’lady?” she asked, her bottom lip trembling slightly.

I never had to deal with delicate people or their emotions. Sig told me what she was used to. She’d never been responsible for her own food, clothing, or shelter. Everything was taken care of for her. Her life mapped out by other, more powerful people.

“Do you want to stay?” I asked since I didn’t want to assume. I knew the answer, but the girl needed to start talking like a person with a mind instead of a well-trained monkey.

“Oh yes, m’lady,” she replied emphatically.

“You can leave if you’d like,” I said.

Her lip trembled. Okay. Sig said this would happen. Michelle didn’t know she could leave, or that there was a whole world outside these doors. She’d been born and bred in captivity. Born and bred for powerful Lords and Ladies.

“Forget I said that. First thing first. I’m Beth, and you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. You’ll listen to me, and Sig if I’m not around. Your room will be the one on the right across the courtyard; the only rooms off limits are personal bedrooms. Payday is the first of every month. I expect you to take some time off. Any questions?”

“No, m’lady… oh … Beth,” she said timidly, cringing after her initial mistake. It would take some time before she would stop cringing in fear. Time we had. I would call around for a shrink. She needed someone to talk to.

“Good, let’s watch the news,” I said, grabbing a bottle of Grey Goose and heading for the living room.

We sat in genial silence in front of the TV glued to the news mix channel for the best coverage. There were six channels of never ending news reports, but of course, CNN broke the story first. Any changes in the status quo would make the news. After CNN, every station had something akin to parties or riots.

News cameras were out in full force around the country to get the reaction of the people. There was nothing like bizarre mayhem for good TV. Some of the people interviewed were ready for an all out global war. Hastily made signs proclaiming the end of days and the final judgment were displayed in the hands of longhaired, robed people who looked suspiciously like the mafia troops. I was aghast at how many witches weren’t grateful for their freedom.

“Who’d want to be the property of another?”

“It’s a status symbol, who owns you. The more powerful your master, the more powerful you become in the underworld. It’s always about the money. Never forget,” Sig said. He wasn’t paying attention to the TV. He was busy designing a new wardrobe for me.

“Barbaric. I’d rather be on the bottom rank and free instead of a slave to the most powerful.

“You’re an allodial, Beth; you are a slave to the most powerful,” he said lifting the magazine for me. I shrugged my shoulders at the pictures and turned back to the TV.

I had said too much. Sig was in my mind. He knew. I settled back into the couch and took a deep swallow from my drink. I had time, witches lived a long time; I had a plan, and I had patience. The way things were going, I felt good about the immediate future.

Malachi appeared around midnight, and Michelle quickly fetched him a drink. The girl was quick to try to please any and all.

“Quite a day isn’t it. I think it’ll take a few years for everything to settle down. I’m going to make a bundle with the new bars popping up around the country for donors and workers. We won’t be fussy either, witch or human will do. This was definitely the right move.” He sighed. I flipped through channels to get different reactions.

“I saw Sasha today. He’ll be here as soon as he can.” Malachi scowled into his cup taking a sip and placing an arm around my shoulders.

I’d been thinking about Sasha. I hadn’t spoken to him since the last night at the convention. I reached with my mind and felt … nothing. Not even the cold steel barrier of my last encounter with him. Bemused I turned towards Sig who was carefully watching me.

“Excuse me,” I said.

I climbed the stairs to my private rooms. Sig had enchanted all the rooms so no eavesdropping could go on. I dialed Sasha’s number. It rang and rang and rang but neither he nor his voice mail picked up. Irritated I flung the phone away and went back downstairs to soothe my bruised ego.

Thirteen Kamikazes later, I was depressed. I opened my mind up again and again throughout the night to find nothing over and over again. Sig had sauntered away to his room hours ago tired of watching the constant partying or riots, depending on the Region and city. Michelle was still not up to par, and I told her to go and relax. She took it as a direct order. Peaches was snoring painfully from her bed in the corner.

“Malachi, why do you wear a patch sometimes?”

It was a testament to how much I had drank that I would ask such a personal question. I might not wake up with a hangover, but liquor still loosened my tongue.

“Some are disturbed by my mixed heritage, so I keep it covered,” he said.

“Let me see what you’re talking about.”

“Witches,” he muttered. He kept his eyes closed, and I nudged him with my toes.

“Don’t insult me, half-breed. Come on, open up. I’ve seen them before, just not up-close and personal.”

He did as I asked. Malachi stared at me, one green eye, his fairy blood, the other a bright violet, his elf blood. Silvery threads swirled in their depths in bizarre patterns. He was a half-breed, almost unheard of in the upper crust of the alien races. The specialty shifters did it all the time, with the hope of creating powerful shifters. It’s how we got general shifters or odd animals like flying horses.

I smiled and placed my hands on either side of his face, holding him still.

“You look better without the eye patch. Who gives a damn about people?”

His lips twitched. “I better get going,” he said as he clasped my hands gently and rose.

“Wait … would you stay the night with me?” I asked. He looked down at me in surprise.

“Bethany, I’ve …”

“Please… I don’t want to be alone,” I said before he could say anything else.

He stared at me, his eyes reflecting the light from the TV.

“You’ve had too much vodka and not enough sleep,” he said as he took my hand and led me up the stairs to my room. I undressed and slipped under the cool covers. Malachi settled on top, his arms cocooning me, his head resting gently on top of mine.

“Why don’t you like sleeping alone?” he asked softly.

I was trying to get him under the covers. I craved his warmth, his body pressing against mine. I was also horny. Malachi wasn’t as quick to jump into bed at every opportunity as Sasha. I usually had to seduce the half-breed, but I didn’t want to put too much effort into it tonight.

“It used to be insomnia, but lately it’s nightmares. You and Sasha are the best cure for the maladies. I like sleeping Malachi,” I said.

He was finally under the covers, and I was fumbling with his clothing. He sighed deeply and removed all his clothing for me. I smiled gently as I brought my body closer to his.