Why Are All the Good Guys Total Monsters? (9 page)

The arrow hit its target; the monster’s cry confirmation it
had been wounded.

Archer ran towards the creature, and I grasped the chance to
slip into the shadows, away from both the monster and Archer.

Realising I’d gone, Archer came after me, leaving the monster
to its wounded fate.

Deeper and deeper into the forest I ran, hoping Sabastien or
Daire would find me before Archer did.

‘Vesper!’

A different voice. Daire’s voice. A surge of energy charged
through me. ‘Daire!’ I shouted, knowing that Archer would hear me and know now
where I was. But I had no choice. I had to hope that Daire would reach me
first.

A strong hand grabbed hold of me.

It was Daire.

He clasped me to him, relieved he’d found me safe, and then
soared off with me, leaving behind Archer and the roar of other monsters.

I clung on to Daire, who held me close. My fingers felt the
chainmail on his chest, his muscles strong beneath the metal.

‘Hold on, Vesper. Not far now,’ Daire assured me, his voice
buffeted by the force of the air as he flew towards another part of the forest
nearer the city.

We landed in a clearing, surrounded by the tall silhouettes
of trees like a wall of warriors protecting us from prying eyes.

Daire put me down gently on the ground.

I felt exhausted.

‘You’re safe,’ he said, brushing my hair back from my face.
He checked that Archer hadn’t wounded me.

‘I’m not hurt,’ I said, though I felt the sting of tiny cuts
and grazes on my legs from running through the forest.

‘Where’s Sabastien?’ I said.

Daire glanced at the sky. Several silvery lights shimmered
in the distance. ‘He’s heading back to the city with the moths. He knew I’d
found you, and that you’d be safe with me. There are things he has to do.’ His
eyes looked at me with knowing. Did he know Sabastien had kissed me?

‘Why is Archer hunting me?’ I said.

‘Midnight warned him of what we were up to.’

‘Getting me to gift you back the land from Orlaith’s
garden?’

‘Yes. Archer doesn’t want the land. It’s not part of his
heritage so it holds no interest for him.’

‘So what is it he wants?’

‘We think it’s you. He’s been watching you for as long as we
have. We’re not sure what he plans to do, but Archer is a strategist. There is
something about you that he wants.’

‘What does he want?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Are you sworn enemies?’

‘We’re not the worst of enemies, but we’re not friends.
We’ve fought and argued many times.’

The chainmail and metal wrist guards had faded from Daire.
His top was almost back to the soft material I’d seen when I’d first met him.
Like Sabastien’s wings, Daire’s chainmail seemed to appear as if by thought and
fade again when not needed.

‘Are you cold?’ His grey eyes were filled with concern.

‘No, just tired.’

His hands cast sparkling dust into the air, and moments
later a cabin lit by the glow of old fashioned lanterns appeared nearby.

Daire put his arm around my shoulders. ‘Come on, you can
rest here.’

Inside the cabin were colourful rugs, a cosy fire and a
comfy bed. I lay down on the bed while Daire sat beside the fire. His wings had
faded too. Now he looked the same as I’d seen him in the sunshine in Edinburgh.

I watched him carefully. Things were different between us. I
knew he liked me. He had a crush on me. But then Sabastien’s words filtered
through my thoughts. ‘
I can never love you, Vesper
.’

‘Thank you for rescuing me. There were monsters in the
forest. Archer wounded one of them.’

‘We’re all monsters,’ Daire said softly, looking at the fire
and not at me.

‘You’re not a monster. Neither is Sabastien.’

‘We are. Not the type of monsters you think of. Not brutes
with sharp teeth and claws. But monsters nonetheless. We are hunter fae, and so
is Archer.’

Daire sat beside the fire, eyes
downcast. The light from the fire shone on his handsome features. ‘I know
Sabastien told you how I feel about you. He told me what happened at the
restaurant.’

I blushed.

‘You have to understand that you were spellbound. It’s not
the same. And your attraction was also enhanced by the Cupid’s darts that had
affected Sabastien. If his coat had cut through a single flower, a fae like him
wouldn’t have been tainted. But he cut through all those flowers, and it has
made him fallible to love again.’

I looked at the wound on my hand. Purple and blue. The blood
of a Purple Thorn and the blue of the Cupid’s darts flowers. Or blue like
Archer? The thought shot through my heart and then disappeared again.

Despite everything, it was Daire who had fought to protect
me from Archer, and rescued me in the forest. Not Sabastien. ‘Thank you again
for protecting me. Sabastien wouldn’t have.’

‘He has his reasons.’

My expression showed my interest. I urged him to continue.

Daire threw stardust on the fire. It sparked into a hundred
tiny lights. ‘The girl he used to love hurt him deeply. He risked his life to
save her. He fought fiercely to protect her once. Then she left him anyway. He
swore he’d never do that again.’

‘I guess I don’t blame him.’

‘Sabastien is not the one for you,’ he said. ‘Neither am I.
You deserve better than we could ever provide. Living here, or in both our
worlds, isn’t right for you.’

‘You know this for sure?’

He couldn’t give me an answer. ‘I’m taking you home after
you’ve rested. All you have to do is stand in Orlaith’s garden and say that you
wish to grant us back the land. Then we’ll be out of your life forever.’

‘What if I don’t want you out of my life forever? Can’t we
still be friends?’

‘You’d want to be friends with monsters?’

‘I thought you were the good guys.’

‘We are, but all the good guys are still monsters.’

I felt the sting of the cuts on my legs as I sat up on the
bed. ‘Ouch!’

Daire saw the cuts. He hurried over and gently touched the
skin. Each cut healed into a silver scar, fine as a spider’s web. His fingers
moved along my legs from my ankles to my knees which were grazed from
scrambling through the forest. His touch felt soothing and exciting, stirring
in me feelings that made the colour in my cheeks warm.

He pulled his hands away as if his fingers had been burned,
realising our closeness could be something more.

‘The scars will fade in time,’ he said, standing over by the
fire, gazing at the flames, looking so tall and such a gorgeous monster.

‘Are you okay?’ I said. He bore no wounds that I could see
from the recent battle. ‘Were you hurt in the fight with Archer?’

He turned and looked at me, an expression of surprise revealing
he wasn’t used to anyone asking if he was okay. Maybe no one ever had. I seemed
to have taken him aback.

‘I’m fine,’ he said. ‘No injuries from the battle. No more
than bruises.’

I smiled. ‘I’m pleased you didn’t get hurt.’

I sensed him bite his lips with what he’d like to have said.
Instead he murmured, ‘The fight didn’t hurt me.’ His words had an undertone,
letting me know that I had hurt him. I’d let Sabastien kiss me.

A noise sounded outside the cabin.

Daire and I exchanged a wary glance. He put his finger to
his lips, telling me to hush. He crept over to the door, listening. No sounds.
Carefully he opened the door. No one was there.

He stepped outside and looked around. I peered out behind
him. Only the trees and shadows could be seen, and yet…I sensed that I was
being watched.

Daire closed the door and secured us
inside the cabin.

I stood beside the fire, shivering from the chilling thought
of being hunted…and of monsters.

‘I won’t let anyone hurt you,’ Daire said, looking fit and
strong and capable of ensuring I was safe.

‘It was probably just the wind,’ I said, remembering how
Orlaith and I had felt that night in the garden when neither of us believed
this was true. Daire nodded as Orlaith and I had done.

I wrapped my arms across my chest. ‘My mother and Orlaith
will be worried about me.’ Orlaith would’ve phoned to see if I was okay on my
own while she was away, and on getting no reply she would’ve no doubt called my
mother.

‘We’ve taken care of that.’ To his credit he seemed to feel
a pang of guilt.

‘More spellbinding.’

‘You’d rather they were worried?’

‘No, of course not, but I’d prefer them not to be under any
spell or false illusion.’

‘It won’t be long until you’re back in Edinburgh.’

‘What about the job my mother’s been offered in New York? I’ll bet that was just to keep her out the way, as was Orlaith’s trip to Glasgow and then London.’

‘The job still stands, if your mother wants it.’

‘But it wasn’t real. No one was going to offer her that
job.’ I didn’t feel comfortable about her being fooled.

‘She’s capable of doing it. We just presented her with the
chance.’

I sighed. I knew she was capable. Mum was a great
journalist. I didn’t want them to take it back because she deserved a break.
And Orlaith was a wonderful artist.

‘We can put things back,’ he offered.

‘No. They were both so happy. Just don’t do any more.’

He nodded. Another promise he had to keep.

‘I’m sorry, Vesper.’

‘For what?’ The list was getting longer.

‘For everything.’

I sighed again. I could see he meant what he said.

‘When can I go back to Edinburgh? I’m ready now.’

A sadness fell across his features. ‘I’ll take you.’ He held
his hand out and I clasped my hand in his. ‘Ready?’ he said.

‘Yes.’

The cabin disappeared and we were standing amid the trees
whose silhouettes still guarded us. It was snowing, and the ground was iced
white. Daire threw a handful of sparkling faerie dust into the air. His wings
extended, preparing to fly off with me.

No goodbye to Sabastien, I thought, almost tearfully. Would
I ever see him again?

I glanced around. One last look at this beautiful fae world
of snow, deep dark forests and cities steeped in shadows of the past.

‘Hold tight, Vesper,’ said Daire.

‘No,’ a voice roared, and then Archer came soaring from the
sky. ‘No, Vesper,’ Archer shouted. ‘Don’t go with Daire.’

Archer flew at him, knocking him aside.

Another figure flew towards us in the distance.

‘Sabastien,’ I heard myself whisper, seeing his glistening
dark wings power at speed. He was flying as fast as he could through the wind
and the snow. Hurry up, I urged him.

Daire got back up and challenged Archer. My instincts made
me fight, and I lashed out at Archer, using my strongest techniques to weaken
him. I never thought my martial arts were any match against a fae, but I hoped
I could help Daire, if only by being a distraction for Archer.

Archer absorbed the blows I tried to inflict on him, and
made no effort to defend himself. His ice blue eyes looked at me as if he never
would. It didn’t make sense. Archer had hunted me, had tried to kill me with
his arrows. Why now would he not want to hurt me?

There was no time to think. Daire lunged at Archer and what
seemed to be a fight to the death erupted right in front of me. A fury of
wings, fists and dazzling starlight lit up the night.

Sabastien flew down and pulled me aside, a safe distance
from the fight. ‘Stay here, don’t run. Stay where I can find you.’

I nodded, thinking surely Sabastien and Daire combined could
deal with Archer.

Somehow Archer had gained the upper hand against Daire who lay
barely conscious on the ground, entwined with vines of silver and black, and
thorns.

With tremendous speed Archer drew an arrow from its sheath,
and with his bow he aimed it straight at me. The arrow, brilliant blue crystal,
shone in the night.