Ollie, Ollie Hex 'n Free (13 page)

“You’re taking away from my family time, Erlking. Better make it fast.”

“Why would a spirit want to possess an unborn child?”

“If the child is born with the foreign entity inside it, it becomes part of the child permanently,” she said. “Most ghosts aren’t strong enough to break through the mother’s defenses, however.”

“If we had the spirit trapped, could you take it?” I asked.

She shook her head, looking a little sad. “Ghosts have chosen their path. I’m sorry. I can’t offer you anything other than information and even that was probably too much. Whatever you are fighting, I’m sure it’s the good fight. Good luck.” The next instant she was gone, leaving no residual trace.

I licked my lips. “You know what we have to do…”

“Kill Jessica.” He closed his eyes. “Selene will never forgive me.”

Yes, she’d be devastated, but…“It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission,” I said. “Hasn’t that always been Selene’s motto?”

“Do it,” he said.

I went a few steps and said, “She’ll forgive you. You’re protecting the child and her…but if she doesn’t, blame me.”

I’d make it fast. Jessica had been a good ally and friend. If she was still in there, she wouldn’t suffer. I slowed as I approached her cell, pulling a knife from my boot, and reaching into my pocket for the key—only the key was gone. I checked all of my pockets but they were empty.

Racing the last few steps to the cell, I grabbed the iron bars. They moved. I ripped open the cell door. Empty. Jessica was gone.

I stifled a yawn and rubbed my eyes. It was bad enough that I was swollen and uncomfortable, but then disaster struck and robbed me of the little rest I sometimes managed to get on a good night. Jessica had escaped and no one knew how.

“Someone had to help her,” Cheney said to his very sleepy audience: me, Katrina, Leslie, and Frost. Unlike elves, humans and pregnant ladies needed more than a power nap. His eyes lingered on Katrina, making me bristle on her behalf.

“Cheney, you know where everyone was last night. I was trying to sleep and the girls were in the archive working on the spells. Besides, all of us have something to lose by letting her go.”

“Yeah, you know, little things like our lives,” Katrina said.

He opened his mouth and closed it again, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to accuse you. There’s just so much we don’t know and the election is in a matter of days.”

I couldn’t spare a thought for the election. Jess’s disappearance was my sole concern. Her magic wasn’t supposed to work in the cell, so what had happened? Had someone helped her—or had one of us just made an honest mistake. Sebastian, while still vague about why he went to check on her at all, thought he had her plan figured out, but if he was right, why would she leave? I was still here—and the baby was supposedly her target.

“Maybe those other people who have been helping her got her out,” Leslie said.

“How?” Sebastian said. “Security is tighter than ever before. They wouldn’t know where the dungeon is, and my key was stolen at some point after we spoke with her yesterday. There’s a limited pool of suspects.”

“What about Corbin?” Frost said. “The vampire could have taken the key and he was already in the castle. He’s also the only one who was downstairs alone with her.”

“Corbin has no reason to release Jessica,” I said. He may be a lot of things, but Corbin wouldn’t hurt me. I was positive about that. If anything he might kill her to save me trouble. Actually that thought worried me quite a bit. Surely if he had, though, there would have been a body…

“No offense, but we don’t actually know that,” Leslie said. “I know none of us did it. Kat and Frost were with me the whole time. I don’t believe for a second that you did it.” She nodded at me. “I get it that you and Corbin have been through a lot together, but what if Jessica’s offer was too good to pass up? Are you sure he wouldn’t take it? Are you positive there’s nothing that could tempt him to betray you?”

He nearly betrayed me in purgatory, but didn’t. He resisted. I knew Corbin better than anyone else in the room did, and I couldn’t come up with a single thing he wanted, other than to locate some rogue vampire. Jessica would have no idea about that though.

“Corbin didn’t do it,” I said. “I mean, Jessica doesn’t know him at all. Can any of you think of anything she could offer him? I can’t.”

The room went silent. That’s what I thought. Someone else had to have helped her escape. Maybe she got to the guard somehow.

“You,” Sebastian said.

My eyes narrowed. “Are you accusing me?”

He shook his head. “She could have offered him
you.
I mean that’s what Corbin really wants, isn’t it?”

“Jessica doesn’t choose who I love. Only I do that,” I said, taking Cheney’s hand.

Cheney looked down, winked, then gave a little smile just for me—but it didn’t hide the concern in his eyes. “No matter how she escaped, she has to be dealt with.”

“You mean captured,” Katrina said.

“I mean dealt with,” Cheney said, not breaking eye contact with me. “She is coming after my family. I don’t care how we have to do it, but she will never lay a finger on my wife or my child.”

I rubbed my thumb over the back of his hand. Sebastian didn’t go down to “check” on Jessica. He’d gone to kill her. They figured out why she wanted my child and Sebastian went to end it, but he wouldn’t have done so without Cheney’s approval.

“You can’t kill her. You promised,” Katrina said, looking back and forth between Cheney and Sebastian then desperately over at me. “You know I would never let anyone harm you or my godchild. You know that. But you have to believe we can still get Jessica back. Please say you believe that.”

“I hope for all of our sakes it doesn’t come down to the baby or her,” I told Katrina.

She nodded slowly. “We won’t let it get to that point. We’ll keep working on the spell. This time we have her blood. We can summon her. She won’t be able to resist.”

She stood up. “Looks like we have a lot more work to do.” Katrina left the office with renewed energy and Leslie went with her.

Frost stood up and stretched, rolling her shoulders back. Her nearly black eyebrows arched over her extremely pale eyes. “No one knows the value of unwavering loyalty better than I do. But make sure the people you are loyal to deserve it.”

“Jessica is possessed. None of this is really her fault,” I said.

“I wasn’t talking about the witch. At least speak to Corbin,” she said then closed the door behind her.

Cheney sat next to me. I laid my head on his shoulder and Sebastian dropped down into Cheney’s usual chair.

“So you know,” Sebastian said.

I could have pretended I didn’t understand what he was talking about and made him confess to going to the dungeon to kill one of my best friends. That was what a fae would do. “I know.”

Cheney’s arm went around me, strong and comforting as he pulled me in closer. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he said.

I couldn’t find it in me to be angry with him. He was protecting us from a threat when perhaps I was too blind to do so myself. “How did you figure out why she wanted our daughter?”

“Olivia—and our talk was sort of odd. There’s something different about her now.”

“Maybe Sy will have an idea about Corbin.” I traced the buttons on his shirt. “I think I’ll go see him.”

“I’ll come with you,” he said.

“You can’t,” Sebastian said. “We have four campaign stops today. Selene can miss because she is so near her due date. You, on the other hand, are expected.”

“They’ll get over it. I’m not leaving her,” Cheney said.

I sat up. The gesture was sweet, but I wasn’t going to rob Cheney from his birthright. “Go. We’ve come this far. All of this will eventually pass, but the election affects the rest of our lives. I’ll be safe at the Office. I promise I won’t go anywhere else. It’s not like I have the energy anyway. You’ll regret it if you don’t go today and we lose the election.”

He pressed his lips to my forehead. “I’ll never regret the time I spend with you. I don’t care about the election. I don’t care about the fae. What I do care about is right here sitting beside me.”

“And if you really care about them, you will not leave their futures in someone else’s hands,” Sebastian said.

Cheney rolled his eyes and I smiled. Sebastian for the win. “Go. We have the rest of our lives to be together.”

“Promise?”

“Always.”

He took a deep breath. “Straight to the Office and straight back here. Don’t give her an opportunity to trap you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” I flashed another smile and he shook his head.

“That’s it. I’m staying.”

I laughed. “No. Go. I promise. Nowhere else.”

He helped me up and walked me to the door. “Have I told you how radiant you look today?”

“You lie. I looked tired and awful, but I love you for saying so.”

As soon as I was out of the castle, I transported directly to the Office as promised. Sy nodded to me as I entered. “Hey, cousin,” he said at the same time his phone started ringing.

I rolled my eyes. “Tell Cheney I said hi.”

He laughed then answered. “Yeah, she’s here.” One side of his mouth twitched up. “Understood. I’ll take care of her.”

I sat down across from him.

“It appears your husband is worried about you.”

I shrugged. “That’s not really new.”

“Good point. But, then again, when Cheney thinks you’re up to something you normally are. What brings you here?”

“Can’t I just want to see my family?”

He gave me a dubious look. “You want to see your family? Great, let’s go visit mom. You hardly ever drop by. I know she would love it.”

“I promised Cheney I’d only come here or go home.”

Sy gave me the grin that too often as a kid meant one of us was going to get into trouble. “Since when are you scared to break the rules?”

“You’re a bad influence.” I stood up, happy to be off of the uncomfortable stool.

He tossed the towel in his hand down on the counter. “Meet you there.”

I went outside and transported to Aunt Lorelei’s house. I hadn’t been back as much as I should have. It wasn’t that I was avoiding Aunt Lorelei, but I wasn’t the same person anymore and I didn’t know where that left us. She raised me as a young half-elf, was a mother to me, but I never appreciated it. All I could see were the things I didn’t have and I resented them so much. Then I faked my death and didn’t tell her. To make matters worse I came back and once again started causing trouble and dragging her son into it. And finally her brother, my father, died because of me. It seemed awfully presumptive to just show up and expect her to be okay with me.

I tugged on my ear and stared at the house, an old-fashioned thing with sharp peaks and tall narrow windows, nestled amongst trees and flowers. I could picture her inside, trying to teach me and Sy (there had probably never been two more unruly students) or baking or humming or in general being saintly—so very opposite of either of us.

Sy nudged me. “You just going to stare all day, or are you biting the bullet this time?” He walked backward toward the door. “You’ve come too far to go back now.”

I smiled though my stomach fluttered. She came to my wedding, so she couldn’t be that mad at me— but then again, that could have been more for Sy than me.

“Hey, Ma! Guess who I brought with me?” he called as he entered the house.

A moment later they both reappeared in the doorway. Lorelei was, as ever, gorgeous. Sy had her blond hair and large silver eyes. Her hair fell in soft curls all the way down her back. They weren’t natural of course, but she always dressed and looked as human as possible. I thought it was to make us feel better about being half-breeds growing up, but she never stopped even after we were gone.

I waved, trying to smile, but not quite making it.

She approached me slowly, eyes glittering as she looked me up and down. I waited for it, that moment when she would reject me like everyone else. I slowly blew out a breath, steeling myself.

“You look like you could use a good meal,” she said, gently clasping my upper arms and kissing my cheeks.

My shoulders sagged and tears sprang to my eyes. “I’m as big as a house.”

“That’s the baby, not you.” She took my hand. “You have circles beneath your eyes and your cheekbones are too sharp. Come on in. I’ll make you something.”

She led me into the kitchen where Sy was already digging through the refrigerator. She swatted him with the kitchen towel. “Go sit with Selene and the two of you fill me in on what’s happening.”

Sy sat in the chair next to me. “You know, same old. My life is boring.”

Lorelei’s laugh bounced off the walls. “Son, do you think I’m slow? I taught you everything you know. But I’m going to let that slide because I already know what you’re up to. Who I really want to hear from is Selene.”