The Queen of All Magick: Elizabeth (11 page)

“I’ll get them.” Elizabeth stood up and reached for Phillip. They could make whatever the children needed
, and Lizzy could enjoy them instead of taking them to the mall. “Tell me, do you think they’d dress in the same manner as Mathew?”

Lizzy was crying when she told her that they would.
Closing her eyes, she thought of every outfit she’d ever seen Mathew wear, and put the same thing in the bedroom of each child. She varied the color and style a little, but there was no need for them to do without. She smiled at Lizzy.

“On
ce they touch the bags that are in their rooms, everything will fit them. I had no idea of sizes and stuff. And if they put the bags under the bed, it will give them whatever else they need as well. Clothing, that is. The rest….” Lizzy looked at her with a brow cocked much like her father would. “Oh all right, they have a great many things that you hadn’t gotten them yet. I thought a nice computer would be good for each of them, and I also took the liberty of getting them a reader like Mathew has. There is no reason they shouldn’t have what he does.”

“No, no reason at all.” Lizzy kissed her cheek. “I love you so very much.
I can’t stand…Grandma, has Rythen changed his mind at all?”

“No
, and I doubt that he will. We’ve decided to live out our last days like there is nothing going on.” As if she’d conjured him, Rythen and Kim suddenly appeared in the room. She could tell immediately that they were a couple, but Kim didn’t look all that happy about something. Before she could try and find out what it was, Kim saw her and ran toward her. Her arms wrapped around her neck as she started to sob.

“
What did you do now?” Rythen shook his head and looked as bewildered as she’d ever seen him. “She’s crying, what did you do to upset her? Again.”

“I
didn’t do anything. She said she was hungry and wanted something called a pissa. I thought Aaron could help me. I’d forgotten about the children coming. I’ll take her to somewhere else. I’m so—”

“
It’s pizza, not pissa, you moron.” Rythen simply stood there while she berated him. “Why didn’t you ask someone at the castle to make her one? She could have eaten by now.”

“
It’s not him. I swear it’s not him.” Kim sat up but didn’t move away as she explained why she was upset. “I don’t…I heard from Mr. Gibson. He said that he would find me, and I just got so upset that when I saw you, I knew you’d hug me.”

“Well
, of course I would.” She looked at Rythen again when he moved to the other side of them on the couch. “I thought you said you’d taken care of that horrid man.”

“I did. She was standing on the front steps with me
, and that contraption she had in her pocket sounded. What a nasty thing that is. Blaring at you, demanding you stop everything and listen to it.” She cleared her throat when he looked as if he might go off on another tangent. “I’m sorry, but we were ready to come in when that thing made a noise, and she put it to her ear. After a few seconds, she started getting upset, and by the time I was able to get it from her, she was falling apart. I didn’t know what to do, so I brought her to you when she said your name.”

“It’s a cell phone.”
Mathew stood in front of her as he handed his to Rythen. “You can use it to call people.”

“Why would that be able to call people to you?” Mathew shook his head and pulled his phone back. In a few seconds she saw Aaron pull his out of his pocket and answer it.
He turned to them, and she realized that Mathew had called him.

“See? You can call people on it to talk to them.
I know you have this great and wonderful Oz power and all, but some people, humans I guess, aren’t as okay with having people talk to them through a link as we’re used to doing.” Mathew handed Kim a box of tissues. “Mr. Duncan wants to know if you’d like for him to order some pizzas. I wouldn’t mind having a piece or two if you want him to order some.”

“I’d love some pizza.
And if you could see if Marco’s Pies will deliver out here, I’d pay him…no, I’ll have to owe him for the delivery charge.” Mathew went to the kitchen again and came back just long enough to tell Kim it was on its way. Duncan came into the room with his tray of drinks a few minutes later.

“Lady Kim, I have called the shop
, and they will be bringing a variety of pies to you. I do hope you don’t mind, but I have also included some colas, as Master Mathew said that it is the thing to have with them.” Kim nodded and smiled at him. “As for you paying for anything, that will not be necessary. The owner was quite pleased to do this for you. He is a member of my master’s kiss.”

“Kiss?”
Duncan nodded to Kim but moved on to give out the rest of his drinks. Kim looked at Elizabeth.

“It’s what a group of vampires are called.
Aaron is their master.” Kim looked at Aaron, who turned and winked at them. “He is a good man. A bit overbearing at times, but I’ve grown quite fond of him over the decades. He is nearly sixteen hundred years old.”

“No way.”
Kim looked at the other people in the room and then at her. “And you? Are you very old? Because if you tell me you are any older than about thirty, I’m not going to believe you.”

“
Thank you, my dear, but I’m much, much older than that. Even more so than Aaron. By many centuries. And your Rythen is older still. He created me.” She looked at her, then at Rythen.

“He said that we’re mates
, and that it’s the same as being married. I’m not sure I want to be married to him. He’s sort of…well pushy, but he’s very controlling. And he killed Josh.” Kim looked at the rest of the people in the room before looking back at her. “What am I?”

Chapter 1
1

Kim tried not to be overwhelmed by it all, but it was hard not to be. There were so many people there being nice to her that she wanted to tell them to back off. But she also knew that it wasn’t their fault that she was feeling closed in. She looked up at Mathew, the cutest little kid she’d seen, and smiled.

“Wanna come in the game room with us?” She nodded before she could think she should
probably stay put. Rythen hadn’t told her she couldn’t move, but she needed to and right now. She followed the boys into a room that looked to her like a miniature movie theater. She sat in one of the chairs and was handed a controller.

“We’ve been playing
Minecraft. Have you ever heard of it?” She had but had never played. Josh played games that were more violent than she liked, but nothing she would ever enjoy playing.

“Mathew is really good about showing you, huh?”
The little boy who sat next to her smiled up at her. “Have you ever seen so many nice people in one place in your whole life? And all the food? Man, I could live here forever.”

She
had to agree everyone was nice, and the twenty-five pizzas that had been delivered had disappeared much faster than she would have thought, but she was full now and didn’t care how much it cost so long as they would let her have it again sometime. Josh had hated pizza and would never let her order it.

“You
shouldn’t think of him anymore.” She looked at Mathew, who was showing her how to play. She started to ask him who, but he continued before she could. “The man who hurt you. I heard Grandpa telling somebody that he was well and good gone. If he is, then you’ve nothing to worry about. Even if he was around, none of the people here would let him hurt you again. I’d even protect you.”

“I
don’t know what to think about that.” He nodded, and she looked at the screen without seeing it. “I was a fool for staying with him. I know he would have eventually killed me. But I really had nowhere else to go.”

“We didn’t either.”
The little boy who sat in front of her looked up as he continued. “My name is Rich. My brothers are Peter, and the little one there is Kane. We was in a nasty place before Miss Lizzy and Mr. Logan came and got us. And now, we’re kind of like you. Sort of a fish out of water.”

She laughed and rubbed her hand over his hair and stilled.
Kim felt it the moment she touched him. “You’re a vampire.”

“Yeah, what did you think we were?” She didn’t know and told him that. “Most of the people out there are vampires
, but a few of them aren’t. Not many. But you don’t have to worry about us biting you. Even we can tell you’ve been claimed, and besides we don’t need to drink blood for a little while yet.”

Kim had no idea
what he meant, but she felt okay with it. She leaned back in her seat and watched the kids play, and even joined them after a bit. They were much better at it than she was, of course, but she’d never laughed so hard in her life. When the boys were called to head home, Kim stayed in the room for some much needed quiet time. She was almost disappointed when Rythen came in and sat down. But she was glad when he sat across the room from her.

“You’ve been enjoying yourself.” She nodded
, almost afraid of what he’d do to her for leaving the other room. “You’ll have to learn to trust that none of us will hurt you. Everyone here likes you a great deal. Much more than they do me.”

“Why is that?”
He shrugged, and she moved on. “You’re not mad because I didn’t stay where you put me?”

“Why would I be mad because you did something you wanted?”
She wasn’t sure how to answer that, so she didn’t. “Kim, are you afraid of me?”

“Yes.”
He looked shocked, but for some reason she didn’t try to sooth it over. “You’re something, I’m not sure what. You take what you want, regardless of what others around you want. You do—”

“They asked you to speak to me about Elizabeth, didn’t they?” She didn’t know what he was talking about and told him so.
“I’m going to end her life in five days. It’s our contract. I don’t know what they thought you could do about it, but I assure you—”

Not
being a violent person, she was just as surprised as he was when she slapped him. The need to hit him again had her doubling her fist and putting then at her sides. When he looked mad enough to hit her back, Kim raised her chin. But instead of hurting her, as she knew that he could, he took a step back.

“I’m staying here.
If you’re going to take away the only person who has never been anything but nice to me, then I plan to spend all the time she has left with her.” She started past him only to have him grab her arm. When she stared at his grip, he finally let her go.

“You’re not going to talk me out of it? You’re not going to do what they asked you to do?”
He laughed a bitter sharp bark of laughter, and she felt sorry for him. “I would think that you’d be the perfect person for the job. No wonder they sent you.”

“You bastard.”
This time when she moved by him, he let her. When she started for the living room, where she knew they all were, she made a detour to the kitchen. She needed air, and there she knew she wouldn’t be stopped. But she found Duncan there when she entered. He was fussing over something…she wasn’t sure what…as it lay on a pan.

“I am such a horrible cook, my lady. I thought I had followed the directions
, but it seems I have miscalculated somewhere.” Kim thought that was an understatement. “I will have to explain to the family that I cannot do this alone.”

“I can do it.” She looked at him when he shook his head. “I can cook, Mr. Duncan. Very well. I just never got to because…well, I didn’t get much of a chance to cook before.”

Instead of waiting for his permission, she went to the recipe that he had on the counter. It was a difficult one for an experienced cook, and a novice would more than likely fail. She looked at him when he started fussing again about the smell in the room.

“Is this for dinner?
” He nodded. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I think this is way too much for just a few people. How about we find something fun.? I like fun, don’t you?”

“Yes. It was a rare joy to have pizza brought to us.
If the family wants it, we usually go and eat it there. Having it here was so much more relaxing.” He went to the computer on the desk near the door and started pushing buttons. “Miss Pete has set this one up for me when she told me that the other was outmoded. I assured her that it was fine, but she insisted. This one had so many things on it I am still trying to learn.”

When he got what he wanted
, she stepped behind him. It was a cooking site, complete with recipes and pictures. She could see that the dinner he’d been planning said that the difficulty level was a five, and smiled. At least he had tried, something she was going to start doing right now. After ten minutes they found something they could both make and they started on it. She was elbow deep in dough for homemade bread when Lizzy and Andi, Mac’s pretty wife, came in.

“You can cook?”
She nodded at Andi, who sat down at the long bar. “I don’t. Well, much. I find that it’s a little mundane. Not to mention, messy. I must use every pot and pan in the house and borrow bowls from the neighbors to dirty up. What are we having?”

“Duncan and I thought it would be
a fun night. We’re making appetizers that will go with the dinner, as well as baked salmon with hollandaise sauce and new potatoes. I’m just whipping up some hot rolls.” She set the bread to rest and looked to see how Duncan was doing with the small phyllo leaf cups they were going to fill with all sorts of things they’d unearthed in the refrigerator. “I’ve sort of invited myself to stay for a few days.”

“I heard. It’s why we’re here.”
Lizzy smiled at her, and Kim had a feeling she’d been told to tell her it was time for this stupidity to stop, and for her to go home with Rythen. But she didn’t. “We thought we’d come in and tell you we’re shopping with Grandmother in the morning. She is wonderful to shop with. And Mom is going too.”

“You want me to…I can
’t.” She was embarrassed to say that she was broke. And even though she no longer had an apartment or a boyfriend to spend all her money, she didn’t have a job. And if this thing with Rythen fell apart more, she needed a home. “I thank you, but I just can’t.”

Duncan pulled three glasses from the cabinet and put a large pitcher on the counter. It was the most beautiful piece of pottery she’d ever seen. After running her finger down it, all she could think about was these people had more money than she’d ever seen. She looked at Lizzy when she laughed.

“My aunt made it. She’s Aric. You met her today.” The wolf, “she-wolf,” she’d been called. “She’s very famous, and several times a year she lets us go through her studio and take what we want. Mom got this last year. I wanted it, but she beat me to it.”

“Is it money?”
She looked at Andi when she spoke. “Is the reason you don’t want to go shopping with us, is it money?”

“I have a little
, but I don’t have a job.” She wanted to tell them it was none of their business, but she found that she didn’t want to. Kim sat down and played with her glass. “Josh wouldn’t help with the bills, and I’m not sure about the ones I have now. Plus, I worked for Logan, but I don’t know how that is going to work now.”

“Has Rythen told you about what you get as his mate?”
She shook her head at Lizzy. “He’s very wealthy. More than us, I think, and we’re worth billions.”

Kim knew they had money
, but billions? She wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. The people could buy her up without thinking about it. She started to get up to go outside when Andi spoke.

“Has he hurt you?”
Kim nodded, then shook her head. “Not physically, but he has hurt your heart. I see. He is a bit of a hard-ass.”

“He told me that he’s going to kill Miss Elizabeth.”
Lizzy nodded, as did Andi. “I love her. She’s like my mom. I know that sounds nuts since I’ve only known her for a short amount of time, but she’s so wonderful. And…and he thought that you guys sent me to him to talk him out of it.”

“Like you could.”
Kim turned to look at Lizzy when she spoke. “I figured that was what happened. He told Dad that you would be staying here for a few days and that we were to make sure you had everything you needed. Dad told him he was no longer welcome here if he’d upset you again. He and Rythen have been at each other’s throats since Rythen got here.”

“I don’t know…what am I supposed to do with him?
I mean, he’s got all this…anger in him. He’s almost as bad as Josh was all the time. I keep expecting him to lash out at me or hit me.” She wiped at the tears. “At least with Josh I knew the rules. I don’t think there are any with him.”

“Have you talked with him,
miss?” She looked at Duncan. “You do not strike me as a woman who would allow a man to bully her. You did so in the past, but I do believe you have gotten over that unfortunate mistake. If Lord Rythen speaks to you in a way that hurts you or says something that angers you, simply tell him. If you do not, how will he know what he is doing? I’m sure he will correct himself posthaste. He will need you much more than you him. It is the way of mates.”

Kim thought about what Duncan said while the four of them finished up dinner and put it on the table.
Tell him when he hurt her? She wasn’t sure she was that brave. But the more she thought about it, the more she thought that she should give it a try. She wasn’t sure he needed her, but then she didn’t really need him either. After dinner, she spoke with Aaron.

“How
do I find out where Rythen is?” He smiled a huge smile that had her seeing his fangs. For whatever reason, it didn’t frighten her as much as it had before.

“Do you wish to seek him out, or simply go to where he is?” She said go to him.
“Then think of him and tell yourself that you want to be there. You’ll see.”

Closing her eyes
, she thought of Rythen and saw him. She heard Aaron tell her to will herself there, and suddenly she was standing in the room with Rythen.

“Holy hell, it worked.” She looked at him when he smiled at her
, and she knew this was the right thing to do. “I’m going to talk, and you’re going to listen to me. Sit your ass down and keep your mouth shut unless I say you can talk. I’m sick to death of you running over me, and this will end now.”

He sat and she started pacing.
This was better than she’d thought. It might not make a difference, but she felt a good deal better about herself.

~~~

There were three days left, and Elizabeth was sitting alone at her tree. She came here almost daily in the beginning, and of late, she’d been less and less. She supposed it was because she’d gotten lazy. But it was more than that. She was afraid. Now Elizabeth looked at the tree with all its seasons and felt the hot tears fall.

“I’m going to miss it here. I’ve talked to Shamus
, and he has said that he’d put me here when the time comes. I tried to talk to Mellie, but she won’t listen to me. I think she’s hurting more than anyone.” The faeries raced by her, and she watched as several stopped to pick up the fallen fruit from the tree. She knew that it would be in their dinner tonight, or in the basket of fruit that Shamus was forever giving to his Mellie. There was a love for the ages.