Shadowfever
Page 106
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Velvet is a Fae name?
His true name is unpronounceable in your tongue. Is she here?
I nodded.
I must see her. How does she fare?
Barrons hand shot out and closed around Vlanes throat. You lying fuck.
Vlane grabbed Barrons arm with one hand, his throat with the other.
I stared, fascinated. I was so discombobulated by recent developments that I hadnt even realized Barrons and Vlane were standing face-to-face on a crowded dance floor for what was probably the first time in all eternityclose enough to kill each other. Well, close enough for Barrons to kill Vlane. Barrons was staring at the Fae prince as if hed finally caught a fire ant that had been torturing him for centuries while hed lay spread-eagled on the desert, coated in honey. Vlane was glaring at Barrons as if he couldnt believe hed be so stupid.
We have larger concerns than your personal grievances, Vlane said with icy disdain. If you cannot remove your head from your ass and see that, you deserve what will happen to your world.
Maybe I dont care what happens to the world.
Vlanes head swiveled my way, cool appraisal in his gaze. I have permitted you to retain your spear, MacKayla. You will not let him harm me. Kill him
Barrons squeezed. I said shut up.
He has the fourth stone, I reminded Barrons. We need him.
Keltars! Vlane said, staring up at the foyer. He hissed through his teeth.
I know. Big fucking party tonight, said Barrons.
Where? Is that who just came in? I said.
Barrons leaned closer to Vlane and sniffed him. His nostrils flared, as if he found the scent both repulsive and perfect for a fine, bloody filet.
Where is she? a man roared. The accent was Scottish, like Christians but thicker.
Vlane ordered, Shut him up before his next question is, Where is the queen, and every Unseelie in this place discovers she is here.
Barrons moved too fast for me to see. One second, Vlane was his usual gorgeous self, then his nose was crushed and gushing blood. Barrons said, Next time, fairy, and was gone.
I said, where the bloody hell is the
I heard a grunt, then the sound of fists and more grunts, and all hell broke loose at Chesters.
I doona give a bloody damn what you think. Shes our responsibility
And a hell of a job youve done with her
Shes my queen and shes not going anywhere with
so far, losing her to the fucking Unseelie.
and well be taking her back to Scotland with us, where she can be watched oer properly.
a pair of inept humans, she belongs in Faery.
Ill send you back to Faery, fairy, in a fucking
Remember the missing stone, mongrel.
I looked from the Scotsman, to Barrons, to Vlane, watching the three of them argue. Theyd been covering the same ground with no new developments for the past five minutes. Vlane kept demanding she be turned over to him, the Scot kept insisting he was taking her back to Scotland, but I knew Barrons. He wasnt going to let either of them have her. Not only did he trust no one, the queen of the Fae was a powerful trump card.
How the fuck did you even know she was here? Barrons demanded.
Vlane, whose nose was once again perfect, said, MacKayla summoned me. As I walked up behind you, I heard you, as anyone else might have. You jeopardize her life with your carelessness.
Not you, Barrons growled. The Highlander.
The Scot said, Nearly five years past, she visited Cian in the Dreaming, telling him she would be here this eve. The queen herself ordered us to collect her, from this address on this night. We have irrefutable claim. We are the Keltar and wear the mantle of protection for the Fae. You will turn her over to us now.
I almost laughed, but something about the two Scots made me think twice about it. They looked like theyd been traveling hard through rough terrain and hadnt showered or shaved in days. Words like patience and diplomacy were not in their vocabulary. They thought in terms of objectives and resultsand the fewer things between the two, the better. They were like Barrons: driven, focused, ruthless.
Both were shirtless and heavily tattooedLor and another of Barrons men I hadnt seen before had made all of us strip down to clothing that couldnt conceal a book, before permitting us access to the upper level of the club. Now the five of us stood, partially dressed, in an unfurnished glass cubicle.
The one arguing, Dageus, was all long, smooth muscle, with the fast, graceful movements of a big cat and cheetah-gold eyes. His black hair was so long it brushed his beltnot that he needed one, in hip-slimming black leather pants. He sported a cut lip and a shiner on his right cheek from the skirmish that had begun at the door and spread like a contagion through several sub-clubs. It had taken five of Barrons men to get things back under control. Being able to move like the wind gave them a tremendous advantage. They didnt warn the patrons to stop fightingthey simply appeared and killed them. Once humans and Fae figured out what was happening, the outbreak of violence ended as quickly as it had begun.
His true name is unpronounceable in your tongue. Is she here?
I nodded.
I must see her. How does she fare?
Barrons hand shot out and closed around Vlanes throat. You lying fuck.
Vlane grabbed Barrons arm with one hand, his throat with the other.
I stared, fascinated. I was so discombobulated by recent developments that I hadnt even realized Barrons and Vlane were standing face-to-face on a crowded dance floor for what was probably the first time in all eternityclose enough to kill each other. Well, close enough for Barrons to kill Vlane. Barrons was staring at the Fae prince as if hed finally caught a fire ant that had been torturing him for centuries while hed lay spread-eagled on the desert, coated in honey. Vlane was glaring at Barrons as if he couldnt believe hed be so stupid.
We have larger concerns than your personal grievances, Vlane said with icy disdain. If you cannot remove your head from your ass and see that, you deserve what will happen to your world.
Maybe I dont care what happens to the world.
Vlanes head swiveled my way, cool appraisal in his gaze. I have permitted you to retain your spear, MacKayla. You will not let him harm me. Kill him
Barrons squeezed. I said shut up.
He has the fourth stone, I reminded Barrons. We need him.
Keltars! Vlane said, staring up at the foyer. He hissed through his teeth.
I know. Big fucking party tonight, said Barrons.
Where? Is that who just came in? I said.
Barrons leaned closer to Vlane and sniffed him. His nostrils flared, as if he found the scent both repulsive and perfect for a fine, bloody filet.
Where is she? a man roared. The accent was Scottish, like Christians but thicker.
Vlane ordered, Shut him up before his next question is, Where is the queen, and every Unseelie in this place discovers she is here.
Barrons moved too fast for me to see. One second, Vlane was his usual gorgeous self, then his nose was crushed and gushing blood. Barrons said, Next time, fairy, and was gone.
I said, where the bloody hell is the
I heard a grunt, then the sound of fists and more grunts, and all hell broke loose at Chesters.
I doona give a bloody damn what you think. Shes our responsibility
And a hell of a job youve done with her
Shes my queen and shes not going anywhere with
so far, losing her to the fucking Unseelie.
and well be taking her back to Scotland with us, where she can be watched oer properly.
a pair of inept humans, she belongs in Faery.
Ill send you back to Faery, fairy, in a fucking
Remember the missing stone, mongrel.
I looked from the Scotsman, to Barrons, to Vlane, watching the three of them argue. Theyd been covering the same ground with no new developments for the past five minutes. Vlane kept demanding she be turned over to him, the Scot kept insisting he was taking her back to Scotland, but I knew Barrons. He wasnt going to let either of them have her. Not only did he trust no one, the queen of the Fae was a powerful trump card.
How the fuck did you even know she was here? Barrons demanded.
Vlane, whose nose was once again perfect, said, MacKayla summoned me. As I walked up behind you, I heard you, as anyone else might have. You jeopardize her life with your carelessness.
Not you, Barrons growled. The Highlander.
The Scot said, Nearly five years past, she visited Cian in the Dreaming, telling him she would be here this eve. The queen herself ordered us to collect her, from this address on this night. We have irrefutable claim. We are the Keltar and wear the mantle of protection for the Fae. You will turn her over to us now.
I almost laughed, but something about the two Scots made me think twice about it. They looked like theyd been traveling hard through rough terrain and hadnt showered or shaved in days. Words like patience and diplomacy were not in their vocabulary. They thought in terms of objectives and resultsand the fewer things between the two, the better. They were like Barrons: driven, focused, ruthless.
Both were shirtless and heavily tattooedLor and another of Barrons men I hadnt seen before had made all of us strip down to clothing that couldnt conceal a book, before permitting us access to the upper level of the club. Now the five of us stood, partially dressed, in an unfurnished glass cubicle.
The one arguing, Dageus, was all long, smooth muscle, with the fast, graceful movements of a big cat and cheetah-gold eyes. His black hair was so long it brushed his beltnot that he needed one, in hip-slimming black leather pants. He sported a cut lip and a shiner on his right cheek from the skirmish that had begun at the door and spread like a contagion through several sub-clubs. It had taken five of Barrons men to get things back under control. Being able to move like the wind gave them a tremendous advantage. They didnt warn the patrons to stop fightingthey simply appeared and killed them. Once humans and Fae figured out what was happening, the outbreak of violence ended as quickly as it had begun.
