Tiddly Jinx (9 page)

I opened my eyes and scanned the room. The lights were off and it was dark outside, but I could still see. My hand reached down to touch the cloth purse I wore across my body to make sure the spell book was still there. It hummed beneath my hand. The urge to open it and have a peek had been there since Gram’s house, and now it was even stronger. I pulled my fingers away.

A beat-up chair, an old television, and a couch with mismatched flowered and plaid cushions were pretty much the only items filling the room. Just as I was about to turn, my eyes caught something else. In the darkest corner of the room a man stood as still as death and nearly obscured by the shadows. Definitely not Frost.

“You shouldn’t have come here, pet.”

I relaxed, the tension easing from my shoulders. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

A glint of light flashed in the darkness when he smiled. “I know.”

Stupid bond. I had a lot to discuss with Corbin, but at the moment I was on a mission. “Where’s Frost?”

“That seems to be the question of the hour, doesn’t it?” His soft, alluring voice sent goosebumps down my spine.

“Come out from that damn corner. You’re being creepy.”

He stepped into the dim light offered by the window. He looked fine, exactly the same as he had looked yesterday: black eyes, bleach-blond hair, and sharp cheekbones. Only tonight there was something else in his eyes. Something I had only seen in purgatory: hunger. His tongue slowly traced the inside of his lips as his eyes drank me in.

“You look lovely, pet.”

My heart beat faster and magic collected under my skin as my survival instincts flared. Something was definitely off about Corbin. I took a step toward him, determined not to be frightened. “Why are you here?” Better yet, why did my spell bring me here if Frost wasn’t here?

“Best to keep your distance or you might prove too tempting to resist. We would both regret that.”

“Still feeling the pull?” When we bonded in purgatory a piece of my soul had blended with his, and part of him wanted to finish the job.

“I’m just hungry,” he said quietly. “I’ve been here since last night.”

“Why?”

He looked off to the side, but his eyes kept twitching back to me as if he couldn’t bear not to look at me. “Why indeed.”

Damn it, he was frustrating. “Corbin?”

“When she comes back she will go home. It wasn’t hard to find her house. Why are you here?”

“I did a tracking spell and followed her essence. I don’t know why it would bring me here if she weren’t here, as well. Unless…” I plopped down on her chair. Unless she wasn’t in this world and her home was the most concentrated collection of her essence.

“Unless what?” Corbin sat as far away from me as he could.

“Go eat.” I ignored the fact that he would probably select an unknowing and unwilling human to take the edge off, shortening her already short life to extend his. “We’ll talk when you get back. I’m not going to shout at you across the room.” Seeing him on edge like this plucked at my nerves.

He stared at me longer than was comfortable before he slipped out of the house, so quiet I wouldn’t have believed he was gone if I hadn’t witnessed it. I stared at the door. Frost wasn’t here. My tiny bit of hope vanished. Not all witches went dark when they used black magic, but not all witches had my checkered past. My soul was hardly a beacon of light as it was. Part of me—the elf half—craved power, it always had. It drove me to do things and to follow people that I shouldn’t. Casting this spell scared the hell out of me, though I could never admit it to Cheney, the coven, or Sy. Shit, Sy. I still hadn’t told him anything that was happening. I leaned back in the chair, tension finally easing, one hand on the bag and the other massaging my temples. I let my thoughts run through all the different ways the current plan could go wrong.

A hand brushed my hair, making me snap back upright.

Corbin smiled down at me. “Miss me?”

“That was really fast.” There was no way he found a willing donor that fast, especially not among humans. The contents of Frost’s apartment made it clear we weren’t in the Abyss anymore—there was a television here. Corbin didn’t respond, but this time he sat close enough his knee nearly brushed mine.

“What’s bothering you, pet?”

Corbin and I had no pretense, no expectations of one another. He simply
saw
me, which was frightening and comforting. “Every time I try to fix a problem, I make it so much worse.”

He nodded. “So stop trying to fix them and accept things how they are.”

“The Pole can do so much damage to the Abyss.”

He shrugged. “That can be someone else’s problem.”

I shook my head, but smiled. “Says the guy who has spent the last twenty-four hours in a necromancer’s house waiting for her to come home. Why are you here if you weren’t looking for the Pole?”

He let his knee press against mine—protected by the layers of material between us, I didn’t feel the need to pull away. “Do you wish to hear the words again?”

Air evacuated my lungs. No, I didn’t need to hear him say he loved me again. Not ever again. “I love Cheney.”

“That doesn’t change matters. You carry my essence as I carry yours. You are as much mine as this hand.” He held out his right hand in front of me and wiggled his long, elegant, pale fingers. “Even if this hand were to decide it doesn’t love me, it’s still part of me.”

“I’m going to marry Cheney.”

He leaned in close, his lips nearly brushing my ear. “It won’t change anything.”

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes. “If I were evil, would that change anything?”

“Don’t tease me, love. You know perfectly well that would change everything.”

And I did know it. The same part of me that craved power and excitement and danger was also the same part of me that was attracted to Corbin despite being in love with another man. In my heart, I only wanted Cheney, but Corbin was a walking temptation that promised nonstop fun and excitement. No homes or families or babies or saving the world. It would be just the two of us bringing the world to its knees instead. That was why I couldn’t tell him about dark magic. Corbin wouldn’t help contain me. He would only help me escape.

His eyes flashed. “I have tasted your soul. You’re not evil.”

I nodded. “But there’s darkness.”

“That’s what makes you interesting,” he replied, winking. “What else are you upset about?”

“I’m having a baby.”

Corbin blinked and leaned back. “No shit.”

“Frost held on to her while…yesterday.”

His mouth gaped.

“You see, that’s why I have to find her, Corbin. I have to make everything right.”

He nodded slowly. “I’ll help you however I can.” He reached around me and tapped the bag underneath my hand. “Now what’s this? You’ve been clutching it since you got here.”

“My purse.” I bit my lip. “Where do we go from here?” It wasn’t just redirection. He loved me and I couldn’t love him. I didn’t see a clear path to friendship or wherever this was leading.

“Everything doesn’t have to be defined or tied up with a bow. We’ll go where we need to go.”

I so very much wanted to believe him, but I also expected that this whole conversation, save the part about the baby, had already played through his mind before I even arrived here. He had an enigmatic answer for every question I asked. “Why did you say I shouldn’t be here?”

“Necromancers are dangerous. With one touch she could kill you permanently.”

“She could have killed me yesterday.”

He laughed. “Yesterday she was paid to keep you alive, and she got the Pole for her trouble.”

Before I could answer, the lock on the door behind us clicked and Corbin pulled me away, careful not to touch my skin to his, into the shadows.

“Shhhhh,” he breathed into my ear, and a shudder tore through my body.

Slowly the door opened and Frost came through. She sighed loudly and dropped a bag to the floor before flipping the light switch. Corbin held me tight against him so I couldn’t move at all, but she never glanced our way. She made her way to the kitchen and stood in front of the open refrigerator door, not taking anything out. Corbin’s grip eased and he pressed a finger to his lips as he came around me. He moved like the moon through the night sky, silent and purposeful.

His hand darted toward her and Frost whirled around, catching his wrist and brandishing a silver dagger aimed for his heart. He deflected the blade and grabbed her by the throat, picking her petite body off ground. I raced toward them.

“No. Stop. Corbin stop!”

He turned his black eyes toward me. “Why?”

“She saved me and my child.” He didn’t look moved. “I need her to find the Pole.”

He released Frost back to the floor and her fist immediately connected with his jaw. Her eyes began to roll back in her head and I knew what was coming next. “No. Please.” I stepped between them. “What happened in the crypt?”

Her eyes righted themselves, though she still glared at Corbin, fists dropping to her side. “This isn’t over.”

“Not by a long shot,” he sneered.

“Stop it.” I elbowed him in the ribs and kept my gaze on her. “I need to know where you went and where the Pole is.”

“I’m not your servant or subject, Queen. You don’t
need
to know anything about me.”

“Please.” I wasn’t above begging.

She barely shook her head.

Heaviness filled me that was lined with rage. “I was afraid you’d say that.” I flicked my fingers and released a binding spell on Frost. It wouldn’t hold long, but long enough. “Meet me at the castle,” I said to Corbin as I grabbed Frost by the shirt and transported to the castle grounds.

I had two guards help me get her inside, careful not to touch her skin, and straight to the dungeon because I didn’t know what else to do with her. She had to answer my questions. She wasn’t going to get a choice in the matter. The book strapped to my shoulder probably had a spell that would assist in that…I pushed the thought away.

“I really don’t want to do this. It’d be much easier if we could be friends,” I said.

She struggled against the magical bond, fury filling her eyes. Maybe friendship was off the table now, but I didn’t have time to waste—none of us did. When the guards and I had her properly restrained, I dismissed them, asking them to find Cheney or Sebastian. I released the final threads of the bond and faced her.

“I’m sorry it had to come to this.”

“Oh, not nearly as sorry as you are going to be, Queen,” she said, struggling and snarling like a feral animal trying to frighten me.

I took a step forward and lowered my voice. “You think you can scare me? I’ve walked through purgatory, I’ve killed men with my own hands, and you’re nothing more than an obstacle to my future happiness that I’ll remove by whatever means necessary. If you don’t want to be friends, that’s fine, but you
will
tell me where the Pole is or I’ll make you wish you were never born. I’ll destroy everything and everyone you have ever loved if necessary. Do not doubt my resolve.” My hand made its way inside my bag. The book surely had a way to make her talk.

A throat cleared behind me, but I held her angry gaze for a moment longer. “I see you found the necromancer,” Cheney said.

I forced the anger that bubbled inside of me down and smiled at Cheney, pulling my hand out of the bag. “She isn’t feeling very cooperative.”

“Ah.” He tilted his head back. He started speaking and stopped, taking in the situation before he finally settled on, “Lily’s here.”

I had forgotten all about inviting her to dinner. Frost was red-faced with rage and her anger fed mine in a very palpable way. I hated her. I hated just looking at her. “I’ll be there in just a moment,” I said to Cheney.

He nodded slowly and left me in the room alone with her again.

“Once last chance to shorten your time here.”

She leaned toward me the best she could in the chains. “The elves might not be able to sense it, but I can feel the darkness on you. You are the last person I’ll ever tell. Never should have brought you back. You’ve been corrupted.”

I had the simultaneous urge to strike out and back away. Forcing my legs to move, I backed out of the room. “I’m trying to save everyone.”

Her cold eyes met mine. “Sometimes you just have to let people die.”

I couldn’t prevent my lips from turning downwards in a frown as I shut the iron door and the sound echoed through the long corridors with finality.

“Did she attack you?” Cheney’s voice behind me made me jump.

“No.” He looked from me to the door, then back to me. Guilt crept in along the seams of my determination. “She won’t help. I’m
encouraging
her to reconsider.”

“You thought locking her in the dungeon was the best way to do that?”

I sighed. “She’s dangerous. We have to find out what happened. I took precautions.”

“I’m not criticizing, but this may have been overkill.” He offered me his arm, and together we went back upstairs after giving the guards strict instructions not to enter the cell for any reason. “You could have asked Sy to help you. He at least knows her. Maybe there was a better approach to getting her to work with us.”

I pressed my lips together tightly and rolled my shoulders back to ease the ache that had formed in the center of my spine. Things had gotten out of hand so fast. He didn’t understand. I needed all of this to be over. I was tired of fighting, of rushing around trying to save my own ass, of being the one who caused every crisis we had to face. It needed to end.

“Do you want to change for dinner?”

I glanced down at my jeans and black t-shirt. I looked a bit grubby—okay, a lot grubby for me. “Is it formal?”

“No. Nothing like that. You just don’t seem very…you.”

“Maybe this is the new me.”

“Well, you look lovely,” he said without missing a beat, which made me laugh.

“Someday, when I die—”

“A very long time from now.”

“Agreed. I would like to not have to go through the underworld in a dress. Seriously, heels and a mini-skirt are no way to climb a mountain and fight demons. There’s going to be lot more pants in my future.” I shrugged.