Текст книги "Artistic Vision"

Автор книги: Dana Bell

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

“Haven’t we heard this song before?” Jaden tossed her like a doll, sure Akane would catch her.

Akane grabbed hold of the flailing Sidhe. “It’s an oldie but a goodie.”

“You think I’m no threat to you? You think if you kill me the Malmaynes will leave the Dunnes alone? Is that it?” Constance laughed, the sound bitter. “She has plans for them, plans we were only a small part of. This is bigger than the stinking half-breed Dunnes.”

Akane caressed Constance’s cheek much as Robin had done hers. “Really?” She exchanged a look with Jaden, getting his approval to continue questioning Constance. “Tell me more.”

Black lace over blood-red eyes. Claws ripped away the veil and revealed nothing but darkest night. Bright light dimmed in the face of tragedy. Chaos became blind in the name of love. White cloth coated in innocent blood. Rage and grief took vengeance side by side as love drained away.

The visions were coming too fast now to make much sense. Shane held on to the sweetly singing voice, his only lifeline in the maelstrom around him. Without that voice he’d already be mad, the visions driving him over the edge.

Lost. He was lost. They were lost, memory a fragile thing, easily broken. Tainted blood brushed against his tongue, poisoned his dreams. His only hope lay in the rise and fall of the fickle sea.

“There’s some sort of plot against Oberon, but I don’t know all the details. Just our part in it.” Constance wriggled, trying to break free of Akane’s hold. Just because Akane was short people continued to underestimate her. There was no way the Sidhe female was getting away.

“Which was to get the child of Dunne.” Jaden gripped Constance’s chin, forcing her to stare into his eyes. “I take that personally.”

“The child of Dunne will one day perform an act that will change our world.” Constance parroted the prophecy. “The child had to be in our control.”

“So you could hand him or her over to the Dark Queen.”

Constance nodded. “My father had it all planned.”

Jaden barely blinked, but Akane’s partner was shocked. If this went back to Cullen… “What about the original marriage contract between Duncan and Aileen?”

“That had nothing to do with the prophecy and everything to do with power. We knew Sean Dunne would marry into the Joloun family. If we had a toehold in the family we thought we might be able to influence him.”

“How?”

Constance bit her lip, refusing to answer.

“Answer me!” Akane breathed pale flame on the column of Constance’s neck.

The Sidhe shrieked. “How what?”

“How did you know Sean Dunne would marry into the Joloun family?”

Constance tried to protect her neck, lifting her shoulders. “The Seer.”

Akane’s eyes closed. Damn her mother and her policy of handing out visions. “But you didn’t know it would be Aileenwho would bond with Sean.”

“Thus becoming part of the prophecy.”

“Is that why Kaitlynn insisted on Leo as her sperm donor?” Jaden’s claws scraped down Constance’s arm, raising red welts on her pale skin.

“She wanted the Dunne with the purest Sidhe blood.”

“And you? How would Hobart feel if you got Leo in your bed?”

“He understands prophecy,” Constance whispered.

“Oh yeah. Every man thinks of prophecy when another man is shoving his dick in his woman.” Jaden rolled his eyes. “It’s sort of like England but…different.”

“The child would have been ours!”

“If it wasn’t for us meddling kids?” Jaden gripped Constance’s throat, ignoring her yelp of pain. “I say we kill her.”

“I say we let the Hob question her.”

Constance stilled. “Robin Goodfellow is here?”

The terror in her voice proved she was smarter than she seemed. “Yes. He is.”

At that point the real struggle began. Constance pivoted in Jaden’s grip, ignoring the long scratches that appeared from his claws. She lashed out with her foot, catching him the upper thigh. Her elbow flew back, catching Akane in the throat. Akane’s grip loosened and the Sidhe was free.

“Oh goody. I was hoping for a fight.” Jaden laughed and went on the attack, dancing around the Sidhe with lazy grace. His hands moved, and small cuts appeared on Constance’s face. He licked his lips at the sight of the blood. “You’re not getting out of here alive.”

“I know.” She reached up and clasped the simple onyx pendant around her neck.

Neither of them could have predicted what happened next. The explosion damn near destroyed the safe house, sending both Jaden and Akane flying. Akane unfurled her wings, halting her flight through the air. Jaden didn’t fare so well. The vampire plummeted, knocked cold by something that left a bleeding gash on his forehead.

She flew down and scooped the vampire up in her arms, racing skyward in an effort not to be seen. Jaden was unconscious, unable to help. There was no sign of Constance.

She hoped the bitch had been blown to smithereens.

Akane flew over the house just to make sure and blinked. One room remained standing amidst the rubble. One room in perfect, horrific order. Akane hovered over the room and stared at the black sludge that coated the walls, the floor, every bit of furniture within. Only the ceiling was gone, the victim of the explosion. Akane wasn’t sure why when not even the furniture had overturned.

Then the scent hit her, that acrid, horrible stench of the thingthat had filled Shane’s veins. Akane’s flame swirled around her, her wings glowing with it. That thing needed to die before it could touch any other living being.

She blew, burning the room to ash in the blink of an eye. She didn’t have to worry about someone caught in the flames. From the looks of things Robin was already gone, his job done, his erstwhile son either dead or close to it.

When she was sure none of the sludge had survived her fire, Akane took off, Jaden cradled in her arms. There was still no sign of Constance, but Akane couldn’t worry about the Sidhe now. If Constance had survived, she wouldn’t stay alive for long. If the Dark Queen didn’t take her out for her failure to capture Leo, Akane would see to it that she died a long, lingering death by fire.

Akane headed home, already aware that Shane had been saved.

Shane blinked. The visions before him weren’t swirling, twirling, puking, hurling or otherwise doing something that would make him want to do any of the above. Moira was staring down at him, her eyes red from crying. Duncan, pale and trembling, held a hand to his head.

“Hello.”

Shane looked up into a face too long to be pretty, too interesting to be called plain. Her full, bow-shaped lips were curved in a smile. Her nose was slightly crooked, as if she’d broken it at some point and it hadn’t quite healed right. Her eyes were absolutely huge even in her human Seeming, a turquoise so bright Shane blinked to see if they were real. Their most dazzling aspect was the intelligence and humor that lit them from within. Her forehead was really a fivehead, further elongating her face. She’d made an attempt to hide it with bangs, but then she’d pushed half of those bangs back with a headband. The ends stuck out of the back of the headband, giving her an odd, rooster-like look. She had a sharp, pointed chin and quirked, full eyebrows. Her hair in her Seeming was brown, but it would be sea green in her true form.

Shane smiled. “Hello.” There she was. He’d been wondering when she would show up.

“My name’s Cassie.” Long fingers brushed back his hair. In the background Sal barked happily. “You gave us quite a scare.”

“It was a lot less pleasant on my end.” Shane’s throat ached. His voice sounded weak and scratchy, like he’d been screaming. He probably had been, but he didn’t remember it.

“Those were some mighty powerful visions you were having.” Duncan sat wearily beside Shane’s bed. His gray gaze was full of speculation. “How many of them will come to pass?”

Shane shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“Well. That just sucks.” Duncan ran a hand through his hair wearily. “Some of them involved Jaden and Moira.”

“I know.” And Shane was now on the path to ensure they never came to pass, but there were still forces out there that would try and make them come true. “Jaden’s hurt.”

Duncan stared at him in disbelief before sighing. “I agree with Jaden. You area freaky-ass dude.” He stood, his head shaking. “But you’re ourfreaky-ass dude. Get some rest, okay?”

Shane nodded even though Duncan wasn’t looking. “Would you look at him? He took a powerful blow to the head.”

Cassie nodded. “What race is he?”

“Part vampire, part Robin Goodfellow, all pain in the ass.”

She blinked, amusement once more lighting her face and turning it from plain to riveting. “Ah. That should be interesting.”

Shane chuckled. “Understatement of the century. Jaden’s something else.” He tried to sit up, startled to find how weak he was. He could barely get his head off the pillow. “Akane will be here soon too.”

Long, slender hands pushed him back down with ease. “I’ll send her in as soon as she gets here, I promise.”

A fragment of a vision floated before him and Shane gasped. “Who’s after you?”

She froze just long enough to confirm his vision. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But the warmth that had been so much a part of her was closed off now, her bearing chilly and stand-offish. She’d closed down on him, and Shane would have to be careful what he said from here on out.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. Your business is your own.” He made sure to get just the right amount of sincerity and regret in his voice. Eventually he’d see exactly what he needed to see. It would come to him in time.

His part in this was almost over.

She thawed a bit, smiling at him once more. “Thank you. Now rest! Or you’ll undo all the hard work I just did.”

Shane allowed himself to do just that, drifting off to the sound of a softly sung lullaby.

Akane landed in front of the Dunne house. She took just enough time to hand over the still-unconscious Jaden to his two mates before rushing off to Shane’s studio. She didn’t care that she could feel him deep inside, knew he was all right. She had to see it with her own eyes.

She slammed into the studio at full tilt, only stopping long enough to shut the door to the cold. She raced into his small bedroom and sagged in relief.

Her big man was curled up on his side, one hand under his cheek. The other clutched the puzzle box he’d given her for her birthday. Akane smiled at the sight. She opened her inner vision to check him with that, just in case they’d missed anything again.

Something inside the puzzle box gleamed, glittering like a gem. Akane narrowed her eyes and did her best to ignore it, but the damn thing kept calling to her sight. “What the hell. Why not.”

She went to the bed and gently lowered herself onto it. She took the puzzle box from his hand, glad her action hadn’t awakened him. She studied the golden box once more.

Damn, her mate did fine work. She recognized several of the symbols he’d carved into the box, like the…wait. Wasn’t that the tattoo that had appeared on her arm? She glared at him for a split second before realizing exactly how futile it was to be pissed over it. The man had a good idea she was eventually going to accept the mating. Her dragon half and his Sidhe half would have ensured it no matter how desperately she tried to get away.

Still. There were times when he was a seriously freaky dude. “We are going to have the weirdest children.” She brushed her hand against his back, smiling at the warm strength of him.

Akane turned her attention back to the puzzle box. It wouldn’t take her long to figure out how to open it. How difficult could it be?

Epilogue

Three weeks later…

Robin stared at the completed statue of Oberon. A female figure rose from the waves, her upper body the only part of her visible. She reached for Oberon, their fingertips touching, a look of such pure yearning on her face that even Robin was moved.

Shane had completed Oberon’s art piece. What had Robin missed? He shook his head, once more amazed at the talent that seemed to run rampant in the Dunne family. Turning, ready to leave the studio, he paused. Under the pedestal was something draped in black cloth. Curious, he lifted the cloth off the figure.

Robin hissed. There, done in nearly black glass, was Oberon’s face. His fangedface.

He dropped the cloth back over his king’s head and left the studio. Something was going on, and Robin needed to find out what. First thing to do would be talk to Shane, find out what the hybrid had seen and, more importantly, which vision would come to pass.

“I hate you! What is this thing, a portal to Hell?” A golden puzzle box went flying past Robin’s head, followed swiftly by one fast-moving hybrid with bright reddish-gold hair and laughing blue eyes. “Oberon’s crown should be this well guarded, you, you—JETHRO! Get your ass back in here!”

Shane Joloun Dunne popped his ass onto the banister of the Dunne farmhouse and grinned at the Hob. “Evening, Robin.”

Robin nodded. He had to visit more often. These people entertained the hell out of him. “Good evening, Shane. How is your mate enjoying her present?”

“Oh, she likes it just fine.” Shane leaned back against the post and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “I think it’s the pregnancy that’s making her insane.”

Robin stilled. “Pregnancy?”

Shane nodded, his expression wicked. “Twins.”

“Congratulations.” Had the prophecy been fulfilled? Was it Shane’s child who would be the child of Dunne? “Wait. Does sheknow she’s pregnant?”

Shane chuckled, but didn’t answer.

A sea nymph stepped around the corner of the big Dunne house, her mousy brown hair pulled back in a ponytail that did little for her long face. She was a gangly thing too, tall and lean, with big wary eyes that stared at him in something akin to horror. She was dragging a suitcase behind her. “Oops. Sorry.”

“Hey, Cassie. You heading out?”

The way Shane spoke to the woman let Robin know she was an honored guest. Robin relaxed ever so slightly. This must be the woman who had healed Shane. Robin had yet to meet her. He’d been summoned back to Oberon’s side to give him an update on the Malmaynes.

Oberon had not been pleased to learn that they’d lost the clan before Robin had even started his investigation. He’d extended an invitation to all the Malmaynes who wished to avoid the Black Court, hoping at least some of them would take him up on it and give their allegiance to the Gray. So far, a small contingent had come forth, led surprisingly by Tristan Malmayne. Oberon was waiting to see if any more of them would follow the young Lord.

Robin wasn’t going to hold his breath.

Robin stilled. There was an ornate pearl ring he recognized on the woman’s hand. A surprising development indeed, even in such a surprising family. He studied her, looking for signs of her parents in her odd, almost homely face. “You are far from home.”

“So are you.”

Robin allowed his brows to rise, challenging her to say more. He found himself further intrigued when her spine straightened and she stared at him head-on.

“You know where you’re going?” Shane stood up and helped Cassie put her bag in her car.

“Yup. Out to the road, make a left, head straight on through the rest of Nebraska until I hit Utah and eventually Colorado.” She held out a piece of paper. “Are you sure I’ll be able to hole up here for a while?”

Robin stared at the paper over Shane’s shoulder, shamelessly eavesdropping. He stared in shock at his own address. He met the hybrid’s eyes, his own narrowed in suspicion. Shane was up to something.

Shane winkedat him. Winked, like this was nothing but one of Robin’s own pranks. “Yup. Trust me, they’ll be delighted to have you.”

“Are you sure?”

Shane grinned. “I checked with the owners.”

Did he now? Odd, Robin couldn’t recall that conversation.

“Just remember, the owners work for the palace, so stay away when you hear the King is coming to visit.”

She shuddered. “You gotcha. I have no desire to meet a royal.”

Now thatwas even more intriguing.

“Thanks, Shane.” The nymph hugged the hybrid, her expression full of gratitude. “I mean it. I don’t know what I would have done without you and your folks.”

“You would have survived.” Akane stepped out from around the house and wrapped her arms around her mate. The puzzle box was in her hand. It looked exactly like it had the day Robin had first seen it. “You’re strong.”

The female, Cassie, shrugged. She looked oddly embarrassed. “Yeah, well.” She turned and stared at the road before giving them both a quick hug. “I’m outta here.” She gave Robin a brief, formal nod. “Nice to meet you, my lord.”

“Cassie, wait!”

Robin turned swiftly. Ruby Dunne had dashed out of the house like a madwoman. She threw herself into Cassie’s arms and hugged her tight. “You visit us, you hear?”

Cassie hugged back, and her expression set Robin back a step. This was a woman starved for affection, and Ruby was handing it out to her in super-size quantities. “I will, Ruby. You have my word.”

Well now, this was a fascinating twist, wasn’t it? He watched as the nymph, waving good-bye, took off down the wintery road toward whatever fate Shane Dunne had seen for her. She wasn’t the prettiest lass he’d ever seen, but there was something about her face that caught at him. Could it be? “Is she mine?”

Shane shook her head. “Nope.” He put his hand on Robin’s shoulder. “You’ll meet yours before she meets hers, but she’ll see hers before you see yours.”

Robin blinked slowly. What the hell? “Care to explain yourself?”

Shane gave him a shit-eating grin. “Let’s just say the child of Dunne has just done his duty.” And Shane took his laughing mate back into the Dunne house, leaving Robin standing out in the cold, confused as hell—and more curious than he could ever remember being.

A small hand patted him on the head. “You’ll get used to it.” Ruby Dunne took his hand and pulled him into the warmth and the light. Into something he longed for with all his ancient, weary heart.

Home.

About the Author

Dana Marie Bell wrote her first short story when she was thirteen years old. She attended the High School for Creative and Performing Arts for creative writing, where freedom of expression was the order of the day. When her parents moved out of the city and placed her in a Catholic high school for her senior year, she tried desperately to get away, but the nuns held fast, and she graduated with honors despite herself.

Dana has lived primarily in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, to be precise), with a brief stint on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix. She lives with her soul mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, an evil, ice-cream stealing cat and a bull terrier that thinks it’s a Pekinese.

You can learn more about Dana at www.danamariebell.com or contact her at [email protected].