Wicked Whispers (36 page)
Authors: Nina Bangs
Everyone stared at Murmur. “Hey, I’m not knocking it. We each use the weapons given us.” He moved to where Ivy stood.
Ignoring his wet clothes, Ivy reached up and tangled her fingers in his hair. She drew his head down and covered his cold lips with hers. She deepened the kiss, warming him in her unique way. Then she buried her head against his chest. They stood that way for a few minutes. She sighed and looked at Kellen. “Are you okay?”
Kellen nodded. He glanced at Klepoth. “When Mab killed Tirron and everything exploded, Klepoth got me away from Mab. Then we got separated. Murmur found me. We stumbled across Braeden on the way back.” He stared at Ganymede. “Then the cat showed up. He was all happy because he’d killed some faeries.” Kellen’s expression said that he didn’t know how he felt about Ganymede’s glee.
Only when Kellen stopped talking did Ivy realize that the sounds of battle had ended. She glanced at Murmur. He stepped to the door and opened it carefully. Ivy peered past him. Outside, the night was once again clear. Faery bodies littered the courtyard. And in the middle of the carnage, Mab stood.
“Bring the boy to me.” It wasn’t a request.
“No.” Ivy’s response was automatic. She reached for her brother.
“I have to go, Sis.” Kellen moved away from her grasp and tried to squeeze past her into the courtyard.
Murmur turned to watch them.
“Don’t go out there, Kellen. She’ll try to take you to Faery.” Desperation pounded at Ivy.
Murmur met her gaze. “Do you want me to stop him?”
Kellen glared at him. “This is my decision to make. Stopping me now won’t change anything in the end. It might just mean some of you will die. Mab won’t give up on me.”
Murmur raked his fingers through his hair. “Damn, why isn’t anything ever simple?” He cast her an apologetic glance. “He’s right, Ivy. You can’t run from Mab forever. Let Kellen talk to her. I’ll go with him.”
Panic and fear lived in Ivy. What could she do? She didn’t have the power to keep him safe. Finally, she nodded. But when Kellen and Murmur walked out into the courtyard, Ivy went with them.
She tried not to look at the blood, the bodies, the body parts. Ivy avoided looking at faces, expressions frozen in horror as they died. She tried not to throw up when she passed the ice sculpture that was now Tirron.
They stopped in front of Mab. She gave them a tight smile. “Is this a one-night sale? Do I get three for the price of one? I want only Kellen at this time.” She looked at Ivy. “I might wish to speak to you and the rest of your family at another time.”
The thought of the Queen of Air and Darkness descending on her family terrified Ivy. But never let it be said that she was wise in her choice of battles. “You can’t have Kellen.”
Mab raised one brow, as though the idea that someone would speak to her without an invitation amazed her. “Of course I can.” She seemed to mull the situation for a moment. “I realize that he is your brother, so I’ll allow you to visit him in Faery.”
How kind of you.
“Kellen should have some say in this. It’s his life.”
Please, please make the right decision, baby brother.
“I don’t want to live in Faery.” Kellen’s eyes were clear and fearless.
Ivy had never been prouder of her brother.
Mab frowned. “Why ever not?” She looked sincerely puzzled.
“My family is here, my friends, my home.” He hurried on as he saw Mab’s expression darken. “This is all I’ve ever known. But I’d like to get to know you. I’d like to visit Faery, maybe during summer vacation.” He looked at Ivy for support.
“Impossible. You belong with your kind.” Mab reached for him.
Kellen stepped back and suddenly a wall of ice rose between him and the queen. “No.”
Ivy hissed at him. “Where did you learn that?”
He never took his gaze from Mab. “I wasn’t messing around all those times I was with Klepoth. He was teaching me to use my power.”
Shock filled Mab’s eyes, followed closely by satisfaction. “My son would have been proud of his descendent.”
Ivy decided now was the best time to intervene, before the confrontation escalated and Mab remembered her anger. “Queen Mab, you said that you owed me a life-debt. I’d like to collect now.”
Surprised, Mab turned to stare at her. “What?”
“I want you to allow Kellen to live his life here and visit you during his summer vacation, if that’s what he chooses to do. This is what I ask for saving your life.” She glanced at Murmur. Would Mab make her into a matching ice sculpture with Tirron?
But Murmur was smiling, his eyes filled with pride. For
her
. Ivy returned his smile. And she hoped he saw the “I love you” in it.
Mab narrowed her eyes and tried to glare Ivy into submission. Ivy ignored her glare.
Finally, the queen nodded. “So be it.” She turned to Murmur. “My knights tell me that you owe them a dance, demon.”
Murmur bowed. “Of course.” He nodded at Kellen.
And Ivy watched her brother link arms with the Winter Queen and lead her into the Castle of Dark Dreams.
The faeries danced away the rest of the night—some in the great hall, some in the courtyard; some chose to dance in the air. Before the dancing began, all the faery bodies disappeared, including Mab’s newest ice sculpture. The ice melted from the castle and ground.
Before the Sluagh Sidhe disappeared at dawn, Mab used her vast power to ensure that none of the humans on Galveston Island would remember anything strange. Personally, Ivy wouldn’t have minded if she never saw the faery host again.
And while Murmur created music for the faery host, Ivy waited in her room. Kellen was long asleep, exhausted. She had no one to talk to. Only time to think. She knew what Murmur would do when he finished with the faeries. He would leave. She closed her eyes against the pain of knowing that. It seemed that her future rested in the scary hands of Naamah.
The sun was rising over the Gulf when he came to her. He kissed her, drew her into his arms, promised to come back to her, and left.
She waited through the day and into the night, staring at nothing, seeing only her memories. And wondered how she would survive if he never returned.
Ivy showered and changed into her nightgown. She climbed into bed, pulled the covers up, and prepared to act as though she’d actually be able to sleep. She looked at the clock. Midnight.
Then she heard the
snick
of the lock, and the door swung open. She lay frozen, her eyes fixed on the doorway and the man who filled it.
Murmur smiled at her as he strode into the room.
She started to leap from the bed, but he motioned her back into it. “You’re exactly where I want you to be.”
Tears streamed down her face, and she didn’t give a damn if he saw them. She swiped at them as he quickly undressed and climbed in beside her. He wrapped his arms around her.
“Naamah accepted Holgarth’s contract. She gets to use the Master’s territory and legions along with the legions belonging to Klepoth and me as long as she protects our safety on the mortal plane. No one from the Underworld will ever bother us, because she’s now one of the most powerful arch demons there.”
“Can she be trusted?” It was almost too good to be true.
“Naamah is greedy, and contracts are binding to a demon. She’ll keep her end of the agreement.”
“And now?” She felt breathless. He had always done this to her.
“Now we can make love forever.” He stripped off her nightgown and ran his fingers the length of her body.
And if forever wasn’t really forever, Ivy didn’t care. She’d settle for right now.
She turned off the light.
Epilogue
What a difference two weeks had made. Ivy held Murmur’s hand as they headed toward the lobby doors. She needed a walk on the beach to get away from her family. She loved them, but she wanted time alone with the man she loved.
Sparkle intercepted them just outside the doors. Asima padded along beside her. When Asima wandered off for a moment to check out a new guest arriving at the hotel, Sparkle watched her go. She sighed. “I saved her from the faeries, ergo we’re best friends forever. Just kill me now.” But she didn’t look totally unhappy with her new friend. “We have made a little progress, though. She took me with her to shop for new clothes.” Sparkle’s smile was filled with sly triumph.
But her smile faded when she finally looked back at them. “Bain disappeared right after the Sluagh Sidhe left. I can assume he isn’t coming back.”
Ivy watched sadness fill Murmur’s eyes.
“I wish he’d talked to me. Maybe I could’ve helped him.” He rubbed a spot between his eyes. “His search for Elizabeth was his reason for existing.”
“Maybe he returned to the Underworld.” Ivy wished she could do something.
He shrugged. “I don’t have a clue. I just hope he’ll get in touch with me someday.”
“As much as I regret his leaving, we need someone to take his place.” Sparkle watched Murmur like a spider ready to pounce on a particularly tasty bug.
Murmur raised one brow. “And?”
“Ganymede and I think you’d be perfect. You’re smart enough to step right into a managerial spot with Dacian and Edge. And as an added bonus, we get someone who can supply music once in a while. I mean, if that’s what you’d like to do.” She quickly turned to Ivy. “And of course, you’d still be my assistant. Kellen could keep the room he has now and stay at the same school. I think Klepoth wants to join the staff, so he wouldn’t be losing a friend.”
Murmur glanced at Ivy.
Relief flooded her. They could stay here. She knew her smile stretched from ear to ear. “Perfect. I get to trade snark with Holgarth every day. I’d miss that if we had to move.”
He looked at Sparkle. “I’d say that’s a yes.”
Sparkle nodded her satisfaction and clicked away on her mile-high stilettos. Asima fell into step beside her.
They continued down to the darkened beach.
“How’re things going with your family?” He squeezed her hand.
“Dad is more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him, and Mom… Mom is amazing.” Ivy would never have believed her mother’s reaction to proof that the whole paranormal world really did exist. “You know what she told me? She said that staying grounded means that when the ground shifts beneath your feet, you simply keep your balance and adapt.”
“Your mother is a wise woman.” He stopped walking.
“What?”
“Do you recognize where we are?”
She looked around. Suddenly, she knew. “This is where we danced on the night I met you.”
He smiled at her. “And now we’re back with ‘forever together’ in front of us.”
Ivy tried to push aside the stab of pain she felt every time he mentioned “forever.” She glanced away, watching the Gulf. The water was calm, just as it had been that first night.
He put his fingers under her chin and turned her face until she met his gaze. “We
can
have forever, Ivy.”
She knew her laugh sounded false. “No, I refuse to ask Dacian to bite me. Fangs aren’t my fashion statement of choice.”
He merely smiled. “Dance with me.”
Ivy gazed up at him. He was as he’d been then. His shining blond hair still fell in a smooth curtain down his back. And his thick lashes still framed the most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen. But he was no longer a tall, elegant stranger.
She moved into his arms, and they danced. Nothing had changed. Dancing with him still felt like floating. Once again, she kicked off her shoes. The water sparkled, and stars filled the skies. And Ivy felt young again as the music lifted and carried her, a magical melody that would always play in her heart. She threw back her head and laughed as her hair swung in the soft breeze.
He leaned close to whisper in her ear. “Demons have powers connected to their special talent.”
“Fascinating.” She smiled up at him.
“And one of my demonic talents is gifting immortality in my own special way.”
She simply stared at him, for the moment robbed of her ability to talk.
“You will never grow old if you dance with me each day.” His breath moved warm against her ear.
Happiness flooded her and spilled over in stupid tears. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to dance with you for the next thousand years.”
“It sounds like a plan.”
Laughing, they danced on the dark beach. And for Ivy, as it would always be, only the man and the music mattered.
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