Chapter 7 #2
Basil didn’t flinch. “Which brings me to the juicy fruit.”
Traitor. An absolute vile piece of scum. He actually had the nerve to stand there and talk to this creature. Juicy fruit? I’d kick him right in his plums!
Lance’s eyes lit up. “Do tell.”
“Rewards from the Faery king.”
“What?”
Good question, Lance.
Basil nodded, a smirk on his face. “Orion here is a special fae. King Damien desperately wants to see him returned.”
Erm, I wasn’t special in the slightest. I lived on a beach and sang for a living. Paid my taxes to Faery Revenue like everyone else, wore pretty clothes and kissed pretty guys, drifting through my fairly easy life.
Nothing special at all.
Why would I even bleep on His Majesty’s radar?
Lance glared at me. “Special enough to bond with a werewolf.”
“Forget that,” Basil responded. “I’m here on behalf of the Faery king to bring him home. If you help me, His Majesty will offer you a caravan of supplies and riches. They are being prepared as we speak.”
Really?
“What about sanctuary in his realm?” Lance asked, moving closer toward me.
Miko, now back on his feet, met my fear. As still as granite, a prisoner in a ring of gun barrels.
Basil shook his head. “Impossible.”
“Why?”
“The Faery gates will only open for a short period of time to allow us in and for you to claim your rewards.”
Lance cocked his head. “Interesting. Did you know any of this, Orion? Let him speak.”
Pete returned control of my mouth at the order.
I sucked in air. “What… I… What…” I struggled to speak, the blood magic itching the back of my throat.
Pete chuckled.
Lance grabbed him by the head, his fingers splayed on the magi’s scalp like a hawk’s claw. “Let him speak.”
“But he’s mine,” Pete whimpered. “He can’t go back to Faery. My toy. My toy. My toy. He killed Chantelle.”
Lance’s pupils dilated. “I’m well aware.”
Daria killed Chantelle, not me. But given the chance, I certainly would have.
Where was the vampire?
“Then let me have him,” Pete complained. “I’ll make him pay for the rest of his life.”
The werelynx glowered at me. “Special, are you? Worth handing over for some goodies?”
“He is,” Basil said
Was he lying to get me out of here, or did the king really want me back?
If that were the case, why hadn’t the gates ever opened for me?
There were watching orbs there. I’d waved, jumped up and down, done everything to try getting home.
But my worthless fae backside would not warrant an opening, putting Faery at risk of a zombie invasion.
Whatever the answer, it didn’t change my mind. I wasn’t going anywhere without Miko. And I wouldn’t abandon the pack either. They were my friends, my saviors in many ways. They’d opened their home to me, offered their kindness, quickly becoming an important part of my life.
My family.
I would not give them up for anyone.
My body began to clear of the blood magic, my limbs mine once again. I flexed my fingers, desperately searching for a solution to this nightmare.
Another day, another drama…
“Well, Orion?” Lance probed. “It’s time to answer the question.”
Go find a well to jump into!
A crossroads. If I played along with Basil, I might get out of here and leave the pack to a horrible fate. If I didn’t, then stars only knew what would come next, and who might get hurt.
“Well?” Lance pressed. “Are you going to keep me hanging or do I have to take one of Miko’s eyes?”
What could I say to make this run smoothly?
“I—”
“Let your blood magi come with us,” Basil intervened. “For leverage. He can keep us both on a leash until we reach the gates. If I’m lying, you can have us both.”
Handing us over to the mercy of blood magi was serious business. Maybe the king thing wasn’t a lie.
Lance’s eyes narrowed into vicious slits. “I’m waiting for him to answer.”
I swallowed, my tongue recoiling in fear of saying the wrong thing. “I—”
“Why don’t you just let him go?” Miko’s voice rolled across the space like a wind from the Frost Glades—an extremely cold part of Faery, along with the Forest of the Lost.
Lance tensed his jaw, not taking his eyes off me.
“Shut the fuck up!” a minion barked.
“I—”
Lance lunged forward, grabbing me hard by the hair. He dragged me closer, baring his teeth.
I resisted the urge to knee him in the crotch.
“Please…” Basil tried.
“I’ll tell you what I believe,” Lance said, twisting his grip. “This is the first time Orion’s heard this nonsense. Because it is nonsense. If the Faery king wants his fae back so badly, he can come negotiate himself.”
My scalp burned as he continued to twist. Any moment now, a clump of my hair would come away.
“Please, you have to believe me,” Basil said.
“Pete?” Lance released my hair.
“Yes, sir?”
“Take these fae away.”
“No!” my ex howled. “See reason!”
“Easy, my cookie-smelling friend,” Pete whispered at him, blood dripping from his nose.
The magic crept back into my system, giving me to the blood magi’s will.
“Come along, fae,” Pete said. “Walk after me.”
We walked, forming a line of two behind him, heading for the escalator.
This is not happening!
Oh, but it is, Pete returned in my mind. It really, really is.