Reluctant Adept: Book Three of A Clairvoyant's Complicated Life (10 page)

I closed my eyes, not in the mood for his usual banter, and said, half in jest, "You're lucky I'm not holding anything sharp, but give me a minute. I'm sure I can come up with something."

I stabbed at my cell's screen to dial up my friend Michael, not wasting the energy to shoot the infuriatingly handsome sidhe next to me a dirty look. It'd be lost in the dark, anyway, and no matter how often I screwed up my face at him, it never made a bit of difference. Apparently, being an arrogant smartass was part of Tíereachán's genetic makeup.

Michael picked up on the third ring.

"Lire?" he said, "You okay? You with Tíereachán?"

"Not really, and yes. I just got off the phone with Kim and Jackie."

"How's Kieran?" he asked. "Did Duran do her thing yet?"

"Yeah. Kim said he's sleeping it off," I replied, sagging in my seat. "You didn't follow them back to my building?"

"No. Kim took off with Kieran and Jackie after the cops and fire trucks showed up," he replied. "I'm still here at Peabody's, in case I need to head off any issues with the authorities."

As a telepath, Michael's skills were invaluable for keeping the police from sticking their noses where they weren't wanted. A small tweak to someone's memories meant not having to deal with answering some potentially difficult questions.

"Right, of course," I murmured, stifling a sigh. "So … was there just the one human casualty?"

"Yes. The police ID'ed him on scene. Glen Porter. I'm sorry, Lire. He was an ass, but he didn't deserve that."

"Yeah." I swallowed. "Being my ex is turning out to be a high-risk occupation," I said bitterly.

Two were dead, three out of four, if you counted Daniel, my sweetheart from middle school. Vince, my sole living ex, had been kidnapped by Maeve. (Although, calling Vince my ex was a bit of an overstatement. We'd never even made it out on an official date.) I should warn Kieran before he did something stupid like break up with me.

"No. This isn't your fault. It's all thanks to sidhe bullshit politics and that demon fuck, Azazel. You know that. We'll deal with this. I've got your back."

"I know you do. Thanks. That means a lot." I turned toward the window. "So, Michael … do you happen to know anything about what's going on with Kieran?"

"You mean, besides his injury?"

"Yeah."

I wasn't sure why I still cared. No matter how distantly related Nuala and I were, he should have told me. The fact that he
didn't
was a big red flag, one that my little voice was having a field day with. But my emotions were dumb. I couldn't switch them off like a robot with a removable empathy chip. Much as I might have wanted to.

"
No
." Michael gave the word several extra vowels, clearly curious as to why I'd asked. "He's been his normal closed-off self whenever I've seen him."

He and Kieran would never be BFFs, mostly because Michael thought Kieran wasn't good enough for me. It didn't help that Michael's feelings in my direction hadn't always been strictly platonic. He'd secretly read my mind over a period of years, knowing it was a mistake, and fallen for me in the process—all of which I'd learned when I'd touched him a few weeks ago in an overhasty meeting of our minds without our psychic shields. He wasn't spending all of his time mooning over the fact that we'd never be more than friends (me being a clairvoyant and him being a telepath made that impossible), but it made him testy when it came to Kieran. If he knew about what I'd learned tonight, he'd give me an earful.

Michael's voice dipped down, low and suspicious. "Why?"

"Apparently, he's no longer outcast. The king reversed Maeve's decree."

"Oh … huh. Wonder why the king changed his mind."

"Kim said it's because the trial's over and the truth has come out."

"But you don't believe that," he said without any trace of uncertainty. So much for my efforts at being circumspect.

"Let's just say I don't think that's the only reason. Something's not right, Michael. According to Kim and Jackie, Kieran agreed to return home
tomorrow
, without even talking to me about it first. And thanks to him being passed out from his healing, I can't find out why. Kieran and I …" I faltered and shook my head even though he couldn't see it. "More than once, he's said that even if he could return home, he wouldn't. This … it's totally out of left field."

Michael grunted in thought. "Maybe I should have told you as soon as I got back in town … before I spoke with Kim." He blew out a sharp breath. "Fuck."

I pressed a palm to my nervous stomach. "Told me
what
, Michael?"

"The draíoclochs. There are others, like Daniel suspected. King Faonaín ordered me to find them. For the past week, I've been flying all over the country, visiting all the Invisius chapters. The six we have sitting in our vault now, I found yesterday in Chicago."

That explained it. With one of those single-use talismans, Kim could summon a temporary gateway to the Otherworld in any location she chose.

"So that's how Brassal is getting here," I said. "I was wondering."

"Yup. We're set for five o'clock tomorrow, down in our meeting room. Kim's bringing Jessica, one of the Seattle coterie part-bloods. Not sure if you've met her. She's agreed to be their next emissary. Apparently the king doesn't care which part-blood takes the position, just that they do it tomorrow without fail. Her and some appointed male sidhe are expected to bond inside the gateway and then go their separate ways. Sounds fucked up, but what do I know? I hope the guy isn't a total jerk. Jess is a sweetheart."

A bad feeling snaked its way into my chest.

I huddled further against the door and lowered my voice, not wanting Tíereachán or Wade to hear my wild suspicion, in case I was being paranoid and insecure. "Michael … when, exactly, did you tell Kim about finding the draíoclochs?"

He thought about it. "I found them late last night but didn't tell her about them until early this morning. Why?"

"What about the thing with Jess? Did it come out of the blue or have they known about it for a while?"

"No. That's the crazy part. Kim called an emergency meeting to work it out, this afternoon, while I was in the air coming home. She claimed there wasn't time to call a regional meeting, even though it would have made things easier. The Seattle coterie has just the three women members—Jess, Trish, and Wendy—and none of them are single." He sighed and then grumbled, "Things are a mess down there. I don't know if you know this, but apparently, becoming an emissary has always been a voluntary thing. A love match makes a stronger connection. It's why the part-bloods spend at least six months in the Otherworld after they turn eighteen and go back every few years. But with so few emissaries, the king issued an order this time. His new retainer needs a mate—ASAP. End of story."

"
New retainer
? She said those exact words?" I could hardly force out the question as I fought to catch my breath. The air inside the car had gone impossibly thin.

I clutched the armrest and pressed the phone hard to my ear, as though they were solely responsible for anchoring me inside the vehicle.

"That's how Jess put it to me when she told me about it." He sounded puzzled. "Whether those exact words came out of Kim's mouth, I can't tell you. Why? What are you thinking?"

Bad, bad things. Heartbreaking things—as if my heart wasn't already in pieces.

"Stop the car." My thready croak scarcely penetrated the rumble of the road.

My lungs had shrunk. I couldn't get enough air. Everything pressed against me, too close.

I turned to grip the seat in front of me. "Fisk … stop the car."

He glanced into the rear view mirror. "We're on the fucking interstate. I'm not stopping the car. You can wait until— "

"Stop the goddamn car. I need some air," I snarled. "
Now
."

"Lire— " Tíereachán started.

"I've never sidestepped at seventy-five miles per hour," I barked. "Not sure what will happen, but I'll do it if you don't pull over and let me out before I effing explode!"

"Do it," Tíereachán directed Fisk.

The car hadn't even come to a complete halt. I opened the door and levitated out, sucking in the cool evening air as though I'd just run a four minute mile. A semi roared past, shaking the ground and buffeting the air around me. Diesel exhaust coated the inside of my throat, making me cough.

I flew across the darkened, tufted terrain to the right of the interstate, dodging a wire fence, until the roadway retreated to a distant rumble and nothing but damp, lumpy grass and shadowy bushes surrounded me. In the distance, lights of a nearby housing development flickered through a line of trees. Above, a gibbous moon pierced the thin clouds, illuminating the landscape with its silvery cast, highlighting every bump and hollow with the stark contrast between dark and light. I shivered as the steady breeze bit through the thin fabric of my blouse, chilling my car-warmed skin.

After a moment, I registered Michael's tiny voice coming from my phone, still clutched in my hand.

"Michael …"

"Lire! Jesus. What the hell is going on?"

"I … had to get out of that car. I could hardly breathe with all of this."

"All of
what
?"

"I don't— " I grunted, smacking my fisted left hand against my thigh hard enough to hurt. "I need to talk to Kieran, to know for sure. Maybe I'm being paranoid. But if I'm not …"

"For fuck's sake, spit it out!"

"Kieran is the new retainer," I blurted. "The king has ordered him to bond with Jess. That's why he's going back to the Otherworld tomorrow."

Michael was quiet for a beat. "Lire, just because he's going home doesn't mean— " He paused. After a sigh, he continued, his voice soft but resigned, "Have you considered that maybe he's not as, well, committed to you as you think? Up until now, there was no way for him to go home. Now that he can …"

You're expendable.
Maybe this wasn't precisely what Michael had in mind to say, but close enough.

"He cares for me, Michael. There's no mistaking it." Forgoing levitation, I landed on the lumpy ground and paced, pounding out my frustrations with each determined step. "But even if he does want to return home, he wouldn't commit to it without at least talking to me first."

A niggling doubt snaked his way into my thoughts, thanks to Kieran's recent betrayal, but I ruthlessly squashed it. "And both Kim and Jackie are acting strangely," I added. "Whatever's going down, they're not happy about it. Jackie flat out told me she's been sworn to secrecy. But she gave me a couple cryptic hints. She told me to think about Kieran's position, his duties, what it means now that Maeve is out of the picture, and she mentioned your recent travels, told me to call you."

"Okay," he said, his protracted drawl telling me I'd hooked him.

"With Maeve gone, Kieran now reports to the king." I stopped pacing and gazed out at the distant houses, imagining Michael's broad face and keen brown eyes as I explained, "Think about it. If King Faonaín wants me for his mate, to keep me under his thumb for all time, ordering Kieran to bond with a part-blood is a genius move. No matter what Kieran decides, it gets him out of the king's way. If Kieran follows orders and bonds with Jess, he and I are finished and the king figures I'm free for the taking. If Kieran disobeys, he'll be hauled in front of the Tribunal for insubordination. Now that the king has gateway access, disobeying orders isn't something that will go unpunished. If Kieran can't get away—if he doesn't escape with me to the amhaín's territory—I guarantee Kieran will occupy the cell next to Maeve's in less than a day if he disobeys."

"I suppose," he murmured, mulling it over. "And with both Kim and Jackie acting weird— " Michael exhaled into the phone. "The question is: Even if it's true, what can you do about it?"

I barked out a humorless laugh. "Are you kidding me? No way am I going to stand by while Kieran is forced to bond with some other woman. If Tíereachán and Fisk won't take me home, I'll sidestep and fly back on my own."

"Yeah? And then what? Kieran's injured. You said he's sleeping off his healing, right?"

"That's what Kim said."

"What are you going to do? Drag his unconscious body down to the parking garage, stuff him into your Mercedes, and hope he's okay with disobeying the king when he wakes up?"

This plan sounded way better inside my head.

I stifled a growl. "Yes, damn it. Although, I'm hoping I can convince Tíereachán to help. My Mercedes is too conspicuous and I don't know where the hell we're going."

"We aren't going back," Tíereachán announced from behind me.

I jumped and spun on my heel to find him standing firm, arms folded in displeasure, just five feet away. I wondered how long he'd been listening. Long enough, apparently.

"Fine. Stay here," I snapped. "I'll sidestep and fly back on my own. The djinn will help me. Kieran and I'll figure something out."

"Sinking ship, no land in sight, and you insist on tying yourself to an anchor," he scoffed. "He will drag you to your doom."

"Please. Can you be any more melodramatic?" I returned his scowl, keeping my phone at my ear but tilting the microphone away so I didn't blast Michael. "It's not as if Kim's keeping him prisoner. And the king isn't sending Brassal until tomorrow night. So, that means we have, what? Eighteen hours? If we turn around now, it's about ninety minutes to backtrack. How far is it to this other gateway?"

Tíereachán maintained his obstinate stance, his elegant brows dipping downward, disapproval driving them to practically meet over the bridge of his nose. "You are operating under the mistaken belief that Brassal cannot cross over earlier if necessary. Even if you sneak into your building undetected, Kim will notice Kieran's absence. Although the cost is dear, if the king knows you are within his reach, he will release the Hunt. Even your djinn cannot protect you from their spectral grasp."

"I can sidestep."

He snorted. "Once they gain your scent, it won't matter."

"The Wild Hunt can sidestep too?" Alarm pitched my voice higher. "They can follow me to that other dimension?"