Witch's Bounty (16 page)

Duncan nodded tersely. “I understand.” Bubba’s body jerked; his head lolled to one side. “Hurry,” Duncan said. “I’m afraid he’s dying.”

Magic rose around them. It had a different feel from his own, yet it felt clean. Duncan wondered if he—and the rest of the Sidhe—had misjudged the Unseelie Court all these years. Bubba thrashed. An ungodly moan rose from him, followed by another. Colleen looked so broken, it opened a hole in his soul.

The changeling arched his back; his heels thrummed on Duncan’s lap, almost as if he were having a seizure. Who knew? Maybe he was. Fae magic deepened about them. Duncan’s heartbeat quickened. The Unseelie might hate demons, but they had their own agenda. He hoped to hell it didn’t include shanghaiing him and Colleen for some nefarious scheme he could only guess at.

The female fae got close enough to shake a finger in front of him. “None of that,” she snapped. “Weakens the spell. Ye must believe if we are to save the wee man.”

Colleen turned accusing eyes on him. “If you can’t help, go away.” She pulled Bubba’s body entirely into her arms.

Defenses leaped to his lips, but he swallowed them. “I want to stay. I will repress my doubts.”

“Is that good enough?” Colleen stared at the female fae. She hesitated for a long moment, then nodded sharply.

Duncan felt the fae’s magic, which had withdrawn, thicken again. He focused on the changeling’s weakening body, but kept his own magic contained. He remembered the fae’s instructions: he could only shore Colleen up if her magic looked as if it were failing.

Bubba’s eyes snapped open. Fire burned in their normally dark depths. He bared his teeth and made a lunge for Colleen’s neck. She gripped him tighter and held him away from her. He writhed in her arms, growling, snapping, and drooling like a rabid dog. Colleen’s expression reflected horror—and determination. Bubba laughed and gouged her, drawing blood wherever he made contact.

Duncan wanted to reach out to both of them, to soothe their pain. He ached for Colleen. If the changeling died, she’d have a hell of a time forgiving herself—if she even could.

Anguish etched deep furrows into Colleen’s face. Tears flowed down her cheeks, but she held fast. Bubba raked his nails down her breasts. She tried to hold him farther out, but his arms were as long as hers.

A struggle played out on the changeling’s expressive features. One moment, he looked like a small demon, the next chagrin twisted his mouth and tears dripped down his face. “Sorry, Colleen. I’m so sorry,” slid out before something curved his mouth into a grin that was wickedness incarnate, and he called her a bitch and a slut.

Bubba shifted in her grip and kicked her in the stomach. She winced and moved him; he kicked her in the side. Duncan had never felt so helpless. Colleen’s suffering ate at him. He felt it in his heart and soul and guts. He wanted to be part of whatever the fae was doing, so he could speed up the process, but the other magic-wielder hadn’t requested assistance. Stepping into the middle of someone else’s spell, especially when they were using unfamiliar magic, was a recipe for disaster.

Because he had to do something, he send a steadying blast of power into Colleen. Her grip on Bubba tightened and she nodded wordless thanks. An uneven gash opened in the changeling’s shoulder. Blood flowed freely, pouring onto Colleen, the couch, and the floor. Something dark and putrid followed in its wake.

“Strengthen your wards,” the female fae cried and herded the shadow with a spell of her own. It moved back and forth between her hands, and then headed for her chest, but bounced off. Bubba’s rigid body collapsed against Colleen. Both of them were crying, great choking sobs of relief.

“It is done,” the male fae said. “We must leave with the tainted particles we removed.”

Before Duncan could thank them, the Unseelie were gone.

Colleen rocked Bubba against her. She was naked, but there’d scarcely been time to fetch any clothes. The changeling still felt weak, but he was strengthening by the moment now that Mathilde’s fiendish magic was gone. Duncan plucked a blanket off the back of an overstuffed chair and tucked it around both of them.

“Thanks.” Colleen was too tired to smile.

Roz knelt and placed a hand over Bubba’s wound, which still oozed blood. “Thank Danu for healing I can manage on my own,” she sputtered with a return of her normally acerbic wit.

“Jenna?” Colleen looked across the room and locked gazes with the other witch.

“I’m all right. Or I will be once I get this god-awful mess in here cleared up.”

“How long was I gone before they showed up?”

Jenna shrugged. “Not long. Five minutes, maybe.”

“It was like they were right outside, heard every word, and plotted their attack for when we’d be weakest.” Roz shook her head in what looked like consternation.

“That’s exactly what they did,” Duncan growled, and filled them in on Mathilde’s tracking device. “…I’m not certain exactly what type of magic she used, but if its design was similar to what I’m familiar with, she could see you and hear you. If it weren’t for Bubba’s incredible bravery, she could have used his body as a conduit right into your house, and followed the demons in here.”

Colleen shivered. “That’s hideous. We came here instead of our shop because we thought she didn’t know where it was.”

“We need to let Coven Central know so they can remove her,” Roz said.

“Immediately. Before she fucks with anyone else,” Jenna muttered.

“Yeah, I’m surprised she handed over that Irichna to us at Witches’ Northwest, given she was in cahoots with them,” Roz said.

“It was a diversionary tactic,” Duncan said. “Had to be. Mathilde must have guessed her witches were getting suspicious.”

Bubba pushed back a few inches from Colleen, moved the blanket aside, and looked at her. “Aw shit, did I do all that to you?” He pointed at the gouges on her face and arms.

He looked so distraught, Colleen almost told him one of the demons had done most of the damage, but Duncan caught her gaze and shook his head slightly. “When we begin lying, even small ones meant to soothe, we become more like our enemy. Tonight, of all nights, is a time for truth.”

She smoothed the changeling’s thick hair back from his low forehead. “Yes, sweetie, but I’d have tolerated much worse to save your life.” Something occurred to her. “When did you first start feeling bad?”

“In the car waiting for you to come back with our breakfast.”

So almost immediately after we left Witches’ Northwest.
“Why didn’t you say something?”

The changeling shrugged, looking sheepish. “I thought it wasn’t anything. That I was just keyed up from the last demon fight. It didn’t get really bad until we were waiting outside the ferry terminal.”

Colleen tried for a stern face, but probably didn’t do very well. “If anything like this ever happens again—”

He shot her a cowed smile and cut in with, “You’ll be the very first to know.”

Colleen dropped her head against the back of the couch and blew out a breath. Little clicks and clacks told her Jenna was picking things up and righting furniture. She thought she should offer to help, but was too tapped out to even say the words. She drifted for a bit with Bubba’s head on her chest and Duncan’s comforting presence next to her.

He murmured to her in a language she didn’t understand and she felt him in her mind, patching, soothing, healing. When he withdrew, fatigue, which had surrounded her in a thick, sticky cloud, left too. Colleen turned her head to the side so she could look at him. “Thanks again.”

Warmth and tenderness shone from his green eyes. “You’re welcome.”

“Here.” Roz shoved a liquor bottle into Duncan’s hand. “I’ve been helping myself, but you may as well too.” She turned the coffee table upright and sat on it. “What’s with the dark fae? I nearly had a heart attack when they showed up here. Thought I’d have two enemies to fight.”

Spots of color splashed across Duncan’s golden skin. “They’re my doing. Colleen found me in your shop, told me about Bubba, and said we needed to hurry back here. I started thinking about the sequence of events and suspected Mathilde had something to do with Bubba’s sudden illness.” He stopped to take a breath. “Changelings are never sick, so I knew something had to be afoot.”

Roz made a grab for the bottle and took a long swig before handing it to Colleen. “I’m missing something here. How’d we get from my question about the Unseelie to Mathilde?”

“Sorry. It’s been a long day.” Duncan shut his eyes for a moment and then opened them again; Colleen sensed him ordering his thoughts. “When Colleen and I showed up here, she parked a little way away because I was concerned about a possible link between Bubba and Mathilde. We both scented the demons once we got near the house. I asked if we needed help. When she said we did, I put out a call. The Unseelie showed up.” He threw his hands in the air. “It’s always a crap shoot. The last time I did that, Andraste came.”

Surprise shot through Colleen. “The Celtic goddess of victory?” He nodded. “Wow! Just how widespread is this, um,
come help me
signal?”

Duncan chuckled. “Damned if I know. I’ve only used it a handful of times in a thousand years. Each time, something different has responded. Let’s see.” He counted on his fingers. “So far, I’ve raised Sidhe, Celtic gods, a Druid, a werewolf, in human form, mind you, and now two dark fae.”

Roz held her hand out for the bottle. “All righty. Back to the Unseelie. I thought they were evil.”

“So did I,” Duncan said. “Sidhe have always steered clear of them.”

“Do you know why?” Jenna asked. She settled next to Roz on the coffee table. It creaked alarmingly, but didn’t splinter as Colleen feared it might, after listening to it complain about the combined weight of the two witches.

“What happened to cleaning?” Roz asked pointedly.

Jenna jabbed her in the ribs with an elbow and pried her fingers off the whiskey bottle. “Since when do I have
housekeeper
tattooed across my forehead? The only thing left is all the broken glass. I’ll use magic to get it out of here, but I need the room empty to do that, ’cause the shards will fly around like crazy.” She shifted her gaze to Duncan. “The Unseelie?”

“I need to ask someone, or look them up,” Duncan said. “They’re definitely the mischievous branch of the fae, but they’ve done some pretty crass things over the years. I think the main reason we Sidhe shun them is they’re so unpredictable.”

“You know more than you’re telling us.” Jenna continued to skewer him with her shrewd gaze.

He grinned crookedly. “Guess keeping secrets in a houseful of witches is hopeless.”

“You bet it is.” Colleen snorted. “What did you leave out?”

His forehead furrowed. “Not all that much, really. Titania and Oberon oversee Faerie. The Celtic gods formed a separate pantheon, so they don’t pay homage to our rulers. Mostly, they fight a lot amongst themselves—and give Danu fits. The Sidhe, and both branches of the fae, were formed long ago by Ceridwen, from the same energy source. It’s one of the reasons we’ve gotten along fairly well with the Seelie.”

“By that argument, you should have gotten along with the Unseelie too.” Roz set her chin on an upraised hand.

“I think we did, for many years. Then they started playing tricks. Things they thought were funny, like using mirrors to confuse the routes into Faerie. We ignored them and they upped the ante. Eventually, we simply quit having anything to do with them. Rumor had it, they gave up on us and started harassing mortals.”

“History be damned, the two who showed up tonight were a godsend,” Colleen said. Bubba shifted in her arms, mumbling sleepily about wanting to go to his bed.

“I’ll take him.” Roz pushed to her feet and held out her arms.

Colleen kissed the top of his head. “I’m sure glad you’re still with us, Bubs.”

“That makes two of us.” The changeling grinned, turned, and let Roz lift him. “I could get to like all this attention.”

“Don’t get too used to it,” Colleen admonished, but it was hard to maintain any semblance of solemnity when she was so happy. She snugged the blanket around her, leaned against Duncan, and watched Roz carry Bubba toward the stairs. “Whatever happened to that dinner you started?” she asked Jenna.

“I imagine it’s still there. Maybe a bit on the thick side, but I had the heat low.”

Duncan tightened his arm around her shoulders. “Hungry?”

“It’s a tossup, which I want more. Food. Sleep. You.” She set her mouth in a hard line. “Some reassurance we’ll get at least a few hours’ break before the next demon incursion.”

“Guess we should sleep in shifts,” Jenna said.

Roz tromped back into the room. “I heard that. It’s a good idea. I also heard Jenna say dinner might not be entirely ruined. I’ll see all of you in the kitchen. No matter what comes next, we need to eat.”

“I’ll second that.” Jenna trailed after the other witch.

Colleen snuggled closer to Duncan. “Guess we ought to follow them.”

He repositioned himself so he faced her and ran his fingertips down the side of her face. “You have cuts and gouges. Let me heal them.”

“Later. It doesn’t feel very important.”

He brushed a knuckle over her lips. “Maybe not, but you’re important to me. I was scared for you, and for Bubba. I know how special he is to you. He’s like the child you never had.”

She smiled wryly. “I only just realized that in the past few days. Pretty dense of me, huh?”

“Maybe not. Admitting we care about someone makes us vulnerable, because then we shatter if we lose them.”

Colleen laid a hand on the side of his face. “Earlier you said something like, tonight of all nights, is a time for truth.”

“Yes, I did. Why mention it now?” He smoothed her tangled hair back from her face.

She took a deep breath, suddenly nervous about his answer to the question she hadn’t asked yet. He was here, surely that meant things had gone well with Titania… “Did you talk to your queen?”

His face clouded—brows drawn into a thin line, eyes worried—and her heart seized. She dropped her gaze, fighting sudden tears. “No, sweetheart,” he said quickly. “It’s not like that.” He cupped her face in his hands and tipped it so she had to look at him. “I found Titania. We chatted of this and that. When I asked her about you, she said no, and vanished to end any possibility of further dialogue.”