A Kind Of Magic (6 page)

His face was so perfect even Adonis would cry. But it was his eyes that drew her attention. They were blue, but a mystical blue. They shimmered and swirled as if they had a life of their own.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Aimery,” he said, a soft smile pulling at his perfect lips. “I am commander of the Fae army and messenger to the Shields from the king and queen of the Fae.”

“Shields?” This was just getting weirder and weirder.

“A group of hand picked men from all times and realms that battle the creatures that have been called up to destroy the Earth.”

“Why don’t you fight them?”

He lowered his eyes. “We cannot, dear Elle. ‘Tis my greatest desire to do just that, but we are bound to stay in our realm.”

“Why?”

“Because we once roamed Earth and are still attached to it. If the realm of Earth ever ceases to exist, so do we, which is why the Shields were created. We found the most skilled warriors throughout time and realms and brought them together. Roderick and Val are two of the Shields. They were sent here to find you and kill the creature.” She laughed then. “The Harpies? Are you kidding?” Aimery jerked his gaze to the men, his smile gone, replaced by pinched lips.

“Harpies?”

Roderick nodded. “They attacked me and Elle at my home.”

“I must tell Queen Rufina and King Theron.”

“Wait,” Val yelled. “We also found the stone.” Aimery’s eyes narrowed. “So we know who is controlling the Harpies?” Val looked away, causing Aimery to turn to Roderick. “Elle has the stone,” Roderick answered.

Aimery closed his eyes. “Destroy the stone,” he said.

Elle blinked, and he was gone. “Where did he go?” she asked as she looked around her living room.

“Back to the realm of the Fae,” Val answered. “We don’t have a lot of time before the Harpies find her again, Roderick. Destroy the stone, and we can return home.” Elle waited until Val walked from the room before she turned to Roderick. “Why do you want to destroy my necklace?”

She let him pull her down onto the couch. “The stones are what called the creatures from their ancient hell. If the stones are destroyed, then so are the creatures.”

“It’s just a stone. Are you sure it’s the same one?”

“Positive. There is no mistaking the stone.”

“I can’t let you obliterate my necklace. It was a gift from Jennifer.” He raked a hand through his hair. “You would let the people of your city die?”

“Have you been here long?” she asked. “People are murdered right and left.

Children are abused, abandoned, kidnapped, and sold daily. This isn’t exactly a place I would want to save.”

“And the innocents? Like the children? You would condemn them to death?” She closed her eyes as tears threatened. “No.”

“Then

help

me.”

“What do you want me to do?” she asked as she opened her eyes.

“To kill the Harpies we must destroy your necklace.” Elle had no idea how she was going to explain this to Jennifer, and she had no idea why she believed every word that came out of Roderick’s mouth.

“How do I know you aren’t lying?” she asked.

“You

don’t.”

“If the stone was given to me as a present, then who called the Harpies?” Roderick sighed. “I don’t know. My mission was to find you, find and kill the creatures, and destroy the stone. I can do all of that now and return to the other Shields.”

“Why did you need to find me?”

“Your people sent twelve babes to Earth just before your realm was destroyed.

There are only five of you left. You are the second one we have found.” Elle sat back and let his words soak in. “And we all bear this mark?”

“Aye, in different places. Mina’s is on the back of her neck.”

“Mina?”

“She is in England, in the time of 1123.”

Elle’s mouth dropped open. “So we are scattered through time?”

“We don’t know.”

“You don’t know a whole lot, do you?” she said and rose to her feet.

“I know you can save this city.”

She looked down at him. “Whoever has the stone controls the Harpies, right?” He slowly nodded.

“Since you’re here with me, you know I’m not controlling them. Right?” Again he nodded.

“I need time to think about this.”

“We’ll need an answer soon, Elle.”

“You’ll have one by tomorrow,” she promised.

Roderick heard the cry rent the stillness of the night and leapt to his feet. He had been sleeping in Elle’s front room and hurried to her chamber.

He spotted her thrashing around on her bed and knew she was in the grips of a nightmare. He straddled her and took a wrist in each hand.

“Elle,” he said. When she didn’t respond, he called out a little louder.

“No,” she screamed and tried to kick him off of her.

“’Tis me,” he said as he struggled to wake her.

Of a sudden, her thrashing stopped, and he looked to find her eyes open and staring at him.

“Elle?”

He immediately noticed how close their faces were and the fact his body straddled hers. Her breasts pressed against his chest, and his rod, hard and throbbing, rested against her stomach. All he had to do was lean down and take her mouth in his.

“’Twas just a dream,” he said as he released her hands and moved off her.

She curled on her side but didn’t say anything.

Roderick could only imagine what was going through her mind. So far, she had handled things relatively well, and it would depend on how strong she was mentally if she could believe them.

He was about to walk away when her hand reached out and took his. He looked at their joined hands, then her face.

“Thank you for saving me.”

He knew she was referring to the Harpies. “They won’t kill you. You control them, but they are thirsty for blood and want more.” The moonlight streamed in from windows on either side of her bed, illuminating her face and light blue eyes. “Don’t let them take me.”

“I give you my word I will protect you with my life.” He bent down and gently tugged his hand free. “Sleep, Elle,” he commanded as he moved the covers over her shoulders.

He checked to make sure her eyes were closed before he rose and walked from her chamber.

“Is she all right?” Val asked as he stood in the hallway.

Roderick nodded. “I don’t know if she believes us.”

“We may have to take the stone from her.”

Roderick looked at the woman sleeping so soundly. “We might.”

“She’s got until tomorrow. I wish to return to Hugh and the others.” Roderick nodded and thought of Hugh. He was their leader, and the best of them.

Roderick missed them all, Hugh, Darrick, Gabriel, and Cole. They were his brothers in arms.

He returned to his place on the sofa and stared into the darkness. What he should do was go in Elle’s chamber, find the necklace, and destroy it, but he had promised to wait for morning. And wait he would.

“Morning, Elle,” a female voice called from the front of the house.

Roderick and Val glanced at each other. Elle still slept, so Roderick walked into the front room to find Elle’s friend, Jennifer.

“Well, hello,” she said and looked him up and down. “I didn’t realize Elle had company.”

“I’m just a friend.”

“Ah,” she said and nodded. “And needed a place to crash.” She walked past him toward Elle’s bedchamber. “I’m Jennifer.”

“Roderick,” he said as he followed her.

“I’m just going to borrow a shirt Elle said I could use,” Jennifer said when she reached Elle’s door.

Roderick had no choice but to let her go in. He waited with Val in the front room, but as each second ticked by, Roderick felt the urge to drag Jennifer out of the chamber.

“Well, hello,” Jennifer said again as she walked out of Elle’s bedchamber.

Val immediately perked up at finding a woman interested in him. “Hello to you, as well.”

“It’s too bad I’m already taken, or I’d be very tempted,” Jennifer said as she walked by Val, her finger trailing across his chest. “I just love the accent.” Roderick was hard pressed not to roll his eyes.

“Tell Elle I’ll return this later,” Jennifer said as she held up a shirt just before she walked from the house.

“Fairly decent in looks, aye?” Val asked him.

Roderick shook his head and returned to the kitchen. “Could you keep your mind on other things than bedding a woman?”

“Then what would the world come to?”

Roderick couldn’t help but chuckle. “One day, Val, you will find a woman that will knock your feet out from underneath you, and I pray I’m there to see it.” Val put his hands over his heart and let his head fall back. “Ah, never say such words.”

“It’ll happen. That I promise you.”

Val sat up and studied him. “Has it happened to you?” Roderick shook his head. “Hasn’t yet, and I hope it doesn’t. At least not until I’ve vanquished the evil here and can help my own realm. If it still exists.”

“It

does.”

Roderick clenched his jaw and gripped the counter top, the rooming spinning at Val’s words. “What?”

“You might not want to ask Aimery for fear of discovering bad news, not to mention you have a hard time dealing with why you left, so I asked for you.”

“Well,” he prompted the Roman. His patience fast running out.

“Thales still stands. It is being ravaged, but not as severely as Earth.” Roderick breathed a sigh of relief. He had desperately wanted to know how his realm was doing but couldn’t work up the courage to ask.

“Why did you leave?” Val asked.

Roderick had told no one the reason for his departure of Thales, but Aimery knew. Thankfully, the Fae never said a word, and the other Shields hadn’t asked since each of them carried their own secrets and demons.

“You’ve never asked me that before.”

Val shrugged. “’Tis always been an unspoken rule that we leave the past behind.”

“So why ask now?”

“I’m curious. I saw the pain on your face when I mentioned Thales. You are a prince there, Roderick. What could have made you leave?” Roderick bowed his head and took a deep breath. There was no way he could tell his friend and fellow Shield just what he had done. “Something so awful I’m trying to redeem myself in my family’s eyes.”

Val said no more, and for that Roderick would be eternally grateful. Talking of his home and his parents brought him so much pain that he rarely did it. One day soon, however, he would return to them and hopefully be forgiven for the most unforgivable of sins.

Elle woke slowly, the sun shining brightly in her room. She glanced at the clock, saw she would be terribly late for work, but didn’t care. Her hand snaked out of the sheets and reached for the phone. A quick call letting them know she was sick—which wasn’t a lie, she was sick in the head for believing Roderick—and she could face the day and the horrors that waited.

She sat up and stretched her arms over her head as she heard mumblings from the kitchen. It was easy to determine which one was Val and which was Roderick as they talked. Val’s voice was deeper, rougher, while Roderick’s held a refinement that she would almost compare to royalty.

Try as she might, she couldn’t make out their conversation without getting out of bed, and since she wasn’t an eavesdropper, she decided to make a quick trip to the bathroom to take care of business before heading into the kitchen. As she walked past her mirror she saw her silky chemise she wore to bed and hastily tugged on a robe.

When she walked into the kitchen, neither man was speaking. Val spared her a glance and a nod as she walked past him.

“Morning,”

she

mumbled.

She wasn’t what was considered a morning person. It took her a bit to wake up and start functioning properly to go out into the real world, which is why she hated having company.

“Did you sleep well?” Roderick asked from beside her.

Elle covered her mouth as she began to yawn. “Not really,” she answered and reached into the fridge for a Diet Dr. Pepper. All she needed was a little caffeine in the mornings, and she was fine. She didn’t even need the whole bottle, just a few swallows and she was set.

“You?” she asked as she replaced the can and shut the fridge door.

“Well

enough.”

As Elle leaned against the fridge, she couldn’t get the image of the Harpies out of her mind. They had plagued her all night. “Will the Harpies attack during the day?” Both Roderick and Val shrugged.

“Some creatures sleep during the day,” Val answered, “and some don’t. Not sure about the Harpies, but something is telling me they won’t.”

“Great,” she mumbled as she pushed off the fridge. “You would think something like women with lower bodies of birds flying around the skies of Houston would have been reported.”

“I would have thought so, too, so my only guess is they haven’t been seen,” Roderick said.

“Wonderful. This just keeps getting better and better.”

“Have you decided anything?” Val asked.

Normally, Elle was a quiet, rarely riled type of person, but for some reason, she was finding a side of herself she had never seen, and she quite liked it. “I’ve been asleep.

I didn’t get much thinking done.”

Val growled something under his breath in another language.

“Val,” Roderick warned before he turned to Elle. “This isn’t a jest we are playing on you. This is people’s lives on this realm and others. It’s very important that the necklace and creatures be destroyed.”

Elle still couldn’t believe she actually believed him. Had she been asked a week ago if she believed in Harpies and immortals she would have laughed in their faces.

“I don’t have a choice.”

“Not if you want to do the right thing,” Val said.

She looked first at Val and then at Roderick. “What do I need to do?” Roderick took a step toward her. “Get dressed, get the necklace, and we’ll go destroy it.”

“Go?”

“The stone shatters,” Val told her. “We need to do it some place away from everything.”

“That only leaves the woods, which will be a good hour or more away from here, or the top of a building.”

Val and Roderick looked at each other. “The house,” they said in unison.

Elle assumed they meant the apartment. “I’ll get dressed.” She shuffled into her room and ignored the bed that she usually made faithfully every morning. Instead, she went to her closet and grabbed a pair of shorts and a shirt.