Midnight Soul (11 page)

“Kristian and his family?” Frey asked.

Valentine looked to him. “Frightened, but no
harm had been done. Though I arrived just in time.”

“She’s a witch,” Frey informed Valentine.

“She
was
a witch,” Valentine returned.
“I’ve stripped her of her powers.”

“What?” Nils whispered.

Noc looked to him. He was now holding his
wife in a protective embrace Noc didn’t think the man had in
him.

“It’s true, my love,” his wife said in a
trembling voice. “My magic, she took it.” Her gaze wandered
fearfully to Valentine. “Her power is…I’ve never felt anything like
it.”

“This is…it is…it’s,” Nils sputtered,
“
unspeakable
.” He speared Valentine with his eyes. “Return
it immediately.”

“If you don’t cease speaking to me in this
manner, you odious man, you’ll find yourself without a tongue,”
Valentine retorted.

“Who do you think you are?” Nils demanded,
pulling his wife behind him and taking a step toward Valentine.

When he did, the witch lifted her hand and
snapped.

Nils stopped immediately. Both his hands
shooting to his mouth, his eyes getting huge, his facing losing all
color, he staggered back and Noc watched as his eyes got even more
huge and he rolled his jaw around in a bizarre way that was also
creepy as fuck.

“Valentine,” Frey sighed.

“I’ll give it back,” she promised, but
finished with, “eventually.”

Noc stared at her. “You took his tongue?”

She tipped her head to the side. “I didn’t
fancy how he was using it.”

“Bloody hell,” Frey muttered.

Frey’s last man in the room, a guy named
Ruben, chuckled.

“I assume you have plans for these two
cretins that I’ll approve of?” Valentine asked Frey.

“I’m uncertain you’ll approve of them but I
can assure you they’ll be punished,” Frey answered.

She shifted only her eyes Nils and Anneka’s
way. “Punished seems a tame word in this instance.”

“They’re going to be inhabiting a cell for
the rest of their days,” Frey shared. “Does that suffice?”

“You can’t be serious.” Anneka’s words
sounded forced out.

Frey looked to his aunt. “I can’t?”

She took in his face and shrunk away.

“I suppose that’ll do,” Valentine
murmured.

Having turned fully to them, she was eyeing
them like she would eye a pesky rodent she intended to trap by
breaking its back and then dispose of.

“I’m done here,” Frey stated and looked to
Ruben. “Keep an eye on them until Lund gets back with the
constable.”

“Right, Frey,” Ruben answered.

He turned to Valentine. “Give him back his
tongue.”

She gave him a small smile. “Can’t I keep
it?”

“Give it back, Valentine.”

“Just for a little while,” she coaxed.

“Valentine, there’s Franka to see to,” Frey
reminded her.

That took the witch’s attention. She lifted
her hand, snapped, and Nils instantly whispered a relieved yet
horrified, “By the gods.”

Frey wasted no time sweeping an arm out for
Valentine to precede him, something she did. He glanced at Noc. Noc
lifted his chin. Frey moved and Noc followed him.

They were through the kitchens and heading to
the main stairs when Frey spoke.

“I’ve known her since she was a little girl.
But you were right.”

Noc stopped. Valentine stopped. And they both
found that Frey had stopped.

His attention was to Noc.

“There’s great substance to anyone who would
endure what she did, doing it for decades to protect her brother,”
Frey continued.

Noc said nothing.

Valentine also remained silent.

“Kristian is not as Nils described him,” Frey
went on. “But his wit is not as sharp as his sister’s. And his will
definitely not as strong. I cannot imagine how he would cope even
with the threat of the lash, much less feeling the bite of it. But
Franka, what I saw, I don’t even know how she remained
standing.”

“She remained standing so her brother would
not fall,” Noc pointed out.

Frey shook his head. “I would never think she
had this in her.”

“The two people who, from birth, were meant
to love her, look after her, protect her, but for Franka they were
those two fuckwads,” Noc jerked his head in the direction they
came, “it’s no surprise she did everything she could to make
certain no one got close. This guy, the one who died, had to be
something to tear off the mask she’d been wearing for so long it’s
a wonder it didn’t fuse with her skin.”

“I see this now,” Frey said softly, and it
didn’t take a cop who could read people to read he was kicking his
own ass for not seeing any of this earlier.

“Man, she was a master,” Noc told him
something he knew. “Twice, I’ve been around her, and she’s always
trying that shit with me even though she knows I see right through
it. Don’t beat yourself up. You were feeling for her exactly what
she wanted you to feel.”

Frey continued to look into Noc’s eyes as he
nodded.

“You two should feel free to stand here in
the hallway of a palace in the middle of the night and dissect how
Franka Drakkar’s childhood traumas have affected the woman she’s
become,” Valentine drawled. “I, however, am going to go see to the
woman herself.”

With that, no other way to put it, she
flounced away, but elegantly, as Noc was noticing was the only way
that woman did anything.

Noc and Frey started moving after her a whole
lot slower. Noc wanted to go a fuckuva lot faster but he felt
Frey’s mood, so he kept his strides in line with the other
man’s.

“Looking back,” Frey started reflectively as
they began to walk up the stairs, “outside, of course, what she did
for her lover, and that’s explainable considering he’s the only
person she’s allowed to see behind her mask, she never did aught
truly amiss, except be catty and forcefully unlikeable. She even
came forward with helpful information when Finnie and I were having
our troubles when my wee one came to me.”

“Frey, brother, you can knock yourself out
trying to find the signs you missed that’d lead you to her true
character,” Noc replied. “But that secret was a secret well kept.
You didn’t know what was happening to her so you couldn’t do a
damned thing about it. Just count yourself lucky you know now.”

“Yes,” Frey muttered. “Difficult to do. But
wise.”

When they made the top of the stairs, Noc
started to move faster and thankfully Frey came out of his thoughts
and moved with him.

They’d barely cleared the door before Finnie
was at her husband.

“Frey—” she began.

“Not now, my wee wife,” Frey said gently, his
arm going around her waist but his eyes went to Franka. “I’ll
explain all later.”

Noc just went to Franka.

She was out. Her eyes closed. Her breaths
even. Her beautiful face peaceful. And he saw strips of gauze with
some kind of milky gunk laid across her back.

He lifted his gaze to a man who was bending
over a leather case sitting on one of the chairs by the fire.

“How is she?” he asked.

The man raised his head and caught Noc’s
gaze.

“Mutilated,” he bit out and turned his
attention to Frey. “I hope, sir, that whoever perpetrated this
outrage has been detained.”

“He has,” Frey told him.

“What’s this stuff on her back?” Noc asked,
and the guy who was obviously the doctor looked back to him.

“Willow salt,” he stated. “I’ve left a jar
and clean dressings,” he went on.

He dipped his chin to a variety of shit that
was sitting on the table beside the chair.

Then he closed his case with a pissed-off
snap and lifted it, ordering, “In the morning, if you can get her
to eat, do so. But I’ve also left some willow tea to assist with
the pain. It needs to be seeped until it’s dark. And the dressings
need to be changed as well. On the morrow, mix these jars.” He
pointed to the jars on table. “As the bleeding will be staunched,
willow salt will no longer be needed. Simply mix the lavender oil
with the honey salve and the willow paste.” He glanced at Franka.
“There’s nothing to be done with stitches, considering the
extensive scar tissue she already has. But even if that were not
the case, there’s little skin left to stitch. But the salve will be
soothing and hasten healing.”

He started marching to the door but stopped
and looked up at Frey.

“I’ll return late morning to check on her,”
he announced.

“That would be appreciated,” Frey
replied.

The doctor gave Frey a short nod, didn’t look
at anybody and stomped out the door.

“Can you do more, Valentine?” Finnie asked,
she and Frey moving closer to the bed where Valentine was standing
opposite it from Noc.

“I’m not a healer, my goddess of love,” she
stated, her gaze directed at Franka. She looked to Finnie. “I know
some, but they would not be able to do much more than the doctor
did. Even if we brought her to our world, outside of managing the
pain, I’m not even certain a cosmetic surgeon could find results.
Unfortunately, the damage has long been done.”

Finnie looked up at Frey. “The elves?”

Frey nodded. “I’ll call to Nillen.”

“I caution you, my
chéries
, do not act
in haste without Franka’s input. Your kindness might not be
considered the same to her,” Valentine warned.

“I mean no offense, Valentine, but that’s
daft,” Frey returned, jerking his head toward the bed. “I know her
state has far from escaped you.”

“There are many of us who find strength and
even honor in our scars, those within,” she dipped her head to
Franka, “and those without.”

“Begging all your pardons,” a timid voice
came at them and Noc turned his head in its direction to see that
the girl who had woken him to tell him Franka was in danger was
coming out of the shadows by the windows and toward the bed, “but
Lady Franka should continue to rest and I fear, the lights on,
conversation happening…” she trailed off but they all got her
gist.

“I’m staying,” Noc said, turning to the lamp
by the bed and twisting it so the flame within died. “You all
go.”

“I can stay with my lady,” the girl
offered.

“You have a name, honey?” he asked.

“Josette.”

“Right, Josette, you’ll need to have it
together to take care of her when she’s up. So you should probably
get some shuteye.”

She bit her lip, looked to Franka, made her
decision and nodded.

But she didn’t leave. She started moving
around, turning out the lamps.

Frey, Finnie and Valentine did move to
leave.

“You need anything, you call,” Finnie said as
she paused at the door. “We’re three rooms down, other side.”

“Right, babe. Thanks,” Noc muttered, gave her
a smile, gave Frey a look and they moved out.

Valentine didn’t say anything. She just
smiled that small, weird smile of hers that he didn’t know if it
was cute, smirky or sexy, but taking it in it was all three.

Noc went to the fire, threw a couple of logs
on and settled in a chair.

“Goodnight, Lord Noctorno,” Josette said
quietly as she made her way to the side door.

“I’m not a lord, Josette, and everyone calls
me Noc.”

She made a shy, self-conscious noise, avoided
his eyes and disappeared behind the door.

The room was dark, except for the fire.

But thank fuck, the chair was
comfortable.

So Noc stretched out, stared at the fire,
didn’t think he’d get a wink of sleep, but was unconscious in
minutes.

* * * * *

Franka

I barely woke before I heard Josette’s
hushed, “I think she’s awake.”

I opened my eyes and tilted them up to see
Noc and Josette standing by the bed, Josette looking anxious, Noc
looking gentle.

Bloody hell.

“Yep, she’s awake,” Noc murmured and started
grinning. “How you doin’, Frannie?”

I began to push up to my forearms, surprised
that the pain in my back was dull rather than sharp, doing this
snapping, “I’ll be excellent, when you cease calling me this crude
name.”

Noc’s grin got bigger but he did it bending
closer.

“Move another inch, sugarlips, and I’ll sit
on you.”

I was groggy from the sleeping draught but I
was also Franka Drakkar.

Therefore I was relatively certain the glare
I sent his way was scorching.

Apparently I was wrong, for the glare had no
effect except to make him stop grinning and start smiling.

He had excellent teeth.

Oh, but the goddess Adele did not like
me.

Our eyes locked in a battle of wills I was
physically incapable of winning, though mentally I could best him
(perhaps), but movement made the dull pain sharpen and thus I
decided (for my own sake, of course) to settle back down to my
front.

Noc nodded like he was pleased and
straightened, turning to Josette. “Can you make her some of that
tea?”

“Right away,” Josette whispered and scurried
away.

“Kristian?” I said my brother’s name as a
question.

Noc looked back down at me. “Your brother’s
good, babe. His wife, kid, they’re all good. Valentine got to them
in time.”

Thank the goddess.

“My father?” I asked.

“Your dad and mom are both currently sitting
in a jail somewhere, on a variety of charges.”

That was…

It was…

I couldn’t even decide what it was before Noc
continued speaking.

“And Valentine stripped your mother of her
magic. Frey’s pissed, babe. I mean seriously. They’re not gonna
hurt you anymore. They’re not gonna hurt your brother anymore.
They’re not gonna hurt anyone anymore.”

My mother was stripped of her magic?

I couldn’t help it, I felt my mouth curve
into a gleeful, malicious smile.