The Day Human Way (15 page)

“How?” she asked.

“Just do a blood communication like you would between night humans. It already knows your blood,” Ronan told her.

Nessa stared at him, unsure if he was just trying to make her look stupid. She had never seen a sidhe communicate with plants with just blood. Ronan understood her hesitation.

“I’m completely serious,” he told her. “And I know the consequence of tricking you in any way. You’ll kill me in my sleep, and then pardon yourself.” Ronan grinned as if he couldn’t help himself.

Nessa wanted to smack him again, but he was too far away outside the barrier. The look in his eyes said enough. He was serious, and that meant it would work fine. She pricked her finger and touched the nearest leaf.

‘
Hello, our queen,’
the vine told her.

“Holy crap, it worked,” Nessa said out loud. Ronan smiled and was obviously relieved it had.

‘
Can you not sound the alarm every time I leave?’
Nessa asked.

‘
If we feel you are in danger, we must sound the alarm,’
the plants replied.

‘
But what if I am just leaving?’

‘
Every time you are outside these walls you are in potential danger,’
the leaves answered.

‘
And there is plenty of danger within these walls, also.’
Nessa found herself arguing with a plant. They seemed to think the outside world was the problem, but by headcount since she had returned, more nobles had tried to kill her than commoners. It was actually more dangerous behind the walls than outside them.

‘
You mean the magic user,’
the plants answered. They had guessed an answer. Nessa was finding it strange enough to just be talking to a plant, but to argue and have them guess things was even weirder.

‘
You know who this is?’
Nessa asked eagerly.

‘
We do not, and we have told the king so. We will do our best to assist him to keep you safe. That’s why we must tell people when you are in danger.’

Nessa wanted to ask what the plants talked with Devin about, but she needed to be on her way.
‘Right now, am I in danger?’

The leaves rustled and flicked in the windless night. A few vines found their way to Ronan and then back to Nessa.

‘
You are with him?’
they asked.

‘
Yes.’

‘
Then you will be safe for now. If you leave with
someone
we deem safe, we won’t sound the alarm.’

Nessa sighed. It wasn’t what she was looking for, but it was better than no change. Ronan looked at her.

“Did you get them to shut it off?” he asked.

“Kind of,” Nessa replied. Not really, but it was going to have to do for now. She’d need to have a talk with Devin about it. Good thing that was right where she was heading.

Nessa walked into
Devin’s new house and still was in awe of it. She couldn’t believe how he was able to make it sidhe-like, but not. It was more Devin-like than anything: a mixture of sidhe and day human worlds. He had done such a great job, and yet had no clue about the powers within him. Nessa couldn’t wait to see what things would be like in ten years after he had done this much in just over a week in her village. Her grandfather was right—the sidhe needed to change. Observing the room she was sitting in while waiting for Devin to return was just the emphasis she needed to see that her grandfather once again knew what he was doing.

Ronan was lounging on the couch, obviously bored at his job of watching over Nessa, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. He was now her second-in-command and had drawn the short end of the deal when everyone else had jobs to do. They weren’t alone, either. In the corner of the room, Cassie was sitting with her herbs and a bowl. Nessa watched Cassie for a moment before the young witch noticed her.

It was strange for a day human to be calm amongst night humans. Even those that didn’t know about their world still felt the strangeness of being a food target, even if unintentionally. Cassie didn’t even blink at being amongst them. Nessa had to guess that was from being raised amid them. That was the only reason she could come up with, at least. Cassie noticed Nessa studying her.

“Can I borrow a couple drops of your blood?” she asked Nessa.

Nessa was startled by the question, but didn’t see a reason to refuse. She had no clue what the young witch was working on, but the girl was there to help. She had already made it clear that she was the one that wanted to stay when Maria wanted to leave. Nessa stood and walked over to the witch. When Cassie held out a small pen knife, Nessa took it from her.

“How much do you need?” she asked.

“A few drops is more than enough,” Cassie replied.

Nessa pressed the tip of the knife to her finger, piercing the skin. She dropped five drops onto the plate Cassie had before her. Cassie nodded her thanks before grabbing another bottle of herbs. The young witch was too absorbed in what she was doing to even notice Nessa now. Nessa returned to the chair beside Ronan. Everyone was still out doing their own investigations, while she could only sit and wait.

It didn’t take long before Devin returned. He had known she was waiting, but Nessa didn’t feel like bugging him too much. They were all busy, and she had nothing to do but go on dates. At one point in her life that would have been fun, but now her time was being wasted. Turner and Maria returned behind Devin and Keaton.

“Good date?” Devin asked. He had to already have known what had happened, as Nessa noticed him trying not to laugh when he asked. Turner perked up, looking between Devin and Nessa.

Nessa didn’t say anything but turned to Maria instead.

“Did you find anything?” she asked the older witch.

“No,” Maria replied. Her dark eyes had seen the exchange, too, but at least she was keeping on task. “We followed the cold scent that came from the woods, but once it goes into the town it just disappears. It faded almost as if the witch didn’t want to be found.”

Devin raised his eyebrows and looked at Turner.

“No, she’s correct,” Turner added, defending Maria. “It really just disappears. I couldn’t catch a trace of it anywhere in town. We’ll have to do a second check, but it seems like whoever it is, they are well hidden now.”

“So our only lead is on Liam Kay?” Devin asked. “You are sure you sensed it on him?” He turned to Cassie, who was partially listening in but mostly focusing on her own spell.

“Mmm hmmm,” Cassie replied, not even looking up from her herbs as she mixed them slowly.

Devin raised his eyebrows at Maria, and she shrugged. It was obvious there was more said between them, but Nessa had to wonder if it was being kept from her or from Cassie. Everyone seemed to know more than Cassie did, and no one planned to share it with her. It seemed the younger witch may have had more in common with Nessa that she originally thought.

“So, what do we do?” Nessa asked. There had to be something. Could she just ask Liam what was going on? Would he even have a clue?

Devin glanced from Ronan to Turner. He nodded at each, and then replied to Nessa, “Nothing for you to do besides go on a few more dates.”

Nessa’s shoulders dropped. She didn’t want to go on more dates. It was pointless to be sitting around when there was someone using the wrong kind of magic in her city. It was dangerous, and she was more than afraid that Devin was the target for this person. He didn’t seem to mind being right in the middle of everything, but she worried about him. Nessa peered closely at Devin and could easily see that he didn’t have a protective bubble like she did. Why did it matter to protect her if he wasn’t protected, too?

“There’s got to be more I can do,” Nessa complained. She needed to help, and she needed to keep Devin safe.

“We can’t decide on anything until they check the city again. If there’s no trace left of the mystery sidhe, we have to see what we can get from Liam,” Devin told her.

“We passed him in town,” Turner added. “I didn’t get a scent on him right now.”

“In town?” Nessa asked. There was no reason for Liam to be outside the palace. The elite sidhe didn’t leave the walls of their homes unless they had to. Devin looked over to Ronan again, and he shrugged. Nessa hated that Devin could communicate mentally with everyone and thus be able to leave her out.

“Go on your next date, and we’ll meet back here afterward. Just don’t let the sidhe be an idiot and think he can marry you by placing a ring on your finger,” Devin told Nessa, but it was for everyone else. Nessa pouted. She didn’t want to go on another date. “If Maria and Turner can’t find where the witch sidhe went, we have to come up with a plan B.”

Every nodded to Devin and stood. What he said made rational sense, but Nessa didn’t like it. She wasn’t a tracker like Turner, or could sense magic like Maria, but she knew a few things about the village that could be handy. Dates were a waste of her time. She needed to help.

‘
Nessa, there isn’t anything we can do until they check one last time. Turner is the best at tracking, just don’t tell him that. He already has a big enough head as is. If he can’t find a trace outside in the city, then we know that the witch sidhe is holed up in the palace. It will tell us where to look. Please just get rid of any suitors you aren’t interested in, and we can then work on making it safe,’
Devin pleaded mentally with her.

Nessa may have thought he was too busy doing everything else, but he still seemed quite in tune with her emotions.

Nessa shook her head. She wasn’t interested in any of the suitors. What she wanted to do was argue and be allowed to help, but he was right. She had to get the dates done.

Devin walked out
of his new house with Keaton right behind him. It was unusual for Devin to be able to trust someone as fast as he had the sidhe beside him now, but he did. Nessa reluctantly left with her cousin. Part of Devin was extremely upset when the last sidhe tried to trap her in marriage until he saw how she reacted. She might have been a bit naïve about everything, but she was stronger than anyone expected. Her threat alone had made Devin stop in his tracks and start laughing. He was more than in love with Nessa, and it was even more important they break their bond. Nessa had to be free to make her own choice, but more importantly she needed to be free to stay safe. He was sure the witch sidhe was targeting him, and who in turn would hurt Nessa, also. Maria reassured Devin that if there was a way to break the bond, Cassie would be able to.

“Same spot, boss?” Keaton asked as he placed his palm on a tree in the courtyard of their new outcast village.

“Yep,” Devin replied, placing his hand on another tree.

Devin thought of where he wanted to go and then felt the pull of the tree. His stomach dropped like he was on a roller coaster, and then he found himself exactly where he wanted to be. He would never completely get used to being a sidhe, but the tree traveling was kind of fun. Devin kind of lucked out in the sidhe department. He got all the perks without ever needing the blood like the real sidhe. Tree travel was quite a nice perk.

Devin stepped into the clearing they had been working in earlier. The buildings he had made were still there, standing empty.

“And this is all really necessary?” Keaton asked.

“What stops the common and outcast sidhe from being heard is their dependence on the elite for everything. If we make a place they can go for medical help, they will be free to make their own choices. Right now, they have to do what their families dictate. This way they will not,” Devin explained.

“And your friends will be here soon?” Keaton asked, still doubting what Devin was up to.

“Yes, they should be here in minutes.” Devin picked up his phone which he had left out. “In fact, we need to get down to the parking lot to walk them up.”

Devin led the short walk through the woods to the parking lot where his car sat. He had left it parked in the national park lot over a week ago, and, strangely enough, no one had a problem with it. Devin had never thought that it would be there that long, but it had. It might be sitting there quite a while now that he could travel through trees. He didn’t exactly need a car or a plane for that matter.

A large moving truck was parked next to his car. Keaton stayed at the edge of the woods as Devin left the seclusion of the trees for the asphalt.

He reached the truck in time for someone to step out of it, and smiled at the man who looked like he just woke up. Jackson rubbed the stubble on his normally bald head. Devin had spent years training with the human, who was one of his only day human allies in the night human world.

“It’s night, man, why are you yawning?” Devin complained. The first rule of integrating into the night human world required you switching your sleep patterns to daytime hours.

“Yeah, but someone asked me to fly off to some city and then drive a truck hours away from civilization into the mountains on short notice. I might have had to skip sleeping a bit.” Jackson grinned at Devin, reaching to give him a brief manly hug. It was obvious the older, dark-skinned man didn’t mind in the least.

“Did you get everything?” Devin asked as he approached the truck.

“Yeah, it’s all here, but I doubt it will work without electricity,” Jackson replied.

“Hence the reason I called Mori first,” Devin added. The tech wizard from his old life would easily be able to help him, and he was right. Mori jumped at the chance to combine the nature loving sidhe with his own tech filled world. Mori thought everyone who didn’t have a computer plastered to their face all day was lacking.

Jackson laughed. “I assumed that was the case when he insisted that I promise to pick him up as soon as his plane lands.”

Devin grinned. It was going to be easier to set up a hospital and lab for the sidhe than find their target witch. Devin missed his old life a little. Things were easier there, but he had to not think about it. His life was now with the sidhe—he accepted that the moment the old king turned him into one of them. Now he just had to bring the best parts of his old life to the sidhe, and that would make Devin’s world perfect. He’d have the technology and the girl of his dreams, if she chose him after her dates.