Death Bringer (Soul Justice) (25 page)

“I’ve never thought about that.”

“Well, it’s obvious to me. You have integrity and balance and...
goodness
inside you. If Ciaran had your powers, Otherworld would be a very different place and none of your family would still be alive.”

He stared down at her. “Why does everything seem so simple to you, my mate?”

“It just does.”

His smile this time was much better. “I will try and accept your counsel in this.”

“Cool. Now let’s go and find your adorable family and get the hell out of here.”

* * *

They were gathered in the entrance hall, and it was obvious to anyone who’d ever been in a relationship that the king and queen still weren’t speaking to each other. Ella glanced at the queen mother, who smiled graciously at her and drew her to one side.

“Soul Sucker, as a representative of the SBLE, are you satisfied that this case is now over?”

“I will be as soon as I write up my final report. Would you like a copy?”

“It depends on how detailed you wish to make it.”

Ella paused. “What are you hoping I’ll leave out?”

“The parts about your family.”

“
My
family?”

The queen opened her blue eyes wide. “You are part of this family, my dear, whether you want to embrace it or not.”

“If I leave your family’s antics out, that doesn’t leave me a lot to put in my report.”

“Exactly, granddaughter.” She patted Ella’s arm. “Perhaps I might make a suggestion. If you simply state that you tracked down Adam to the sect’s palace and disposed of him. You were the one who killed him, my dear, so what else is there to say?”

“What about the family vendetta and Death Bringer?”

“Surely they are of no interest to anyone at the SBLE?”

“What about the king?”

“I’ll take care of him. He will not be allowed to conspire against your mate any longer.”

“What about Ciaran being Adam?”

“The history books tell us that Ciaran died a very long time ago. Why resurrect him only to kill him again? Why not let him
be
Adam? You will only cause your mate pain.”

Ella contemplated the ageless face of the queen for a long moment. “And if I do this, what’s in it for me?”

A smile lightened the other woman’s features. “You are more Fae than you realize, Soul Sucker. You certainly haggle like one. If you omit my family from your report, I will no longer seek Death Bringer’s permanent return to Otherworld.”

Ella glanced over at Vadim, who was talking to his mother. “Suppose he wants to return?”

“He doesn’t, my dear. He wants to be with you.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Why do you doubt him? He will not leave you for all eternity.”

“That’s the bit that scares me.” She stared at the back of his head and then nodded. “If he doesn’t want to stay here as Death Bringer, then I agree to your terms.”

“Excellent, my dear. Now I suggest you take him home before he comes to blows with his father again. Those two will never share a universe amicably.”

She escorted Ella back to Vadim’s side.

“Are you ready to go, Morosov?”

He looked down at her. “If that is your wish.”

“I think I’ve got enough information to close the case, how about you?”

“There certainly isn’t anything else worth staying for. My mother insists she can deal with my father and that I shouldn’t worry about her.”

“She’s a strong woman.” She linked her arm through his and led him toward the exit. “She’ll be okay. Did she tell you she invited me back for dinner?”

“She invited you?”

“Well, she asked both of us.”

He looked down at her. “Is that something that would appeal to you?”

“Dude, she promised to show me her closet. I bet she has some amazing clothes in there that she is just dying to give away to her favorite new relative.”

One of the guards opened the door, and they were outside in the bright sunshine, totally alone. A gust of wind blew her hair into her face, and she pushed the blond strands behind her ear.

Blond
...

Ella kept moving toward the wood and Vadim caught her hand.

“We don’t need a portal, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

“That wasn’t what I wanted. I just don’t want anyone at the palace spying on us.”

“While we do what?”

She looked over her shoulder at him. “While I kill you.”

The moment the shadows swallowed them up, she turned on him. “When were you going to mention that I had my face back,
asshole?
”

He raised an eyebrow. “When I felt like it.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Don’t you think it was rather important?”

“To you, obviously.”

“You’re still sulking about me killing Adam for my face, and not just to save you.”

He leaned back against one of the trees, his massive arms folded over his chest. “I might be. Or maybe I thought you might like to see how it feels to be left out of the loop.”

“When did it come back?”

“Just after Adam breathed his last.”

“It makes sense. How come no one else mentioned my face? Your whole family just stood there and said nothing.”

“What I find fascinating about you, Ella, is how you get all bent out of shape about the little things and yet can deal so calmly with death and disaster.”

“Because those things are easy.”

“Not to everyone. And while we’re on the subject of things you find uncomfortable, do you want me to return to San Francisco with you or not?”

She realized she was scowling at him. “It’s up to you.”

“That’s a typically evasive Ella Walsh answer.”

“It’s not evasive. I’m not going to tell you how and where to live your life.”

“Do you think I want to stay here?”

“I can see why you might.” She gestured at his awesome body. “Here you can be in your true form, have all your magic around you and be the most powerful being in Otherworld.”

“But I’d already given that up before I even met you.”

“Only because you felt so guilty about your siblings.” He went to speak, but she pressed on. “But at least that’s over. You know you didn’t execute your own brother, so if you wanted to come back here, you could.”

He contemplated the grass in front of his feet for so long that Ella wanted to scream.

“Sometimes I am tempted.” He held out his hand and flexed his fingers. “To feel such power running through me again is addictive. But I also fear that power. If I came back, I would eventually be corrupted just like my brother.”

“Not necessarily.”

He half smiled. “I appreciate your faith in me. In this instance, I know I would become too powerful or succumb to the lure of the dark king’s court and destroy my own. It has already been foretold.”

“By whom?”

“By many seers, including my grandmother.”

“That’s definitely a kicker.”

“And what do you want, Ella?”

She tried to laugh. “I’ve never been a long-term planner, you know that.”

“And I know why. You didn’t think you’d have a life to plan, did you?”

She shook her head.

“Is it still all too much for you?” He spoke very gently, his words barely reaching her on the breeze, as if he was afraid of startling her.

“What do you mean?”

“Me, the mating bond, the prospect of us being together...”

“About that. You’re immortal, right?”

“Technically, yes. But you could kill me, or I could choose to die for you.”

She grimaced. “Neither of those options appeal to me at the moment. Why would you even
want
to come back to the SBLE, where you have to pretend to be something you’re not, and hide your powers and true self?”

“Feehan knows what I am now. I won’t need to hide anymore.”

She pointed at him. “You can’t walk down the street looking like that!”

“Other shape-shifters manage to live in your world. I’m sure I’ll find a way to stretch my wings occasionally. Why are you offering me so many reasons not to come with you?”

“I’m not, I’m just trying—”

“What if I asked you live in Otherworld with me?”

“I...”

He smiled as she stuttered into silence. “It’s all right, I’m not that stupid. Forcing you to make such a choice at this moment would only result in you storming back to San Francisco alone.” He studied her. “Perhaps that is what you’d prefer—an ultimatum, a reason to walk away.”

“That’s not fair. I haven’t insisted you come back with me, have I? I’ve tried to give you a choice.”

His eyes flashed fire. “You won’t force a decision on me, because you’re afraid I’ll take you up on it. You’re afraid I’ll walk and leave you, like everyone else has done.”

That hurt. She drew in an unsteady breath. “I’m scared, Morosov.”

“Of me?”

“No. Of myself.”

“I can’t fix that, can I?” He sighed and walked toward her and she tensed. He held out his hand.

“We still have a job to do. The rest can wait until later. Let’s go back to the SBLE and close this case once and for all.”

Chapter Seventeen

They materialized in her office. Ella blinked up at Vadim, who had already resumed his human form. She touched his starched white shirt.

“I actually miss the feathers. How weird is that?”

He stretched and rolled his shoulders. “It feels strange to be back in this form. I miss my wings.”

“What about your immense powers?”

He smiled. “Oh, I still have those.”

“Not all of them, right?”

“Why, are you worried? I don’t intend to use them unless I’m provoked.”

“Seeing as I’m the person who provokes you the most, that isn’t very reassuring.”

She went around the desk to turn on her laptop. “Time is weird in Otherworld. How long have we been away? Five days?” She looked back at him. “Does that feel about right? It seems like a long time to me.”

“I have no idea.”

“And it’s about two in the afternoon, so we missed lunch. Dang it.”

“I’m sure you’ll survive. Let’s see the boss first, and then you can eat.”

She headed toward Feehan’s office, Vadim at her side. It was strange not having him towering over her. It was also strange the way he’d resumed his chilly personality so fast. The door was open, so she gave a perfunctory knock and kept on going.

“Hey, Mr. Feehan.”

“Come in—Ella! Vadim! Good Lord! How good to see you! Sit down!” Feehan jumped out of his chair as he waved them into the uncomfortable seats in front of his desk.

“I must confess, I didn’t think you were going to make it out alive.”

“Neither did we,” Ella said. “But here we are, like two bad pennies.”

He resumed his seat and beamed at them. “I’m delighted to hear that.” His expression faltered. “Unless...well, I suppose, of course, you’ll both be wanting to resign, being as you’re Fae royalty.”

“Not really.” Ella didn’t dare look at Vadim in case she cracked up. “Unless you want us to resign?”

Feehan glanced covertly at Vadim and then away. “Not at all!”

“It’s all right, you know. He won’t hurt you.”

“I never thought he would. Although—” Feehan studied Vadim more closely, “—I never realized what you concealed beneath that perfect human exterior. You were quite impressive. What exactly do you shape-shift into?”

“I can shift into virtually anything. The being you saw in Otherworld is actually my true form.”

“True form.” Feehan swallowed and straightened his tie. “Okay. Well, that’s a new one on me.”

“I don’t expect to revert to it in this world, unless it is absolutely necessary.”

“Good to know, because
that
would cause a major panic.”

“By the way, we solved the case,” Ella said brightly.

“I did wonder about that, since you have your face back.” He stood up. “Shall we gather the rest of the team in the conference room?”

They followed him out into the bigger room across the hall and waited as Rich and Andrew filed in and high-fived Ella. Liz was next.

“Oh, you’re back! We thought you were dead!”

She hugged Vadim and then Ella, who grimaced at her partner. “I love the confidence everyone has in our abilities, don’t you? Of
course
we’re back!”

“My Fae-Web said differently.” Liz took a chair right next to Ella. “In fact, there were a couple of times when one or other of you was almost dead.” She shivered. “I hate that.”

“It was close at some points, but we made it.”

Feehan stood at the door, gesticulating to someone. “Come on, Sam! We haven’t got all day!”

Sam appeared, carrying a greasy paper bag that smelled suspiciously like fast food.

“Dudes!”

“Do you have fries in there?” Ella reached over and poked the bag. “Can I have some? You can’t get a decent meal in Otherworld to save your life.”

Sam tossed her the bag. “You can have them all. It’s so cool that you’re okay!” He turned to Vadim. “And I hear that you’re, like, some awesome winged black devil, man.
Sweet!
”

Between mouthfuls of fries, Ella managed to mutter, “Trust me, he’s more chicken than devil.”

Feehan shut the door and sat down, his expectant gaze turned toward her.

“So tell us what’s been happening.”

Vadim opened his mouth, but Ella hastily swallowed down her fries and started talking.

“We killed Adam and I got my face back. That’s it, really.”

“I’m sure there’s more to it than that, Ella.” Feehan said encouragingly. “Can you elaborate?”

“Adam was the leader of an ancient Fae sect that liked to collect things. One of the things he wanted was three humans with blond hair, so that he could steal their faces.”

“Which is why he targeted Brad, Ms. Phelps and you.”

“Exactly.” Ella nodded. “Morosov went ahead of me to Otherworld to liaise with his family members about Adam’s whereabouts. With our combined information, we tracked Adam down to a palace where the sect had its headquarters.”

“So how did Vadim end up on trial?”

Her partner sat forward. “Well—”

Ella cut across him again. “It was Adam’s doing. He convinced the Fae council that Morosov was responsible for a murder.”

Sam chuckled. “Like Vad would hurt a fly.”

“That’s when Mr. Feehan and I were called as character witnesses.” Liz frowned. “How the hell did you get out of that? With Spencer moderating, I thought you were both goners.”

“Morosov managed to convince the jury to commute the murder charges into combat to the death. Adam agreed.”

“
You’re making all this up and leaving a hell of a lot out.
Why?
”

Ella ignored Vadim’s sharp question. “He was totally nuts. I think he really wanted to kill Morosov with his bare hands for messing up his trophy hunt. He also blamed me for coming after him. I wasn’t supposed to do that, and I’d spoiled his fun.”

“So what happened then?” Feehan asked.

Ella tried to look convincing. Even if Vadim wasn’t buying it, everyone else was.

“We were taken to the sect’s stronghold, and the four leaders, including Adam, went after Morosov in a weird game of deadly hide-and-seek.”

“Four against one?” Sam shook his head. “That’s, like, so not cool, man.”

Ella smiled at everyone. “You’d be surprised. Morosov easily destroyed the first three, and when Adam tried to use me to get away, I helped kill him.” She sat back. “As soon as Adam died, my face changed back to normal.”

“Wow.” Sam whistled.

Liz stared at Vadim. “You’re Death Bringer.”

He inclined his head a wary inch. “What about it?”

“The most powerful being in Otherworld.”

“I was.”

“Why would you give that up?

“Because I no longer wished to be anyone’s trained assassin. I will kill if I have to, but never again at another’s bidding.” His mouth curled in disgust. “A weapon in the wrong hands is always dangerous.”

“But you could destroy the human world.”

“If I wanted to, I suppose I could.” He glanced over at Ella. “But while my mate lives in this realm, I promise you will all be safe.”

Ella cleared her throat. “Does anyone have any more questions?” Everyone looked at her. “About the case, I mean. I don’t think we’ll be able to get Brad’s and Ms. Phelps’s faces back, seeing as they’re dead, but we can certainly try... What?”

“Don’t you realize that you hold the fate of humankind in your hand, Ella?” Liz grinned. “You’d better stop pissing Vadim off immediately.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.” She managed a fake sigh. “Perhaps he’ll have to learn to be nicer to me first.”

“Very funny, Ms. Walsh.” Vadim wasn’t smiling. “Mr. Feehan, is the nurse Delia still at the hospital, or has she recovered?”

“She’s still there. We have her under SBLE guard. There’s been no change in her condition.”

Vadim rose smoothly to his feet. “Then I think that if everyone is satisfied with Ms. Walsh’s version of events, we can consider this case closed. Despite these latest revelations about my reputation, I assume you still wish to employ me, Mr. Feehan?”

“Sure I do.” Feehan smiled up at Vadim. “I consider you an asset to our team.”

“Then I’ll be off to the hospital to see what I can do for Delia. I’ll see you all later.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Ella asked.

He turned to look at her. “No, thanks.”

With a cool smile, he left, and she slumped down into her chair. So, he was annoyed with her. What was new? Didn’t he understand that she’d just been trying to protect his ass?

“He’s not very happy with you, is he?” Liz murmured.

“Men.”

“What did you do?”

“Killed someone he wanted to dispose of himself.”

“Adam?” Liz lowered her voice even more. “By the way, you left out a load of stuff from your story.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m a Fae-Web specialist, dork. I see the truth, I can’t avoid it.” She hesitated. “He really is incredibly dangerous, Ella. Don’t you think you should’ve left him in Otherworld, where he belongs?”

“To be ordered to kill on command like a hunting dog? He hated that existence, Liz. It destroyed his soul.”

“Then who will keep order in Otherworld, now?”

“I don’t care, as long as it isn’t Morosov. He deserves a break.”

Liz started laughing. “Trust you to end up with Death Bringer.”

“I know, it’s sort of like mutually assured destruction, isn’t it? I’m the person who makes him the maddest in the whole world, and he can’t kill me because I’m his mate.” She patted her heart. “It was obviously meant to be.”

“Don’t even joke about that, honey. The Fae live forever, remember, and often plan for things hundreds of years in advance. They’ve probably been waiting for you to turn up to neutralize Death Bringer for centuries.”

“I suppose so.” Uneasily aware of the Fae queens and their meddling, she got to her feet. “And now I need to go and type out that report.”

Liz winked at her. “Before you forget what you said.”

“Something like that.” She hesitated. “Are you free for a quick drink after work? I think I need some alcohol before I have to face Morosov again.”

* * *

Vadim got a taxi to the hospital, which gave him plenty of time to brood about the incredible story Ella had cooked up for their team. What was worse, apart from Liz, everyone seemed to have lapped it up and not questioned a thing. He still wasn’t sure why she’d gone to so much trouble to truncate the truth. Did she not want his coworkers to know how dangerous he was? Or was it simply a matter of getting away with the shortest report in SBLE history? He shifted on the patched leather seat. Being in his human body still felt strange and constricting. The sense of not being
himself
surprised him. Was it possible that Ella was right and he should’ve stayed in Otherworld?

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the arrival of the taxi at the hospital. He paid off the driver and headed to the administrator’s office on the fifteenth floor. At the staff desk, he recognized Jose and headed straight for him.

“Hey, Morosov, isn’t it? How’s my favorite girl?”

“She’s fine. Unfortunately she had to type up a report at the office, so she couldn’t accompany me.”

“Damn. What can I do for you, man?”

“I wanted to see Delia. Is she still on this floor?”

“She is. Let me show you to her room. She’s stable, but that’s not saying much. We’re just hoping her body will come out of this by itself at some point.”

Vadim followed Jose down the hallway right to the end, where a tall SBLE security guard sat outside the door on duty.

“Thanks, Jose.”

“You’re welcome. Let me know if you need anything,”

Vadim exchanged pleasantries and credentials with the guard and was allowed into Delia’s room. Apart from the regular
drip
,
drip
of something going into her arm, the tick of machines and her faint breathing, the room was quiet. He sat on the side of her bed, took her limp hand in his and studied her face. She opened her eyes and looked right through him.

He could still sense Adam’s magic clinging to her and set about cleansing it. Having Ella’s empath abilities made the task much quicker and easier than he had anticipated. He gladly took the dark magic into himself. One of the benefits of having been blessed and cursed by both Fae courts was that almost no magic could harm or hold him for long.

As he worked, Delia’s color returned and she began to breathe more deeply and evenly. Her eyes closed in a more natural sleep, and Vadim sat back. Within a few minutes she became restless, her head turning on the pillow. The monitors around her bed started to flash and bleep with activity.

She opened her eyes, and he got to experience how a prince in a fairy tale must feel as she stared at him. But she didn’t smile. She just looked terribly confused.

“Is this a dream?”

“Not anymore.” He let go of her hand, then stood. “You’ll be fine now, I swear it.”

He could hear the sounds of activity approaching down the hallway and stepped swiftly out of the room. The security guard was on his feet, his weapon already out.

“Sir?”

“It’s fine. She’s waking up.” He nodded at the approaching cavalry. “They’ll make sure she’s going to be okay.”

To avoid any embarrassing questions about exactly what he’d been doing, he chose to leave in the opposite direction and walked unhurriedly to the stairs. The elevator doors opened, reminding him of Ella and how he’d gotten her over her claustrophobia with the magical power of mated sex. He got on and descended to the main entrance. It was raining a little, and after a quick look around to see if anyone was watching, he magicked himself a raincoat over his favorite Armani suit.

When it rained, the city wilted as if it needed sunshine to thrive, like a struggling plant. Out toward the sea, the sky was the same gray, making everything blur into a miserable mess. He turned up his collar and decided to walk back to Market. It would take a while, but he needed time to think, and he wasn’t anxious to see Ella until he had time to put his thoughts in order.

A flash of diamonds brought his attention sharply to an alleyway on his right, and he stopped walking.

“
Mother?
”