Soul Mates Bewitched (6 page)

I
followed Daire through the Faerie Mound to the throne room.
Damn Fae and their secrets. I was the Light Bearer? What the hell did that even mean?
“What’s going on, Daire?”

“Just…wait here. I must get the Prince,” Daire said. “Have a seat, there.” He indicated a plush seat behind a conference sized table and then flashed out of the room.

I’d no more than sat down when Max and Daire flashed back into the room. “Light Bearer?
Really
? What the hell, Max? When did you know? And for that matter, what the hell is a Light Bearer, anyway, and were you ever going to freaking tell me?”

“Who told him?”

Daire dropped to one knee. “I’m sorry, my prince. I failed you.”

“It wasn’t Daire. Just stop it, Max. Tell me what is going on.”

Max turned back to me, an irritated look upon his face. “Of course I was going to tell you. Just…not like this.” Max sighed. “It’s a long story. I have only just learned what a Light Bearer is, myself, Tones.”

“I’ve got all day. Explain.”

“Let’s go someplace less formal. This isn’t a trial.”

“You’re stalling.”

Max laughed. “Of course I’m stalling. Fine.” Max ran his hand through his hair, an old habit he still carried from when we were in school. It was Max’s tell. When he did that, you knew the pressure was on. He took a seat next to me, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, and hands clasped in front of him. “Do you remember your father at all, Tony?” he asked, glancing up into my eyes.

“Yeah, sure, of course. What does my dad have to do with anything?”

“Your dad was the most recent Light Bearer, until you. The Unseelie have been trying to destroy the Light for years, and they almost succeeded the night your dad died. But for an unforeseen chance, they didn’t succeed. They mistakenly believed that he had to go to Ireland to retrieve the Chalice before making you the new Light Bearer. All previous Light Bearers had been brought before the Guardians. The Unseelie were not aware of the agreement between the Guardians of Ireland and the Seelie.”

“You’re saying my dad was killed for being a Light Bearer?” My heart started to race, and I struggled to breathe.

“Yes, the last Light Bearer. Only, he wasn’t. You are,” Max replied with a worried frown. “The agreement was that we would give the Chalice of Light to the current Light Bearer, so he could pass on the gift. Henri, your father, received the Chalice and performed the ceremony and had you drink from it. Do you remember it at all?”

I frowned. I vaguely remembered going to my uncle’s Halloween party the year my dad died. Uncle Nicu and Dad had been doing some crazy stuff, tossing things into a large silver cauldron. It had smoked and bubbled and looked really cool. A great addition to the party, I’d thought at the time. I remembered Dad handing me a decorative, silver cup of their pretend potion to drink. It had tasted really good, smooth and creamy strawberry flavored, and red; Dad had said it was to look like blood. As I recalled the details of that night, things started to fall into place. Memories, and things Anca had revealed, began to make sense. “Maybe…it was before I started seeing the Unseelie…a few weeks before my dad was killed.”

“He was supposed to bring you to meet the Light Fae, to meet Auberon. He was supposed to seal the Light in you, but your dad never got the chance. The Light Fae were under attack and losing powers by the dozens. Auberon decided it would be best to close the Faerie Mound here in New York and move to a quiet town in Indiana. He didn’t have time to contact your dad before he was killed. The Chalice was lost to the Light Fae then. And now, we don’t know if the Chalice was recovered from him after he died or not.”

“Nobody knows what happened to it?”

“Not as of yet, and the Unseelie obviously think it is here in Central Park. We aren’t so sure, though.”

“Any ideas to where it might really be?”

“Don’t worry, we will find it. However, for the moment, you are our main concern, Tones. Auberon has been planning the Sealing Ceremony since he found out. It was planned for this weekend. You weren’t supposed to know until then. We’ll have to move up the ceremony to tonight. Now that you know, the Light can shine through, so you have to stay here. It’s too dangerous until you are sealed. The Unseelie will spot you a mile away, and we can’t have them aware of you.”

“What do you mean, the Light can shine through?”

Max held up a mirror. “It’s like my ring. How I didn’t know I was Fae until it was brought to my attention. Now that you know…well, the Light shines
through
you. Look. See for yourself.”

I took the mirror from him and stared at myself. I was glowing as bright as any star. As bright as Max and the other Fae, brighter, even. My dark hair looked as if it was surrounded by a golden halo. “How is this possible?”

“It is your family’s legacy. The first born is always the Light Bearer. You carry all of the Light and Goodness of the world inside you, Tones. When you have a child, that child, too, will be a Bearer. Usually there are two Bearers, Father or Mother, as the case may be, and child. Your father should have lived for years, but he…he was caught. His protector was killed, and then so was he. Your uncle Nicu was with him when he died. I don’t know exactly what happened, but your father didn’t die right away. You will have to ask Nicu for the details.”

“You said Jillian is in this up to her eyeballs…what did you mean by that?”

“She is the daughter of the Guardians of Ireland, of the Oracle. She was born to be your protector. She
has
to know what you are. She isn’t supposed to get involved with you romantically, it’s too dangerous. She has a job to do, Tony.”

“Do I have no say in any of this?”

“Of course you do, sort of.” Max frowned. “You can’t change the fact that you are the Light Bearer.”

“And I can’t change how I feel about Jillian, either,” I said softly. I hadn’t told Max about the dream I’d had. Or any of the other dreams, either. All involved Jillian. She wasn’t my protector, I was hers.
She needed me.

Max shook his head. “It’s going to be difficult if you get involved with her.”

I shrugged. “No one said life was supposed to be easy.”

Max sighed. “I’m not going to dissuade you, am I?”

“Nope.”

“Fine. Just stay here in Faerie until I can get Auberon here to perform the ceremony.”

“All right, but after that I’m going to talk to Uncle Nicu about what happened with my dad. I want to know everything.”

Max nodded and disappeared. Daire stood up then. “Can I get you anything?”

I looked at Daire and wondered… “Why didn’t you tell Max it was Thane that told me?”

Daire shrugged. “Thane is young. He did not know. It was my job to protect the information and I didn’t do it to the best of my ability. If the Prince wished to punish someone, it should be me, not Thane.”

“Max wouldn’t punish anyone. Not for telling me something I should already know.”

“You have no idea what is required of my prince. He has dealt many punishments since becoming heir and Rex of the Felidae. He is always fair and just, but nonetheless, he has had to deal with many things you would not think him capable of. Granted, Auberon is still in command of the Seelie, but Max is his right hand and Auberon has been relying heavily on him.”

I frowned. I hadn’t really thought about what Max’s responsibilities were with the Fae and the Felidae. I mean, sure, I knew he was the Prince, and I knew he and Anna were now the rulers of the Felidae, but as to what that all entailed… Yeah, I hadn’t given it much thought. And I’d been bugging him to take me to New York and hang out with me… I had a major apology to make when Max got back. I followed Daire to one of the bed chambers. “What am I supposed to do? Nap?”

Daire grinned. “You are to be fitted in a special outfit for the ceremony. Diantha will take good care of you.”

I turned to see the petite, little Fae woman hovering over some shiny material. “Oh, no! Why can’t I just wear what I’ve got on?”

Daire frowned. “Because it isn’t done that way. Now, listen to Diantha and I will be back for you shortly.”

I sighed and sat down on the bed. “Fine.”

Daire closed the door, leaving me alone with Diantha. “Stand up, please. I have to make measurements.”

I stood up with a sigh. This was going to be torture.

“S
tand still,” Diantha said for the millionth time.

“I’m standing still; it’s you who keeps poking at me.”

“Hmmpf,” she mumbled, her mouth full of tiny, straight pins, and then stood back to look at me in the silvery suit she’d created in less time than it took me to play a game of solitaire. She pulled the pins from her mouth and smiled. “There. I believe that shall please the King.”

“I’m so
glad
he will be happy,” I said sardonically.

“Behave and do exactly what Daire tells you to do, and you will get through this ceremony just fine. Did you know he stood by your father when he went through the ceremony?” Diantha asked. “He was such a cute little guy, thought it was great fun to have me fit him for a suit. I was sorry to hear that the Unseelie got to him.”

I was saved from having to come up with something to say by Daire entering the room. “It’s time. Diantha, excellent job. The King will be pleased with your work.”

“Thank you, Daire,” Diantha said prettily.

“Come, we must return to the throne room.”

I followed Daire through the maze of hallways back to the throne room. I could hear music of an otherworldly sort being played on some kind of organ. Auberon sat upon his throne with Max at his right hand, Anna to Max’s right, and Tatiana on Auberon’s left. Daire led me to the center of the room and bowed to his king before stepping away.

“Come, Light Bearer,” Auberon began. “Stand before us and shine.”

I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, so I looked at Daire who gestured for me to moved to the very center of the room. I did as he suggested and waited.

“Shine for the World, Shine for the Good, Shine for the Bad, draw them to the Light, hold them safe in your arms. Keep the Darkness from the World, fight it with your Light,” Auberon continued. “The Light will protect us, Light Bearer. The Light will protect the World from all that wishes to destroy us. You are Light incarnate. The Light is now sealed within you. The Darkness shall never prevail as long as you live to pass on the gift to your heirs. Remember the Light is always there to protect you and yours. It will never fail you or us. Gaia Bless you.”

As I stood still wondering if I was supposed to say anything, I noticed that the Light was fading…sealing inside of me. I had no idea how to react to the words Auberon spoke. I wondered why, if the Light was supposed to protect me, hadn’t it protected my father? Who did I ask about that? I continued to stand still waiting…

When the Light had completely disappeared, Auberon spoke again. “The Light is sealed, Light Bearer. You are safe now. I apologize for not realizing sooner who and what you were. We could have avoided a great deal of this if I had known.”

“Umm, yeah, no problem. It’s taken care of now,” I said. “So what do I do now?”

Auberon smiled. “Now we celebrate!” He clapped his hands and the band broke out with a whimsical tune, and the nobles who had been there for the ceremony started to dance.

Max stood up and joined me in the center of the floor. “You will be fine now. The Unseelie will never suspect it is you they are looking for.”

“So, I can go back to fighting?”

“Well…no…”

“What do you mean, no?”

“Tones, if they slay you…”

“Really? If they slay me…do you not have any faith in me at all?”

“Of course I do! But, Tones, we are talking Fate of the world and stuff. You can’t just go out and pick fights with the Unseelie.”

“Max, it’s what I’m trained to do. I’m not going to stop doing it just because I am the Light Bearer.”

“Right, and you shouldn’t stop, Light Bearer. It is your job to destroy the Darkness, you are just better protected now,” Auberon said, joining us.

“Auberon…”

“Max, he will be fine. When we drive the Unseelie from the city, then we will talk. We still have to make sure the Chalice is safe. We will have need of it again soon if my calculations are correct. I’ve spoken directly with the Guardians of Ireland…they have shared their insight. If all goes according to plan…”

I frowned. Jillian’s parents were involved with the Light Fae, and yet she’d had no idea what Max was, that he was good. She’d tried to kill him to protect me.
Had her parents hidden things from her, as well?

“I’ve seen that look before. What are you thinking, Tones?”

“That I still have a lot of questions. Do I have to stay for the celebration?”

Max looked at Auberon who just waved us away. “Guess not, I’ll take you home.”

I nodded and Max took my arm, flashing us to my bedroom at Uncle Nicu’s. “Thanks. Go enjoy the party, I’m going to talk to Nicu and find out what happened the night my dad died.” He was gone before I even finished the sentence.

I searched the bar and Nicu’s office, but he was nowhere to be found. Agitated I went back upstairs to retrieve my swords and then headed to the park. If I couldn’t get answers from Nicu, maybe I could track down Jillian and get a few answers from her. I kept my eyes open, searching for a flash of red hair, or the nightmarish creatures she might be hunting. It didn’t take me long to see her zipping around the corner, obviously on the trail of something. I approached her slowly, I didn’t want her accidentally throwing one of her fireballs at me.

“Jillian?” I called softly just as she vanquished the Unseelie she’d been after. She turned and smiled at me.

“Did ye have a nice kip?”

“A what?” I asked.

“A sleep, you know, a kip? Never mind. Where’ve ye been?”

I moved closer to her and pulled her into my arms. “With Max. A lot has happened since last night.” I stared down into her eyes, trying to figure out what she was thinking. Her luscious lips were turned down in a frown and her brow was wrinkled. “What’s the matter?”

“That Faerie. I don’t bloody trust him.”

I looked down at her surprised. “Why? Max has been my best friend forever. And I found out a lot about myself, about my family today. Can we go somewhere and talk? Somewhere we won’t be overheard?”

Jillian nodded. “I’ve gotta place, we ken go there.”

“Lead the way,” I said, taking her hand. I followed her for a few blocks, till we got to West Sixty-Ninth Street. “You live here?” I asked, following her up the steps to a historic looking building.

“Hi ya, Harry. What’s the craic?” Jillian said to the doorman as he held open the door for us.

“Nothing much going on tonight, Miss Jillian. There is a package from your parents at the office.”

“Thanks, Harry,” Jillian said with a smile as she pulled me deeper into the building. I stared in wonder as she dragged me through the lobby. The floor was swirled marble, and the staircases were grand, like those you’d see in old Hollywood homes or maybe a plantation. “David, ye got somethin’ fer me?” she asked the elderly man in the office.

“I do, Miss Jillian. A package from your parents, I believe. Arrived this afternoon. It’s not heavy, perhaps your young man can carry it up for you.”

“Sure, I can do that,” I said, taking the box from him. It wasn’t heavy, just awkward.

“Come on.” Jillian grinned again as she led the way up the stairs to her apartment. She pulled her key out of her tight black pants and opened the door. Her place surprised me. It was the most luxurious place I’d ever been in. Hard wood floors in the entry led to a living room with very plush carpeting. All of the furniture was made up of antiques, sturdy and well cared for, but still antiques. She led me through the living room to a back room which turned out to be a small den with much more comfortable looking furniture, and a large flat screen TV. She sat down and I handed her the box, which she immediately put on the floor and pushed out of the way. “Now, what did ye want ta say?”

I sat down next to her, not even sure where to begin. “How much do you know about my family and our connection to yours?”