The Ruby Blade Read online

  I focused in on Emma’s words again. “The worst was what happened with the Fae, the one you call Finn, as well as some others.”

  “You don’t have to do this now,” Florence said after the silence had stretched interminably again.

  “I have to. If I don’t finish, I might never be able to start again.” Her voice was muffled now.

  “Take your time.”

  I couldn’t see them, but I was certain Florence was smoothing Emma’s hair in a comforting way. I knew now why she was so protective of our new charge—she saw her sister in Emma.

  “When Michelle would get bored torturing me with silver, she’d let any Fae who was hanging around play with me. Most weren’t interested, but there were always a few who took her offer.”

  Hot anger started growing in my chest, and my breathing grew more rapid.

  “They invented a game.” Emma’s voice broke off as she choked on a sob. I exhaled forcefully through my nose and twin tendrils of smoke rose up in front of my eyes.

  “Finn was the one who encouraged the others to play. He would keep score. They would chain me with silver and take turns peeling strips of skin off my body until I passed out. Sometimes they’d take my fingernails first. The scoring system was elaborate. There were points for who could make me scream first, who could make the straightest lines, who produced the least blood, and other things I never understood. The person who was cutting when I passed out got a huge deduction, though, as it ended the game.

  “Those were the only times I was ever allowed to shift. They wanted me to heal quickly, so after one of those sessions, I got to be a wolf for a while. There were times I almost looked forward to it because of the release I’d get at the end.”

  I was shaking. In my wildest imagination, I wouldn’t have come up with something like this. This was beyond torture. I didn’t know if Finn knew or cared that Emma had started to look forward to the torture just so she’d be allowed to shift, but at this point, I was willing to go with worst intentions.

  Nausea rose as the flames of my anger started licking my hands. I’d trusted him. Slept with him. Considered him my friend. How had he hidden this side of his personality from me for so long? He’d been making trips back through whatever hole between planes he’d found to torture this woman while he was pretending to be my friend. He was my lover at the same time he was her torturer. And now, she was free and stuck with the one Fae who’d bedded her lost love and her worst enemy. No wonder she hated me

  I sank to the floor, not sure how to react, how to feel. I wanted to rush in and tell Emma I’d kill Finn for her. Tell her she could kill me if she wanted to.

  A cool voice broke the downward spiral of my thoughts. “I’m sorry I’m late. I hope the flames surrounding you are not intended for me.”

  I turned my head until Petrina appeared in the corner of my eye. My chest rose as I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself enough to let go of the fire dancing over my body and fortunately not burning any of my clothes. Finally, I was able to let go. I stood, fire free, and said, “the gym is occupied at the moment. Wait here with me a few more minutes?”

  “Of course.”

  I found myself studying this woman who was Raj’s daughter. Her approval of me mattered more than I thought it should. I wanted her to like me. I’d never much cared if anyone liked me before I started out on this little adventure.

  Before I could follow that train of thought out of the station, I heard footsteps coming towards the door. I took a quick few hops backwards and tried to look natural, like I hadn’t been loitering and eavesdropping.

  Florence poked her head out through the gap in the door. “You can come in now. Thank you for waiting and giving her time. Stop with the self-recrimination. Finn was very good at hiding his dark side. Even when I’d catch his stray thoughts about Isaac, I never saw how incredibly deviant he was. Folks like that are often very good at hiding their true natures.”

  Florence’s assurances calmed me, and I no longer felt like simultaneously throwing up and lighting things on fire. I was still angry, though. Just not with myself anymore. Now I was directing it at the appropriate target. “We still need him alive?” I asked through gritted teeth.

  Florence looked as grim as I felt. “Yes. If he dies before the final gate is opened, everything you’ve been working towards will fail and the world will be destroyed.”

  “Fuck.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  “Petrina,” I said. “Wanna fight?”

  “As long as you promise not to light me on fire.”

  “I promise not to incinerate you if you promise not hurt me too much with your giant sword.”

  Florence cracked a grin. “That’s what she said.”

  Tension diffused, I rolled my eyes at her and led Petrina into the gym.

  Chapter Eleven

  TWO NIGHTS LATER, an invitation came from the Alpha. The invitation, addressed to Florence, was for her and Emma. I wasn’t impressed with Bruce’s attempt to leave me out of things. He had to know who I was—or at the very least, how powerful I was.

  The night before the dinner, which was exactly one week before the full moon, Florence, Petrina, and Emma made themselves scarce. Florence said they were headed to the gym to work on Emma’s fighting style, but the broad wink Petrina aimed at me before they left made me more than a little suspicious.

  “So,” Raj said as we sat in front of the fire. “We find ourselves alone.”

  A smile flirted at the corners of my mouth. “It would seem so,” I agreed.

  “I would like to ask you out on a date,” he said formally.

  I must have looked surprised because he laughed.

  “A date? Where are we going to go? We can’t go to the movies nor out dancing, and I’m not going ice skating.”

  “It is true that our choices in Alpha are limited, but I can take you out for dinner and dancing if you’ll leave town with me.”

  “I don’t know, Raj. I didn’t ask permission.” I grinned. “And I don’t have anything to wear.”

  Raj knelt in front of me and nudged his way between my knees. He pulled my face down to his for a quick kiss and then looked up at me imploringly. “Please go out with me, Eleanor. My heart will break if you say no.”

  I laughed again. “Okay. How can I resist that?”

  He grinned, sprang to his feet, and started helping me into the layers of clothing necessary to make me not supremely uncomfortable in our quick flight.

  “New York again?” I asked.

  “I didn’t show you much of the city before, and the people there are so adaptable. There are plenty of places to eat, drink, and be merry.”

  I left Florence a note and then we skipped through the sky to his Brooklyn penthouse where he took me to a room full of women’s clothing. “Do I even want to know?” I asked.

  “I like to be prepared,” he answered.

  “Is this used clothing?”

  “Vintage is the preferred term, I believe.”

  “Where did it come from?”

  Raj sighed loudly—and unnecessarily—and said, “Some of it was left by previous meals or previous lovers. Some of it is Trina’s. Some of it is older clothing that I’d bought for some of my servants. No one died in any of these outfits.”

  I eyed him suspiciously but began to look through the collection. He left me to it, and I had a lot of fun looking at dresses that covered every era in US history in a wide variety of sizes. I finally selected a 30’s era evening dress in emerald green. It was sleeveless, and the wide straps crossed to make an X on my back. The neckline was high, and the dress was tighter around the breasts, gathered at the waist, and then flowed down loosely to my ankles. I found some shoes in my size that would look good with the dress, even if they were asynchronous. There was a coat closet, and I found a gorgeous full-length fur that I desperately wanted to wear, but I wasn’t sure if it would be acceptable. I settled for a calf-length wool coat with fur trim. There was not
hing to be done about my make-up, but I could at least make my hair acceptable. I took my finds and wound my way back to the room I’d used when we’d been there before. The tub was full of steaming water. I took a bath and washed my hair, then combed it out and sat in front of the fire hoping it would dry quickly. When it was dry enough for me, I styled it—or at least twisted some strands back and braided them, then secured them with bobby-pins. I dressed, donned the shoes and coat, and then wandered out to the main room. Raj was waiting for me in a double-breasted, pin-striped suit in midnight blue with a matching tie, long overcoat, and fedora.

  “Wow,” was all I could say.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” he replied. He held out his arm. “Shall we?”

  We walked out the front door and to the stairwell. Instead of going up this time, he held me and took us down the fifteen flights of stairs to the bottom level in the blink of an eye. We stood for a moment in the stairwell and straightened each other out. Then Raj opened the door to the main lobby and ushered me through. A doorman stood at attention, and I wondered if he spent his whole shift being that formal. Looked uncomfortable. I’d at least have a book handy if there was no internet to surf.

  “Mr. Allred,” he inclined his head slightly.

  “A cab, if you please Mr. Novak.”

  “Right away, sir.”

  Mr. Novak stepped outside, and Raj and I waited in the relative warmth of the building’s interior. A few minutes later, the doorman came back in. “Your cab is here, sir.”

  When we exited the building, I was expecting to see one of the yellow cabs that I associated with the streets of New York City, but instead, there was a hansom cab, pulled by a horse. I tried not to squeal my excitement out loud. No need for the cabbie to know how absolutely thrilling this was for me.

  “Where would you like to go?” he asked in unaccented American English. I was so disappointed in his lack of Cockney accent that I missed what Raj told him and just had to go along for the ride. It was chilly, since hansom cabs had no heating systems, but it was so wonderful I didn’t care. Or wouldn’t have, if my hands hadn’t been freezing. Raj wordlessly pulled a pair of long gloves out of his overcoat and handed them to me. I thanked him with a peck on the cheek and put them on.

  The cab pulled up in front of a building lit with hanging lamps, and the cabbie jumped out to open the door for us. Raj stepped out, paid the man, and then held out a hand to assist me. I felt like I’d fallen back in time. This no technology thing wasn’t so bad—at least when you had people who were used to that state of being to help you navigate it.

  Dinner was magnificent. I ate until I was afraid I’d split the seams of the vintage dress and then we sat and talked about nonsense and finished our bottle of wine. We didn’t go dancing, but instead went back to Raj’s so I could change into my much warmer clothes, and then went for a walk hand-in-hand through Central Park.

  “Stay the night here?” Raj asked. I was tempted. I wasn’t looking forward to spending more time outside when I could be in his luxurious apartment with fireplaces all over and more wine and privacy and nice, big, soft beds, and yeah. That’s probably the best reason to go back to the motel.

  “I have to crash the werewolf dinner tomorrow night. I really should get home.”

  “You just don’t want to be alone with me,” he rejoined.

  “Oh, I want to be alone with you,” I said. “But since we are dating, we don’t spend the night together. We find a parked car to make out in for a while, and then you have me home just before curfew.”

  “I am not making out in a car,” he said.

  “Okay, we find someplace that is not outside in January...”

  “Or maybe I just see how warm I can get you here.” He tugged me into his arms, and I slid my arms up and around his neck. I liked that he wasn’t so much taller than me that I didn’t have to stretch to kiss him. His arms went around my waist sliding down to cup my ass. He pulled me even closer, and heat flared between us.

  Our lips met, lightly at first, but then deepening into something greedy. I couldn’t get enough of him. I thrust my tongue into his mouth and tried to draw his tongue back into mine. He lifted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. I could feel him hardening at the junction of my legs, and I moaned. How were we going to stay celibate for another three plus months?

  My back hit something, and I realized we’d been moving. I was against a tree, and Raj’s hands were no longer supporting my ass but were unbuttoning my coat in an attempt to find bare skin.

  “Raj,” I said.

  “Mmmmm,” he replied as he freed the last button, releasing the restrictions that my coat had placed on the rest of my clothing. He slid his cool hands up and under my shirts, and I shivered against him.

  “Raj,” I said again. He captured my lips briefly then moved around to kiss a line down my jaw. His hands were on my breasts now, and I was quickly losing my ability to reason. A gust of wind came up, the icy air bringing me to my senses. I lowered my legs from around Raj’s waist and gently pushed his hands down so I could rebutton my coat.

  “Did that count as making out?” he asked in a very businesslike manner. If I hadn’t felt his actual interest a moment ago, I would’ve been terribly hurt. I finished rebundling myself and stepped back into his arms. Yep, still interested. I kissed him deeply but not as greedily as before.

  “That counted. Now you’d better get me home before curfew, or I’ll be grounded.”

  He laughed and took me back to Alpha.

  I followed Emma and Florence into the hall of the generic lodge building, trailing just far enough behind that I wouldn’t immediately be seen. Bruce walked towards us and inclined his head towards Florence. “Thank you for coming.”

  Then he saw me. “She wasn’t invited.”

  I smiled. “I know. I came anyway.”

  “You’re not welcome here,” he said.

  “These are my people. Would you send yours into an uncertain situation if you were able to accompany them and keep them safe?”

  “You don’t trust my hospitality?” I was on thin ice here. Insulting him would ensure that things went poorly, but rolling over and presenting my metaphorical belly wouldn’t guarantee things would go well.

  “I am not worried that you’ll break hospitality.” I just wasn’t sure if he would consider forcibly bringing Emma into the pack a breach of hospitality. She was female and didn’t have current pack ties. Some Alphas might see it as their duty to protect her whether she wanted it or not. I couldn’t say all that, though. “I am overprotective of those who are dear to me. I am also very interested in hearing the answers to the questions Florence has for you about our adventure in the preserve last week. If I were really worried, I would’ve brought our entire party, but as you can see, we left the vampires at home.”

  By the way the muscle kept tightening and releasing in his jaw, it was clear that he was not happy. Fortunately—for him—he didn’t push the matter. Instead, he nodded grudgingly at me. “Fine. Sit.” One of the largest fireplaces I’d ever seen framed a long table laden with so much food I was surprised it didn’t bow in the middle.

  There was a quick discussion, and then one of the younger looking wolves at the table sighed heavily and left the room. I must be taking his spot. A round of musical chairs later, and Bruce led us to one end of the table. He took the spot at the head of the table; I took the spot to his left, and Florence to his right. That left Emma between Florence and Jason, a situation I was okay with. Out of all the wolves I’d met here, he was the only one I came even close to trusting.

  Dishes were passed around, and I loaded up my plate with three different kinds of meat, a selection of cheeses, and because it seemed like I ought to, salad. Okay, it was macaroni salad. Okay, it was macaroni and cheese. But it had peas in it, so it was definitely, probably healthy.

  “Did Sean report everything that happened at the preserve?” Florence asked Bruce.

  “He did.”
r />   “And?” The look Florence gave him was chilling, and he flinched. Goosebumps broke out on his arms. I shivered and scooted closer to Emma. I didn’t want to be in the path of Florence’s anger.

  Bruce looked around the room. All eyes were on him. “Everyone out,” he roared. He put the power of his position behind the command and the room cleared so quickly I could’ve blinked and missed the mass exodus. Chairs clattered to the floor as a few of those down the power scale scurried away.

  “I didn’t plan it if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Dude,” I said. “No one thinks you planned it. We just want to know who did.”

  He started shivering. “We’re a small pack, but we have good territory and lots of resources. The one thing we don’t have is women. There are no female members of the pack.” His teeth were chattering, his breath was coming in quick, visible puffs, and he was starting to look a little wild around the eyes.

  “Why not?” I asked. I was glad Florence was on my side.

  “There are always fewer women than men, but a couple years ago, our last female member transferred to another pack when she fell in love. A couple weeks ago, right before you all showed up, the group of vampires and mages moved into the preserve we use at the full moon. We tried to chase them out, but a fucking fairy appeared and offered us a deal. They would leave before the full moon if I could get your group out to the preserve. In exchange for getting you out there, he would give us the female wolf.” Bruce’s glance slid past me and landed on Emma.