CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

 

ALEXANDER

 

I escaped to the garden behind the Manor House after dinner. The footlights strategically placed throughout the landscape were all that illuminated the dark night. I pulled the sword from its scabbard; instantly it went from being a psychological weight to a physical one.

I had recently discovered the value of unsheathing the sword to do training exercises. The mimicking of battle moves released the tension stored in the sword, making it more bearable to carry. The exercises built the muscles in my forearm, shoulder and back—areas I hadn't used before—and went a long way to defuse my stress.

I developed a routine designed to strengthen the muscles needed to fight with the sword and to give me a good workout. The exercise started with rolling my wrist to make the blade rotate in a tight circle, then making it a little bigger with each turn.

I felt Tressa's presence coming closer to me. I always had a sense of where she was at any given time. The back door to the house opened behind me. I took a deep cleansing breath, allowing her nearness to calm me. I continued making circles with the blade, turning it now in the opposite direction.

"Xander, I have some news." Her voice, even in speech, was lyrical.

I sheathed the sword and turned to look at her. She was dressed simply, in jeans and a sweater, and yet she was stunning. Her ethereal beauty still left me breathless after all this time. But her expression told me that the news wasn't good.

I sighed, placing my hands on my hips.

"Okay," I said. "What now?"

"Kerry is back from Faery." She stepped outside, crossing her arms over her chest to combat the cold night air. "Shamus spoke with her while we were eating dinner."

Anxiety gathered inside me as I waited for her to continue. I knew already that whatever she was about to say—it wouldn't help us find my mother.

"Deirdre passed away soon after we left the Otherworld. Kerry questioned two other elderly Sidhe, but neither of them remembered triplets returning after being murdered in the Human World."

I guess I should have expected this. My mother had foreseen that Deirdre wouldn't live to see the second treasure. Wasn't that just a nice way of saying she would die after we found the first? Still, anger exploded from me—another dead end.

I spun around, pulling out the sword. I swung it at a nearby tree, slicing the four-inch trunk with a single blow. The top of the tree crashed to the ground.

 

TRESSA

 

Sloan sat waiting for me on the stoop the next morning when I headed out to work. Our brief respite from winter had ended; the air was frigid again. She had her arms wrapped tightly across her chest and her shoulders hunched up around her ears as she tried to keep warm.

"What are you doing out in the cold?" I asked.

"I want to talk to you. Is it okay if I go with you? We can talk on the way." She looked up at me with sincere auburn eyes.

The request surprised me, however I didn't mind the company. I nodded and we walked together to my car. We sat in the idling car in silence, waiting for it to warm up. I turned the fan on high to heat the car faster. Sloan rubbed her hands together in front of the vent.

I shifted into gear and started down the long driveway. Sloan remained quiet, staring out her window at two deer that trotted in the woods. Once past the gate at the edge of the estate, I turned left to head towards Findale.

"My father took me to church every Sunday when I was a little girl. He even had me baptized," she said, still averting her gaze. "So I know right from wrong, and I don't think I'm a bad person."

I nodded, afraid that if I spoke and interrupted the flow of her words she might stop talking. However, I found this insight into her childhood fascinating. Could her baptism and subsequent religious upbringing be what eradicated the legacy of her birth?

"So you're right, I knew people weren't just giving me things out of the goodness of their hearts. I knew that something in the way I asked the question compelled them to give me what I wanted—even if I didn't understand why."

"I'm glad you're telling me this," I said, proud of her. She had taken a big step forward in her maturity. I glanced at her and noticed hesitation in her manner. "Is there anything else we should talk about?"

"Yeah, well, now that I know I shouldn't do this Dominion thing, how do I stop doing it? I mean, I do it without thinking about it."

"Aye, 'tisn't easy." She had made a good observation. A Sidhe's instinct was to control those around them. "To hold Dominion over someone you must first call their true name; a partial name will suffice for the weak willed. You must also lock eyes with them while giving the command. Now for myself, I generally use a nickname for everyone so I don't accidentally true name anyone. Other than that, I avoid eye contact when saying people's names."

"You call Shamus by his name."

"Aye, well, the fae are harder to hold Dominion over."

I pulled into the parking lot two blocks from the shop and turned the engine off. A light snow began to fall. Sloan watched the flakes hit the windshield and melt. She had a new peacefulness about her. The orange-reds and yellows in her aura had strengthened, showing signs that her optimism and self-esteem had improved.

"What else?" I asked, sensing her reluctance to get out of the car. Her mood sobered, and she looked down at her hands resting in her lap.

"You said I needed to repay the stores in town for the things I took. How am I going to do that?"

I had to consider that for a minute. She would need a job, since clearly she had no money. However, to the humans around us she appeared to be a teenager—too young for real work.

"We'll ask if you can make a trade," I said. "Ida's been complaining for weeks about an oven that isn't working. Perhaps you can fix it for her?" The girl's eyes grew wide with surprise. Whatever she had expected me to say, this wasn't it.

"I can do that. I can do it with my eyes closed!" she gushed.

"Well, no time like the present. Let's go."

 

Through the plate-glass window in the front of the Apple Dumpling Café, I saw Holly at a table having a late breakfast with her mother.

Holly absentmindedly rocked the infant chair sitting on the seat next to her with her as she ate. I was pleased they were making an effort at reconciliation, though Holly's demeanor looked quite strained.

Mrs. Davis glanced our way as she sipped her coffee. She gave me a quick onceover with a neutral expression, and I thought perhaps I was making strides with her. Then she saw Sloan with her purple hair, lip ring and large tattoos that ran the length of her neck. The older woman puckered her lips as she plunked the cup back on the table.

Holly noticed her mother's distractedness and followed her gaze. Seeing us, she smiled and waved. I returned the gesture. Then I held my hands palms up, bringing her attention to the falling snowflakes. She raised her eyebrows and grinned. Holly loved when it snowed.

"Now do you understand why that woman is a bad influence for you?" Mrs. Davis asked, unaware that I could hear her. "Will you look at that teenager! Who is she?"

Holly closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath before opening them again.

"That is Sloan. She is Tressa's friend," Holly said, enunciating her words.

"Just look at her! Anyone can see she's a derelict. Why do you insist on hanging around these types of people? This is why your life is such a mess."

Anger coursed through me for both my young protégés.

I looked at the petite woman sitting in front of her mother. Why couldn't Mrs. Davis see that Holly was blooming? A new, confident woman replaced the frail, frightened girl from a year ago. She had a beautiful healthy baby she adored and a business of her own, her purses, that was beginning to take off. Her aura throbbed with vitality and aspiration.

Pride warmed me as I looked at Holly. I didn't take credit for the changes, but I loved her and I was proud of her for her accomplishments. Why didn't her mother feel the same way?

I had a history with Holly's parents, so it was no surprise that she considered me a detriment to Holly. But to be so judgmental of a girl she hadn't even met was unconscionable. Clearly Sloan had heard her criticisms as well. She covered her hurt with a defiant purse of her lips. The new, hard won confidence had deflated.

"Mother, how can you be like that? Don't you understand that I'm happier than I've ever been? Why can't you be happy for me?" Holly said. Trayce began to fuss. Holly picked him up and held him against her shoulder.

The older woman sighed, not understanding what had upset her daughter. "Honey, I just think you would be happier with a normal life, with normal people."

I stepped back as if the words had punched me. Hadn't I said these same words to Alexander? I stood frozen, my mouth hanging open, lost in the shock of how wrong my words sounded when coming from Mrs. Davis. Was I doing the same thing to him as she was to Holly?

"Tressa? Are we going in?" Sloan asked.

Her voice brought me out of my stupor. She stared at me, concern wrinkling her brow. I affectionately brushed away the thin covering of snow from her hair. I didn't want to risk destroying the fragile progress I had made with her, so I shook my head.

"Not now. We'll come back another time, when they're not so crowded."

 

I was busy at my workstation when Holly came in. She stored the infant seat in the nursery area before bringing the baby to me. I stretched out my arms as she approached, eager to hold the little one.

Trayce gurgled as I held him upright on my lap, bouncing him up and down to strengthen his legs. His blue-green faceted eyes smiled up at me.

"Tressa, I'm sorry. My mother just doesn't understand anything," she said, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Don't worry about me, people have said worse things. I'm glad you're trying to work things out with her. Mark my words, eventually she'll come around."

"I found some," Sloan said, interrupting us as she came into the room. She held up a small clear bag of silver earring findings. She laid the bag on my desk and watched Trayce bounce up and down a few times. "Can I hold him?"

I looked at Holly, not wanting to answer for her. She studied Sloan, and for a moment I thought she would refuse, but then she smiled.

"Sure. Do you know much about babies?"

"My dad and I used to volunteer at the orphanage near my home," Sloan said as she reached out and gently took Trayce into her arms. "What beautiful eyes he has—like yours, Tressa."

She walked off, bouncing the baby on her hip and cooing to him. We watched her go.

"Who would've thought…" Holly said, shaking her head.

"Holly, how about coming over for dinner tonight?" I asked, thinking we could all use a bit of fun. "I'll get Jenny to make something special. We'll have a nice gathering of friends, like we used to when my grandmother was alive."

"Yeah, that sounds good. And maybe some music and dancing afterwards?" she asked, smiling, remembering many happy nights. "It's too bad Rosheen and Keelin aren't here. Those girls love a party."

"Aye, so let's invite a bunch of people who are around- Rachel, Ricky, and I guess we should include Linda now that she works for us. And we can invite Kendra, and of course Matt and his new girlfriend."

A frown flickered across Holly's face, but her smile returned as she suggested a few more names.