Chapter 14 #2
“Bait? For who?” Max asked, bewildered. Who could he possibly serve as bait for? Was this guy trying to catch Levi or Margot? Or his mom?! He couldn’t think of anyone else he’d met who would have something a non-human would want.
The man threw his head back and laughed, the obnoxious sound bouncing off the walls.
“Why, for your half fae friend, of course!” he hooted, before his weirdly light green eyes focused on Max’s, with an intensity that sent a shiver through his body.
“But… I don’t know any fae! Or half fae,” he added, trying not to visibly draw back from that intense stare.
And he really didn’t! He’d never met one, barely knew anything about them.
All he knew was that they mostly hung out in their own realm, that they had a range of powers, and that they had a habit of causing trouble wherever they went.
If this guy was fae, though, that would explain an awful lot. He definitely seemed to enjoy causing trouble.
“Oh, don’t play coy with me,” the man said lightly. “Your lady friend with the enchanting eyes – she is the one I seek. She will come if I send her a token from you. Which limb are you least fond of?”
The enchanting eyes…? Wait, Poppy? He means Poppy? She’s half fae?!
The chains rattled as Max strained at them – but it wasn’t because of the threat to his limbs.
No, it was the implied threat to Poppy that had his full and complete attention.
He would rather die than have her come here and be subject to this guy’s whims, especially if he was fae. They didn’t play by human rules.
If Poppy falls into this guy’s hands because I went off alone and let myself get captured, I’ll never forgive myself, he thought grimly.
Then don’t let her fall into his hands, a voice in his head replied.
The fae – if he was a fae, which Max was thinking was more and more likely – laughed delightedly at his struggles, clapping his hands.
“My, my. So our dour hero has a weakness, I see.” He paused.
“Well, two weaknesses, I suppose, if you count ‘getting knocked out from a few gentle taps against the wall’ as a weakness. Which I certainly do.” His smile widened as he got right up in Max’s face, showing teeth that looked just a little too sharp to be human.
Max took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm. He’d be no good to Poppy if he panicked.
This guy clearly likes to talk. So, let him talk.
“You’re right,” he said. “I’m not really much to write home about. So why would a half fae bother herself with me? And I left her on her own in the hospital earlier after she got buried under an avalanche, so I doubt she cares about my limbs.”
The words cut deep, but Max forced himself to say them.
The man rubbed his hands together in glee. “Oh, I am very much aware of that. I have been following you all this time, after all.”
Without warning, the memory came back: desperately digging Poppy out from under the freezing snow, and looking up to see a figure disappearing amongst the trees.
Telekinesis. An avalanche that moved faster than should have been possible.
“You!” he yelled, leaping forward, the chains pulling tight with a clang as he stopped inches from the fae’s leering face. “You set off the avalanche! You almost killed Poppy!”
“Bravo!” the fae cried, his eyes sparkling. “I knew that you would get there eventually.” His expression turned thoughtful. “Poppy, you say? Not a name I would have chosen, but I guess she had to blend in with her surroundings.”
Max hissed, unable to contain his anger at himself for giving up even the slightest bit of information about Poppy. But then, amongst everything else going on, another thought occurred to him.
“Why do you think she’s half fae, anyway?” he asked, trying to sound casual and mostly succeeding. He hadn’t detected that Poppy was half fae… but then again, it wasn’t something that he would ever have thought of to begin with, so maybe he was mistaken.
She was pretty special, he had to admit – she’d had an almost hypnotic effect on him from the moment they’d met.
Maybe she was half fae. Maybe her human half had overridden her fae half personality-wise, and she’d turned out to be an absolutely lovely person who happened to have some sort of mystical power thrown into the bargain.
And he could hardly blame her for not mentioning it to him. He hadn’t told her he was half shifter, after all – maybe she, like Max, had been waiting for the right moment to reveal her secrets and just hadn’t gotten the chance yet.
The man leaned in conspiratorially. “I have been tracking her via the use of her powers for years,” he said, lowering his voice so that Max had to lean in as well, straining against the chains – which really were starting to dig into his skin.
“I have been looking for her for so long,” he continued. “We fae can collect powers from one another, you see – but she was hidden away in the human realm as a child, out of our reach. She has her father’s eyes, though. Once I saw her, I knew that she was the one.”
This is wild, Max thought, even as he bristled at the idea of someone daring to try and steal anything from Poppy. Imagine having to send your child to a whole other realm so that people don’t go around and steal their powers.
“I was intending to take them from her after the avalanche, but unfortunately you had to go and mess up my plans by not dying,” the fae said offhandedly. “Thus, a change of plan. It still involves you dying, but in a much slower, and, quite frankly, more entertaining way.”
He gestured over toward the corner of the cabin, and an ancient ax flew through the air, landing neatly in his hand. Turning it over in his hands, he examined it intently, flicking off some flakes of rust with a moue of distaste.
Max couldn’t help it – he cringed back a little. This was not going well.
Even if I don’t bleed to death, the tetanus will get me in the end, he thought dejectedly.
The fae looked up from his ax-stroking. “Any thoughts yet on that limb?” he asked. “I’m willing to go with whatever you choose. I’m not completely heartless, you know.”
“We humans bleed out pretty quick,” Max said, trying to keep his voice steady. “I don’t think Poppy will come if you remove a limb, since she’ll know I’m dead. Maybe you could try sending her a letter.”
The fae seemed to be seriously contemplating the suggestion.
“That may work,” he said eventually. “A little of your blood should be enough to write it, and still leave enough for your body to remain functioning.”
This guy just won’t give up with the bloodletting! Far out.
Still, it was an improvement on the whole limb removal thing. He supposed. He still couldn’t say he was thrilled about it.
The fae looked up at him, a sly glint in his eye. “Of course, none of this may end up being necessary. I did, after all, leave the coordinates of this place for your friend. If her fae half has not been fatally dulled by the presence of her human half, she will be able to use them to locate us.”
“What?!”
Poppy was on her way here? No. No. She had to be kept away from this maniac at all costs.
“She has already shed her chimera and witch protectors,” the fae went on blithely. “While you were lying here in your unconscious state, I left her a note where she would be sure to see it. I dare say she will be here at any moment.”
She’s not with Levi and Margot?! Oh, shit.
Max didn’t want to get bludgeoned by an ax – obviously – but he would take it if it meant Poppy was kept safe. He would trade his life for hers in a heartbeat.
“How can you know that she’s the one you’re looking for?” he asked desperately. “What if it’s me you’re after?”
“You?”
The fae cackled, and, beneath the terror he felt for Poppy, Max felt indignation rising up.
“Oh, you’re a funny one,” the fae said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. “Thank you for the entertainment. But, no: you are not the one I seek. From the moment I looked into her eyes, I knew that I had found the one who bears the powers my clan needs in order to gain control over all fae.”
He said it casually, like he was discussing whether to get a latte or a mochaccino, and Max stared at him, mouth agape.
Just what kind of Machiavellian nightmare have I stumbled into?!
This had clearly escalated far beyond anything Max was capable of dealing with by himself. He pulled as hard as he possibly could against one of the chains where it was affixed to the wall, trying with all his might to rip it loose.
And for one golden moment, he thought he had it. He could feel the rough wooden planks of the cabin’s wall bending beneath the strain, hear the groaning of the wood –
And then he was sprawled on the floor, his whole body in agony from where it had been slammed against the wall a split second earlier. He forced himself up to his hands and knees, heaving in a tortured breath.
“Enough,” snapped the fae, looming over him, face twisted in annoyance.
“Your antics were amusing, but now I tire of them. Your companion will be here shortly, and then I shall have her powers for my own.” His lips pulled back over his teeth in a mockery of a smile.
“If you behave yourself, perhaps I shall merely dispose of you, and allow her to live.”
Max’s back met the wall again, and he bit back a yell. He didn’t know how much more of this he could take.
Poppy, I’m sorry. I’ll do whatever I can to distract him, but I can’t keep him away from you. Turn around and head back. Please.
Through the pain, he wished beyond anything that he had a mate bond with Poppy. It would’ve allowed him to send her a mental warning – not in exact words, but a general feeling. He could’ve warned her away. She would have sensed the danger through their bond.
Not that it would do much good, he thought with a hint of dark amusement. You know that that would just make her even more determined to force her way in here, all guns blazing.
At that moment, the squeak of the cabin’s door handle turning cut through the pounding of blood in his ears, followed by the thud and bang of the door being slammed open.
“Poppy, no!” he yelled out as loudly as he could. “Get out! Run!!”
A wave of telekinetic force smashed him face-first into the ground, and he could barely lift his head enough to make out the blurry silhouette standing defiantly in the doorway, outlined against a blazing sunset that lit up the snowscape beyond in brilliant reds and oranges.
That can’t be Poppy, he thought blearily. Poppy wouldn’t be carrying a… a knife?!
He was pretty sure it was Poppy, though. Almost certain. He could see the outline of her messy curls, the shadow of the purse she always carried, the way her posture was screaming both terrified and determined.
Get out, he begged her silently. Please.
The fae, however, seemed to have other plans.
“Oh, how lovely!” he cried out in an ingratiating tone. “I’ve been waiting so long to meet you.”
He stood back from the door, sweeping his arm out in a gesture of welcome.
“Welcome to my humble abode, Aubrey Z.!”