Deceiver's Bond: Book Two of A Clairvoyant's Complicated Life (35 page)

“They will see reason or face the consequences.”

“That’s sure to be an interesting conversation. I wouldn’t mind being there for that one, if I didn’t think they’d mind wipe me at the first opportunity.”

“They would certainly die in the attempt.” He was a picture of confidence—ramrod-like posture, folded arms, shoulders held firm, and the unflinching expression of someone accustomed to getting things done.

“And what do Daniel and Michael think of this plan of yours?”

“Their opinion is irrelevant. They too will honor the Compact or, as you say, heads will roll.”

I stared him down. “Not to be a glass-half-empty kind of girl … but you do realize what the telepaths are capable of, right? With a thought, they can turn our government’s law enforcement against you. And I don’t mean just some small town jerk-off. They can bring the whole of the FBI, or the CIA, or Interpol, whoever the hell they want, right down on top of your head. So far, the telepaths have been reluctant to risk drawing attention to themselves, but if provoked, I don’t doubt they’d let loose with everything at their disposal.” I studied him. “With all your friends unable to cross over at will, stirring up a hornet’s nest doesn’t sound like a smart plan. It’s not like you’ve got an army waiting in the wings to back you up.”

“Don’t I?”

I stared at him, frowning, until realization dawned on me. “Oh, God. You do. The part-bloods. But I thought that campaign hadn’t worked. That’s what the demo—I mean, that’s the impression I’d gotten.”

His eyes narrowed, brows flattening, as he pierced me with his cold gaze. “The demon fills your head with half-truths and lies. It told you of our campaign to save Earth and my allegiance to King Faonaín, didn’t it? That’s how you knew.” He grabbed my arm, yanking me closer, and practically snarled, “What else does it say? Does it tell you everything you want to hear? Does it offer you power? Has it seduced you?”

Loathing plain on his face, he looked me up and down. “Does it touch you the way you want to be touched? Kiss you the way you want to be kissed? Can you not wait for the next time you might dream of the pleasures it brings you? Perhaps tomorrow you’ll tire of waiting for sleep. Perhaps you’ll call upon it to manifest here on Earth, to satisfy your urges, in the flesh.”

“Let go of me!” I yanked my arm out of his hard grasp, backing up and rubbing my tender skin. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you insist on casting me as the demon’s harlot? Why? Because I didn’t marry Vince?  Excuse me, didn’t
bond
with him?” I imparted the offending word with as much disdain as I could muster. “Are you pissed off because it left him free to bond with Maeve? Did you want Maeve for yourself or something?”

I searched his angry face, noticing his clenched jaw, tensed muscles, and disgusted expression, but didn’t have the sense to shut up. “No? Then, God! Why? Is it because I haven’t succumbed to your charms? Is that it? I haven’t fallen into your arms like the other women you’ve chatted up, who’ve so disappointed you with their small talk. Is your ego bruised? Or are you just frustrated you can’t glamour me and have done with it? Maybe it would make your life easier if I just gave in to you, let you satisfy those many urges you seem to think I’m harboring.”

He continued to glare down at me, arms clamped to his sides, but held his mouth firmly shut.

“Say something, damn it,” I half-shouted.

“What do you wish me to say?” He uttered something foreign and then hissed, “Yes.” He turned to grasp the railing, looking fiercely out over the water. “And, yes, my life would be infinitely easier if I resorted to magic, but I’d be no more content knowing you were forced.” He glared at me. “Is that what you wanted to know? Does it satisfy you to hear it?”

I closed my eyes, dropping my chin, not knowing what he’d just acknowledged. I’d blurted out too many accusations at once. “All I wanted was Vince back, but I won’t … I won’t get him back. Will I?”

“No. You won’t. I have already said so. More than once.”

“Don’t worry,” I spat, “I’d rather chew razor blades than hear you repeat it again.” I turned my back on him. It took all of my willpower to remain rooted in place, instead of launching myself into the stratosphere.

After more than a minute of charged silence, he heaved out a disgruntled breath.

“Lire.”

I closed my eyes and forced myself to relax my aching hands. I massaged my palms with the flat of my thumb and gently rubbed my tender wrists.

He stepped up behind me. I flinched when he touched my right shoulder and he withdrew his hand. “For a human, you are … uncomfortably astute.” He hesitated for a moment and then added, “I’ll not mention the demon again.”

For a human …

I whirled on him. “You can mention the demon all you want. I’ll discuss the creature until you’re sick of hearing about it. That’s not what offends me,
Kieran
. If you haven’t figured that out, then you’re either not being honest with yourself or you truly believe I’m beneath contempt.”

He stared at me, frowning, the transient creases between his brows as deep as I’d ever seen.

When he didn’t respond, I swallowed hard and nodded. “Right. I’ll help you find Kim, but that’ll be it. I’ve had … enough.” My voice cracked and I took a deep breath, steeling myself before adding, “I’ll not waste my time with someone who has no respect for me.”

I turned away, but he spun me back around, forcing me to consider him.

“Stop.” He glared down at me. “Just … stop and … give me a minute.” Releasing my arm along with an exasperated breath, he collected himself, donning a steadfast expression. “This is not easy for me. Until I met you, I’d convinced myself that humans were just something to be tolerated, a race possessing few or no redeeming characteristics—greedy, materialistic, and selfish. There have been very few exceptions, and likely my time around Maeve and her ilk hasn’t left me with an open mind. Encountering you has been … eye opening.”

The intensity of his gaze hammered into me, a mixture of frustration and something else playing on his face. Concern, maybe. “You have shaken me to the core, all right?” He pressed his lips together and straightened his stance. “I don’t blame you for wishing to sever our association. I’ve treated you reprehensibly, but I’ll not leave you convinced that I hold you in anything less than the highest regard. You’ve shown me nothing but generosity and kindness. I’ve been too consumed by my own grievances to appreciate it. I’ve sought to hurt you and, for that, I
am
sorry.”

I could only gawk at him, somehow managing to keep my mouth from falling open.

Initially, his fervent apology vaulted me somewhere north of Cloud Nine. He’d practically said, ‘Lire, you rocked my world.’ And then I crash landed because opening Kieran’s eyes wasn’t much of an endorsement. Beating his expectations was a pathetically low bar. At most, I wasn’t greedy, overly materialistic, or selfish.

Although, he did say he held me in the highest regard and seemed to be sincerely sorry for going out of his way to hurt me.

Like all things concerning Kieran, it was difficult to know how to react. Although, kicking him in the shins wasn’t out of the question.

“If I’ve managed to raise humans in your estimation, then I guess that’s something. But it’s not like I’m amazingly special, you know.” I speared him with an annoyed glare. “There are thousands, even millions, of women out there who are nicer and smarter than me.” I shrugged. “Anyway, I accept your apology. This has been difficult for the both of us.”

He nodded, looking perplexed. For a moment, I thought he had something else to say, but he turned to the railing without a word.

I hesitated before joining him. After a minute or two of silence, I asked, “So … since I’m never one for a mystery, will you tell me how the oracle’s prophecy relates to Vince?”

An amused smile briefly supplanted his pensive expression. “Of course.” He paused to consider it and then replied, “It is not him, so much as his human blood. The prophecy tells of a ruler who will reunite our fractured population. This ruler will not be bound to another sidhe but to a mate who straddles worlds.”

“Let me guess. Maeve thinks this mate must be from Earth. A part-blood.” I turned toward him, cocking my head in an effort to see more of his face. “She wants to be the prophesized ruler.”

“Yes. She believes a part-human mate will demonstrate her tolerance toward humankind and sway the Amhaín’s followers. When her father dies, she believes this will secure her status as the divined ruler.”

“And the King is on board with this?”

Kieran shrugged. “The King is more obsessed with maintaining his armies than keeping an eye attuned to Maeve’s various court intrigues, but anything that encourages the Amhaín’s adherents to defect will undoubtedly please him.”

“And what do you think?”

His already stern expression hardened. “She is … misguided.”

I wanted to ask him why he remained her bodyguard. Why hadn’t he defected to serve the Amhaín, instead? But the piercing announcement over the loudspeakers advising us of our impending disembarkation, followed by the change in pitch of the vessel’s engines, distracted me.

It was time to find Kim.

“Let’s go.” I took a hold of Kieran’s hand before he thought it necessary to reach under my blouse.

As soon as I lifted us above the MV Tacoma’s wheelhouse, the ferry terminal and whole of the island spread out before us. Below our dangling feet, the large vessel slowly powered toward its slip at the dock. The rumbling of its engines were accompanied by the distinctive sound of churning water. On land, a line of cars fanned out in the incoming lanes, waiting bumper to bumper for the 12:20 pm return to Seattle. We slipped through the air, over the top of the pedestrian ramp and idling cars, before I set us down among a thick grove of trees on the far side of a four-story condo complex. When I was sure we were unobserved, I asked Kieran to drop his veil.

While I entered Kim’s address on my iPhone and attempted to get our bearings, Kieran leaned closer, eyes intent on the bright screen. “What are you doing? Why drop my shadow?”

“It interferes with the cell reception. And GPS. Have you heard of that? Global positioning satellite?” At his puzzled expression, I explained, “There are, oh, I don’t know, a bunch of satellites up in orbit above the Earth and see?” I tilted my phone’s screen toward him. “Their signals tell this map program where we are and how to get to the address I’ve just entered. We need to go …” I checked the map to get my bearings and said, pointing over his right shoulder, “That way. Five-point-six miles.”

I slipped my phone into the front pocket of my coat and took Kieran’s left hand in my right one. After Kieran veiled us, I navigated upward through the intertwining branches of the trees.

My stomach clenched when I considered what we might find at Kim’s house. “You know, if the demon’s found her … it’s not going to be pretty.”

Face grim, he replied, “I know.”

The further we traveled into the island’s interior, the landscape became more wooded and the houses further apart. Finding a secluded location for a final bearings check wasn’t difficult. Surrounded by tall conifers and densely growing ferns, I verified our trajectory and distance. Roughly half-a-mile to go.

Before clicking off, I spied a recent voicemail. With my ear pressed to the receiver, I shot my wide-eyed gaze to Kieran. “Kim’s alive. Daniel finally reached her.”

“Where—?”

I held up my hand, staving off his question until I’d heard all of Daniel’s hasty message.

“She drove to Portland several days ago to meet up with Alex and combine forces.” I flicked the off button and slipped my phone back into my pocket. “But, like you guys already know, things didn’t go well. She’s just returned home. She’s expecting us.”

At his nod, I grasped his hand and vaulted us skyward, keeping Hidden Cove Road in view and navigating toward her house, picturing the map in my memory. We were close now. Third street on the left. We flew past the stop sign at the corner. I set us down in front of the first house on the right where the street met the asphalt driveway.

An imposing Douglas fir dominated the front yard, throwing the dusty-blue clapboard cottage into shadow. An uneven layer of moss coated the nearest quarter of the roof. To the left of the driveway, the disheveled front lawn, overgrown and lumpy, undulated over the gently sloped ground toward a fringe of leggy rhododendrons, feathery bright-green ferns, and yellow-flowered oxalis.

I double-checked the address. “This is it.”

After a moment’s hesitation, I ambled up the driveway, toward the flagstone path that led to the front door. Kieran dropped his veil.

Twenty feet from the porch, I slowed my gait. What was I doing here? I should be at home instead of wasting time with this pointless errand. I had a lot to do—laundry, Randy’s appraisals, and all the dishes from our hurried breakfast. I faltered and would have stopped, but Kieran’s steady pace prodded me to follow. I struggled to put one foot in front of the other, growing more certain that we were at the wrong house. Eight feet from the wooden porch, I halted in my tracks and opened my mouth to warn Kieran against ringing the doorbell. We had to leave. Now.

I wavered on my feet and backed up a step. If not for my sense of obligation to Kieran, I’d have high-tailed it back home without thinking twice.

One foot on the porch step, Kieran’s head jerked around when he realized I wasn’t next to him. He eyed me before turning his attention to our immediate surroundings. “What’s wrong?”

His commanding voice and direct question cut through the fog in my mind. Finally understanding the root of my turmoil, I straightened my shoulders and funneled more power into my psychic shield.

“The house is warded. I can’t come any closer.” I loosed my telekinetic web, but it fell short of the house. Outside the perimeter, I detected nothing, just the aimless movements of small animals and objects swaying in the gentle breeze. However, when my web encountered the ward, it slid away, leaving a roughly rectangular emptiness that I couldn’t penetrate.