CHAPTER Seventeen
I called my merry band of ragtag Otherworlders together, leaving Aubrey in peace to eat his stupid pizza.
“So, the humans will be here soon and we need to be prepared,” I said, trying to sound as serious as I possibly could. It wasn’t easy with both the mages and Lucy casting occasional hungry glances towards Aubrey and his cheesy meal, with the constant sound of his smacking lips and delighted murmurs interrupting.
“Why do we need to bother with them?” drawled Solus.
I pursed my lips. “I’m here because the dryads asked me to come, and the dryads believe that the environmentalists will be able to stop the demolition that’s due to take place on Monday. Therefore, they want them here. They’ve got the most experience at this kind of thing. Besides, I doubt any of us want to hang around for weeks until the planning permission manages to get blocked.”
They all nodded fervently.
Corrigan joined us. I gave him a quick glance, wondering where in the hell he’d been, and tried to ignore the sudden weak sensation that seemed to be attacking my knees. I pushed my shoulders back and stood up a bit straighter instead. He still looked ridiculously out of place in his well tailored suit. It was important not to focus too closely on the way the first few buttons on his white shirt were undone, revealing his smooth, tanned, and oh so very inviting, skin. Get a grip, Mack, I told myself firmly.
“And what happens when the architect of the ward shows up to find out what’s happened?” he asked, green eyes fixed on me unblinkingly.
“Then we kill him,” I replied matter-of-factly.
“In front of the humans? Don’t you think they might have something to say about that?”
Shit. “Well, we make sure none of them are around,” I snapped.
He raised a dark eyebrow. “Because that will be easy to manage in a small wooded area.”
Larkin looked concerned. “The Lord Alpha is right. We don’t want them involved. What if one of them ends up getting hurt? Or killed? What the hell do we do then?”
“That’s why we need to be prepared and ready to effectively manage the situation,” I stated, calmly, not feeling very managerial or effective in the slightest. I thought quickly. “Look, we know that whoever created the ward is going to head here to find out why it’s no longer working. We just need to make sure that the humans stay away from here. This whole area is effectively one big circuit. There are criss-crossing paths, but it’s really just a circle. If we can direct them to camp on the other side, then we’ll be fine.” I glanced over at Max. “Can you maybe set up a couple of light wards to keep them away from here?”
He bobbed his head in agreement.
“Lucy, if you find a suitable campsite area, somewhere with running water nearby, then we can direct them to that place and keep them there.”
She turned towards Corrigan, annoyingly seeking his approval. He gave her a curt nod. Great.
“It stands to reason that when they are actually protesting, they’re going to be away down at the entrance where the car-park is because that’s where the equipment and the builders will be,” I continued. “Solus and Larkin can stay down there and keep an eye on things. That way, if anything happens, Solus can transport himself to tell us what’s going on, while Larkin can use his magic to contain things.”
“Beltran will be here too,” Solus added.
“Even better. He already knows the humans so he can stay with Max and Lucy to keep an eye on them. Corrigan, uh, the Lord Alpha, and I are the ones most geared up for a fight. We’ll stay here and make sure this bastard doesn’t hurt anyone else ever again.” There was rage-tinged steel in my voice, but I still looked over at Corrigan to make sure that was okay with him. He nodded in lazy acknowledgement and I sighed inwardly in relief.
Max cleared his throat. “Uh, one thing?”
I looked at him. “Yes?”
“We aren’t here to stop some trees from being cut down. We are here to make sure that you are safe.”
I bit down my annoyance. “I’ll be safe if you can keep the humans away from the big bad guy so that I don’t have to worry about them getting in the way or getting hurt. Besides, you might think this is none of your concern, but you saw what happened to that dryad. This isn’t some two-bit Otherworlder making a nuisance of himself. We need to work together to stop him.”
Fortunately, Max seemed to accept that.
“And who is the big bad guy? Do we know what he looks like?” interjected Lucy.
“Erm, no,” I reluctantly confirmed. “I’m sure he’ll make himself known pretty f*cking quickly though.”
“If he looks human then how will we be able to tell the difference between him and the tree-huggers?”
“He’ll be the one trying to kill you,” Corrigan said, his arms folded and his eyes still trained on me.
Larkin swallowed. “So shouldn’t we, um, get some reinforcements in? It’d take no time at all to get more mages here. The Arch-Mage will be happy to help.”
“That’ll just complicate matters and put more people in harm’s way,” I stated emphatically. “And give the humans more reason to become suspicious.” I could deal with this f*cker on my own; there was no way I was going to create a situation where I’d end up with even more blood on my hands than there already was.
“The Welsh pack is sending some help,” Corrigan said unhelpfully.
“Well, f*cking tell them to go back home again then. The environmentalists are a tight group and will be wary of even more strangers hanging around. You and I can deal with this guy ourselves.” I couldn’t resist flicking a look at him and adding, “unless you really want someone else to do your dirty work for you that is, my Lord.”
His eyes flashed in anger towards me. I felt an answering surge of fear at the menace in his gaze, but did my best to quash it and look him directly in the eyes. He might be the all mighty leader of the Brethren and be more powerful than I ever would be but he didn’t scare me. Honest. My knees shook ever so slightly. Damn it.
Solus stepped in. “Our dragonlette here,” he drew out every syllable in a long and deliberately affectionate purr, “is a woman of strength as well as unquestionable beauty.”
Corrigan’s muscles tightened visibly. I cast an annoyed look at the Fae, who grinned unconcernedly back at me.
‘Aren’t we forgetting something?” asked Lucy, clearly wanting to change the subject very, very quickly.
Everyone turned to face her.
“There’s that Batibat thing as well. She’s still got to be hanging around here somewhere. How do we deal with her too?”
There was a small cough from behind. Aubrey was standing up, empty pizza box next to him and a smear of tomato sauce on his face that was unfortunately reminiscent of blood.
“I’ll keep an eye for her and sort her out if she gets involved,” he said.
I started. “Er, what?”
“I said, I’ll worry about her.” When he caught sight of the look on my face, his bottom lip pushed out stubbornly. “I used to be a master vampire, you know.”
“Yeah, but…”
“She likes men. I can get her to focus on me so you can focus on her boss.” He snapped his fingers. “Easy as pie.”
Wonders would never cease. Perhaps pizza had some miraculous curative properties of its own and Aubrey was beginning to get over his emotional issues and man up, as Mrs Alcoon might have tried to say. I gave him a small look of approval and his cheeks reddened slightly. Corrigan was staring at him as if he might squash him like he would a flea.
I turned the group’s attention back to me. “Excellent. So everyone knows what to do and where to go. Let’s get cracking.”
An hour later, I was getting impatient. There was still no sign of Beltran or any of the environmentalists, no word from Alex about the Batibat in London, and, in fact, no anything anywhere. The group had split up, each venturing off to their respective areas. Aubrey had settled back down, pulling out one of the vampire encyclopaedias that I’d brought along with me to pour over. His finger tracked through the words and he occasionally clucked in irritation to himself as he read something that displeased him. Corrigan, clearly still pissed off at the idiotic comment I’d made questioning his courage, had stalked off somewhere on his own, leaving me to sweep the area around where the ward had once stood. There were already signs that things were starting to return to normal. Birds were chirping above in the sky, and there was the occasional rustle in the undergrowth indicating some natural creature or other poking its way round to investigate. That, at least, was pleasing to hear, even if there was nothing to suggest there were any potentially endangered bats sleeping off the last few hours of daylight. So much for that idea for encouraging a bit of heated green campaigning then.
I was on my fifth tour of the area when, looking up, I noticed something caught in the upper branches of one of the trees that gave me pause. It looked like a piece of paper with some writing on it but, on the ground as I was, it was difficult to be sure. My eyes scanned the area. Everything remained quiet and peaceful and there was little else to do other than wait, so I decided that it was worth investigating further. Even if it was only a piece of rubbish that had been blown up by the wind I reckoned I’d be doing some good by freeing it from the trees branches.
It was a sturdy contribution to the wonder of nature. My knowledge of trees didn’t go much beyond recognising the more obvious varieties of oak and conifer, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate their beauty nonetheless. At this point of the year, the beginning of the summer months, it was displaying itself in full glory, wide veined leaves creating a cloud of emerald hues that rustled gently in the late afternoon breeze. Fortunately for me, there were also some low lying branches that I could easily swing myself up onto. The bark was rough under my skin, and I had to take care to avoid leaving traces of blood from the small wound on my hand, so I made my way up slowly and gingerly, yanking myself from one branch to another until I was close to the top and just a few feet away from the scrap of paper that was irritatingly out towards the edge of one of the outer branches. I couldn’t go much further out than I already was without the more slender parts of the tree giving way under my weight so instead I wrapped one arm around the thinner part of the trunk and tried to reach out.
My fingertips barely scraped the sharp border. Cursing softly, I tried to push myself out further to use the edges of my fingers to pincer the corner of the paper and drag it in. The bough I was standing on creaked complainingly under my weight, but I inched forward just enough to be able to pinch the paper and start to pull it. The far corner was caught on a twig and, as I snagged the nearer side and yanked it, there was a ripping sound. One white scrap danced away, caught by the light breeze. I leaned again, pushing myself to my absolute limits, and finally managed to free the rest of it, clutching it in my now sweaty palm and moving back against the safety of the trunk.
I lifted it up and tried to smooth out the creases to read what it said. The missing words didn’t actually hamper my understanding. As I scanned through what was left, it was clear that this was a notice regarding the upcoming development. Legalese proclaimed that all the right channels had been utilised and the demolition and the building would be going ahead as planned. I frowned grimly. Not if I had anything to do about it.
At the bottom of the paper, there was a website link and a small logo that appeared to be some kind of circle, with five straight lines drawn inside it, three reaching upwards and two down, all in heavy black ink. The website proclaimed itself as a company called Endorium, who appeared to be behind the so-called holiday homes development. I’d never heard of it before, but at the very least it was another lead to use. Satisfied that my efforts hadn’t been fruitless, I carefully folded the paper and shoved it into my back pocket.
I was just about to start clambering back down when I heard a twig snap below me. Peering down through the leafy branches, I could just make out the top of Corrigan’s head. It would have been nice to have hoped that from this vantage point I’d have been able to make out a bald patch to prove that he wasn’t quite as perfect as he appeared, but sadly his black as night hair curled silkily around his entire head. I opened my mouth to call down to him when there was another shout from somewhere to my left.
“My Lord Alpha!”
It was Lucy. My eyes narrowed as I watched her jog up. She was supposed to be with Max, making sure that there was a suitable camping ground for the campaigners, well away from any potential danger spots.
Corrigan turned to her. “What is it? Aren’t you supposed to be with the mage sorting out the area for the tents?”
I smiled smugly.
“I just wanted to let you know that we’ve found the perfect spot. It’s a bit secluded and difficult to find, but it’s well away from here. There’s a stream nearby and there’s plenty of flat ground to pitch tents on so we shouldn’t have any trouble persuading the humans to set up there.”
“Good.”
“Are the Welsh pack coming?”
Corrigan grunted. “They’re going to wait in Shrewsbury so they can get here quickly if we need them.”
I scowled down at him. We weren’t going to need them though.
“And Mack? Where is she?”
“Off somewhere checking the area. I’m looking for her now. She shouldn’t be hard to spot with that red hair of hers.”
That’s what you think. I resisted the urge to call down ‘cooeee’.
Lucy jerked her head in acknowledgment. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again. “Uh, my Lord?”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want to speak out of turn…”
“But?”
“But, well, I wondered why you bother about her so much.”
I immediately froze. Uh oh. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear this. And what the bloody hell was Lucy doing talking to her lord and master in that prying manner anyway? He was definitely going to castigate her for being so incredibly presumptuous as to question him.
Corrigan gave a short laugh. “You mean why am I so determined to follow her around the countryside even though she seems to hate me?”
I blinked. Was that what he thought? I didn’t hate him. Far from it, unfortunately. He just annoyed the arse off me sometimes.
Lucy nodded. “I know it’s got nothing to do with the mages and the faeries. Why do we care what they do?”
His voice was a deep rumble. “She’s got a lot of strength, Lucy. We don’t want her to side with them against us.”
My heart sank. I’d been right. His interest in me was all just about a power play between the lot of them. A painful lump rose in my throat. As much as I’d secretly been hoping otherwise, it was clear that the only thing he was concerned about was a game of Otherworld one-upmanship.
“Yeah, but we don’t really care about them, do we?” she persisted. “I like Mack, I do, but she’s so…aggressive sometimes. And when she gets angry she’s bloody scary. She’s also not very nice to you.”
I frowned. Didn’t she know that I wasn’t actually very nice to anyone?
“I didn’t realise quite how inquisitive honey badgers were.”
Lucy was immediately apologetic. “I’m sorry, my Lord, I don’t mean to step out of line.”
“That’s okay. You’re potentially risking your life to be here, Lucy, you have the right to ask.”
I was stunned. Why wasn’t he biting her head off for daring to question his authority?
“My Lord, I’m here because whoever did that to the dryad deserves to be brought down. I know you wouldn’t put me in danger needlessly.”
Oh, here we go, I thought sardonically, back to blind devotion.
“But you’re here in the first place because I asked you to watch Mack and you want to know why,” commented Corrrigan.
Lucy didn’t answer. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “You should talk to Staines. He and I had a very similar conversation recently as well, because he seems to think that I should leave her well alone. It’s just that Mack has a habit of getting herself into dangerous situations and I needed to know that she wasn’t going to do anything stupid like get killed. I couldn’t be here at the time because Leah needed me.”
Who the f*ck was Leah? My eyes narrowed. Was that the dark haired shifter I’d seen him with at Alcazon?
“The first time I saw her – Mack, I mean – she was on the beach with Tom, teaching him how to improve his fighting skills. I’d never seen anything like it before. She’s got a grace and poise that’s extraordinary.”
I swallowed hard. The adulatory words and his tone of voice were almost overwhelming.
“I couldn’t understand afterwards when I got to know her why she was so prickly. But I do now.”
“Because she was pretending to be a shifter when she’s actually not?”
“That’s part of it,” Corrigan answered. “She was with them, but she wasn’t really a part of them. She was still on the outside. That alpha that’s in place now?”
“Anton?”
“That’s the one. He really hates her. Not only that, but she was a kid when her mother dumped her with that pack in the first place. She’s been abandoned by people her entire life. It’s no wonder that she pushes them away now. It’s a self-preservation thing.”
“I’d not thought about it like that before.”
Neither had I.
“She’s got a lot of strength. Not just physically. You saw how she managed to bring everyone in line out there. She’s got shifters, faeries, mages, and even a vampire, all working in harmony towards the same goal. I couldn’t do that. People gravitate towards her. All sorts of people. Then she gets under their skin until all they can do is think about her virtually every moment of the day. Where they can’t sleep because she’s in their dreams, where they can’t concentrate because she might do something stupid like snap at the wrong person and end up getting hurt. Where even though she might growl and hiss and bite like an angry kitten, the only time they feel any peace is when they’re near her.”
My mouth dropped open. My heart was thudding deep within my chest and my bloodfire was swirling around inside me in warm scared confusion.
Corrigan laughed humourlessly. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have told you all that.”
“No, I, er, no, it’s fine,” stuttered Lucy. “I won’t tell anyone else.”
“I know you won’t.” Corrigan’s voice was back to normal now, the calm measured tones of the absolutely-in-charge-no-matter-what Lord Alpha.
“Just…?”
“Yes?”
“Why don’t you tell her all that?”
“Because she’s not ready to hear it. She’s still fighting for her independence and for her own identity. Sooner or later, however, Mack will come around.”
There was a moment of silence.
“You think like Staines,” commented Corrigan expressionlessly. “You don’t think she’ll ever come around.”
Again, Lucy didn’t answer. My throat felt clogged up and my breath was coming in short gasps. I screwed my eyes shut tightly, trying to calm myself down. I couldn’t let them know that I’d overheard such a personal soul-bearing conversation so I had to stay quiet. My fingers were digging painfully into the bark of the tree trunk, but I barely noticed. All my thoughts and feelings were in a messy whirl of confusion and agony. How had I not seen this before? How I had not noticed that I was like that? Or that Corrigan felt that way?
He cocked his head to one side, as if listening, and I thought for one heart-stopping moment that he’d heard some tiny movement I’d made up above in the branches. Instead, however, he gestured off into the distance.
“The humans are here. You should get back, Lucy.”
“Yes, my Lord.” She reached out and touched him gently on the arm, just for a moment, and then jogged off.
Corrigan remained there standing, his head bowed, then he let out one deep sigh and walked off himself, leaving me completely alone.