Toil and Trouble (13 page)

Mathilda smiled brightly at me. “How do you require my assistance, Child?”

I regarded Odran with a frown. “Could we have some privacy?”

“Jolie!” Mathilda said in a scolding voice as she glanced up at Odran. “She does not intend to offend…”

Odran waved away her concern. “Aye, tis joost how the Lass is.”

Slightly embarrassed by my faux pas, I took Odran’s hand and led him outside, pausing underneath an arbor of red roses. Seemingly still unnerved by my vision, he yanked his hand from mine and rubbed it with his other hand, as if I’d pinched him or something.

Hallelujah and praise God, I’d finally found a way to ensure Odran kept his hands to himself! This was turning out to be a good day.

“I apologize if I was rude, Odran, but my reasons for visiting Mathilda are private. And I’m running out of time—Rand can’t realize I’m gone.”

Now that I thought about it, Rand definitely wouldn’t believe I’d just gone running. He knew how much I abhorred exercise. That meant I’d need to finish up my business with Mathilda and get back before Rand suspected anything.

“I oonderstand,” Odran said and paused momentarily before turning away and starting back down the lane.

“Odran,” I called after him and said as an afterthought, “thank you.”

He just smiled as I faced Mathilda’s house. Mathilda waited by the door, her face drawn with concern and disapproval. The face of a disappointed mother.

“You should not treat the King with such ill manners.”

“Odran and I have always had a different relationship,” I started.

“He is a great king, descended from a line of great kings centuries old,” she finished, wrapping her aged white shawl closer around her spindly shoulders.

“I’ll tell him I’m sorry later,” I offered and meant it. Maybe I took Odran for granted but it was only because he regarded me as nothing more than a bun for his hot dog.

She stepped out of her house and neared me, moving past a cropping of coneflowers. “Why have you come, Child?”

I paused as I wondered how she’d react to my request for her help. “I’m sure you’re aware of our impending war?”

She nodded. “Of course. All our menfolk have gone off to join Rand.”

That would explain the lack of men in the streets. The fairy village had seemed pretty desolate, now that I thought about it. The idea weighed on me and I hoped all those fathers, husbands and brothers would return to their families. And if they couldn’t, I promised myself I’d do my damnedest to bring them back.

But, that wasn’t why I was here. What I needed to focus on now was persuading Mathilda to help me go to battle. My reasons were pretty simple—I had to kill Ryder. That and I wanted to protect Rand and Sinjin...

“Rand has forbidden me to go.”

“To protect you.” She said it matter-of-factly, like I shouldn’t be concerned with men going off to war and instead, should focus on my knitting.

“Yes, I know, but I also know my witchcraft can help him. It’s not fair that I should be prevented from going just because Rand wants to protect me.” I paused. “I’m the whole reason behind this war anyway.”

She paused near a yellow rose bush and began tending to the dead and dying blooms, massaging the new blooms encouragingly. “You are hoping I can persuade him?” she asked.

I shook my head. “You won’t be able to persuade him. He’s the most stubborn man, er witch, I’ve ever met.”

She smiled knowingly. “Perhaps that is one of the reasons you love him?”

Surprise shot through me. Did her fairy magic allow her to be so perceptive or was I was just so obvious? Well, either way, there was no use in lying to a fairy, especially one as old and wise as Mathilda.

“Yes,” I answered reluctantly. “Anyway, Rand won’t change his mind, so I’m here to ask you to help me change my appearance.”

Adopting the appearance of someone else was the only solution I could think of. If Rand saw the real me in battle, he’d undoubtedly hide me somewhere or worse still, jeopardize his concentration on the battle which could risk his safety. And, as an added benefit, if incognito, I could take Ryder by surprise.

Yes, I could alter my appearance by way of magic, changing such things as my hair or eye color. Once I’d given myself a mole like Marilyn Monroe’s and I’d removed the freckles from across the bridge of my nose and cheeks. But, those were just short term spells—I could never maintain them and I’d never been able to change my appearance well enough nor long enough to pass as someone else.

“You intend to deceive Rand by pretending to be a stranger so you can fight alongside him?” Mathilda asked.

That was the long and the short of it. “Yes.”

She nodded, a smile curling the ends of her lips. “I see.”

“I must fight, Mathilda, I can help. I know I can. Rand says I’m a young witch and my powers aren’t what they will be someday, but…”

“You are but a fledgling, Child,” she interrupted. “And I do understand Rand’s reservations. He only desires what is best for you, but, of course, much of his reasoning is selfish.”

“Selfish?”

“Yes, he could use your assistance but he cares more about protecting you.”

I glommed onto the fact that Rand could use my assistance. Now that I’d heard it verified from someone I respected, it only hardened my decision to go to battle. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate all he’s done for me but I want to protect him in the same way he wants to protect me.”

She nodded, her stare penetrating. I tried not to wither under her stringent gaze and found it difficult. The fae were definitely not an easygoing crowd.

“So, will you help me?”

She took both my hands in hers, closing her eyes as she did so. It seemed as if the entire garden hung on her response, the birds stopped singing, the droning hum of the insects now silent.

“Ah, yes, of course…” she whispered, responding to something only she could see.

She opened her eyes and dropped my hands. “Yes, you will fight in the war. It is as dictated by providence.”

I frowned. “You mean I’m supposed to go?”

She nodded. “I have seen it and it is so.”

At her words, I was reminded of the search for this so called prophetess. Could the prophetess be standing before me? “Mathilda,” I started. “Are you the prophetess?”

She laughed. “Goodness no. The prophetess can see the future and change it.”

“But you can see the future?”

“I see how the future will unravel in the way it is supposed to. Whether or not what is meant to happen happens, is another story altogether.”

“Oh,” I said. “Is there a prophet then?”

She nodded. “I believe there is though I have never had any proof but sometimes one’s belief is proof enough.”

I smiled. “So, you will help me?”

“Yes, you are meant to join the battle, Jolie. I do not know why nor if you will meet your end but I do know you are meant to go.”

I swallowed hard. I could meet my end. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t been aware of this fact already but hearing it out loud and hearing it from Mathilda seemed to cement the fact even more. But, I’d made up my mind. I couldn’t think about the what ifs now. I had a plan to see to fruition.

“Will you teach me how to transform myself?”

“If that is what is required. Perhaps I should speak with Rand and tell him I have seen the will of Nature and she dictates…”

“He won’t let me go,” I interrupted. “I don’t mean to be rude but I know he won’t let me go, no matter what you saw.”

She smiled as she weighed the options. “Perhaps you are correct, little one. He is a most stubborn witch.”

I laughed. “Yes, he is.”

She started for the cottage door. “Then we must begin soon. It will take a great amount of magic to alter your face and it will last no longer than a fortnight.”

A fortnight was two weeks. Well, I could only hope the war wouldn’t last that long.

“You will come to me every day, Jolie. I will build up my magic reserves each night and feed them to you by day or the magic will not be strong enough to sustain.”

“Okay, but I don’t want to transform until the night of the battle.” It wouldn’t do me any good to be walking around Rand’s house as a complete stranger, lest I be mistaken for a burglar or Robert Downey Jr.

“Of course. The magic will not take shape until we instruct it to. But, we will have to build it up, all the same.”

“Great.” It was going to be tough finding ways to steal away everyday but I could make it work. I’d have to make it work.

“You will need plenty of nourishment and rest, Child. I cannot do the spell on my own; it will require your help.”

“Okay,” I nodded.

“First, you must find an image of the person you wish to become. Bring me that image tomorrow eve and we shall begin.”

I planned to rummage through Christa’s magazines which currently consisted of about five million stashed all over her room. “Okay, that’s easy.”

“You will deceive all Underworld creatures with your guise except for the undead.”

“Vampires?”

She nodded. “They recognize you by the scent of your blood and that is impossible to alter.”

Dammit, that meant taking Ryder by surprise would be out. Hmm, I’d have to be that much stronger in my offense. I could only hope I was up for the challenge.

“Okay, when do we start?” I asked with a smile.

Nine

We had finished drawing up our doctrine and it was now in the mail, en route to the Wicked Witch of the West. To say our doctrine was the nicer, more forgiving of the two would be an understatement. Rand, a warlock full of morality and ethics, had composed a pact even the Founding Fathers would have been proud of.

Rand’s demands precluded the existence of a monarchy, since all creatures were endowed with the freedom of choice. Similar to Bella’s demands, the Covens would remain in existence but they would be free to govern themselves. Additionally, Coven members would be able to pick the Coven to which they belonged and Coven magistrates would be elected. Rand delineated a panel of thirteen elders, each elected by a Coven as their representative. These leaders would meet monthly to discuss problems and find solutions. Rand’s demands were based on equality and liberty so he also specified that Coven meetings would be held in rotating locations so each Coven had a chance to host them.

All employment opportunities would be approved by the Coven head and voted on by the entire Coven. The document was well-planned and comprehensive and I had nothing to do with it. And I had no issues with having nothing to do with it.

It was now a mere two weeks until we would meet Bella’s army at Culloden, and the stone of dread in my stomach seemed to be expanding. Every night I woke with heartburn and worried the stress was burning a huge hole in my stomach lining. Good thing I could heal myself.

One night I woke with my heart racing and it had nothing to do with heartburn or worry about the war. Nope, it had everything to do with an X rated dream about…Sinjin. Mortified, I forced myself to get up and tried to eradicate the explicit images from my mind. I was shocked my subconscious had concocted such erotic images about someone whom I still wasn’t sure how I felt. Despite my sense of growing affection for Sinjin since he’d now saved me twice (once, at Bella’s from Ryder, and twice, from becoming canine), those feelings were nothing compared to what I felt for Rand …or the feelings I was in the process of attempting to bottle up for Rand.

Speaking of Sinjin, I’d drunk his blood each time before practice and luckily, I’d grown somewhat used to it—now I didn’t hallucinate, but it always gave me a slight headache that faded after about twenty minutes.

Also, at each meeting we attempted to locate the prophetess. Sinjin would take my hands in his as I sought her out with my mind’s eye, using astral projection. So far, we had no clue as to her whereabouts or identity.

Running late for my next training session with Sinjin, I opened the rusty iron gate that scratched like the cackle of an old witch. Guided by a beam of moonlight, I found my way into the garden, inhaling the sweet scent of roses. Rand wasn’t a gardener, he hired laborers for that but he dictated which roses to plant. And for some reason, I thought the fact that he’d ordered roses of every hue was romantic.

The garden was not huge—a stone fence approximately two hundred feet by two hundred feet surrounded the rainbow of roses. A lone bench sat in the middle of the square and from it you could not only view the garden’s beauty, but also the forest at the east end of Pelham Manor which was graced by a seasonal creek.

“My lovely Poppet,” Sinjin said and I turned to find him leaning against the wall, outlined in shadows.

“Hi, Sinjin,” I responded and joined him in the umbra of darkness.

Sinjin smiled and his hair was so shiny black in the moonlight, it looked like spilt oil. He bit into his wrist and held it out to me. I latched onto it with my mouth, trying to ignore the metallic taste of blood which totally grossed me out. I closed my eyes and sucked until he forced me to stop.

“You are getting a bit overzealous,” he said with a smile and licked his wound until the skin closed over and healed.

“Maybe your blood is addictive,” I retorted, wiping my sleeve across my mouth. “Do you know that I can run five miles now and not even have to rest?”

“This does not sound like much of a feat, Pet.”

“You don’t know how much I abhor exercise,” I laughed. And that wasn’t all I could do. I could easily lift over one hundred pounds and could move as fast as I could think. I still couldn’t materialize like Sinjin could but I was faster than any otherworldly creatures.

He crossed his arms over his chest and regarded me with amusement. “What else have you noticed?”

“My magic is much stronger,” I started, feeling like I had to prove myself. “And I can focus on things more clearly. What used to take me minutes to accomplish now takes seconds.”

I didn’t want to mention the fact that I’d had a sex dream about him and imagined his blood had something to do with that too. Even though I couldn’t deny I was attracted to Sinjin, I was firmly resolved not to get involved. The wound from Rand was still open and weeping…but only when I thought about it so I resolved not to.

As to Rand, he was avoiding me. Whenever I entered a room, he always seemed to find some reason to leave. That was fine by me. I’d meant it when I said I’d sworn off men. And the more I thought about it, the more I decided that if we did prevail at the end of the war, I was out of here and totally done with this lifestyle. I didn’t know where I’d go yet, or what I’d do, but I was done all the same. And that thought offered relief as well as sorrow.

“I am pleased to hear it, Love,” Sinjin said.

“Has anyone noticed you’ve been disappearing from the battle each night?”

He shook his head. “If anyone noticed, they have not said. But, training is useless for me—practice does not make me a stronger vampire, only time does.”

I nodded and examined a velvety rose petal, not wanting to look at him, lest images from my dream revisit me. And I really didn’t want to admit that those images created a fire in the pit of my stomach, an ache.

“Are you ready, Pet?”

I nodded and offered both my hands. His grip was cold and sent a chill down my body. I closed my eyes and descended past the inky blackness of my eyelids in order to see into another dimension that might offer a hint of this so called prophetess.

Nothing.

“This is a waste of our time,” I said.

“Let us try again next eve.”

As I started to release his hand, I was struck by a vision so lucid, it was like I was right there—in the freezing snow surrounded by pine trees. There was nothing else in sight—just thousands of acres of forest. I looked down to find the snow up to my knees. I crunched through it, cringing as the icy cold penetrated me to the core.

“What is it?” Sinjin asked.

The vision immediately vanished and I let go of his hands. “Just a blur of trees and snow,” I said, shrugging. “No prophetess.”

Sinjin offered me a smile and backed up a step. “Shall we begin our lessons, Love?”

I nodded, taking off my jacket and dropping it to the ground. I strolled toward the center of the garden square. The bench was blocking us until I telekinetically moved it to the corner of the garden, simply using my mind. I could have done it before I’d feasted on Sinjin’s blood but it wouldn’t have been as quick nor as easy.

“Impressive execution,” Sinjin said, approvingly.

“Thanks, see what I mean about being able to move things a lot more quickly? I used…” I couldn’t finish my sentence because he was suddenly on top of me.

He threw me onto the ground and I landed on my stomach, breaking my fall with my hands. My palms stung but that was about it—I’d managed to protect my chest and stomach, just like Sinjin had taught me. He instantly pinned my neck to the ground with one hand and tried to incapacitate me with his weight. As he pinned me, I managed to push against the ground and flip myself, landing on my back, but still beneath him.

He smiled, aiming for my jugular but I was a good student and hastily karate chopped his neck, before he could touch mine. The blow momentarily stunned him (or maybe he was acting) but either way, it gave me enough time to regain my balance. When I glanced up, he was gone. I jumped to my feet and braced them a shoulder’s width apart, listening for him. His blood allowed me to hear him on the wind, so I knew precisely where he’d materialize. As soon as I heard a slight swoosh, I turned to my right, kicking hard and planted my foot right where I wanted to, in his midsection.

He was thrown back about five feet and landed on the hard stone ground. It must have hurt like an SOB.

“Oh my God, Sinjin, are you okay?” I asked, running over to him and bending down.

He was flat on his back and just as I reached out to touch him, he grasped my ankle and pulled until I lost my footing and fell alongside him. I landed on my butt, but managed to reach down, just below the small of my back to pull out a stake. From our first lesson, I learned I should arm myself with a stake since I couldn’t create one, my magic being useless against vampires. I rolled over and onto his stomach until I was straddling him, and whipping out the stake, I held it just above his breastbone.

“Bam,” I smiled, “One dead vampire.”

He grabbed hold of the stake and tossed it aside. It clattered against the cobbled stone, before settling uselessly near the bench. “Very well done, Pet.”

“Were you going easy on me?” I eyed him speculatively, suddenly very aware that I was straddling him. His muscular body felt incredibly cold below me, like a statue. Although I knew I should get up, I just couldn’t bring myself to move.

“No, Poppet, you are learning quickly, it seems.”

At the feel of something stirring at the junction of his thighs, I started to stand but he held me in place.

“Do not move,” he whispered. “Your heat feels incredible.”

“Sinjin,” I reprimanded. “I didn’t sign up for sex talk.”

He sighed. “I am aware, my little warrior, and you are sticking to your oath.”

He meant my celibacy oath and, yes, I was sticking to it.

“I apologize, Love, I have not supped as yet and it makes my attraction to you that much stronger.”

“Whose fault is that?” I asked, suddenly feeling a bit dizzy again. I stood up and took a few steps, only to stumble. Sinjin materialized behind me, grabbing my arms to steady me.

“I think I drank too much of your blood,” I said, holding onto him for balance.

“Perhaps we should rest?” He assisted me to the bench.

“Good idea,” I answered and closed my eyes to stop the spinning. Would I ever get accustomed to Sinjin’s blood? I guess this reaction was better than hallucinating but it was still a close second. I needed to change the subject, to focus on something other than the queasiness currently residing in my stomach. I decided to ask Sinjin a question I’d been wondering about for a while. “Why aren’t you worried about Bella’s terms?”

“Why should I be?”

I glanced up at him in surprise. “Um, I would be. That whole part about putting you to death for treason, I think it was?”

He shook his head. “Her vanity was crushed after she threw herself at me and I played her for a fool.”

“Well, fool or not, she clearly wants you dead.”

“Does that bother you, Love?”

I frowned. “Of course it does!”

He chuckled a low, rumbling sound. “Do not let it concern you. The good always prevail, do they not?”

I laughed. “You sound like an excerpt from Jane Eyre or something. Who talks like you do? You are in the twenty first century, you know?”

“It is my way, Love. This is who I am.”

I nodded and held my head with my hands, wishing I could be so sure of myself, so unapologetic. It was something I admired about Sinjin—he was who he was and made no attempts to apologize for it. “I didn’t mean to tease you.”

“I enjoy it when you tease me,” he said with a sultry smile. Something about the way he said it brought my dream to light. I quickly stood up, not wanting to be so close to him. I needed to distance myself.

“Do you think drinking your blood could make me more attracted to you?” I inquired and started pacing, something I do when I’m in an uncomfortable situation. And this was uncomfortable. Mostly because I didn’t want to feel anything for Sinjin.

Sinjin laughed. “And why do you ask this question?”

Here was the embarrassing part and like I’ve said before, I’m a terrible liar—lying just isn’t an option. “I just feel…” Out with it. “Strangely…attracted to you, like I’m still a little bit drugged.” Yep, just call me Honest Abe.

“Is it so impossible to imagine you might harbor…feelings for me?”

I shook my head and riveted my gaze on my hands, too embarrassed to look into his eyes, even though we were in the dark. Vampires possessed excellent night vision, though, so he could probably see the hot blush permeating my cheeks.

“No, it’s not but it just seems unnatural, that’s all…like forced.”

“Well, to answer your question, I do not know.” He paused. “Poppet, I have a question for you,” he said before interrupting himself. “Please stop pacing, you are making me nervous and that is a difficult feat for someone as old as I.”

He latched onto my hand and pulled me to the cold stone bench again. Surprised, I merely folded my hands in my lap as though I was about to be reprimanded. I’d never seen this serious side of the vampire before. Sinjin joined me on the bench and I could feel the coldness of his body radiating outward. It was an odd feeling—not in the least bit welcoming. No, more like sitting next to a talking ice cube…a really sexy talking ice cube.