The Banshee's Desire (5 page)

Wizarding families were not allowed to mix blood lines, and since there were only about fifty wizards left in the world, it hardly ever became an issue.

His sister had paid a price for breaking the rules.

And her child was murdered at birth.

It wasn't until almost fifteen years later that Jonathan Spark had discovered Derek had actually allowed the infant to live. Angry at this betrayal of custom, Derek was banished from the family. No Spark would be allowed to acknowledge his existence until further notice.

That had been just fine with Finn who'd suffered a lot of torment at the hands of his older brother. Something about Finn had always rubbed Derek the wrong way, and he'd taken great pains to show his younger brother exactly how he felt about him. Using physical strength and magical skills, Derek had made life hell for Finn.

And now his father wanted him to go seek vengeance for Derek's death.

How Derek would have laughed if he'd known!

As Finn walked into Mageia Enterprises, his father's company in
Atlanta
, he couldn't help but think that his brother had done one thing right. Finding a half banshee. That would have gone a long way to restoring his status in the family.

Anything that gave a wizard family dominance in their world was good.

But the child--why had Derek saved it, deliberately breaking the laws of the council? His father only referred to it as "the creature" like it was some throwback to Frankenstein. But Derek had seen something in the creature that had been worth getting banished for.

What was it? And how could Finn use it?

"Hello, Mr. Spark." The older woman who worked at the front desk of the office stood as he approached. For the life of him, he couldn't remember her name though she'd been employed by his father for years. "Your father is expecting you."

"Thanks."

He took a deep breath and opened the dark, oak doors of Jonathan Spark's domain.

****

Jonathan observed his son, Finn.

Tall, dark, and handsome--a romance novelist's cliché.

He supposed that someone might have once described him the same way. Jonathan's dark looks had served him well over the years. It never hurt to be good looking and powerful in business.

He only wondered if Finn would turn out to be the disappointment his brother had been.

Jonathan was well aware that certain members of their family whispered about Finn's…unhealthy habits.

"Father," Finn greeted him. "You look well."

"As do you, son. Have a seat." Jonathan gestured to the empty chair in front of his desk. On the wall behind him were TV screens, all muted but showing news from around the world. He watched his son glance up at them before sitting down. "Would you like anything to drink before we begin?"

"Whiskey, if you've got it."

Jonathan frowned. Finn knew he did not approve of alcohol at all. It weakened the mind, causing one to make poor choices. However, he could be indulgent when occasion called for it.

With a wave of his hand, a glass materialized on the desk with a rich amber liquid inside.

"Thank you." Finn reached for the whiskey and downed the glass in one swallow. "You always conjure the best stuff."

"Do you know what the word Mageia means, Finn?"

"Sure. It's the Greek word for magic."

"When choosing a name for our company, I had to think long and hard," Jonathan said. "I wanted a name that represented our family and yet, conveyed the idea of what we are trying to create here. Magic has always fascinated mortals. So what better name to give a company that specializes in creating weapons that feel like magic?"

"I've always liked the name," Finn said, shifting uncomfortably in the chair. "And weapons are a particular talent of ours."

"I like discovering new ways to make them more solid, more reliable for consumers. Our government contractors in particular want us to create things with stronger capabilities," Jonathan said. "That's all well and good. Not to mention easy for a group with our special skills. However, even we aren't immune to weapons."

Finn nodded his agreement.

"Especially if these weapons are supernatural in nature."

Jonathan stood and walked to the window. Below him he could see the hustle and bustle of the people of
Atlanta
, making their way through lunch hour traffic. Mortals were always in such a hurry.

It was a quality his son, Derek, had held too.

If he just hadn't played his hand so soon to the half banshee…

"As you know, Derek had procured a weapon of great value to us," Jonathan said. "A half banshee who is capable of reaping any soul. While Derek was not a part of this family officially, he'd contacted me some weeks before his death with word of his plans. He hoped to capture the half banshee and bring her here to Mageia Enterprises. We could have worked with her talents and used them to stop a few of our enemies."

He turned to Finn.

"More importantly, we could have studied her DNA, possibly even have cloned it. Think of a weapon like that in the battlefield. The government does not like to admit it to the general population, but they're always looking for new ways to create a super solider. One that kills just by thinking about it would be worth a lot of money."

"But of course, you would tweak that DNA so that it wouldn't work against us
Sparks
, right?" Finn smiled at his father. "And since when are we in the business of cloning?"

"I have my hand in lots of things, son."

"So was that Derek's plan? To clone her?"

"Your brother's plan was to bring her to me as a way of worming his way back into my good graces." Jonathan frowned. "He didn't have the brains for thinking of the long range implications for Mageia."

"So what do you want from me?"

"I've just returned from
Ireland
after meeting with the council of the Brotherhood. They've granted permission for us to bring this half banshee to them." Jonathan sat down and stared at his son. "They've ordered it, in fact."

"So you want me to go get her." Finn shook his head. "I don't know if I'm the right person for the job, Father."

"Of course you are. I hear this banshee is attractive. With your appeal, I'm sure you'd have no problem convincing her to join sides with us."

"If Derek couldn't do it, I doubt anyone can."

"Derek was sloppy!" Jonathan banged his fist on the table. "He never understood self-control. It was always about indulgence first. If he had been a little more discreet, I believe that we would have had the woman months ago."

Finn studied him, and Jonathan wondered what was going on in that young brain. But this had always been the thing that pleased him about his younger son--the ability to consider the situation.

"So, this isn't about avenging Derek's death?" Finn asked.

"I told the Brotherhood that it was. In fact, I insisted that both the banshee and the creature that killed Derek be put down." Jonathan considered his son, knowing he was taking a chance in trusting him. "Your brother was dead to me. Even if he'd brought me the half banshee, I had no plans to bring him back into our clan. About a year ago, I'd contacted Eric Huston, the banshee's husband, hoping that as a guardian to our ways he would track Derek down and finish him. Eric wasn't up to the challenge. He tried to be diplomatic, tried to threaten Derek. It was his downfall and the beginning of our banshee problem. And I can't help but think it was poetic justice that Derek was killed by the little demon spawn he'd harbored against my wishes. Served him right to be killed by that abomination, Gabe. They had the nerve to name him after your sister, you know."

"So if you didn't want Derek alive, why would you tell the Brotherhood that you want revenge?" Finn asked.

"Because not asking for it would have raised suspicion." Jonathan explained. "Think of it like this: if I went after the banshee for my own purposes without the council's permission, that makes things more difficult. People begin poking their noses into business that don't concern them. If I go after her under their orders, it's a whole different story. Now, it appears that I'm simply seeking vengeance for the death of my son and the whole thing is completely blessed by the Brotherhood."

"You're pretty good at covering your ass, dad. You don't want them to know about the cloning thing."

"Of course not. I want to protect our family and those loyal to us. We have enemies on the council, son, enemies that just wait for a chance to strike. With our own breed of banshees that will be completely loyal to the Spark clan, they don't stand a chance," Jonathan said.

"So do I kill our…the creature, too?"

"If you have the opportunity, yes." Jonathan crossed his arms. "I have no interest in him. He was a mistake that shouldn't have been born. Don't let his father stand in your way either. The council won't be bothered by the death of Toby Williams.  The important thing is to approach the situation differently than Derek. They're expecting an attack. I would if I were them. Don't give it to them. I think we can finesse them in other ways."

"So we kill Toby and the creature. But are we really going to deliver the woman to the council?"

Jonathan smiled at his Finn.

"Oh yes. As soon as we're finished with her."

****

Toby awoke with a start.

Jacqueline was nestled against his arm, her short blonde hair a rumpled mess. She snored lightly, undisturbed. With a small smile, he gently rolled her, watching her nestle down into the covers like a small child.

A part of him was still unable to believe that the beautiful woman in his bed was his.

He'd never really thought that he'd fall in love again. Realistically, Toby knew that his first love was just that--first love. Something young, something pure, something that wasn't meant to last. Yet, he'd never been able to forget the strength of his feelings for Gabriella. And he'd certainly never expected them to be eclipsed.

But how could he have known that Jacqueline Huston would prove to be such a force in his life.

A small shiver ran down his back.

There it was again. The feeling that had woke him up. Something was off. He scanned the room, wondering if there was an intruder, but common sense told him that while not impossible, it wasn't likely. None of his magical alarms were going off.

Everything was in its place in his small bedroom. The light of the moon shone through the window, spilling onto the floor. He felt drawn to it and got out of bed, unashamed that he wore nothing. Moving to the window, Toby inspected the yard below, unaware that his naked physique was the kind that made women sigh in appreciation.

Nothing unusual caught his eye.

So what was the problem?

Another wizard was nearby. The answer came to him as if someone had spoken the words out loud. That had to be it. This feeling of tension and heightened awareness only came into play when another wizard was around. True, most wizards knew spells that would hide their presence if they weren't interested in being noticed. Toby had done it himself.

So that could only mean three possibilities: the wizard was young and didn't know better, the wizard was revealing himself on purpose in order to get Toby's attention, or the wizard was certain that he could take Toby in a fight.

Interesting.

Toby closed his eyes and whispered a small incantation. He could feel the magic of his words lift in the air, slipping through the window and into the night. After a moment, he silently directed his thoughts towards the unknown being.

Whoever you are, this is my territory. Make your business known or leave.

He knew the second his message had been received because the feeling of another magical being nearby immediately disappeared. Though there was no formal response, Toby guessed that the other wizard had decided to leave. Or at least he hoped that was the case.

The glow of lights in the distance drew his attention. He knew they were from Merlyn's Bar and wondered if he should call Gabe and alert him to a possible threat. He'd left him in charge for the evening, but would hate for him to be caught off guard. Hell, the decision to leave the bar in his son's care had been tough enough.

Not that he didn't trust Gabe.

He just didn't trust him completely.

On the other hand, how much damage could the kid do in one shift? Toby had placed magical talismans all over the building that would alert him to the first sign of trouble. He considered it his own little insurance policy

Toby shook his head. No. Gabe could handle himself and he should have been able to sense the wizard, too. There was no need to coddle the kid.

Not that Gabe would have let him.

"Toby," Jacqueline murmured, sleep in her voice. "You okay?"

"Shh…" He turned and moved towards the bed. "Go back to sleep, baby. Everything's fine."

He climbed back into bed, feeling her nuzzle up to him. Toby slipped an arm around her, pulling her closer. She sighed, content, her eyes fluttering open. For a long moment, they stared at each other, not needing any words to convey their feelings.