Still Not Dead Enough , Book 2 of The Dead Among Us (23 page)

“She is an insatiable little minx, Your Majesty.”

She felt fingers lift her chin, raise her face to look into Simuth’s eyes. She desperately longed for his touch. “Please,” she begged. “Don’t leave me . . . more . . . give me more . . .” Then something of her true self rose to the surface. “You fucking bastard,” she snarled, gritting her teeth.

Simuth, still holding her chin, turned to Ag. “Do you see what I mean? She is much stronger than I thought, somehow constantly finds the strength to resist me, even if only for a moment. It makes our little adventures together even more pleasurable.”

Without warning Ag stood, spun on Simuth and struck him, sent him sprawling to the floor. On his hands and knees Simuth pleaded, “What have I done wrong, Your Majesty?”

Ag’s face twisted into a frightful grimace. “I told you to bring her to me so I could question her. And of course, if she were a willing partner for your proclivities, I would not begrudge you two your mutual pleasures.” He shook as he spoke. “But against her will—rape. You idiot.”

Ag kicked Simuth in the ribs, kicked him several times. And while Simuth lay there groaning, Ag turned to Katherine. “Stand, child, and let me see you.”

Now she stood before him. How she got there from her hands and knees, and how she had gotten completely naked again, she had no idea.

Ag nodded. “She is quite pretty, and you say adventuresome?”

Simuth, still lying on the floor and groaning, had trouble getting the words out. “She needs a little prodding, though not much. And she is insatiable, though it never hurts to encourage her insatiability with a little spell here and there. Would you like her for this evening’s pleasure, Your Majesty?”

“Been loaning her out quite a bit, have you?”

Simuth said, “Well . . . you know how it is . . .”

Ag turned, crossed the few paces to Simuth and kicked him in the face. “I did not want a war with the Old Wizard, but now that you’ve used her so, we might as well enjoy her. But it will be you who will pay the price for this.”

Ag turned back to Katherine and looked her over carefully. “Perhaps we can make some use of her. We certainly can’t return her now. But I’m told she and the necromancer share some attraction. Perhaps we can use her to bring him to us.”

~~~

“Unseelie,” McGowan said. “That’s not good.” He stood, turned his back on them to stare out the window of his study.

“Yes,” Colleen said. “The Seelie might play with her a bit, then discard her, perhaps even leave her with a few fond memories. The Unseelie will surely destroy her.”

“I don’t understand,” Paul pleaded.

Colleen stared at McGowan’s back as she spoke to Paul. “Sex is the hallmark of the Unseelie Court. It is used for almost everything, to reward, punish, gratify, humiliate, to give joy or sorrow, to merely entertain. They can give Katherine more pleasure than any of us can imagine. But even though, to all outward appearances, she is a ready and willing participant, such wanton behavior is not her way, and it will torment her, perhaps destroy her mind.”

“How do we get her back?”

McGowan turned to face them both. “First, Colleen, can you determine definitively that she’s in the Unseelie Court? If that’s the case, then we’ll have to negotiate.”

Paul asked, “What do we have to negotiate with?”

Both Colleen and McGowan looked at him sadly. Colleen’s accent had suddenly gotten thick. “We suspect, me boy, that what they’re lookin’ to get their hands on, is you.”

“But this isn’t about me—”

“God damn it,” McGowan shouted. “Yes it is. That’s what we’ve been trying to get through your thick skull all this time. I’ll bet you’re not even carrying your piece, are you?”

“Now Walter,” Colleen said. “Calm down.”

“I will not calm down. It’s Katherine who’s in danger now, and I can’t protect her, and it’s his—” McGowan stopped suddenly, closed his eyes and an ugly silence descended.

Paul took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You were about to say it’s my fault.”

McGowan nodded. “Yes, I was. And I would have been wrong.”

“Thank you,” Paul said cautiously. “And no, I’m not wearing my piece. And yes, I’ll be more careful about things like that. But that doesn’t answer my original question. How do we get Katherine back?”

McGowan dropped into a chair, buried his face in his hands and rubbed his forehead. “Colleen will determine exactly where Katherine is. While she’s doing that I’ll teach you some new kinds of magic and spells, some very nasty magic and spells, both offensive and defensive. And you need to learn all that in short order.

“We’re also going to bring in a few friends, like Clark Devoe. When the shooting starts, you can’t have anyone better at your back.”

McGowan stood, paced back and forth across the room and ran his fingers through his hair. “But we can’t mount a full scale assault on a Sidhe Court without starting all-out war. And in any case, Judy saw, what appeared to be, Katherine accompany Simuth willingly. We know she wasn’t willing, but that appearance means the rest of Faerie would not support us if we openly assault one of the Courts. If Katherine is in either of the Sidhe Courts, and we can prove it, then they have to negotiate with us. And we won’t give you up for her, trade one hostage for another. If the situation was reversed, we wouldn’t give her up for you.”

Paul asked, “Kind of like the government won’t negotiate with terrorists.”

McGowan nodded tiredly. “Something like that.”

~~~

“He swore? On his word?” Magreth demanded. “He swore the young wizard will not be bound to the Winter Court?”

The young Sidhe mage, on one knee before the Summer Queen, looked into her eyes and said, “His exact words were, ‘Return to Magreth, tell her I ask her to stand down. Tell her that, on my word, she need not fear the young mage will be bound to the Winter Court.’ I swear before you now, my Queen, those were his exact words.”

Magreth turned a cold, disbelieving look upon the young mage. “But what of his oaths, Tyon?”

“I asked him that also, and again his exact words were, ‘Tell Magreth I will not betray my oaths, but they do not hinder me in this.’ I knew you would want to hear them as if he stood here before you himself, so I was careful to remember them exactly.”

The Summer Queen nodded. “Stand, Tyon. You have done well.”

She turned to her chancellor. “So, Cadilus, the Summer Knight chooses to intervene in some way. And he gives us his word, without prevarication. How un-Sidhe of him!”

He shrugged. “And I have no doubt Anogh will deliver.”

“Are you saying we should stand down as he requested?”

Cadilus glanced sideways at the young warrior Tyon. Magreth nodded, took the hint and said to the young warrior. “Tyon, thank you, you have served me well. You may go.”

The young warrior bowed and backed out of the audience chamber.

Cadilus waited until he was gone, the door closed completely behind him, before speaking. “The Unseelie Court has taken the Old Wizard’s daughter. Simuth is holding her hostage in Faerie.”

Magreth’s brows narrowed angrily. “That is disturbing, Cadilus. The Old Wizard just might choose to trade the young mage for her.”

“He is a crafty, old fellow, Your Majesty, and a formidable opponent for anyone. I doubt he will turn to that recourse immediately. But it does give the Winter Court a serious edge with regard to the young mage.”

“You’re right, as always, my dear Cadilus. But Simuth is an animal. He could damage her.”

Cadilus frowned. “Ag is no less an animal, but he knows when to control his instincts, and when to control Simuth. And since, at the time, there were no open hostilities between the Old Wizard and the Winter Court, that makes Ag the aggressor, which means he is not completely free to act as he might choose. He must move with care here, for to act imprudently might precipitate open war with the Old Wizard and his colleagues. We might then align with the Old Wizard, and even Ag is not fool enough to wage war on two fronts.”

Her brows furrowed deeply. “It makes me wonder if Anogh isn’t playing some game of his own.”

Cadilus smiled, raised both hands palms up, as if to say,
Of course he is.
“He is Anogh. When has he ever not played a game of his own? But I wonder how he will thread the needle, not violate his oaths and deliver the young wizard to us.”

She shook her head. “No, Cadilus, he did not say that. He said the young wizard will not be bound to the Winter Court. He did not say he would be bound to us. He can accomplish that in many ways, one of which is to merely kill the young fool. Perhaps it is time we play a more direct role in the events to come.”

Chapter 18: Memories Unlocked

Katherine suspected Ag had intervened, though no one would admit that openly. She had a cloudy memory of standing before the Winter King while he discussed her with Simuth, though the memory did not include any details of what they had said. But the hazy veil of beguilement had lifted, the sexual exploits with Simuth and his friends had ended abruptly, and now she was frequently summoned into Ag’s presence. It was a relief to think again without induced sexual desire clouding her every thought. She still couldn’t get used to walking around always dressed only in semi-transparent Sidhe silks, especially since the other women of the Court dressed as they chose, though always elegantly. It was a constant reminder she was not free to choose, that she was, for all intents and purposes, a slave. She understood the psychology of that.

“My dear,” Ag said. “Your thoughts were elsewhere. Tell me.”

He could easily force her. And though she and her father had never bothered with any serious instruction in Sidhe Court etiquette, she could adapt, and be as evasive as they without triggering any desire to force the truth from her. “Just a trifling thought, Your Majesty, nothing of sufficient consequence to trouble the Winter King.”

They walked a pathway through a lovely garden of strange flowers and plants. She paused to admire a particularly beautiful blossom. “It’s magnificent,” she said.

“I’m pleased you like it,” Ag said. He plucked the flower, stripped a few leaves from the stem and inserted it in her hair. He sat down on a stone bench, patted a spot beside him. “Come. Sit beside me.”

She did, for she dare not disobey him.

“You are troubled, my child.”

His fatherly demeanor did not fool her in the least. He had condoned Simuth’s activities, even if only through his indifference. And while she had been horrified at the rape of her body, Simuth had taught her the rape of her mind was far more agonizing. “I confess that I fear, Your Majesty, for myself, for my father, for my friends. I know I am merely a pawn in this game.”

“Ah, but such a lovely pawn, my dear.” He looked through the translucent silk at her breasts, and the smile that appeared on his face appalled her. “And you need not fear. We merely seek certain concessions regarding the young mage. He need not be fully bound to us. So with the proper assurances, you and your father and your friends can return to your mundane lives.”

She couldn’t believe a word he said, but she dare not confront him with that. “Thank you, Your Majesty. My heart rests easier now.”

~~~

They were all sitting around McGowan’s kitchen table, sucking down coffee and trying to hatch a plan to rescue Katherine, when the doorbell rang. Sarah stood and said, “I’ll get it.”

When Sarah returned to the kitchen she handed McGowan a business card and said, “It’s the same distinguished gentleman who visited some months back. Clearly Seelie, and probably royal blood.”

McGowan looked at Colleen and said, “Cadilus.”

“Ah,” she said, smiling knowingly. “Very interesting!”

“Holy shit!” Devoe grumbled.

“All of you wait here,” McGowan instructed them. “I’ll meet with him in my study.” He turned and marched down the hall to the front door.

McGowan had been with Cadilus for almost an hour when Colleen closed her eyes in an odd way and leaned her head back as if listening to something. She sat that way for a few seconds, then opened her eyes and looked directly at Paul. “You and I are to join Walter in his study. Be careful to address Cadilus as
Lord Cadilus
or
Your Excellency
. I am
Lady Armaugh
, and Walter is just plain
Old Wizard
, though use that term only with the utmost respect. Do not speak your own name under any circumstances. And above all, do not let him touch you.”

As usual, Cadilus had chosen to appear in his British diplomat persona. He sat in an antique wingback chair, holding a brandy snifter that contained an amber liquid. He stood immediately, put the snifter down on a small table, approached Colleen, bowed from the waist, and as she extended her hand he kissed it delicately. He straightened, spoke in a deep baritone with an upper-crust British accent, “Lady Armaugh, I am doubly blessed to see you twice in such a short period of time.”

She smiled stonily. “Lord Cadilus.”

He doted on her, escorted her to another chair like his, saw her seated comfortably before turning to Paul. He simply said, “Young Mage,” nodded, and returned to his chair. Paul remained standing.

Colleen said, “So, what brings you among us mortals?”

McGowan answered her. “Her Majesty, the most gracious Magreth, has invited us to attend her at Court.”

Colleen frowned at Cadilus. “These are trying times, Your Excellency. Any journey to Faerie could be most dangerous for us.”

“Her Majesty is well aware of that,” Cadilus said. “You will be granted
guest right
of the house of the Summer Queen, and escorted by a rank of Sidhe warriors chosen from among her personal guard. Your
guest right
and protection will extend from a place of your choosing in the Mortal Plane, to the Seelie Court, then back to any other place of your choosing in the Mortal Plane, be it the same place from which you began the journey, or a different one.”

“A most generous offer,” she said. “I shall look forward with heightened anticipation to seeing the beauty of the Summer Court again. And of course, we will bring our own protections.”

There was some undercurrent here that Paul didn’t understand. “Of course you may. And the beauty of the Summer Court will only be enhanced by your presence, my lady.” Cadilus turned back to McGowan. “When may I tell Her Majesty to expect you, Old Wizard?”