Shatter - Sins of the Sidhe (10 page)

“Yes, well enjoy it fast. We have a lot to go over tonight and I don’t intend to waste the evening discussing Nora’s cooking.” Stalking into the living room, Adam left the three of them to their meal and asked that they join him in the living room when they’d finished.

They didn’t talk while they ate, but Ava kept eyeing the two of them and smiling. Rowan was trying to figure out why the gypsy was here, but didn’t want to ask. Rowan’s questions tonight just made her feel stupid. Soon after, they joined Adam in the living room.

Fintan was still lying by the fire, dreaming of rabbits no doubt, while Rowan sat next to the gypsy on the couch. Devlin stood by the fire and Adam was back in his leather chair. Rowan was so caught up in her own thoughts and theories about why Adam didn’t eat that she didn’t think to properly introduce herself. “Sorry, I’m Rowan. You’re the woman from the faire, right?”

“I’m Ava, love. It’s a fine pleasure to meet you again. To be sure, it’s been quite a hunt to find you, Shadow Breaker.” She smiled sweetly and sipped her wine.

What did she just say? What on earth is a Shadow Breaker? Should Rowan be insulted or scared? Ro always wore her thoughts and emotions all over her face. Like a flashing billboard in Times Square. She couldn’t hide what she thought or felt, so she never bothered trying. The look she had on her face after hearing what Ava called her must have said it all.

“Don’t worry love, ‘tis a good thing to be the Shadow Breaker. You’ve quite a strong spirit in you and much magic. We’re going to help bring it out and wield you into the weapon you are.” Winking at Ro, the gypsy rubbed her hands together eagerly while wiggling her butt into the couch and said, “Let’s get started.”

Rowan retold her story to Ava from beginning to end while the men listened just as intently as they did the first time. In the end, Ro sat back and refused to cry again. No more tears for her. Ava looked at her like she was the most fascinating thing she’d ever seen. “Truly? Just like that?” Ava sounded impressed and shocked with the young woman. Then Adam chimed in to relay the latest saga of the red-eyed shadow swiping at Rowan while they were at her home just hours ago.

Devlin stood straighter and looked furious.

“Why did ye not tell me?” Coming around to Rowan, he kneeled on his knee and took her hands into his very large one. “Lass, ye must tell us when something is amiss. We’ll not be able to protect ye if we dinna ken the whole of it.” The thought that something could lash out and possibly hurt her was enough to make Devlin feel positively murderous.

“Hold on there, buddy, I didn’t get a chance to tell you. It’s not like much talking happened when you came into my room when we got back.”
So there
, Ro thought,
put that in your pipe and smoke it
.

Devlin looked abashed. No doubt embarrassed by being called out on his actions, he broke away from her and stalked back to the fireplace and began poking at the embers with a long stick. Ava smiled like she knew what must have happened in the back bedroom and liked the thought very much. The redhead was starting to irritate Rowan.

“I think us ladies need to have a wee chat gentlemen. If you don’t mind leaving us for a bit I’d be very grateful.” The men looked at each other with a
oh boy here she goes
face and walked out of the room without a word.

Ava took another sip of wine, cocked her head to the side, and stared at Rowan, studying her face. “You truly have no idea who you really are.” It was a statement, not a question. Ava slid closer to Rowan and held out her hands. “Come Rowan, it’s time I see the whole of you.”

Rowan put her hands into Ava’s and when the two women touched, the room flared white.

Images and flashes of memories blurred and whizzed and then suddenly Rowan found herself back at her old home. Ava stood beside her as she watched a teenage Rowan sleeping in her old bed, all tucked in tight under her sheets. Rowan loved that comforter. Her grandmother had made it for her - dark green with gold celestial stars, moons, and suns. Teen Ro was curled up in bed breathing slow and heavy and the alarm clock read 3:32 am. A slithering shadow snaked into sight by the foot of the bed, then another and another. Soon, teen Ro was surrounded by at least a dozen shadows, all shapes and sizes. Some walked, some slithered, some flickered, but they all parted when a huge silhouette stepped up to the bed.

“There you are,” Ro whispered longingly as she stared at the towering black mass. Her heart fluttered at the sight of him. All the shadows parted like the red sea to make way for the immense giant. Teen Ro twisted and turned in a fit under her sheets. The shadows backed away while the massive blackness swallowed them whole. They were gone as fast as they came. In a shriek of panic, teen Ro sat up in her bed and cried out in despair. She’d had a nightmare, one that she had over and over again for years.

Ava let go of their hands and glared at Rowan differently than before. Now Ava looked at Rowan like she was something to fear and they should all run away from her if they had any sense. Rowan was familiar with that look, had seen it time and time again whenever she tried to share a piece of herself with someone. But Ava didn’t run. Her eyes were glowing violet and her face was pale as ivory. She didn’t speak, but Adam and Devlin came rushing back into the room as if Ava had screamed for help.

“Are you alright Ava?” Adam rushed to her side and grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Aye. Aye Adam, I’m fine. Just a wee bit shocked is all. Our girl has been holding out on us. The Shadow Lord has a grip on her.”

Well that spooked them all. The men looked at Rowan like perhaps they seriously should take a step back. Rowan sat doe-eyed and quiet. Ava went back to calm, cool and collected and was the first to break the silence. “I caught your eyes when you saw that shadow, love. You knew him. Do you see him often?”

“I uh, umm, not every night or anything no, but sometimes yes. He’s not like the rest, like he’s not one of them at all. He’s built different, feels different.” She wasn’t sure if her answer was going to cause more trouble or more crazy stares. But honesty is always the best policy, so Ro decided for truth. “He feels good to me, actually.”

Adam looked passed annoyed and was moving into pissed off. He didn’t like secrets that weren’t his own and Rowan was in no position to hold any from them. “What in blazes are you talking about?”

Ro felt flustered and targeted and didn’t like it. “It’s this huge shadow. It must be seven or eight feet tall. But where some of the shadows I see look like people, you know arms, legs, body, head, this one just looks like a huge Maytag refrigerator with a basketball sitting on top. He’s broad, immense. He’s the only one that doesn’t scare me.”

If she was going to be really honest, he fascinated her. He made her feel
something
. Familiar. Safe. Wanted. All of those things and none of them; it was confusing to say the least. She left that truth buried though, best to keep some things to yourself.

Devlin let out a very audible growl and Adam masked his expression behind cold stone. Ava just sat and studied the Rowan’s face. Ava knew she was telling the truth, but that it wasn’t a good sign. “That shadow has a name, love. His name is Lorcan. He is the Shadow Lord, a soul snatcher and ruler of some very dangerous demons.”

Oh boy. That didn’t sound so good. Rowan started to shake her head in denial and tried her best to keep it together. That couldn’t be true, could it? This must be some terrible mistake. Rowan felt a pang of betrayal and a load of guilt. She was so used to seeing the creepy crawlies come to her; they felt like part of her everyday life. But the strongest pull of intimacy came from the largest one; the one she thought was her protector from the dark things that surrounded her. And now she had to face the reality that he was not a guardian angel, but that he, too, was dangerous and evil.

Wouldn’t that just figure? Ro’s life was a lot of things, complicated and ironic were on the top of the list tonight. This fucking sucks. It was too much. Rowan didn’t know if she was going to cry, scream, or run and she was trying to keep calm. Emotions were flickering over her face and her lungs were having trouble taking in air.

Ava held out her hands and tried to calm Rowan down. Eyes glowing violet again, skin lightening to the color of fresh water pearls, Ava began humming a sweet song. Her voice sounded like happy birds on a spring morning. Rowan began to ease back and breathe normally. She felt like she was swinging in the breeze and her vision was hazy, and
snap!
just like that, Rowan was feeling better, thinking clearer, and was hungry again.

“Sorry love, I had to make you calm down. You looked like you were going to go into a fit of hysterics and that isn’t going to help any of us. I understand this a lot for you at the moment, but we’ve no time for beating around the bush.” Ava went out into the kitchen and brought back a plate of scones and a pot of tea.

Good grief, Nora was going to start thinking Rowan was a pig. She’d have to think of a way to thank her for all this cooking and baking. Sinking her teeth into an orange and cranberry scone, Rowan sighed.

“I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t think that it mattered all that much what each of the shadows looked like. I didn’t hold back the information on purpose, please believe me.” She looked at Adam when she said it. “And I also don’t know why I’m so hungry. I feel guilty eating so much of your food but I can’t seem to stop. It’s like I haven’t eaten in days when it’s only been an hour. I’m just not myself lately, I guess.” She slumped back in the seat, all the air whooshing out of her and she just stared into the fire.

“You’re hungry because magic can drain your body. We’ve only just discovered a small bit of your powers and it can be straining for one so young. I know this is a lot to take in my dear, but we all have to do our best to work together. We need to find a way to break through Lorcan’s door and defeat him. ‘Tis the only way to have the balance of nature restored.” Ava patted her leg like a loving Mother Hen and then poured some tea.

Devlin just stared at Rowan, lost in thoughts and emotions of his own. He said nothing and didn’t drink the tea that was offered to him.

Adam went over to Rowan and held her small hands in his large strong ones. The surprises seemed endless this day. “My dear, do not fear or shy away from us. We need you, Rowan. We’ll not let anything happen to you, but you must trust us.”

Rowan stared into Adam’s eyes and for a second, she believed the biggest lie of them all: That she was safe.

After much debating and a little arguing, they all decided that leaving for Ireland would be better done sooner rather than later. They were to leave first thing in the morning. Fae magic was stronger in the old lands, and they needed every ounce of it. Adam and Devlin’s homes were more secure and protected with the older magic found in Ireland, and they wanted Rowan kept as safe as possible. Although Ro kept reminding them that she didn’t bring her passport, none of them acted like it was an issue. Several hours later, it was almost midnight, and Ava left to pack bags of her own, Adam went into his office and shut the door, while Rowan made her way back down the hall to her own bedroom.

“My lady, may I speak with ye a moment?” Devlin walked beside her, barely fitting side by side down the hall with his body as wide as it was.

“Whatever it is, can it please wait until the morning? My brain is fried and my eyes are starting to burn.” Ro was exhausted and wanted to go to bed and wake up to a better day.

“Nay lass. I must apologize for my behavior earlier. ‘Twas wrong of me to be so bold. I, I canna explain what came over me.” Well, that wasn’t the whole truth. He knew damn well what had come over him. Lust. Something he didn’t give into often, but certainly did today.

“Don’t apologize, Devlin. I was just as bad.”

His throat clenched and he fought to swallow. Hearing her say his name made him want to take her to his room to repeat the act again just to have her shout his name to the rafters. On that lovely thought, his cock started throbbing with approval. Och, the woman did things to him.

She sighed. Rowan didn’t want to talk about that kiss right now. She just wanted to be left alone to wallow in her guilt and rejection. “It’s been a trying day. Tell you what, I promise not to kiss you again. Feel better?”

Piecrust promise, that’s what Mary Poppins called it: easily made, easily broken. If she was going to be honest with herself, all Ro wanted to do was curl into bed and be held, comforted and kissed by that man. Every time she had a second to think, it was about him. Every time they touched, a heat surged through her body and pulled at something low in her belly. Every gaze she caught from him made her burn. His voice was deep, thick and strong, and it made her feel like a puddle of senseless longing. He was fascinating, glorious, sexy as hell… and completely out of her league.

Fuck it all, he was too good for her and she knew it.

Saying goodnight, Rowan shut the door, stripped out of her clothes, and realizing she didn’t pack a stupid set of pajamas, crawled into the cushy bed in her birthday suit. A small scratching noise came from the door and Rowan knew just who it would be. Wrapping a cream colored blanket around her body (in case she was wrong) she opened the door and let the fox in. “I thought you were nocturnal?” Oh well, in the bed she climbed, Fintan by her feet, and fell asleep almost instantly. She hoped she’d dream of the man down the hall tonight, and not the shadow who haunted her.