Tressa's Treasures (The King's Jewel Book 1) (25 page)

Instead of following my instructions, she clung to my leg.

"That's the bad man from the store," she said in a trembling voice.

Fred stepped toward us. Unconsciously, I backed away from him, Sophia still glued to my side. Belatedly I remembered that I needed to be closer if I were to control him. This was difficult when it meant allowing him within reach of Sophia.

I pushed her behind me and gripped her upper arm to hold her there as I moved closer. I made eye contact with him, but something was wrong. His eyes were flat and lifeless.

"Fredrick Moyer, husband of Holly Moyer—"

"God damn right, she's my wife. Where is she?" he shouted.

Fear rose in my chest.

I tried again. "Fredrick Moyer, stop right there."

I trembled. I couldn't hold
Dominion
over him; someone else was already controlling him. He kept coming toward us.

I had to get Sophia to safety. If I ran with her, he could catch us. I couldn't be sure he would grab me and leave the child unharmed. I had no choice but to hold him off while she got to safety. Then, perhaps, I could flit away.

I whipped around and stooped to her level in one smooth motion. I grabbed both her arms, too tightly in my panic, and she yelped. I locked eyes with her.

"Sophia Alexa Mannus, you will run as fast as you can to the Manor House. Don't stop until you get to Shamus."

Nothing. She didn't move; but this was different. My magic just wasn't working on her.

"Sophia, do as I ask—quickly."

This time, she obediently turned and ran, little arms pumping.

Suddenly the sky opened up, pouring down on us. Lightning flashed. I watched her through the rain, heart thumping, until I felt confident she was on her way.

I turned back and immediately felt a blow across my face. Fred's backhand knocked me off balance. I slid on the wet grass as I tried to catch myself and fell down hard.

I tried to scurry away from him and get to my feet, but he grabbed my leg and pulled it out from under me, sending me sprawling again. I flipped onto my back. When he came at me again, I swept my leg across his knees, knocking him down. He shouted curses at me.

I struggled to my feet, looking in the direction Sophia had just gone. I couldn't see her any more. Was she safe? I asked myself, wondering if she had gotten far enough away for me to flit to help.

In that moment of hesitation, he caught me, latching on to my wrist. I couldn't move on the wind as long as he held onto me.

"You're coming with me, witch," he hissed.

"Let me go," I shouted.

He punched me, pounding down on my jaw once, twice. Pain exploded across my face and down my neck.

Desperately, using my free hand, I tried to pry away his fingers and loosen his grip. He yanked on my arm, throwing me face down on the ground. The rain matted my hair around my head. He pushed his knee into my back, crushing my lungs with his weight. I struggled to breathe through a mouth full of my own wet hair.

He pulled my arms behind me. My heart pounded in my ears as I thrashed from side to side trying to get him off me. He tied my wrists together with the rope.

He leaned over to put his mouth next to my ear. His knee dug into me as he moved. I let out a muffled groan and again tried in vain to rock back and forth.

"Witch, I told you. You will burn."

His words filled me with terror. Though I had little strength left, I fought against him with renewed vigor and managed to turn my head. I gasped in air and began to scream.

Suddenly, Alexander was there. He dove at Fred, ramming his shoulder into his torso and tackling him away from me. Fred tried to regain his footing, but Alexander punched him and knocked him right back down.

My chest heaved as I sucked in air. It felt like I would never draw in enough. I rolled to a sitting position and then struggled to work my hands free of the rope.

Alexander straddled the other man and pummeled his face repeatedly with his fist.

I wrangled myself free of my restraints, ripping open the skin on my wrists and hands.

On the next gust of wind, Shamus and Gilleagán flitted in simultaneously, but from opposite directions. Gilleagán hauled Alexander away from Fred.

"Damn it, Xander. That's enough," Gilleagán said.

While Alexander struggled to push past Gilleagán, Fred rolled to his hands and knees. My brother held his ground between the two men.

"What's the matter, tough guy?" Alexander shouted at Fred. "Can you only hit women? Come on, I'm ready for you. I'll whip your ass."

Shamus hurried over to me and gave me his hand to help me to my feet. Pain seared through me, and I thought my knees might buckle. I held onto Shamus to steady myself.

"Xander, I'm okay," I said. I thought my words would calm him.

He turned to look at me when I spoke. I can't say what I looked like, but it must have been bad. Shoving Gilleagán to the side, he delivered a sharp kick straight to Fred’s ribs. Fred collapsed back down to the ground, groaning.

Alexander would have continued beating him if Matt hadn't come sprinting around the end of the labyrinth at just that moment. He stepped between them, chest heaving, and held his hands up to stop Alexander's next blow.

"Xander," he shouted to get his attention. "I got this. You take care of Tressa."

Fred lay immobile on the ground in a puddle of mud. Though he gave no indication he would run, Matt hogtied him with the rope just in case. Then he pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911.

Shamus discretely stepped away from me once Alexander had me within his grasp. Alexander held me under my elbow as he gently examined my swollen jaw and the bleeding scrapes on my hands and wrists. His anger blazed from his eyes.

"Will you be able to take care of this?" he asked. "Should we take you to the hospital?"

I shook my head.

"I just need to get home."

Shamus cleared his throat to bring us out of our tète-à-tète.

"It would be best if she flitted. It's the fastest way to get her there," he said.

Alexander looked reluctant to let go of me.

"She doesn't seem to be very steady on her feet," he said.

"I will move with her. I'll make sure she gets there safely."

Shamus, showing Alexander a new level of respect, waited for him to acquiesce before acting.

Alexander kissed me. He nodded to Shamus, who took my hand. We walked a few steps together and then flitted on the wind to the door of my home.

ALEXANDER

I cursed at myself as I ran to Tressa's farmhouse. How could I have been so reckless? Why didn't I add my own security measures to the fae magic Shamus had in place? The remote, cocoon-like feeling of the estate had tricked me into a false sense of security.

When I ran into the farmhouse, Shamus was in the living room filling Holly and the twins in on what had happened. Tressa sat in the chair, rubbing herself dry with a towel.

Holly had lost all her color. She hugged herself as she listened to Shamus's story. I didn't know if she could bear to hear of another brutality perpetrated by her husband.

Tressa reached out with a trembling hand and patted Holly's arm to calm her. I took a deep breath to squelch my anger; Tressa was again at the brink of exhaustion, yet still she was helping someone else. Exploding at Holly would be a serious misdirection of that anger.

Everyone stopped talking as I strode over to Tressa, gathered her in my arms, and carried her up the stairs. She relaxed her exhausted body as I carried her, turning her face into my chest and wrapping her hands around my neck. I took her to her room and eased her onto the bed.

Shamus came in behind me, carrying an armful of supplies from Tressa's pantry. He placed the various bottles, herbs and powders on the bedside table.

"I have everything taken care of downstairs," said Shamus. "The princesses will tend to Holly. Sophia is with Jenny. I'll go check on her now."

"Thank you, Shamus," Tressa called after him as he headed out.

"What else do you need?" I asked.

"Just you," Tressa said, attempting to smile. I flinched; the bruising on her face made the smile look more like a grimace.

Tressa struggled to sit up. I gave her my hand to help her as she gingerly pulled herself forward. I layered pillows behind her with my free hand and she eased herself back against them. Then she patted a spot next to her for me to sit.

She spread a white liquid from one of her jars over the wounds on her wrists. She chanted softly as she applied it, and her skin healed nearly the moment she touched it. It was the fastest healing I had ever seen her do.

She placed a couple of tablespoons of a fragrant oil in a bowl, adding a pinch of dried plant leaves and mixing them together. She rubbed this mixture over her jaw and her neck. The skin under her fingers went back to its usual pearly alabaster as she touched it, but the swelling took longer to go down.

"Will you help me take off my shirt?" she asked.

She moved cautiously forward, and I carefully pulled her shirt over her head. I clenched my teeth when I saw the purple skin underneath the fabric.

She made more of the tonic, singing softly as she applied it to her midriff. The skin changed swiftly, going from purple to yellowish-green to pearly white.

"Rub some on my back, please," she said.

"Will it work if I do it?"

"Aye, it will be fine."

This time she sat forward easily. I took the remaining oil from the bowl and rubbed it into the bruises on her back as she continued her chant. These bruises healed slower than the others, but they had disappeared completely by the time she sat back against the pillows.

Within five minutes of starting the process, she looked exhausted but completely healed.

I climbed into bed next to her and put my arm around her shoulders. She leaned against me and kissed the hand that hung over her shoulder.

"How could I let him get to you?" I chided myself. "I should've taken better care of you."

"This wasn't your fault. You found me, as you always do, and stopped him from taking me. You're a hero."

I felt like the furthest thing from a hero when I remembered the marks the beating had made on her. She looked so frail.

"I knew you needed me, but I was at the History Center Library doing research. It nearly killed me, thinking I wouldn't get here in time."

My mind went to the old photos I had found; they might help me pinpoint a landmark on Brion's map. It would be a big step towards finally finding the source of the River Rock. I saved that news for a better time. Her half-asleep voice drew me back to the present.

"I couldn't hold
Dominion
over him."

"Why? You did it before."

"Another Sidhe already had control of his mind."

It took me a minute to fully comprehend the implications of her words.

"You mean an Unseelie may have been using him to get you out past the wards?"

"Aye, could have."

A new fear gnawed at my gut. I believed that the strange stories she told me of war and blood oaths were real. Nevertheless, until now she had seemed to worry about a great many things that didn't happen. This knowledge made the danger real on an entirely new level. A crushing pain in my chest reminded me how close I had been to losing her.

After my discharge from the Marines, I thought I had left war behind me. Nevertheless, I would pick up arms if need be to protect her from this strange threat.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

TRESSA

Although I felt fully recuperated after sleeping through until the next morning, Alexander insisted I take the day off and spend it relaxing with Holly at the Manor House. I didn't think he understood how difficult it was to relax in a chaotic Sidhe household. I agreed with his plan without enlightening him.

When we arrived, Shamus roused the twins from their beds. They bustled around in their pajamas, upending everyone's routine as they enthusiastically took charge of Holly and me. They insisted that Holly lounge on the living room sofa, agreeing for once that it was the most comfortable spot in the house for her. They pointed out that the room had a second sofa, in case I should like to lounge as well, which I did not. I chose a comfortable chair next to Holly instead.

While relaxing didn't interest me, I welcomed the opportunity to discuss the previous day's incident with my cousins. Once their fussing calmed, I asked, "Keelin, Rosheen, have you noticed any other Sidhe around since you've been here?"

Rosheen shook her head.

"I'm sure you're wondering who's responsible for your attack yesterday. I've been thinking about it too."

Holly, pale and drawn, spoke up timidly.

"Tressa, are you sure it wasn't just Fred acting on his own? I mean, at this point I have to believe he's capable of anything."