A Darker Magic
Copyright © May 2008, A. J. Cove

Cover art by Mariya Krusheva © May 2008

Amira Press

Baltimore, MD 21216

www.amirapress.com

ISBN: 978-1-934475-71-3

No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and e-mail, without prior written permission from Amira Press.





Prologue 
The demon stared at his reflection in the mirror, eyes piercing, skin a deep crimson and warm to the touch from the evil and hate that burned in his heart. He slid jagged nails that were slightly yellowed over his skull as he considered his next move. Gazing at the reflected human stretched out on the bed behind him, he sneered. How he despised them. Their scent, their fragile bodies, and having to travel stuck inside one just pissed him off.

But there was nothing he could do about that. The whole point of being in the human world was so that he could track the one who had escaped from the world of demons. When he located Niall, then he would drain him of his power. The demon closed his eyes in ecstasy just thinking on it. Yes, Niall, the banished half-Faerie with more power than anyone had ever given him credit for, would be his to feast on. And when he was done, the demon would take his revenge on those who had wronged him.

Resolved to his plan, he turned and walked into the bedroom where the human was sleeping off a long flight to this overcrowded, noisy city. He bent to tangle his thin fingers in the human's hair. “You don't know it,” he whispered, “but I will use you to carry me wherever I wish to go. And when I am done, you will die."

The demon perched on the side of the bed, lay back, and slung an arm over the side to mimic the human. Slowly, his essence seeped beneath the skin, beneath muscles, into the core, where he, ready to carry out his plan, gained full control.

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Chapter One 
Niall shoved open the creaky bar door, some of its chipped red paint coming off on his palm. As he wiped the hand along his slacks, he scanned the room he'd entered. Low lights, the stench of a myriad of different alcoholic drinks in the air, and bodies slumped at tables or writhing on the limited dance floor.

There they were, all of them. The guy in the cowboy getup at the bar with toothpick hanging from his mouth, the plump woman in the corner trying to convince the guy with her of something he wasn't happy about, and the waitress serving drinks. Each one of those losers, he thought angrily, were Faeries—in disguise and living among the humans.

Targeting the cowboy, Niall strolled up to the bar and took a stool not too far from his quarry. From his vantage point, he could hear all the man said while he planned his attack.

"What can I get for you, bud?” the man behind the counter asked.

Niall glanced up and pinned the man with a stare he knew was lit with the heat of the fiery place he'd spent too long in. His punishment for helping a sexy young Faerie he would have ripped his heart out for. At that thought, anger surged through him, but he contained it. There was only one group, and one group alone, that would pay for the torture he had endured.

By now, the bartender was trembling. His hands were shaking, losing their grip on the glass he had been cleaning. The delicate mug slipped from his hold and shattered on the floor. Not one patron looked up from his or her conversations. Apparently, this wasn't all that uncommon. His suspicion was confirmed when an answering crash came from somewhere behind him. The waitress, he guessed. She'd drop more than a glass when he was through.

"A light beer,” he told the man sweating in front of him.

"A-Any particular brand?"

"No.” Niall wasn't going to drink it. He reached out to touch the man's arm before he could turn away. The guy yelped in fear. “Tell me something,” Niall said distinctly. “Do you believe in Faeries?"

The Faerie to his right jumped visibly. Niall twisted on his stool to face him. “Do you, cowboy?” he asked. “Believe in magical creatures, I mean."

"I don't know what you're talkin’ about.” The drawl was affected. If this man had been in the South for any length of time, Niall would eat his hat, but even that didn't look authentic. Probably something he'd found in a thrift store. Demons could shoot fire from their hideous fingertips when they were in their pure form, outside a body. Even in one, they could do damage. What he wouldn't give to be able to light that straw up right then.

Instead, Niall chuckled. “No? You've never heard of Faeries? Never spoken with one? Never been one?"

At that point, the secret Faerie looked like he was ready to bolt. He'd been made. He nervously gazed around the room, locking on the waitress. So he knew she was one, maybe not the other. Probably tried to hit on her once and got a face full of magic. He laughed silently.

The cowboy slapped a few dollars on the counter, muttered a good night, and headed for the door. Likewise, Niall paid and said, “I'll be back. Keep my drink for me."

He followed after the cowboy, bursting through the front door and glancing up and down the street. It was late, near closing. A few cars passed by and one or two people walked drunkenly home, but the cowboy was nowhere in sight.

"No matter.” Niall sniffed the air. In that hot place, he had learned that in an instant, a demon could learn a person's scent. Like bloodhounds, they could track down anyone they had come close to. But it wasn't a physical aroma they picked up. It was spiritual, something hidden deep inside that made each person unique. Niall supposed the talent was the ability to sniff out a person's soul, which made the demons all the more terrifying.

He didn't need to sniff out a soul. He heard the Faerie stumbling quickly down the alley that ran alongside the bar. The man had had too much to drink. All the better. He sped to the mouth of the alley, spotting the cowboy right away. “Don't be afraid, little Faerie,” he called. “I'm not going to kill you."

The man picked up speed, and Niall followed. He soon cut off the man, before he had reached the other end of the narrow gap between buildings.

"I know what you are. Can't fool me,” the cowboy spat. His words only slurred slightly, and he made a valiant attempt to stand up straight without wobbling. “You're a demon, that's what. And you've come to steal my soul."

Niall burst out laughing. “Your soul?” He shook his head. “Oh, no, I don't want your soul, little Faerie."

The cowboy began to wobble, stumbling over to a trash bin with one arm out to catch himself when he got there. Niall watched, making no move to follow or prevent him from falling. He wasn't getting far. When he had panted a good five minutes, as if the effort to change positions had been too much for him, the cowboy gasped out, “Then what do you want?"

"What do I want? Oh, that's easy.” Niall grinned. He knew his eyes glowed red in the low light of the alley. “I want you to suffer—forever.” He raised an arm and uttered words in the old Gaelic tongue. A portal opened to a world from Niall's unique imagination, one that had never existed before. Darkness like a black hole, relieved only by twinkling blue lights at various points, seemed to reach out to them.

The cowboy backed away, shaking his head. “No, I'm not going in there. I don't have to, and you can't make me."

"That's where you're wrong.” First, Niall was steps away from the Faerie, and then, he was right up on him. Niall lifted the man with only one hand and tossed him through the portal. His screams pierced the air as the blue lights converged on him, the sounds of feasting reaching out just as the portal disappeared.

Niall shook out the black leather coat he wore and turned back toward the bar. “One down, two to go."

* * * *
"I'm going in there,” Mina announced, starting past her brother who blocked the way. He grabbed her arm, holding her in place, but she fought him. “Let me go, Dugan. You don't understand. This is my fault. I'm the one who caused Niall to be banished. I'm the one who ruined his life, and I should be the one to go get him."

Her brother seemed to stretch a mile up from Mina. She had to tilt back her head to look up at him. All her life she'd been tiny, even teased for it, but she had loads of determination. Pairing it with her new skills to use against her brother was not beyond her.

"Don't give me that look,” he snapped. “Little sister, you do not intimidate me. Do you think a green emissary like you is going to be sent after someone as dangerous as Niall has become? No.” He frowned to emphasize his words. “And even if they were foolish enough to consider you, I would speak up against it. You're not going, and that's that."

Mina put up a hand, preparing to toss a ball of fire at her stubborn sibling's big head. He merely flicked up an eyebrow, and she sighed, turning away. Who was she kidding? Dugan had been an emissary for nearly twenty-five years. She, on the other hand, had just graduated from the academy. With one successful retrieval under her belt, there was no way that the council would appoint her to contain Niall.

However, if she got the permission of the Faerie king, they would have to listen. She grinned at this new idea. With a smirk aimed at her brother, she snapped her fingers and disappeared from his presence only to appear again in the king's private study. Tapping a finger to her lip, she considered how to approach him. Serious emissary, all business, or young, diminutive Faerie, irresistible to the old coot. She settled on the latter.

"Hello, Father.” She strolled across the expanse between them and hopped up on the edge of his desk, knowing she was disturbing his sanctuary. “I've come to discuss Niall."

The king leaned back in his chair, the habitual grumpy expression settling on his features. “Oh, you have, have you?"

"Yes, I have. I—"

He waved his hand. “Don't bother, Mina. Your brother was here this morning telling me in no uncertain terms am I to use my influence to get you assigned to the case of Niall. And I told him that, contrary to what he thinks, I am your guardian."

She nodded. “Thank you. Exactly. So—"

"Do not interrupt me, child!” His voice boomed, causing Mina to tremble a little. It had taken her a year or more living in the king's home to warm up to him, and he to her in return. He had always been gruff, always hid his more tender feelings. But, over the course of that time, she believed they had come to love each other. Now, seven years later, when she could hardly be considered a babe in Faerie years, she believed they had a good, strong relationship. Still, sometimes, with his gigantic build, flaming red hair, and all-around bear of an attitude, she wasn't so sure.

Mina sat quietly, waiting for her father to calm down again. After a few minutes, he reached out a tentative hand to cover her own clenched on her lap. She knew people regarded her as weak because she was so small. The king had never made her feel that way, at least not that she could identify.

"You will go,” he said simply.

Joy filled her, but she didn't let on. He might change his mind. For whatever reason, he chose to believe in her, or at least give her the chance, she would take it. And she would prove to Dugan that she was worthy and strong enough to be an emissary of the Faerie council if it was the last thing she did.

Mina slipped from the desk, kissed her father's cheek, and strolled to the door. Her mind filled with thoughts of what she would take with her, certainly her minibows, weapons that she ignited with her magic to battle enemies she encountered. The bows weren't really necessary, considering that a ball of fire or lightning would do as well. But in the academy, she had been taught to find her style, what defined her. From the moment she took up archery, Mina had honed her skills and felt confident that she was quite good.

Personalizing the craft evolved into five-inch spikes set in a launch mechanism fitted to each wrist. The other Faeries had made fun of her at this opportunity, too, but she ignored the taunt. More than one of them had hopped in pain when she shot a flaming or sparkling arrow at their asses. She laughed thinking of it. With her training, she no longer needed to have Dugan as her defender. She could take care of herself.

In the hallway outside her father's study, she paused. “And if that doesn't work, I can fall back on feminine wiles,” she said and laughed.

"What's so funny?"

At her sister's voice, Mina spun around and launched herself into Sheelagh's arms. “Sheelagh, what are you doing here? Where's Drake?” She glanced behind her older half-sister and then moved back to observe her. “Damn, you're huge."

Sheelagh frowned. “Dugan told me you needed to stay here, away from the influence of the human world. That potty mouth."

Mina rolled her eyes. “Damn is hardly a word to be deemed ‘potty.’ Besides, I like human slang. It's fun, and I only get to do it around you. Dugan and Father don't tolerate it so well."

"I can understand that.” Looking uncomfortable, her sister rubbed her swollen belly. “The only reason I tolerate it is because I am so happy you and I are getting so close. You'll come in handy when the twins are born. Built-in babysitter, you know."

A frown spread across Mina's features. “I don't think so. I'm an emissary now. I will be too busy. Oh, I'll visit, but babies are not my thing.” She grinned, barely able to contain her excitement. “My newest assignment will be in the human world, Sheelagh, and this one is huge. I'm scared but excited at the same time. I just know this will change how everyone sees me."

Her sister grew serious. “Please tell me you won't be put on the Niall case. Mina, he's different. I heard he attacked the gates of Faeryland and tried to open a portal here. Sweetie, he may have gone mad, living where he was."

"And that's his fault?” Mina folded her arms across her chest and tapped a foot with impatience. “I set him up, asked him to send you into that nothing world. And it was my mother who punished him in the end. She cruelly sent him there to the demon world. I just need to see that he's okay. He did love me once."

"Seven years ago, sweetie. People change."

Mina had heard the reports about how Niall was attacking Faeries all over the human world. He somehow tracked them all, knew them upon sight, and then banished them, just as he had once been banished. The man had to be stopped, and who better to do it than the one he had once claimed he would love for all eternity? She was the perfect choice to go.

"I never thought you and Dugan would agree on anything,” Mina sighed. “He feels I'm too weak, too small to handle this assignment. I did hope you would have more faith in me."

Sheelagh brushed a hand across her face. “Mina, I love you. I don't want you hurt. I just feel like—"

She cut off her words when the page stepping up beside them cleared his throat. Mina and Sheelagh turned to him. He bowed to Sheelagh and then to Mina. “Princess. Miss."

Sheelagh's eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?"

The page turned a bright beet-red. “Pardon,” he croaked. “Princess and princess.” Mina knew her sister insisted on Mina being addressed equally as herself, though Mina had no claims to royal respect. Over the years, that had rankled less. The page continued with his message at Sheelagh's nod. “The Faerie council sent me with a summons for Mis-uh-Princess Mina. You are requested to appear now."

With those words, the man disappeared. Mina flashed a wide grin, kissed Sheelagh's cheek, patted her belly, and snapped to exit the hall. A moment later, she reappeared in front of her sister, embarrassed and sure that she was just as red as the page had been. The Faerie council headquarters was situated in the middle world. She would need to travel there by portal.

Offering her sister a wink this time, she uttered the spell to open the portal and stepped through with her stomach fluttering. She was off to a brand new adventure, one that would be another step in repairing the rifts she'd caused in the past.

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Chapter Two 
She had been beautiful, Niall thought. Round, violet eyes; long, black hair; and tiny but shapely figure. Her breasts had set his body aflame, and she'd known how to use them, no matter her limited experience. Or maybe she hadn't been innocent. Maybe she'd been born that way, able to wrap a man around her fingers and rip his heart from his chest while he thanked her for it.

Had he wanted to be honest with himself, he would admit that he still desired her. The years he spent in daily torment, in the fiery hell of the demon world, had not lessened his craving for her. But this was not the time for honesty. This was the time for revenge.

He had saved the waitress for last, just because he wanted to play with her awhile. Seeing her tremble with fear made up for what he endured, but just a fraction beyond not at all. Niall grinned. “You know what I intend, don't you?"

"Why should I? I don't know you.” That is a Faerie for you, Niall thought. Defiant, arrogant. They all thought they are better than any other magical creature. He saw it differently. A demon was superior in every way.

Closing the space between them, he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “You know me. Niall, a demon."

Her eyes widened. “No, Niall of Emerald Isle is a Faerie. Unless there's another?"

"Just one.” At this, he allowed the fire to show in his eyes, a handy trick he'd learned early on in his new home. The waitress took a step backward, but he reached out to pull her close again. “Demon,” he affirmed.

He leaned back against the bar, hooking both elbows on it as he glanced around the empty space. Earlier, he had commanded the bartender to leave and the waitress to remain, alone. The man had affected a wink and a smirk, as if he suspected Niall of wanting to be alone with his girl. But deep inside, the man had to know. He'd seen that clownish cowboy leave quickly with Niall hot on his heels. Had this not been the community that housed the dregs among the humans, the police would have been called. As it was, it was the perfect place to enjoy a little sweet revenge.

His attention returned to the waitress. “Tell me what you think I will do to you,” he commanded. It was always more fun to use their imagination against them.

She wouldn't play. “I don't know. Whatever it is, just get on with it. If you're going to try to kill me, I'm warning you. I've been in the human world for two hundred years, but I'm sure I can scrounge up a spell or two to hold my own."

Niall laughed. “Really? You don't look older than one hundred twenty.” He straightened. “Try something. Let's see what happens."

Her eyes narrowed, and without much more warning than that, he found a globe of green and purple lightning thrown at his chest. Before she could blink, he was on the other side of the room, watching her swing her head back and forth. When she realized he was behind her, she faced him, readying a spell. He recognized the words falling from her lips. A weak one used by green Faeries fresh out of grade school. Apparently, she had been here too long.

Consumed with his play at teasing the Faerie, Niall barely registered the creak of the front door opening. He knew the laws of the Faeries. No human must be allowed to confirm that there was such a thing as true magic or magical creatures. But Niall was beyond obeying. For show, he slid a chair across the room without laying a hand on it and pushed it under the waitress, so that she fell back into it.

"How did you?” she demanded. “But we can't ... We have to..."

He brought down a hand on her shoulder, holding her in place. “Haven't I been telling you all night? I'm not a Faerie. I'm a demon."

A squeal of delight escaped someone's mouth behind him, and a second later the flash of a camera went off. Forgetting the girl, Niall turned to the intruder. A reporter! A tall, willowy woman, young and inexperienced he'd bet, slightly frizzy hair yanked to the side in a single ponytail, with innocence peering out of sky-blue eyes. Niall groaned.

"What do you want?” He started toward her. She didn't have the sense to be afraid. “You realize I will break your camera?"

She grinned and held out a hand. “Are you really a demon? That's incredible. And you said something about Faeries, too? I have heard of you, going around attacking random people. No one can keep up with you. No one believes you even exist. But I do, and now I have your picture.” She paused only a second to breathe. “It would be a shame to ruin it, since you're not making it a secret about who you are."

Niall would have demanded she shut up or would have at least wrapped his fingers around her throat to squeeze her into silence, but a bolt of lightning hit him square in the back. The pain was great, stopping him in his tracks. When it came again, he had a flashback to fire all around him, singeing his flesh, and a voice nearby telling him he didn't have to burn.

He shook away the vision in time to see the front door open again. A man stepped inside. “What the hell is this,” Niall grumbled, “a party?"

The man held up his hands in apology. “Sorry, dude. The name's Peter. Peter Sumner.” He, too, put out a hand to Niall, which was pointedly ignored.

"And who is this?” Niall indicated the silly woman at his side. “Your girlfriend? Sister?"

Both looked embarrassed, he guessed for different reasons. When he heard words begin again from the Faerie behind him, Niall turned and opened a portal with barely a command. This one was like a wind tunnel, sucking in whatever was near. In this case, it was chairs, tables, and the waitress.

She held onto the bar, screaming for help. The female reporter ran to her, but Niall lifted her with his dark magic and tossed her easily back across the room. She would have landed hard against a wall or crashed through a window, but Pete jumped to block her from being harmed. Her camera didn't fare as well. Satisfied, Niall watched it smash on the floor. And just in case it wasn't completely destroyed, he strolled over and stomped it a few times.

"No, stop it! Please,” the woman cried out.

Niall gave it another few stomps before turning back to the portal. The waitress had just lost her hold on the bar and then slid easily in through the portal. He waved a hand, and the opening closed.

"Had I not just seen that with my own two eyes, I wouldn't have believed it,” Peter gasped. “I—oh, wow. You killed her."

The door opened again. Niall growled. “For fuck's sake!"

But there in front of him was the woman he saw in his mind every time he closed his eyes. Those same violet eyes, that same pert nose, and those sweet lips he'd drank from regularly. The whore who had caused all of his pain.

"Mina,” he whispered.

She smiled as if there was nothing wrong on any world in her little universe. “Hello, Niall."

He opened a new portal. “You're just in time, beautiful. Come and visit my world."

With a tinkling laugh escaping those pink lips, Mina shook her head. “I don't think I will."

Niall was prepared to push her in, to finally be rid of her in hopes that she would never again invade his dreams or his waking thoughts. Whatever hold she had, whatever spell she had concocted to keep him from getting completely free of her would be destroyed as soon as she was safely away on one of his created worlds. Yet, as soon as he lifted his hand to make it happen, to pull her to him one last time before pushing her in, his gaze shifted to the left. Through the window, he noticed a man standing there out on the street, staring back at him.

Something wrapped around his throat, somehow forcing his mouth open. His eyes bugged, and he couldn't see what this unusual power could be. But it was draining him. Energy left his body at a phenomenal rate so that he fell down to his knees. His head was spinning. His vision blurred. He lost sight of the man outside the window. On some level, he knew his portal was closing without his consent, having been weakened. Above him, he was aware that the two humans and Mina had come closer, but he couldn't move or call out. He could only succumb to the invisible hand holding him still while his power ebbed away.

* * * *
Coming to consciousness seemed like an uphill battle for Niall. Every muscle in his body ached, and his head was pounding. His throat dry, he swallowed convulsively, striving for even a drop of moisture. A soft hand brushed the hair from his forehead. With effort, he reached up to grasp it, but missed as his fine motor skills hadn't returned yet. He ended up poking a finger in his eye.

"Poor Niall."

Mina. Niall struggled to open his eyes. Around his thick tongue, he uttered a spell that would infuse his body with strength and heal his muscles. Now, his eyes flew open, and he grasped Mina around her swanlike neck.

"Where's your friend?” he demanded.

The eyes that made his stomach do flip-flops widened. “What friend?” she said between gasps.

He squeezed slightly, and then loosened his grip some when he saw pain in her expression. He didn't want to feel anything for her. “You know exactly what I'm talking about, Mina.” Sliding from the bed, he dragged her with him, pulling her body against his as he examined their surroundings.

They were in a motel room, small, with a double bed, a dresser, one nightstand, and a door leading to what he assumed was the bathroom. Niall shuffled Mina ahead of him to check the shower to be sure her friend was not there. The room was empty except them. When he was satisfied, he whipped her around to face him. A mistake. Her breasts were shoved against his chest, her outfit cut low so that he had a good view of that creamy cleavage he had never shaken from his memory. The proximity weakened him.

"Don't play games.” Niall dragged his gaze from her breasts to her face. “I saw the guy standing out on the sidewalk when you came into that bar. Was he the muscle you brought with you? What was that magic he used on me? I've never experienced it before."

Mina continued to look at him like he'd lost his senses, but he was also aware that she was just as turned-on as he was. Or was it all an act? There had been many days when she'd trembled in his hold, had moaned when he caressed her. All of it had been designed to convince him to do something he didn't want to do, like banish the princess, her half-sister.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about, Niall. I came alone.” When he released her, she straightened her back and a look of pride settled over her features. “I am a full-fledged emissary now. I've been assigned to your case, to convince you to stop this attack you have waged on the Faeries. Niall, this isn't you."

His laugh was bitter as he turned away. “Isn't me? What do you know of me anymore? You caused me enough trouble. Your mother locked me in a world I couldn't escape from. Not until I had suffered in more ways than I knew existed.” He grasped her by the arms, hauling her again into his embrace. “I'm different—something else entirely. More power. And now you and all your kind will pay for what you put me through."

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Chapter Three 
"Incredible! Did you see that?” Pete could barely contain his excitement. He knew he should behave professionally in front of Kiley, but the amazement he felt was too much to contain. To actually be in the same room with a demon! It was more than he could have imagined. He'd nearly wet himself with fear after what that guy did.

Kiley practically jumped up and down, her breasts bouncing with her movement. Pete felt the slightest twinge of desire, but nothing more. She worshipped him, being the experienced reporter that he was. And he could probably bed her in a heartbeat, but that wasn't his goal. Not Kiley.

She grinned, innocent eyes sparkling. “Yes, I can't believe it either, Pete. I knew you were top of the line, know all there is to know about tracking down a story, but I thought it would take us longer to run to ground this demon who's been attacking people from one city to the next.” She pressed a hand to her forehead. “And now my camera's smashed. We should call the police!"

Pete wasn't listening. Ever since his best friend had gained magic abilities by marrying into it, he had the idea that he could do the same. After all, Pete had been convinced of the existence of magical creatures long before Drake met Sheelagh. And now, just tonight, he had met again the one he would marry. Mina.

He had looked haunted, even tormented when he saw her face, but Pete couldn't see any guile in those big, beautiful eyes of hers. And to think how powerful she was, to bend down, touch the demon's arm, and disappear after uttering those words he was sure he'd heard before.

"But where?” he said aloud.

Kiley looked up from examining her camera. “Where what?"

Pete frowned. “Nothing. Hey, listen, I've got to do some research. I'll talk to you tomorrow early."

She protested. “But it's late and—"

"Exactly.” Pete swung around to the door and yanked it open before turning back to her. “You can contact the police if you want, but look around. There's no evidence of anything happening here, except some overturned tables and chairs. It would take a lot of explaining with nothing to show. Next time,” he admonished, “wait for me. I'll show you how it's done."

Pete barreled out of the door and went hurtling into a man standing not two feet from the doorway. The man's chest was a solid wall, and his height was so intimidating that Pete, who considered himself a nice height at just above six feet, found himself falling backward and hitting the ground hard.

He glanced up, annoyed, into a face hidden by the shadows of the night and still further by a wide-brimmed black hat. His shoulders seemed about to burst free from the trench coat he wore as he reached a hand out to help the reporter up. Pete thought he looked like a throwback to a cheesy private-eye movie, but tried not to let the opinion show on his face.

"Sorry about that, Mr.... “If Pete thought the man would offer a name, he was mistaken. A chill ran over him at the eyes that had been so dark before as they seemed now to sparkle. Pete swallowed and turned to rush to his car. At the curb, he glanced back toward the bar, but the man was gone. “Strange night."

He unlocked the driver side of his vehicle, opened the door, and hopped in. The sooner he could start on his plan to capture Mina's heart, the better. And he knew exactly how he was going to pull it off. With magic.

* * * *
The demon had put his human to sleep and visited the bathroom again, staring into the mirror. He breathed deep, enjoying Niall's power flowing through his being. Taking it, absorbing his energy had been easy. All his precious Faerie could do was watch in terror. Oh, yes, he remembered her. She had filled his mind while the demon tormented him. It was she who had helped him to hold on, to overcome enough to escape the world of demons. Now, she would be the catalyst to push him further. The demon would see to that. Whatever he had to do, whomever he had to manipulate, he would.

He glanced back at his human. No, there was no need to switch bodies. He would accomplish all with this one. Niall would be driven further into madness, would forget his dark power beyond that of opening the portals. And that was okay with the demon. If Niall never knew he was capable of destroying the demon, all the better. By the time he fully realized his power, it would be too late.

"And I will have all I need.” He threw back his head and laughed high and loud. A choked gasp behind him let him know he'd made too much noise. He turned and walked back into the motel room, staring down at the human whose eyes expanded so wide in fear, it must hurt. He sneered. “Don't mind if I use you, do you?"

He reached out to grasp the human's arm, forgetting that the heat from his touch was so intense it would burn human flesh. Pleasure filled him at the human's cry of pain. He sat down on the bed to possess his vessel again.

* * * *
"You don't mean that, Niall."

Mina's sweetness grated on Niall's nerves. It was false. He would not believe she was suddenly this innocent and sweet young Fae who knew nothing of the evils in the world. It was a ploy. Still, she intrigued him. He hummed with a desire to touch her, to drag her to the bed he'd just risen from so that he could explore her as she'd never let him do before. Kisses and caresses wouldn't be enough.

"I mean it,” he snapped. His eyes narrowed on her lips, wanting to taste them.

"But, first..."

She blinked. “First what?"

He didn't answer. Pushing her backward until she bumped against the wall, he pinned her there with his body. A hand on each side of her head, Niall bent his legs to bring himself down to a level with her face, then he captured her lips, forcing his tongue between them. He wondered for a moment if she would fight him, but she didn't. Mina ran her hands up his sides and around to his back. Boldly, the little Fae clutched at his buttocks to squeeze him tighter into her body. He groaned against her mouth as his desire increased. This was the Mina he knew.

Then she wiggled and screeched. It took a moment for Niall to realize the problem. He jumped back, dropping his hands to his sides. Mina was gasping and shaking. Niall didn't look at her.

"Y-You were hot,” she finally said.

Pretending he didn't understand, Niall grinned. “Were? Hmm, I think I still look good for my age. You're saying I've lost it?"

For the first time since he had seen her again, she frowned. “You know what I mean, Niall. Your body was hot. It was beginning to burn me. How can that be?"

"Did I not tell you that I am different, Mina?” Holding his hands out so that she could examine him, he explained. “What you see here looks like the old me, but inside, I'm something worse. Something you couldn't love."

Now why had he said that? He had no interest in making her love him. As far as he knew, a temptress had no heart. Not that he had much of one left himself. He eyed her face, her confusion clear. “Come here. I will show you."

Before Mina could protest, Niall took her again into his arms, now that he had mentally cooled his body. He lifted a hand and spoke the words for a portal to open while picturing what he wanted. A twinge of fear rocked him as the opening expanded to a world of fire. Mina shrunk back against him.

"Don't worry. This is just something to help you understand. I won't banish you yet. As long as you are with me, you are safe.” He still felt her reluctance as he led her to the opening. “Besides, this isn't the real demon world, but rather a close imitation of my own imaginings."

They stepped through, and the portal closed, to Mina's consternation.

No sky stretched overhead, no earth beneath. At least not as she would know it. Niall tamped down his fears and the flashbacks that made him want to shun the bursts of flames that shot up randomly from the black surface beneath their feet and from the stony walls. The fire was just an illusion he'd created so that it wouldn't burn Mina. He had become immune, something that was not so from the beginning. He remembered clearly the burns that had been inflicted on him intentionally.

"This,” he told her as they walked along a narrow corridor, “is the path to enlightenment. We say enlightenment, but in actuality, it is the road every soul sent here is forced to take to a room where he or she will learn just how evil demons can be."

Mina trembled, and he pulled her closer to him, breathing in her fresh scent. He grew hard with her rounded bottom pressed against his thigh, and he shook his head to remain focused. She must know all about who he was.

[Back to Table of Contents] 





Chapter Four 
Mina couldn't honestly say she loved Niall—or ever had. She was attracted to him, as she had been to other Faerie men. They came in all shapes and sizes, but overall, the males of her clan were handsome, feral, and built for a female's pleasure as the females were for them. Niall had always been one of the best. And back then, when she had teased him, rubbing her breasts against his chest or letting him steal kisses, she had sensed the potential for something darker. Something more dangerous. What young Fae wouldn't want to date a bad boy?

This was different. It went beyond what she ever expected or wanted to experience. The dark world Niall had taken her into, if it truly was a replica of the demon world, was the most horrid place she could imagine.

The passageway they traveled along was dark and hot, so hot that soon her wet clothing was clinging to her skin. Her hair had gone limp, with wisps sticking to her face at her ears and around her forehead. In the distance, she heard the screams of people who must be in constant torment.

The sound of feet pounding the floor behind them made Mina glance back. A demon, naked with taut, red skin from head to toe, chased a human. Tears slid down her cheeks as she stumbled along toward them. Mina turned and flung herself into Niall's arms, fighting not to vomit on his chest while the couple hurtled past.

Niall's laugh was low and cruel in her ear. “You run, imagining you can get away, that there must be an exit to this shadowy place, but there is none. And though they know you'll never escape, they chase you anyway, to escalate your terror."

At first, Mina was consumed with her own insecurities in this world, not sure if Niall would leave her or if he would protect her should one of the demons attack, but then she realized what he was telling her. She lifted her face from his chest and stared into his dark, troubled eyes. “They chased you,” she announced while stroking his face. “You were afraid."

Niall went still watching her. His gaze locked on her eyes, almost it seemed he was about to confess that what she said was true. She could see it in his expression, like he wanted to bare his soul, but the moment was lost at another scream nearby. This one belonged to a male.

A grin spread across Niall's face. “Come. I'll show you my first night here."

He led her into a room with a large wooden chair in the center. The fact that it was made of wood seemed impossible given the amount of fire and heat in this place, but she didn't question it. Niall appeared to read her mind. “The chair is made of wood because all you can think of the entire time they strap you to it is when will it go up in flames and burn you alive."

His words only upset Mina more, so she distracted herself by glancing about the room. Two entities stood behind the chair, one in front, blocking the face of the person strapped down. The demons were nondescript, still having red, almost glowing, skin with thick, yellowed finger- and toenails, but their faces were not clear. Almost as if someone had erased them and left the smudge.

"Why do they look like that?” she questioned Niall.

He shrugged, his attention fully on the man in the seat. “Because I have no desire to see them again. I left this place promising myself I wouldn't. Had I had the power, I would have killed them all."

His tone was matter-of-fact. He took her hand and threaded his fingers between hers. His actions confused her. One minute he seemed evil, without remorse for his actions. The next, he held onto her as if he cared. Was he truly half-Faerie and half-demon as the rumor went? Yet, he had asserted he was fully demon. Maybe he desired it.

Niall dragged her closer, and Mina came with reluctance. She had no wish to see a man tormented. As soon as she moved alongside the wooden chair, her eyes widened and her heart pounded so hard it hurt. In the chair was not some stranger, who she would have felt terrible for, but it was Niall himself.

The demons grasped his hands and head. Each patch of skin where they touched him burned, smoke rising from the surface. Niall screamed, tears rolling down his face, but drying just as quickly. They leaned over him, whispering in a language Mina couldn't understand.

"Stop, please stop hurting him,” Mina yelled pointlessly. The demons didn't listen, and on some level, she knew this wasn't really happening. But did it mean that Niall's treatment had been this bad? Did the demons burn him when he was prisoner in that dark place? She spun around to the real man and looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Niall, tell me this isn't true."

He compressed his mouth in a line, his shadowed eyes hostile toward her. His resentment seemed to radiate from him. Niall blamed her for his past predicament. And she knew it was true. Had she not seduced him, convinced him to work with her to send her sister, the legitimate daughter of the Faerie king, to an alternate world, none of this would have happened. Mina's own jealousy had brought him to this.

"Look,” Niall demanded. Gripping her shoulders and turning her to face the scene. Without mercy, he held a hand at either side of her head until she had no choice but to take in the horror. “You will see what Faeries caused, you in particular. Are you ashamed, Mina?"

They set the wooden chair on fire, and two of the demons backed away, seeming to thrive on the screams of fear and pain. The third whispered in Niall's ears, but Mina thought he couldn't possibly hear over his own shrieking.

Unable to view the cruelty another second, Mina let out a scream, shooting Faerie magic at the chains that bound the imaginary Niall. She tore from his arms and ran to pull at the chains, all the while pleading for mercy.

"Please, stop! Please!” Her throat was raw from yelling, her eyes burning from crying and the effects of the smoke and fire filling the room. Mina's horrified mind was so confused, she shot magic that sent the demons flying against the wall. The once-dark room lit up like a Fourth of July fireworks display she'd once seen in the human world. Still, she cried and fought to free Niall.

Arms wrapped around her. She heard Niall's voice in her ears casting a spell, and the tormented man and demons faded. Suddenly, they were back in the hotel room, although she wasn't aware of having walked through the portal. With her mind overwhelmed and her body shuddering from top to bottom, she fell forward in Niall's arms.

He lifted her and carried her to the bed, turning her to settle her close to him while she sobbed. Niall's hold didn't lessen until Mina calmed enough to utter only hiccupped sighs. A slight tremor still echoed through her body, and she could not find the strength to move away or resent him for showing her a horror no one could live through without losing some of their sanity.

"This is only—"

She held up a hand. With her throat raw, she whispered, “I can't..."

He fell silent. A flash of his black eyes came only an instant before the glass of water she'd set on the nightstand earlier floated up over Niall to descend to her mouth. Not having the ability to lift her hands to hold the glass, Mina was surprised when a pressure behind her head caused her to lean up slightly so that she could drink. Niall had spoken no words for a spell, nor did his hold around her waist loosen. His power was beyond a Faerie's.

As proud as Mina was about the level of magic she had attained in the academy training to become an emissary, she knew in a heartbeat that she wasn't a match for Niall. Something told her the Faerie council had had no inkling of just how much Niall had changed either, and she was not looking forward to giving her report.

* * * *
Niall had planned to make love to Mina, his way of making it up to her for driving her nearly out of her mind. He should have known that that scene, something he had lived through, would be too much for a sheltered Faerie. Yet, the imp in him wanted her to be afraid, wanted her to suffer along with him. And she had, more than he expected.

He had always felt that that day his heart died and that he didn't care about another living being on any world. The pain that ripped through his chest and made him feel as if he were tasting the bile from his gut let him know that was not entirely true.

Rolling onto his back and staring up at the stuccoed ceiling, he considered what it was he needed to do to kill even that part of his heart. The part that made him ache for Mina and that hurt to see her cry.

"She doesn't deserve an ounce of my sympathy,” he grumbled into the empty room. Earlier, when he would have reached for her to claim her sexy body, she disappeared right before his eyes. She hadn't cast a spell to open a portal nor did she make any move to transport herself to another location in this city, so someone had to have pulled her from his presence. A Faerie had rescued her from him. The thought angered him more.

Niall glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand. Four a.m. He sighed. He hadn't slept for three days, and the wear was telling on his body. It was the only way he could avoid dreaming, remembering. Going into that world again had been tough when he experienced so much of it every time he closed his eyes to rest. That was the reason he'd learned the spell to renew his physical strength. However, the magic only worked so much. After a while, he needed the real deal.

Realizing that this was the time, he shifted on the bed and reached to click off the light. He was a grown man and shouldn't fear the darkness, but a chill ran over him nevertheless. As soon as he closed his eyes, sleep descended and the memories began flooding his consciousness.

* * * *
"I know who you are,” the demon nearest him whispered. On some far-off level, Niall was startled that he could hear the thing's voice so clearly above his own screams. “You're not like the other Faeries."

He tried formulating an answer. A plea to be freed was all that came trembling to his lips. His throat dry, the words stuck on his tongue. Niall fought to recall a spell, anything that would allow him to escape the fire curling quickly up the wooden chair, although the wood wasn't consumed.

The demon, wanting his undivided attention now that the other two had left the room, presumably to torment some other new arrival, grabbed Niall's face. The palms on either cheek burned almost as much as the fire around him. Niall tried to cry out, but emitted no sound.

Without sympathy, the demon pressed harder, forcing Niall to focus. “Listen to me, boy. I know all about you, and if you listen to me, I can help you escape this place."

Niall could hardly believe his ears. He had no experience with this world, but everyone knew what it meant to be sent to the demon world. A Faerie's magic did not work there, and neither did that of any other magical creature. Only a demon's magic could open the single portal in and out, and only with permission of the guy in charge. If one was sent to this hellhole, it was forever.

"How?” Niall gasped. “How can you possibly help me to escape? Who are you?"

The demon grinned. “My boy, I am your father."

[Back to Table of Contents] 





Chapter Five 
"What did you think you were doing in that motel room with Niall, Mina?” Dugan demanded, being overbearing and attempting to intimidate her, as usual.

Mina rolled her eyes. “I was doing my job. Now, if you will excuse me, I will get back to it."

Dugan hooked her arm in a tight grip, effectively snuffing out her magic to transport her out of his presence. She considered trying to overpower him, but thought better of it. Dugan was still more advanced than she was. “I said report!” he growled.

Her patience was fading fast. “I don't work for you. I work for the Faerie council. Let me go. You see me as a child still, but I'm all grown-up. I can take care of myself.” Again, she tried pulling herself from his hold without success. Mina glanced around the tree-lined passage that led to the Faerie council's headquarters where they stood.

Dugan had snatched her from Niall's presence, an act that she had seen her father do many times to her stepmother, a move that never failed to annoy the woman as much as it annoyed Mina right at this moment. It was rude and inconsiderate, something overprotective male family members didn't get.

With his arms crossed over a thick chest that matched his thick head, Dugan waited. Mina knew she wasn't getting away from him until she gave him an update. Giving in, she sighed. The man was impossible. No wonder he wasn't married yet. No Fae would put up with his attitude.

"I'm waiting,” he grumbled.

"Fine. Niall is more powerful than any Fae I've ever met.” She tried to keep the admiration she felt welling inside for Niall from showing on her face. While she didn't condone his actions or his cruelty to her personally—she'd thought she would lose her mind in that dark place—she wouldn't be a female if a sexy male with almost unlimited power didn't appeal to her. “He said he was something else than what he was when I knew him, and he was right. Dugan, Niall isn't all Fae, just as the rumors have said. He's got darkness in him. No, evil. I-It's terrifying. Maybe he's gone mad."

Her brother's eyes widened. “You think he's lost his mind? That's impossible. No Fae in our history has ever been mentally unstable. That's a human weakness. Surely—"

"Whether it's true or not, he has evil in him. He took me to the demon world where he had been tormented.” She hesitated.

"What are you keeping from me?"

"Dugan, he says our mother sent him there.” She met his eyes and saw his renewed shock.

"Our mother is dead. The king killed her, remember?"

She nodded. Mina didn't know at what point her mother could have sent Niall to the demon world or for what purpose. As far as the woman knew, Niall was her boyfriend years ago. She had never deliberately done anything that would hurt Mina or Dugan.

Dugan seemed to be pondering the same question. “So, okay, say our mother, for whatever reason, knew that Niall was half-demon. And she wanted to get back at the king, so she did what she could to be sure Niall's demon side awakened."

"But how could she know he would then turn that power against the Faeries?” Mina asked reasonably.

Frustration registered on Dugan's face. “That I don't know. What I do, though, is that I don't want you getting involved with him. I did not appreciate looking in on you and finding you lying in the bed next to him. I hope nothing happened. Should you mate with a demon..."

"It will be my business.” Ready to make a report, she turned and headed toward the entrance to headquarters.

Dugan caught up with her. “Leave out the visit to the alternate world and that he claims mother sent him to the demon world."

She glanced at him. “You want me to lie?"

"No, but they can be told only what they need to be told at this time. I want to dig deeper into his background, see who his parents were. Remember, he was raised by widow Aine, but everyone knew she wasn't his real mother. No one who I can recall knew who his parents were."

"Surely, the council knows, or the king,” Mina wondered. “I could ask him about it."

Dugan smiled, a softness coming into his eyes. “You're finally content, having built a relationship with him. I worried that all that anger you held against the royal family would turn you bitter and ruin your life. I suppose it almost did."

She nodded as a slow smile spreading across her face. “Yes, I am happy, brother. My father has accepted me, and my sister and I are getting closer every day. Even if I can't be legally called princess, at least everyone knows I'm his daughter. I'm not a nobody whom everyone looks down on anymore. With the king accepting me, the other Faeries respect me more. Even becoming an emissary has raised me higher.” She stopped and looked into her brother's eyes. “Dugan, there's only one thing left I must make right. Niall is in the position he's in because of me. I cannot turn my back on him. I will not. In speaking with him, I see that deep inside he is still the man I used to know. I can reach him."

"What if you can't? Hmm? Have you considered that? What if he continues to reveal Faeries all over the human world, banishing them into these alternate nightmares? Mina, you need to face the fact that no one—not even the king—has the power Niall has to create alternate worlds. Further, this could become an interdimensional incident."

Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?"

"Meaning more than Faeries are at stake. Other magical creatures live in the human world. If they feel threatened that Niall will expose magic to the humans, then they could blame us, and the problem would escalate."

"Escalate?"

"To war."

Mina swallowed. Second assignment as emissary ... save Faerie-kind. No problem.

Dugan reached out to grasp the handle of the door and paused. “Is there anything else I should know before we go inside?"

Remembering the scene from the bar, Mina was hesitant to tell her brother what happened. If he determined that the assignment was more than she could handle, he might convince the council and the king that it was beyond her. She knew her father had given her this chance in part because of her history with Niall. He hoped she, if no one else, could reach her ex-beau. She prayed he was right.

"There's something else out there, Dugan. I don't know what it is or even what it looks like. But when Niall was about to ... um ... banish a Faerie, some power overtook him.” She wouldn't admit to her brother that Niall had been fully prepared to banish her. She trembled with the memory. “Whatever it was, it wasn't visible that I could tell. It took over him, sucking his power out of him from his mouth. I saw a red energy coming out, but not where it was going. It dissipated as quickly as it hit the air."

Her brother exclaimed and jerked fingers through his hair, leaving it standing on end in chunks all over his head. “How did Niall react?"

"As if it was choking him, sucking the life out of him. He fell to the floor. I rushed up and transported us both out of there. Worse"—she braced herself for his anger—"human reporters saw the whole thing."

"Fuck!"

Mina reddened. Her brother had never liked base language picked up from the human world. She realized he must be really upset to curse, and more so in her presence. Without another word, he took her by the elbow and guided her inside.

The elders were all sitting around a large oak table, one Mina had heard was carved from the oldest tree in Faeryland more than one thousand years ago. The men leaning on its sturdy surface were almost as aged. Following her brother's respectful bow, Mina curtseyed. The elders preferred old-school manners, and she had often wondered how they could still regulate magic worlds if they were so old-fashioned themselves. Yet, who was she to judge? She wanted to get this interview over with so that she could get back to Niall.

"Ah Dugan. Mina,” the oldest man piped up. “Come in, come in.” He may have greeted Mina, but his attention was on her brother. “What do you have to report?"

She pinched her lips together, trying to suppress the annoyance she felt at the slight. Her brother hadn't missed it.

"With all due respect, sir, this is Mina's assignment. I will let her report. I'm simply here to sit in."

The elder didn't appear to be happy with that, but all eyes turned to Mina nevertheless. She felt moisture gathering on her upper lip and refrained from wiping it off with the back of her hand. “Yes ... I..."

Where did she start? She began from the beginning of her short assessment of the situation. Leaving out the parts Dugan advised against sharing, she didn't understand the wiggling of his eyebrows when she recited how the unknown entity attacked Niall. Too late, she realized this was another nugget the council did not need to know at this time.

No longer paying her any mind, the men began to argue. The men's fists pounded the table, and their voices rose. Mina took in every face and paused at the empty chair on the opposite end of the room. Her mother had been the only female on the council. The notoriously slow elders had yet to replace her even after seven years.

"This is bad. This is very bad,” one of the council members muttered. He stroked a very long beard while shaking his head from side to side.

"Sir?” Dugan questioned.

The eldest, as always, was the one to speak up. “As you know, Dugan, the council rules over all magical creatures. Somewhat. We keep the balance, making sure that magic is not revealed to those who must not be fully convinced of its existence. We keep the flow of good and evil for the most part."

Her brother nodded. Everyone was aware of the chief aim of the Faerie council, though there were many magical creatures who balked at it, seeing that only Faeries sat in authority on it.

The elder continued. “The only group we do not regulate is the demons. They do what they want, when they want. While they do have a system of ranks—one ruler who would be as a king, though they do not call him king—still their rules are much more lackadaisical."

Another elder, the one with the excessive beard, piped up. “Yes, and they're as evil as can be. Not a moral bone in their bodies. If they had physical bodies, which they don't, not like we do, you know. They plot and scheme as to how to gain more power and more authority over others. If a demon is on Niall's trail, which is what we suspect, this has already gotten way out of hand."

Wide-eyed, Mina listened. Again, she wondered if she was in over her head. She leaned forward in her chair to question the elders, but her brother shook his head very slightly.

"Sirs,” Dugan began, “I'm sure you know about the rumor that has been going around about Niall being half-demon. As he and I were coming up in school together, no one seemed to know who his real parents were, least of all Niall. We weren't close, mind you, but I remember asking him about widow Aine, and he told me flat-out that she was just his guardian. The council never briefed me or my sister on the matter, and I feel it's important that we have all the facts."

"No, no, I agree, Dugan. You should know,” the lead elder told him. “However, we do not have all the details. The king himself handled Niall's placement with the widow. I'm sure he knows more.” The man sighed, and after staring down at the table for a moment, his gaze swung to Mina. She tried not to squirm. “I'm sorry, Mina. Under the circumstances, I cannot allow you to continue with this case. As much as we hate to overrule the king in any matter, you are not experienced enough to deal with this."

Mina jumped to her feet, knowing her pointed ears were twitching, she was so angry. “That's not fair. I worked my butt off to get this position, with the highest scores of anyone—including my brother!"

Before she could continue her tirade, Dugan stood and shot off a flash of lightning to her lips, sealing them so that she couldn't speak. He turned back to the elders with a tight smile and bow and said, “I'm sure my sister understands your reasoning, sirs. And with respect, I would like to offer my services in the matter of Niall."

The chatter of the elder men rose for a moment and then settled down. The lead elder spoke for all. “Agreed! Dugan, end this. I don't have to tell you how important it is for the Faeries to contain Niall. Take men with you. Arrest him. Go to the king if you feel you need to know more of his background to assess his ability, but however you do it, do it quickly, before this entire situation blows up in our faces."

[Back to Table of Contents] 





Chapter Six 
"I just can't believe how they just snatched me off the case, never even giving me a real chance,” Mina grumbled to her sister as they shopped. “I only saw him once, and I was the one who saved him from that whatever it was that was attacking him. Sheelagh, you can't imagine how the elders treated me, ignoring me and speaking only to Dugan. What's the point of having female emissaries if they still don't value us?"

Sheelagh swung to face her, patting her cheek. “Oh, sweetie, you know those old fogies. They're like a million years old or something. They're set in their ways. Guess who I saw in Faeryland the other day?"

"Who?"

"Kiera."

Mina's eyes widened. “The Elf?"

"Yes, the wild woman herself.” Sheelagh laughed. “Said she was looking for some guy who hurt her sister."

"Oh, no."

"Yeah, I hope she finds him.” Sheelagh held up a baby's bib set, and Mina shook her head no. Her sister moved on along the aisle of clothes in the baby mart for humans. “I'm surprised they moved so quickly to take you off the case and asked Dugan to arrest Niall."

Mina had been considering that. “Yes, well Dugan said they're worried about other magical creatures making a greater case about getting seats on the council. The Faerie council has been monopolizing the policing of magic for centuries. If they look incompetent, unable to contain one of their own..."

Sheelagh made a little noise to show her understanding. “I see. Yes, that would cause an uproar. But maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing. The younger Fae are leaving Faeryland by the droves for the human world, just for a little excitement, a release from the tight reins."

Mina sighed. “And you prefer it here, living like a human. You could just use your magic to make baby clothes, you know."

Her sister grinned. “Where's the fun in that? Now, tell me. Do you like this one? Or this one?"

Mina was no longer listening. Her full attention was on a man who she was sure had been shadowing them all morning. Was he the demon who had been following Niall? Why would he follow Mina and her sister? She tried not to stare, to give away the fact that she had spotted him. He wore a hat pulled low over his head, but still he stuck out in the middle of the store, whose customers were mostly women and some of their husbands. This man was the only one with a grim expression as if he thought all the happiness from the families around him would somehow infect him.

And they call me inexperienced, she thought. The man could not think he was hidden in plain sight with such a bearing. Suddenly, Mina had another thought. If she were to take out this demon, the council would have to take her seriously, believe that she could handle bringing in Niall. She would prove to the old fogies that she was as good as any man, as good as her brother.

While her sister continued to chatter about the cutest outfits for her coming twins, Mina pretended interest in the baby furniture a little farther down the aisle. As soon as she had put a few yards between herself and the stranger, she turned down an aisle piled high with dressers of all shapes and sizes. Out of the man's sight, she checked the area for humans. Finding none, she uttered a quiet spell that would summon her wrist spears. She infused the first weapon with lightning, then circled around to the last place she'd spotted the man. She would take him down from behind. He would not know what hit him.

When she turned a corner expecting to see him, there was no one there. Mina swung back and forth, listening as well as searching among the racks of clothing. There were no sounds, nothing. All the laughter from the moms and dads, the whining from some of the small children, and even the radio playing on the loudspeaker were silent. Sweat broke out on her forehead. Her muscles were so tensed that they were beginning to ache.

A suspicion crept up on her mind, making her mentally replay her last steps. When Mina felt she knew what had happened, she swung around to look behind her. There, just a few steps away was a portal. On the other side was a mirror image of the store surrounding her now. Somehow seeing the portal allowed her to hear on that side, the people and the music. Without noticing—and it was impossible not to notice, wasn't it?—she had walked right through one of Niall's portals. Where was he?

With a pounding heart, Mina saw the portal closing. She ran toward it at first thinking to shoot her spears to keep it open, but she worried the weapon might pass through and hit a human. She picked up speed. The distance seemed to grow rather than decrease. Before she could step through, the opening dissolved and the Faerie dust floating around it disappeared. She was trapped.

"Okay, Mina,” she breathed, trying to calm herself. “Don't panic. Just call up your own portal and get out of here. Not a big deal."

Only recalling the words to conjure the portal between the human world, her own and the world between where the council was housed, she had to think about how the spell went for foreign-world crossover. She spun around to pace while she thought and barreled directly into a male chest. Even without looking up, she knew Niall's scent.

A tremor raced through her body, and Mina tilted back her head in slow motion. “Niall?"

He grinned with darkness in the depths of his eyes. “You were expecting someone else?"

"I'm ... What are you doing here? For that matter, why did you put me here? You tricked me,” she said in accusation. Words tumbled from her lips in a tangle of confusion. She surmised it was being so close to him, having a reaction so different than it had been so long ago. Yet, Mina was nothing if she was not bold. She remained where she was, pressed against his firm body.

Feeling the stiff erection between his legs did unnerve her, but she held her ground. Niall's grin increased. He seemed to know she was determined not to be cowed by him, and it amused him further.

"Beautiful Mina.” He reached up to stroke her hair. “Your hair is shorter. You cut it."

Mina wondered if that was an accusation. She pretended it was a compliment. Striking a saucy pose, she said, “Yes, I'm glad you like it. Isn't it cute? Not too short to hide my ears while I'm in the human world, but still stylish."

"I hate it,” he said simply. “So, you realized it was me following you all morning?"

She gasped. “No, I thought it was the demon who attacked you in the bar, the one who stole your power."

He went still, his eyes unblinking as he stared down at her. “Demon? What makes you think it's a demon?"

Mina slid her arms up around his neck and rested her head against his chest as she had done many times before. Always, Niall would then hold her and tell her how beautiful she was, how he would do anything to make her happy. This time, he stood stiff in her arms, his hands remaining at his sides.

"I'm sorry, Niall. I didn't mean to frighten you,” she told him. “I know you went through a lot in that place."

"You don't know anything.” His voice was low and angry. “And you didn't frighten me. I am just surprised you think that your weak little ploys will still work on me. Sorry, I'm not at your beck and call anymore, Mina. Try it on some other guy."

Mina stepped back, suppressing her feelings at his words. “I didn't mean to give that impression. I'm not trying to seduce you. That would be a betrayal. You see, I'm seeing a guy who works as a clerk at the council headquarters. He—"

"No!"

She jumped at the single vehement word. Waiting for an explanation that never came, she moved farther away from him. “I'm not sure what you meant by that or what you intended to say.” She fell silent.

For a few moments, they stood watching each other, Mina wondering what was going through his head and hoping he wasn't planning on locking her in this silent world forever. Before she could question him on it, Niall closed the gap between them and lifted her firmly against his body again. He tangled his hands in her hair and brought his mouth down on hers.

Involuntarily, she parted her lips, and his tongue found a home inside her mouth. Pleasure radiated from every nerve ending of Mina's body. Without meaning to, she wrapped her legs around Niall's waist, clinging to him and struggling for more of his kiss.

He held her up by her rear with one hand and the other slipped around between them to stroke between her legs. Fear set off alarms in Mina's head. She struggled to break the hold and get down, but Niall held on.

She fought harder and at last got her message through that she didn't want this. He let her down slowly, making sure she felt his thick erection as she descended. Mina trembled.

"You always were a tease, Mina,” he growled. “A few kisses, some strokes of those incredible breasts, but that's it. Tell me, have you offered more to your clerk?"

She straightened, taking a step back from him. “That's none of your business."

His voice dropped low. “Would it be if I killed him?"

Mina gasped. “Niall, you wouldn't do that."

"How many times have I said you don't know me? If I want you, your body, and your soul, I will have it. And no weak little Faerie will stand in my way to get what I want. Is that clear?"

Her mind went blank. She could only stare at the man who had gone into Lake Cateerie in the dead of winter for her because she had wanted a sparkle fish to add to her collection of odd things the year before she graduated from school. Back then, Niall had cared for her and she had used him every chance she got, giving nothing of her heart in return. And not much of her body for that matter. He was right—she had never allowed him to be completely intimate with her. No man had been.

She supposed it had to do with ill-fated love, the kind that had her mother believing the lies her father had told her when he said he loved her, would leave the queen for her. He never did, but what he did give Mina's mother was her. Mina had not made a conscious vow to never allow a man to get close, to never allow herself to be nothing without a man. Perhaps something inside kept her from such a state.

Even now, though she was extremely attracted to Niall, she would never give her heart to him. And what she told him of seeing a clerk was untrue. She had thrown herself into her goal of becoming an emissary. That had consumed her for the last few years. And now she lived to prove herself worthy of the prestigious role. Love was not a part of the equation. Still, Niall's threat did frighten her. Would he really kill to have her? Would he force her to be with him?

Again, he seemed to read her mind. He gave a wicked grin, his eyes sparking with humor. “Are you afraid for your lover or for yourself, Mina?” He propped a hip against the large square bin, filled with fifty-percent-off baby items.

Mina pretended to be more interested in the clothing around them than in him, which was far from true. She was so totally aware of Niall, replaying in her mind how good it had felt to be in his arms, how much she wanted to return. She stiffened when he moved to stand behind her, his hands coming around to rest on her belly as if she were the one pregnant and not her sister. An aching loneliness took possession of her for one second before she pushed it way.

Niall nosed through her short curls to find the pointed tip of her ear. He ran his tongue over the sensitive flesh, which sent tremors throughout her body. After a few moments, he spoke. “Do you want a baby, Mina? I can give you one, right here, right now."

She gasped, tried pulling away, but his hold was firm. She would need to use her words to fight against his seduction. “I am a career woman. I do not want a family and am content to be auntie to my sister's children."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, that's so.” She tried pulling out of his arms again. “Let me go, Niall. Sheelagh will be worried about me."

"She doesn't know you're gone."

Her eyes widened. “What do you mean by that? How could she not know? I'm here in this alternate world with you. She has to see that I'm not standing beside her anymore."

He shook his head. “Nope."

Exasperation with him was making her snap. “Would you explain yourself and stop with the cryptic remarks?"

Niall's grin widened. The Fae or demon or whatever he was was getting on her nerves. She was usually content and happy with the positive changes in her life over the last few years, but Niall was making that disposition impossible to hold on to. A vision flashed through her mind of herself shooting a spear into his foot. That would snap him out of it.

"I planted a little something in her mind to make her think you're still there. That's what we demons do, you know. Give suggestions.” He looked too smug. “The power is strongest on humans, but since there is a smidgen of Fae in me, my power is stronger. In fact, my dear Mina, I can make you believe whatever I choose, and there's not a thing you could do about it."

[Back to Table of Contents] 





Chapter Seven 
Niall watched the emotions play over Mina's lovely face. As much as anger surged constantly inside him now that his demon heritage was alive and kicking, he still found it impossible to stop thinking about her, to not enjoy drinking in her small, sweet features.

He knew a second's fear when she said she was dating another man, but then quickly realized that Mina was just as inexperienced now as she had been in school. She may know how to tease a man into doing whatever she liked, but that was as far as it went. That was then. Niall intended to possess her body before he sent her away.

While she stared down at the children's clothing, pretending his nearness didn't bother her, he leaned away to take in the curve of her rear. If possible, he hardened further with the thought of losing himself inside her. He would most definitely take her virginity and would enjoy every second of it. Maybe he should even take it now.

The desire to make her give him what he wanted was strong. Every creature struggled with good and bad, but him more so. He had come back to the human world fully intent on giving in without check to the demon in his makeup, but Mina had put a pause—if not a stop—on his plans. Damn the woman.

He wanted to hurt her just as much as he had the others—only more so. And yet hurting her also ripped a streak of pain through him. Niall figured the best solution was to scare Mina off, to make her drop the mission and let someone else come after him. That he could handle. While he continued to ponder the situation, Mina twisted to face him, rubbing her body against his in the process. Niall steeled his desires.

"I want to see my sister,” she demanded. “I want to know she's okay and not worried about me. She is very close to her due date, and I don't want anything to happen to her."

"You are in no position to demand anything."

She raised one of the contraptions on her wrist toward him and actually shot off a small spear, but Niall jerked her aim to the ceiling before he could be shot at close range. His eyebrows rose.

"I...” She seemed about to apologize for her rash act, but then pressed her lips tightly together.

Niall wasn't amused. He opened the portal, shoved her through while holding onto her arm, and marched her down to the last location her sister had been. A couple aisles over, she stood chitchatting happily with no one. Mina gasped.

"There. Are you happy? Now, you and I can—” He stopped speaking and glanced around him. Something didn't feel right. The familiar evil, darkness that was not emanating from him, was filling the area. Mina had assumed a demon had been chasing him, but he had been sure the one he had been warned about was still locked safely within the demon world. Could he have escaped? Impossible. Demons could only leave their world by one portal and then only if their leader assigned them a task. Could the leader have assigned him to Niall? To bring him back?

Now was not the time to contemplate it. He pulled Mina tight to him again, preparing to leave the area. “Come, now that you see she's okay, we have to leave. That creature you mentioned is coming. I feel the evil.” Even as he spoke, he heard a commotion in the store nearby. Of course, the demon could only travel in the human world inside a human, else his power was limited. Niall clutched Mina closer.

"Wait,” she cried out, struggling against him. “My sister. Please, Niall."

He growled. With a furtive look over his shoulder, he focused on Sheelagh. A few choice words sent her home to her human husband whether she liked it or not. Niall lifted Mina off her feet, opened a portal, and leaped through before closing it behind him.

As soon as he set her on her feet, Mina wiggled free of him and moved far out of his reach. He would have demonstrated how he could move objects without touching them, but he let her be. She would be in his arms soon enough.

"What is this place?” Mina asked.

Niall watched her taking in the tall trees, the thick carpet of grass, and the convenient babbling brook nearby. A Faerie loved nature, was more comfortable in it than anywhere else. Niall was betting he could seduce his woman quite easily here.

"Or I can just rip your clothes off and take you right away.” When she jumped and turned fearful eyes on him, he realized he had said that out loud, not completely meaning to. He chuckled. Making Mina nervous wasn't all bad. “Relax. I just want to talk, catch up on what's happening in your life."

She gave him a dark look he could be proud of. Niall crossed the area in front of one of the trees and dropped to the ground. With a snap of his fingers, a basket of fruit appeared at his side. He patted the grass between his legs and gave her an inviting look.

Mina lifted her nose in the air, marched around the other side of the basket, and sat down. She grabbed an apple and began munching calmly. Niall grumbled. “You're messing things up for me, Mina. The least you can do is feed me grapes."

"Not in this lifetime.” She leaned back against the tree. “So, how long are you going to keep me here? I do have other responsibilities."

"I'm your responsibility,” he told her with a frown. “You're here to convince me to see the error of my ways, remember? Besides, you can use your own magic to leave whenever you like."

"First of all, if that was true, then why didn't the Faeries you banished simply open a portal back to their homes in the human world? None of them returned.” Her voice caught for a moment before she continued. “Second, I figure if I try to escape, you'll just grab me again. And lastly, you are no longer my responsibility. You're Dugan's. I imagine he'll track your magic soon enough and come get you."

She ticked off points on the tip of fingers so small and delicate, he made a mental note not to handle her so roughly. His strength had increased exponentially.

Niall pulled the apple from her hands and replaced it with grapes, giving her a pointed look. “Why is it Dugan's? Did you screw up already? I thought the council had an academy to train emissaries. Must be slipping.” He knew his words would hurt her feelings as it was obvious the job was something of an accomplishment for her.

To her credit, Mina didn't allow her feelings to show at his cruel remark. “Yes, I've been pulled from the assignment. With that demon so easily draining you of your powers, they figured someone with more experience might be good in this situation. I was forced to agree."

Touché. 

"Tell me about the demon,” she encouraged. “You seemed unsurprised when I told you what we suspected it was, like you expected it."

Niall moved the basket and then laid his head on Mina's lap, making himself comfortable. “I will tell you if you will feed me grapes."

"And what if I don't care enough to know?"

He opened his mouth without a word. She frowned, then popped one into his mouth. He chewed while watching her do the same for herself. How sweet the flavor would be, he decided, if he just leaned up and scooped the fruit from her mouth. She seemed to read his thoughts and trembled.

"I don't remember you being such a coward, Mina. You commanded me, wrapped me around your little finger.” He captured one of the slender digits and slid it between his lips, sucking gently. She tugged, but he held on.

"That was before."

"Before what?"

Mina didn't answer, but Niall knew what she meant. That was before she was attracted to him and before he threatened to take what he wanted. It didn't take a genius to see how the story of his activities from city to city had increased the Faeries’ fears of what he might do to them. Upon recognition, they'd all been cowed, and the knowledge only drove his anger, fueled it. He focused again on Mina, seeing her stiffen her spine. She was afraid of him, but she would fight. He may have enjoyed her being afraid of him, but he wanted her moans of pleasure more, when he took her. That meant seduction, not force.

"You asked about the demon,” he began, then paused while she fed him. “When I was in the demon world, a demon told me there was another who would hunt me. He had heard of me, believed I could help him overthrow the demon leader. At first, I thought this would be interesting, especially since I had learned I could function almost as well as any demon there and would be stuck for a long time."

She ran a hand absently through his hair, distracting him and sending chills rippling over his body. He hardened. For a second, he debated removing her hand from his hair and placing it on his groin so she could feel what she did to him.

He cleared his throat, pushing away the thought. “Problem was that this demon didn't want me to fight alongside him. He wanted to drain me of all my power so that he would then be strong enough to challenge the demon leader."

Mina considered his words. She chewed at her bottom lip with her eyes unfocused. Niall reached up to stroke her mouth. A craving hit him so hard, he sat up and pulled her onto his lap. Her breathing quickened. “Would you die? Can you die?” she whispered.

If he told her he most certainly would die, would it matter to her? Attraction was one thing, love another. He wasn't going to ask her how she felt about him, that was for sure. Instead, he ignored the question while he unbuttoned her uniform top. “Do you know how much I want to be inside you right now?"

"Niall."

Pushing open the two sides of the top, he took in the lacy red bra she wore. Niall had to work to keep his body temperature down. “Red. My favorite color."

"Niall."

"Shall I show you a trick?” he questioned. He slid his fingers behind the catch between her breasts so that the tiny metal piece holding her bra on was in the palm of his hand. Mina squirmed. Concentrating, Niall heated his palm by hundreds of degrees while containing it so that it would not burn Mina. The flimsy metal liquefied. He tossed it away, and his beautiful Faerie was bare before him.

He stared down into her wide eyes. When he bent her back against the crook of his arm, he waited for her to protest. Mina closed her eyes tight but didn't utter a word. He didn't want a board-stiff woman in his arms. He wanted the temptress, the way Mina seemed to reach out and grab hold of him with her eyes, almost making him release just watching her.

His gaze dropped from her stony face to her full breasts. They were pert and a perfect size, just a little more than he could hold in his palm. The nipples were erect even before he had a chance to tease them to attention. Long and stiff, they called to him.

In a slow, deliberate move, he lowered his head, kissed the underside of one breast, and then around the dark pink areola until he was ready for the peak. Niall ran his tongue over her nipple and drew it into his mouth, sucking gently. His shaft pulsed with excitement. Mina quaked but didn't make a sound. He drew back.

"You want this,” he snapped, inordinately angry at her.

Her expression was blank. He wished he could read her mind, but only full-fledged demons could do that. Maybe he would learn someday.

"You want it,” she said simply.

Niall pushed her from his lap a little too roughly. She stood, yanking her top closed. He sent the fruit back to where he'd snatched it from and stood beside her. “Go then. Go back to playing emissary. I have more important matters to deal with."

"Niall,” she began, laying a hand on his arm.

He shifted the world around them, the same way he had done before so that Mina wouldn't know she'd walked through his portal. It was a trick he'd developed himself, and he was usually proud of the accomplishment, but it gave him no pleasure at this particular time. Because no matter what he had become, she didn't truly want him. Never had.

[Back to Table of Contents] 





Chapter Eight 
Trying to tell herself that it didn't rankle her that Niall had rejected her, Mina pressed her face against the cold glass before her. Granted, she had been holding herself stiff as a board, trying not to get swept away in the pleasure he was assaulting her body with. Truth was that since seeing him again, her body had awakened in so many ways. Where she had pushed aside physical desire when she decided to become an emissary, it now seemed ready to consume her. This was surely Niall's fault.

Getting involved with him was a mistake. Pure and simple. Mina knew she could fall for him, hard and fast. That would be the fast track to career suicide, and heartbreak. Niall wanted one thing—and that was revenge against the Faeries he felt betrayed him. Being fairly certain the half-demon wouldn't banish her, at least not until he convinced her to be intimate with him, she couldn't take chances. Not with her body and certainly not with her heart.

She sighed, turning away from the street outside Sheelagh's study. While she was in between cases, she had chosen to stay with her sister, helping out in any way she could since the council would send a message box or a page should they need her.

"Well, if I'm going to be on fire like this, perhaps it is time to take a lover,” she told the empty room. Her sister and Drake, Sheelagh's husband, were working at the company they co-owned. Mina had the house all to herself. “Better to take one I will never fall for."

The front doorbell rang, interrupting her thoughts. Mina considered ignoring it, but then thought it might be a delivery person for her sister or brother-in-law. Better to get it. When she had stridden out to the foyer and opened the front door, she was surprised to see Pete Sumner, Drake's best friend, standing on the steps. Mina knew he was a reporter and didn't particularly like him. He was sneaky and nosey.

While she stood examining the man and not inviting him into the house, she mentally gave the reporter a break. At least he was handsome. Tall, wiry frame and blond hair boyishly wild. She could see him in the newscaster's role rather than the write-ups for the local newspaper. To each his own, she supposed.

"Hello, Peter.” She gave a forced smile. Several years ago, she realized she could have charmed him just for the fun of it. Now, she stood calm and resolute.

Pete wasn't deterred by her less-than-enthusiastic response to seeing him. He practically glowed with enthusiasm. For what, Mina couldn't imagine. Not waiting for an invitation, he stepped past her into the foyer.

"It's great to see you again, Mina.” He reached for her hand, but she moved to close the door. Pete's hand dropped to his side. “How have you been? Last time you were up here was, what, four months ago?"

For just an instant, her old, sassy attitude flared. Mina gave him a slow, sensual blink. “Why? Did you miss me?"

A cat-which-had-gotten-into-the-cream expression slid over Pete's features. He fell into the game of flirting with Mina as easily as she had with him. He moved close to her, so that they were inches apart. Mina searched her body for the response she'd felt with Niall when he was this close to her. No comparison. While she was sensuously aware of Pete—after all, he was a man, and sexy at that—he did not have the dangerous presence of Niall.

"Of course, I did,” he said. “In fact, as soon as I heard you were staying here, I rushed over to see you. I was wondering if you would like to go out with me sometime."

He certainly moved fast, Mina thought. She should turn him down and rethink what her feelings were regarding Niall. She should concentrate on her work and forget men entirely for the time being. Plenty of examples of what she needed to do flashed through her mind, but at the moment, none of them appealed like just forgetting everything and having a little fun with Pete.

The memory of Niall suggesting what she would think if he killed her fictional boyfriend spun through her mind, but she pushed it away. He had made his intentions clear when he dismissed her three days ago. While there hadn't been any reports that Niall was back to banishing Faeries, she refused to live in fear.

"I think that's a great idea, Pete,” she told the reporter. “How about tonight?"

Pete seemed hardly to believe his luck. He nodded vigorously and was not too hard to put off with the promise of a date tonight and that she would be ready by seven-thirty.

* * * *
Mina had to admit that Pete looked good, even in a simple denim shirt and blue jeans. His hair had been tamed somehow, and he'd shaved. The lust in his eyes as he planted a tender kiss in the palm of her hand made Mina feel momentarily uncomfortable, but she wondered if that was the result of Niall's face zipping through her mind. She blinked away the vision to scoop up her glass of wine. After taking a huge gulp, she slammed the glass down too hard and blushed.

Mina prayed Pete didn't notice. “Sorry. Shall we order?"

Pete grinned. “You're what, a hundred years old, and you're nervous? This can't be your first date."

She didn't deign to acknowledge the rude question about her age. Asking a woman her age was a taboo no matter what world she was born on. Mina pressed her lips together and frowned. Pete got the message.

"My turn to say sorry. I didn't mean that.” She knew he did. “Okay, let's order."

Mina had barely tucked into her French fries and burger—a far cry from a Faerie's normal meal, which was why she had ordered it—before she got the strangest feeling they were being watched. Her heart began to pound, remembering the creature who had attacked Niall.

When she glanced up into Niall's hot, red gaze, her heart stopped. He leaned against a tree watching while she and Pete sat at a sidewalk cafe having their dinner. As if he had all night to get there, Niall straightened and began a slow stroll over to them.

He leaned down to place his elbows on the table between Mina and Pete. His expression impassive, he studied the pattern in the tablecloth before twisting his head to meet Pete's startled gaze. “You're making a mistake, friend. Being here tonight with Mina."

Mina heard that strange inflection in the way Niall pronounced friend and didn't like it. Her stomach roiled, and she was second-guessing her decision to come out with the reporter for the hundredth time. Niall was—well, she didn't want to call him crazy—but he was certainly on the edge. With his abilities, one didn't want to provoke him. The Faeries he'd banished still had not returned, nor had the map her father kept, which could locate just about anyone, anywhere, on any world, found any sign of them.

"Niall,” she began, placing a hand on his arm. This time, he didn't even turn his head to look at her. A power went out of him, removing her hand and placing it in her lap. Nothing Mina could do would release her until her trembling fingers were clasped beneath the table.

Pete seemed aware of the danger he was in. “Hey, look, man. We're just having a little dinner, drinks. It's so not a big deal.” For good measure, he tossed in, “Her brother-in-law, Drake, is my best friend. We're like friends, you know?"

Mina frowned. From where she sat, Pete was cowing before Niall. Granted, he had to have an inkling of Niall's powers, having witnessed what he did back at the bar. And Pete knew they were Faeries as he had been there when Drake, though human, had rescued Sheelagh using a magical Faerie book. In honor of his friendship, he had kept silent. But Niall might be too much temptation for a human reporter. Mina worried what Niall would do to the man if he stepped beyond the bounds.

"Is that right?” Niall continued to appear calm, even tapping his fingers on the table, then lifting one of Mina's French fries to sample it. He frowned at the flavor. “Well, as I see it, you are going after Mina. That I can't allow. So, you can back off and I kill you. Or you can keep sniffing around her and I kill you."

Pete jumped to his feet, and so did Mina. This time, she launched herself at his thick, muscled arm as if he'd already prepared an attack to end Pete's life. “Niall, no. Please. Don't do this.” She dropped her voice low. “He's a human. We are forbidden to hurt them."

"You are forbidden,” Niall snapped. “And I warned you when I told you what I would do to your clerk."

"That was hypothetical,” she squeaked.

He chuckled. Mina had trouble keeping a straight face for a moment, but this was serious. She stiffened her back and eased past Niall to stand between him and Pete. Niall was unperturbed. He eyed Pete over Mina's head.

"You have three seconds to get out of here. One."

"Niall!” Mina panicked. “You can't use your magic against him. People are watching."

"Two.” He didn't take his dark glare from Pete. “It doesn't take magic to handle him. “Three.” Niall picked up Mina and put her to the side, but not before she sent a hard kick between his legs. A shield, invisible to her eyes, kept her from making contact. She stared in awe even while she rubbed at the soreness in her toes.

With hands up and seemingly ready to choke the life out of Pete, who was rooted to the spot, Niall advanced the foot-and-a-half distance between them. Mina considered using her own magic, just this once, to send him elsewhere. But she would be hauled before the council and possibly dismissed for such an action in front of human witnesses.

Just as Niall's hands closed around Pete's neck, Mina was thinking she could throw herself at his back and do something a female human would do. She had no idea what that would be. A woman's scream pierced the air. “Stop, stop! Don't hurt him."

Mina glanced around behind her to find the reporter Pete had had tagging along with him when she saw him at the bar. The woman did what Mina had been considering earlier. She launched herself at Niall and at first hung from his arm. That was a feat in itself since she was already so tall, several inches above Mina. Now determined, she grabbed onto Niall's hair and yanked madly while still screeching. If this situation weren't so serious, Mina would have burst out laughing.

With Pete turning blue from lack of oxygen and the girl reporter pounding on and scratching at Niall, they were attracting plenty of attention. The owner of the restaurant, along with a couple of his waiters, were hurrying over. Mina glanced around, spotting a couple of cloth napkins yet to be gathered from a table nearby. A candle sat flickering in a frosted red jar in the center of the table. She whispered a spell, a simpler move rather than conjuring up Faerie dust or lightning. The spell worked like a charm. Basic magic 101, how to start a fire. Immediately, the napkins flamed up. Someone yelled, “Fire!"

Mina leaned forward, laid a hand on Niall, and uttered more words while the humans were distracted. Seconds later, the four of them were in a dimly lit alley with no one else around. The surprise transport was enough to make Niall stop choking Pete and the girl to unhook her fingernails from the side of his face.

As if coming out of a trance, Niall blinked and pressed a hand to his cheek, stemming the dripping blood. Mina watched in surprise when the girl threw herself into Pete's arms, pressing the full length of her body against him.

Niall stepped back, turned toward Mina, and pulled her into his arms. She struggled, a useless move. “I've made my point, I think,” he muttered darkly. He kissed her hard and then disappeared without another word or gesture.

Is it me or is he getting more powerful? New fears crawled up her neck and made her scalp tingle. This incident was something she didn't want to share with her brother, but she felt it was necessary. Neither he nor the council would like the report.

[Back to Table of Contents] 





Chapter Nine 
"That is bad news.” The Faerie king frowned, his thick, red eyebrows nearly shielding his eyes. “Dugan, is Mina sure of this?"

Dugan nodded. He had visited Mina in Sheelagh's house just that morning, and she'd told him everything that happened during her date with Pete. He wasn't any more happy about his sister dating a human than Niall was. Their casual language, dress, and eating habits were already too much of an influence on her. He'd hoped that becoming an emissary would change all that, but now it seemed she spent even more time in the human world. The respect for her heritage had never materialized as Dugan had dreamed would come with her new position.

"Yes, she's sure. Niall attacked a human in front of a small crowd of people. To give him credit, he did not use magic for that.” Dugan worried the sword on his hip, tapping a fingertip against the cool metal blade. “Your Majesty, Mina says that when she tried to kick him, some shield blocked the attack automatically. And later, in the alley, he disappeared without a snap or a spell."

The king grunted, falling back into his chair. “This is worrisome. I don't need to tell you that, Dugan."

"No, Your Majesty.” Dugan sighed. “There's more."

"Must there be?"

He went on as if the king hadn't questioned him. “Niall created a portal in some way that Mina couldn't see until she had already stepped through. He is much more powerful than any of us could ever imagine. I've not even known you or any of the council members to be that powerful."

Dugan paused, waiting for the king to voluntarily offer any more insight into who or what Niall was. His leader remained silent.

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, I must know what I'm dealing with here,” Dugan implored. “Are the rumors true? Is Niall a half-demon?"

"I swore to keep it secret until the end of my days. No one would know. I cast a sealing spell, to bind it deep inside him. There was no reason to think it would ever be revealed.” The king's words tumbled from his lips, making Dugan question whether it was truly guilt he heard in the man's tone. “She pleaded with me to keep her secret."

Wisely, Dugan remained silent. Let the king work it all out. If he reminded the king that he was in the room, the king might never offer enough information that would help in the case for dealing with Niall. Up until now, nothing he did helped him to locate Niall. The man appeared and disappeared at will. Dugan suspected he was using his created worlds to hide until he was ready to strike. And because the worlds existed in his own mind until he created them, they were not easily located using the king's map. The entire hunting process was becoming tedious.

The king continued. “Her name was Bridget, one of the most beautiful Faeries I've ever laid eyes on. In truth, had she not died, I would have made her my queen. Our affair had been kept a secret, as it was against our custom to mate before we were wed. Neither of us could wait. I guess that should have told me something of Bridget, given my own disposition."

* * * *
"Ennis, I have to tell you something that's difficult to share.” Bridget's eyes never rose higher than his black leather boots, which he had shined to a mirror finish to impress her. But her tone was troubled, and he didn't think she noticed his attire at all.

"What is it, Bridget?” He tucked a hand beneath her chin, marveling anew at her soft skin. “Look at me. You know you can tell me anything. What's on your mind? If it's a problem, we'll work it out together."

At that point, she choked, and tears began running down her face. “I've done something I'm ashamed of. I never meant for this to happen. In the clear light of day, I can't believe I did it.” She sobbed. “Now, I can't take it back. I can't."

Terror started in the pit of Ennis's stomach. He had dared to dream of making Bridget his queen. The council had been nagging him for years to take a wife, that it was not proper for the Faerie king to be single. He had begun to agree after he met and fell in love with this perfect woman. Now, he wondered if his dreams had been nothing but a shimmer of Faerie dust.

Ennis steeled himself for Bridget's next words. “Tell me,” he commanded.

"I'm pregnant,” she whispered, killing his heart with her next words. “By a demon."

The young king would have fallen to his knees had his legs been able to bend at that moment. He stood shaken to the core, unable to move. “Not mine?"

She shook her head. “No."

Don't ask, he told himself. Yet, he did anyway. “How do you know?"

She gave a huge sigh of despair. “Because I have already visited the healer, Aine. She says the creature I carry inside me is half-Faerie, half-demon. And Aine is never wrong."

* * * *
The king came out of his reverie of the past. “You have to find him, Dugan,” he boomed suddenly, slamming his fist on his desktop. “He is bringing a bad name to the Faeries, not to mention endangering my daughter. Find him and contain him! If I must, I will seal his dark magic again—and this time for good."

Dugan bowed. “Yes, Your Majesty. It will be done."

* * * *
Niall lay back in the grass on the world he had brought Mina to. He knew the Faeries were searching for him, which was why he tucked the world away each time he left it and recreated it with only a few words each time he wished to return. In this way, they would never discern the magic that would lead them to his hiding place.

Thinking of a name for his there-again, gone-again world, he considered the name Mina, but scrapped it. Mina already knew of his obsession with her. There was no need to perpetuate it. Had he any sense, he would get rid of her and be done with it, but he couldn't seem to shake the feeling that she kept him at least partially in his right mind.

Except for the night before. Seeing her with that human, him kissing her hand, touching her had sent Niall into a rage, not the type where he threw things or yelled, but in a way that made him want to squeeze the life out of the man. How dare he touch Mina. She belonged to him and him alone. Niall would not stand for her giving herself to another. She would either come to him willingly or she would remain alone. Those were the only two choices she was allowed.

He rolled to his side, grumbling angrily before standing to his feet. Why did she have such a hold on him? What had she done all those years ago, when they were barely old enough to know what love was? Befriended him? Cast a spell that bound him to her for eternity? He paused on his way to the brook to take a swim. Had Mina cast a spell on him?

He shook his head with small smile. “Impossible. She's not that powerful that she can lock me to her forever. The spell would have been broken long before now.” Not that he would mind if that was her aim.

Is that what she wants in a man? he wondered. The blond good looks of the reporter? Wild hair, a ready smile, to be charmed? He frowned, remembering his own somber persona. Black clothing, black disposition. Giving in so often to his demon heritage lately didn't leave room for the level of sunniness the human male exuded.

"She'll just have to take me as I am,” he announced to the calm, peaceful world as he slipped beneath the wet surface. That or he could persuade her. He grinned, allowing his internal temperature to rise until the water around him bubbled.

Leaning back, he remembered his experience in the demon world...?

"My father,” Niall blurted.

The demon before him waved a hand and the fires receded, though the pain in Niall's skin lessened only slightly. In the far-off reaches of his mind, he noted how his skin didn't melt on contact with the fire. Was that the norm for all creatures in this hideous place to forever burn but not be consumed?

"You are not my father. I am a Faerie,” he told the thing proudly. Niall struggled not to cry like an infant, begging for release from the chair. “What can you gain by telling me these lies?"

That day, Niall learned what a demon could do. He was one with fire, to the point that he could produce it at will. Probably to intimidate Niall, the demon manufactured a fire in his hand and stood tossing it up and down as one would a ball. Niall flinched each time the hot orb smacked into the red palm of the demon.

"Gain? Your freedom. Respect."

"Respect?"

The demon nodded. “Once I had an assignment in the human world. Loved it, was bred for it, to torture a particular human and drive him to do unspeakable acts."

At that point, Niall moved as far away from the demon as he could while still strapped in place. His eyes had begun to glow red, and the fire in his hand grew and brightened like someone had added fuel to it.

Niall didn't comment on his words. He tried not to hear the myriad of screams resounding off the stone walls around him. Not hearing was impossible. Every poor soul brought to this place suffered, day in and day out. Niall struggled to enjoy his reprieve for however long it lasted.

"She was beautiful,” the demon reminisced. “A Faerie and as such forbidden to me, but I wanted her anyway."

Horror filled Niall's mind thinking that the demon had attacked the Faerie he spoke of. He tugged at his bonds, hating this place, and hating the demon hanging over him more. Why did she have to send him here? What did he do to deserve it?

The demon seemed to sense his disapproval and grew angry. “I'm a demon. It's what I do."

Niall shook his head. “That has nothing to do with me."

An evil grin crossed the thing's face. “It has everything to do with you. As I said, you're my son. That day, between Bridget and I, we made you.” The thing leaned down closer to him. “And now, because you are my son, I will help you to escape. From now on, every word I utter, you will obey."

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Chapter Ten 
Mina lay back on her bed, releasing a pent-up breath, and instantly found herself submerged in a bubbling brook with not a stitch of clothing on. Seeing Niall grinning like a hyena, she covered her breasts and ducked lower in the water. “Niall, what do you think you're doing? You can't just snatch me and take my clothes off."

He continued to grin. “Looks like I did.” He gestured around them. “Besides, the water's great. I wanted someone to enjoy it with me."

She eyed him in anger, considering digging his smug eyes out just as the reporter, who she'd since learned was named Kiley, did the night before. Niall seemed to read her mind.

"Don't touch me right now, álainn. My temperature is too high."

She was about to complain about him calling her beautiful yet again and giving her more of a tingle all over her body by pronouncing it in Gaelic when something occurred to her. “You are making this water bubble? That's disgusting!"

Clapping a hand between her legs and an arm across her breasts, she boldly stepped out of the water. As soon as she was on dry land, she snapped her fingers and clothes appeared on her body. Pretending she didn't hear Niall utter the same compliment he had previously, she marched past the tree they had sat in front of eating fruit. There must be an exit around here somewhere, and she would find it.

Mina expected to hear a twig snap or dried leaves crunch as Niall followed behind her, but then she realized that he had created a perfectly renewing world. Nothing lay dead on the ground. The grass was still as green as the last time she was here, and every leaf was in its place on the trees. She had to admit the air was so sweet that she was almost tempted to stick out her tongue and taste it. How could a demon create something this full of life? Still, he had no right to snatch her.

Sensing him behind her, she whirled around. “You had no right to treat me like that, Niall. Just because you've grown more powerful doesn't mean you should use your abilities on others."

The uncaring attitude he exuded grated on her nerves. He crooked a finger, probably just for effect, and yanked her across the space separating them until she was hard against his body. Mina wrenched herself from his hold, reared back, and punched him in the stomach as hard as she could. The pain made her gag.

"Why did you do that, Mina?” Niall brought her throbbing fingers to his mouth. He closed his lips over her knuckles, and heat soothed away the ache in an instant. As soon as it did, Mina pulled from his hold. He allowed her to move several feet away.

"What is that?” she wondered aloud. “Last night, too, when I tried to kick you, it was like a shield was there, something I couldn't see."

He smiled, but Mina saw a fleeting look of worry coming into his eyes and then it was gone again. “I'm not sure. That's just started. In the bar that night, the Faerie I was fighting—"

"You mean attacking,” she snapped.

"She hit me with her magic easily. Believe me, I felt the pain.” He made as if to move closer to her. She held up a hand, and he stopped. “Come on, álainn. You want it as much as I do. Your desires are practically radiating their own heat."

"Don't call me that.” Mina glanced around at the trees and then the sky. Mentally, she brought up her father's map outlining all the portals to cross worlds. None mapped this one, she remembered. “Let me out of here, Niall. Right now."

"One kiss, and I will let you go."

She eyed him suspiciously. Could she risk it? Niall was speaking the truth when he said she wanted him. In fact, since she'd first laid eyes on the man after so long, she couldn't get him out of her head. And it wasn't because she was afraid of him attacking Faeries either. The feelings were a betrayal. She should not be attracted to a man who had made his own people his enemy and wished to hurt them each chance he got. As yet, he had not retracted his threat to send her away as well. Her trusting him would be a monumental mistake.

Rather than kissing him, she reminded him of the past. “You are unique, Niall. Remember as children, you opened portals to worlds where we played on merry-go-rounds and ate cotton candy all day."

He flinched, as if hating to remember. Then a dark look came into his eyes. Always he fights goodness, she thought.

"Yes, when Dugan wasn't there to keep the others from taunting you, I took you to a happy place.” He chuckled. “Literally."

The reminder hurt her feelings. As a child, Mina had always been extra small. The other Faeries had teased her, calling her a shrinking spell gone wrong. So many times, she would do just that, shrink and hide away somewhere they couldn't find her. Dugan had learned her regular hideouts and would often change the other Faeries into smaller animals for Mina to chase.

There were other times, when even he couldn't comfort her, or he was off training. Then she would hide alone, but Niall could find her anywhere. Part of his abilities even then, she supposed.

"So, you just want to hurt me; is that it?” she demanded.

The darkness receded. He swung his head slowly from side to side, holding out his arms. Despite her resolve, Mina crossed the space separating them and stepped into his embrace. Niall lifted her up higher to meet his lips, and they devoured each other in the hottest kiss Mina had ever received.

Niall made her blouse disappear. She snapped it back. Still they kissed. He drew back a fraction of an inch. “Open your mouth."

She complied, and Niall slid his tongue into her mouth. Mina sucked it gently, teasing the tip, nipping it. A growl rose in Niall's throat, making her tremble. Finally, they broke apart, both panting.

"See?” he affirmed. “You want me."

"I don't deny I want you, Niall.” Mina mumbled a portal spell. Nothing happened. “However, I will not date a man who is determined to hurt my people. End of story."

She walked a few yards away and tried her spell again. Still nothing. Frustrated, she walked further. Niall fell into step beside her, making no attempt to help. His hands were folded behind his back as if he had not a care in the world.

"You have to admit that they deserve it. At least some of them.” He paused. “Like the Faerie king."

Mina rounded on him, about to attack, but thought better of it. “Don't you dare go after the Faerie king!” Her breath came out in harsh gasps. “He did nothing to you. Besides, I already got the report that you tried to force your way into Faeryland. Once a Fae has been banished forever, even a portal spell can't give them access."

If she was feeling smug in this demonstration of her knowledge of magic, the warm, fuzzy feeling left immediately with Niall's next words.

"I don't have to step one foot inside your precious world in order to take the king. As you've seen, my power grows every day. With barely an audible spell, I can snatch him from wherever he is. Although I am beginning to suspect I can force my way past the banishing spell."

Mina didn't want to believe him, but Niall had never lied as long as she'd known him. Granted, there was much evil emanating from those eyes, even while he watched her considering his words. Maybe he was mistaken, maybe this was just an empty threat to get her to do what he wanted. The best tactic was to go on the offense, she decided.

"Words like that are exactly why I would never consider a relationship with you, Niall. You have become the embodiment of evil. I admit that you are more powerful than any creature I have ever encountered—more than the ten-story dragons on the dragon world or the goblins in their realm. With all the power you possess, you can't make me love you."

She had hurt him. She saw it in his clenched fists and in the twin pools of midnight trained on her face. Mina took a step back as he walked up to her, rage apparent in his expression. “Who says I want you to love me?” he demanded. “You've got an incredible body. You've never lain with a man."

She opened her mouth to protest, but then clamped it shut.

Niall bent down to whisper in her ear. “I want to drive into you from the front and the back. I want to suck your sweet nipples and ravage your body on a thousand worlds."

A quake shook her so hard she nearly fell to the ground. Mina grabbed onto Niall's bare arm, too aware that he was still naked.

"I don't need you to love me for that,” he declared.

Mina turned away, took a step to continue her search for a portal, and then stopped. It was pointless. Niall was obviously blocking her escape, and she would not get out of his net until he was ready for her to. She crossed her arms, waiting silently. She would not react to his words, nor would she give in to his blackmail. Let him find some other woman to toy with. She was not interested.

Niall wasn't finished with his taunt. He faced her, holding his hands out to the side. “Tell me, Mina, what do you think of my body?"

She gasped. Unbidden, her gaze swung to his naked form, and she tried her hardest not to stare. The man was built like one of the gods of Greece. His body was solid muscle without even an ounce of excess. She noticed he had allowed his hair to grow longer. It hung in a straight, black sheet down to his waist, making her want to tangle her fingers in it.

He must have guessed her thoughts, for he grinned and a smug look came into his eyes. She forced herself to turn away, pretending his body didn't make her hot. “Take me home, Niall. Please."

He gestured her ahead as clothes appeared on his body. Mina sighed and walked. Instantly, the scenery changed. She no longer heard birds chirping in the trees or the gentle babble of the brook. She was in her bedroom at Sheelagh and Drake's house. Mina spun around, but there was no portal and no Niall. For some ridiculous reason, she missed him.

* * * *
Mina strolled purposefully into her father's study with barely a knock on the door. She perched as usual on the edge of his desk and sighed until he looked up. “Speak up, girl,” he grumbled.

She flinched. Her father was grumpy with many, but rarely her. She studied the lines around his eyes and mouth. He was getting up in age even by Faerie standards. He looked tired, maybe even a little unwell. “Father, what's wrong with you? You look sick."

"Nonsense. I don't get ill."

Mina reached to take his hand, but he leaned back away from her. She knew he didn't want to be coddled. “Well, you're not getting any younger, and lately, you've been even more fussy."

"You would also be fussy if your children continued to disobey you!” he snapped.

She blinked, considering that he must be referring to her. “I haven't disobeyed you."

"You deny being in the presence of Niall? When you were specifically told you were no longer on his case?"

Mina jumped down from the desk and moved to the nearest bookshelf to scan its contents. The word demon caught her eye, and she slid the thin volume from its place. Over her shoulder, she said, “I was not in Niall's presence, he was in mine. I was minding my own business when he grabbed me."

Behind her, she heard something smash against the wall, assuming it was her father's chair. Mina spun around to see her father's face turning as red as his hair. “What? He hurt you? This is enough. I will bring him to Faeryland myself and put an end to it. An end to him!"

The book in Mina's hands dropped to the floor, along with her stomach. Her heart ached in her chest. “No, Father, I didn't mean it like that. Niall didn't hurt me. And you can't bring him to you. He..."

"He what?” the king demanded. “Mina, you cannot protect him. Or if he's made you too afraid to speak..."

"No, that's not it.” Mina sighed. In truth, Niall hadn't admitted what his problem was with the king. She knew her father had performed some kind of sealing spell to suppress Niall's demon side, but why should Niall hold that against him? It was for his own good, so that he could function as normally as possible in the Faerie world. At least that was her reasoning.

She had almost blurted out Niall's threat to kill the king, but she hesitated. She knew the law. A threat against the king of the Faeries meant death, even if the person didn't mean it. Problem was that Mina wasn't sure whether Niall meant it. There seemed to be so much darkness in him now. Yet, she could not be a party to having him killed. She would not. Niall's state was hugely her fault. She would do what she could to help him. Maybe Aine could heal his mind?

"I'm waiting for your explanation, Mina."

"Oh, yes.” She thought of an excuse quickly. “Sir, isn't it risky to bring Niall here? We don't know the extent of his abilities. They seem to be growing almost daily, and if he cannot be contained, many young Fae could be hurt. Our first and foremost responsibility is to protect our people."

"Do not lecture me on my duties, young lady!"

Mina lowered her gaze. “Yes, sir."

"However, you are right,” he admitted. “We can't bring Niall here, but I have another plan in mind, one that will put an end to this madness once and for all."

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Chapter Eleven 
"Where is he? Where is he?” The demon stomped and raged, as he paced before the mirror. He looked at his glowing eyes, fire lighting within. Anger nearly drove him insane as he racked his mind for an answer.

Niall had been off his radar for days. Not since that damn Faerie with the big purple eyes came into his life did he attack any Faeries using his power. She made him soft, took the hate and anger out of him with just a blink of her eyes. He growled in disgust. Did she think he didn't know that trick? A demon first taught a woman all about being sexy, luring a man to his death with just a look. She with her innocence, practically reeking with it, made Niall forget what the Faeries had done to him.

What he needed to do was to remove her, or better yet—since killing her would send his prey into an even steeper downward spiral—the demon needed put a wedge between the two of them, possibly have the Faerie betray Niall. Yes, that might be the perfect solution. He grinned at his reflection.

But how to do it? He strolled into the room where his human sat working on a computer. The demon in his invisible form could not be seen by human eyes. Leaning over the human's shoulder, he read the screen and then frowned. Another fixation. Did everyone have an obsession with another person? He couldn't wait to gain all of Niall's powers so he could return to his own world and rule.

* * * *
Third row, top shelf, jammed between Everyday Spells and Frankincense: The Crucial Ingredient, Pete found the book he had been looking for. Faeries: How to Bend Them to Your Will.

His hands shook as he flipped through the pages. Years ago, he had come across this book when doing a story on real magic. Back then he had thought it preposterous. That all changed when he met Sheelagh, even before her husband knew her. Drake had snatched up a Faerie for himself, so why couldn't Pete.

"I can, and I will,” he muttered as he headed for the counter. Spotting the proprietor, he held up the book. “Hey, know anything about this one?"

Early on in his investigations, the man had directed Pete to where to find books for his research. He prayed this book wasn't nonsense. Few in this particular store were, according to Bob.

Bob slipped the book from Pete's hands and examined it while the reporter thought of Mina. She was beautiful, but then, weren't they all? He was almost shaking thinking about her, wanting her. It wasn't just because she was sexy, though that was a bonus, but he was obsessed with magic. He wanted to wield it, command it, and cast spells. He'd scoured the entire store at one point or another, finding nothing that would actually give him magic as had happened to Drake. However, marrying Mina might. He'd be able to snap his fingers and open portals just like the Faeries. Finally, he would be allowed to visit Faeryland as Drake was allowed to.

Pete knew the story, that not since Drake's grandfather, who had helped the king's wife to leave him, did the Faerie king allow humans to visit, but he had made an exception for his oldest daughter's husband.

"And he'll make an exception for me,” Pete grinned. “The youngest daughter's husband-to-be."

"Sorry, what now?” Bob asked.

Pete shrugged. “Nothing. Is it real? How much?"

The man nodded. “It's real. A hundred bucks."

A whistle escaped Pete's lips at the price, but it was worth it. With magic, he could produce a million in a snap. Forking over the money, he took his bag, happier than he had been in a long time.

* * * *
She was dreaming. She knew not because everything was out of focus or soft like mist. She knew because she was not worried when she saw Niall appear from nothing. Not even Faerie dust unsettled the air around him. One minute he wasn't, and then he was. He strolled to her bed where she lay and sat down at her side. Mina lay still, happy to see him.

"Tell me you love me,” he whispered.

"I can't tell you that,” she replied. “Even in a dream. I'm so sorry, Niall. I won't give in to love."

He stroked her face, his eyes gentle. “The people around us mark us. They wound us for life without even knowing it by the choices they make.” When he looked away so that she couldn't see the pain in his eyes, Mina reached up to turn his head back toward her.

"And as adults, you and I do the same. We may not have children to screw up, but we affect those around us."

Niall sighed. “You were born to lecture me on right and wrong. Is that it?"

"I'm sorry."

He lifted his hand, palm down, to hover above her body. Mina trembled, and a knowing look came into Niall's eyes. “Tell me you want me then."

"Fine. I want you,” she admitted. “But, then, you already knew that. What are you doing in my dreams?"

He grinned. “Here we can do whatever we want, with no consequences. You want to make love with me, and I, you. No guilt.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I can remove your nightgown."

Mina glanced down at his hand still above her body. Did she dare? Of course she dared! Nodding, she closed her eyes, dragging in a shuddering breath. Although this was only a dream, she was still terrified. She hoped Niall wouldn't be disappointed in her.

"Never, álainn,” he whispered in her ear, just as she felt the silk slip from her body. “Being disappointed in you is impossible. Let me show you."

"You read my mind,” she gasped.

"I'm in your dream, aren't I?"

Confusion clouded her thoughts, but she forgot it almost immediately when Niall removed his clothing. Mina drank in his beautiful body, hard plains, broad chest. She was practically panting for a taste of him. She reached out to stroke the tight, hot skin of his stomach, but her hands fell to her sides. As hard as she tried, she couldn't lift them again.

Niall shook his head. “No, álainn. Let me pleasure you."

His kiss lingered at her mouth as he nibbled on her bottom lip. Mina nearly moaned in protest when he moved lower to her chin, then on to her neck. She arched her back, offering him her breasts, and Niall didn't turn down the offer.

Mina ached to move her arms. Her eyes feasted on her lover when he drew back long enough to whip his long hair to the side so that it flipped over one shoulder. With his path clear, he clamped down on her nipple, swirling his tongue around the stiff peak. Mina cried out his name, feeling the intense desire build. An orgasm wasn't new to her. She'd pleasured herself many times, but the heat that radiated off Niall's tongue and mouth while he sucked hungrily at first one and then the other nipple had her trembling for release.

Just when she was at the glorious edge, he drew back, his eyes glowing in the near darkness of the room. Still she felt no fear. “Not yet,” he whispered. His gaze flicked lower and then met hers again. “I want to be in the right position when you explode."

His words alone had her ready to burst. Not sure what he intended, she said simply, “Now, Niall. I so need it."

He positioned himself between her legs low, so that his mouth was on a level with her most secret place. The muscles of her wet core clenched, just knowing he was there, that he could breathe in her scent and see how he made her feel.

"Let me loose, please,” she begged. Immediately, her hands were free. She plunged her fingers into his silken raven hair, tugging it so he'd know how much she wanted him to bury his tongue inside her.

Niall kissed her button once, then spread her trembling folds and pressed his mouth fully over her opening. His tongue glided inside her and then out. The tease of pain and pleasure at this foreign tool inside her channel made her head spin. Mina lifted her hips for more. Almost at once, desire built again. She was teetering on that edge that would send her airborne into sexual bliss.

She tugged again. Niall retracted his tongue and then closed his lips over her erect nub. He sucked so hard, Mina screamed and came in the same instant. The sensation was powerful. She planted her feet against the back of Niall's shoulders, clutched his hair more firmly, and rode his mouth with a vengeance.

"Yes!” she cried out each time the waves rocked her.

Her lover didn't stop or lessen his sweet attack until she'd released four times and he'd lapped up every slippery drop. Finally, he leaned back, a look of triumph in the dark eyes and a smile gracing his kissable lips. “Well? Did you like that?"

"Of course I did."

"Would you like more?"

"Yes!” Embarrassed, she looked away, not meaning to seem so desperate. “I mean...” There were no words to make her seem more casual about what she wanted while still relaying to this man how much she wanted all he had to give. The thought terrified her, and she lay there reminding herself that this was just sex, nothing else.

But now Niall hesitated. She watched him standing there as if he debated internally.

"What is it?” Mina wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"I want to be sure you want this,” he said.

She frowned. “You're kidding, Niall. You've just set me on fire. This is my dream, and I say I want it all, as long as I can stand it."

Still, he hesitated, annoying her. He'd snatched her from the human world, plunged her naked in his self-made whirlpool, and came on to her constantly. Now he was having second thoughts. A sudden thought hit her. Maybe he was just realizing the limit to her experience, thinking it wasn't going to be as good as he thought. She glanced around her for her covers, to hide her nakedness, if not her shame.

As before, he read her thoughts. “I have absolutely no doubt that I could live between those luscious thighs of yours and enjoy every second of it from now until I die."

Mina waited for further explanation.

"But when I say I am in your dreams, I mean I really am in your dreams. When we make love, it will be as real as it would be in your waking hours."

She frowned, still not getting it. Niall pulled her to a sitting position at the side of the bed and then joined her. He took one of her hands in his, threading his fingers with hers. Mina didn't pull away.

When he spoke, there was a tinge of apology in his tone. It was the first time she'd heard anything other than pride when he spoke of himself. “Demons can enter a person's dreams. They can influence or control the person while they sleep, but only give suggestions when they are awake, suggestions that are a challenge to resist. In some instances, with the weaker-minded person, a demon can fully possess the individual."

Mina didn't know what to make of Niall's words, but he continued.

"This is all true of humans, not Faeries. A demon cannot possess a Faerie, nor can it usually enter their dreams. However, since I am neither fully Faerie nor fully demon, some of my abilities are enhanced, while others are lessened.” He took in a deep breath as if he was about to take a leap into choppy waters. “You are not simply dreaming of me making love to you. I am here, in your mind. It's how I can read your thoughts because that is one of the abilities I do not have as demons do. This is not a dream that you can control or wake from."

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Chapter Twelve 
As soon as Niall had said the words, he realized he'd explained himself poorly. A look of unadulterated terror came over Mina's face. She wrenched her hand from his and leaped up from the side of the bed, searching around on the floor.

"Mina...” he began.

"No!"

She whirled to face him, and tears streamed down her cheeks. A knife twisted inside him. He felt for a moment that he shouldn't have admitted it, that he should have just taken her. Even now, as he watched her scramble to find something to cover herself, snapping her fingers, flames of desire kept him erect.

It was the dark side of him, he knew. Sometimes he hated having a demon's DNA or whatever it was that made him partly evil. Otherwise, he wouldn't be sitting here watching her, wanting her. He would release her from her dream state. But he couldn't help himself, he couldn't help it. The darkness that permeated his soul.

He stood and moved toward her, reaching for her hips to guide her soft body back against him, so she'd know what she did to his body. A tremor rocked her, and he didn't know if it was from fear or desire. He told himself not to reach in front of her, between her legs to see if she was wet, but his hand didn't obey.

She was. Mmm, yes! He stroked fingers in and out of her. She cried and pleaded with him, words he couldn't hear over the blood rushing in his ears. But he felt her rear pushing against his hard-on. He felt her cream running down his fingers. Mina was afraid of him, but she craved his touch. The knowledge buckled his knees so that he went down to the floor curved over her slender form, his shaft wedged against her moist opening.

"Mina,” he gasped against her back, his body temperature rising, though he fought to hold it. “Tell me yes. Please tell me yes."

Some part of Niall wanted to force her, to make her his whether she liked it or not. He battled the desire, recognizing it for what it was. Every muscle in his body tensed, burning to keep him from plunging inside her right there on the floor. He choked on a sob as he pushed against her folds, not parting them properly for entry. He heard her gasp, probably realizing what he was about to do.

Something grabbed him from behind, lifted him from his feet, and slammed him against the wall. The needles of pain shooting through his skull made him blind and caused him to bite so hard on his tongue that he knew his blood would soon fill his mouth.

Without seeing it, he sensed the atmosphere changing. He was no longer in Mina's dream, though he was still in her bedroom. He'd gone there to seduce her in her mind while she slept. Now, that same draining sensation was overtaking him. The creature that had attacked him before had a hold. Somewhere far in the distance, past the wind roaring in his ears, he heard Mina's screams. She had to get out of here before it turned on her.

Niall fought hard to get down from the wall, to gain control of his mind. It felt like something was actually reaching through the wall and tearing out his brain. Had he not had years of practice enduring the highest levels of torment, he would have gone unconscious already, given up the fight.

With effort, Niall climbed down the wall as if he were some insect with hairs that allowed it to cling to vertical surfaces. He struggled to find his voice. “G-Get out of here, Mina. It will hurt you."

Rather than her leaving, he heard more people enter the room while he lay curled and naked on the floor, struggling against losing consciousness and being drained of all his power.

A man yelled, “Just what the hell is going on here?” Niall knew it was Mina's brother-in-law, and in the midst of fighting for his life, he was hoping his love's body was covered.

Drake yelled out a spell, and even with his wife, who was also in the room, paired with him, Niall barely heard it. He knew they were trying to repel him from the room, but the demon holding him would not let that happen. Faeries could see demons, even invisible, so where was it? In the wall, in the next room?

He felt Mina's hand slide into his before someone pulled her away. Her sister and Drake slammed him with spells as if he were causing the pain that racked his body and made him shout in agony. He heard Mina plead for him, and it helped him to not give up. At least she didn't hate him for what he had almost done to her.

When he was ready to give up, with visions of Mina's sweet face in his mind, he sensed someone else had entered the room. Powerful Gaelic words tumbled from the man's lips, and a sealing box encased Niall, transparent, shimmering. It did the trick. He felt the pain easing. The demon had lost its grip. He collapsed on the smooth bottom of the box, drifting into an uneasy sleep.

* * * *
"For goodness sake, get some clothes on him,” Sheelagh snapped.

Mina didn't know who obeyed this command from her sister. She was too confused, too shocked at what had just happened. Niall had been about to force her to be intimate with him, and as much as she craved him, she had been more terrified that he would go against her wishes. This wasn't the man she knew years ago, growing up. Niall had been gentle and kind, always willing to help her. Certainly not hurt her.

Despite his actions, while she didn't love him, she did care, and it hurt her to see him tormented the way he was. The life was going out of him. His normally healthy, warm skin had gone pale. Had her father not arrived when he did, along with a house full of guards, she knew Niall would be dead.

Not paying attention to the fact that she was still dressed only in a thin silk nightgown, she inched across the floor of her bedroom to the long, transparent box that encased Niall. His hair was splayed out around his shoulders, and his long lashes rested peacefully against his cheeks. She was reminded of how her body had sung with each touch from him.

A hand came down on her shoulder. “Come on, sweetie.” Sheelagh hugged her briefly. “We're all going back to Faeryland. It'll be safer for now."

Mina glanced up only a second before turning back to Niall. “What about him? He's not allowed."

Her father spoke up. “I say who comes into Faeryland, and no one else. Niall will be brought there, but he stays in the box until we figure out what to do next.” When she didn't rise, he took her arm in a firm grip. “And you will stay away from him."

"Father."

"Do not argue with me!” His voice boomed, making several in the room jump. It was the middle of the night. Mina figured everyone was longing for their bed.

"Fine, I'll go,” she sighed. “By the way, how did you know to come here?"

He reached out to tap the necklace Mina always wore without fail. Her father had presented it to her years ago and had commanded she never take it off. Mina remembered squeezing it in fear when her magic couldn't help Niall during the attack.

"It's made a little differently than your sister's. Hers brings her home if for whatever reason her magic fails. Your necklace brings me to you. I learned my lesson with that last fiasco."

Mina felt a rush of love for her father and snuggled against him for one of his bear hugs. The man was probably three times her size, and she was lost in his arms for a moment while she relived the terror she felt earlier. The hug didn't last. The king released her abruptly and looked around as if he was hoping no one noticed. Mina almost laughed when she saw each of the Faeries pretend they didn't see the king's moment of weakness.

"Home. Now!” he commanded. A portal opened, and Faeries stepped through to Faeryland. Mina stayed near Niall's clear box to be sure he was not mistreated. All she could do was pray that he would not be executed for his crimes.

* * * *
The next few days spent in Faeryland were pure torture for Mina. Niall hadn't regained consciousness. Some ancient magic she had never heard of was being used to sustain his body while he wasn't taking nourishment. The council, she knew, was consulting with the king about what to do with him once he woke, and her sister and Drake had been allowed to return to their home.

"Why am I bound in this place?” she yelled at her father for the umpteenth time. “I want to return to the human world or at least resume my duties as an emissary. Why am I being punished as if I've done something wrong, Father?"

He didn't raise his eyes from the page he was reading on his desk. “You will stay nearby because that's the way I wish it. Your sister has her business to run, and she will deliver her babies soon. As for your position as an emissary, I have asked the council to suspend you pending an investigation."

"What?"

"You will lower your voice!” The king's face was red as he slammed his hand on the table.

Mina was not going to be cowed again. “Father, this is unfair. You're treating me like a child. Of all the people who have not believed in me, you were the one who always did. You stood behind me and influenced the council to let me train.” She fought tears. “Why are you turning your back on me now? Because of Niall?"

"No,” he said simply.

"Then why? Please explain it to me, because I don't understand."

He took his time in answering. Mina waited with her arms crossed. She wasn't budging until he explained himself. She was not going to be intimated by this giant Faerie, no matter how much he blustered.

"I felt guilty."

The quiet statement was a blow, a hard one at that.

"I wasn't there while you were growing up. I didn't want to be, at first. Your mother poisoned your mind and favored your brother Dugan. You were small for your age. He told me how you had been picked on.” He held up a hand when she would have commented. “I know, everyone gets picked on at some point. Still, I felt you deserved a lot better life than you got, a good one that had been handed to Sheelagh from day one. I wanted to make it up to you."

Now the tears did fall. Mina walked over to his bookcase to the place she had seen the demon book, just an excuse so he wouldn't see her cry. “So, you are just like everyone, huh?” she mumbled. “Another person who thinks I'm just not good enough."

"Mina..."

"Forget it.” She reached out, took the book on demons, and tucked it under her arm. Without another word or even a glance in her only living parent's direction, she left the room.

She knew she would not be allowed to visit Niall, him being under heavy guard, so she didn't try. Her mind was filled with plans to escape Faeryland and find a way to contact the demon who was hunting him. After that, she would capture it, kill it, or imprison it, and then everyone would see that she was not to be underestimated ever again.

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Chapter Thirteen 
Pete stared down at the book on his lap, trying to decipher the spell he was studying. While most of the information was in English, the actual spells were in Gaelic. He'd searched the Internet for a translation tool and finally found something useful. He only hoped it would work.

The process was slow and tedious. He typed in a word. The meaning popped up on the screen. Name. “What?” Frustration was setting in. Then a light bulb went on in his mind. He needed to speak the spell in Gaelic and call out the Faerie's true name. That Faerie would be compelled to come to him. He grinned.

"Surely, Mina is her true name?” he wondered aloud. “One way to find out."

Scouring the ‘Net again, he located a pronunciation Web site, figuring it was important to speak the enchantment as correctly as possible. From experience, he knew that words in other languages pronounced with a different inflection could mean something entirely different from what was intended.

"Can't have her turning into a toad or something.” He laughed, feeling excitement build inside. His shaft twitched at the thought of having Mina. She was beautiful, with those unusual eyes. It wouldn't be bad at all being married to her.

Thinking of Kiley, he frowned. He suspected she had a crush on him but figured it was just that—a crush, nothing deeper. She might have her feelings hurt for a little while, but she would get over it. After all, he hadn't encouraged her in any way. The woman was pretty, but she couldn't compare to a magical creature.

Finally, he was ready. Shoving back his chair, he stood and sucked in a deep breath. In a thundering voice, as if that would bring his spell to pass, Pete spoke the necessary words. Nothing happened.

He tried again. Frustration had his scalp itching. While he paced and pulled at his hair, he read over the instructions again. “True name. I think that's where I'm having trouble. Every Faerie has these elaborate names that no one pronounces correctly.” He stopped before his computer. “Hmm, Mina is too simple a name."

Pete glanced at the picture he had removed from his collection and placed in a frame at the side of his computer. His future wife. “What's your real name, sweetheart?"

When no solution came to mind, he snapped the book closed and threw it across the room. Remembering how much he shelled out for it, he hurried across to retrieve it from the floor. The phone rang just as he was collecting the book and the photo of Mina to stuff into a lockbox he kept under his bed. While he clicked the lock into place, he punched the button on his cordless to answer.

"Yeah?"

"Pete.” It was Drake. “How about lunch, man? Been a while."

"Sure.” Pete was shoving the box back under his bed and remembering how panicked Drake was when his wife had been snatched and sent to some freakish imaginary world. It had been fortunate he found that secret room Sheelagh had at the back of her home office. Otherwise, he would not have found that Faerie spell book that cursed him into being sent there along with his woman. Pete recalled being scared mindless at seeing Drake just disappear before his eyes after he tried using that book. A shiver ran through his body.

"Sure,” Pete told him. “Today? Why aren't you at work? And where's that very pregnant wife of yours?"

"Is that your way of saying she's fat? Because I will have no qualms about kicking your ass.” Drake laughed, but he was serious. The man had become fierce in his protection of his wife. Pete had noticed he and his friend weren't as close as they once were, which in some ways was understandable. Drake must have seen it also, offering lunch.

"No way. I would never say that. Sheelagh's a beautiful woman, no matter what.” He stumbled over calling her by her Faerie name when she had always gone by Sheila, but Drake didn't comment. “Meet you in an hour at our usual place?"

"Yup."

* * * *
Pete dropped into a chair and snatched up the laminated menu that was always on the table ready for the customer. He didn't know why he bothered looking. Preferring to keep things simple, he rarely ordered anything other than a burger and fries.

His friend Drake was more refined or seemed to be now that he was living on easy street. The man had more money than he could spend in two lifetimes. He was made of gold, and Pete tried not to be too jealous. Drake had gone through some tough crap for years when he was under a failure spell, inflicted by Sheelagh's mother. Pete shook his head thinking about it. Guess he deserved the sweet life he led now.

Drake slipped in the booth opposite him. “What are you shaking your head about?"

Pete grinned. “I was just thinking about how much Claudia took you through when she took away your ability to make money. How did you ever forgive her for that, man? She did a number on you."

His friend looked thoughtful before answering. “I just tell myself that if she didn't exist, then neither would the love of my life."

Pete made a gagging gesture at the sappy statement. “Man, you've gone soft."

Drake didn't rise to the insult. He placed his order with the waitress who sauntered up to the table, and Pete did likewise. When they had received their sodas, his friend took up the conversation again.

"Right now, things aren't all peaches and cream, believe me. If Sheelagh doesn't drop those babies soon, I'm going to lose it. And now she's going on about some damn ceremony, stressing over that."

"Ceremony?” Pete wasn't really interested, but asked anyway.

"Yeah, apparently the Faeries do some kind of ritual where they choose a person to be responsible for their kids if anything ever happens to the parents."

"Like godparents."

Drake nodded. “Sort of, but it involves spells, of course, and a document where they seal everything. The document actually holds the magic that binds the children with the godparent. I don't get everything involved. I just know that Sheelagh chose Mina, and with all the fanfare around her and Niall lately, Mina hasn't had the chance to put her seal on the document."

Pete's interest increased. “So, this document, what's it like, some ethereal thing, not visible to the naked eye?” He figured if he joked around some, Drake would be too off guard to notice how interested he was in the document and would let slip more than he intended. He dared not let his hopes get too high, too soon.

His friend laughed. “No, stupid. It's a regular document, just like you'd see in our world. Only difference is the parents and godparents instead of signing with a pen, they say their name and speak some words. The names are etched on the paper, sealed forever. With Mina busy, her name's there, but it's not sealed in. So...” He shrugged.

Restraining himself with effort, Pete kept his face screwed into a bored expression, while inside he was leaping for joy. This was it, the puzzle piece he needed. If he could get his hands on that document, he would know Mina's true name. There was no way she would use a nickname in this instance. And if his suspicions were correct, he'd bet any amount of money that Sheelagh kept that form in her secret room at her house. It would be a simple matter of him sneaking into it and copying Mina's name with no one the wiser. Soon, you'll be mine, Mina, and your magic.

* * * *
Niall opened his eyes to realize he was inside a beautiful clear box. Pretty with shimmering Faerie dust, but still basically a coffin. Even as he searched the corners with just his gaze, tested the limits with his shoulders, he had to wonder how he could still breathe inside the compartment. There were no visible holes, no vent.

He glanced down to find he had been clothed by someone. The last memory he had was of being in Mina's dreams, about to force her. Shame filled him. Had he been able to, he would have cried. But not since the demon in him awoke could he produce tears. Accepting of his predicament, he twisted to his side, with maybe an inch of space above his shoulder. That's when he noticed the man in the room staring at him.

"You're Drake,” he said simply. “Mina's brother-in-law."

"How do you know that?"

"Does it matter?” Explanations were pointless. While he carried on mundane conversation, he tested his power. So far, he had not been able to bring down the walls of the box. It seemed a powerful spell encased him. Even trying to heal himself didn't work. Every muscle protested his movements.

"Guess not.” Drake hitched his shoulders once and then spoke in a rush. “I'm here to tell you to stay away from Mina. She doesn't need your kind of trouble, and she definitely deserves better."

Niall shoved down the annoyance he felt at the man's words and maintained his placid expression. “In case you hadn't noticed, I've been captured. I'm no longer a danger to anyone, least of all your innocent little Faerie."

Drake took exception to his insinuation. Of course, Niall knew Drake was not dabbling with Mina. For that, he would have killed the man before now. But he had wanted to throw the man off balance, something he enjoyed doing with most people.

"For your information, I do not cheat on my wife. Sheelagh is my whole world.” He stood. “I came here hoping to appeal to you, to help you to see that seeking revenge will get you nowhere."

Niall rolled his eyes, flipping to his back again. “Speaking from experience, I suppose."

"Yes. It's the way I met Sheelagh. I was hell-bent on making her pay for events that happened in the past. My anger and hatred nearly destroyed us both. And Mina, for that matter."

At Mina's name, Niall focused on Drake. “Leave her out of the conversation."

"So, you do care about her.” Niall's annoying visitor took his seat again, leaning toward the box in earnest. “We all made mistakes years ago, but we're moving past them. Don't you think it's time to forgive? If not for any of us, at least for Mina."

Niall longed to toss this arrogant human out of his face. He had heard how Magic itself had given the man power, making Drake Sheelagh's guardian, but that didn't make him any less of a tool to be used for a demon's pleasure. His gaze flicked down to the man's wrist, spotting a recent burn there. “Did I do that to you?” he asked hopefully.

Drake yanked on his sleeve to cover the mark. “A magical experiment I was working on. Never mind. Just think about what I said. Leave Mina alone. She's had a hard enough life."

Pounding on the side of the box, Niall grunted, the heat in his body causing his clothing to steam. “You don't know anything about Mina's life. Just get out of here."

"Fine. I tried."

"Yes, you tried. Now your conscience is clear.” Niall turned to give the man his back, hoping his power would somehow refresh itself, if that were even possible. He didn't doubt the box would not hold him if he were strong. At least he hoped that was the case. Otherwise, he might be facing death, especially if Mina told them just how depraved he had become.

The door opened again, but he resolved this time to pretend he was asleep. Let them look. He didn't care.

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Chapter Fourteen 
"Niall.” Tears filled Mina's eyes to see him this way, locked inside the box. She had read up on it in her father's study. The box blocked out all magic on the inside of it. Niall would not be able to do the simplest of spells.

Curiously, she examined the small holes at various spots on his clothing, wondering how they got there. The glass, or whatever material the box was made from, was slightly foggy, as if it was hotter inside. She remembered his ability to raise his temperature and worried just a little less.

"I'm sorry,” she told him. “I didn't mean for you to end up in here. I didn't tell them what happened between us.” She stopped speaking, hoping that he would say something. He remained unmoving, but she knew he was awake. She'd seen Drake come in earlier and she heard them speaking, by listening at the door. A little of her old self had surfaced enough so that she seduced the guard to let her in.

Mina continued to wait for him to say something, anything, but he ignored her. Her anger rose. “You insensitive bastard, say something!” She pounded on the box and kicked it, which resulted in a throbbing toe. “You were going to force me to have sex with you, you piece of sh—"

"That's better.” He rolled over, capturing her instantly with his almost hypnotic gaze. “Better for you to be angry with me rather than to feel sorry for me. You can be stronger that way."

She shot a bolt of lightning at the box, lifting it a foot from the floor and then letting it drop. Niall was tussled about, bumping his head on the side. Mina felt a smidgen better. “You only want me angry with you so that you can feel better, not me."

He shrugged. “Popular belief is that I have no conscience, so, therefore, I wouldn't feel any guilt about trying to use your body for my pleasure.” His gaze dropped to her breasts, sending a shiver over Mina. She turned away, hearing him chuckle. “I've been visited by no less than three Faeries a day, each lecturing me about how I must stay away from you, that I must let revenge go. Even your father was kind enough to come."

She heard the bitterness in his voice but didn't respond.

"Tell me, álainn. Why does everyone scramble to protect you? Do they think you are not strong enough to look out for yourself? I thought you were a trained emissary, magic levels higher than the average Faerie. I've not seen any evidence."

Mina clinched her hands at her sides, and tears spilled down her cheeks despite her attempts to cap them. “Okay, I get it. You're a demon, so you get to say whatever you want. You want to hurt me for not giving in to you.” She nodded, swiping moisture from her upper lip. “Or maybe you just want to strike out at me, since you're too fucking weak to fight that demon after you!"

She was satisfied to see him pale, even a haunted look in his eyes. Moving farther away from the box, Mina glanced around the room. It was empty save for a chair placed near the box and an antique table in the corner opposite. There was no window, only a dull light on the rough, unpainted wall. She thought it a bit rustic for the king's home, even if it was below the first level. Maybe the room had been made to look this way so that Niall would recognize the trouble he was in.

"Where are the other Faeries, Niall?” she questioned. “The ones you banished to other worlds. We've been unable to track them."

"They're dead.” His voice was flat.

"But..."

"But what?” he demanded. “Did you think there was some redeeming quality in me? That I had a soft spot for your kind? I don't!” He punched a fist against the side of the box, and, impossibly, the material shimmered, blinked out for a second as if he had disrupted the magic. His eyes darkened. Mina backed farther toward the door.

"I'm leaving.” She gasped. “I mean Faeryland. You will stand trial, and I'm not staying here to ... well, I'm just leaving. I've been dismissed from my job, so I'm going to live a while in the human world. I prefer it there anyway, just as more of our younger people do. I won't be seeing you again. I'm sorry, Niall."

His voice behind her made her pause with her hand on the doorknob. “Where will you go, Mina? You are mine, and nothing you say or they try to do to me will change that. A demon doesn't need a body to still exist."

A small shriek escaped her as she yanked open the door and ran down the hall without looking back. Her mind was erratic, one minute terrified of Niall, the next longing to be with him, and she couldn't snap herself into her bedroom. Having taken the long route up several flights of stairs, she finally trudged into her room and flopped down on the bed, crying for all she was worth.

When her tears ran dry, Mina rolled onto her back. How could she locate the demon? She had retrieved the book on demons she'd found in her father's study, but even that gave no help in summoning the thing. There were spells to call a demon, but she would need to know its name in order to call the right one. And she would need to be in the human world. No demon was allowed in Faeryland. The land's magic prohibited its entry. She could only assume that the fact that Niall's soul was encased in a Faerie's body was how he had lived here and been brought back even while the demon side of him was active.

Still racking her mind for a solution, she felt a tingle started in the fingertips of her left hand and then the right. Her mind clouded, then cleared. She sat up.

"What is going on?” she gasped just as she went hurtling to the floor, unable to put her hands up to protect her face. Almost immediately, she tasted blood on her tongue from where she'd bitten it upon impact.

As she lay there, thinking she would snap herself into her father's presence to tell him something was seriously wrong, she was sure she heard a voice at first far-off inside her head, and then audibly in the room.

"Cairistiona Eryn Mina of the Emerald Isle Faeries. Come to me,” the voice demanded.

New terror rocked Mina. No one, absolutely no one outside the immediately family knew a Faerie's true name. Worse, a warm, unfocused feeling settled down over her mind, down to her shoulders, and then her entire body. She blinked once and shook her head, and then all resistance was gone. Mina needed to leave Faeryland and go to the person calling.

* * * *
Mina stood outside of a lower-middle-class town home wondering who lived there. She knew only that the man calling her was inside, but she didn't recognize the voice, as ethereal as it seemed. Never in her life did she personally know any Faerie who had been compelled by a human or any other creature. The spells and names were guarded against such things.

Being under this person's control, it had not occurred to her to go to her father first to tell him what was happening. Had she thought of such a solution, she would not have been able to obey. The man inside was in complete control of all she did.

She started up the stairs and rang the bell, waiting for an answer. After pressing the button a few more times, she heard someone hurrying toward the door. The white lace curtain moved, and then the locks turned. Peter Sumner stood before her.

His eyes widened. “Mina! You came. I can't believe it. Why would you not just open a portal to come to me?” He chattered on, and then realized she was still out in the opening where anyone could see her, still dressed in the unusual clothing of a Faerie, flowing pastel dress, a tight bodice that accentuated her breasts, all discarded a century before in this world.

Pete offered his hand, and with no hesitation, Mina placed hers on top to be guided inside. The door closing was like cutting off her freedom forever. To be freed from this type of spell, the master must voluntarily choose to do so. Even if the caster is put under duress, the spell couldn't be broken.

"I don't know why you would do this to me, Pete,” she said, tears in her eyes. He turned away quickly and walked farther into the house. Mina was compelled to follow. “What do you want with me?"

She saw him harden himself against her tears, fighting his conscience. After a few moments of silence, he moved up close to her and wrapped an arm about her waist. His lips were dry, evoking no lust in her body as they came down hard on hers. Mina could do nothing but open her mouth to him, even as her hands slipped around to grasp his buttocks and pull him into her. She was his willing slave, even if he didn't speak a command. Just the fact that he wanted her to respond to him made her do so.

After a long time, he raised his head and grinned down at her. “That was good.” He released her and moved to the stairs nearby. Mina followed. They arrived in a room she saw that had been designed to be a bedroom, but was being used as a tiny office. Dominating the room was a garish navy-blue desk that seemed too heavy for the limited space.

Pete plopped down in the folding chair in front of a computer and patted his knee. Mina crossed to perch there. As soon as she was settled, he slipped an arm about her waist and began working with one hand.

"So, what happens if one of your family tries to attack me?” he asked, still with that suppressed excitement in his voice.

She shrugged. “I will protect you."

His eyes widened. “Really? You mean you'd hurt your own family?” He hesitated. “Even kill them if necessary?"

Her stomach did a somersault. She clinched her fists on her lap and looked away from his smug face. “Yes, even kill them."

"Good."

Pete's hands came around her sides to rest on her stomach. Slowly, he raised them up toward her breasts as he spoke. “You shouldn't think that I don't feel a little guilty about this. I do.” His breath was scented with the apple whose core was browning on his desk. “My mother raised me to be honest."

"Your m-mother?” How she longed to distract him from groping her body.

He kissed her on the back of the shoulder closest to his face. “Yes. She died last year, leaving me with no one else. No father that I ever knew, no siblings."

Mina didn't feel sorry for him, having no other family. She had an extensive family living on many worlds, although she, too, didn't have a mother anymore. Still, she would never enslave another person.

Pete's hands had stopped moving up her body, but now he raised them to hover above her breasts. “My bedroom's across the hall. I want you, Mina. Right now. I can hardly believe I have my own sexy Faerie."

"Please,” she begged.

The reporter squeezed once at her breasts and then ran his hands through his hair. He thought for a minute and then smiled. “You like my touch, Mina. It turns you on. Now, go into my bedroom and get ready for me."

She stood and turned toward the door. Before she could take two steps, her brother appeared in front of her. Mina crashed into his broad chest. Dugan's arms circled her, dragging her close. She tried to get out of his hold, but he was too strong.

"Mina,” he growled. “I have no idea why you're here, but you get your ass back to Faeryland right now."

She gasped. Her brother had never used such a word, and certainly not to her. Mina glanced up at him and caught the fear in his expression. She frowned.

"He's escaped. Little sister, Niall has escaped the box and left Faeryland."

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Chapter Fifteen 
While Mina fought her brother to get out of his arms, her spear appeared on her wrist launcher. Her heart shattering within her, she aimed the weapon at Dugan's abdomen, preparing to shoot. Faerie dust collected around the slender metal. The mechanism released, and the spear went forward an inch before shattering into pieces and falling to the floor.

At the same time, Dugan seemed to realize what she was going to do. She saw him fade from her view. Pete's cluttered office became wide-open space, trees, grass, and blue sky. Mina recognized the world. She spun around to see Niall standing behind her.

Tripping forward, Mina launched herself into his hold, flinging her arms about his neck. “Niall, you saved me from killing my brother. You saved him,” she cried.

He tipped up her chin, a wicked grin spreading across his handsome face. “Surely, I deserve a better thank you than that."

Mina felt him growing hard against her stomach. For once, she felt no fear. Niall excited her body like no man ever had, least of all Pete Sumner. She leaned into him and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. Niall squeezed her rear, lifting her as he did to press her into his erection. Flames of fire licked her body when his tongue slipped into her mouth.

If this were all she would get before Pete called her back, she would enjoy it. She tightened her hold on his neck, moaning with pleasure as she kissed him. Their tongues intertwined, teasing and sucking.

Too soon Niall drew back. “Now that was a thank-you kiss."

He lowered her to the ground. Mina ran her hands down his bare chest. The man seemed to enjoy being naked. Or maybe he enjoyed disconcerting her. The latter seemed most likely. “Niall, Pete somehow found out my name. He is now my master."

Whatever reaction she expected, it wasn't calm. He leaned down to kiss her forehead and spun away, calling over his shoulder, “Then he will die."

She followed. “But I will have to protect him. And then you'll have to kill me or wound me. I will be forced to give my life for his."

He dropped to the place in front of the tree. A basket of fruit and a bottle of cider rested on a soft blue blanket. Niall patted the space between his legs. “Don't worry. Come here, I want to taste you again. I've missed you."

Her eyes widened at his sweet words, but she did sit where he indicated. When his arms came around her, she settled against his chest, still worried. “When he calls me, I must go to him. I have no choice."

"Only problem with that is that you can't leave this world without my permission. One-way ticket, I'm afraid."

"Then you will leave me in torment. Whether I want to or not, I must obey. If I can't, I am just in a constant state of unrest. I won't even be able to sleep."

He frowned. “You seem to know a lot about it. Sure you're not happy to be under the spell of a human?"

His hands came up to gently caress her breasts. She moaned, arching into him. His touch was a far cry from Pete's. She craved it, longed for so much more. Suddenly, Mina came to a decision. She twisted in Niall's arms to kneel facing him. “I want to make love with you. Make my clothes disappear."

Eyebrows raised, he complied but said nothing. Mina pushed him down until his back was on the blanket while she straddled him. “I want all of you, before he calls. At least I know I will have that if your power can't keep me here."

"Sure about that?"

"Absolutely."

A warm breeze blew over her now-naked body, caressing her moist apex. But the air wouldn't satisfy the hunger that threatened to overtake her. Only Niall would satisfy that. Mina was determined to have everything she had put off for years. Then to do it over again.

While she stared down at him, she eased forward, reached behind her and began to stroke his long rod. Her heartbeat increased feeling the steady warmth radiating off his skin. Instinct took over. Mina teased first one of Niall's nipples, using her tongue to play with it. And then she switched to the other, sucking gently until her lover moaned.

He would have moved her to his side so that he could take over, but Mina resisted. She lifted his arms above his head while taking his mouth in a searing kiss. Wetness pooled between her legs. She slid her body backward so that she felt the tip of his stiff head. Niall caught her waist, holding her in place.

"Whoa, álainn. You are still new,” he told her. “I need to guide myself into you or you'll be hurt."

She nodded, and Niall flipped her over until he was on top. She spread her legs eagerly for him. He watched her for a long time with an intense look in his eyes.

"What?"

He hesitated. “I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to force you. Sometimes, I can't help it, that aspect of myself scares you. I ... It's a part of who I am."

Mina didn't want to talk about anything. She didn't want to hear he would never be fully good or care one way or the other about Faeries or even herself. She wanted his touch on her body and nothing else. To forget that she had almost been forced to sleep with a man she wasn't even attracted to without his harsh command.

Niall stroked the outsides of her thighs, then lifted one heel to kiss her ankle. She shivered. “Please, Niall."

He parted her tender folds and pushed deep, all the way to the hilt. Mina gasped, gripping his arms, her fingernails pressed hard into his flesh. Niall didn't even flinch. He pumped slowly in and out of her. In small degrees, the pain lessened, replaced by white-hot pleasure. Niall's shaft warmed her entire insides. Her channel clung to him, the muscles gripping and flexing until she cried out as an orgasm took her.

Her lover pulled back when the spasms rocking her body eased. He turned her gently so that he lay behind her and then entered her again. His slow strokes had her gasping for a breath as she climbed the heights for a second release.

"Niall..."

"Shh, enjoy it, my love. We have until forever."

His arms encircled her, the hairs on his arms tickling her sensitive nipples as he squeezed her back against him. Mina lost herself in his touch, tried to pretend she was feeling nothing more than lust as he brought her to her peak repeatedly with his body and his loving words whispered in her ear.

* * * *
The warmth of the day cooled and the light lessened, though she had not seen an actual sun go down. Mina lay curled against Niall. He hadn't moved for a long time, and she assumed he was asleep. Realizing that she had never seen him at rest, she crept from his arms to sit up facing him. His dark hair was wild about his head. He looked so peaceful, she felt a flutter in her heart.

It's only that I feel responsible for him, for what's happened to him, she reflected. Nothing else. She thought of the demon set to take Niall's power and in doing so she didn't doubt, his life. For some reason, the demon couldn't come into this world. Neither did she feel the pull of Pete. Niall was indeed extremely powerful to create a world where no hurt could come against either of them.

"The only pain here is what we do to each other,” she said quietly to him.

At her voice in the still of the night, Niall opened his eyes. In the darkness, she could barely see his face, but she saw his eyes clearly. They glowed red. She shivered and moved back a little.

"Don't move away from me. Come here."

His words were a command. Mina frowned, determined to ignore him. Then she saw that Niall had a constant war within, demon and Faerie. At times, when he was cruel, the demon was prevalent. When he was gentle and attentive, he was the man she remembered.

She waited it out. “How do you keep from losing your mind? Everyone has struggles with decisions, whether to do what's right or wrong."

He put his hand out and wrapped strong fingers around her wrist to pull her close. “You're assuming that I am two separate people inside. I'm not a Faerie possessed by a demon.” He settled her on her back and threw a leg across hers to keep her in place. “I am me. I have characteristics of both peoples. And, yes, I struggle. A demon's evil is hard not to give into, especially when paired with natural emotions like anger or lust. It makes me want to take you whenever I want without asking."

He fell silent. She knew he was feeling guilt again at what happened. Some part of her was still angry, and truthfully, she wasn't sure if she'd slept with him because she was so grateful to be pulled from Pete and his saving her brother or because she had wanted Niall all along. Emotions were a jumble without the pull of evil.

"How is it that you can keep us from the demon and Pete in this place? The spell on me isn't broken, is it?"

She felt him shake his head behind her. “No. As soon as you go back, you will hear his call.” He rubbed a hand across her breasts, sending chills over her body. “Mina, tell me I can kill him. I will do it in a heartbeat. I don't want to risk being busy fighting off my attacker while Pete is lying between your legs."

She gasped, “I can't tell you that! He's a human being. We don't hurt humans. Period."

"So, you'd rather fuck him."

Flinching at his harsh words, she tried pulling away. He tightened his hold. “Is it any different with you?” she demanded. “You do your best to rule me, keeping me in your arms whether I like it or not. You make it so my magic doesn't open a portal out of this place. How am I not your slave as I am Pete's?"

"It's different."

"That's your answer?"

He sighed. “I just want to keep you safe."

Mina closed her eyes, fighting anger. “Everyone wants to keep me safe. My father, Dugan, my sister, Drake, you. When do I get to be an adult Fae? I'm well over one hundred years old, thank you very much.” She wrenched herself from his arms. He let go, probably to avoid hurting her. She stood to face him, snapping her fingers so that clothing covered her naked form. “I have been wanting the chance to truly prove to them all that I am capable. What it comes down to is me believing I can do it myself."

"Mina..."

"No!” She walked away, hearing him rise and follow. “You don't understand, Niall. I worked my rear off in that emissary academy, raising my magic level by several degrees. You know what, all I had to show for it was my weak little spears attached to my wrists. And you foiled that without any effort. I'm tired. First, I have nothing. Now, I have everything. But I didn't get it on my own. Guilt is what got me my home and the love of my family."

"Don't say that.” He reached for her, but she moved away again. “Mina, you know that's not true."

She shook her head, stood still. “I don't know that it's not true. My father forced the council to take me on as emissary. When I failed, when I couldn't make my magic free you in my bedroom, he saw for himself that I couldn't cut it. So, my position was revoked. I'm back to being a nobody."

Niall frowned. He flicked a finger, and Mina found herself lifted and pulled across the space between them. He gripped her arms in a punishing hold. “So what are you going to do about it? Have a pity party?"

"Y-You're hurting me."

He gave her a little shake, but his hold lessened. “Tell me, álainn. What will you do about it? How will you change what people think of you when they look at the tiny, frail Faerie with the large violet eyes?"

She pressed her lips together, clenching her jaw and her fists. “I'm going to prove them wrong."

"Good."

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Chapter Sixteen 
Niall approached Mina from behind as she practiced her martial arts moves. She was indeed small, but he sensed great strength of character in her and her skills were nothing to laugh at. He had not told her that. She needed to have confidence in herself, no matter what others thought.

Quietly, he stood watching her, enjoying the curve of her buttocks, the shapeliness of her legs. A flash crossed his mind of her legs wrapped around his waist when they had made love throughout the night and for the last few days. Like her family, he, too, thought she wasn't ready to take on too much. He was glad the council had dismissed her. For he had intended to either leave her in this world or dog her steps until he had dealt with the demon and with the human who thought he owned her.

Mina was his, and rather than banish her as he had intended before he saw her again, he would do what it took to protect her, even from herself. If that made him like her brother and sister, so be it.

"I have something for you,” he said, a chuckle escaping his lips when she jumped. “You should never let your guard down. I could have been an enemy."

She seemed to want to attack him at his criticism of her. While his lover pondered how to reply, he held out his gift. Her eyes widened in awe. “For me? Where did you get those swords? Oh, they're incredible and so lightweight."

Niall admired the long lines of her body as she wielded the short swords he made for her. Each sported an ebony handle with symbols carved in them, a spell of protection for her. “Twenty-two inches each of copper and gold alloy. I will train you in the proper technique to use them,” he told her. “And when you know how to handle the swords without slicing yourself in the process, then you will be ready to charge them with your magic, to take down your enemy with one swift blow."

With her eyes never leaving his, she grinned and arced the weapons through the air. “I have the feeling you just gave me these to watch me work with them."

He shrugged. “Maybe. Those breasts bouncing could never be a bad thing.” He flicked his wrist. “In fact, I'm thinking our sessions should be done in the nude."

"Niall!"

He widened his eyes. “What?"

After a moment, she grew serious, making sure to dress herself again. “Niall, tell me about your parents. My father didn't reveal much about them. My brother said that your mother was a Faerie, your father a demon."

His mood plummeted at her question. The enjoyment he had felt in the day quickly dissipated, and he remembered again why he had returned, what his goals were. “That's none of your business."

When he turned away, he heard her drop the swords into the ground. She yanked back on his arm. He could have shook her off but didn't.

"Don't hand me that,” she snapped. “You're not hiding behind the demon this time, Niall."

He sneered. “I don't hide."

"Bull!"

Blowing out a breath, Niall turned back to face Mina. He knew he wasn't getting away short of saying something rude to her to make her back off, yet more and more he didn't want to hurt her at all. If he was honest with himself, he would admit he still loved her, but he felt safer just calling it lust. With a body like hers, that wasn't so far-fetched.

"Fine, if you must know, take a seat.” He indicated the soft grass, and she sank down without another word. “My mother was a Faerie, as you've heard. She was actually your father's lover for a while."

Her gaze dropped to the ground. Niall sat down in front of her and reached out to tip up her chin. “You're worried that maybe you and I are brother and sister. Don't. I'm sure of who my father is, unfortunately."

"What do you mean?"

He glanced at the book she had left a few feet away, obviously having obtained it by using her magic. He knew she didn't have it on her when he brought her to this world. A book on demons. He could have laughed at that, unless of course a demon had written it, which he doubted. No one knew them as well as they thought. No one could fathom the depths to which one of his kind would stoop, more so a full-blooded demon.

"A demon's only purpose in the human world is to deceive or seduce a human. Whatever can be done to bring one down, that's what he'll do. Just as Faeries protect humans, demons want to destroy them. Pleasure is doing it one at a time."

He saw her shiver but ignored it. She wanted to know. She would get the whole truth, in all its ugliness.

"My mother was a healer, like Aine, the Faerie who raised me. I sometimes wonder if she was related, but Aine never admitted to it, and I've not had much interest in researching her background further. Anyway, Bridget, her name, was not from Emerald Isle. She was from Peatbog, where most of the healers originate. She met your father on the Grand Tour, and they supposedly fell in love."

Mina shifted as if she were uncomfortable. She moved to grab the demon book and hold it on her lap. Niall waited for her to settle again before he continued his story.

"I say supposedly because she could not have been in love if she had an affair with a demon fully inhabiting a human.” Mina's eyes grew wide, but Niall rushed on so that she wouldn't interrupt. “No, before you ask, demons cannot love. At least I have not seen it. They can be obedient to orders, look out for those they've been ordered to protect, but love?” He sucked his teeth in disgust. He noted the flash of pain in her eyes but chose not to comment.

"You are half-Faerie.” It was an assertion he knew, as much a reminder for herself as for him. “You're not like that."

"Demons are excellent at simulating love. They can appear to be the most beautiful creature you could ever wish to see.” He knew pride had slipped into his tone. Some things were just to be admired about his heritage. “My father charmed her, made her love him with his will alone, his power. She gave her body to him, and he enjoyed it, behind your father's back. When she knew she was pregnant, she went to Aine to be sure of the father. Imagine her shame to learn the demon had given her a baby."

Mina gasped. “She could have..."

"What? Destroyed me?"

"I-I didn't mean—"

"Didn't you?” He grinned like her comment meant nothing to him. “Destroy the abomination."

"Niall."

Suddenly, he wanted to hurt her. He reached out, encircled her wrist, and yanked her forward. He knew his grip was too tight, might leave a bruise. Niall didn't know when she picked up the sword, but felt its tip pressed into his abdomen. Faerie dust illuminated the metal so that it shimmered, almost blinding him. He grinned and released her.

"For your information, they tried. At your father's order, Aine gave Bridget poison designed to go straight to me without harming her. It didn't work of course. Even then I had built-in protection. My body rejected the poison, injected it somehow into my mother's bloodstream. Aine did all she could to keep her alive. Eventually, I was born and she passed to the other side."

He lay back on the grass, his hands behind his head as he watched the sky. Mina stared down at him, horrified.

"Yes,” he affirmed her thoughts, “I was a murderer at birth. So, you see, I had no qualms about killing your precious Faeries, and I will have no qualms about killing your father. I do blame him for my mother's death and my banishment to the demon world. On second thought, I should thank him for that. Had I not gone there, I would not have met my father and had him break the seal that had bound my demon abilities from birth."

Niall tried not to see the tears on Mina's face or to hear the tremor in her voice. “Niall, what is your father's name?"

He sucked his teeth and lifted a hand to wag a finger at her. “One must never say a demon's name, or he will come to you.” When he saw the frustration on her face, he knew that's just what she had intended to do, call a demon. He wondered if she had gotten the idea from that book and immediately sent it where she would not be able to find it. He would deal with his own problems without her interference.

* * * *
As soon as the nightmare took hold of his mind, Niall instinctively pushed Mina away. He stumbled to his feet, trying to pull himself out of it. He didn't want to remember, not now, not ever. Even as he walked into the stark chill of the brook's clear water, it didn't lessen the scene playing before his eyes. The water sizzled and boiled around him, but Niall couldn't focus on it or his surroundings.

"You need to face facts, son,” Niall's father told him.

"Don't call me son.” Niall had spit out the words with as much vehemence as he could muster. This hideous creature was no relation to him, no matter what he said. For his rudeness, he got a burn, pain that raced over his body, making him feel like he'd just been shot with ten thousand volts of electricity. He screamed, praying he would just faint so that he would not know what was happening around him. Relentlessly, his mind remained strong while his body weakened.

"You will respect me,” the demon yelled. “You will recognize the truth, even if I have to carve it into your skull, you fool."

He lifted Niall from the chair as if he weighed little more than a child. His long fingers wrapped around Niall's neck, squeezing and burning at the same instant. Kicking and clawing did nothing to free the half-Faerie. He tried casting a spell, opening a portal. The pain shattered his mind. Nothing worked, not snapping his fingers, not opening a portal. He couldn't even get his lips to form the words to a spell.

"Please..."

The demon did not appear to hear Niall beg for mercy. He tore Niall's shirt open, revealing the circle-shaped scar he'd had on his shoulder since he was child. A disgusting red ring traced the puckered skin. “See this? It's the seal, the thing that keeps you from knowing who you are. I'm going to break it, but only after you come to know just how much you hate Faeries, that it was those self-righteous beings who killed your mother, their own kind."

"That's a lie. That's a damn lie!” Niall screamed. “Get your hands off me."

Fire shot from the demon's fingers, burning into Niall's eyes and blinding him instantly. Jagged knives of agony left him writhing on the floor where the demon dropped him. Niall slunk across the floor, not knowing where he was going. His fingers smeared the blood running from his eyes.

He heard the demon's step behind him before he spoke. “When you realize you cannot be hurt with fire, then you will realize that what I've just done to you isn't real. Your eyes can't be burned out. Your skin cannot melt."

"You're insane,” Niall railed, his throat clogged with emotion. “Just leave me to die. You've done enough."

"No. Not enough. Not yet.” His fingers dug into Niall's shoulder. “Come here. I need to show you more. Then you'll believe."

"No! Please, no..."

"Niall?"

Mina's lyrical voice cut across Niall's memories. Too slowly, the box of a room faded, where he had learned the hard way what he was. Mina's worried eyes came into focus. “Don't worry,” he whispered, though he was now aware that he lay on the edge of the water. She didn't touch him, was several feet away. He lifted his hand toward her. “Come here."

She shook her head.

Anger filled him that she would disobey. His mind was still in that place, the demon in him strong. He was about to force her with his magic when she explained.

"Niall, you're so hot, I can't even get near. If you make me, you'll burn me."

He glanced down. His skin was as red as the demon's had been. This always happened when he fell into that nightmare. It was why he had pushed her away. Sitting up, he tried to calm himself, to bring his body temperature back to normal. At least his father had not been lying. Niall couldn't be burned. He couldn't shoot out fire like a true demon, but he could get so hot he would burn and melt anything that came too close.

When his temperature was back to normal, he shoved up from the ground, teetering on unsteady legs. He recited a spell and felt energy infuse his body, strengthening him. As he looked up at the sky, noting the light, he realized another day had passed without him getting any sleep. Such was his life.

"Come here, Mina.” This time she walked toward him, her head held high, her brows nearly in her hairline. He had to smile. “We might as well begin your training. Soon we'll have to face what's waiting for us outside this world."

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Chapter Seventeen 
Pete tore at his hair, left his breakfast untouched, and avoided calls from his employer. He had neglected all work in the last two weeks and figured he would be fired soon. What occupied his thoughts more than anything else was why his spell wasn't working. Why Mina wasn't at his side or in his bed.

He had come so close. He'd seen the change in her expression when he commanded her to want him to touch her. There was no doubt in his mind that that command had worked as if she already found him irresistible. When she disappeared and that spear thing she had crumbled to the floor, he knew magic was at work.

Facing Dugan's interrogation about why he found his sister in the human's presence had not been fun. Pete had had to think fast, giving the excuse that he was doing a story on Faeries and Mina had agreed to be interviewed.

"My sister will not be divulging information about our people to the likes of you,” Dugan had snapped arrogantly. “Drake may put up with you, but I've always seen straight through to the weak human you are. Stay away from Mina."

No matter what that oversized Fae said, Pete was getting her back. If not with his spell, then some other way. He slumped in his chair before his desk, checking his notes on Niall. From his information gathered over time from various sources, he knew that Mina had used Niall for her own plans against her sister, when she had decided she would replace the favored princess in their father's eyes.

Now, it didn't take a genius to figure out Mina felt responsible for her wicked witch mother banishing Niall and causing him to turn bad. The man had been in too many cities attacking Faeries. From what Pete could find out, those Fae were most certainly dead.

He shook his head, studying his computer screen. “Talk about a life change.” Absently, he picked up his toast from the saucer next to his keyboard and took a bite. “Also, being pursued by some creature that must be more powerful than he is,” he read.

From what Drake said, the thing had nearly killed him in Mina's room. Just what was he doing in Mina's room in the middle of the night? He sighed. No guesswork needed in that, but she would be his soon. He just had to play his cards right. At some point, Mina would turn up again, and when she did, if his spell didn't work on her, then he would need to have leverage in a different way.

A slow grin spread across his face. If he knew how to find and destroy the creature that was after Niall, that should get him points with Mina or at least convince her to work with him while he thought of some other way of entrapping her into marriage. Finally, peace began to descend over him, and he finished off his breakfast and drained the last of his cold coffee in his favorite mug.

* * * *
As soon as Mina entered the human world, she felt the unmistakable pull from Pete's spell. She still belonged to him. But as she glanced down at her body in confusion, she knew something was different.

Not wanting anyone to see her, she moved to an alley, out of sight of the humans strolling along the street. A twitch of her fingers brought her swords into view in this world. They hung from a leather holster strapped around her waist. On the handles, the symbols Niall had carved were glowing red. She didn't know exactly what it meant, but assumed this was some spell of the demons Niall had learned. Somehow, it must be interfering with the control Pete had over her. Not breaking the hold, but sort of turning down the volume. She couldn't fully disobey Pete's call, but she could resist a bit.

She had decided that her next move to gain more information on the demon after Niall was to learn about his father. If she could learn his father's name, she could call him and get him to tell her the name of the demon hunting Niall. Then when that one appeared, she would kill him and Niall would be free. She was not so naive that the process would be that simple, but she was determined to find a way. That would start with the woman who raised Niall.

She recited the words to open a portal to her world, and when the doorway opened, she stepped forward only to crash into an invisible barrier blocking the path. She tried again without success. “What's going on?"

A name popped into her mind. Pete. She could not resist his control to the point of leaving the human world without his say-so. Whether she liked it or not, Mina would have to get Pete's permission to go home, unless Niall pulled her from the world again, but Pete's spell could reach her in Faeryland. She wouldn't be able to stay there indefinitely. And she didn't know where Niall had gone after he dropped her here.

Resigned to her fate, she snapped her fingers and appeared in Pete's office. Memories of her last visit flooded her mind, giving her a feeling of disgust. She made sure her swords were still working and then stepped across the room to tap the reporter on the shoulder.

Pete spun around, and his eyes lit up upon seeing her. “Mina! I knew my spell wasn't broken. I could feel it."

She cut to the chase. “I need your help, Pete."

He stood up, took her by the waist, and leaned in for a kiss. With effort, Mina turned her head. His lips landed on her cheek before he slid them around to nibble at her ear as if that was his aim all along.

"Come on, baby. Let's get busy. I don't know when somebody will show up to interrupt us again. You still want it, don't you?” His eyes narrowed when they met her gaze. “Yes, you do."

Mina was aware of the change in her body, her desires. She fought hard against it. “Pete, I want to help Niall. Please. I need to go home for a while, to Faeryland. Give me permission, and I will come back after I get the information I need there."

"Do you think I'm crazy?” he demanded. “No way. You'll just tell your brother and the rest of your family what I did to you. Next thing I know, I'm on the five o'clock news, found dead in an alley somewhere. Unh-unh, you stay with me."

Drawing in a deep breath, Mina attempted to charm, which was hard since she was feeling none of her old self right now. She stepped closer to Pete, so that her breasts brushed against his chest. She shuddered when his shaft grew hard between them. “Pete, I need to do this for my conscience. I have to save Niall if it's the last thing I do. His former guardian lives there, and I believe she will have information I need. If you let me go back, I promise that after this whole thing is over, I will come willingly to you and become your lover, if that is what you want."

A broad smile nearly cracked his cheeks. “What I want is for you to be my wife. So the deal is you take me with you to Faeryland to visit this guardian of Niall's. Then when we crack this whole situation wide open, including me getting an exclusive story, uncovering the existence of this creature that's after Niall, then you and I will get married."

Mina gaped at him. “You must realize I cannot take you to Faeryland. It's against our laws to bring a human there."

"Drake goes,” he grumped.

"Drake is now a magical creature. He is no longer fully human. Besides that, he's married to my sister. That gives him the right.” Mina was beginning to regret coming here, in spite of the spell. “And there is no way I will agree to allowing you to get a story on the demon. We cannot reveal magic or magical creatures."

He leaned back against his desk with his arms folded across his chest. “That's the deal, baby. Take it or leave it. By the way, you don't even have that choice. I can have you right here, and you know it."

Mina wished she knew how to contact Niall or could at least track his magic. She couldn't with her full power being blocked. All she could do was snap from one location to another in the same city. Either way, Pete was right. She was fully dependent on him. More and more it looked like her life would never get on track again. “Okay, fine. I'll take you to Faeryland."

"And?"

She sighed. “And I will make sure you have the exclusive. But you must will for me to be able to go."

He was no fool. “I will that you take me to Faeryland and that you give me the exclusive, followed by marrying me. I also command you not to reveal to anyone, including Niall, about our arrangements or the spell I have over you."

Damn it! 

Making her face as serene as she could, she nodded. “As you wish."

* * * *
Aine, the centuries-old Faerie who had raised Niall, lived on the outskirts of Faeryland. Her cottage, old style and resistant to anything newfangled, like electricity, was easily overlooked by passersby. Mina knew from experience that Aine did not like Faeries popping in and out of her home, so she had placed a spell long ago that limited that activity to just a few yards off from her property. Still, with that knowledge, Mina at first missed the entrance because of all the overgrown foliage.

Pete wrinkled his nose. “Who would want to live in that old, broken-down shack?"

Mina rounded on him, though she felt the effects of the spell immediately. She could not smack him or scratch out his eyes for his disrespect of her people, her elders. “Do not say things like that while you are in there. Do not touch anything or give your opinion. In fact, do not speak."

He frowned. “Just who is in charge of whom here? I believe it's me and not you.” To emphasize his hold over her, he groped her breast. Mina hated the feeling of desire that washed over her. His command that she like his touch was definitely in effect.

"Aine is very old and very powerful. She is also eccentric. If she decides you are offensive, she will cast a spell on you. Should she do that, I will be forced to defend you, and I can never win,” she snapped. “Does that make it clearer for you?"

His hand dropped to his side. “Yeah, I got it."

A little nervous at meeting Aine after so long, Mina tugged at her hair before tucking the short locks behind one ear. While they picked their way through the bramble invading the sidewalk, she spoke again. “Also, my people know I would not show public affection for any man now that I've worked as an emissary. Unless, you want us to explain why I allow you to touch me..."

"I said I got it!"

She felt better knowing Pete would not try to touch her again, at least while they were in Faeryland. She would try to think of some other excuse to make him control himself after they left. Right now, she needed to concentrate on getting Aine to share all the information she had.

"Mina!” The withered old woman with hip-length grey hair hurried out to her porch to greet them. “I'm so glad to see you. Come here and give Aine a hug."

At least she had always liked Mina, which was probably why she had taken up with Niall in the first place. The woman had doted on the man but didn't say a word about how Mina used him. Mina had always found that strange.

Allowing herself to be engulfed in a bony but strong hug, Mina thought Aine looked as wrinkly as she did when she was a teen Fae—and as sharp-minded. Seemed the woman was destined to live forever. “Hello, lady. I'm glad to see you."

Aine sucked her teeth. “Dispense with the lady stuff, girly. You call me Aine like you used to. Back then, you had no respect for your elders. Why start now?” Her laugh took the bite out of her words as she dragged Mina inside the house and completely ignored Pete.

After the human had shuffled inside, his cheeks pink at being ignored, they all sat around the kitchen table, Aine's favorite visiting room. She touched the air roughly six inches above three places on the table and three mugs appeared. Another tap and a steaming teapot materialized.

While Aine poured, Mina glanced around the room. “Nothing's changed after so long, Aine. Not even you."

The old woman chuckled. “Ah, there's my rude little Mina. But you're right, still the same around here.” When she glanced up, a speculative glint came into her eyes. She pointed to Mina's earlobe. “What's that I see there?"

Mina knew what she meant and regretted uncovering her ear earlier. Magic was never hidden from a Faerie unless it was magic of a higher level than the Fae doing the looking. The evidence was always a glimmer of something at the ears, though Mina had no idea why. Aine had seen the glimmer, indicating that Mina was under a spell.

"I...” She hesitated.

Aine waved her hands. “Never mind."

Mina remembered another wonderful quality about the woman. She didn't like others in her business, and she accorded everyone the same courtesy. If Mina didn't want to share what spell she was under, Aine wouldn't push for an answer. She breathed a sigh of relief. One hurdle crossed.

Aine sat down in the chair opposite Mina and clasped her hands before her. “Okay, my dear, what brings you to my place? I hope that all things are well with your family.” She went silent for a minute and stared down at the table. “With Niall?"

Mina heard the hopeful note. Aine still loved Niall no matter what he did or who he hurt. Mina didn't want to think about what she felt. “Aine, I need your help. I want to find Niall's father. So, if you will, please tell me his name."

The woman's eyes went wide, and she clutched her chest. It was obvious that question was the last she ever expected to hear.

[Back to Table of Contents] 





Chapter Eighteen 
Aine's smile looked painted on, Mina thought. Up until that moment, she had not chosen to notice Pete, and Mina was waiting until she did. If Aine did not choose to acknowledge a person's existence, no one could force her. Now, her gaze flicked to Pete, and distaste transformed the smile. “You already know you're breaking the law, Mina. You would add another by conjuring a demon?"

In as few words as possible, Mina explained. “I know, Aine, and I wouldn't if I had a choice, but this is important to Niall. It could save his life."

Understanding dawned in the older woman's eyes. Mina could see her about to give Pete nightmares he would never wake from. She dove across the healer's line of sight to land on the human's lap. Extending her arms straight out to the sides, her breath came in pants as if she had been exercising for the last hour.

"You know the rules, Aine.” A simple statement, by which Aine should see that she would be hurting Mina by attacking Pete, because Mina would be forced to protect him.

The lightning crackling on the old woman's fingertips steadily decreased until it was completely gone. She spun away, staring across at her old pipe stove, an antique she never used from day one, preferring to cook by magic. Mina had wondered what home-baked goods would be like. Her mother had never cooked either.

"Well, as much as I love Niall with all my heart and have heard about his trouble, I cannot give you his father's name."

Mina was not beyond pleading. “Please, Aine. If you don't tell me, he will die. You weren't there when that thing attacked him in my home. It drained him so much that he went unconscious. The king sealed him in a box, but he escaped. I just know the thing will find him soon."

Aine worried the apron hanging from her neck, the strings untied as if she had just put it on or was about to take it off. Mina knew she simply never tied it. The strings made her feel bound. “Mina, I would die for that boy. In a heartbeat. But I know the evil that lurks in a demon. His father already destroyed Bridget, Niall's mother, by getting her pregnant in the first place. I won't give him the chance to muck about in Niall's life."

Frustration set in for Mina. She turned her head away and leaned forward to stand up from Pete's lap. Just as she did, a bolt shot out from Aine to pop in a cloud of sparkles around Pete's head. On instinct, Mina shot back her own at Aine, who caught it and crushed it to nothing in the palm of her hand.

Mina stood and turned quickly to Pete. He sat terrified, slapping his hands against his ears and staring at Aine.

"Pete, are you okay?” Mina reached for him and then dropped her hand, realizing what Aine had done. She had zapped Pete so that he couldn't hear. She swung back to the older Faerie. “What was that for?"

Aine smiled. “So, I could tell you that I have always believed that you and Niall were meant to be together. Even while he was in his mother's womb, I thought here is a strong one for the king's daughter."

Mina frowned. “Are you a fortune-teller now?” She slapped a hand over her mouth at the rude comment. Irritation had gotten the better of her. “I apologize, lady. It's the stress of what's happening. Besides, Niall is several years older than I am. Why would you think that about him? Surely, you didn't mean for him to marry Sheelagh?” Despite herself, jealousy rose in her heart.

Aine was apparently not offended. She waved the apology away. “I dabble here and there, but not for a long time. Then I did a lot, and I knew a Faerie with your uniqueness would be born to the king and that she would be meant for Niall. I made sure that he was saved."

Pete had shuffled from his chair and was walking about the kitchen causing as much noise as he could. Mina considered sealing his behind to his chair and his hands to his lap, but Aine beat her to it. By force, Mina sent off a small attack, Aine snuffed it, and they went on with their conversation.

"Niall told me that you were ordered by my father to poison Bridget, that you did and he rejected the medicine and forced it into his mother's body. I don't ... how could you not be able to heal her when you've cured many of poison in your lifetime?” With effort, Mina tamped down her frustration to understand all that had happened in the past and sift out the truth from what wasn't.

Aine stared down at her hands, twisting a napkin into a knot. “It's true, I poisoned Bridget, but the king didn't command it. He loved Bridget and would have died for her."

An invisible hand gripped Mina's chest, restricting her breathing. “And?"

Tears spurted from the woman's eyes, splashing down on her hands and the table. Mina gaped, having never seen Aine unhappy. Sure, she had seen her hopping mad about this or that, but never sad. She sniffled, wiping the moisture above her lip with the back of her hand. “I was possessed. I couldn't help myself. A voice inside my head told me to do it and told me not to heal her."

"T-That's impossible!” Mina stuttered. “Faeries can't be possessed by demons. That's a human weakness."

She nodded. “Which goes to show that I'm not a Faerie."

Dizziness assailed Mina. She pressed a hand to her head and then moved it to her stomach, feeling like she was going to hurl the breakfast she never even had that morning. All of this, Niall, Aine, her father, Pete—it was too much to handle. The council had been right to take away her position.

"Please explain.” Mina's voice was barely more than a murmur.

"I was Bridget's protector. Born human, recruited to take care of a healer. I was given magic, even healing abilities of my own. Yet, I was still vulnerable to a demon's snare because of what I was. As I said, I worked in fortune-telling a little. I liked it as much as I enjoyed the magic at my fingertips. I got greedy and conjured a demon. The same demon that later took a human body over and seduced Bridget. Had it not been for me, he would not have seen her and desired her for himself."

So many questions ran through Mina's mind. First and foremost, the terror that Drake, being human, was susceptible to the demon's possession. Had the demon who was hunting Niall all this time been hiding inside her brother-in-law? The thought was too terrifying to consider, especially with twin babies on the way. Could they all be about to experience this whole madness doublefold if Sheelagh's babies were half-demon?

She fought to understand. “Let me get this straight. You are not a Faerie, but you look like one. I—No! I've never seen your ears. I just assumed they were pointed like mine and all our people's."

Aine pushed her hair back, revealing very human ears, then let the curtain of her hair fall down.

"Did my father know this? Did he know he was leaving Niall, an infant, in the care of a human who could be possessed again and kill him?” Mina knew her voice was harsh, but she didn't care.

"He knew, which is why he placed a spell on me, too, at the same time he placed the seal on Niall, to keep his demon side contained. The spell is over this entire house in fact. It does not allow any creature to appear here using magic."

Mina gasped, “But I thought that was just you being eccentric. All this time...” Something was bugging her, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She stood staring at the woman she thought she knew, thinking about all the truths she'd taken for granted. Faeries, and most magical creatures really, believed that there was an entity—Magic—alive somewhere and watching over them. It had been Magic that gave Drake the ability to find Sheelagh and save her. Apparently, it had been Magic, too, that had given Aine her abilities. How could it have made such a mistake as to trust a human to care for a Faerie?

"I know,” Aine told her, guilt in her expression. “You're trying to work it all out, all the questions that you have about why this would happen, why Faeries don't look after themselves in some special cases or why humans are almost sacred to Faeries. But you would drive yourself crazy trying to find all the answers. I know I did for years."

"Aine, you must see how badly I need that name. I have to try to save Niall. I am a full Faerie. I cannot be possessed. Please,” Mina begged. “Make up for what you couldn't do all those years ago, save the one you care for."

It was a harsh thing to say, but Mina was desperate. Had Aine not been greedy for power, none of this would have happened. She glanced at Pete, for the same went for his actions. He sat quiet and resigned to his temporary deafness.

"Unfortunately, whether I want to help you or not, I can't,” Aine snapped. “The king is very powerful. He took a part of my memory, not the part that helped me to forget how I caused my friend to die, but the part that kept me from remembering Niall's father's name.” She held up a hand. “Before you ask, yes, he took away all references to calling a demon. I have no books, no notes. I'm sorry I can't help you, for I would die for Niall. Please tell him I love him, and he can come home when he's ready."

Her last statement was a dismissal if ever Mina heard one. She sighed heavily. If what Aine had told her was true, then there was nothing else to discuss. One last question came to mind. “So, Niall doesn't know that it was you, under the influence of a demon, who killed his mother and not at the command of my father?"

Aine's eyes clouded. “I let him believe..."

Mina nodded and turned away. She performed a release spell on Pete, then headed toward the door. Aine, probably feeling resentful of what the king had taken from her, had allowed Niall to believe the Faerie king had commanded his mother be killed. The woman could not know that he was now on Niall's list of Faeries to kill. And there was no use telling her. She was suffering daily, deep inside, for what she had done.

Back on the road, Pete finally spoke. “So, you got the information you need to call the demon?"

She shook her head. “No, unfortunately. Aine doesn't know the name of a demon to call. I would go to my father's house to look again in his library, but it's too risky. Not to mention that I don't think he would have a book with those names just lying around. Not after what happened, that's for sure."

"What?"

"Nothing.” She thought about what to do next, partly worrying about Niall and if he was okay. She wanted to ditch Pete and check place to place on her own. Or consult her father's map and track Niall's magic. However, taking a human in the midst of the royal home without permission was putting herself in the same trouble Niall was in. Aine was right. The king was very powerful, and so were his guards. She was pretty sure they would pick up on a foreign presence.

Pete interrupted her thoughts. “I'm disappointed. This place is very much like the human world, more like the country, fresh air and open spaces. Surely there's more?” He gave her a hopeful look.

Mina frowned, offended. “My home is perfect in every way. No smog or crime. No factories spitting out pollution.” She pointed out a small farm to the right of the road they walked along. “We can use magic to produce foods or anything for that matter, but we eat natural foods like vegetables and grains, so there's no need for boxed goods like you have. We live simply, and that's the way we like it."

He had the grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry."

Before she thought about what she was doing, Mina reached for his hand and laced her fingers through his as if he were her lover. Too late, she realized that it wasn't something the real her would do. It was the influence of Pete's spell. The self-satisfied grin that spread across his face told her he thought the same.

"How can you be okay with enslaving another person?” she asked softly. “Don't you want a woman who loves you voluntarily?"

"I'd rather have you."

Mina pulled her hand free of his and stopped walking to face him. “Are you serious? You're so desperate to have magic that you would force me to marry you?"

His eyes darkened in anger as he stepped closer to Mina. She wondered briefly if the demon was inhabiting him. But he would not have been able to enter Faeryland, would he? Or maybe a demon could if it was hiding inside a body. That was it. The demon could move about freely in any place previously forbidden if it was hiding in a person.

Pete grabbed her by the arms, squeezing so hard it hurt. Mina fought the hold he had over her, struggling to bring her hands up to repel him. Not being in his sight, it had been easier to resist. Now, she felt helpless. Her swords glowed, the symbols vibrant red. Her resistance increased, but it wasn't enough. She thought of holding the ivory in her hands, feeling the power to protect her.

Seeming to know what she intended or maybe thinking she was going to try stabbing him, Pete's hold increased. He shook her so hard, her head flopped back and forth. “Put them down!” he demanded.

Mina gasped. “No, please. Oh, no, not that."

Triumph entered the blue eyes. “Now! Put the swords on the ground."

Just in case she found a way to stab him before obeying, Pete let her go and jumped back a few feet. His control did not lessen. Mina slid her swords from their sheaths with a lump in her throat. Even feeling the crevices in the swords’ hilts under her palms didn't keep her fingers from straightening and allowing the beautiful gifts to clatter onto the road.

"Pete,” she began.

"Take us home, baby.” His eyes glittered with lust. “To my place or, rather, our place."

Shoulders slumped, Mina opened the portal to the human world and stepped ahead of Pete to his living room. She could have made them materialize in his bedroom, where his mind obviously was, but anything to delay the inevitable was good.

He frowned, knowing what she had been thinking. Pete took her arm and fairly dragged her up the steps and into his bedroom, not much bigger than the office. A full-sized bed occupied most of the space, and a tall dresser took up one corner. Clothes and papers were piled on the carpeted floor, and the covers from the unmade bed were hanging half on the floor. Mina shuddered.

"Let's go.” He indicated her clothes. “I want a show."

"I don't understand. You've been Drake's friend for years. How could he not know what an awful person you are?"

"Shut up!” His voice thundered. “Make it slow and sexy.” Dropping onto the bed, he unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants. Mina looked away, swallowing hard.

Mina lifted her hands and reached behind her back to undo each of the buttons along her dress as slowly as he had asked for. The simple dress was sleeveless, and she wore a long-sleeved blouse beneath it. When the dress was unbuttoned enough to slip her arms out of it, she did but left the garment hanging about her waist.

She fought back tears while continually battling against the spell that was causing her to obey every word tumbling from Pete's lips. Her blouse was unclasped, had slipped off her shoulders, just covering her breasts, when she felt the heat in the bedroom rise sharply.

Moisture pooled on Pete's forehead. He dragged an arm across it and glanced around as if he was wondering if he had turned on the heater without realizing it. Mina knew what it was, and relief flooded her being. Yet, she could not have guessed that her swords would suddenly materialize in the room with no hand attached.

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Chapter Nineteen 
Niall had known immediately when Mina became separated from her swords, for on the weapons was not only an attempt to protect her from that disgusting human, but the curves and grooves on the blades themselves were a spell to track Mina's magic, on one, and her proximity, on the other.

The moment the swords were no longer near her, he knew. He had simply called them to him from wherever they had been left, and then he went where he suspected she would be, which was in the house of the fool who thought he could take what belonged to Niall.

No remorse entered his mind when he placed the blades against the human's throat, then allowed himself to become visible so that the man would know who ended his existence. “What fantasy led you to believe that you could take what is mine?"

Pete's eyes widened in shock and fear. He stumbled over his words, words that were of no interest to Niall.

"Niall,” Mina called from behind him. “Don't."

Niall pressed hard and dragged the swords across the delicate flesh. The human fell down dead on his own bed.

He turned to face her then, seeing shock in her eyes and her half-undressed. Anger flared in him. He wanted to ram the swords into the human's body over and over, but that would terrify her more. Instead, he cleaned the blades and strolled over to place them where they belonged, at her waist. As soon as the weapons were sheathed, they disappeared to await her call the next time.

She was shaking. Niall drew her into his arms, holding her snug against him so that her face was buried into his chest. When he knew she could not see, he held a hand out to the bedclothes and they rose up to him. Elevating the temperature of just his palm, he ignited the threads and tossed them away. Soon nothing of the human would be left and no evidence to show what had happened.

Niall walked through space to drop Mina in her bedroom at her father's house. He kissed her soft lips once, fighting a desire to lie down beside her, and then placed his mouth against her ear. “Rest, álainn. I will be back soon."

As quickly as he entered the royal home, Niall left it with no one suspecting he had been there. He easily masked his presence, a skill perfected at a level no other Faerie possessed, even the king and the elders. When he reached one of the worlds in between, one similar to where the Faerie council was located, he called to his father, using a ritual he'd learned soon after his escape. The precise words spoken, he called the name of the demon he hated with every fiber of his being. “Dhrakrun, come forth. Show yourself."

There was no answer. Nothing. Thinking, Niall pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. Mentally, he went through the steps of the ritual, the words, pronounced perfectly in the demon tongue and finally his father's name. There was no reason that hateful beast shouldn't have answered. He growled in frustration.

Knowing Mina was safe for the time being, he stepped over into his world, the place he had created to take Mina. For a moment, he considered going back for her to bring her to this one, but he changed his mind. Having her with him right now would only distract him from his purpose. He needed to locate the demon that was hunting him and to do that he needed to speak with his father. Unfortunately, as a demon parent would be, he wasn't around when needed the most.

Niall determined the only way left to him would be figuring out some other clue that would allow him to find the demon. Possibly if he recalled more of what happened while he was trapped in the demon world, it might trigger an indication, a tidbit that could help him in his cause. Only when he had destroyed the hunter would he come back to talk to Mina. She would need to understand that the two of them could never work out. She was light, and he was darkness. That wasn't about to change any time soon.

Finding his world in daylight, Niall settled in under his favorite tree to await darkness. While he didn't sleep, he did have a dreamlike state at night. That was when he could recall the greatest. He would just need to be patient.

* * * *
Darkness fell, and just as if it were planned that way, Niall closed his eyes to fall into that place he landed almost nightly. He knew he wasn't asleep. He could hear everything around him in the peaceful world, even the gentle gurgle of the water. Yet, there was the room of torment. He sat in that chair, strapped down so he couldn't run away from his fate.

"You're a decent student. You learned the demon's language in no time,” his father told him.

"I had no choice.” Niall longed for his Faerie magic to work again, to open a portal, cast a spell, anything that would burn this demon as he had done him for so long. “You forced me to learn or die."

The demon laughed. “Die? Don't be ridiculous, Niall. I told you, you can't burn, just as you've seen here. You live. Nothing in this place can touch you when you know who you are."

The words didn't impress him. “When I can, I will slit your throat. Since you can't burn either."

His father had laughed, disgustingly proud of Niall for the hatred that ate at his soul. “Yes, embrace those dark feelings. Let them fuel you to do what you have to do. You need to get back at the Faeries for what they've done to you. Take your vengeance, son. Kill them all. But be careful. There's a demon who would lead our people in this place. He isn't yet powerful enough,” his father explained. “He's heard of you. I'm afraid I bragged when I should have kept my mouth shut."

"What are you talking about?” Niall demanded, not believing for a second that Dhrakrun cared for him. “What does his wanting to rule the demon world have to do with me?"

"Haven't you figured it out yet? You are different, unique.” The red eyes glittered excitedly as he spoke. “You may not know it, but you are more powerful than even the Faerie king. That's why he placed this seal on your shoulder, to keep you from growing stronger than him. This demon, the one I warned you about, is coming. He's coming to take it from you. When you are free from this Faerie curse."

Niall's eyes popped open. He stared up at the night sky in his world, his heart pounding. As before, the anger, the dark thoughts clouded his mind when he became alert from the memories of the demon world. He wanted vengeance. He craved a kill, but he fought the desire, willing his heart to slow and the heat in him to lessen.

When he had calmed again, he closed his eyes. What he had recalled wasn't enough. As much as he hated it, he had to remember everything.

His father shot flames of fire from his fingertips, sent shards of pain ripping through Niall's head. He screamed, holding his hands up over his face. “Stop, please."

"Embrace it, son."

"No! How can I? Don't do this,” he pleaded when the assault lessened. “I'm not what you think. I'm not a demon."

"You are!” the creature insisted. “I will prove it."

The procedure for breaking the seal was done when most of the other demons were off looking over new recruits to their school of torment. They traveled lower in the abyss that was his new home, through passages that were so dark, Niall couldn't see the path in front of him. Yet, he could sense the evil from all directions. The walls were alive with it, and each day, he felt it seep deeper into him, maybe even changing him to be like them. Without conscience, without remorse.

Niall, too weak to do more than stumble along with Dhrakrun, spoke softly lest he disturb what little peace he gained being further away from the torturous screams of the other prisoners. “I am still not convinced that you're my father."

"You know your father is a demon?” Dhrakrun questioned.

"Yes, Aine told me just before I began helping Mina with her plan to banish Sheelagh, her sister. Aine warned me that I was more susceptible to evil, and she told me why."

The demon laughed. “More susceptible. I like that. Did she tell you of her involvement in your mother's death?"

Niall nodded, but he wasn't sure if Dhrakrun saw his response. “She never lied to me. She admitted that the ki—"

"Ah, we're here. Never mind that fraud that raised you. Come, we must do the ritual quickly before the others figure out what we're up to. The leader has kept the one who hunts you busy on a mission, but I suspect he'll return to our world soon. Let's make sure you're free before he returns."

"Free,” Niall muttered. Somehow, he didn't think that word meant the same to Dhrakrun as it did to him. While he was in school, Niall had learned the ways of many of the creatures who inhabited at least a million worlds. The instructors had been sure to warn young Fae of demons and their world. A Fae could not be possessed, they had learned, but they could be tricked. Also, an advanced demon could drain a Faerie or any other magical creature of its powers if they were caught in the act of using that power.

Niall opened his eyes and stared up at the sky in his world. “I had forgotten that fact. Not what I learned in school at all."

Even as a young Fae, he had been interested in things pertaining to demons, not knowing why. He had wanted to learn more of the creatures, but his instructors’ knowledge had been limited. So, on his own, Niall had researched and studied. A demon never bothered with using his gift of draining the power from another, because they were mostly interested in humans, just as any magical creature was.

"Why are they so special?” he wondered. He supposed that it was a quirk of the entity Magic that made it so. Knowing he would never figure out all the answers, he closed his eyes again.

Once in the room, Dhrakrun had closed a stone door that seemed to seal out all life. Strange symbols Niall couldn't interpret—not then, at least—were on the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. Dhrakrun instructed Niall to lie down on the floor on his back. He had obeyed without question because he was tired of the torment. If breaking the seal on his shoulder was what would allow him to endure the pain inflicted on him, then he would go through whatever ritual that struck the demon's fancy.

The process was quicker than he thought or maybe he had been in and out of consciousness. When his father spoke three words, fire leaped up from the floor all around Niall. Almost immediately, he began to feel drowsy, and falling in and out of consciousness, he was aware of the demon striding back and forth, making dramatic gestures, his lips moving, but Niall could hear nothing.

Hours later, when he woke, the room was empty and the flame was out. Had someone asked him, he would say nothing about him had changed, but that was not true. For the first time, he could see everything. The darkness was not a hindrance.

He struggled to his feet, his head spinning so much for a few minutes that he had to remain still until it passed. Two strides took him to the stone door. When he pulled it open, he found the passageway outside empty except for a torch on the wall. It hadn't been there earlier.

Remembering what his father said about him being able to withstand pain and that fire couldn't hurt him, he decided to test it. Boldly, he stuck his hand inside the fire. His eyes widened, his heart pounding. No pain at all. He remembered how the demons could produce fire at will and tried it. Nothing happened. As he continued on along the way back to the main area having nowhere else to go, he learned he could increase his body temperature. Not the same as calling up fire, but still impressive. At least to him.

Rounding a corner, he heard voices ahead and stopped. He might have greater resistance to the demons’ torture, but there was no telling how long it would last. An itch on his shoulder brought his attention back to the seal that had been there. He reached up and yanked away his shirt from the spot. The skin on his shoulder was as new as if what he had believed to be a scar had never been there in the first place.

While he pondered whether the whole dramatic ceremony was a trick, the voices around the bend grew louder. The two demon voices he could make out were arguing, although he didn't recognize who they were.

"Everyone knows now. There'll be a fight to drain him. You can imagine the power he possesses without even knowing it,” the first voice said.

"Yes, and everyone also knows your desire to be leader of the demon world,” the other demon hissed, his voice filled with the evil that was always present in all of them. Niall shivered listening, but he knew they were speaking of him. He wanted to know what they planned.

The first demon must have taken exception to the second one's disrespect. Niall jumped at the crash he felt against the wall. “So what? We all want to lead. That's nothing new."

"But you'll do more than most to get it."

The first demon must have smiled, because Niall heard it in his voice when he finally spoke after a pause. “Yes, you're right. I will do anything to get what I want. I have a personal vendetta against the leader. He will die at my hands when I have the half-Faerie's power. But your time is now."

Niall put a hand over his mouth, backing away as he heard the demon die. What horrified him most was the pleasure he felt at the sound. The evil rising in his heart was just beginning.

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Chapter Twenty 
Mina stood on one side of the bed holding her sister's hand while Drake stood on the other. She kept glancing up at him beneath her lashes, wondering again if a demon was hidden inside him, watching and hoping that the twins about to be born belonged to him and not the Faerie.

Fear for her sister's safety clutched her heart, the only thought that kept her horror at bay for what Niall had done. In cold blood, he had murdered Pete, and when he turned to her, she saw his eyes glowing red like he had enjoyed it. Too late, she thought painfully, she knew she loved him. Oh, no, how? How can I love a man so evil? Not a man—a demon.

She focused on her sister, squeezing her hand and reaching up to stroke her hair. “It will all be over soon, Sheelagh,” she soothed.

Sheelagh shook her head. “This is what I get for insisting my babies be born in the human world, in my home. Had I been in Faeryland, the birthing woman would be here and taking away this pain. Damn it! Drake, do something!"

Drake looked helpless. He trembled almost as much as his wife, and his pupils were dilated. The man would be no good at all. Mina thought of a spell Aine had done on her knee when she'd scraped it as a child. She didn't guess the pain of childbirth could be helped using it or even if it would work for other than a healer, but she had to try.

She rested her hand on Sheelagh's belly and recited the words. Immediately, her sister's breathing deepened, and she turned a radiant smile on Mina. “Bless you, sweetie. I love you so much.” She began to cry. Mina reddened, thinking she would never elect to have children.

Suddenly, a portal opened and the birthing woman walked through, all business. A page followed her, and a couple guards. The page came straight to Mina and bowed slightly. “Princess, the king requests your presence at his home immediately."

Mina shook her head. “No, he'll have to wait. I'm with my sister, and she's about to give birth."

The page paled at her refusal. The guards stepped closer. Drake, seeing their intent, came around the bed, a frown on his face. “Get out of here. Can't you see my wife needs her sister? The king will understand."

"But...” the page began.

Drake grabbed Mina's arm, but she pulled away, still nervous about him. As she backed farther from both Drake and the page, the doorknob to the bedroom they occupied turned. The guards and the page snapped their fingers so that they popped out of the room and the portal dissolved as quickly as it had opened.

Seconds after, the door opened and Kiley stood on the threshold, her innocent eyes reddened and puffy. Mina's heart plummeted. She imagined Kiley had learned Pete was dead, and she prayed the girl wasn't the one to find his body. Mina had been struggling with admitting to her family what had happened but couldn't find the words. When she did, Sheelagh had gone into labor and the moment passed.

Kiley frantically searched the room and its inhabitants with her gaze. When she spotted Mina, her expression changed to one of pleading. Mina dragged in a deep breath. She would not be able to put this off. She would speak with Kiley, but she wasn't telling her that Niall killed the man she loved, no matter what.

Mina nodded at Kiley and moved to the bed to kiss her sister and whisper, “I'll be back in a minute. Don't worry, Drake will help you."

"Are you kidding?” Sheelagh demanded. “He's useless. Mina, don't leave me."

"Only a second,” Mina promised and crossed to the door to follow Kiley out.

As soon as they were in the hall, Kiley launched herself into Mina's arms, crying in earnest. Mina patted her back awkwardly and tried to soothe the girl while not admitting that she knew what was wrong. “Is everything okay, Kiley?"

"No! Pete's dead. His house caught on fire,” the girl sobbed.

Now Mina really was shocked. “On fire?"

She nodded. “Yes, the police are investigating, but I know who killed him."

Mina swallowed. “You do?"

"Yes, it was that demon. You remember, the one from the bar that night. Pete and I had been tracking him for a while, and Pete was excited when I talked to him the other night saying he discovered something that was going to change his life.” She paused to catch her breath. “I think he was talking about getting a picture or some evidence of that demon we were tracking. If he got that, there's no way Pete wouldn't hit the big time. And maybe that demon killed him because of it."

A million thoughts ran through Mina's mind, the most prevalent being that the discovery was not about Niall, but about her. Pete had more likely been excited that he could enslave a Faerie, but hadn't told Kiley. The fact that Niall, at some point, had set the house on fire to cover that he had already murdered Pete upset her even more. She couldn't possibly save someone who would do such a thing. It was beginning to look like no matter what she did, Niall was beyond her help. She should do what she could to bring him in, so that no one else would get hurt.

"I'm sorry about your friend, Kiley. If there's anything I can do, just name it.” Mina cleared the lump from her throat. “I know how it is to lose someone special."

"Well, if you could go with me to visit his mother, that would be great,” Kiley said slowly.

Mina went still. “His mother?"

"I have to go and tell his mother. Pete never gave the paper her information, but I was with him when he visited her a couple years ago."

Not particularly wanting to remember what Pete had said to her in that room when he had been about to take advantage of her, Mina did remember Pete telling her he had no family, that his mother was dead. Had he lied? Was Kiley mistaken? She was overwrought about learning that the man she loved was dead. Surely that wouldn't make the woman imagine relatives where there weren't any. She must be remembering incorrectly.

When Mina didn't answer, Kiley slipped her hand in hers. “Please, Mina. I don't want to go alone. I've never had to tell anyone ... you know."

"Okay, just let me go in and—"

"No!"

Mina blinked, ready to yank her hand free.

Kiley paled. “Mina, remember Drake? He is or was Pete's best friend. You can't just walk in there and tell him something like that right now."

"Of course. Oh, goodness, you're right.” She walked with Kiley down the stairs toward the front door. “Let's go. I'll break it to him later. Let him enjoy this time with his wife and newborns."

* * * *
So close, the demon thought with rapture. His dreams were almost in the palm of his hand. He thoroughly enjoyed manipulating people—Niall and all the other fools he had bent to his will with just a few choice words.

By now, he knew that Niall was hiding inside some created world, one that he could not penetrate, as hard as he tried. He needed to find a way to lure him out, to get him to use his powers again. That Faerie had influenced him too much, stopped him dead in his plan to expose every Faerie in the human world, to kill each one. He had been so close in that Faerie's bedroom, and the power had been incredible.

Calm. He needed to remain calm, to stick to the plan, the same one he had initiated in the demon world. It had been so easy to slip out of there through the portal Niall had created. He chuckled remembering.

Aware that Niall was near when he was busy killing that other demon. The goodness of that half-Faerie was a scent to hurt a demon's nostrils. He had made the kill extra painful, noisy, knowing it would put terror in the Faerie's heart to drive him to open the way out.

Every magical creature inside and outside Faeryland had heard how Niall had a special gift. He could create worlds, open portals where none had existed. The demon had long suspected that this magic was the only one that could open the way out of the demon world without the leader's permission.

So, he had tracked him, followed secretly as Niall ran along the passageways, going deeper into the belly of evil, though Niall didn't know it. The demon in his pure form could blend with the darkness, walk inside the walls. Only an experienced demon who knew his abilities would know he was there. Niall, in his fear, ran blindly.

The demon crept up over him and whispered heinous words, sent dark images to his mind. He might not be able to get inside, but he could drive the man crazy. He did for days, hoping Niall would crack, that he would open the portal.

It irked him that he couldn't burn Niall. Even while the Faerie slept, the demon had sent a flame of heat to his head with no response, although he had learned the Faerie wasn't asleep at all. He opened his eyes, staring into the demon's face as he hovered above him.

"What do you want?” Niall asked.

"Nothing.” He tried making his voice friendly but failed, seeing the distrust in Niall's face. Not finding any words to say that would openly push the man to do what he wanted, he allowed his body to rise until he closed in on himself and became invisible above the ceiling. Yet, he never stopped watching, never quit tormenting Niall. He would get what he wanted, but he had to play things safer. With the demon side of him awake, Niall could kill him easily. The demon would drain Niall long before he ever realized that.

The day dawned after a particularly enjoyable night of vexing Niall. The demon watched as he rocked back and forth, hugging himself and muttering. He felt the anger, the hatred radiating in heat off him. The Faerie's skin was changed from its natural pale flesh tone to a deep red.

He pointed a hand out before him, palm up, and a flame red and black leaped up from nothing to rage so bright it hurt the demon's eyes. He turned his head and put a hand up to shield him from the pain. Starting a ball of fire in his own hand, he prepared to fire it at Niall's head, hoping he'd stop with the magic.

That's when it happened. Evil joy sprung up inside him as he stared in awe at Niall. The magic in Niall's hand was thrown against the wall of the room he occupied. With a command in his voice, the Faerie cast the spell to open a portal. It seemed like the entire demon world shook as if a massive earthquake hit.

The demon crashed onto the floor, unable to hold his floating position. The interference with his abilities was impressive, especially given that Niall knew nothing of what he had just done. No one had ever left the demon world who was not a demon, and then, only if the leader permitted it.

As he righted himself, he heard others coming, running. Everyone would have sensed the opening of a portal, and since it was not in the central location, where it could be monitored, they probably suspected who was doing it.

Niall heard, too, although he hadn't noticed the demon with all the shaking happening. He stepped through the opening, and the demon scrambled through after him. He could hardly believe his good fortune when he realized they had gone through to the human world.

While Niall concentrated on closing the portal, the demon found a body, slipped inside, and began to plot.

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Chapter Twenty-One 
Mina slid into the passenger side of Kiley's cheap little car and buckled her seat belt. Kiley tucked her long, thin body behind the wheel and started the engine. Fifteen minutes later, they were headed out of town.

"Goodness, where does she live?” Mina asked.

The girl offered a cold look in answer.

"Kiley?"

She sighed and reached across Mina to the glove compartment. After pulling out a white box, she bumped the compartment closed and fiddled to get the box open on her lap. Mina was about to ask if she could help, thinking the girl kept a map inside or directions. She clamped down on her tongue when she saw the gun.

"Okay, let's not play games here, Mina.” With the sadness long gone, his blue eyes were full of menace. “I know you are a Faerie. Pete told me so. He was going to do a story that blew away every silly Faerie tale ever told, let the world know that you and your kind do exist. I was going to help him."

Irritation sparked in Mina's mind. She could be back with her sister, not dealing with this nonsense. “Since we're not playing games, let's admit that Pete was off his rocker. Faeries don't exist. That's baloney. Pete wasn't exactly a hard-hitting reporter. From what I heard, he was more often than not scrambling for decent assignments."

Kiley waved the gun around, tears filling her eyes. “You take that back. Pete was perfect."

Mina felt sorry for the girl. She had it bad, falling for a man like Pete. He had surely hidden his true colors for years, maybe even from Drake. If Drake wasn't possessed. For her sister's sake, she hoped not. Now, she realized she should have been there, to be sure everything was okay. She had thought this wouldn't take long.

"Where are you taking me?” she demanded.

Kiley grinned. “To a cabin Pete and I used sometimes."

"A cabin. You mean you two..."

"Of course."

Mina fell silent. There was no sense arguing further with Kiley. Either she used her magic to zap the woman and get out of there—which would expose who she was—or she waited for an opportune time to make something happen that could be explained away. She opted for the second and folded her arms across her chest to wait. She wasn't afraid of Kiley. Rather, she was concerned the girl would do something stupid.

With relief, she found that the place wasn't too far from town. They pulled up to a rustic log cabin, which looked very homey despite the circumstances. Somehow, the ordinary appearance calmed her even more, and she didn't argue when Kiley commanded she get out of the car and go inside.

Too late, Mina recognized the trap. As soon as she stepped into the cabin, a spell was activated. Golden chains appeared on her wrists. Try as she might to snap herself out of the cabin, she couldn't. Neither could she call her swords. An Elf appeared in front of her and turned to Kiley, or, rather, the girl possessed with the demon that had been hunting Niall.

"My debt to you is paid,” the Elf said and dematerialized as quickly as it had come.

The demon stepped out of Kiley, and the girl fell down on the floor, unconscious. A smile spread across the hideous creature's face, making Mina's stomach turn. His laugh was low and triumphant.

"Only an Elf could trap a Faerie, use a spell to lock you so that you can't use your magic to escape. I don't know why it took me so long to call in a few debts, but I did, and now you, little Faerie, are my bait."

"Go to hell!"

He laughed again and took her chin in a hot grip. Mina gasped at the heat, trying to turn her head away. “No more running behind Niall, trying to find out where he's hiding. No more sitting locked inside a stupid human's body. Now, he will come to me, and I will take his power."

Mina searched her mind for some way to escape. The demon misinterpreted her tightened lips and the intense look in her eyes.

"Oh, don't be afraid. I won't kill you, and maybe I'll leave Niall just enough energy to live. After all, he is my son."

"What!” Mina couldn't believe her ears.

"Didn't I tell you?” he asked conversationally. “Yes, I am Dhrakrun, Niall's demon father."

"D-Does he know?"

The demon shook his head. “No, and I look forward to informing him. Family reunion, you know. All this time, I let him think he was being pursued by some other demon bent on being leader of the demon world, and all the time it was me.” He laughed heartily. “Good one, huh?"

"You're twisted.” Mina fought against the chains on her wrists. Each pull seemed to drain her a little. She knew the spell, another learned in school. Elves could entrap Faeries, but then so could Faeries entrap Elves. The two peoples had always lived in peace with one another. She could only imagine what the demon held over the Elf's head that he would do this to her. “I can't believe you are the one who raped Bridget and got her pregnant."

"It was not rape,” he yelled. “I loved her."

"A demon can't love."

"She was special,” he insisted. “I would have stayed with her. However, the leader commanded another to come and possess the human protecting her. He commanded her to kill my Bridget. Now I will destroy him in return. I've waited a long time for this, and you will be my pawn to get there."

"Revenge,” she whispered. “Always revenge. All the hurt because someone wants payback. It's not worth it, can't you see that? Look what you did to your own son, Bridget's son. How can you not love him? He's a part of her."

He sneered. “Do you expect me to feel bad? That I used my son to free me from the demon world and will take his life to fuel my power?"

"You just said you wouldn't kill him!"

"I tend to lie sometimes."

Tearing at the chains, Mina screamed in rage. Instead of them giving, she fell to her knees, her head spinning. She tried to call for her swords, concentrating with all her strength. Nothing. There had to be a way out of an Elf's trap. There just had to be. She needed to be free to help Niall when he arrived.

"Don't do this,” she gasped, staring down at the floor as if she was defeated while her mind worked furiously for an out. “The consequences could be—"

"Wonderful, at least for me. Do you know what it's like in the demon world, little Faerie?” He went on not waiting for her answer. “It's always dark. Not that I'm complaining about that. We don't enjoy daylight, but I mean there's no hope, even for a demon. You spend all your time tormenting poor souls."

"I thought that was another enjoyment for you."

He nodded. “True. If you'll stop interrupting, I will tell you the down side."

Mina didn't speak again, nor did she fully pay attention. The demon, full of himself and liking the sound his own voice, didn't seem to mind.

"Even while we torment others, there are always more powerful demons who torment us. They lord it over the lower orders that they are in charge. If you step out of line, voice an independent thought, you're reprimanded in the most severe way.” Mina glanced up to find he had a faraway look in his eyes. “That's why I'm going to change things. When I'm in charge, well, first, I'm going to get back at all those heinous beasts that punished me. The leader will be my example. I will make him suffer for eternity, screaming day and night."

Mina shivered. This creature was evil incarnate. She let him drone on about what he would do to the head of the demons while she thought of a way of escape. The chains prevented her from using magic, but they didn't stop natural means. Spending time in the human world had taught her a few tricks.

Leaning forward, she rested her head into her hands and inched them higher so that she could work the bobby pin in her hair out. She snapped it in half and kept the straight edge, discarding the ribbed end beneath her.

While the demon continued his monologue, she shoved the pin into the hole of one of the glowing purple bracelets around her wrists. Elven chains were not like human ones in that a key was used to lock them. However, for some reason, even a scrap of metal could interfere with the flow of magic through the metal. Mina was hoping that she could disrupt the flow long enough to force her hand free.

Each tug on the chain caused her to lose energy, even making her near to fainting. When she disrupted the magic, she would have just enough time to dislocate her thumb and squeeze out. It would be extremely painful. She just prayed she could stay conscious long enough. Once she was free, she would heal her thumbs and call her swords. It had to work.

Minutes later, she was free, though dizzy. Mina cried out at the pain in her hands, calling the demon's attention to her. She rolled away from him, holding her hands to her and uttering her healing spell. As soon as the spell initiated, something slammed into the back of her head. When her eyes rolled back and her breath left her body, she knew the demon was taking the opportunity to drain her.

She gagged, weak and feeling the life ebbing from her. With a concentrated effort, she called her swords, only giving the demon greater access. Blackness closed in. Mina flopped about. One of the swords slid from her grip and clattered to the floor. She followed it down, laying her arm over it. As the blade cut into her skin, she forced the spell past dry lips. Her sword shot forward as if it had been placed on the wrist launcher she had before Niall destroyed them. It hurtled through the air straight at the demon's chest.

He lost his focus and had to break his hold. When he did, Mina simultaneously cast a spell to call her sword back and clapped herself out of the cabin. Because her thumbs were still out of joint, she hadn't been able to use the usual Faerie transport signal of snapping her fingers. Clapping worked just as well, but she never used it, feeling the move was a little too genie-ish.

Fear crawled up her back and settled somewhere in her short curls as she leaned against the outside wall of the cabin. One part of her wanted to run away, to open a portal back to Faeryland where she would be safe. On the other hand, if she didn't kill this demon now, he would get Niall or hunt him forever. This was a chance to prove to herself that she was worth something more than just living under the protection of the men in her life. Besides that, Kiley was still in there. Mina had to help her.

Thumbs healed, Mina gripped her swords and pulled in a deep breath. “If I'm going to do this, I've got to do it without magic. Else, he'll drain me dry."

She moved around to the back of the cabin where she'd seen another door. She hoped it wasn't locked, not wanting to use her magic even for a second to pick it.

The rusted handle turned surprisingly with ease. Mina then kicked in the door and went at the demon who was bent over Kiley. He rounded and shot a ball of fire at her. Mina ducked and kept charging. She swiped her sword across his chest, cutting his thick skin. No blood spewed, but he howled in pain. Before another attack came her way, she jumped backward and rolled away.

For what seemed like hours, though it was probably more like minutes, they battled. Mina was proud that she had gotten in quite a few good hits. The demon was finally bleeding. He was vulnerable outside a human body while in the human world. He could easily be killed, but he was also able to hurl fire. One of the sleeves of Mina's jacket was burned off, and she smelled the acrid scent of smoldering flesh. The pain that shot through her arm was almost enough to make her lose focus. She fought on.

Just when the demon thought he had the upper hand, Mina faked losing balance and instead flipped his feet out from under him. He landed on top of Kiley, and Mina raised her hands to bring down the points of her swords into his black heart. Dhrakrun grinned then changed his composition so that he slipped down inside Kiley's body.

Mina raged. “Get out of her, you coward!"

Kiley opened innocent eyes, blinking up at Mina. “Why are you trying to kill me?” Her voice sounded feminine and sweet, but the eyes were red and full of hatred. She shoved Mina away in a moment of indecisiveness and leaped up to fling open the door. Before Mina could regain her balance, Kiley had jumped into her car and was off down the road.

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Chapter Twenty-Two 
Mina paced angrily back and forth inside the cabin, not sure what she should do. She could either return to Faeryland and have herself locked in again, or she could find a healer and go after Kiley. Niall would probably want to know what was happening also, but then again, he hadn't believed she could send that demon running either.

"I faced him,” she said proudly. “What Niall couldn't do, I did.” Granted, the demon had been hiding himself when he attacked Niall, and with her he was out in the open. Still, she had resisted his draining of her power. That had to count for something.

The pain in her arms was great, along with the new burn on her side. She winced, examining it. When she heard a portal opening, she readied her swords. Niall's face when he saw her paled. Mina's arms fell to her sides, and she stared back at him silently.

Finally, he strolled forward, the portal still open behind him. He bent as if he would pick her up, but she pushed him away. “What are you doing?"

"You're injured. I need to get you to a healer. He glanced around. Who did this to you?” His skin heated where he touched her. Mina yanked farther away.

"I don't need you to carry me, Niall. I can take care of myself.” She stumbled toward the portal. “And your father did this to me, that's who."

Mina didn't explain herself until she was outside Aine's cottage. Niall seemed hesitant to follow her through the gate. “Tell me quickly what's going on, Mina. I'll find him if he really did hurt you, and I'll kill him."

"Yes, just like you kill everybody,” she snapped, feeling weary. “I suppose you'll kill the human he's inhabiting also."

He shrugged. “Whatever is necessary."

She sighed. Despite herself, she leaned against his chest for a minute, soaking up his strength. He made no move to lift her again, and Mina was grateful. “Your problem is that all you use is magic. You don't even have any swords like you gave me. I've always combined weapons with magic. It gives very nice and unexpected results."

Niall stroked her hair. She could almost feel him fighting not to manhandle her into obeying him. “I don't need weapons outside my magic."

"That's where you're wrong.” She fought to stand upright on her own but soon leaned on Aine's gate. “Your father can drain anyone right when they are using their magic. If you can't fight any other way besides using magic, then you will lose to him and he will kill you. I almost had him in that cabin, but he jumped into Kiley."

Confusion clouded Niall's face. “I don't understand. The man who was there at the bar that first night..."

"Was someone my father sent to watch over me. I found that he didn't trust me to handle things after all. But that doesn't matter to me anymore. Now, I know I can kill Dhrakrun, without a doubt, and I will. Somehow, I'll force him outside a human host and drive my sword into his chest."

"Mina, let me handle this,” Niall insisted. “You need to rest."

She nodded. “Yes, I do, and I'll let Aine heal me. After that, it's hunting Dhrakrun."

He cringed. “Stop saying his name. You are not to speak a demon's name, else you risk calling him."

"Only if he's in the demon world."

"How are you the expert all of a sudden?"

She watched him, wanted to reach up and stroke his face but didn't have the strength. Instead, she lifted her chin. He leaned down, and she closed the space between them, kissing his warm lips. Her heart fluttered. She loved him, but there could be nothing between them. Mina had already decided she would encourage him to go away to one of his worlds, maybe the one where they had first made love. Then no one could come after him to kill him. He would be safe while she nursed a broken heart.

* * * *
Niall stood looking down at Mina as she slept in his old bed. She looked so peaceful now, her breathing even. He gently slid back the long sleeves of her nightgown and was relieved to see her skin back to its smooth, baby-soft texture.

She may have decided she was strong enough to fight the demon, but he was pretty sure his father was not in as bad a shape as Mina. He was also convinced that the creature had been holding back on her, probably stringing her along until he arrived.

He knew she was brave and fiery, with a heart as big as anything, but he also believed she wasn't born to be a warrior princess. What Mina's calling was, he didn't know, but he would do all in his power to be sure she lived to find out. Niall grunted. He loved her, most certainly, he loved her with all with all the love he had to give. That had been true from the first moment he laid eyes on her, and it would never change.

"She's fine now,” Aine whispered behind him. Niall turned around to face the woman who had raised him. She had been behaving antsy all night, ever since he arrived. Niall knew there was something she wanted to share but was hesitant. He felt the dark side wanting to snap at her and demand she just spit it out, but he resisted, waiting until she was ready.

"Come to the kitchen,” she said hesitantly. “I need to talk to you."

Niall followed, all the while wondering what she could possibly share. He hoped she wasn't going to try to convince him to stay in Faeryland now that he knew more fully who and what he was. That wasn't happening. The place was too goody, and it was only in suppressing the darkness that he was even able to enter the realm. The last time he'd invaded, the magic of Faeryland had held him off, knowing the threat. Darkness could not enter this protected realm.

Dropping into his favorite chair, the surroundings much smaller than he remembered, Niall sat stiff while Aine made tea. “Just say it,” he snapped and then bit down on his tongue. “I mean..."

She waved a hand. After several false starts, she blurted out, “I'm human."

Niall stared at her as if she'd manifested a demon. He could not have heard right. “Say again?"

With hands hidden inside her ever-present apron and tears streaming down her face, Aine began again. “Niall, I am human. I'm not a Faerie. All that I let you believe growing up was a lie."

He stood, knocking over his chair. “Who put you up to this? Mina? She's meddled too much in my life."

"No, but I did share the truth with her the other day.” Aine had never been rattled by anything he'd ever done in his entire life. It was disconcerting to see her distraught now. Yet, he was fighting himself harder to maintain control at the thought that she lied about something. He resisted shaking her until she spoke again.

Aine shared all, her humanity, her possession by a demon, being forced to obey it to the point of poisoning his mother and not lifting a finger to heal her. She told him about how she had allowed him to believe all these years that the king had commanded she do what she did. He had hated the king, intended to kill him. The only thing that had made him hesitate was Mina, his sensing how she loved the old Faerie.

Rage built in him at the one person he thought he could trust, the one who he thought cared about him more than herself. Aine had made him think all these years that she was different with her eccentric ways. Yes, she was different, not even a natural magical being.

As his mood darkened, he felt a push to leave Faeryland. He stood and moved toward the bedroom. “Don't come near me again,” he called over his shoulder.

Inside his old room, Mina was still sleeping. He bent to slip an arm under her legs and behind her head. One more night with her before he said good-bye forever, he decided. He turned, the portal opened, and he walked through holding Mina as tightly against his chest as he dared.

* * * *
Mina didn't know what made her open her eyes. Maybe it was a nightmare that seemed about to engulf her, where she had at first been sleeping peacefully. She knew without seeing that she was in Niall's world, that he was sitting nearby in the darkness. “Light,” she whispered, and a small lantern appeared.

His eyes were black, no pupil distinguishable from the iris. Not one muscle twitched nor did he blink. A chill ran over Mina's back.

He spoke suddenly, and she heard him, though she couldn't have said his lips moved. “Save me from the evil that chokes my heart, Mina."

Mina inched closer to his side but didn't touch him for fear his skin was hot. She had had her fill of being burned for while. “What's happened?"

"She killed my mother. She let me think it was your father. Do you know I planned to kill him, just as soon as I moved past how much it would hurt you? You're the only person I could do that with, fight past the darkness to care enough not to hurt."

Mina cried out, “Niall, you didn't kill Aine. Please tell me you didn't."

"No. Do you want me not to?” His voice was so flat, unemotional. That scared her more than his rage. “I returned with the intention of ending everyone who has destroyed my life. I don't fit anywhere—not in Faeryland, not the demon world."

Throwing caution to the wind, Mina pushed Niall's arm up and dipped her head beneath it. She wrapped her arms around his wide torso, flattening her breasts against his chest. “Don't kill Aine, but not for me, Niall, but for you. I know it hurts when others betray you, when they put their own selfish feelings ahead of yours, but when does it end? Will it even make you feel better? No. It won't. You'll only hurt others, and the cycle will continue."

"Mina.” Her name was a moan of despair.

She slid her hand down over his chest, easing it behind the band of his pants so that she gripped his staff. Thick and long, it pulsed in her hand as she stroked. “Forget everything,” she whispered in his ear. “Forget everyone except me and what we have right now. Niall, I love you so much."

"I love you."

"Clothes."

At her gentle command, he made their clothing disappear. Mina continued her exploration of her lover by taking his balls into her palm, massaging until he groaned. The black in his eyes seemed to leak out, and they slowly returned to normal, except for naked lust.

Niall grabbed hold of her and stood with her in his arms. He walked a few steps to a bed she had not noticed. When he lay her down, he followed to glide between her legs. Mina braced her palms against his chest. “I thought you wanted to take this slow."

"When have I ever wanted that?"

She smiled. His kiss was sweet comfort and then turned demanding and hungry. Niall pushed his tongue inside Mina's mouth. He sucked at her bottom lip and then the top. She arched against him, moaning for more. Reaching down her side, he hooked her leg up over his arm and then the other before plunging inside her. “Niall!"

He ground deep and fast. “Let me have all of you, Mina. I need you.” His words asked permission, but his body took, and she gave all of herself, aching for all of him in return. He grew impatient with their position and slid his hands beneath her to lift her buttocks to meet his angry thrusts.

Mina screamed as her climax came suddenly. Niall didn't slow his pace. If anything, he increased it. She found herself climbing again, her body his willing follower. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she lost herself in the man she would give her life for.

For hours they made love, Niall demanding, Mina giving as much as she could, willing it to be enough to heal his torn heart. Twice, she had had to utter the spell she had heard him use on several occasions to renew strength. Niall had not had to use it once. When his need was fulfilled, she fell back on the bed, spent and sore. Niall tucked her in tight against his body, and Mina fell into a heavy sleep, hoping tomorrow would be a better day.

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Chapter Twenty-Three 
Mina woke to a bright, warm day—without her lover. She slipped from the bed and snapped her clothes in place. “Niall?"

Why did she bother calling? She knew he had left her there so that he could deal with his father on his own. If he had trapped her so that she couldn't get off this world, then she would be stuck until he returned.

A thought occurred to her. What if Niall never returned? What if his father defeated him? No one would ever find her, and she would go insane all alone. Just maybe Niall had that same thought. Tentatively, she tested her ability to open a portal. It worked. The opening for Faeryland sprung up. She chose the one to the human world, but it refused to be accessed.

"Controlling ass!” she growled. Stepping through to her home world, she then snapped to enter her father's home. A baby, or maybe two, cried off somewhere in the house. Despite her worry over Niall, excitement sprung up at having the chance to see her nieces—or was it nephews? Drake and Sheelagh had not shared the sex of the infants, only that they were expecting twins.

She burst into her sister's room. Sheelagh squeaked and then smiled in relief. “Mina! I've been so worried. Come here."

Mina moved more leisurely across the room, taking in the ragged look to her brother-in-law. Relief washed over her knowing he wasn't possessed and that that meant the babies were fine. She would need to speak to her father about placing a protective spell around Drake.

Sheelagh took her into a bear hug and began to introduce her to her niece and nephew, one of each. “Mina, where have you been? I figured that Niall snatched you again, and Father's been beside himself. He's had guards searching world after world. He's pored over his maps all night and commanded us to stay in Faeryland until further notice."

"I'm sorry. Please don't call him ‘that Niall.’ You don't know what he's been through or what it feels like to know your father wants to kill you."

Her sister's eyes widened. She glanced at her husband and then back at Mina. “You love him, sweetie. Oh, no. Mina..."

"Don't.” Mina turned away to hide her tears. “Whatever I feel for Niall is not the point. Just as I said, his father, a demon, wants to drain him of all his power. The demons’ leader caused Niall's mother to be killed all those years ago before he was born. That's why he's seeking revenge. So, now Niall is in the midst of it all.” Mina only told them enough for them to understand. She would not betray Aine, though she felt no great loyalty to the woman. As far as Mina was concerned, she had betrayed Niall, too, to cover herself.

"Well, you need to go and see Father. Put his mind to rest.” Sheelagh pulled her in for a kiss before shooing her from the room.

Just as her sister had said, Mina found her father in his study poring over his map. He mumbled to himself, and worry lines seemed to be engraved around his eyes and mouth. Mina dragged in a deep breath before letting her presence be known. She didn't know what she expected, but the reaction she got was certainly not it.

The Faerie king, powerful and grumpy most of the time, cried out her name and flew across the room to take her up in a hug that nearly crushed her. For the first time she could remember, he kissed her cheek, rubbing his scratchy red beard against her face. “Mina,” he breathed.

"I didn't know you loved me, Father,” she said simply.

His eyes were suspiciously wet when he put her down. “You and your sister are all I have left now.” He didn't explain this statement. Everyone avoided the fact that Sheelagh's mother had run off with Drake's grandfather two years ago. The man had become even more unhappy, but he had never showed them this much affection. “Don't be silly. Of course, I love you. You're my youngest."

Mina didn't comment on that statement either. The king had sown many wild oats, but he seemed to have learned his lesson, what with all the trouble caused with Mina's mother, but one never knew when the itch would come on him again, especially not having a wife anymore.

She wiggled from his hold and walked across to sit in a chair. “Father, we need to talk. I'm worried about Niall. I feel he's rushing out to fight the demon that's been hunting him, and he doesn't accept that he cannot win with magic. So, I would like you to release the spell that you've cast to hold me here, the one I felt clamp down on me the moment I stepped through the portal."

The king returned to his desk, a thoughtful look on his face. “You were always special, Mina. Did you know that I watched you growing up?"

She gasped. “What do you mean? I came here as an adult. You didn't acknowledge me before."

Her father winced at her words. She hadn't meant to be cruel and wished she could take them back. After a moment, he seemed okay. “I know, and I will spend my life trying to make that up to you. I did know of you, and I watched you at various times. How could I not? You have your great-grandmother's eyes."

She stared. “Yours?"

"Aye.” He smiled. “She had those same wide violet eyes, was small, as tiny as you. There were those who made fun of her like I suspect happened to you growing up. I also guess those around her underestimated what she could do, like you."

Mina dropped her gaze to her lap. “Father, if I just had a chance..."

"I know,” he sighed. “I bet you have her gift, too."

"What gift?"

"Your great-grandmother was never bound by magic."

Mina's eyes grew round. “What do you mean?"

"I mean she could overcome any spell. I began to suspect you had that same ability when you found a way to break through my spell that kept you in Faeryland. That's why I reinforced it and caused it to activate when you came back."

He didn't know the half of it, she thought. Maybe she did have some type of gift. Could it be called a gift? She had simply learned some escapist techniques in the human world. What was that to the awesome power someone like Niall had?

"It's just so hard to believe,” her father continued. “I'm scared to lose you. I almost lost Sheelagh. You must see that? I don't want you with Niall. I have chosen another man for you, one worthy of a princess. Put him from your head, and myself and my guards will take care of this situation with him."

Mina blinked. She refused to believe she had heard correctly. Niall was out there somewhere fighting for his life, and her father was discussing how he had found a man for her to marry? “A man?"

"Yes, so you just relax. Spend some time with Sheelagh and the babies. We've already located Niall and—"

"Where?” Mina jumped to her feet. “Father, where is he? I must help him."

"Mina, I forbid it.” The king slammed his fist on his desk.

Mina wasn't fazed. She turned calmly and walked over toward the door. “Father, as much as I love Niall—and I really do—I realize we can have no future together. Also, since you have admitted that I have a gift for slipping your holding spell, be warned. As soon as I can, I'm going to him and I'm going to fight that demon just like I did yesterday. Whether you or he or anyone else believes that I can do it doesn't matter. I know it."

* * * *
Having knocked the girl unconscious on her bed, Dhrakrun tended to his wounds. He grunted as he dabbed a cloth at the slashes across his chest. Underestimating that ball of fluff would not happen again. Sure, he had held back some of his fury in order for her to stay alive long enough for Niall to come, but he couldn't have imagined that she could inflict this much damage. He had had to move faster and play extra dirty to steer clear of her attacks.

He growled, tossing away the gauze. Being injured made it harder for him to get inside the human, and he could not stay outside a host for too long. It was bad enough that he had to stay hidden and keep moving to stay ahead of the assassins the demon leader sent after him. Now he was in the open. None of his plans was working out as he hoped. The most he could expect was to locate Niall quickly and put an end to this life. With the rich blend of magic Niall had, he would heal faster than he was now. As it was, he would need to lie low for a few hours.

Dhrakrun swung away from the table where he was cleaning his wounds only to find himself facing the demon leader. Fear gripped his heart. Dropping to one knee, he bowed his head. “M-Master."

"Master?” the demon spat. “You would dare say that to me, Dhrakrun, after defying me for so long? After plotting against me? Do you think I didn't know what you were up to?"

"Sir, let me explain.” Dhrakrun didn't dare raise his terrified gaze from the floor. “When you arranged for my mate to be killed, I—"

"Your mate!"

Dhrakrun found himself hurtling in the air until he crashed through the far wall, plaster crumbling around him. He landed in a heap on the floor of the adjoining apartment. The woman who occupied the bed in this room began to scream until his master waved a hand and the woman fell back dead. Dhrakrun flipped painfully over from his back to his stomach and began to crawl toward the door.

The demon leader placed a foot in the center of his back. For the first time in his life, he felt pain from heat. It seared his back, and he fought hard not to cry out, giving his hated leader the satisfaction.

"The rules are simple, Dhrakrun, ones even a demon must obey.” The demon pressed harder. A whimper escaped Dhrakrun's lips, to his shame. “Tell me what those rules are."

"T-To,” he began.

"I can't hear you."

Dhrakrun swallowed and tried again. Had he been human, he was sure he would have pissed his pants by now. “To follow the demon leader's commands at all times."

"And?"

"Never leave the demon world without the leader's permission. Never mate with one from another people.” He sobbed, great chest-heaving sobs that hurt his wounds more and, worse, they were dry because there was no moisture in his body. “Sir, if I could just explain what I've been doing. I've been trying to make it right. My son is—"

"Your son.” Dhrakrun's master moved his foot to his relief, then lifted him by the neck to hold him high in the air. He squeezed until Dhrakrun wondered if this was it, when he would die. “You've been chasing your son since he broke free from the demon world, something you taught him to do, or rather encouraged him to develop his powers to do. Why is that? No, don't tell me. I'll tell you. You have the foolish notion that you can overthrow me.” The demon laughed without mirth. “Stupid, stupid demon. One would think you were of the lowest rank."

"Sir.” Dhrakrun's gasp was a plea.

"Oh, don't worry.” The demon leader dropped him at his feet. “I'm not going to kill you just yet. I agree, your son needs to die. He is too powerful, and he is the evidence of broken laws on several worlds, most specifically mine. So, you may kill him. When you are ready, you will return home. I will be waiting."

With those cryptic words, his leader dissolved from view. Dhrakrun hauled himself up from the floor and stumbled back to his human's apartment. He decided she was no more use to him. If he forced himself into her body and left, the police would be looking for her, seeing the damage to the wall came from her side and the other woman was dead. She'd have some explaining to do. Leaving her to her fate, he made himself transparent and went in search of another host.

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Chapter Twenty-Four 
Mina tried opening a portal to the human world, but each time the doorway sprung up only to have the man appear, the one who had been there on the street outside the bar. He wasn't fully visible, but appeared almost as a spirit being, all sparkly lights and Faerie dust. “Father,” she grunted.

The man's spells at least showed originality. How was she going to eek past a six-and-a-half-foot tall ghost with a sword that looked like it was almost as long as she was tall? She didn't guess he would hurt her, but then she wasn't getting past either.

"Well, if I truly have a gift, then I have to figure out a way,” she told herself.

"A way for what? What are you doing, little sister?"

Mina swung around to face Dugan strolling toward her. She hesitated to share with him what she was up to. No doubt he agreed with her father, that she must stay under lock and key until Niall and his father were handled. Problem was, neither of them would care one way or the other if Niall was killed in the process.

"What do you care?” she snapped.

He raised an eyebrow at her disrespect. Mina would not apologize. She spun away and marched toward her mother's house where she went to get away from everyone. Dugan snatched her back to face him as if she weighed a few ounces. “Talk to me, Mina. You used to tell me everything, relied on me to guide you."

She sneered. “I'm grown-up, Dugan, if you haven't noticed. I don't need you to guide me anymore. You Faerie men are living in the past. We women can make up our own minds for our lives and don't need your interference."

"Hmm, that's funny because the last time I checked you were in love with a murderer!"

Without thought, she reached out and dragged her fingernails along his face, leaving a jagged line with blood already dripping from it. Her eyes widened in shock and fear at what she had done. “I'm sorry."

Quickly she touched him again and uttered the healing spell. Now Dugan was surprised. “Where did you learn that?"

She shrugged. “From Niall or from Aine. I don't remember.” Both Aine and Niall had used healing spells, and Mina had simply picked them up. Normally, only a healer could heal more than a few aches and pains. A scratch wasn't much more, she decided, and dismissed it from her mind. Dugan continued to look at her as if she had lost her mind. Mina dropped her chin to her chest and stared at the ground.

At first saying nothing more, he took her by the elbow and guided her toward her mother's house. After a few minutes of walking silently, he spoke. “Mina, I've been discussing you with the king."

She bristled. “I told you—"

"Calm down! You may have lived a lot in the human world, something I hate, but you will respect our laws, Mina. They dictate that you have a male guardian. Period!"

Only by biting down on her tongue did she keep silent. She was fed up with them telling her what to do, telling her she wasn't strong or good enough. She'd do what she damned well wanted to whether they liked it or not, and the Faerie laws could go screw over someone else.

"I wish a wife for you, Dugan,” she blurted out.

Her words took him off guard.

Mina laughed. “I wish you a woman whom you love so much, so deeply that you can barely take a breath when she's not there.” He seemed pleased with her words, until she continued. “I wish her to be so headstrong that you despair of ever taming her. You won't tame her. She will show you what it means to lay down all you believe and hold dear, just to have her at your side. That's what I wish for you."

"Mina, that's not funny.” Her brother's frown nearly transformed his handsome face.

She raised a hand to press her thumb against his forehead, and before he could realize what she was doing, she spoke a plea and called Magic to answer it. All her words would come true for Dugan, if she didn't misinterpret the seal she saw glow for an instant on his head and disappear.

With a snap, Mina was gone from the street to appear again in her mother's house. Even as her heart despaired, she pushed past it more determined to break free of her father's hold.

* * * *
Niall had been searching for a few days. He had arrived at Kiley's house only to find the police leading the groggy girl out and tucking her into a squad car. He walked through the yellow tape with no one seeing him to examine the apartment where she lived. He smelled him, the leader, that distinct and suffocating evil. A shiver ran over him, and he hurried back down to the street.

Finding his way into the police station, to the room where they were questioning Kiley was easy enough. He needed to be sure his father wasn't still hiding in the girl. Looking into her eyes would satisfy that question.

The girl sat alone after the officers left her. Niall slipped into the room. Her head rested on her hands, and Niall noticed the hand-shaped burn on her wrist. Dhrakrun. “Kiley?"

She glanced up, wary. “It's you,” she gasped. “The demon."

Surprisingly, he had been about to say “half” when only weeks ago, he was asserting that he was fully demon. Brushing aside the thought, he dropped into the chair across from her. “What happened at your apartment?"

Fear was clear on her face. He wasn't sure his father wasn't faking or sitting dormant. From the blood he had seen on Mina's knives, he knew she had injured him. He would heal, though more slowly in the human world.

"I don't know,” Kiley answered. “I remember feeling dizzy and then nothing. I don't even remember putting on these clothes.” Her eyes grew wide, her mind moving sluggishly. “Are you here to kill me?"

Niall didn't answer. He leaned across the table and commanded, “Dhrakrun, come out!"

Kiley jumped up from her chair, knocking it over. She backed against the wall with tears filling her eyes. “My name is Kiley. I-I don't know what's going on here."

As a last effort to be sure the human wasn't possessed, Niall shot a bolt of lightning at her, set to shock, nothing more. She let out a small squeak and slid down to the floor. No demon manifested. With a sigh, he left the room in the same cloud of magic he had entered it.

Where is he! The occasion to deal with his father was now. Niall was tired of wasting time. He wanted this battle over and done with. If he could catch his father in a weakened state, all the better. The demon was powerful, he would give him that, but Niall could not afford to fail. Dhrakrun would get what was coming to him, one way or another.

In a park, at night when he sat on a bench opening and closing portals after midnight, Niall waited for his father to come to him. If he stepped out of his host, he could track the magic, and Niall would be waiting.

"How long have you been here?"

At the unfamiliar voice behind him, Niall swung around to see a portly man with a head full of wild grey hair and a scraggly beard. “Dhrakrun?” he wondered aloud.

The man dropped like he'd been shot, and his father stepped out of the body. Niall ignited his hands with Faerie magic, ready to attack. There was no need for discussion. His father laughed, holding out a hand before him. Niall's energy lowered to the point that he couldn't produce even a flicker.

"Foolish,” Dhrakrun sneered. “Don't you know by now I am more powerful than you? Oh, I see, you didn't know. What, did the Faeries tremble at your appearing? Your odd mixture of dark and light power intimidated them until you grew a big head, thought you were invincible?"

"Go back to hell, old man."

"Maybe I will take you with me.” His father grinned, seemingly in his element. “You were in that place in your flesh, Niall. I admit I envied the fact that you could exist there and here in the human world, where one must have a flesh body. No matter. When I kill your body, you will be a spirit and you will come with me to the demon world. Don't worry. I'll be sure to have my staff take good care of you."

"Jumping the gun a bit, aren't you, Father? From what I saw in that apartment back there, you have quite a fight on your hands if you take on the demon leader, even with my power.” Niall was satisfied to see Dhrakrun shiver. With good reason, he was terrified of the head of that place. No demon had stood up to him and lived.

"Never mind that, son. Let's finish this. I have a world to rule."

The words barely left the demon's mouth before he shot fire at Niall. Rolling away and jumping to his feet, Niall attacked. Not for the first time, he lamented not having that particular ability. He charged and locked on to his father's shoulders, digging his fingers into the leather-like skin. “You forget I don't burn. Thanks for that lesson."

"You forget I am stronger.” He lifted Niall from his feet and threw him across the expanse. Niall's body crashed hard against a tree. He heard something crack as he slammed into the pavement. Unable to move, there was no choice but to perform a healing spell.

From the corner of his eye, he saw his father strolling toward him, a look of delight on his face. Niall turned his head and muttered the words quickly. Heat suffused his body. Just as quickly, the power drained from him. Mentally, he shut down the spell, and closed off access to it. He was in trouble that quickly. His father was right, he wasn't as powerful.

"You see, son?” Dhrakrun announced, standing over him. “This battle was already won. You can never defeat me, and you know why? Because it's my destiny to lead the demons. I will fulfill my destiny."

Niall cleared his throat and spit out blood. His vision blurred, and his head was spinning. He reached toward his father's leg, praying it would be one of the four that were floating before his eyes. Jackpot. He latched on, and while Dhrakrun was thrown off guard during his monologue, Niall shot as many volts of electricity through his body as possible.

"Fire won't burn, but electricity has a kick, doesn't it?"

Dhrakrun wrenched from his hold, screaming in pain. He clutched his chest, letting Niall know his chest wasn't fully healed. Niall clamped down on his magic. When his father came at him again so quickly and he still hadn't been able to heal enough to move, he knew he was in big trouble.

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Chapter Twenty-Five 
Mina screamed in frustration. She'd already gone through every spell she knew, even ones that had no relation to escape the spell her father had placed on her. Nothing was working. Each time she opened a portal, there appeared that damn ghost blocking her way. It was as if he picked up on her magic signature and was automatically drawn to her location within an instant.

A thought occurred to her after she had snapped all over Faeryland in hopes of outwitting the ghost. Back in her mother's house, she dug in her cupboard where she had stashed the cookies Aine had sent over to her as a peace offering, one that she had not answered.

She poured the delicious double chocolate macaroons on a plate and then recited the words that would bring in someone to help her escape. In a poof of sparkly dust, Kiera, the only female Elf who had gone on the Grand Tour without a male escort, and to some of the most dangerous worlds, appeared. Mina had long admired the fact that she had hunted the red dragon and lived to tell about it.

The beautiful Elf with hair redder than the Faerie king's put her hands on her hips and faced Mina with a smirk. “Just what do you think you're doing, lass?"

Mina laughed. “Don't give me that fake accent, Kiera. You've spent more time on more worlds than anyone, and you love the wild ways of the humans."

"So, what if I do? What's it to you?” Her tone was rough, but Mina saw the glint in her eyes.

"Get me out of here, Kiera,” Mina pleaded. “I'm desperate."

Kiera frowned. “What do you mean? Are you grounded?"

Mina nodded. “Yes, my father placed a spell on me to keep me here, and I need your help to break out of it."

The older woman's eyebrows rose. “Sweetheart, if the king put it on you, what do you expect me to do? I have no special abilities like your man does."

Mina gasped. “You know about Niall?"

She laughed. “Who doesn't?"

"Well, what I would like you to do is to open a portal as if you are going to the human world. The ghost shouldn't show up, so then I can pass through. Just in case he's guarding all exits from here to the human world, I will—"

"Hold on there. Ghost? That's a new one. Explain."

All this delay was driving Mina wild. Niall could be lying dead somewhere or hurt with his father running free to challenge the demon leader using Niall's power. She had to get to him. He may not value her help, but he was getting it if it was the last thing she did.

Dragging in a deep breath, Mina raced over all the details of what she was facing to Kiera. “Now do you understand? Please, no more questions. I must get to him."

"You've got it bad, Mina. Poor thing. What will you do when it's over? Oh, yes, no more questions.” Kiera was about to open a portal when she stopped. “You said he might be monitoring all openings, what was your contingency plan?"

"Oh, yes!” She seized the woman's arm. “Turn me into a mouse, Kiera. Right now!"

* * * *
Mina couldn't believe it worked. Her father was right. She did have a knack for escaping spells, even if the solution was simply a clever idea, it still counted in her eyes. The ghost had been monitoring all exits. Yet, he hadn't picked up on Mina's magic signature since she had not used any at all, not even to change herself into a mouse. Kiera had calmly strolled on past him, nodding impertinently as she went.

Once they were safely in the human world with the portal closed, Kiera changed her back to a Faerie.

"There you go, sweetheart. Anything else?"

Mina shook her head. “No, you've been a huge help.” She pulled the woman into a hug. “Say, are you looking for a husband any time soon?"

Kiera threw up a hand as if she were about to vomit. “Don't make me sick to my stomach, girl. A permanent man? Never! A Faerie or Elf male is an arrogant you-know-what, and any other kind is just too inferior.” She winked, threw Mina a kiss, stuffed something in her hand, and dissolved from view.

Mina glanced down at the small square of paper. On it were eight symbols, an odd order, she thought. Hoping it wasn't some practical joke at an inopportune time like this, she spoke the meaning out loud and found her body being pulled from the quiet city street.

Arriving in a place with trees, she glanced around her just in time to find Niall lying flat on his stomach with his father about to land a cruel blow on him. Mina called her swords and snapped herself between the two men. A hard and fast jab into the demon's abdomen had him falling to his knees in agony. While he was down, Mina grabbed hold of Niall's arm and snapped them both a safe distance away.

"Mina,” Niall gasped, pain contorting his face. “We can't leave. We have to finish this."

"Then heal yourself quickly, and let's go,” she retorted. “It took me long enough to get here because you didn't trust me."

If she thought she would get an apology and an “I trust you now,” she was mistaken. Niall cast the spell to heal his body, then stood as if nothing happened. She saw the weariness in his limbs and watched the area for signs of his father while he renewed his strength.

"Okay, I'm ready,” he told her. “You—"

Mina didn't give him the chance to dismiss her. She snapped back to the demon, who was trying desperately to force his body inside the human lying on the ground. “Get away from him!"

He glanced up, clutching his stomach. “Stay back, or I'll kill him."

"I don't care what you do. You die tonight, Dhrakrun.” Niall had come up behind her. He grabbed at her arm, but Mina shook him off.

She flipped her swords expertly in her hands, readying them for another attack. “Don't be stupid, Dhrakrun. If you try anything, I will cut you down. Correction, I'm still going to cut you down.” She advanced on him.

He spoke quickly. “You're going to let your girlfriend handle this fight for you, Niall?"

"Mina, stay out of this.” Niall spoke in a tone that brooked no argument.

She ignored Niall as if he wasn't there. She'd saved his life, and he couldn't appreciate her help. Whatever. Let him waste his time trying to stop her while she killed his father. Two yards away, a ball of fire bigger than Mina had seen of late came hurtling from Dhrakrun's fingertips straight at her. The heat burned her before it reached her. Mina screamed in pain.

Niall closed the space between them in seconds and whipped Mina around so her small figure was hidden within his. The fire rolled off his back, but the anger in his eyes was a sight to behold.

They battled hard, Mina getting good slices in, Niall slipping in his magic only when his father fell down from Mina's attack. More than once he used the human as a shield, which stopped Mina cold, but not Niall. He would just as soon send a bolt of lightning straight through the human if it would cut his father in half behind the man. The evil still lurking in him tore at her heart with each blow.

Finally, the sun was peeking up over the horizon. Dhrakrun was becoming more and more agitated, glancing up at the sky and the area around him. Mina knew he was considering escaping.

"Surely, you don't melt in the day. Why so fearful?” she said between pants.

He pressed his lips together. His shoulders hunched, and he was panting harder than she was.

"Darkness. His power is greatest in the dark, especially the midnight to three a.m. time frame,” Niall informed her. Then he lowered his voice. “Mina, we need to trap him here until the sun fully rises. He'll be his weakest, and he can't hide out in the human. Besides that, he's been too long outside a body in this world. That's a death sentence. Let's bring it home."

Her eyes widened. “You want my help now?"

Even after fighting side by side most of the night, he didn't want to admit it. Finally, “Yes, I want you to help me. You've been invaluable."

She grinned, weary almost beyond endurance. “Then let's finish it."

* * * *
The Faerie king and his guards, along with Drake and Dugan, arrived in the park one hour after sunrise in a great fanfare only Mina's people could create. The entire area was cordoned off into an illusion of nothing of excitement happening to the human eye.

Dhrakrun lay dead, his carcass rapidly decaying, while Mina was spread heaving in exhaustion on Niall's chest. Neither could move when the others arrived, staring down in shock at their condition.

Through a haze, Mina saw her father's worried face before he looked back over his shoulder and bellowed, “Healer!"

Her bear of a father lifted her gently in his arms while a tall, thin woman at his side sprinkled dust over Mina's body. She felt her swords slide of their own accord back to that halfway place between worlds where they remained when she wasn't using them.

"Niall?” she whispered in a hoarse voice to her father.

"Rest!” Had his roar been weaved to make her sleep, it could not have been more effective or maybe it was the healer's touch. Mina's head dipped back, and she was gone, with only the smallest niggling of fear that they would kill Niall before she woke again.

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Chapter Twenty-Six 
Sunlight flooded Mina's room at her father's home. She opened her eyes slowly and then checked each limb for any lasting effects of fighting for hours. The healer had done an amazing job. Not a muscle in her body ached. She felt refreshed and ready to rise. The growl in her stomach let her know it had been a while since she had eaten.

Her next thought pushed food as far from her mind as possible. Still dressed in her nightgown, Mina flew to her bedroom door. When running along the hall just didn't move her fast enough, she snapped into her father's study, but the room was empty. Sheelagh's room and the infants’ nursery was also abandoned. Panic rose to choke her, and tears filled her eyes.

In the breakfast room, she found them all, but not Niall. “Where is he?” she demanded.

"Good morning to you, too, Mina, my dear,” her father said almost happily. “Come and have breakfast with us."

Even in her distress, Mina didn't miss the pretty older Fae at his side. She wrinkled her nose, and her father gave her a look of reprimand. “Where is Niall, father? If you've killed him—"

"Oh, Mina, stop with the dramatics.” Sheelagh rose from her chair, touching with affection her little ones who lay in bassinets at her elbow. “He's not dead, sweetie."

Sheelagh drew her in a hug and kissed her cheek. Mina wriggled to be free. None of these people were very high on her list if they had punished Niall for his crimes while she was asleep. Tears filled her eyes. “Sheelagh, tell me, please."

Her sister patted her shoulder. “Father had him locked up again, but he escaped as soon as his body had healed. It's just as well. He's not welcome in Faeryland any more. If he comes here, whether you're here or asleep or whatever, Father has declared that he must be put to death."

Mina paled. She knew this was coming. Yet, hearing the verdict on Niall hurt no less. They weren't meant to be, couldn't be together. She at least wanted to say good-bye, to tell him she would always love him. Turning on her heel, she shuffled back to her room, appetite forgotten.

As she lay curled on her bed crying, her pillow slowly became hard and scented with the unmistakable mark of her lover. She sat up and found Niall had pulled her somehow into his world without her feeling it. He truly was amazing. Mina threw herself into his arms and planted her mouth over his.

Drawing his tongue into her mouth to suck it gently, she attempted to show him just how much she loved him and had missed him. She slid her hand down over his chest and stomach to search out the band of his pants. The treasure hidden within jumped at her nearness. A climax rushed to the edge when she took his thick staff between her fingers to stroke roughly along its length.

"Mmm, Mina, what are you doing?"

"Clothes!” she pulled back to demand. The garments had barely left her body before she was riding Niall's shaft, pumping her hips into him, holding his shoulders while she leaned back and screamed her pleasure.

"Damn it, Mina. Easy."

"Am I too much for you?” She grinned as she continued her wild assault on his lower region.

"Never."

Niall's fingers dug into her sides as he worked himself in and out of her body. The sting of his grip meant nothing to the need to absorb as much as possible of his loving. Just the thrust into her slick tunnel had Mina crying out for more. “Oh, I need ... I must have more,” she insisted.

He lay her back on their bed in the middle of the grassy alcove, flipped one of her legs over his shoulder, and arranged his body so that he pushed harder and faster. The intensity was so great, she nearly fainted, but Mina fought the lightheadedness to enjoy every second. This was the last time they would make love, and she needed it to be explosive.

"Is that good, álainn? Do you want it harder?” His voice had a dangerous overtone, yet he didn't seem angry.

"Yes."

He pressed a firm hand against her belly, holding her down. “Are you sure?"

"Yes, damn it. Do it, Niall. Please."

She screamed long and loud. Her orgasm crashed down over her, making it hard to breathe. At one point, she thought maybe she had fainted, but the sensations that flowed over her while her juices almost spurted from her tortured center were all she could ask for and more.

Niall pulled back, flipped her to her stomach, and then eased his thick shaft back inside before laying flat on top of her. He intertwined his fingers with Mina's, his breath coming in heavy pants, warming her shoulder.

"This is it,” he gasped. “Then you must go back."

Tears flowed, although she hadn't noticed them start. “Why?"

"You know this is how it has to be, Mina. You saw what I did back at the fight."

He was referring to his ill-treatment of the human when Dhrakrun had tried using the man as a shield. Her stomach turned at the memory.

"You didn't mean it, couldn't help it."

"I didn't care."

She cried in earnest, her heart shattering. “Niall."

"Shh, please. Just let us have this moment. I know it's hard, but it's all we have.” He tightened his hold on her hands and began easing in and out of her again. Her pleasure grew, taking full control so that she couldn't think about tomorrow, or the next hour, even the next minute. Everything was Niall.

* * * *
Mina fiddled with the blanket folded at the foot of her sister's bed, too depressed to look up. “Do you think I should do it?"

Sheelagh tsked. “I can't make that decision for you. You have to decide for yourself. Do I long for a love match for you? Of course. I want you to have what Drake and I have. What it's starting to look like is what Father and Fiora have."

She cringed. “Don't mention her. Claudia has barely been gone—"

Her sister laughed. “If anyone should resent her being with Father, it should be me, but I'm okay with it. My mother has been gone for two years. Not a word from her or Granddad. It's funny. I never would have thought he would do such a thing as to run off with his best friend's wife."

"Ex-best friend."

"Whatever. Drake told me once Granddad had assured him that he would never do anything so dishonorable.” Sheelagh let out a little laugh as she hefted one of her chubby four-month-olds into her arms to nurse. “I guess love makes you forget your values sometimes."

Mina swung away, knowing that day in Niall's arms in his private world, she had been almost willing to do that. Almost. But too much evil still lurked in Niall's heart. How could she look past it? He had never hurt her, but would he? If ever he got angry enough? Would he develop the ambitions his father had, like ruling the demon world? Just the thought of having to live full time in such a place, even as his wife, was unbearable.

"To marry a man I don't know, someone Father picked out. I'm so unsure.” Mina stood and paced to the window to look out. In the street, cars zoomed past, so unlike Faeryland where they still walked, drove carriages, or used magic to go everywhere. If she married this man, where would they live? “Where does he live? What does he look like?"

At Sheelagh's laugh, she spun around.

"This is serious, Sheelagh. What if I can't ... stand his touch?"

Her sister looked up at her from her baby's sweet face. She studied Mina so long, she began to redden, knowing her sister was seeing her secrets. “You're not a virgin anymore.” The words were spoken as a simple statement of truth, not a question.

"I..."

"Don't worry. I'm not judging you. What I do know is that your intended is a prince, from a lower order. He's also an Elf."

"An Elf!"

"You have something against them?"

"No, of course not, but I don't know."

"At least he's not human.” Sheelagh wrinkled her nose, as if that was a fate worse than death. Mina had to laugh.

She sighed. “I guess Father did have to dig pretty deep to find someone willing to marry me. He may be claiming me now, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm illegitimate. Not in these old-school worlds."

"Hey, sweetie, you're a heroine now. Don't forget that. You proved to all of us that you're stronger than half these Faeries out here. You slew a demon."

Mina rolled her eyes. “I had help."

"Still."

"Okay, true.” Mina raised herself to her full height, which wasn't much. “You're right. I am somebody. Which makes me wonder why I don't just march down to Faeryland and tell Father I refuse to marry at all, that I'm going to live here in the human world and get a job."

"What's stopping you?"

The gumption fizzled as fast as it had materialized. Mina slumped into a chair, threw her leg over the arm, and tucked one fist beneath her chin. “Because I'm still vain."

"Explain, sweetie."

"I still like the good life. I want good things and to live in a nice place. If I lived in the human world, I couldn't just use my magic to grab whatever I wanted. Remember your ordeal?"

Sheelagh shuddered. “You could always live with Drake and me. You love this house."

"No offense, sister, but your babies are noisy. Haven't you noticed that I pop here infrequently? I can't sleep much at night anymore. My bed at Father's is much more comfortable and quiet."

Her sister looked none too happy with Mina's accusation against her offspring. “Then your decision is?"

"Clear."

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Chapter Twenty-Seven 
When Mina's veil came down over her face, she was relieved. All morning, she had been trying not to cry. Visions of Niall's face flashed in her mind, his sexy smirk, come-hither eyes. Even when they glowed red, she had been drawn to him. How she longed to be with him right now. She wished that frumpy prince she had met only the night before was Niall instead of whoever he was. She couldn't even keep his name in her mind for more than a moment at a time.

The first tear plopped onto her chest when the music started and everyone left her in the grove just around the corner behind tall bushes. She sniffed, waiting for the precise moment when the ethereal tones took on a cadence meant for her entry. It shouldn't resonate so beautifully when her heart felt so black. The sun should not be shining, birds singing, and someone among the guests shouldn't be laughing, sounding so happy.

Foolishly hoping that Niall would show and whisk her away, she glanced up and down the aisle, even as far as it led back into the woods. She tried sensing if he was about to pull her into his world, even willed it a little.

When nothing happened, new determination rose within. She pushed aside her former lover's face from her mind and tried bringing her husband-to-be to the forefront. The man was just two or three inches taller than she was, had a slight pouch to his belly, and though she was told he was only a few years older than she, he looked much more. Mina slapped a hand over her mouth to choke back a sob. How could her father? Even a bastard of the king deserved better than this.

She peeked between two branches in the hedge to spot his fidgeting with his vest. When she had been introduced to the prince, his attention had been elsewhere. His smallish, tight, set gaze had roved over the audience, darting here and there, making her suspicious of the man.

"Mina!"

She jumped, realizing the signal in the music had begun. One last look around for someone to save her, and she stepped into the aisle. All eyes were on her as she took her time taking baby steps. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. By the time she reached the prince's side, she knew the light mascara she had copied the humans in wearing was probably smeared, making her look like a raccoon.

With a finger to the side of her left eye, her face was instantly clean. The elder, an Elf, in deference to her husband-to-be, began his recitation of the marriage vows and Mina and her prince's duties to one another. Not soon enough or maybe too soon they had made their promises. Mina cleared her throat to take in a deep breath. Her husband lifted her veil, and she was almost sure he winced at seeing her face before he screwed up his lips, closed his eyes, and kissed her.

A sound like lightning crackled in the area above the trees where she had been standing earlier gathering her nerves to walk out. A thick tree branch snapped and came crashing down to the ground. The guests cried out at the sound and jumped in their seats. Mina prayed this wasn't an omen to how bad her marriage would be.

Family gathered in to hug and kiss her while Mina fought back more tears.

* * * *
She shouldn't be that beautiful, Niall thought. Sensual and sexy for him to enjoy on their wedding night. He sat in a tree, a cloaking spell around him. Had any of the Fae bothered to look up, he guessed the older ones would know what to look for to know he was there. As it was, they had eyes only for Mina. Why wouldn't they? She was stunning in that flowing white dress, sleeveless and backless. That part was hardest of all to take, especially when that vermin touched her skin just above her rear with his fingertips. Niall wanted to break not only his hand, but rip his arm from his body.

It tore out his heart to see Mina crying, but it also warmed him, knowing she loved him and not that prince. She deserved a million times better than Elven royalty, especially lower-order royalty, more in name rather than noble blood.

Seeing the woman he craved in pain, he had almost come down and snatched her away. Yet, he wasn't what was good for her either. He would only hurt her in the long run. Things were better this way. Almost he had convinced himself of this, until the kiss. Rage fired so high in his gut that it felt like he was about to explode. His skin crackled with such heat that the branch he had been gripping burned through and fell to the ground. That was when he decided this was enough. He had to cut things off, never visit Mina again, or he would go insane. Things were better this way.

He dropped to the ground, still unseen, threw her a parting kiss of his own, and stepped back into his portal to live a life of total despair.

* * * *
"So, you'll sulk until you die, my son?"

Niall's heart skipped a beat. He sat up from the ground where he lay beside the bed Mina and he had shared in the open air. He glanced around him, but no one was nearby. Son. This wasn't a male voice, he didn't think. Dhrakrun was dead. He had landed the killing blow, scooping up one of Mina's swords that the beast had knocked from her hand. There was not a doubt in his mind that that blade sunk into his only parent's chest to end him for all eternity.

"Who?” he called out, not finding more words to add to his query.

No one could get into his world. He'd made sure of that. So, what was that blur in the air on the other side of his bed, or the sudden drop in temperature? It couldn't be. Not possible.

A woman stood before him, a beautiful Fae with eyes as dark as his. “Hello, Niall."

He blinked, scrubbed his eyes with his knuckles. “Who are you?"

"You know who I am. Answer my question. What are you doing here behaving as if you're in mourning?"

"You're not real, Mother. I'm just imagining you. It is probably a side effect to the fact that my powers have grown too much, too fast. The evil is eating away at my sanity."

When she laughed, it was like music. Niall found himself calmed by it for some reason. “You are not crazy. It really is me or as I am now. A spirit. I watch over you every day."

Niall clenched his fists at his sides and swung away. He realized he had snapped away his clothes earlier, and his mother hadn't seemed to notice. For a moment, he thought of standing to see if she would be embarrassed and changed his mind. Quickly, he waved a hand and his normal somber clothing covered his body.

"Had you really been watching over me, you would not have let me care about Mina. You would not let me have my heart stomped when she married another man."

"Whose fault was that?"

"You're saying it was mine?” He fairly shouted. Surely, there were rules about how to deal with one's dead elders, but he didn't care one way or another. “Get out of here. I don't need you."

The spirit floated through the bed and followed when he strolled away. Niall could feel her behind him, quiet and self-assured.

"Will you haunt me now?"

"Oh, no. I'm here only long enough for you to forgive."

"Just who am I supposed to forgive?” He almost laughed out loud at pop psychology coming from a ghost. His mother's ghost no less.

"Yourself, Niall. When you forgive yourself for rejecting the poison that killed me. It wasn't your fault. You were an infant and couldn't know."

"You're wrong.” He stopped walking but didn't face her. “It shouldn't be possible, but it's true. I can remember when I was an infant. Maybe it's a weird side effect to being what I am. Whatever, but I remember feeling a sense of self-preservation. It was either you or me. So, you see, I cannot have someone as perfect as Mina.” He closed his eyes, letting the pain wash over him. “She deserves a good man, and not someone who battles the darkness inside him on a daily basis. What happens the day I get so angry that I hurt her? Then what?"

He turned to walk again, not knowing where he was headed. Although he picked up his pace, his mother kept up. “You wouldn't."

"I might. Can't take that chance."

"So, you consider that she has married a good man then?"

Niall spun around, reached out to grab her with a desire to shake her until she explained herself, but his hands passed right through. “What are you saying? Is Mina not safe? Tell me now!"

"Mina would be safe in your arms had you been man enough to keep her. You pushed her away, but she would have stayed if only you had let her know you wanted her."

"Are you the one insane?” He stomped about now, shooting out darts of energy from his hands, hating his world when once he had built it for Mina. “I did want her. I still do with everything in my being. It even hurts to live, to breathe. How dare you come here telling me I wasn't man enough to keep her? She is alive because I didn't keep her."

His mother's face turned dark, as if there might be something evil in her he'd never known. He remembered that Dhrakrun said he loved her, that she had become his lover willingly. Could that be true?"

"Tell me how is she alive, Niall? She had to marry a man she didn't love, whom she'd met only briefly the night before the wedding. Tell me how she is alive when she will have to lay there and let him touch her, night after night. What do you think that feels like for a woman?"

He stumbled away and vomited beneath a tree. His knees were giving, and he should have cast a strengthening spell on himself, but he wanted to suffer. He deserved to suffer, for Mina's sake. “She ... She'll learn to be happy."

His mother smiled, like she knew she had planted a tormenting seed in his mind. “Know that I love you, Niall. Forgive yourself, and you will make the right decision.” With those words, she faded from view, leaving him more confused and alone than before she came.

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Chapter Twenty-Eight 
The festivities had buzzed around her. All night long, as was the tradition of the Faeries, family and friends partied until the sun rose. Then Mina's road trip with her husband to various worlds would begin. The tamer ones, he had muttered to her on the rare occasion he bothered to direct his attention her way.

Hugging her father and sister good-bye, Mina fought tears. She had accepted this life, so she might as well learn to be happy in it. With resolve, she sniffed once, blinked a few times, and climbed up to her husband's carriage without his assistance. They would follow the old-world mode of travel until they passed to more modern worlds.

When he snapped the horses into motion, she turned to him. “Are you sure you don't want to visit the Elven world first? I don't understand why none of your family attended the ceremony. Do they not accept a Faerie wife for you? Or ... or me specifically?"

He frowned at her words but didn't turn her way. “Obviously, I have married beneath me. Why would they accept you?"

Mina bit down on the name she was about to call him. “That still doesn't explain why we can't go see them. I mean, I'm a likeable-enough person, and I'm willing to make this marriage work. You have to set the example of how your family is allowed to treat me. If you don't, then they will just ignore me or treat me badly."

At that, her husband pulled to a stop just yards from where her family and friends were still waving them off and turned to her. “Let's get something straight, you're nothing but a lowly bastard, and if I didn't have my own reasons that compelled me to marry you, I would not have. I won't be introducing you to my family. If you are happy or unhappy, I don't care."

She gasped. The thought that went through her mind was that her father had made a terrible mistake. Before another comment could pass between them, Mina became aware of a portal opening just a half foot above the front of the open carriage. In the time it took her to blink once, Kiera stepped from the portal like an avenging angel in her tight black leather and red hair blazing like it was on fire. Her sword raised in the air, pointed down, and clutched in two hands came down to pierce the prince's chest.

Mina heard the carriage seat puncture and give at the sword being pushed through with a force no woman she'd ever known possessed. Blood spurted from the prince's mouth as he curled forward. In two seconds, Mina was a widow.

"No! The prince. Help, Mina,” someone shouted behind them. Mina just sat quietly staring at Kiera in disbelief.

She pulled her sword, making Mina jump in disgust when the metal hitched on something inside his chest so that she had to shove a booted foot against him to pull it free. Kiera bent close to Mina's face while thumping feet drew closer to their position.

"Sorry, sweet pea. You'll thank me in the long run.” Kiera patted her cheek. “That's the asshole that hurt my sister. Now he'll never hurt anyone else.” She straightened, looking back at the others. “Gotta go."

Just like that, she disappeared back through the portal she'd come through.

The king barreled up and pulled Mina down into his arms. “Oh, Mina, I'm so sorry. Come with me. We'll straighten this out. Healer!"

Mina struggled against him. “It's too late, Father. He's dead."

"We'll get to the bottom of this. Dugan!” Her father twisted his head around, still holding Mina to his side. Her brother hurried forward, a grim set to his mouth. “Follow that damn Elf and bring her back. She will pay with her life for this."

Dugan nodded. “Yes, sir.” Her brother opened a portal of his own and disappeared through it. The king, still gripping Mina, spun on his heel and transported the two of them back to his home.

He sat Mina in a chair in his study, and soon, several guards entered the room, along with her family and a few elders. Everyone spoke at once while she watched in silence. Kiera, the Elf she had called friend, had killed her husband. She had said he hurt her sister. What that hurt entailed could only be imagined being that Kiera thought she needed to end his life.

"He was an egotistical jerk,” she whispered in the midst of the chaos around her. “I-I guess I'm free."

Before he appeared, Mina sensed Niall's presence. She stood and, moving surreptitiously behind her high-backed chair, slipped from the room. In the hall, Niall materialized before her. She stood looking up at him, drinking in the sight of the man who owned her heart.

"Your husband's dead?” he asked.

"Did you have anything to do with it?"

"You made your choice."

"You didn't ask me to stay,” she shouted.

Niall brushed his thumb across her mouth, then pushed it between her lips. A shiver rocked Mina as she sucked softly at it. He moaned. “You didn't have time to sleep with him.” The question was almost a command.

"No. The celebration went on throughout the night. We were about to leave on our honeymoon when it happened. I don't understand why this transpired. I'm not sure what it changes between us."

"Whether the reasons we aren't together are still valid?"

"Yes.” Mina tugged at his arms until they circled her and she lay against his chest. “Niall, how can I walk away again? Kiera may not have meant to, but she gave us another chance to be together."

"You know the darkness in my heart."

"I'm not going to beg you to accept me as your wife.” She shoved him away and walked back toward her father's study.

The door opened, and the king stepped into the hall. “Mina! What are you doing out here? I'm not entirely sure all of this madness is over. You must stay with a guard at all times."

She spun back to where Niall had been, but he was gone. Her heart sank. So he didn't love her enough to take the risk, that maybe they could push past what he was. If he didn't believe in their relationship working, how could she possibly convince him?

* * * *
"Father, what's going to happen now?” Mina asked.

Her father appeared older than he had the day before, when he thought he had resolved all Mina's problems. Never mind that she was perfectly capable of running her own life. Look how he had nearly railroaded her into a bad marriage. She'd shared with him the cruel comments her husband had made and the guilt that came into his eyes had made her rush to hug him, to assure her father that she didn't blame him.

"Dugan will find the Elf responsible for killing your husband. Although after what you've told me, I can only imagine what he has done. It explains why he was so eager to agree to my arrangements.” His face crumpled. Mina didn't think she had ever seen him cry. He was fighting it now. “Mina, my dear, I am so sorry. You deserve better than this. I promise, I will—"

"No, Father.” She held up a hand to cut off the words she knew he was going to speak next. “I'm not going through this again. I won't. Truthfully, if I can't have Niall, I don't want anyone. I'll live all alone forever, I guess."

"Dramatics, Mina? Really?"

She spun around to see Niall standing behind her. A thrill shot through her from her feet to her scalp, but she held herself in place. “Niall, what are you doing here?"

"Claiming my bride.” He spoke softly, his eyes indicating his seriousness.

Mina closed the space between them. He took her hands in his squeezing them gently without taking his eyes off hers.

"What are you doing here?” the king demanded. “You got off free, now you return? My guards won't let you escape this time."

Niall spoke to the king, still watching Mina. “Your majesty, do you really want to break Mina's heart again? You want what's best for her. I am that."

"You arrogant son of a—"

"Like father-in-law, like son-in-law."

Mina felt rather than saw her father turn to her. “Do you really want such a disrespectful half-Fae and—I might add—murderer as your husband, Mina? His crimes cannot be overlooked. He killed several of our people. Innocent people."

"I understand that, Father. I do, but I can't help it. I need Niall like my next breath. You know what those demons put him through. Couldn't he be charged with temporary insanity or something as they do in the human world?"

"Mina!"

Finally, Mina leaned up on tiptoe to kiss Niall and then turned to face her father. She heaved a sigh, seeing the worry in his eyes. “I love you, and these years spent in this house with you have been wonderful. However, I will walk away and never see you again if it means being with Niall.” She almost moved to hug her father but hesitated, not knowing if he would seize the opportunity to grab her and leave the room. “You and I both know, Father, that Niall is too powerful to be held in any spell. He will escape, and I will be with him."

"You would do that? You would leave me, Mina?” The hurt in his voice was near unbearable.

"I would."

The king turned and trudged across the room to his chair. He dropped into it as if his legs would no longer hold him up. Niall stepped closer to Mina and wrapped her in his embrace from behind.

The king's tone held resignation when he spoke. “Very well, but I have broken many laws for your sister and your ex-stepmother in years past. I cannot keep up the trend lest I find myself out of a job. You will go off with Niall to some place the guards cannot track you. I will know where and will be allowed to visit you regularly, and I suppose Sheelagh and the rest. Possibly not Dugan for a while since he's so straight-laced."

Mina whooped and ran across the room to throw her arms around her father. “Thank you so much. You've made me the happiest woman in the world."

Her father waved his hand but presented his cheek for a kiss. Mina squeezed him a few extra minutes before turning back to Niall. She knew without asking where they would go. Breathless and suddenly feeling shy with him, she asked, “Are you sure?"

"Without a single doubt."

As he tugged her against his hard form, she gasped. “We should name our world."

"How about My Cairistiona Forever?"

She clung to him as he carried her through the portal that gave new meaning to a husband carrying his bride over the threshold, and Mina was truly Niall's forever.

* * * *
"Dugan, report,” the king commanded.

"Your Majesty, there is no sign of her in the Elven world, and annoyingly, those people refused to give me any information as to why Kiera would kill the prince. I did uncover one lead that has her hiding in the human world. A city there I am not familiar with. What I don't understand is why I can't track her magic."

The king rose and crossed to his maps. “Aye, and these are not producing anything either. There's something causing interference. You will have to go there to retrieve her. Dugan, I've spoken with the council. You are temporarily working for me on this. Your emissary duties are on hold until this Elf is brought to justice."

Dugan gave a slight bow. “Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will trek across worlds to take Kiera into custody. I will find her, if it's the last thing I do."

THE END
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About the Author 
A.J. Cove opened books from the age of four and made up what she thought the story was about, though she couldn't read yet. From that time, she has been in love with books and reading.

After a stint of with reading only Harlequin romances at the age of thirteen, she realized she wanted to be a writer. By eighteen, she wrote short stories, and in a fit of inspiration, typed out two full-length novels within a matter of weeks.

Now that she's older, she's getting back out there. She enjoys writing most types of romance, including fantasy, science fiction, multi-racial and paranormal. You can visit with her at her website at www.ajcove.com.




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