Harlequin Nocturne May 2016 Box Set (38 page)

“She reminded me of what she told us when we were children. That twins of all species share a special bond that manifests itself in shared thoughts. An example is when one twin is in danger, the other will feel it. With faeries, the connection should be even stronger.”

“Why?” Tanzi wished Rina was here to explain it in her unique, storytelling way.

“She said it goes back to the ancient times when the distinction between faeries and witches was less clear. Both had the same power to bless and curse. Mortals once believed that a witch was the child of a mortal woman who had spent seven years in Otherworld with a faerie lover learning the art of love and magic. If the woman bore twins, the babies must be returned to the faeries because their telepathy would be too strong for the mortals to behold. Since then, all faerie twins have been bequeathed the same power.” Vashti finished her perusal of her wardrobe as she was talking and closed the zipper on the gym bag. “According to Rina, you and I should not only have a psychic bond, we should be able to hold a telepathic conversation no matter how far apart we may be.”

“Our mother was not a faerie, we are only half sidhe. Perhaps that explains our lack of ability.” Tanzi groped around, trying to find an explanation for why they had failed to do what should come naturally.

“I thought of that. It turns out we have been wrong all these years. Our mother
was
a faerie. Like us, she was a sidhe who trained with the Valkyrie. She even fought with them as you intend to do, but she was not one of Odin's daughters. Rina told me that. Our faerie blood is pure, Tanzi. Which means the bond must be there. Don't you see what this means? If we can find it and use it, you can send me a message whenever you need me. No matter where you are, I will get help to you.”

Tanzi felt tears prickle the back of her eyelids and, to her surprise, saw a shimmering reflection of them in Vashti's eyes. All those wasted years. Years barren of feelings for a sister who was close by and yet so far away. “Then all we need to do is find how to use it. I don't suppose Rina told you that?”

Vashti smiled, blinking away her own tears. “As a matter of fact, she did.”

* * *

Lorcan glanced at the darkening landscape beyond the windows and hoped that Tanzi wasn't already waiting for him down at the lake. He hadn't anticipated his conversation with Cal would take this long.
What did you expect to say to the friend you haven't seen since you were both embroiled in a cataclysmic battle? Nice to see you again and, by the way, is there any chance you could lend me a boat?

“So how are things with the resistance?” Stella had gone to deal with an issue over a contingent of Fauns who were unhappy with their room allocation. Since Cal hadn't yet told Lorcan how he planned to find the true King of the Faeries, the man who could challenge Moncoya for his crown, the abrupt change of subject caught him off guard.

“Not good.” Omitting any information about Tanzi for the time being, Lorcan filled him in on recent events. “Have you heard of a necromancer named Iago?”

Cal frowned. “No. And yet...” He shook his head as though to clear it. “There
is
something vaguely familiar about that name. Sorry. I can't think what it is. Maybe it will come to me. In the meantime, you can tell me what's bothering you.”

“Ah, now, what makes you think there's anything bothering me?”

“Don't try to bullshit me, Lorcan. I know you too well.”

Lorcan held up a hand in a gesture acknowledging defeat. “Okay, you're right. And I thought I was meant to be the perceptive one. What's bothering me is I feel like a failure. I came back to tell you I have to go on journey, and here you are telling me my help is needed right here.”

Cal folded his arms across his chest, stretching his long legs in front of him. “How about you tell me the details of this journey and why you have to go on it before we decide if you're a failure or not?”

“It concerns Moncoya.” Lorcan risked a glance at Cal's face. It remained impassive. “And the reason why Tanzi disappeared.” Still nothing. “He was trying to force her into a marriage with the devil.”

Lorcan had heard Cal swear countless times before but never for so long or so fluently as he did then. When he'd finished using every possible curse he could think of to describe Moncoya, Cal drew a breath. “He wants to replicate the plan our father had for me, doesn't he? To give Satan a child that he can raise to become ruler of the mortal realm.”

“That seems to be a pretty good summary.”

“Why didn't Tanzi come to me? She must have known I'd help her.” Cal was so angry he rose from his seat and began pacing the room.

“She probably didn't know whom she could trust. And I don't suppose you think straight when you get told to start planning your wedding to the devil. At least she escaped. For once in her life, she didn't obey Moncoya's orders and rush out to buy herself a black dress and a wreath of lilies.”

Cal's eyes narrowed. “No, she came to you. Why was that?”

Trust Cal not to miss anything. Lorcan kept his voice casual. “I helped her when she got hurt during the battle. She remembered and thought I might do the same thing again.”

“Where is she now?”

“You're going to use up your twenty questions pretty fast at this rate.” His attempt at humor failed miserably, and the frown darkened Cal's silver eyes to thunder-cloud gray. “She's here. Saying goodbye to Vashti. But we're leaving as soon as we can. That's the journey I mentioned. She wants to go to Valhalla and I said I'd take her.”

“Have you lost your mind?”

“Probably.” Lorcan waved a hand at the seat Cal had just vacated. “Look, it's tiring me out watching you pace.” After a pause during which the outcome was in doubt, Cal flung himself back down onto the sofa. “Don't imagine I've given this no thought. Ever since Tanzi suggested the idea, I've tried to come up with an alternative. But think about it, Cal. Until Moncoya is captured, nowhere is safe for her. And let's be realistic. Moncoya is such a slippery little snake he may never be captured. What you've told me today about his influence over the sidhes has only reinforced the danger Tanzi is in.”

“But Valhalla? You are proposing to traverse the Isles of the Aesir? Do you know how many times that's been done?”

“Not many, I imagine.” Lorcan's grin was rueful.

“And all to help a girl you hardly know?”

“Ah, come on, now. Are you telling me you wouldn't do the same? Have you forgotten the time the trolls were terrorizing Old Kettleby?”

Cal looked slightly embarrassed. “That was different.”

“Was it, now? We were supposed to be in Breton, but, if I remember rightly, we stayed and dealt with the troll problem because a girl
you hardly knew
begged you to help.”

Cal's sigh came from the heart. “Okay. I can't believe I'm saying this, but how can I help?”

“A boat and a map would be a good start.” Ignoring his friend's disbelieving laughter, Lorcan asked the question that had been intriguing him. “Who is the true King of the Faeries?”

“A descendant of King Ivo, the just and benevolent sovereign who ruled before Moncoya. The heir we are seeking was a baby when Moncoya had the king and all of his family slaughtered. There has always been a rumor that he was smuggled out of the palace during the massacre. The angel of the Dominion confirmed it is true. The problem is, his identity has been so well concealed that he himself is unaware he is actually the king.”

“How were you proposing I should help you find him?”

“Funnily enough, I was going to ask you to go on a journey.” In answer to Lorcan's raised brows, Cal elaborated. “I can't leave here and go around asking questions. You, on the other hand are known to be a wanderer. No one will think twice if you turn up in different places and, at the same time, try to discover where this long-lost descendant of King Ivo may be. In fact—” Cal's face became thoughtful “—perhaps the journey you are going on could have a dual purpose? You could escort Tanzi to Valhalla and also find out what you can about the true King of the Faeries on your way there and back.”

Lorcan felt his jaw muscles clench. “I will not work for the Dominion.”

“In all the years we have known each other, I have never asked you to explain the reason why you hate the angels.”

Lorcan hunched a shoulder, turning his face away from the man who throughout the centuries had been his only true friend. “Does it matter?”

There was sympathy in Cal's voice as he responded. “I think it must matter a great deal to you if it brings you such pain that you cannot speak of it even to me.”

Lorcan let go of the breath he had been holding. There was no hiding anything from Cal. “Let's just say the Dominion let me down when I needed them.”

He felt Cal's eyes probing his profile. “If you won't do this for them, will you do it for me?”

“Ah, fight fair, Cal. You know I'd do anything for you.”

“In return, you know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important.” Cal waited and, after a long moment of hesitation, Lorcan nodded. “Thank you. It's the longest of long shots, but you may just discover something that will help.”

“Why does it matter so much? If so many of the faeries are loyal to Moncoya, will this challenger be able to sway them against him?”

“One of the first principles of the Alliance is democracy. Each dynasty is to be given a vote to choose its own leader.” Cal's voice was somber.

Lorcan caught on fast. “And if the faeries vote for Moncoya, that's the end of the Alliance?”

“None of the other leaders will sit at a table that includes the man who has for centuries tried to systematically destroy them by invading their territories. I have to find this challenger and at least offer the faeries an alternative to Moncoya. King Ivo was loved and is still remembered.”

Lorcan nodded. “No promises, but I'll try.” Even as he said the words, his thoughts went to Tanzi. What would she make of this new turn of events?

Cal's unusual light silver eyes scanned Lorcan's face again, as if reading his thoughts. “Take care on this mission, my friend. Princess Tanzi is not just any girl.”

The somber mood dispersed with Lorcan's laughter. “Don't I already know it?”

CHAPTER 11

“T
he oak tree is the guardian of both worlds. Rina told me that in ancient times, mortals believed its roots anchored it in the mortal realm while its branches reached into Otherworld. That gave it a unique role, spanning both psychic vision and soulful thought.”

They were standing in the garden at the rear of the palace. Darkness was looming and the first silence of night was descending. Inside the palace everyone was preparing for dinner, and Vashti had assured her that they would be the only ones around.

Tanzi regarded the huge tree thoughtfully, then turned to her sister with a shrug of her shoulders. “I'm getting nothing. You?”

“Have a little patience.” Vashti spoke to her in the tones of a parent chiding a disobedient toddler. Reaching up to the lower branches, she pulled two acorns from the tree and held her palm up so that Tanzi could see them by the light of the flashlight she carried.

“The acorn is a psychic talisman. Rina said if we exchange acorns, it will help to strengthen our bond.”

“The bond we don't have, you mean?” Tanzi asked gloomily.

“Look, I'm not the one heading off into uncharted waters with a man I barely know so that I can join the Valkyrie and spend the rest of my life lurching from one bloody battle to the next. Now, do you want to do this or not?”

“Sorry. Let's do it.” She took an acorn from her sister's hand and closed her fingers around it. Was it her imagination or did she feel something? The faintest tingle, a slight heat against her skin? “What now?”

“Now we swap acorns.” Vashti's voice was solemn.

“Don't we have to say anything? Isn't there an incantation that goes with it—?”

“I love you, Tanzi.” Hearing those words from her sister for the first time shocked her into silence.

“Oh.” She opened her palm. Vashti took the acorn from it and replaced it with her own. “I love you, too.”

“Say it again, but not out loud this time.”

They faced each other in the sweet, pine-scented darkness of an Otherworld nightfall, each clutching the other's acorn in her hand. Tanzi closed her eyes and felt it immediately. It was a surge of emotion so powerful, so all consuming, it almost knocked her off her feet.

The acorn isn't a magic charm. Our love for each other is the talisman. That was what we were missing all those years ago.

The thought was answered instantly by Vashti's voice inside her mind.
We always had it, we just never knew it was there.

Tanzi opened her eyes and smiled.
You think we can do this no matter how far apart we are?

I think we can do anything.

“I'm glad you said that,” Tanzi spoke aloud again. “Because there is something else I need you to do for me.”

“I've already said I'm not going to marry the devil in your place.”

“Just keep repeating those words each time our father asks and you'll be fine. No, this task is easier...but not much. You must take my place as the faerie representative on the Alliance.”

Vashti shook her head decisively. “I wouldn't know what to do. And I will not betray our father by being part of an organization that seeks to destroy him.”

Tanzi tried to recall a time in the past when she had managed to convince her sister to change her mind. It must have happened at least once, surely? No, she couldn't remember a single occasion when she had succeeded in getting Vashti to consider a different point of view. Vashti was as stubborn as their father. One thing was for sure, arguing with her was time-consuming, and time was something Tanzi didn't have. She wondered if Lorcan might, even now, be down at the lakeside wondering what the hell was keeping her. “Very well, I will ask Cal to find someone else.”

“Who?”

“Does it matter? I
can't
do it, you
won't
do it. The faeries must be represented. I'm sure Cal will choose someone suitable.” She picked up the gym bag. “I have to go.”

“Wait a minute. When did
suitable
become good enough for our people? When did Merlin Caledonius become the right person to make faerie decisions?”

Tanzi paused. This was the moment at which she would normally wade in with an angry riposte about her sister's contrariness, the conversation would deteriorate into an argument and one of them—usually Vashti—would storm off. A few days of sulky silence would generally ensue. Some newfound perception, aligned perhaps to her recent discovery about her ability to experience emotion, made Tanzi decide to try a new approach. “You're right.”

“What?” Vashti regarded her with suspicion.

“Cal is only half faerie. So is Stella. What do they know? Whom do
you
think should do it?”

“How am I supposed to know?” The yellow glow from the flashlight made Vashti's expression appear belligerent. Scratch that. Made it appear more belligerent than usual.

“How about General Thomasin? He is well respected.”

Vashti snorted. “That old toad? He would roll over and show his belly at the first sight of a wolf.”

Tanzi bit the inside of her lip to hide a smile and searched around for another, equally unsuitable name. “Lord Cornelius?”

“Have you taken leave of your senses? It's well-known he's been in league with Prince Tibor for years. We'd be ruled by the vampires the day after tomorrow.” Vashti heaved a sigh of resignation. “Very well, if those are our only choices, I will have to be the one to do it.”

“Your sacrifice for our people does you great credit.” Tanzi hoped the note of amusement in her voice wasn't obvious. “Now I really must go down to the lake to meet Lorcan.”

“Did you just manipulate me?”

“I don't think so. I'm not sure I would know how. Do you feel manipulated?”

“All I know is I just agreed to something I didn't want to do and I'm not sure how it happened.” Vashti fell into step next to her. “Has your necromancer friend been teaching you the skill of finagling while you've been in the mortal realm? Or is it something you've acquired through your familiarity with the earth-born?”

“If I have, I was unaware of it. But—who knows?—maybe the ability to get people to do what I want might come in handy on the journey ahead.”

A shiver of anticipation ran through her. Getting Lorcan to do what she wanted was a very interesting proposition, particularly as they were going to be alone together for some time to come. The searing heat between them just before Lisbet and Aydan had interrupted them burned its way into her memory. Every fiber of her being was crying out to explore it further. Whom was she kidding? She didn't just want to explore it...she wanted to increase that heat to molten-lava intensity, let it scorch her to the point of spontaneous combustion, quench it and then repeat the cycle. Over and over. Would she give in to that impulse or spend her time fighting it? Either way, this was going to be an interesting journey. She choked back a laugh, so that it came out as a sound somewhere between a cough and a gasp.

“Are you okay?” Vashti regarded her in surprise.

“You know what? I really am.”

* * *

“Necromancer!”

At the sound of the woman's voice, Lorcan turned away from the ornate lake. A figure approached him out of the darkness. Whoever it was held a flashlight in front of her face, and he was momentarily blinded by its light. An object was thrust at his chest and he grasped it instinctively. It was a large bag.

“Take care of her or I will hunt you down and make you pay.” Although the voice was gruff, he recognized it as Vashti's.

“She insisted on coming with me so she could say that to you.” Tanzi spoke from the gloom somewhere behind Vashti. “Have you met my sister?”

“We've not been formally introduced. The last time I saw her this close, she had Cal pinned to the floor with a sword pressed between his shoulder blades.”

“And if my father had allowed me to kill him then, how different things would be now.”

Lorcan laughed. “Has anyone ever told you you're the living image of your father? Even if you'd succeeded in killing Cal before the battle—and the fact that you didn't had nothing to do with Moncoya and everything to do with the great man himself—I expect the deal with the devil would still have been struck, don't you?”

Vashti turned to Tanzi. “You know all those women who say that Lorcan Malone is a charmer?” She turned the flashlight on Lorcan again. “Misguided fools.”

“Well, nice as it's been meeting you and spending time chatting like this, we'd better get going.” Lorcan moved to Tanzi's side. “All of a sudden, I can see why you chose Valhalla.”

Vashti ignored him. “Keep my talisman with you at all times and I will keep yours. Remember what to do if you should need me.” She gave Tanzi a quick, awkward hug, handed her the flashlight and disappeared into the darkness.

Tanzi had obviously decided there was no need to shift into her cat form since the all-consuming cloak of an Otherworld night was doing its own job of concealing her identity. There were no streetlights or passersby here. When she spoke again now that they were alone, her voice was strangely quiet and shy. Almost as if they had become strangers again. “Did Cal manage to get us a boat?”

“Never doubt the big feller. He said there'll be a boat waiting for us down in the cove. It'll be newly fitted out, have the provisions we need for the journey on board and there'll be the most up-to-date maps and charts for the journey we're to take.” He hoisted his backpack farther onto his shoulder and lifted her bag. “Shall we go?”

Holding the flashlight in front of her, Tanzi walked alongside him. “How can he do something like that on such short notice?”

“He's Merlin. The impossible is what he does best.”

“Will he also have left detailed instructions on how to sail this boat?”

Lorcan laughed. “Luckily we won't need them. Never doubt me either. I told you, I used to go out with the men on the fishing boats when I was a lad. And, over the years, Cal and I have had one or two adventures that have taken us onto the high seas. I might be a bit rusty, but I can handle a boat.”

“How long have you known Cal?” The probing way she asked the question was the giveaway. She was on to him. And he'd always believed he was good at keeping secrets.

“Most of my life.” Perhaps if he kept the response deliberately vague she'd leave it alone.

No such luck. “How many years is that?”

They came to the edge of the cliff and Lorcan paused, allowing the breeze to cool his face. Why did it matter? After all this time, why was he still guarding his privacy? And from whom? He'd called Tanzi his friend. In return she'd placed her absolute trust in him. Surely he could give a tiny bit of himself in return?

“A lot,” he said at last. Aware of her eyes on his face in the darkness, he raised his hand. Instantly, a glow, brighter than that of the flashlight, illuminated the scene around them. “I gave up counting after the first few centuries.”

“I don't understand. I thought all necromancers were mortal.” Her eyes were twin pools of midnight blue, the ring of fire barely visible.

“Sure, a pure-blood necromancer is born mortal. But we're a rare bunch and we don't like to share too much of our history. What most people don't know is that there are also hybrid necromancers. Cal and Stella are the most powerful necromancers around, yet they are both half faerie. Although necromancy is unusual, it is not confined to one species. Over the years, I have met satyrs, elves, witches, even demons who had the power in differing degrees. One thing we all have in common is that our gift—the fact that we are necromancers—confers immortality upon us...if we choose to accept it.”

“So that is why you have lived for so long? You are a pure-blood necromancer who has been granted immortality?”

Lorcan shook his head. “No, I wasn't born mortal. I'm one of the hybrids.” Deciding he'd had enough of confidences for one night—hell, he hadn't confided this much to anyone else throughout the past millennium—he gestured out into the dark space beyond the cliff edge, silencing her before she could question him further. “Shall we go and check out this craft Cal has organized for us? For all we know he could be playing a trick on us. We could find ourselves setting off for Valhalla on a raft with two paddles.”

Although there appeared to be a sheer drop down to the tiny bay below the cliffs, there was a series of steep steps cut into the rock. Tricky enough to navigate in daytime, it could be treacherous at night. Lorcan went first, lighting the way for Tanzi, who, sure-footed as her inner cat, followed him easily. So much for chivalry. He suspected she was unaware of his attempt at courtesy. It was another reminder, if he needed one, of her unconventional upbringing.

Minutes later, their feet crunched onto the sandy beach and, sure enough, Cal had been true to his word. A dinghy was pulled up onto the sand and, as Lorcan raised his hand higher so that a wider area could be illuminated, he saw a larger vessel bobbing on the waves in the deeper water. It looked bigger than anything he had handled before, but he decided not to mention that fact to Tanzi.
I'm a fast learner. How hard can it be?

Tossing their bags into the dinghy, he tugged off his boots and rolled up his jeans. “Get in and I'll pull it into the water before starting the motor.”

Tanzi paused, looking from the dinghy to the sailboat with a bemused expression. “Are we really going to do this?”

Lorcan started to laugh. “Second thoughts?”

She seemed to give herself a shake. She definitely gave him a reproachful look. “Of course not.” Tanzi was the only person he knew who could clamber into a dinghy and make it look graceful, Lorcan decided.

His experience of dinghies had, in the past, not always been positive. He found they tended not to be the most reliable form of transport.
Speed
,
maneuverability
and
reliability
were not the first words he associated with a dinghy. There had been one or two close calls when, if he hadn't been with Cal—whose magical powers had enabled him to supercharge their vessel—a dinghy would have landed Lorcan in a lot of trouble. This one appeared determined to make amends for its fellows and prove him wrong. It started like a dream and skimmed lightly over the waves, reaching the boat in no time.