Breaking Out (33 page)

Fin was still royally pissed at me, but he
kept his voice calm. “I appreciate your kindness toward Aine and
your show of respect, but a war is imminent and I must have some
kind of assurance that you will not side with Naberia.” In other
words, he had me in a tricky situation and he was going to use it
to his full advantage. He could leave me here with the crazy sad
queen. Forever.

I needed to talk him out of that idea in the
worst way. A table appeared, along with two simple chairs and the
rest of the world disappeared. He smiled and we sat. Negotiations
were now in progress.

He spoke in Fae. “You are young to store such
amounts of magic.”

I frowned down at the table beneath my palms.
“I didn’t…I mean…”

“You conjured the table and chairs with a
thought. I blocked out the room. It is better not to have
distractions.” He waited but all I could do was rub my hands over
the very real wooden table that I had apparently created out of
thin air.

He continued, “I am in complete control of my
magic at all times. I know when I use it and when I do not. You
must learn to sense the change, when a wish becomes reality. Not
every desire should be made manifest.”

I thought about the trout, four like Jay had
usually caught when we camped out. The kitchen where Celine and I
cooked dinner resembled my kitchen at home, right down to the
sliding glass doors. That’s why I knew where everything was stored
in the cabinets. The vegetable garden outside the backdoor had
looked a lot like Sinlae’s garden.

My hands were shaking and I’d bitten my lip
hard enough to draw blood. This was fucking terrifying. What if
some guy pissed me off on line at the coffee shop and I thought to
myself, I wish this asshole would fall into a pit right about now.
“How do I learn…?”

“I will train you.”

I had jammed my hands between my knees
thinking that maybe the shaking would stop. All that happened was
my knees started to shake. “And what’s the catch?”

“When the war comes, you will fight beside
me. I require your blood oath.”

I was so cold. Why was it so cold here? I
blew on my hands and rubbed my arms, then stopped when I realized
what he’d said. “I’m pretty sure the prophecy states you’ll be
fighting beside
me
.” He laughed. “Not a believer?”

“I am not an
unbeliever
. It is only
that you have yet to prove yourself able to lead an army.” He
spread his own hands on the table. “I am a practical male, having
lived through many battles. Your magic is stronger than it should
be at this age, but it does not make you a leader of ancient
warriors. You must understand.”

I was still rubbing my arms. He shook his
head in frustration. “This is my point exactly. You have healing
magic and do not use it on yourself, only others. Warm yourself.
How can you lead if you are shocked to this extreme by the
discovery of each magical gift? You will faint the first time you
bring lightning down on your enemies.”

“Lightning?”

“We do not know what is possible.”

I sent myself a touch of warm and soothing
magic and I was able to relax into the chair. My thoughts grew
clear again. I couldn’t hand over control, but we needed an
agreement. I wouldn’t rush into anything. Making a blood deal with
a fae lord who might be as old as the planet had to be worded
exactly right. Otherwise you could be screwed for eternity.

“Where do you see this war taking place?” I
asked.

He tilted his head in thought. “Wherever
Naberia sends her army, obviously somewhere on the mortal
plain.”

“That would mean humans and shifters and
vampires and wolves would be affected.”

“It is unfortunate but unavoidable.”

“Collateral damage, right? If you want to
enlist my support you’ll need to rethink that.” Fin leaned back and
folded his arms, maybe realizing that I had my own agenda and it
was very different from his. “ Who do you see as being a part of
your army?” I asked.

“The people of Faerie.”

“And…?”

“These questions of yours make no sense. Do
you agree to a blood oath or not?”

“I have allies and friends that I need to
protect.”

“I assume that they will fight beside us,
like my allies.”

“Who are your allies?”

He shrugged. “Demi-fey, woodland fae…”

“All fae.”

“Of course.”

“Maybe you should think about branching out.
Would you like to know who I believe will ally themselves with
me?”

“Of course.” He almost laughed at what he
felt was a ridiculous claim, but my gaze held him in check.

“The Shapeshifter Council, The Vampire
Council, the Western Pack Council, the Kelpie Court, several other
species of unseelie, Isaiah, son of Naberia, and his
followers…”

“Isaiah will not fight on your side. He has
lied to you. It is what one would expect from a demon.”

“Have you ever met him?”

“On the battlefield.”

“He saved my mother from Kennet by teaching
her how to use her demon magic. He protected me from Fiona and
Naberia and trained me well enough to allow me to stand by my
mother’s side when we came to court to rescue my father. He will
support me wherever I stand.”

“He will side with the Fae? You are under a
sad delusion.”

“You do not know what is possible,
Grandfather.” His expression was skeptical, but I continued. “Many
of my shapeshifter friends are experts in the use of modern
weapons.”

He shook his head. “We use traditional
weapons in battles of this sort. Magic of course, but because we
are mostly equal in blocking each other, not much magic gets
through. Wars between our species are usually won with swords and
the courage of their wielders along the courage of their mounts.”
He looked down. “It is unfortunate, but…”

I smiled. “I found the kelpie race. They’re
now official allies of mine.”

Furrows appeared in his forehead. “Some still
live?”

“Yes. The king himself will be my mount…if
there’s a war.”

He smiled honestly now, nothing fake. “I
feared they had faded. This is wonderful news. But understand,
their race has been the ally of my people for millennium. They will
come when
I
call.”

“And fight beside
me
.” His look
remained amused, which was better than angry. “I think I come to
the table with a lot more firepower than you do.”

“You have never seen the power of an angry
King of Faerie facing off against an angry Archdemon.”

I leaned forward. “Most of the unseelie will
support Naberia. They’ll outnumber the fae.”

“Your point?” He didn’t seem too
concerned.

“Your people need what I can offer. The
bargaining chips aren’t only on your side of the table in this
negotiation.”

“What do you want, other than training?” His
feet were now up on the table. I’d seen Isaiah act like that during
serious negotiations, so I didn’t take it the wrong way. It was
just an
I’m a big shot and you’re not
kind of pose.

“The battle will take place where no
innocents will be injured.”

“Unfortunately you will need to negotiate
that with Naberia.”

“C’mon. Look around. You can create a
separate reality. Fight your battle here, away from the
innocents.”

He watched me for ten heartbeats. I know
because I counted them. But I didn’t flinch or ask for a compromise
or change my mind. This point was non-negotiable. “I can agree to
do everything in my power to accomplish that goal, but I cannot
promise. It may not be possible.”

I felt he was telling the truth. He was
probably watching me in the same way. Magic users negotiated on a
lot of levels.

“If I make a blood pledge to ally myself to
you, I do it as an equal. When you train me to use my powers I will
defer to you as I would any teacher. Because you are my
grandfather, I respect your place in my family. As the King of
Faerie I will respect you as my ally in the coming war, but not as
my ruler or as my commander in the war. I will lead whoever will
follow me, and I will make all the decisions regarding who they
fight, when they fight and when they don’t fight.”

He shook his head and grunted. “How is it
that a seventeen year old child speaks with such fearlessness to a
creature older than the world he inhabits?”

“I’ve grown up around werewolves and
vampires. I don’t quake that easy.”

“Except when it comes to creating tables and
chairs,” he teased. “Your mother is also a fearless creature. And
wise. When you were still warm in her belly, she scolded me for my
narrow views. I believe you take after her.”

“And you. I am your grandson.” Fin was
struggling to save his people the same way I was struggling to save
my family and friends. We chose to hold a peaceful discussion
rather than deciding the fate of the universe over a battle to the
death.

“Perhaps you do take after me. You have a
knack for diplomacy.”

“I get that from Garrett.”

His loud laugh filled the room. “Are we
agreed? We will draw blood together and call each other equal
allies?”

“If you treat me as an equal and not a
subject, train me to control my magic, protect the humans and
supernatural creatures who live in my realm by doing all in your
power to stage the battle in a remote location, and accept anyone
who I call ally as also an ally of yours. This includes Isaiah, the
surviving son of Naberia.”

Now he was leaning forward. “Naberia and the
scum who follow her will never be allowed on the mortal plain
without a battle.”

“Isaiah does not follow Naberia, but that
information must be kept between us.”

“I will not ally myself with any full blood
demon.”

I frowned, “Then will you agree to meet with
Isaiah and me? Just the three of us? We can discuss this.”

“I will bring another, to keep things
even.”

“Since I have the blood of both sides, it’s
even with three.”

“No. Nice try.” He smirked.

“Who would you bring?”

“Caelen?” I shook my head. “Aedus?”
Again.

“Bring Lady Dinestri,” I suggested.

“Why Dinestri, not that I have any complaints
about your choice.”

“She’s a Cascade elder with an open mind. And
she likes me.”

“Then I agree to a meeting between Isaiah,
Dinestri, you and me to be held sometime in the next few human
months. At this meeting we will discuss Isaiah’s loyalties.”

“And everything we discuss will be kept
secret.”

“Of course. You are a most determined young
male.”

I’d made every point but one. “I want you to
know something. Farrell, Linn and Sammy are three of my closest
friends. Growing up Norienne, Aislin and Sinlae were almost as
important to me as my own parents. Liam, Aedus, Brina,
Kaera—they’ve all risked their lives for my family. There is
nothing I wouldn’t do to help the people of Faerie. I’m proud of my
fae blood, but there are just as many non-fae in my life that I
feel the same way about. I won’t turn my back on any of them. If
Naberia brings death to our people, we’ll bring her down, together.
I swear this on my blood.”

Finvarra looked surprised and pleased. “As
you spoke, your aura vibrated with green and gold. The healer
personifies Balance. I cannot find fault in your requests.” He
pulled out his ceremonial knife and sliced his palm. “I agree,
Charles Liam William Cuvier.”

He handed me the blade and I cut the palm
that had no scar. “And I agree, King Finvarra.” We clasped hands in
the most ancient of supernatural rituals, our blood mingling to
symbolize our pledge to fight together against a common enemy and
to support each other in times of need. Now if I called him, he
would come, not only as my grandfather, but also as my ally.

The strongest fae magic imaginable sang in my
veins, but he was just as surprised by the taste of my blood in
his. “Extraordinary. Balance of another sort.” He smiled and we
were suddenly standing on the dock in LA. It was empty.

“Where’s Brina?” I asked.

“She’ll stay with Aine for a time. Keep her
company.”

“Brina’s a prisoner there?”

“No, no. She can move between realms at will
and can join your Triad team when needed. I wish for Aine to
recover. She is too weak to return to Faerie, but I see that
leaving her alone was a mistake. I will have my people visit
her.”

“You might bring her back?”

“I believe I might, but not until the war has
ended.”

“And Celine?”

“Is currently in Faerie being educated in our
ways.”

“That doesn’t sound like too much fun.”
Couldn’t say I minded much.

“She’s a wild animal who must be tamed. I
have already seen to the lord who raped her mother.”

“Sweet.” He looked at me like I was nuts. “It
means…good job…great…yay…” He nodded, but he still didn’t look like
he got it. “Look, what do I do if this Ammon guy writes to me
again.”

“Contact me and take no other action. Do not
meet with him. He is an ancient creature of unknown
origin—extremely dangerous.” He glanced toward the hills. “Your
team has been busy while we’ve been away.”

“How long?”

“A month or so.”

“What? Sinlae’s gonna kill me for not calling
Mom.”

He laughed. “They are terrifying creatures
are they not? The demi-fey?”

“No kidding. Female cheetahs too.”

“Perhaps females of any race.” We stood
quietly for a few moments staring out at the ocean, both of us
musing over the difficulties in dealing with strong females—just a
couple of guys, hangin’ out. Yeah, right.

Samson ran into me so hard he knocked me
over, but I didn’t care. Fin laughed as Samson slobbered on my
shirt and licked my face.

He continued to chuckle as I struggled to sit
up. “You see, males are much easier. They make their wishes clear.”
When I was finally able to stand, he said, “I will see you soon to
begin training. But first I must return to court to see how Caelen
is doing. I will also stop by your Crescent City home and speak to
your mother. She will not be angry with you.”