Blood, Smoke and Mirrors

Chapter Twenty

I went to bed as soon as I could, eager to crawl under the covers and hide from the embarrassment. After drifting off to sleep I soon found myself in the middle of the grove once again. This time a large flat rock appeared in the middle of the clearing, and I sat perched atop it. I hugged my knees to my chest, and the skirt of my long robes was tucked around my feet. The sound of my weeping was the only noise in the summer night. I sobbed in confusion, regret and sorrow, as though my heart was broken. I didn’t know what to do anymore-I had a knight in shining armor who didn’t want to ride off into the sunset with me, and a vampire who wanted me to be his evil queen. Gods help me, but the vampire’s offer was sounding more appealing with each passing day.

“Don’t cry, sugar.” Looking up, I saw Lex kneeling next to me, and he rubbed my back soothingly.

“You don’t know,” I replied, shaking my head.

“Know what?”

“What I…” I shook my head again, unable to answer. Lex frowned, and then he brushed my hair out of the way and examined my throat. I knew there weren’t any marks-I’d looked-but he cursed as loudly as he would have if there’d been a stream of blood trickling down the side of my neck.

“Damn it, I told him to leave you alone,” he growled.

“Why do you care, when you don’t even want me?” Surprised, I clamped a hand over my mouth-had I really said that? Out loud? Lex looked about as startled as I was, and he rocked back on his heels.

“You know that’s not true.”

“Yes it is. Why aren’t I enough for you?” I asked, the question ending on a shrill, hiccuping sob.

“I never said that, Cat-”

“You don’t have to, I know it’s true.” Rising to my feet, I glared down at him. “But that’s fine. I don’t need you.”

A loud crack of thunder startled me, and a chill wind blew through the grove. I looked up at the night sky, expecting to see rain clouds rolling in, but the stars were still bright above us.

“You don’t mean that,” Lex said. He gazed up at me, confused, and I folded my arms across my chest.

“I won’t waste my life waiting for you to decide what’s most important to you.”

“I’ve already made my decision. Marry me.”

I blinked, startled. “What?”

“Marry me. In fact, why not right here and now?” Rising to his feet, he took my hands in his.

“Because we’re in the dream realm. Nothing’s binding here, don’t be silly.” Frustrated, I tugged my hands away.

“‘Why should Titania cross her Oberon?’” he quoted, smiling slyly.

“Because I can’t trust you. You’ll just end up resenting me and then you’ll leave. Titania and Oberon aren’t exactly a healthy example to base a relationship on.”

“We’ll work it out.”

“Yeah, ’cause that worked so well before,” I snapped, scowling at him. “You’re not my Oberon. You never were. Just leave me alone.”

The wind picked up, whipping my hair behind me as another rumble of thunder sounded. Lex glanced around and then cursed viciously. Lightning flashed, splitting the sky, and my heart beat wildly. He stood ready to protect me from the danger invading our grove, and then he turned and gripped my arm.

“Don’t let him bite you again, Cat. It’s poison. He’s trying to control you-”

And just like that the dream was gone, and the rest of the night was quiet and empty.

In the morning my clothing order arrived, including a few items I knew I hadn’t requested but apparently Zach thought I needed. At least his fashion choices were more conservative than Laura’s, so I let it slide. True to his word, Zach showed up to take me out to dinner that evening. The vampire continued his attempt to convince me that he was Prince Charming instead of the Prince of Darkness, probably hoping that if he won my heart I’d continue speaking to him after I left. I learned that part of his master plan included escorting me to the opening of the new show in his art gallery the night before the full moon, where I’d get to do my best arm-candy impression in a dress that cost more than my last semester at college.

Harrison spent the majority of his free time trying to romance me. More dinners, more movies, a thrilling tour of Vampire Central and the many luxury amenities within it, all with magician political commentary and the things we could do together to change things for the better. It began to make sense-I could see myself working with him, using my influence to impact the future of magiciankind.

Though I was loathe to admit it, with all the time we spent together I started to tolerate him a bit more. I even let him kiss me good night at the end of our pseudo-dates-it seemed reasonable that if allowing the vampire kiss me kept him happy enough to keep his word and let me and Mac leave when the moon was full, then I should just endure it. And as much as I complained about Zach’s status of walking corpse, the kissing wasn’t a horrifying experience. For the most part, if I didn’t already know he was a vampire, it’d be hard to tell. Zach kept himself reasonably warm to the touch, the miracle of spray-on tan gave his skin a healthy glow, and his smile was harmless since real vampires don’t sport constant fangs like movie monsters. When he wasn’t attempting vamp magic he smelled only of cologne and a slight scent of soap. If I didn’t have such a scarred past and a turbulent present, I could have fallen for Zach’s act. He’d even worked his way into my subconscious, because now when I dreamed, I dreamed of Zach.

In his lair again (though in my opinion anything called a lair ought to have torches, cobwebs and a coffin), Zach sat next to me on the couch as we watched another movie. An action-packed thriller, it featured lots of explosions and car chases that took full advantage of the big-screen TV and surround-sound system. He slid his arm around my shoulders halfway through the film, and turning toward him, I raised an eyebrow, looking from the encroaching arm to those gorgeous green eyes.

“You’re invading my space. Go watch the movie on the other end of the couch.”

“No.”

“No? Okay, I’ll go watch the movie on the other end of the couch then.” Rising to my feet, I tried to walk past him and found myself suddenly tugged into his lap.

“There, much better.” Zach grinned.

“Oh no it isn’t, we’ve been over this before, now let me go.” I sighed, trying to escape, but Harrison shook his head and held me in place. Reaching up, he caressed my cheek, and then trailed his fingers down the side of my neck.

“Don’t,” I warned him.

“I’m not going to bite you.”

I started to argue but was cut off when he kissed me. By now I’d gotten used to Zach and his demanding, intense kisses-at the end of the night he kept expecting me to melt into a puddle of willing goo and invite him into my suite, and I kept rebuffing his efforts and closing the door in his face.

When it became apparent he wasn’t about to let me go I decided to give him a no-nonsense magical shove to get my point across. To my immediate surprise my shields didn’t snap into place as I expected. They formed around me, but they stretched to include Harrison. Just like they did with Lex.

Sensing the change, the vampire pulled away and looked deep into my eyes for a moment, and he smiled. The expression frightened me more than if he’d flashed fangs at me.

“How…how did you do that?”

“You can’t keep me out, Catherine. Not anymore.” Though his voice was still soft, his tone had a threatening edge to it, a hint of the predator that lurked beneath the benign smile.

“What did you do?”

Harrison continued to smile, ignoring my discomfort. “Would you like something to drink? A glass of wine, perhaps?”

“Sure, wine is good,” I lied. Anything to get away. He released me, and I squirmed away from him and retreated to a safe distance. I had no idea how he’d managed to get around my shields. Sure, he’d surrounded me with his shields in the limo when Portia tried to shoot him, but that was different. I followed him to the bar, and he poured a glass of deep red wine.

“There’s dessert here as well, chocolate-covered strawberries.” He waved at a covered plate next to where he stood. Though I certainly had no appetite at the moment I removed the cover, discovering an arrangement of fat, luscious-looking berries decorated with intricate designs in white and dark chocolate. The vampire held the glass out to me, reaching through my shields as though nothing was there at all. Glaring at him, I took the glass and backed away.

“How are you doing that?”

“It’s very simple, actually. We’re connected, you can’t keep me out.”

“How are we connected? We weren’t connected before. I could keep you out a few days ago, what changed?”

“You have,” Zach answered. “Is the wine not to your liking?” I glanced down and sniffed at the dark liquid, almost expecting to see an ominous skull and crossbones swirling within the glass. When I couldn’t find anything obviously wrong with it I took a sip-raspberry wine, one of my favorites. “It hasn’t been tampered with.”

“The wine hasn’t, but I have?”

“I wouldn’t put it that way, no. It’s actually quite an honor among necromancers.”

“I’m not a necromancer.”

Shrugging, he surveyed the selection of strawberries, picked one up and bit into it. “Not bad, you should try one.”

“Just explain what you did.”

“We’re attuned to each other now. You can’t use harmful magic against me, but I can’t use it against you either. I can’t force you to do anything, but you can’t keep pushing me away.” With his usual calm, polite air about him he explained the situation while peering down at the tray of berries. “Together, however, we strengthen each other’s abilities. With enough practice one can even tell what the other is thinking or feeling.” Selecting one, he held it out to me and I glared at it, struggling to figure out exactly what he meant. I’d never heard of two people becoming attuned to each other in a magic-type sense.

“And how is that possible?”

“I’m afraid to admit that it is necromancy, a rarely used spell. It’s usually a mark of trust between a master necromancer-or vampire as you’re fond of calling them-and his or her favorite apprentice. But that’s not important. What is important is that we share a bond, not unlike the one your guardian so easily tossed aside. I can’t hurt you now, I couldn’t even if I wanted to. You have nothing to fear from me, so there is nothing to prevent us from working together.”

“And it never occurred to you to ask if I wanted this?”

“You wouldn’t agree.”

“Damn straight I wouldn’t agree, you manipulative bastard.” I slammed the wineglass down, and red liquid sloshed over the sides. Furious, I hauled back and slapped him. The blow didn’t faze him, but I suddenly felt pain zing to life across my face, mirroring where I’d just struck him. “What the hell!”

“I did warn you. Our pain is shared now, and you’d do well to inform your faerie cousins of that,” he said coldly.

“This isn’t fair.”

“This is how the game is played, Catherine. A Titania should know that.”

“It’s not a game-”

“Yes, it is, and you’d best get used to it. You should be grateful for what I’ve done for you. There are those who wouldn’t be as gentle as I have been, who would’ve capitalized even more on your mistakes.”

“What mistakes?”

“For one, Maureen would never have agreed to stay here.”

“Maureen wouldn’t have left a friend to die,” I protested.

“Yes, she would have. A Titania is expected to sacrifice her own needs in order to protect her people. You should have left your friend, but you didn’t. You shouldn’t have gotten involved in vampire and shapeshifter politics, yet you have. Your path was decided the moment you let Faust into your apartment.”

“And what path is that, pray tell?”

“A greater path than that of Titania. You can be more than a mere go-between for magicians and faeries. You can be a great leader, and change the future of all magicians.”

“But only if I work with you, right?”

“I’m the only one who will offer this to you. Duquesne certainly won’t get involved. He’s ignored this problem for far too long.”

My heart sank. “Lex knows? About the government, and the experiments?” That couldn’t be possible. It was Lex’s job to protect magicians from that sort of thing. Wasn’t it?

“Of course. As always, the guardians are unwilling to get involved in mortal affairs. Oh, they’ll protect us from each other, but not from the outside world.”

Resisting the urge to squirm, I decided to move on. “So what happens next?”

“Tomorrow we’ll attend the gallery event, and then on Sunday you and Mr. MacInnes will leave. After that, I would like you to return, of your own free will.”

“Uh-huh. Leaving the ‘oh hell no’ of it all aside, my bills are probably piling up-”

“I’ve already taken care of those. I made sure your payments were made, including your rent.”

“With what? I barely have anything in my savings.” I blinked at him. Lord and Lady, my account was probably overdrawn by now. There were sure to be many angry messages waiting for me in my voicemail.

“If you remember, I did promise to reimburse you and your friend for the time you’ve both spent here, because it is my fault that you’re losing wages by being my guests. I wanted to pay your debt off entirely, but I had a feeling you wouldn’t thank me for that.”

I nodded in response. The man was right-I probably would have told him off for interfering with my responsibilities.

“Oh. I still need to leave to be proclaimed Titania, they’ll be waiting for me,” I pointed out.

“This is true. When you’re finished with that, will you come back?” Gently he stroked the back of my hand, his gaze imploring.

“No. I can’t operate as Titania in a no-faerie zone.”

“I own other buildings, you can live anywhere you want. A house in the suburbs, a condo on the lakefront, wherever suits you most.”

“You can’t buy my loyalty, Harrison. Look, I was seriously considering working with you, but now I don’t know. I won’t be pushed around like one of your minions. I need to go back to my room.” My head hurt, and I needed space.

“All right.” He reluctantly nodded. “Let’s go then.”

Walking around the bar, he took my arm and escorted me to the elevator. The ride up was short and silent. When we finally reached the door to my suite there was an awkward pause-I could tell Zach was considering kissing me good night as he’d become accustomed to doing. Instead, he looked at me with a terrible sadness in those striking green eyes, then opened the door for me. Without a word I walked into my room, and listened as the door shut behind me and the lock clicked into place.

Deciding on a drink, I headed immediately to the bar and poured a tumbler full of Irish cream-some people drink it by the shot, I prefer it by the glass, with a few ice cubes for elegant presentation. I took a long gulp and closed my eyes, trying to sort through the mess of thoughts flying through my head. Did Zach honestly expect me to come back to him? Even more frightening, was there a possibility I would? No, surely not. No, you’ll just go home to your tiny apartment and live the rest of your wretched life with only a series of housecats for companions.

But I didn’t have to live alone, I had a soul mate, one who’d been envisioning a happily ever after in our future until the faeries scared him away from it. Lex was out there somewhere, waiting for me, and from what he’d said in the last dream it sounded as though he’d decided to become Oberon. Once Zach let me go, I’d be free to run into Lex’s arms and ride off into the sunset. All I had to do was be patient. Maybe Harrison’s spell would wear off eventually…

I heard the door open and the sound of approaching footsteps behind me. Without opening my eyes I sighed wearily. “I so do not want to continue this conversation.”

Before I could turn around my head was slammed forward, colliding hard with the top of the bar. An instant migraine exploded behind my forehead and then I was dragged backwards by my hair.

“I’ll make this quick then,” Lovely Laura growled at me. The room spun and tilted crazily around me, and as I struggled to stand the vampire grabbed for my throat. Her pale eyes almost glowed with hatred and her sharp nails dug into my skin. Terrified, I tried to break her grip, but she was too fast. Drawing her hand back, she tore deep slashes into my throat, producing a huge spray of blood. I grabbed at the wounds, hoping to hold together what was left, then Laura struck me hard and I sailed backwards. I’d have a spectacular black eye from it if I lived.

As I hit the floor with a bone-jarring thud, I thrust my shields out with all the control I could manage. The energy sparked, fizzled, and then faded as Laura kicked me in the stomach, and the breath rushed out of me in a guttural whoosh. I struggled to steady myself and try again, but everything was too scattered and hazy in my mind to attempt any magic, even something as simple as my shields.

“I don’t know what he sees in you.” Jamming the pointed toe of her high-heeled shoe beneath my chin, she turned my head from side to side. “You’re homely, overweight, badly dressed. Ungrateful. Unworthy. Dorian should have drowned you at birth like a mongrel pup.” Moving her foot, she stabbed my stomach with the sharp heel of her shoe, puncturing who knows what internal organs in the process.

“Fuck you,” was the only stinging retort I managed. It was much too difficult to talk and I knew that was a bad sign. The wounds refused to heal, resisting my weak attempt to close them. Warm, slick blood gushed over my hands-I didn’t have long left, and Laura was going to waste the last moments of my life with some bitchy speech.

“And you are crass as well,” she added with another stomp. “What a fool, to think you able to lead. You’re too weak for greatness. He’ll be much better off without you.”

The vampire stomped on me again and I fought the urge to giggle madly at the image of Lovely Laura and her “killer” heels. Ugh, death by bad pun, how cliché. Closing my eyes, I waited for the end, but to my surprise I heard a startled shout from the direction of the door. I dragged my eyes open again to see a Harrison-shaped blur streak toward her, grab her and throw her against the nearest wall with a resounding crack of broken drywall.

“What the hell are you doing?” he shouted.

“I’m altering your plan.”

“Why, you think you can take her place?”

“She won’t have you,” Laura hissed in reply. “I won’t let her.”

Gee, hell really doth have no fury like a woman scorned. My eyes fluttered shut because I no longer had the strength to keep them open. I would’ve found the exchange much more interesting if I hadn’t been bleeding out.

“Get out! Now!”

“No. I made you. I know what’s best for you. She’s too much like her mother, she won’t be corrupted. That girl will never obey you. It’s best to get rid of her now and make a clean break.” Laura made me sound like some sort of untrainable puppy that needed to be put down, and I really wanted to light her on fire. Repeatedly. Instead I just gurgled piteously from the pain.

Next I heard a slap followed by an outraged gasp. “How dare you interfere,” Harrison growled.

“Someone has to-you don’t have even a fraction of my experience. I’m looking out for your best interests.”

“No, you’re looking out for your best interests.”

“I made you,” she repeated, her voice raising a screeching octave.

“But you can’t control me.”

For a brief moment I thought I caught a whiff of burning flesh through the stench of blood, but I couldn’t be sure if it was my own imagination picturing Lovely Laura wreathed in flames. The smell was followed by a few gasping noises that sounded like they came from a female source. Good for Zach, I hope he snapped her skinny, pale neck.

Footsteps, a door slammed, and then Harrison hovered over me. He looked like hell-he had wounds that mirrored mine, but less severe. Zach murmured reassuringly, and though the words were beginning to sound fuzzy and incoherent I could hear ten shades of worry in his voice. He drew my hands away from my throat and started to heal the slashes with a wave of tingling, stinging magic. Unfortunately the pain didn’t subside one bit, and the relentless press of unconsciousness crowded my thoughts. As my mind began to drift, I realized Zach was right-I really could sense his emotions. Staticky and faint, like being able to hear a distant radio station when the conditions were just right. Despite the angry words he’d exchanged with Laura I knew he was afraid, deeply terribly afraid.

“Catherine, look at me,” he ordered, and I struggled to meet his gaze. Zach looked grim as he stared down at me, and I knew that couldn’t be good. “I need you to drink.” I frowned, confused, and watched in pained silence as he unbuttoned the cuff of his sleeve and rolled it up. The vampire raised his wrist to his mouth and bit through the skin. He moved to hold his wound against my lips and I tried to turn away. “Catherine, you have to drink, you’ll die if you don’t. The blood won’t turn you, it won’t hurt you, it will just help me heal you.”

I had to believe him-I didn’t have a choice. Death wasn’t exactly an option I was open to, especially when I was so close to regaining my freedom, so I drank. The blood burned, feeling as though it seared a path of scar tissue down my throat as I swallowed. I’d never experienced anything like it. The sensation was like trying to describe how a nightmare would taste, or what flavor death might have. My body tried to reject the invader, and my limbs flailed and thrashed as though suffering a seizure. Zach pinned me down and held me still as best he could, continuing to pour the poison into me. I had no idea how it could be helping, it felt as though the blood was killing me faster.

Finally he removed his wrist and smoothed the fingers of his other hand over the torn skin, closing the wound. Then he pressed his hands against each of the puncture wounds caused by Laura’s heel, one after the other. The pain was phenomenal, unimaginable, a spear of agony that sprung from my core out to my skin. I didn’t remember it hurting that badly when she’d caused them in the first place. I screamed loud and long, the sound filling the room until I sank into the blessed oblivion of unconsciousness as my newfound talent for fainting finally resulted in something good.