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“HOW ARE YOU, RUDY?” Quin asked when the leprechaun teleported us to the living room. Someone had made coffee for us and I sank down onto a chair and picked up my mug gratefully.
Rudy gave her a sheepish grin. “I feel fine, girly,” he replied.
“You were totally badass when you went rogue,” Jonah told him sincerely. He and Brandi had reverted to normal. Ari must have let them out of their cell after she’d left her den.
“It was awesome to see you taunting the gorgon,” Brandi added. “I didn’t know someone as short as you could run so fast.” Both ghosts broke into giggles.
“I wish we’d been able to watch,” Ari said with a grin.
“That creature would have turned you to stone for sure, girly,” Rudy said. “She almost got me a few times. It was sheer luck that I survived.” He shook his head at the memory of scurrying through the hallways with the gorgon on his tail.
“You must have had the luck of the Irish, mini honky,” Leroy said with a smirk. “It was just as well that there weren’t any gold coins lying around. She would have caught you for sure if you’d stopped to pick them up.”
“What’s going to happen now?” Mirra asked. “The Master Archivist is dead and we don’t have anyone to take charge of the Archives.”
We all looked at Quin, but the alpha shook her head. “I’m not an Archivist. You couldn’t pay me enough to take on that role.”
“Roderick would make a good boss,” Jonah said almost idly. “I could see him running all of the Archives.”
“That’s an excellent idea,” Quin said in approval. “You sometimes manage to surprise me with intelligent suggestions.”
“Thanks?” the ghost said uncertainly, unsure if it was an insult or a compliment.
“What are you guys going to do now?” Ari asked me.
“I need to do something about the portals that lead to the Unseelie realm,” I said. “Even with the Finlarc sorcerers gone, it’s too tempting for the Unseelie fairies to invade Earth.”
“What can you do about the portals?” Emelia asked.
“I think I can change them so they’ll become one-way doorways that can only be used from our side.”
“That’s a good plan,” Quin said in approval. “We can then start working towards sending the dangerous and pesky creatures back to their own realm. They won’t be able to return to plague us.”
It wasn’t safe to be in the Unseelie lands right now, but we couldn’t leave the supernatural monsters here. They would eventually have to return to their homes whether they liked it or not.
“You’ll be using the gem to change the portals?” Connor asked.
“It’ll use up a lot of power, but I think it has enough juice to pull it off,” I replied.
“I won’t be able to help you, will I?” Ari asked, making a face that not even a witch with her level of power would be of use in this instance.
“Not this time, darlin’.”
“I’m going to arrange a conference call with the Archivists and see how they feel about Roderick being put in charge,” Quin said and rose to offer me her hand. “Good luck with your next mission and thanks for inviting us to the party.”
I shook her hand, glad she didn’t crush my bones with her firm grip. “It’s always a pleasure to work with the Hunter Elite,” I replied with a grin.
Emelia had been flicking glances at Mirra ever since we’d arrived at their mansion. She crossed to the siren and spoke to her quietly. “May I talk to you in private?” she asked.
Mirra was surprised for a moment, before nodding. “We can talk in the basement, if you wish. It’s soundproofed.”
“I’ll take you there,” Brandi offered and used the veil to shift them both before they could reply. She returned alone a moment later.
“What’s going on with Emelia?” Harley asked me.
“I have no idea,” I replied honestly. We said our goodbyes to everyone and I hugged Ari hard, then gave her a kiss on the cheek.
She giggled when my whiskers rubbed her face. “You need a shave,” she complained.
“I always need a shave, darlin’,” I replied with a grin.
Hearing the elevator arriving, I stepped out into the hall to see Mirra and Emelia exit from its confines. The fairy didn’t meet my eyes when I looked at her. Mirra gave me a sultry smile. “Are you leaving?” she asked, swaying her hips enticingly as she sauntered towards me.
“Yeah, sweetheart,” I replied and embraced her. We flirted outrageously, but there had never been anything between us.
I kissed her on the cheek and she cupped my chin with her hand. “Take care of Emelia,” she said so quietly that I had to strain to hear her. “She’s special. Don’t toy with her heart. She’s already suffered enough.”
“I know,” I replied just as quietly. “I’d never hurt her. I’d cut my own arm off first.”
“You’re a good man, Jake Everett,” the siren told me. “You deserve to be happy.” She gave my chin a squeeze, then let me go.
Emelia flicked a look at me and I saw tears standing in her dark blue eyes. She shook her head when I took a step towards her. I didn’t know what had happened between the two girls. Neither of them was sporting any injuries or signs of blood, so they hadn’t gotten into a brawl. Hopefully, the mystery would be solved when we returned home and I could talk to her in private.
We headed back to the living room and gathered into a group. Ari blew me a kiss and I pretended to catch it and put it in my pocket, then Leroy used the veil to shift us back to our base. Rudy was still shaken by his ordeal and wasn’t up to teleporting us right now.
Pru looked at the junk lying around in our living room and made a sour face. “I’d forgotten about this mess,” she complained.
“Where’s a brownie when we need one?” Harley joked.
“Can someone please get rid of the body?” Asha asked, putting her hand over her nose to block the smell of death and rot.
“I’ll take care of it, girly,” Rudy offered. He walked into the hallway and headed for the foyer. Moments later, the smell vanished as he sent the corpse of the dead Rex to the great unknown. He sent the strip of carpet that had been soiled after it, then magically cleaned the floor.
We all got to work setting everything to rights. Rudy stole a door from somewhere and Harley installed it so we had security again. I set up another ward with the aid of the gem. This one would be strong enough to keep any unwanted intruders out. It was doubtful even the most powerful witch or warlock could come up with a counter-spell to break through it now. I’d tuned it to us and made it so we could invite our friends and allies in. It would react to our wishes and would reject or evict anyone we didn’t want to be inside.
It was after dinnertime when we finished cleaning the house and putting it to rights. We were all exhausted and Asha cooked us a meal made from frozen steaks. The meat was tough and the vegetables weren’t quite cooked enough, but we wolfed the meal down anyway.
Emelia continued to avoid my gaze and slipped away after our meal. I headed to my room to take a shower, then let myself out onto the porch and sat down on the swing seat.
Asha stood next to the oak tree with her arms wrapped around it like it was a person. I didn’t need to be able to hear her to know she was saying goodbye to the tree.
“I wish the lass didn’t have to leave,” Rudy said when he suddenly appeared next to me.
“Neither do I,” I said softly.
“Is there any way out of this for her?” he asked.
“I don’t think so. It’s her destiny to become a queen.”
We descended into silence for a while before he spoke again. “Thank you for what you did for me, lad,” he said gruffly. “You’re the best sidekick a leprechaun could ask for.”
I snorted out a laugh as he grinned slyly. “You’re welcome, Rumpelstiltskin,” I said mockingly. He’d never told me his real name, but it didn’t matter. We would always have each other’s backs no matter what.
He conjured up some beers for us and I popped the lids off before handing him back one. We clinked our bottles together, then drank in silence. Asha returned to the house at last, giving us a wan smile on her way past. Rudy finished his beer, then bade me goodnight. He teleported himself to his room, leaving me alone.
I sat for a while, contemplating the peacefulness of the house that had become my home. I’d lost myself to the darkness, but I’d managed to find the will to claw my way back to the light. The reason for that was lying in her bed upstairs. Longing filled me, but I couldn’t approach Emelia. I would have to wait until she was ready, if she ever would be.
Tired enough to at least attempt to get some sleep, I entered the house, locked the new front door, then headed for my bedroom.
