Insidious Whispers (The Hunter Diaries) (4 page)

Beth gasped. “Is that true?”

Phoenix turned his gaze back to the prince and raised an eyebrow.

Arlen turned his head, which was the only thing that was mobile at the moment, and looked at Beth. He cast his gaze down at Phoenix’s arm and back up to her.

She made a frustrated noise. “He can’t talk unless you release his neck.”

Phoenix didn’t want to budge, but she was right. He relieved some of the pressure on Arlen’s neck, just enough to let the fairy talk.

“Is it true?” She asked again.

“My mother does want the book... but that is not why I came after you?”

“How can I believe you? You lied to me.”

“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you everything. There’s a differ –” His words were cut short when Phoenix reapplied the pressure.

“You see, he wants the book. His mother is the reason I was at the shop. She wants to use the black tome, and not for good reasons. Like I said, we have an opportunity.”

“I’m listening.”

“We can send word to Her Majesty that we have her son. In exchange for his release, she agrees to leave vampire–kind alone. If she doesn’t, he dies.” Phoenix looked directly into the prince’s hate-filled eyes, and noticed the flash of understanding pass through them.

“I won’t agree to kill him. I can’t.” Beth stepped forward as though she would intervene.

“I understand you can’t be part of this. However, you don’t have much choice do you? He’ll take the book first chance he gets, if he can. This is the only way the Elders will agree to let you keep the tome in your possession, regardless of whether or not you are the Guardian.”

Beth’s gaze clouded over and a guarded look passed over her beautiful face. Phoenix knew he’d just blown his chance to have a lasting relationship with her, but he had a duty to his people. He couldn’t let them down.

“So be it then. How do you propose to contact her?”

“When we reach the Fortress we can send a messenger. It’s not that far from here. Only a few more days walk. If we can get horses at the next village then we can travel that ground much faster.”

“Horses. Right.” The only downfall of the Other Realm, no vehicles. 

Phoenix watched her face and knew the moment she accepted the inevitable. “Get the rope.”

Beth let out a frustrated breath and stormed off towards their campsite.

Phoenix turned to the prince again. “She’s mine. Don’t get any ideas. If she comes to any harm you will answer to me.”

“You don’t scare me Enforcer.”

Phoenix shook his head. “And there’s your mistake.” He swiftly lowered his mouth to the prince’s jugular biting hard.  The bittersweet flavor of royal blood flooded his mouth, and Phoenix closed his eyes for a moment savoring the taste. When the prince went limp in his arms, Phoenix smiled and pulled back, rasping his tongue over the bite to close the wound. He didn’t want Beth knowing he’d taken the prince’s blood. She had enough to deal with.

A rustling sound came from the brush beside them, and Beth stepped out holding the rope. She looked from the prince laying against the tree to Phoenix.

“What did you do?”

“Just put him to sleep for a while. He’ll be easier to handle that way. Pass me the rope.”  He reached out and took it from her, making quick work of tying up the prince.

“That won’t be able to hold him you know.”

“It will.”

“How? He can teleport anywhere he chooses. He’s the damn Fae prince!”

Phoenix couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face. “The rope is enchanted. No creature can use its powers while tied. It will hold.” He hefted the prince over his shoulder. “Come on. Let’s gather our gear and get moving. It’s more imperative now than ever to keep out of sight. They will be looking for him.”

“How will we get horses then?”

“When we get to the next town you will stay outside with him. I will go in and arrange for our transportation.”

Without anything more to say between them, Beth and Phoenix packed the camp and headed out for the next town. It was more than half a day’s walk, and they had a lot of ground to cover. Neither one wanted to talk about what happened the night before.  Phoenix found his gaze drawing back to her mouth time and again and remembered what it felt like to kiss her. He didn’t want the night before to be the last..

Chapter 10

The Fortress rose before them like something straight out of medieval times. Black towers rose towards the sky imposing their wrath on anyone looking upon them. Large statues graced each side of the drawbridge that led into the fortress; huge wolf-like beasts that looked as though they would tear your head off - if they were alive.

Beth let out a nervous giggle. Of course, that was silly. They were just huge stone statues. Their eyes weren’t really following her as she passed under their shadow. Fae weren’t normally asked for an audience by the High Council of Elders, and those that were rarely - if ever - came out.

Her parents used to tell her stories about the Elders when she was young. She used to think they were just made up like the boogeyman, but here she was, about to meet them. She swallowed the lump of fear that lodged itself in her throat. She’d be fine. After all, they just wanted the Tome safe. There was nothing wrong with that. It’s what she’d worked for her whole life. Keeping the Tome safe was the most important task she could ever accomplish.  And if she had to face the very creatures that caused her nightmares as a kid, she would.

“You okay?” Phoenix rode beside her on a large black stallion. The horse pranced nervously across the planks of the drawbridge.

“Fine.”

“Good.”

She sighed in relief. She didn’t want him to know she was scared. Beth rode on a smaller dapple gray mare whose muscles quivered beneath the saddle. Beth stroked its neck. “Shhh, it’ll be fine. We’ll both be fine.”

An eyebrow rose on Phoenix’s face and Beth grimaced. She knew what he was thinking. Who are you trying to convince Beth? Yourself, or the horse?

The courtyard to the Fortress was just as black and gray as the exterior, and just as foreboding. These vamps sure liked to make a statement. They dismounted, and two young stable-boys ran out to take their horses. Phoenix reached up and tossed the prince over his shoulder. Arlen was still out. Beth didn’t know how he’d slept this long. Maybe it had something to do with the rope they’d used to tie him up. After all, Phoenix had said that it was enchanted. She took a swallow shoving her fear down her throat, and followed them into the Fortress.

Phoenix didn’t waste any time. He walked straight to the main hall. Nodding at the guards by the door, he marched into the room and strode towards the dais where the Elders waited. There were four men and one woman seated at large thrones up on a raised area. Beth assumed these were the Elders. They didn’t look that imposing, but she knew that looks could easily deceive. 

Her gaze was caught by the elder in the center of the group, and she saw death in his eyes. She tried to avert her gaze, but she couldn’t. It was as though they were locked into place. After a short time, the elder nodded and she once again had control of her head.

The elder looked instead at Phoenix.

“Dear boy, I’m so glad you have returned to us. I trust you have the object in question?”

“Yes. However, there was a complication.”

“Oh?” The elder didn’t sound surprised.

“Yes, the Guardian...” he gestured towards Beth, “cannot leave the Tome unattended. She insisted on accompanying the book.”

“Interesting... and what do we have here?” The elder gestured toward the man Phoenix carried over his shoulder.

“This is Prince Arlen. This may save us a load of trouble.”

“Hmmm, I see. And just what do you propose we do with the young prince, Enforcer?”

Beth watched the edge of Phoenix’s jaw clench at the word Enforcer. Evidently, he didn’t appreciate the position.

“We ransom him back to Queen Genevieve in exchange for her promise to leave our kind and the Tome alone. If she refuses, then we kill him.”

“Sounds reasonable. And what do you propose we do with the Tome? It can’t be left unattended. And we have no reason to trust the current Guardian.”  The snide look on the elder’s face made Beth cringe inside.  He was right; she’d avoided the Other Realm since her parents were killed. No one really knew her, or knew what she was about. The only thing they knew was that she’d been born the Guardian. She wouldn’t trust her either if she were looking at things from their perspective.

Phoenix stepped forward, and placed himself in front of her. “She is the Guardian. We have to trust that as others have before. She did stop me from taking the Tome without her. The Guardian hasn’t let it out of her sight since I’ve met her. I think she can be trusted.”

“We can debate this later.” The elder waived off his opinion. “I believe you may be right about the Queen however.  I shall send a messenger with instructions, and she must sign a blood oath that she will not seek to harm our kind again. If she accepts, then we shall agree to a meeting where we will exchange her son for her signed oath.” He turned back towards his chair and then glanced coyly over his shoulder at them. “Does that sound reasonable to you, Enforcer?”

Beth could tell Phoenix was restraining his temper by the tight clench of his jaw.

“That sounds fine. I shall place the prince in a room. I should warn you not to remove his ties. I suspect that they are the only thing keeping him here. He has the ability to teleport.”

“Well done Enforcer. We shall see to it. When the time comes, you shall make the trade. We will decide on the other matter later.” The elder’s gaze flickered over Beth, and she felt her stomach clench with unease.

“Of course.” Phoenix gave a short bow as he was carrying the prince over his shoulder, and then strode out of the room. A quick jerk of his head told Beth to follow.

Hustling to keep up with him, Beth lengthened her stride. She wasn’t about to be left in a room alone with the Elders.

They were out of the main hall, and had walked for several minutes before Beth spoke. “What did they mean, the ‘other matter’?”

“They meant about the Tome.”

“What about it? If the Queen agrees to the ransom, then they have nothing to worry about. I can take it back home.”

“No.”

“What do you mean no?” She stopped and placed her hands on her hips.

“Let’s not talk about this right now. He’s getting heavy.” Phoenix shoved the prince up higher on his shoulder and flung open a door to the left of them. It was a sparsely furnished room, but Beth guessed the prince wouldn’t be there for long.

Phoenix threw him down on the bed, turned and strode back out pushing Beth in front of him. She slapped at his hands and glared at him as he shut the door.

“I can walk on my own.”

“I never would’ve guessed.” Phoenix took off down the hall without her.

“Hey!”

He kept going.

“Hey, wait up! Where am I going to sleep?”

She didn’t like the glint that showed up in his eyes.

“Well, we weren’t really planning on you being here. So, there are no other rooms available.”

“But, you just put the prince in one...”

“Those rooms are reserved for unwanted guests, hostages.  We wouldn’t want the others to get the wrong idea...” He put his finger to his lips and gazed at her thoughtfully. “I guess I will have to share.”

“Share?”

“That’s right. Share. I will share my room with you tonight.” He started walking down the hall again, and she had to rush to keep up.

“A room with you?” She was starting to sound like a parrot, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t share a room with him. Her panicked mind tried to find another solution. “Maybe I can leave tonight. If I’m back at the shop everything should be fine.”

“Won’t work.”

“What? Why not?” she demanded.

“We don’t have a response back from Her Majesty. You’ll have to wait.”

“In your room.”

“That’s right. In my room.” He stopped short, and Beth nearly plowed into him. She pulled up just in time.

Phoenix shoved a door open and gestured inside. “My room.”

Beth raised her chin. She could do this. As long as he kept his hands to himself, she could do this. She swept past him and quickly back-pedaled when she saw the large four-poster bed situated right in the middle of the floor. Beth slammed up against his hard chest. She sucked in her breath.

She felt the vibrations of his low chuckle rumble through her body. His large hands came up and steadied her at the waist. A tingle started deep in her belly, and her skin flushed. She heard the door click shut behind them from far away; her focus solely on the body pressed against hers. His fingertips slid around until he was able to thread them underneath her sweater. His lips grazed her neck, and she trembled.

“I want you.” His breath brushed her ear, and desire flared in her.

Beth didn’t trust herself to speak. They had not discussed what happened during their trek here, and she didn’t know where this would lead, but she couldn’t deny the way he made her feel. Knowing her heart would break, she turned in his arms and answered him with a kiss.