A Little Night Muse (5 page)

Chapter 8

In the first rays of morning light, Josh finished
fixing the last iron blade to the wooden mop handle. The spear looked weirdly
exotic in a log cabin. But no more out of place than the fairy princess in his
bed.

He propped the spear by the front door, next to three others.
The tools to render down the skillet were out in the shop and he didn’t want to
leave Adelyn alone, but he’d been able to turn the spoons and log rack into
useful weapons.

She wasn’t leaving without a fight.

But she would leave eventually.

He had heard it in her voice, in her exquisitely kind attempts
to tell him his feelings—damn feelings—were confused. Just hours ago, he had
killed some sort of fairy monster and she thought he was confused about his
feelings. It wasn’t his feelings that confused him.

“Damn you, woman,” he muttered. But she would just tell him she
wasn’t a woman.

Wolly wagged his stub tail in commiseration.

When Josh heard her moving in the bedroom, he took one of the
spears. “C’mon, boy. Let’s go see what we got last night.”

They headed out into the yard under a gray sky, threatening
more snow, and found the spot where the imp had burned. Only a sodden gray ash
pile remained, but Josh knew it was the spot because Wolly put his nose down,
sneezed, and then pissed right on it.

If he had been the sort of man to disbelieve his own eyes, he
might have been inclined to forget the night. But that would require forgetting
Adelyn, which wasn’t going to happen.

With the tip of the spear, he prodded the remnants of the imp
corpse.

To his surprise, a curl of smoke drifted up from the touch of
the iron. Wolly sneezed again.

The spear ticked against a hard object. Josh poked a little
deeper and, nestled in the ashes, something glinted.

He used the spear to flick it out. Wolly jumped back, then
approached cautiously to sniff the find.

Josh bent down to look too. A shining stone the size of his
thumbnail lay in the dirt. Hesitantly, he reached for it. He smoothed the muck
away with his fingertip.

An emerald. To the bare eye, flawless in cut and clarity. He
had never handled a gemstone like it, but he’d bet every cow in his pasture it
was no imitation crystal. When he held the jewel to the wan winter light, it
gleamed, a perfect match to Adelyn’s eyes.

“Keep it,” Adelyn said from behind him. “As a reward.”

He glanced over his shoulder. When he had first seen her in her
fluttering veils and gold slippers, really he should have guessed she was a
fairy princess. Now she stood just steps away, his worn heather flannel knotted
at her midriff and his winter-gray sweatpants rolled over his extra boots.
Though she was draped in his castoffs and his hands had learned the curves of
her body, she seemed more untouchable—and more desirable—than ever. “You should
take a spear with you when you leave the house. The wooden handle won’t burn
your hands.”

“Being near iron strips our glamour and leaves us exposed. It
hurts, even when it’s not touching. Besides, I have you.”

He pushed to his feet. “True. I’m yours to command.”

Her eyes widened. “I didn’t mean—”

“I know what you meant.” He tossed her the emerald and she
caught it. “It’s yours, isn’t it?”

She looked down at the glint of green in her hand. “Every
phae
has a knack. I cry stones.”

Somehow, her disregard for the valuable jewel was the final
rock hurled at the fragile glass of his old reality. He could almost hear the
shattering. This was worse than when he’d taken off his eye patch years ago and
realized the scarring on his cornea would forever blur his vision. “Not just
stones. Gemstones.”

She shrugged. “Not a remarkable talent among
phae
who could spin your straw into gold. Before I was
exiled, I cried in front of the
phaedrealii
, and the
imp swallowed it.”

Had she cried because she hadn’t wanted to leave? “I guess it
came after you.” He stared up at the sky, at the mountains that ringed them,
anywhere but her. “The clouds will make it dark early, and I have chores.” He
fished in his pocket and pulled out the old bone whistle he’d found earlier.
“Just blow. I’ll come running.” He almost added
like a
dog
, but didn’t want to insult Wolly.

He thought he managed to keep his voice mostly matter-of-fact,
but she winced. “Josh—”

“Go on back to the house. And take Wolly with you. He’s still a
little sore.”

Adelyn gave him a distressed look, a look Wolly echoed. Josh
gave them a shooing gesture and the dog reluctantly headed for the house, Adelyn
trailing. They both glanced back at him, as if they didn’t believe a man wanted
his alone time.

He would just have to get used to it again.

He moved through his chores, grateful for the work that kept
his attention. Once he had fed and watered every living thing that actually
wanted and needed him, he fired up the cell booster, dialed his phone, and held
his breath. Sometimes cloud cover played hell with a signal, but sometimes the
bounce was just right.

Vaile picked up on the first ring. “Hey there, Josh. Never
thought I’d get a call from you.”

“I never would have thought a fairy needed a phone.”

Silence. Then Vaile laughed, a fake laugh, as if he knew he
should try to dissemble but also knew it was hopeless. “Really, Josh, not
everybody from Hollywood is gay.”

Josh ground his teeth. “I’m not that kind of hick.”

“Too bad. This would be easier if you were.” Vaile sighed.
“What’s this about?”

“You have a broken water pipe that flooded your kitchen, and I
have a
musetta
wearing my clothes.”

After a long moment of silence, Vaile said, “I assume you
turned off the water. As for the
musetta
...They are
harder to turn away. Put her on the line.”

Right. So they could talk over his simple human head. “She’s
busy not being killed by imps. You’ll just have to talk to me.”

In the background, Josh heard Vaile’s low rumble, probably to
Imogene, who—now that he thought about it—was too damn beautiful to be a real
woman. Movie star, his ass.

Vaile returned to the line. “Mo says hi. She also says—and I
quote—‘Don’t do it.’”

“Tell her it’s too late. If you catch my drift.”

Vaile grunted. “These
phae
females
are beyond enchanting. And not always in a good way.”

“Thanks for telling me all of this when I offered to watch your
place.”

“We didn’t know you’d actually
see
.”

Josh touched the scar under his eye. “I should warn you, the
implications of my incompetence are starting to piss me off. As soon as I get
off the phone, my
musetta
and I are spending a quiet
evening at home, smelting iron bullets. You owe me a frying pan, fairy.”

“Call me fairy again and I’ll take that pan upside your head,
cowboy.” Another pause and half-heard mumble. “Mo says iron won’t have the range
of your normal rounds. You’ll have to get close.”

“Good to know.”

“We’ll be back as soon as we can. I’ll bring you a nice German
titanium skillet.”

“You’re in Germany? Shit.” Josh rubbed his chest where the
imp’s scratches stung. “It’ll be days before you get here.”

“Midnight. No later. When we fly, we trip the mushroom
express.”

Josh remembered the mushroom ring in the Hunters’ backyard.
“Sounds like I have a lot to learn.”

“Or a lot to forget.”

Stubbornly, Josh didn’t respond.

This time, Vaile’s sigh ended in a curse. “We had hoped to stay
hidden until I finished fortifying the valley. We’ll just have to take them
whenever they come. And by we, I don’t mean you, Josh.”

“I’m already in it up to my eyeballs,” Josh argued. “Both eyes.
So tell me what she’s running from.”

At first he thought he wouldn’t get an answer, but then Vaile
said, “A dream.”

Josh waited a second, feeling deaf, dumb
and
blind. “I don’t get it.”

“And you never will. You live in the sunlit world, where you
wake from your dreams. For us, the dream is never-ending. And it has become a
nightmare. Imogene and I, plus a few others, had to get away, but our Queen does
not allow such freedom.”

“I’ve heard about this Queen of yours. She won’t let you
go?”

“Not without a fight.”

“Hell, I can give her that.”

“You? A human?” Vaile gave a dismissive snort. “She’s not a
Disney villainess, sure to be defeated in the last act.”

“That’s fine with me. I always wanted the stories to be longer
anyway.”

When they disconnected, Josh started on the iron bullets.

He might be just the simple sidekick in this story, but he read
enough to know he had two choices in the end: Win the girl.

Or die.

Chapter 9

Adelyn looked around at the disaster. Who could’ve
guessed she’d need so many spoons? She glanced ruefully at the sink. A touch of
glamour would be quicker than lemon bubbles. But when she left, the dirty dishes
would reveal themselves.

If only that was her biggest mess.

Fortunately, she had watched Josh deal with such chaos, so she
plunged into the work. The bubbles were almost like a glamour, silky under her
fingertips and glistening with tiny rainbows. But when they popped, they left
clean dishes behind. A simple magic, yet strangely satisfying. She had all the
pots scrubbed and upended beside the sink to dry when Josh came through the
doorway.

He looked around with a wary gaze that popped her own bubble.
“Did you make something?”

“Lunch.” From across the room, she heard his stomach growl, and
the tightness in her chest eased enough to let her laugh. “I thought you’d be
hungry.”

He shifted from one foot to the other, hat in his hands, as if
he wasn’t at ease in his own house, and her amusement withered. He seemed so
right
in this place, but she had taken away his
peace.

He gazed back at the doorway longingly. Somehow she knew, if
she held out her hand, he would flinch, much as Wolly had at first. Now she and
the dog were good friends. Which had made her think of cooking for Josh.

She moved the clay pot from the oven to the counter and lifted
the lid.

Josh stepped forward with a sniff. “Since when do fairy
princesses make cornbread?”

“Bread and wine appear in many fairy tales. The making is a
kind of magic, really.”

He had been reaching for one of the muffins, but hesitated.

“Not actual magic,” she assured him. “Just yeast and sugar and
plenty of butter. Some beans on the side, also not the magic kind.”

She pushed the little feast—a real feast, not the
phae
kind that left the guests hungrier when they
left—toward him.

He pulled up a stool to the counter and glanced toward her,
though he didn’t quite make eye contact. “You’re not eating?”

“I nibbled earlier. We
phae
really
don’t need much.” Plus, she was queasy with worry. About the imp. About Raze.
About what was happening between her and Josh.

Once she’d never thought about humans, and now one ranked with
the Queen’s Ruiner on the heretofore short list of things that made her
hyperventilate.

Josh focused on the food for a few bites, then said, “I talked
to Vaile earlier.”

Good thing she hadn’t eaten anything or she might have
wretched. How had she even briefly forgotten that Josh’s neighbor was on her
list too? “What did he say?”

“He and Imogene are coming back. Something about traveling by
mushroom.” He shook his head as he recounted the conversation. “Vaile had some
suggestions for warding off the bastards.”

“Good.” Short as it was, Adelyn could scarcely force the word
out.

Wards would isolate the valley. How would she get word to Raze?
Would the Ruiner honor their agreement if he couldn’t retrieve the runaway
phae
?

What if she couldn’t return to court?

She startled when Josh put his hand over hers. “It will be all
right, I promise.”

He couldn’t make that promise. In fact, just voicing it was the
sort of thing that invited the forces that would crush them both. The Queen’s
forces.

“I shouldn’t have come here.” This time, the words came out
against her will.

Josh scowled. “Don’t say that.”

Is that what the other
phae
had
felt when they had fled the court? Had she been the only one unwilling to
leave?

“I’m putting you in danger,” she whispered. She had thought she
was deceiving only a rogue Hunter. But now...”I won’t let you be hurt.”

“Too late.” He lifted their joined hands to his chest.

Did he mean the imp-inflicted wounds? Or did he mean his
heart?

No! She didn’t want to know. To know would only make leaving
harder. She wanted the unknowing—the illusions, the dreams, the lies—as she’d
never wanted anything before.

She closed her eyes, feeling the steady thud of his heart
beneath her palm. “Oh, Josh...”

“I never had the chance to be a fairytale hero before.”

“You already are, to me.” She pulled away from him gently.

“We have a lot to do before sunset,” he said. “Will you help
me?”

Vaile had given instructions for charms woven from yarn, ashes
of the burned imp, and slivers of iron that would ignite like a flare if a
phae
passed too closely. After she accidentally set
off one of the wards, Adelyn sat on the front steps of the porch and watched as
Josh placed the charms around the yard. She wrapped her arms around her belly,
feeling the gray sky and the gray iron closing around her.

“There’s a gap,” she called. “Put that one by the edge of the
house closer to the barn.”

Josh adjusted the distance between the charms and then returned
to her side. “Too bad these don’t make a cow-proof fence.”

She contemplated the odd way that the
phae
—so powerful in many respects—were different in the sunlit
world. How much of the Queen’s powerful rule was merely the
phae
’s reluctance to leave what they knew for the strangeness of the
realm beyond? “Maybe if your herd had
phae
blood.
Half-blood offspring of minotaurs would avoid iron.”

Josh laughed. “Good idea. You can introduce my cows to one
after this is over.”

They gazed awkwardly into the yard as they both realized that
after
was impossible to see. Josh ran his hand
over one of the ferns curling up out of the snow beside the steps. The papery
frond hissed through his fingers like a warning.

With a rumble of curiosity, he stretched one of the golden
fronds between his hands, and she realized it wasn’t a piece of the fern at
all.

He frowned. “Another snake skin? This wasn’t here before the
imp came. I wonder—”

She reached out and took the cast-off skin from his fingers.
“Enough mysteries. We still have an hour before sunset. Come inside with
me.”

For a heartbeat, she thought he would turn away. But he
stripped off his glove and put his hand in hers. The warmth of his palm engulfed
her cold fingers. “Let’s go.”

He had clustered all the iron weapons at the front door to
minimize her discomfort, but still the closeness of the metal grated on her
until she retreated to the bedroom. He checked his rifle and the stock of iron
bullets one last time before joining her.

She waited for him, naked in the middle of the bed.

“Adelyn...” He swayed. “We don’t have much time.”

“So hurry. If this is all we have, don’t waste a second.”

Just as well the closures on his shirt were sturdy pearl snaps.
Buttons would have flown at the speed of his disrobing.

Then he was beside her in the bed, his big hands everywhere,
like the agony of iron, but the opposite, a pleasure so encompassing she thought
she might die.

They came together in a passionate rush that left little room
for magic of any sort, and yet she felt the glow of a strange force all around
them. Not a
phae
trick, but something they had made
together, just the two of them.

She did not want to give it a name. Names had power.

In the aftermath—too brief—they clung together, limbs and
fingers, even the locks of their hair, entwined.

“Adelyn,” Josh started.

She kissed him, tasting their desire and desperation, unabated.
“No words. I can’t.”

He kissed her back, so hard she thought he might break her
promise to herself.

But she realized now, as she hadn’t before, that the
phaedrealii
still had a claim on her. Josh had shown
her the promise of a new start, but by betraying the runaways to Raze, she had
stolen that from others who might be seeking a new way, much as her old life had
been stolen from her.

Josh started to rise but she clung to him. “Please, just a
little longer.” She had refused to beg to Raze the Ruiner for her life, but she
would beg Josh for these last moments.

He relented, and she pulled him in to kiss him again.

A deep kiss, a
musetta
’s kiss. She
kissed him down to his soul where he kept the passions that drove him. She
tasted herself on his tongue, then, past that, she found the wide-open sky and
deep mountain valley that echoed his big heart. She kissed him until her own
heart ached, breaking at the simple, unbounded beauty.

Too much. She couldn’t hold it all, couldn’t hold him...Her
musetta
tricks honed in the
phaedrealii
failed her, and her only hope was to crack herself apart
and take what he had to give. In the skylight above, the first stars were
gathering in the darkening sky, but tears blurred her vision as if the sunlit
world was fading away.

She inhaled, filling herself with the scent of sex and snow and
Josh. She held the breath...

And Josh slumped across her.

For a moment, she held him, feeling his heart thud steadily
against her breast. Then she rolled him over. His eyes were closed, lashes a
pair of short crescent fans that trembled with her breath when she kissed him
one last time.

He sighed, but did not wake.

A
musetta
could rouse to action,
but her withdrawal caused exhaustion in equal measure when she took her power
away from a man.

Not for long, perhaps, not with a man like Josh who would not
let himself be stopped by a mere lack of inspiration. But he would rest for
awhile, and that was all the time she needed.

She rose from the bed and dressed in her
phae
veils which, left to their own devices, had shed most of their
filth. She combed her fingers through her hair as the silky folds settled around
her.

Josh’s lashes fluttered and she caught the faint gleam of his
eyes. He would think he was dreaming this. And that’s all it had been, all it
could be: a dream. Without her presence to remind him, she would fade into the
darkness of his mind.

She did not look back as she left the bedroom, but when she
passed the dining room table, she dropped her tears into his dish of stones. The
pearls, diamonds and rubies made a hollow sound, as hollow as her heart, but at
least she would leave a part of herself behind in this place that was more
precious to her than any dream.