Eric the mage was a dead man. Aidan would see to that personally if it was the last thing he did. Marion's ex had tricked them for the last time. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen it coming, hadn't sensed the magic somehow. He'd failed Marion and if he didn't make things right, she would die.
Swearing under his breath, he smacked the heel of his hand against the steering wheel. The second they'd realized what had happened, they'd gone back to the university parking lot and zig-zagged in a grid from street to street, looking for a clue. But they'd been driving for over an hour now and there was no sign of Marion. It was as if she’d never existed.
"Come on. There's got to be something we're missing." Aidan hit the brakes at a stop sign and then floored the accelerator through the intersection.
Beside him, Dougal sighed. “I don’t know what else we can do, Aidan. It’s beyond our abilities.”
Aidan gave a curt nod of agreement. “You're right, but I think I have an idea. Something Eric can't hide from.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Call in reinforcements. If Eric wants an obsession, I’ll give him one.”
***
Serena smiled as she opened the door to her hotel suite, which was large as a house and decorated in a mix of marble, silver and turquoise. Catching sight of Dougal her smile widened. “Hello, boys. You called?”
“Thanks for seeing us, Serena,” Aidan said. She looked the same as when they’d met. Lush with round curves and not a day over sixteen, even if she was pushing a hundred.
“Who’s big, tall, and hulking over here? “ She brushed past Aidan and sashayed over to where Dougal stood.
“My friend, Dougal.”
She stood on tip-toe as she cupped the big man's cheek in her hand. “Hello, Dougal.”
Dougal moved his mouth in an attempt to talk, but nothing came out except gibberish. He flushed and tried again with the same result.
Serena laughed, a melodic scale of sound that raised goose bumps on Aidan’s skin. “Don’t worry. There’s no need for words between us.”
“Stop it, Serena,” Aidan said, his voice a warning rumble. “Save your energy for my favor.”
She removed her hand from Dougal’s cheek and looked at Aidan, blue eyes wide and innocent. “I can’t help my natural charms, you know.”
“Yes, you can. Come on, we know each other too well for this.”
She narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a moment, then gave a curt nod. “Very well.”
Instantly the temperature in the room cooled and Dougal shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “What the hell just happened?” he asked.
“Serena’s a siren. We grew up together.” Aidan knew Dougal hadn't grown up around water. He'd probably never seen a siren before, which explained why he was so susceptible to her allure.
“You have some interesting and dangerous friends.”
Aidan smiled. “So far, it’s worked to my advantage.”
“I like that about you, Aidan. Always on the edge. Are there any more women like Serena in your past and how soon can they get here?” Dougal looked the siren over with open interest as he spoke and gave her his version of a flirty smile. With his wide mouth and broad features, the gesture quickly turned into a leer.
Aidan elbowed his friend in the ribs. "Dial it back, big man."
Serena covered her laugh with a cough and said, “Well, here I am, Aidan. So talk. What do you want from me? I assume this is not a blind date no matter how...virile your friend’s interest.”
“No. This is all business,” he assured her. “There’s an evil mage who’s kidnapped my friends. We need to find the mage and dump him in the wastelands of Fairy before he kills them.”
“You want me to sing, right?”
Aidan nodded and picked up the megaphone he’d purchased on the way back to the hotel. “His name is Eric.”
“Eric. A Viking name.” She thought for a moment, manicured finger tapping her bottom lip. “I can work with that.”
“Good. We’ll drive, you sing.” He gave her the megaphone and then fished in his pockets for the earplugs he’d bought along with the megaphone. Handing a pair to Dougal, he said, “Put these in your ears. We can’t afford to get distracted.”
Dougal took the earplugs and did as Aidan requested while Serena sang scales to warm up her voice. Even with the impact of her voice muffled, it still sounded like the best music Aidan had ever heard. He closed his eyes, recalling the summer they had spent together before the queen called him to her service.
Serena had hit a few new notes at his touch, but the relationship would’ve never worked in the long run. The glazed look of lust in Dougal’s eyes explained why. Men flocked to Serena like ants to sugar, providing too much temptation for monogamy. Sirens were notoriously fickle, and went wherever their passions took them. For three blissful months she had been interested in him. If the Queen hadn’t recruited him, Aidan was sure it would’ve ended badly.
Aidan pushed the earplugs in deeper and thought of Marion. The way she writhed underneath him, the soft gasp she made just before she came, and the velvet stroke of her mouth on his cock. Just thinking of her made him hard. While Serena might be the stuff of fantasy, Aidan realized he much preferred Marion and her down-to-earth personality. There were no games with her.
A lump clogged his throat at the thought that something might happen to her, that Eric might finish what he started. Over his dead body, he vowed. He would move heaven and earth and Fairy itself to keep Marion safe.
They left the casino and drove through the city, windows down and Serena singing through the megaphone. Dougal had a map and plotted out a route that followed the grid of side streets in a logical fashion. Two hours in and they’d collected a string of the wrong 'Erics’. Dozens of men of all shapes and sizes answered Serena’s sighs of ‘Eric,’ but none of them were the one they needed to find. Aidan began to worry he might never see Marion again.