Dark Swan Bundle (45 page)

This made him laugh. “She's a good negotiator. You're lucky to have her.” He leaned forward. “Especially since I'm guessing this really isn't your…well, let's just say it's not one of your normal pastimes.”

The frankness caught me by surprise. I'd expected him to remain starstruck and silly, like most of the guys around here who wanted to hit on me. Leith's current expression wasn't lecherous or adoring now, just knowing and sympathetic.

“No, it's really not. This is a kind of a big life change.”

“And yet, you knew you'd be taking this on when you defeated Aeson.”

I hesitated. Both Shaya and Rurik had hinted to me on a number of occasions that I really shouldn't elaborate on the totally unexpected—and unwanted—nature of my queen-ship. Even if I hadn't fought Aeson with the specific intent of supplanting him, the point remained now that I was stuck with this. Coming across as weak and whiny to those outside my inner circle could create more problems.

“Well, yeah,” I said brightly. “We just didn't anticipate this many problems when the land changed.”

“But this is how your world is?”

“The part I live in. But we've had a long time to get used to it and figure out ways to survive and get water in. I gave Shaya books on how to construct some of that stuff, so hopefully she'll find someone to do it.”

His brow furrowed. “Is there any way I could take a look? I might able to help.”

For a moment, I wondered if this was his new ploy to schmooze me—until I recalled what Shaya had said about him having a brilliant mind for technology, inasmuch as the gentry could. If he could parse diagrams and whatnot, it might be worth getting closer to him.

“Sure,” I said. “We could certainly use it.”

He smiled again, and as it lit up his face, even I could acknowledge he was pretty good-looking. Not like Kiyo, of course. Or even…well, like Dorian. But pretty cute.

“I'll set to it as soon as I can. If there's anything else I can do to make this easier for you, I'll do it.” There was an enraptured look on his face. Yeah, he definitely had a crush, but he didn't irritate me in the way so many other more obnoxious suitors did. An odd thought occurred to me.

“Leith…here's something you might be able to help with. Have you ever heard of girls disappearing from the Rowan Land? In the areas that border my land?”

The look on his face showed that this was the last question he'd expected from me. “I…beg your pardon?”

“Girls have been disappearing from my land, right near your borders.” What were those names? “Skye and Ley. But the people I talked to say nothing's happening to your girls. Do you know anything about this?”

He shook his head, utterly confused. “No…I'm afraid I don't know very much about the lives of those people.”

Leith's words weren't contemptuous by any means, but there was an implication that villagers and peasants just weren't people he associated with. It reminded me of Rurik's comments about how Aeson would have never troubled himself to investigate bandits or missing girls unless they directly affected him. Leith wasn't as much of an asshole as Aeson, but he and his mother were likely just as out of touch as any other noble.

I think a fair amount of disappointment must have shown on my face because he suddenly grew eager to make me feel better. “But I swear, I'll look into this when I return. I'll ask Mother, and we'll send messengers out to report back. I'll find out everything I can for you.”

I smiled at his enthusiasm. “Thanks, Leith. It's really great of you to help.”

“Helping a pretty queen is no trouble at all. By the way, have you ever thought about getting a crown?”

We talked a little longer, and I found he actually was a really nice guy, given to moments of humor and intelligence. It wasn't enough for me to jump into bed with him, but I appreciated finding someone else to connect with in the Otherworld. Shaya returned at last with the paperwork—hand-printed on scrolls, of course—and while Leith signed, we got a hold of the engineering books for him. His eyes widened with delight, and I swear, he probably could have sat down and started reading then and there on the floor. Instead, he took the hint that I had other things to do, and after many more compliments and hand kisses, he took his leave.

“You've given him another open invitation,” Shaya pointed out.

“Yeah, I know. But he's harmless. I like him.”

“None of them are harmless, your majesty.” I couldn't entirely tell if she was joking or not.

“Well, it'll be worth the hassle if he can solve our water problem and help with the girls.”

“The girls?”

I gave her a quick recap of my interrogation with the prisoners. Her face turned thoughtful as she processed my words.

“Skye and Ley…”

“Do you know those towns?”

She nodded. “They and Westoria are configured in a way that places them equidistant from a gateway. A crossroads.”

“What, to my world?” She nodded again. “Huh. I wonder if that's a coincidence. I wonder…I wonder if it's possible that…” One of my crazier ideas came to me. “Do you think those girls could be leaving and going to my world?”

“I don't know. Shining ones do often cross over. It's not unheard of.”

“Yeah, I know. To cause trouble. Or to steal women.” I had to fight a scowl on that one. My own mother had been one such woman, abducted and forced to be my father's mistress. “You think these girls are going to go kidnap guys so they can have kids?” The easy ability to conceive was why so many humans got kidnapped. Usually, it was gentry men taking human women.

Shaya's smile turned wry. “I somehow doubt it would come to that. Women have been known to cross over, spend time in your world, and return pregnant. They don't need to bring the men back.”

Fair point. Well, this was certainly a weird development. I'd have to wait and see what Leith reported back, but I supposed if these girls weren't actually being abducted…well, there was little for me to do. Admittedly, I'd always fought adamantly against gentry sneaking to the human world, but I wasn't sure where the right and wrong of this situation lay.

“I guess that'd be easier to deal with than a monster taking them. Still leaves that stupid demon problem.” I sighed. “Well, one issue at a time, I guess.”

“Are you leaving now?”

“Yes. Finally. Thanks for handling this today.”

“Of course,” she said. She actually sounded like she meant it. Her pleased expression turned momentarily hesitant. “Although…there's something you should know. Someone else responded right away to the trade offer.”

“That's good news.”

“It's Dorian.”

“Oh.” Of course Dorian would respond. How could he stay away from an opportunity to put me at his mercy? “You can deal with it, though, right?”

“Well, that's just it. He's specifically requested that you talk to him. At his home.”

“What?” I stared. “He…he can't do that.”

That wry smile of hers returned. “He's a king. He can do anything he wishes.”

“Yeah, but Leith came
here!
Dorian just wants me to go to him so that he can taunt me.” And no doubt flaunt Ysabel in front of me.

“Leith's kingdom needs copper more than Dorian's. I suspect Dorian is doing this as a personal favor to you.”

“That's not exactly how I'd put it.”

She shook her head, the amusement now warring with exasperation. “I know there's tension between you, but I suspect if you could be nice to King Dorian, he might make us a very generous deal. One that could help us immensely.”

A generous deal. The Oak Land was flourishing. I didn't doubt they had all sorts of food and other items we could use. I thought about those poor people in Westoria and even about my prisoners who'd spoken of having too many mouths to feed. I sighed.

“Fine. I'll talk to him. And I'll even be nice.” I started to turn away, needing more than ever to get back to my own home. Then I glanced back behind me. “But Shaya? Just to be safe, you might want to keep looking for more trade partners.”

Returning home was great. I was exhausted mentally and physically and didn't even mind the onslaught of dogs and cats that greeted me. Tim stood in the kitchen, mixing up some kind of batter. He also wore a full Native American feather headdress that went all the way down his back.

“Isn't that a Sioux thing?” I asked. “Er, Lakota?”

“I keep getting in trouble when I pretend to be one of the local tribes,” he explained. “So, I figure if I claim to be from out of town, no one can push for details. Besides, you're one to judge appearance. Did you sleep out in the rain or something?”

Ironically, I had, but I wasn't about to tell him that. “It's been a long day. Days. Whatever.”

“Lara called like eighty times. She's got a real attitude, you know.”

“That's why she makes the big bucks,” I said with a yawn. “I'm going to go take a nap. Wake me if she calls.”

“You going to go hear me perform tonight?” he called as I headed down the hall.

I froze. “Oh, um, gee. I've got plans….”

“You do not!”

“I do.” I turned around. “I'm going to my mom's.”

“The reading's late,” he said. “Doesn't start until nine. You'll be done by then.”

I had long since accepted Tim's fake American Indian gig, but accepting it and witnessing it—aside from when he stood in full regalia in my kitchen—were two entirely different things.

“I've even written new material,” he added when he saw that he wasn't making much progress.

“I'm not sure that's a selling point.”

He held up the bowl of brownie mix. “I'll make them with walnuts.”

I sighed and turned back toward my bedroom. “You don't play fair.”

He whooped with joy. “You'll love it, Eug. I promise.”

 

I fell asleep pretty easily and woke to two pleasant surprises. One was the scent of freshly baked brownies wafting in the air. The other was Kiyo sitting in a chair in my room, eating one of the aforementioned brownies. With the way he'd been in and out lately, I never really knew when to expect him.

“Nice surprise,” I said, sitting up.

“Likewise,” he said, eyeing my bare legs. I'd gone to sleep in a T-shirt.

“Anything new in the Otherworld?”

“Not much. Maiwenn's getting nervous about the delivery, but I kind of figured that would happen.”

“She's got good healers,” I said, wanting to reassure him in spite of all the troubled feelings Maiwenn generated in me. I noticed then that he wore his white coat. “You going into work?”

“Just got out.” Damn. It was later than I'd realized if he'd hung out with Maiwenn and pulled a shift at work.

“Do you want to go see my parents with me?”

Kiyo made a face. “Roland hates me.”

“Hate is a strong word.”

But it wasn't an entirely inaccurate one. Roland, my shaman stepfather, made no secret of the fact that he didn't like me spending as much time as I did in the Otherworld. Bringing home an Otherworldly boyfriend hadn't earned his approval either, even though Kiyo was half-human like me. Still, Roland was always more or less polite. My mother, who didn't know about Kiyo's heritage, couldn't gush over him enough. I think she'd nearly given up on me ever dating anyone, so me landing a veterinarian was quite a coup as far as she was concerned. She was a fantastic cook and so even though Roland made him uneasy, Kiyo still consented to go.

“Are you sure you got enough to eat?” she asked after we finished dinner with them later that night. She operated under the assumption that I was on the verge of malnutrition and that Kiyo was incapable of feeding himself if someone else didn't cook for him. In truth, Kiyo was a much better cook than me.

“It was great,” he assured her. “Believe me, I had more than enough.”

“Well, don't be afraid to go back for more. Or take home leftovers.”

“Geez, Mom. He had three helpings. Are you fattening him up for the kill?” I asked.

“There are worse fates,” mused Kiyo good-naturedly.

My mom beamed. I thought she was exceptionally pretty, but maybe I was just biased. People said we had similar looks, and we did as far as build and facial features went. It was the coloring we differed in. Her eyes were just plain blue, and her dark hair was graying. My reddish hair and violet-blue eyes were Storm King's legacy.

After dinner, I stole Roland away to the den to talk shop and left Kiyo to entertain my mother. She knew what it was we did, but after her own experiences in the Otherworld, she preferred to avoid our shamanic discussions.

“Still with him, huh?” asked Roland, relaxing back in an easy chair.

“He's nice, and you know it. He's the same as me.”

Roland scratched his head thoughtfully. His hair had gone gray, and he seemed to have new wrinkles every year. He was still more than a match for most Otherworldly foes (even though he'd ostensibly retired), and the crosses, whorls, fish, and other Christian tattoos on his arms could summon the same power my goddess-based ones could.

“He is like you,” he agreed. “He's not entirely Otherworldly—but he's tied to it. He's spent more of his life there than you, let it become more a part of him. And you being with someone like that means that you'll just be that much more tied to it in return. With everything that's going on over there, it's really better if you stay away.”

“Everything,” of course, meant the prophecy about me bearing the Otherworld's savior. While I usually recapped a lot of my shamanic business to Roland, I had neglected to mention a few of my recent activities—say, like inadvertently conquering a kingdom and becoming a queen. Call me crazy, but I just had to think our relationship would be better if he remained in ignorance about that.

“Well, I've kind of gotten involved with something over there. And don't give me that look,” I warned, seeing his frown. “I'm helping out some people who need it, and it's too late to back out. But the other day, I saw fire demons.”

That got his attention. “You do mean in the Otherworld, right?”

“God, yes.” Demons in our world would be pretty horrible. “There were five of them.”

He let out a low whistle. “That's substantial even for them. It'd take a powerful summoner to do that.”

“I was with, uh, some others, and they managed to do some damage, but for the most part, we were useless. I banished one, and that just about wiped me out.”

“Yeah, it can be done, but it's not easy. You could do it with a couple of other shamans, but on your own…” He shook his head. “I
really
don't like you getting involved with that.”

“I know, I know, but like I said, it's too late. Do you know how to get rid of them? Aside from assembling a shaman posse?”

“The easiest way—and I use that term loosely—would be to find a gentry who could summon water demons. Put them with fire demons, and they'll all turn on each other.”

“Somehow I'm not optimistic about finding someone like that.” Yet, even as I said that, I wondered if
I
could do it. As far as I knew, that wasn't part of my storm magic. I could summon water and had once controlled air, bending those forces to my will. Summoning elemental creatures was out of my range. Storm King had allegedly been able to do it. Jasmine had commanded water creatures as well, though I didn't know if that would include demons. It irked me that I couldn't do what the rest of my family could.

“True,” Roland agreed. “In that case, brute force may be the only way to go. Let them assemble their own forces to get rid of the demons. It's not your problem. It's the gentry's and their leaders' responsibility.”

“Right,” I said uneasily. “Well, we'll see what happens.” The look he gave me showed that he didn't believe I'd leave this alone. It also said he knew nothing he could say would convince me. “I've got another question. Ever heard of Otherworldly towns called Ley and Skye?” Shamans generally avoided crossing over to that world, but Roland had been there many times and knew a lot about the land.

“Ley sounds familiar…it's in the Alder Land, isn't it? Or is it Rowan?” In addition to not knowing about my queenly status, Rowan also didn't know there'd been a complete upheaval in the Alder Land.

“Rowan,” I said. “But very close to, um, Alder. There's supposedly a crossroads near there. Do you know where it comes out?”

“No…nowhere around here, I'm sure.”

“Any way you could find out?”

“Is this tied in to the demons?”

I hesitated a moment and opted for the truth. “No, it's something else. A different thing I'm helping them out with.”

“Eugenie!” Roland rarely lost his temper, but I could see the anger in his eyes now. “What are you doing? You can't do
this
. You can't get entangled in their affairs. Your job is to protect
this
world, to keep them and the other monsters and ghosts out of here.”

“They're not all bad,” I said, surprised as the words came out of my mouth.

“Do I need to remind you about your mother's abduction and the assorted attempts to rape you?”

Hearing him say those words stung, but I held my ground. “I'm dealing with that. It's not an issue.”

“It's
always
going to be an issue,” he argued. “And I'm not going to help you keep getting into more trouble with them.”

“What, are you threatening to cut me off from information?” I exclaimed.

“Maybe. If it'll keep you safe.”

“Well, it won't. The only thing you'll do is put me in more danger if I keep going there uninformed!”

His eyes narrowed. “So now you're the one threatening me?”

“What's going on?”

My mother stuck her head in the den's doorway, concern on her face. “Is everything okay? I thought I heard shouting.”

I stood up. “Roland's just getting hard of hearing, so I was helping him out.”

I followed her back to the other room, where Kiyo watched me curiously. Even in human form, he had a fox's hearing, and I wouldn't have found it surprising if he'd heard the whole argument.

“We have to take off,” I said. “We're going to hear Tim recite some poetry.”

Kiyo's raised eyebrow was his only sign of surprise at our evening plans. I'd neglected to tell him earlier because I was pretty sure he would have never left the house with me. He smiled politely at my mom. “Thanks for dinner. It was great.”

My mom was sad to see us go. “Well, you should come back next weekend. I'll make lasagna. And cherry pie.”

I kissed her cheek. “You don't have to bribe us to come over.”

“No, but it doesn't hurt.”

Mad or not, I gave Roland a hug too. In that brief moment, he murmured in my ear, “I'll talk to Bill.”

He sounded weary and defeated, and I hugged him closer. “Thank you.” Bill was a shaman friend of his in Flagstaff.

Once we were finally able to leave, Kiyo didn't waste any time in getting to the point. “Trouble on the home front?”

“Like you don't know,” I said.

“Told you he hates me.”

“I think he hates me making all these trips to the Otherworld more.”

“But he still thinks I'm a bad influence.”

“You
are
a bad influence.”

We drove in silence for a few moments. Then Kiyo noticed that I wasn't heading toward my house. We were going downtown. “No,” he groaned. “We are
not
actually going to hear Tim, are we? I thought that was just an excuse to leave.”

I shook my head. “Sorry. I promised.”

Kiyo sighed but took it like a man.

We went to one of Tim's regular venues, a place called the Fox Den. I thought Kiyo would think that was funny, but he didn't. When we walked in, there was a girl on the stage reciting poetry about the bleakness of existence and litter on the side of the highway. Kiyo looked around, taking in the patrons and tables—and then realized we were in a coffee shop, not a bar.

“They don't serve alcohol here? There's no way I can do this without hard liquor.”

“Oh, just hush,” I said, trying to hide my smile. We found a small round table in the middle of the crowded café, and I left him there while I went to get hot chocolate. I would have loved coffee but had enough trouble sleeping without the addition of caffeine this late at night. When I returned, I saw three visitors had pulled chairs up to our table.

“Hey, guys,” I said.

“Nice to see you again, Eugenie.”

The speaker was named Barbara. She was an elderly woman, belonging to the Pascua Yaqui tribe. Their religious beliefs, while having some similarities to the nature-oriented views of neighboring tribes, had picked up a lot of Christian influences over the years. Indeed, she wore a cross around her neck but was also still regarded by many as a type of holy woman. She had no problem with me calling myself a shaman, as those of other Indian tribes sometimes did. Her grandsons, Felix and Dan, were with her tonight, and they didn't have a problem with me either. Tim, however, was a different story.