Chapter 16 #2
She gestured toward the open trunk of the car. “I need to run a few items to the warehouse. That isn’t a crime, is it?”
“I suppose that depends on where the items came from. Mind if I take a look?”
Leanne’s gaze darted to the house and back to Vale. Oh, she definitely minded, but she wasn’t about to let him know it.
“We know about your criminal activities, Leanne,” Vale said, poking through the odds and ends in the trunk. “And I’m willing to bet we can match some of these valuables to missing heirlooms from estates in Savannah, Asheville, and all those other places you mentioned.”
“And I’m willing to bet all those estate owners were men who died under mysterious circumstances,” I added. “Hope you look as pretty in solid orange as you do in a floral.”
Leanne bolted. I’d expected her to retreat inside the house or maybe lock herself in the SUV, but nope. She booked it toward Lafayette Square.
“I’m on it,” I said, already in motion.
The faerie was shockingly fast in a pair of kitten heels.
I didn’t get close enough to grab her until we reached the curb of the square.
I yanked the skirt of her dress, which caused her to trip over the curb.
Wood chips scattered as she went sprawling across the ground.
I straddled her back and pinned her in place.
“Turning me to stone won’t release the elf,” she said, struggling beneath my weight.
“I’m aware. Release him now, of your own free will, and I’ll push for a lighter sentence,” I said.
“The only way to break our bond is to kill me,” Leanne spat, “and I don’t think you have what it takes.”
“Don’t mistake my compassion for weakness,” I warned.
Leanne thrashed beneath me, the right side of her face scraping against the wood chips. “Give up this effort to save one insignificant elf. He is not long for this world. To be perfectly frank, I don’t know how he’s managed to resist me this long. It’s unprecedented.”
“I guess you’re not as charming as you think you are.
” I refused to give her the satisfaction of telling her about Ronald’s special cane.
Let her believe he was stronger than her.
“Why do you think he won’t give you his address?
He doesn’t trust you, Leanne. Hell, I’m not convinced he really likes you. ”
“Where is he?” she snarled. “I need to know.”
“Somewhere you’ll never, ever find him. Cut the cord, Leanne. He’s a lost cause.”
“He is mine. I claimed him.”
“Can you even tell me a single thing about him, other than he’s an elf?” Ronald was nothing to her, an object to use and discard.
“What does it matter?” she seethed.
“Because Ronald matters! He exists, and therefore, he matters.” Some people’s appreciation of the world around them grew stronger as they aged.
Meemaw and Kaito looked over their shoulders at the roads they’d traveled and recognized them for the wonders they are.
Leanne was the opposite. The longer she lived, the less she cared. The less she appreciated.
Humanity was circling the drain of her soul.
“Did you know he’s traveled to all seven continents? That he played volleyball? That he’s loved and lost?”
“I. Don’t. Care.” Leanne turned beneath me and shoved with her whole body. I skidded across the ground.
The faerie’s nails dug into the dirt as she crawled toward me on all fours, eyes ablaze with fury and indignation. “I have lived a dozen lifetimes. You will not be the one to take me down.”
“Why not? It has to be somebody.” I lunged and tackled her to the ground. “There ought to be a special place in the underworld for people like you who prey on the elderly.”
She strained as she pushed against my face. “You’re a hideous half Gorgon. You’re not remotely my equal.”
I barked a laugh. “Are you seriously suggesting that I can’t defeat you because you’re prettier?” I withdrew my dagger from its sheath. “Because I can change that right now.”
She drove her nails through the skin of my temple, narrowly missing my eye. I felt a burning sensation, then a trickle of blood.
I hunched over her, holding the blade to her cheek. “Do that again and I’ll make you unrecognizable.”
She remained steadfast in her arrogance. “You wouldn’t dare. My beauty has brought down armies. Helen’s may have been the face that launched a thousand ships, but mine is the one that laid waste to them. They would’ve followed me into the bowels of Hell itself had I invited them.”
“You had the capacity to do incredible work in this world. With your fae traits, you had the ability to influence great art and music. Inspire poetry. Instead, you chose greed and murder.”
“I chose myself. Why should I inspire men just so they can enjoy the success I bestowed upon them?”
“And you’d extract a bit of their life essence in return to keep you young and beautiful for eternity. Still seems like a good deal to me.”
“That’s because your imagination is limited. I want more.” She hissed the last word.
“This is what happens when an ego takes up too much space in a brain. No room for critical thinking.” I drove the dagger through the side of her dress, anchoring her to the ground.
“Since you’re on the way out, I’ll let you in on a little secret, beauty queen.
” I dropped my voice to a whisper. “I’m not a Gorgon. Not even half.”
Fear sparked in her eyes as I spread my fingers across her face and pulled, draining all the energy she’d stolen from Ronald and so many others. It had been many years since I’d activated this particular power. I was both sad and relieved to find I was still capable of it.
I wasn’t killing her, I reminded myself. I was only removing her power, including the bond she’d formed with Ronald.
Leanne was no longer an Irish rose to admire. She was now a shriveled casing, barely recognizable as a person. Her face was a distortion of features. Sunken eye sockets. Visible bone. Thin lips that failed to cover her gums.
“Take us to Ronald,” I demanded. Her path was well-trodden; it would be faster than mine. I crawled into her mind, and we launched into the void.
Ronald sat on a fallen log in the forest, waiting for his beloved. It was painful to think how many days he’d wasted, pining for a woman who cared nothing for him at all.
“Leanne?” Ronald’s voice was tentative and uncertain.
I prodded her. “Here is your precious Leanne. She thought at this stage in your relationship, it was only fair to show you her true face.”
The faerie appeared in the inky black of our shared consciousness. “Don’t believe her, my darling. She’s done this to me, made me hideous in an effort to steal you for herself.”
Ronald looked between us, confused. “Maya doesn’t want me. I don’t think she’s interested in anyone. I overheard my caregiver say she’s one of those asexuals.”
Okay, now was not the time to explain myself. Let the elf believe I was ace. No big deal.
Leanne seemed unsure how to proceed without the ability to play the jealousy card. Ronald, on the other hand, seemed unable to stop staring at her in horror. I could tell from Leanne’s increasingly poor posture that the bond was loosening fast.
“Is this really you, Leanne?” Ronald asked.
“This is her true form,” I said. “Her beauty came from you, Ronald. Your energy sustained her, but I was able to weaken her so that you could see the truth for yourself.”
“She’s killing me, darling. Make her stop!” Leanne dropped to her bony knees in front of him and extended a gnarled hand. “Kill her and we can be together.”
But Ronald recoiled from her touch. “What is she?” he asked me, finally ready to believe.
“A faerie that feeds on men like you to live an eternal life. She was also planning to rob you. I can fill in the rest of the blanks later. I only brought her to you to break the connection.” I looked at Leanne, who was now clinging to Ronald’s leg.
“She’s the monster, darling, not I. She’s a threat to you all. She’s not even a Gorgon.”
Ronald yanked his leg from her grasp. “I need you to leave now, whatever you are. You’re not welcome anymore.”
“But you love me, dearest. You told me so.”
“I loved the lies you fed me. That isn’t real love.”
Leanne’s pleading face morphed into pure rage. “You are nothing and no one! As if you could claim the heart of someone as beautiful as I am. You are a fool, you revolting old elf.”
Ronald studied her with a pitying expression. “Goodbye, Leanne.”
I knew when he’d broken the bond because both Leanne and I were cast out of his mind at the same time. I hurtled back toward my body, a sense of satisfaction rippling through me. Ronald would now have a fighting chance for a full recovery.
The air shifted as reality bent. I heard a whooshing sound, followed by a painful crack on the side of my head.
Weightless and disoriented, I fell back into the void.
My head throbbed. I opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar canopy overhead. “Where am I?” I murmured.
“Good, you’re awake.” Vale sat in a chair beside the bed. “This is one of my guest rooms. I hope you don’t mind. It didn’t seem safe to transport you back to the island in your condition.”
I struggled to remember. “What’s my condition?”
“You got whacked hard across the head. You don’t remember?”
“Was it Leanne?”
He nodded. “I was surprised she was able to lift a tree branch in her condition, but she got one good smack in before she collapsed.”
“Where is she now?”
“Where she belongs. What happened? Why did she look as emaciated as her victims?”
“Ronald severed their connection. I think it drained all her energy.” It was close enough to the truth.
“Drained more than her energy. She looked like a corpse bride.”
Words were slow to form. “What happened to you? Why didn’t you chase after us?”
“Turns out she wasn’t alone in the house. We captured two accomplices, but not without a scuffle first.”
“Never without a scuffle first.” I surveyed the interior. “Nice room. Surprisingly light and airy.”
“What’s surprising about it?”
“I don’t know. I expected dark wood-paneled walls and heavy drapes, I guess.”