Earth & Sky (19 page)

When I reached his mouth, his lips met mine with a gentleness
that was unexpected.  His hands on my body slowed, and he pulled me close,
hugging me to him.  Pressed to his chest, I could feel his heartbeat, steady
and slow- too slow, really. 

I glanced up at him in surprise to find that his eyes had
drifted closed, and his breathing slowed.  I moaned softly in frustration. 
“How could you?”  I whispered with a snort of laughter.  This was so not fair.

I watched Ville’s slumbering face for a moment before I
gently disentangled myself and climbed off him.  I shook my head in disbelief,
but my own eyelids were drooping.  I had to fight the urge to curl up next to
him.  If someone found us like this there would be questions, and I wasn’t sure
Ville could afford for the depth of our relationship to be made public. 

I slipped from the bed and pulled a blanket over him.  He
didn’t even stir as I brushed a kiss across his lips and gently stroked his
hair.  On impulse, I smoothed my fingertips over his glossy wings.  He was
lying on them.  I hoped they wouldn’t hurt in the morning.

I left the room silently, noticing that there were no
guards outside his door.  Maybe they were trying to be circumspect.  I sighed. 
Trying to keep my visit to Ville’s room a secret was probably a wasted effort. 
I stretched and made my way back to my room.

*****

I had just flopped down on my bed when a scream bought me
to startled alertness.  The blood curdling sound had come from very nearby.  I
threw open my door and rushed down the hall to find a couple of guards and a
servant standing in Ville’s doorway.  Ibbe and Marshall hurried down the hall
from the dining room, followed by more guards.

The guards refused to let me enter Ville’s room, so I was
forced to wait for his cousins.  When the guards stepped aside for them, I
darted in as well.  Ville still lay in his bed, just as I had left him, but
there was blood everywhere.  I rushed to his side, only to be body checked by
Ibbe who pushed me out of the way and went to kneel by the bed.  Ville had been
stabbed in the chest several times, as he slept. 

I didn’t know if the wounds were fatal for a Fallen.  For
a Shifter, the heart was a vital point.  We’d been told the same was true of
Fallen, and for once, I prayed that my education might be proven wrong.  But he’d
lost a lot of blood.  He wasn’t moving.  His chest didn’t rise and fall.  His
eyes remained closed, his pale skin a stark white next to the bright blood. 

There was a crushing weight in my heart, and I couldn’t
breathe.  Tears welled up.  I clenched my fists and searched the room, looking
for a culprit- somewhere to direct this urge to kill.  I struggled to keep my
wolf contained, the need to shift all but impossible to ignore.  Marshall put a
hand on my shoulder and I flinched, knocking his hand aside with a low growl. 

“How is he?”  His voice was even as he looked to Ibbe,
ignoring my reaction. 

She smoothed a hand over Ville’s forehead.  “How do you
think he is?  Someone tried to kill him!”  She tucked a hand inside his open
shirt and cocked her head, listening.  “He’ll need blood.”  I could feel her
pulling on her magic, and she sent a soft current of blue over his chest.

Marshall put a hand on me again, but I pulled away from
him and made my way around to the other side of the bed- opposite Ibbe.  I took
Ville’s hand in mine, tears coursing down my cheeks.  “Will he live?”  I
watched Ibbe and Marshall with dread.

Ibbe snorted.  “It’s just a little stab wound.”  Her voice
was acid.

Marshall came to stand behind me.  “It’s just a few dozen little
stab wounds,” he corrected.  “He’s strong, but losing this much blood is a
problem.  He crouched beside me, running a hand through his hair.  His joker’s
face was pinched with worry. 

Ibbe straightened.  “I’ll go find a donor.”

He shook his head.  “By the time you find someone it’ll be
too late.”  His soft eyes met mine imploringly.  “Wren, will you help?”

Ibbe was on her feet in an instant.  “You have got to be
joking!  It’s probably her blood that poisoned him in the first place!”  Bright
spots of color burned high in her cheeks.  “This is completely uncalled for.”

I squeezed Ville’s hand.  It felt so cold.  “What are you
talking about?”

Marshall gave me a tired look.  “You were in Ville’s room
just before he was attacked.”

Ibbe bared her fangs at me.  “I can smell the poison in
his blood, fool.”  Her slender hands curved into claws.  “Only a coward would
need to immobilize him before she went for the kill.”

Stunned, I just stared at her.  Marshall’s voice was
quiet.  “Ibbe, this isn’t the time.  She’ll be interrogated after Ville’s
awake.”  He sighed.  “Besides, I don’t think it’s her blood that carried the
poison- I can’t smell it on her.”  When he stood beside me before…he had been
scenting me.  They thought I had poisoned my blood in order to kill Ville?

“I didn’t do this,” I insisted.  I wished they would stop
arguing for five seconds and tend to Ville.  “I came to his room with him
because he had something for me, but I left right after.”  Ibbe snorted in
disbelief and I gritted my teeth.  A warm blush rushed to my cheeks.  “Alright,
fine, I… nearly spent the night.” 

My gaze drifted over Ville’s pale face.  “But he was so
tired.  He fell asleep and I left.”  I jerked down the collar of my shirt.  “Do
you see any bite marks?”  I glanced at Ibbe, then Marshall.  “I swear to you,
he was sleeping when I left.  I had just gotten back to my room when the
servant screamed.”

Ibbe glared at me with hatred.  “Do you realize how this
sounds?  You were the last person to see him, and you left him here under the
influence of some sort of poison.  Even if we stripped you to look for marks,
they wouldn’t show because you heal so fast.  It’s a perfect strategy.”

I shook my head.  It did sound stupid.  “I didn’t
realize…” my voice wavered as I smoothed a hand over his silky hair.  “I
thought he was just tired.”  I lifted my eyes to hers.  “The bites take a few
days to heal.  You can look, if it makes you feel better.  But just please,
take care of him first.”

Ibbe and Marshall exchanged a startled glance and I
realized belatedly they hadn’t known that Ville and I’d shared blood before
this.  Marshall shook his head impatiently.  “If it is as you say, then prove
it.”  He drew a small dagger from his belt.  I glanced at the blade with
trepidation.  I wanted to help Ville, but I was in the presence of two Fallen
who thought me a murdering spy.  And one of them wanted to use a knife on me?

I lifted my chin and held out my arm, giving him a defiant
look.  “Do whatever you need to do.  I’m not leaving him.”  I glared at Ibbe,
my dominant aura whipping around me.  It wouldn’t have much effect on her, but
her dark eyes widened as she felt my power.  She probably hadn’t realized it
was there until just then- I’d gotten so good at hiding it.  “I’ll do whatever
I need to do to protect him.”  I kept my eyes on hers.  “When this is over, I’ll
find out who did this,” I promised darkly.  “And I’ll tear them to shreds.”

Marshall was kneeling with that wicked looking knife
pressed to my wrist, about to slice open a vein, when the door banged open and
one of the maids came in.  She paced to the bedside, rolling up her sleeves. 
“The guard said you needed me?”

Marshall withdrew the knife and tucked it away in his
belt.  His eyes met Ibbe’s and he started laughing.  “Gods, I thought she’d
never get here.  I almost had to do it.”

Ibbe scowled.  I looked at Marshall in confusion.  “You’re
very nonchalant when your friend is lying here dying.”  I smelled a rat.  A big
stinking rat with brown wings.

Ibbe snorted.  “I told you.  He’ll be fine.”

I glanced at Marshall and he shrugged.  “I was curious how
far you would go to protect him.”  He cocked an eyebrow at me.  “And I’ve
learned a few interesting facts.”  He leaned close to whisper in my ear.  “I
had no idea it takes that long for you to heal one of our bites.”  He hazel
eyes stared into mine, speculating.

I stood and moved out of the way, as the maid took my
place.  She glanced at Ibbe.  “I’d prefer the teeth if you don’t mind.”

Ibbe crossed to her and took her arm.  I watched in
fascination as she delicately bit the woman’s wrist.  The maid showed no sign
of fear or pain.  She turned and pressed her arm to Ville’s lips, stroking his
hair comfortingly as if she’d done this a million times before.

“Uh, do they make you do this often?”  I wondered if all
of the servants were required to feed their masters.  Maybe it was mind
control.  All of the stories said the Fallen could enslave humans.

She laughed.  “No one makes me.  But if there’s an
emergency, there are a few of the staff who have volunteered to be donors.” 
She glanced at me, and gave me a reassuring look, probably thinking I was a
human like her.  “It doesn’t hurt.  And you don’t even have to let them bite
you, if you’re afraid.  They have a little fleam for this sort of thing.”  She
held up her thumb and index finger illustrating size.  “I just prefer the
bite.  It’s quicker and it heals faster.”  She gave me a kind smile before
returning her attention to Ville.

Marshall was smirking at me.  I stood and backed away,
feeling like an idiot.  “Well, congratulations,” I said to him.  “You’ve made a
fool of me.  I hope you’re very amused.”

Ville began to stir, lifting his hands to grasp the
woman’s wrist.  She sighed a little, and her cheeks grew just a bit pinker than
they had been when his power washed over her.  I narrowed my eyes at her.  I
thought that maybe I knew her reason for volunteering to be a donor. 

Ville’s beautiful blue eyes fluttered open.  He released
the maid and pushed up into a sitting position, where he rubbed his head and squinted
at us as if he had a massive headache.  His gaze traveled around the room.  Everyone
was silent as he took in the people around him and the bloodstains on his
clothes and bed.

“What happened?”  His voice was deep and rich as usual. 
He showed no indication that he had just been near death.  Of course,
apparently he never had been.  I frowned even harder, thinking Marshall better
watch his back.

The maid stood and rolled her sleeves back down.  “I’ll be
going.  I think I’m not wanted here.”  She glanced at me uneasily.  Maybe she
was catching on to the fact that I wasn’t human.

Ville moved to the edge of the bed and took her hand.  He
bowed his head over it, then met her eyes.  “Thank you Andrea,” he said
softly.  “I appreciate your kindness.”

She looked flustered.  “You’re welcome sir.”  Turning, she
gave me a nervous smile and left the room.  I tramped down the part of me that
wanted to wipe that smile off her face.  It was probably just an effect of
having pulled my aura into play, putting me in touch with my wolf, but I was
feeling a wee bit possessive.

Marshall went to sit on the end of the bed, where he could
study Ville.  “What’s the last thing you remember from tonight?”

“It’s all a bit hazy,” he said slowly.  His eyes met mine
and I looked away before I could react.  “The last thing I remember with any
clarity is giving Wren the present I bought for her.”  I breathed a sigh of
relief.  Maybe he really didn’t remember what we had almost done. 

Ibbe paced to his side.  “Someone poisoned you and tried
to murder you while you slept.”  Her eyes were on me.

Marshall sighed.  “Ibbe, you know it wasn’t Wren.”

Ville looked at him in question.  “What did you do to
Wren?”  His tone was sharp. 

Ibbe crossed her arms, looking pissed.  “She was the last
one to see you, Ville.  She’s a stranger- a Shifter, for the love of the Gods-
and we have no idea why she is here.  We simply put the pieces together.  If
you don’t like it, then maybe you should confide in us occasionally.  Let us
know what’s going on.”

I said nothing.  This wasn’t really about me.  Ville
should know that I had no ulterior motives.  Either he trusted me, or he
didn’t.  I met his eyes and saw only gentleness there.  My chest constricted
and I looked away, not liking the way I was reacting to him.  My wolf was a
wild flurry of protective rage inside my head.

Marshall shook his head and grinned.  “Don’t worry Ville;
Wren would do anything it takes to protect you.  And now that you’re up and
about, she’ll be out to find the enemy and tear them to shreds.”

I refused to even look at Marshall.  He was dead to me.  I
took a deep breath and went to stand in front of Ville, forcing myself to meet
his clear blue eyes.  “You’re really okay?”

He smiled at me and reached up to touch my cheek.  “I’m
fine.”

“Marshall said you were in danger- that you needed blood
quickly or you would die.  How can you recover so quickly?”  I wanted to touch
him, to run my hands over his broad chest and re-assure myself that there were
no wounds.  I clenched my fists and kept my hands to myself.

Ville raised his eyebrows and shot an angry glance at
Marshall before returning his gaze to me.  “I wasn’t in any danger.  I was
simply in stasis.  When our bodies are injured we can lie in stasis for days before
the situation becomes critical.”  I had never heard of this.

I glared at Marshall, forgetting that he didn’t exist. 
“You lied.”

Ibbe laughed.  “I told you he was fine.”  Her aggressive
posture was beginning to relax, and I thought that half of her attitude was
probably just worry for Ville.

Ville stood and stretched.  His wings settled at his back,
and he went to the wardrobe to get some clean clothes.  Maybe some without
holes in the chest.  “I assume the guards have been alerted?”

Ibbe nodded.  “They’ve secured the mansion, and are on the
lookout for anyone suspicious, but the culprit is likely long gone by now.”

He nodded agreement.  “Most likely.  The poison was
probably in my glass this evening.  We’ll have to figure out some kind of
protocol to keep our meals clean.  I’ve been too lax, particularly considering
my father….”