Unraveled

FIVE

MARY ANN EXPECTED TRAGEDY. Death, even. She was braced for the emotional impact, whatever chose to flood her—grief, remorse, sorrow. A combination of all three. What she saw surprised her, and it was happiness and relief that flooded her.

Aden’s room was neat. Clean. The papers on the desk were tidy, and the air was wonderfully sweet, smelling of roses and honeysuckle. Aden lay on the bed, buried under the covers. He was a little paler than normal, with dark circles under his closed eyes, his black hair—with its blond roots—in tangles and matted to his scalp. His body was shaking, but otherwise appeared healthy and whole. She flattened a hand over her thumping heart and grinned.

And yet, Victoria sat beside him, patting his hand, tears streaming down her face. Why the tears? He was alive.

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Mary Ann said, burrowing deeper into Riley’s side.

“He reeks of Fae.” Victoria shimmied under the covers and curled herself around Aden. “My poor baby,” she cooed. “You’re so cold. Like ice. Let me warm you.”

Aden, asleep or not, must have recognized his girlfriend, because he turned toward her, slid his arms around her waist and held on tight. Gradually, his shivering ceased.

“What’s wrong with smelling like the Fae?” Mary Ann asked. All she smelled was the roses and honeysuckle. And it was good. She inhaled deeply, savoring, wanting a bottle of the scent to take home and bathe in.

In fact, when she closed her eyes, she could imagine herself twirling in a meadow, thickets of roses stretching toward her, a rainbow of soft, fragrant petals. Warm air. Birds singing. Hazy blue sky, fluffy white clouds. The images calmed her, and her stomach settled completely for the first time that day.

“The stink lingers, and our people will never follow him like this. They will rebel. They will demand a new leader. But to gain one, they will have to kill him.” Tears fell from Victoria’s eyes again. “And he’s supposed to appear before them. Tonight!”

The last was a screech.

“That’s not the worst of it,” Riley said gravely. “I haven’t told you how he came to be in this condition.”

Mary Ann’s eyelids cracked open, the field and colors fading away. So. Weird. For a second, she would have sworn she’d truly been in that meadow.

Riley said something in a language Mary Ann didn’t know, and Victoria paled. “Mr. Thomas to the humans,” he finished in English.

“Who?” Mary Ann asked. “And what did you say? Before?”

“I spoke the name of the Fae prince who dragged Aden into Fairy Tale,” Riley said. “The human tongue cannot pronounce fairy names, and so they use shortened versions while here. Anyway, he once swore a blood oath to destroy every member of Victoria’s family for their part in his brother’s death.”

“Aden is now part of the royal family,” Victoria gasped out.

“As you can see, he’s fine, for the most part, but…there was a fight,” Riley continued. “I was losing. Aden possessed his body, allowing me to kill the—to win.”

Wait. Fairy…tale? “Fairy Tale is…”

“A dimension that coexists next to ours, as well as looking into ours. Meaning, while they’re there, they can see us, yet we can’t see them. Which is why they have all developed God complexes, and consider themselves masters and protectors of this world.”

Another dimension? Seriously?

Why are you surprised? Mary Ann was coming to learn that every creature she’d once thought belonged solely to, well, fairy tales, actually existed. They coexisted secretly. Or not so secretly now.

Victoria looked up at Riley, expression as grave as his tone had been. “Where is the prince now?”

“Still in Fairy Tale. Aden can raise the dead, and I didn’t want a fairy prince zombie on the loose, so I whisked Aden here as fast as I could. There’s a lot of cleanup needed, though, and I have to do it before another fairy discovers the remains—” His gaze skittered to Mary Ann. “I mean, uh, never mind. I just need to take off for a few minutes.”

She knew he feared her reaction to the violence of his nature, to the things he’d done—and would one day do. She also knew war would erupt if “the remains” were found. More than it already had.

So, there was no contest. Whatever he needed to do to survive, she wanted him to do. She released him. “Go on, then. We’ll take care of Aden while you’re gone.”

He’d gone rigid, waiting for her response, and now relaxed. “Thank you.”

After a swift, hard kiss, a whispered, “Be careful,” Riley was striding into the closet, soon gone from view. There was a murmur of falling clothing, then…nothing. Frowning, Mary Ann walked over and peeked inside. He was gone. Vanished. Reeling, she made her way to the only chair in the room and plopped down. Her feet sighed in pleasure, even as her mind continued to whirl.

Was Riley now in Fairy Tale? Was there a doorway in the closet? If so…talk about weird!

“He’ll be okay, right?” she asked Victoria.

The vampire was focused completely on Aden, brushing her fingertips over his face and kissing the line of his jaw. The opal ring she always wore glinted in the light, as if rainbow shards were trapped inside. “Yes. He’ll have to rip open a doorway, which is why he moved out of sight, and then he’ll—”

The bedroom door suddenly swung open. A boy stepped inside, one Mary Ann had never met. He stopped when he spotted Victoria in bed with Aden and Mary Ann sitting at the desk. His eyes narrowed, his mind clearly assessing the situation. He possessed the same dangerous edge as Riley, as if he’d done things—difficult, dangerous things.

“First, how come Aden gets all the hot chicks?” he said, his voice rough. “And second, who are you and what the hell are you doing here?”

Uh-oh. Caught. Aden was supposed to be at school. If Dan, his warden, found out he was ditching, he could be kicked off the ranch. Second, no girls were allowed here. If Dan found out about her, Aden would be kicked off the ranch.

So, either way, he was screwed.

Victoria sat up, her gaze never leaving the newcomer. “You will leave this empty room and shut the door behind you. You saw no one.” Power wafted from her voice, so much power Mary Ann had to rub her arms to remind herself that she was not on the receiving end of that command. “You will not return today.”

“Empty. Leave. Will not return.” The boy nodded, his eyes glazed. He turned and shut the door behind him.

With barely a pause, Victoria refocused on Aden, as did Mary Ann. He appeared more relaxed, his color higher, the bruises fading.

“He’s healing,” she said, her relief palpable.

“Yes,” the vampire replied without looking at her. Despite the progress, the worry must not have left her.

She needed a distraction. “I’m a power neutralizer,” Mary Ann said. “So how can you use your Voice Voo—uh, command while I’m here?”

“You do not stop Riley from shifting, do you?”

“No.”

“Because the ability is natural, part of who he is. The same is true with me. Most of my powers are natural, what I was born to do. Like teleporting. You didn’t stop me from doing that, either.”

Too bad about the teleporting. And most of her powers? As in many. How many weird things could she do? And also, what wasn’t natural? Not that Mary Ann would ask. She and Victoria were friendly, for the most part, but the boys were the glue that held them together. Not affection. Not yet. Perhaps that would come in time.

“What a terrible week this has turned out to be,” Victoria muttered. “My father killed, a witch death curse unleashed and Aden injured by the Fae.”

The witches. Ugh. How could she have forgotten, even for a second? “Have you ever been summoned to a witches meeting before?”

“No. Usually, the witches and the vampires avoid each other. They are…well, their blood is our greatest addiction.” Her eyes closed, and she licked her lips, as if she were imagining drinking from one. “The taste is…I can’t even describe it. There’s nothing like it, and one sip can enslave us.”

Great. Neither of them knew what to expect, then.

“We’ve always maintained distance from each other, and have an unspoken pact. We do not use them for sustenance, and they do not bespell us. Until lately.”

“So you’re uncomfortable around witches.”

“I suppose.”

“And you’re also at war with the Fae.”

“Yes.”

“And you hate goblins.”

“Anyone with sense does.”

Were vampires allied with anyone? Well, besides werewolves, their trusted protectors.

Maybe you joined the wrong team.

The stray thought hit her, and she blinked. Wrong! She’d joined the right team. She’d joined Riley’s team. How dare her mind consider anything else.

Are you seriously angry with your own brain?

She hated that cynical inner voice. Besides, what other team would she have joined? The witches? Yeah, that would have been nice. Wasn’t like they could curse her every time she angered them.

Oh. Wait. They could.

But, God, if she could just talk to a witch. Ask a few questions, figure this thing out. How, though? It wasn’t like the witches were wearing signs around their necks announcing what they were, or popping up at school or this ranch and asking if there was anything they could do for her.

But Victoria and Riley could spot them at a glance. What if they went into town—where most of the creatures were congregating, trying to figure out how they’d been summoned to Crossroads and not yet realizing Aden was the source—and kidnapped a witch?

Her eyes widened. Of course. Kidnap a witch, ask questions, get answers and boom. Success. Death curse reversed.

She could have danced.

Of course, she’d never kidnapped anyone and had no idea how to go about it. But she’d figure something out.

Who are you?

The old Mary Ann never would have considered such a risky plan. This was a new world, however, and she had to adapt. Or die. She wasn’t ready to die.

“Let’s backtrack to the witches…” After she outlined her plan to Victoria, the vampire glanced over at her for the first time since she’d entered the room and nodded thoughtfully.

“Excellent.”

She beamed.

“I had not thought you so mercenary, Mary Ann.”

Slowly her “beam” dimmed. “What do you mean?”

“Only that I approve of your plan. Kidnap and torture for information. And after the meeting, we can even bargain for our captive’s release. If the witches vow never to curse us again, she lives.”

And if they refused to offer such a vow? Mary Ann’s stomach hollowed. No way would she commit murder. And torture? No! In her mind, she kind of expected the witch to offer answers in exchange for freedom. Easy, done. Just like that. Clearly, Victoria thought differently. And that she could resort to brutality so easily and without a hint of remorse…

First, you didn’t mind Riley acting all He-mannish. Second, Victoria’s a vampire, remember? Raised by one of the most vicious men in history. So for eighty years, and by her own admission, Victoria had viewed humans as food, nothing more, nothing less. Life had no true value to her. Besides, witches weren’t human, Mary Ann didn’t think, but they were a source of irritation to the vampire. Irritations were probably to be snuffed out immediately. Painfully.

That’s what Vlad the Impaler had most likely done, and that’s what Victoria assumed she needed to do. Someone would have to teach her otherwise.

So. New task to add to Mary Ann’s ever-growing list. Teach Victoria to respect other species. Hopefully, Riley wouldn’t need the lesson, as well. If he did, however, she would give it to him. There would be no killing unless absolutely necessary.

Unless absolutely necessary? Who are you? she wondered again. And just how was she supposed to teach a vampire and werewolf anything when they were far older than she was and had a lifetime of experiences she couldn’t even imagine?

“When is he going to wake up?” Victoria suddenly asked.

Mary Ann pulled herself from her thoughts. “When his body is ready, I suppose. Rest is healing.”

“I wish…I wish I could turn him into a vampire. Then his skin would be indestructible.”

She really needed to eliminate that word from her vocabulary. Vampire skin could be burned by je la nune; at least, that’s what she thought Aden had called it. He’d also said je la nune was fire dipped in acid then wrapped in poison and sprinkled with radiation. Or something like that. That’s what was hidden inside of Victoria’s ring.

What a painful way to die. Mary Ann wasn’t sure Aden would prefer that to the few cuts and bruises he had now.

“He’s going to die, you know?” Victoria said softly. She rested her head on Aden’s chest, as if she were listening to his heartbeat. Silky black hair spread around her shoulders and draped over the arm she had wrapped over Aden’s stomach. Together, they looked like a magazine ad for a fancy perfume. “Has he told you yet?”

“What’s to tell? All humans die.”

“No. He’ll die. Soon.”

At first, Mary Ann could only blink over at her, certain she’d misheard. Then, as the words penetrated—He’ll die. Soon.—they became real. All the moisture in her mouth dried, her limbs shook and her heart did that hammering thing. “How does he know he’s going to die?”

“One of the souls inside his head is psychic. A death predictor.”

“Wh-when is this supposed to happen? How is it supposed to happen?”

“A knife through the heart. The other, the timing…that, he doesn’t know. Only that it will be soon, like I told you.”

Soon. What was soon, though? A day? A week? A year? And a knife through the freaking heart? Dear God. An even worse way to die than from the je la nune. He really did need tough vampire skin.

Why hadn’t he told her?

“Why can’t you turn him?”

“Attempts were made to turn humans in the past. None were successful.”

“Can’t we—?”

“Stop it from happening, now that we know about it?” Victoria laughed without any trace of humor. “No. Apparently, that will only make things worse for him. He told me that stopping a death, once it’s been predicted, does not change the outcome, only the way that outcome is achieved. And when changed, that outcome becomes far more excruciating.”

Aden. Dead. Soon. No! Tears burned her eyes, stinging down her cheeks. “How does he live with that knowledge?” Don’t talk like that. Something can be done. Surely.

“I don’t know. But I don’t think I could. He is human, yet he is stronger than I will ever be.” She traced something over his heart, but Mary Ann was too far away to tell what that something was. If she were guessing, though, she would say it was the same thing Victoria had traced on the tabletop in the cafeteria.

“And you’re sure you can’t make him a vampire?” There had to be a way to save him.

“I am sure. Our blood is…different than yours and in large doses, which would be required to turn someone, it drives humans to insanity and death. Sometimes the vampire trying to do the turning dies, as well, though no one knows why.”

No way Aden would risk Victoria’s life. That she knew. “How did you become vampire, then?” The question emerged broken, hoarse.

“I was born this way. My father was the first to change, you see. He was a blood-drinker, even as a human, and slowly found himself changing. His skin thickening, his hunger for everything else fading away. His body no longer aging. He had his most trusted men and their females drink blood, like him, and they, too, changed. He then had his beloved pets, the wolves, drink. They changed, as well, though they became vicious. It is their offspring, like Riley, that you see now, able to shift into human form.”

“Why can’t Aden drink that blood? What your father and his people drank?”

“He drank from people, Mary Ann, and those people are long gone. Dust in the grave.”

“But if Aden drank from people…maybe…”

“That, too, has been tried. That, too, has failed.”

So that was it? They were supposed to give up and watch Aden die? Soon? No. Absolutely not. She refused. There had to be a way to save him, she thought again. Please let there be a way to save him.

Suddenly Riley strode from the closet, wiping his hands together and claiming their attention. He was fully dressed now. His clothes were wrinkled, torn and bloodstained, and there were streaks of dirt on his face and arms.

“It’s done,” he said, and there was no emotion in his voice. “No one will know a prince was killed in Aden’s home.” His gaze raked Mary Ann, ensuring she was okay, before moving to Aden and Victoria. “How is he?”

“Better.”

As if he’d heard the question, Aden moaned.

Both Mary Ann and Riley stilled before rushing to the bed and crouching beside him. Mary Ann latched onto his hand and squeezed.

Victoria rose over him, on her knees, and patted his cheeks. “Can you hear us, Aden?”

Slowly he blinked open his eyes. There was a collective intake of breath as they waited…waited… He focused, though his multicolored irises, a mix of brown, blue and green, were glassy.

“Victoria?” he asked groggily.

“I’m here. How are you? Is there anything I can get you?”

He frowned, his head tilting to the side. He blinked again, and his frown deepened. Then he shocked everyone by snarling, “No!” grabbing Victoria by the shoulders and throwing her behind him as he popped to his knees. “Don’t you dare touch her!”

Startled, Mary Ann followed the line of his gaze. She saw…no one. “Aden?”

“How are you still alive?” he demanded. “Riley killed you. I felt you die!”

“Aden?” Victoria approached him again and curled her fingers around his forearms, urging him down. “Who are you talking to?”

“The prince.” He remained where he was, balled his fists and raised them, ready to strike. “The prince who had better be leaving.”

“He’s here?” Riley demanded.

“Yes.”

“But that’s impossible. I mean really impossible. I just buried him.”