TheWardersDemon (4 page)

He nodded. “I am and I have been since the moment I first set eyes on her.”

Hannah, Elhara’s mother, asked, “Where was your third date?”

He grinned. “Mini golf. We putted around a pirate ship for five rounds, until the sun set and the lights came on.”

“You met her during daylight over the last two weeks?” Hannah fought a smile.

“I did. It seemed the best way to put her at ease.”

Inora leaned forward, “So, you were the reason she was humming and whistling?”

He darkened with embarrassment. “If you say it was so, I guess it was.”

“What are your intentions toward her? From what we could see before she left, her mind had been purged of any memory of you.” Andrea smiled.

“I intend to find her, to give her new memories to replace any lost forever and to start again.”

Hannah smiled and got to her feet, pulling him to his. “That was the right answer.”

She hugged him and he closed his eyes at the similarities of scent between Elhara and her mother. He missed her so much after just one day that if he concentrated, he could sense her off in the distance.

“She is in Realm. You can find her there.” Hannah patted his cheek. “When she found the rose petals in her hair, she sobbed like her soul was shattering. If you can fix that, I will be forever in your debt.”

A lump of emotion jammed in his throat. “There is no debt where true love walks. I have your permission to seek out your daughter?”

Reytil came up and stood with his arm around his wife. “You have our permission. Now, remind her who you are.”

Solar smiled and left the home in a puff of smoke. He cursed as he came out of his shift and walked through the halls of the underwater city.

To his shock, the Warder who had disappeared in a spray of seawater shot out of the wet lock and skidded across the floor on the legs that appeared the moment her tail dissipated. A familiar face shot out of the wet hatch a second later and when the woman screamed, Hector glared at him and lowered his trident into a defensive position.

He raised it as soon as he spoke, “Solar, what are you doing here?”

“I have come to ask your lady a question, King Hector.” He bowed and smiled.

Hector was still keeping his body between his woman and Solar. It was cute to see him so protective. “It will have to wait a moment. Beatrix, go and throw something on.”

As the Warder scuttled away, the two men were staring at each other for a moment before Solar laughed. “So, you finally have her?”

Hector grinned, stowed his trident and wrapped a short skirt around his hips. “Yes, and if you hadn’t spooked her toward me, I am not sure how long it would have taken for my wife to show up.”

“I need to ask her if she knows where her cousin is. I have lost my lock on my mate and am unsure as to the containment arranged for the one who attacked my woman to begin with. She’s a tricky bitch and I wouldn’t put it past her to try again.”

Hector came forward and clapped him on the shoulder, offering hospitality and a quick luncheon.

They talked about women in the broadest sense and Warders in particular. When Hector’s mate returned to their company, she was dressed elegantly but simply and the pride in the sea king’s face was unmistakable.

Solar looked forward to the day he could look at Elhara with that same gaze.

Hector introduced them. “Beatrix, this is my friend, Solar. He is an incubus and has been searching for his destined mate.”

She reached out to shake his hand and Solar felt his body shift into the appearance of her ideal mate, unsurprised to see his arms matching Hector’s skin tone.

Startled, she released his hand.

He grinned at her. “Pleased to formally meet you, Beatrix Warder. I have come here with a question.”

She sat next to Hector and nibbled on a bit of tuna. “What is the question?”

“Where is your cousin Elhara?”

“Wait. Is that what you were doing the night that I first saw you?”

His grin was all the answer she was going to get, but something about her phrasing puzzled him.

Hector began to laugh, loud and long.

Bea covered her eyes.

“Elhara is staying with her goblin grandparents. They are warded against intrusion so that is probably why you haven’t been able to find her. Eckar and Helora.”

“I wish I could stay, but I have to find her. Time is running out.” With a wave and a cloud of smoke, he disappeared.

Chapter Six

Time, he was missing time. Instead of being the day that he had left the human world, a week had passed.

It must be one of H’cheri’s curses. He quickly opened his pocket and examined the ring, cursing when he saw the hex wrapped around the metal. As he unravelled it, the nature of the power was obvious. It was designed to delay him and when he asked the goblins of the Crimson clan about Eckar and Helora, it was confirmed. They had left for the leprechaun city a week earlier.

Before jumping into the leprechaun city, he used his senses to scan for Elhara. She was weak, but she was there.

He pinpointed her exact location and tried to jump, but a warded shield around the facility held him out until it was too late.

* * * *

Draining energy, burning eyes and a rolling, evil laugh rang through Elhara’s thoughts. She fought, but the creature was pulled off her and she was able to breathe again.

“
Elhara is far better than me and she is almost dead. This demon is responsible.
” It was Asha’s voice. The demon screamed.

Asha shouldn’t kill. “Asha. Stop.”

Her voice was weak, but Eckar and Helara were holding her up. She stared at the demoness gripped by the power of a Warder.

She tried to speak again. “Ash, don’t kill her.”

Elhara did a quick personal inventory and found the necklace radiating power and the warmth of her memories. She made the connection quickly.

Asha was staring at her in amazement. “El, how are you…you are awake?”

“I won’t say I am fine, but I am awake and my memories have stopped unravelling. The charm is slowly rebuilding my thoughts and the healers here think I should have everything back in place by the end of the week.” She remembered overhearing every word around her, including her cousin’s heartfelt visit.

Elhara could feel the rupture of the wards as something powerful came through them. The demoness smirked for a moment before a knife slid through her and jutted from her ribs. A demon made of shadows disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

The demoness dropped to the floor, her back arched obscenely over the hilt of the dagger. Blood pooled under her and she was gone in seconds.

Asha looked up at the leprechaun male holding her and her eyes were puzzled. “What the hell just happened here?”

Watching her cousin pass out was shocking. “Asha!”

It was no use. The caregivers quickly checked her and whispered to the dark green male holding her. Elhara was stuck in bed watching events.

“Who are you, sir?”

The man turned to her with gold eyes bright in his dark green face. “I am Tuartha, High Lord of the leprechauns. Your cousin’s husband.”

Elhara leaned back into the pillows, her grandparents on either side. “Lose your mind for a few days and everything goes whacky.”

She was comforted by the caregivers and her grandparents, everyone assuring her that her memories would soon be complete again. Whatever she was trying to remember would come to her and she needed to let things take their course.

Deep in the night when everyone had gone, she had an epiphany.

Elhara sat in the care centre and let her mind show her what it was remembering. Red skin, black hair and a smile that made her heart beat faster even in memory.

When she whispered his name, she could swear that he was right in front of her. “Solar.”

Her apparition smiled and reached to lift her from the bed.

The leprechaun guards were frozen in place, as if time itself was standing still. She smiled and reached for him like a child for a parent.

As he lifted her in his arms, she felt the click of rightness and asked him the one question that she couldn’t let go of. “Who are you?”

He grinned and she felt his magic taking them from the leprechaun city. “All in good time, beloved. All in good time.”

Secure in his arms, she hung on and when he pressed a kiss to her forehead, she smiled.

“Welcome to my home, Elhara.”

Instead of the dead of night, they were in bright light. A home made of crystal with a thousand points of light illuminating every inch of it was truly a wonderful sight. “We are still in Realm?”

“We are. The outskirts of the demons’ demesne. Few want to live with this much light, so I jumped at the chance to take it as my own.”

He placed her carefully in a bed strewn with flower petals.

The rainbow of petals started a memory, but she couldn’t quite make it take shape. She settled in her green wrap and smiled when her companion threw a blanket over her. “Thank you.”

He brushed his hand along her hairline and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “No need for thanks, simply rest and recover. I will be near when you wake.”

She was drifting off when she asked, “Will you let them know where I am?”

“Of course. Now, sleep and dream of me, Elhara.”

He left her alone, but she knew he was nearby and a smile curved her lips. “Solar.”

* * * *

He drummed his fingers against the table and spoke to the figures in the mirror. “I have her, she is safe now, but her memories are still incomplete.”

There was a bank of mirrors and he was speaking to High Lord Tuartha as well as Elhara’s family at the same time.

Tuartha nodded. “It will take time. You should not have taken her without warning me.”

“Would you part with Asha for a moment if you had a choice?” He gave the leprechaun a serious look and the man grinned.

“No. She is mine and she will stay with me, or I will follow where she leads. Either way, I would not part with her.”

Reycon and his wife held hands and he pressed a kiss to the back of her wrist. “Take care of our daughter, Tuartha, or the Crimson clan will shred your pretty green hide.”

“The same goes for you, Solar. Our daughter is the best thing in our family and I will not see her hurt again.” Reytil’s eyes were not hid by contacts and the slit pupils were narrowing in a not-so-subtle threat.

“I am not letting her out of my senses.” He tried to keep his tone solemn, but he was so relieved that she was with him once again that a slight catch came through in his speech.

Ilora nodded. “Call us if you need anything. We will begin planning the wedding. How many folks do you think will come from your side of the family?”

Hearing a demon clan being described as a family gave him pause. “I will guess at two hundred?”

Ilora blinked, “That is all? Huh. A small wedding of six hundred to start, but we will prep for a thousand. A Warder has never wed a demon before, so it will be something that Realm will want to see.”

Suddenly thrust into the role of groom, Solar asked, “What do I need to do?”

Ilora grinned. “Nothing. This is her day and her family will make it special. All we need from you is that you show up.”

The men he was looking at just rolled their eyes and nodded at their wives’ enthusiasm. He took his cue from them and smiled and nodded. “I have to arrange for food, so please excuse me.”

The ladies looked a little perturbed, but Tuartha simply waved his hand and disconnected the communication.

Sighing in relief, Solar went to harvest some fruit from his garden. The green and living space was his treasure and the crystals provided the plants with all the light and shelter that they needed.

It had been Elise that started his love of life. She had fought so hard to keep hers that her struggle to nurture it in plant form as she recovered had won his admiration. She taught him how to plant, water and care for plants that could feed the body as well as the soul. The first carrot he had grown had filled him with a sense of pride. Elise had encouraged him to branch out and now, he had a full garden as well as orchard in the depths of the demon spaces of Realm.

With a low, tuneless hum, he gathered vegetables for a salad and fruit for Elhara’s morning meal.

He brought the food into the seldom-used kitchen and washed the dirt and sand from them. He had made a study of preparing what he had grown and Elise had sacrificed multiple days in sampling his skills. When she had stopped gagging after year ten, he knew he was on the right track, or she had developed a tolerance.

With his produce clean, he put it aside and prepared to open a small portal to engage in some petty theft. A ringing chime got his attention.

In his seventy-five years in this crystal cavern, he had never had an unanticipated visitor. Curious, he went through the main hall and opened the door. A dwarf warrior was standing with a basket under his arm.

“Are you Solar?”

Bemused, he nodded. “I am. Welcome to my home.”

The dwarf pushed past him and assessed the structure of the crystal. “Gwelvar sent me to check on your domicile. If it does not meet with his specifications, alterations will have to be made. Oh, and here is some food that will meet with Elhara’s needs.”

The basket was shoved at him and the dwarf was moving, knocking on walls and making notes. The smell of fresh bread wafted up and when he drew back the cloth, Solar saw eggs, meat and bottles of Elhara’s favourite soda.

“You are a relative then?”

“Gwelvar is my brother, Elhara my great niece. Good-hearted that girl. To see her married to a demon is going to be a strain.”

“And your name?”

“Gaffin. Lord Gaffin if you must. Elhara is my favourite niece, but don’t tell Asha. I can’t believe that that girl took up with a leprechaun.” He shook his head and kept wandering around, taking measurements and knocking on walls.

Solar quickly put the basket in the kitchen, the meat in the cold room and the bread next to the vegetables. Letting a strange dwarf run around his home was not in his plan for the day.

Lord Gaffin was standing in the doorway to the gardens and staring in amazement. “This is all yours?”