Corrigan Magic (Corrigan: Blood Destiny Book 2) (13 page)

“No, you’re not.  But, I…” She paused, looking oddly embarrassed.  “I don’t want you to be hurt.  I think you’re alright, Corrigan.”

Out of all the answers, I’d expected her to give, that was about the last thing I’d thought she would say.  I might have just been damned by faint praise but I couldn’t prevent warmth from spreading through me.  I laughed aloud and, wobbling slightly, began to make my way down towards her.  Mack seemed alarmed that I was about to topple over and she rushed up, putting an arm round my shoulders to help me.  Rather than be affronted that I needed her help, I was ridiculously pleased by her gesture.  It was great to breathe in her scent again. 

“My Lord, I think you should sit down.” 

“I prefer it when you call me Corrigan,” I told her.  “And before I sit down, I want you to explain to me what you mean by saying that I’m ‘alright’.”

I turned and looked at her, daring her to expand on her words.  Unfortunately, before she could answer, Julia interrupted from the foot of the stairs.

“Mackenzie, dear, you’ve come back!  What’s this about a herb?”

“Good timing, Julia,” Mack muttered.

I was irritated that she wouldn’t tell me more about what she’d really meant but this wasn’t the time or the place to continue demanding answers

“Pardon, dear?” Julia asked, puzzled.

“Nothing.”  She carefully moved away from me, touchingly checking that I was still able to stand, then rushed down to her old Alpha. “Here.  I think this will cure the red fever.  It’s–”

“Blisterwort, yes, goodness.”  Julia looked surprised.  I watched her expression carefully.  Surprised in a good way or a bad way?  “I haven’t seen it in years.  What makes you think it’ll provide a cure?”

“A little bird told me,” Mack said earnestly.  “I’m sure it’ll do the trick, Julia.  And if it doesn’t…”

“Yes, yes! This might work.  If I brewed it up with some lemon to make it palatable.  Mackenzie, you may just have saved us all.”

The second I realised that if the other shifters in the next room could hear this, they would be clutching each other in excited delight, my own sudden rush of optimism faded.  Staines was right – false hope wouldn’t be fair. “Aren’t you being just a little premature?” 

“Perhaps not, my Lord.” Julia beamed, her expression reflecting not even a shadow of a doubt.  “Blisterwort is an ancient remedy and something that I simply hadn’t thought of. I suddenly feel really quite optimistic.” She patted Mack’s hand.  “I’ll go and try it out now.”

She wheeled round and sped off at an impressive rate. Rather than watching her go, however, I was looking at Mack who already appeared to be preparing to leave.

Where do you think you’re going?
I growled.

I’ve done what I came here to do.  The blisterwort will work, I’m sure of it.

She might think I hadn’t noticed her little half sentence about if it didn’t do the job, but I wasn’t quite comatose just yet. 
You seemed to have another suggestion if it didn’t.

It will work. 
Her tone was confident.

“You should stay in case it doesn’t, Mack,” I said, switching to my normal voice.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, turning back to face me.

“For what?”

“Calling me by my name.”

I almost laughed.  “What?  You don’t like kitten?”  I grinned at her fierce scowl. “You know,
Mack
, I’m feeling a bit shaky up here.  Perhaps you should come up and steady me again.”

She snorted. “A few hours ago you couldn’t wait to push me out of the door.”

“That was before you told me that I was alright.”  I looked into her eyes.  “So, I’ll ask you again, what did you mean by that?”

It seemed to take an age for her to answer.  The nervous energy I could feel from the shifters crowded into the nearby room below and my fears about what would happen to us all faded into significance when she took a deep breath and finally responded.  “I suppose I meant that I like you.” 

I cocked my head.  “You are the most infuriatingly unfathomable woman I think I’ve ever come across.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?”

“Just that, kitten.”  I wanted her back next to me and I knew exactly how to manage it.  “One minute you are purring and begging to be stroked and the next you’re hissing and spitting at me.  Is it that you’re just high maintenance?”

“High maintenance?” She was clearly becoming rather enraged.  “How dare you!”  She marched back up the stairs, a furious expression on her face.  Her fists were tight and I wondered if she was planning to punch me.  It wouldn’t exactly be a fair fight if she did.  Rather than encourage violence, I reached out and grabbed both her hands.

“Got you.”  It was unfortunate that at the very moment I felt overwhelming satisfaction at having her back with me again, I also realised I was about to faint.  Mack seemed to recognise it too.

“Julia!” she yelled.  “Julia!  It’s Corrigan – you need to come quickly!”

“You need an old woman in a wheelchair to come and rescue you from the big, bad Lord Alpha?”  I tried to make light of the situation but little pinpricks of light were dancing in front of my eyes and nausea was overtaking me.

“For fuck’s sake, Corrigan.”  She grabbed hold of me and helped me down the stairs.  I had no choice but to lean against her slight frame.  “Staines!”  Mack shrieked.

He appeared almost instantly.  I could only just make out his large body rushing up to help take my other arm before I collapsed.

“We need to get Julia.  The blisterwort will help him.” Mack’s panicked voice rose in my ear.  I wanted to tell her everything would be alright but somehow I couldn’t form the words.  “Staines, please.  She can help.  You might not be able to trust me but you know you can trust her.”

Words swam around me.  I could hear a strange pounding in my ears.  My skin felt as it was on fire.  I wanted to thank Mack for trying to help but when I opened my mouth I still couldn’t speak.  I breathed in to inhale her scent for one last time but, instead of her essence, all I could smell was some kind of foul smelling concoction.  My soul despaired at the fact that all my senses were deserting me. 

Someone shoved something hot against my mouth.  I wanted to protest and push it away but the hand was insistent.  Whatever it was, it sank down my throat.  I tried not to gag as more and more was poured down.

The voices continued.  Gradually, Staines’ mistrusting tone began to coalesce into understandable sentences. “You do realise that if this doesn’t work, and it hurts him instead, I will rip you limb from limb, Way Directives be damned.”

I wanted to tell him to leave her alone.

“I need a knife,” said Mack.

She was going to fight him.  That was even worse.

“A knife?” he spat. “Do you really think that we would give you a weapon?”

“Then cut me.”

“What?”

“Make me bleed, Staines.” 

Nothing was making any sense.  What I did know was that I couldn’t take much more of their bickering.  It was giving me a bloody migraine.

“You’re fucking crazy.”

“Staines–”

Will you two shut up?
I interrupted in exasperation.

They both immediately fell silent.

Someone – Julia, I realised – felt my pulse.  “Still a bit fast,” she said calmly, “but the blisterwort already seems to be doing its job.  It works unbelievably fast.”

I blinked and flexed my fingers.  I no longer felt so hot.  I could see both Mack and Staines staring down at me with exactly the same mixed expression of hope and fear on their faces.

“Get it to the others, Julia,” I managed to say.

“Yes, my Lord.”  She turned to Mack and gave her a strange look then quickly left.

I licked my lips, trying to right myself.  I wondered if I would be able to stand up.

Staines turned to Mack.  “Thank you.”

“What was that?  Can you speak up a bit?  I didn’t quite catch it the first time.”  She waggled a finger in ear while I tried not to roll my eyes.

“Fuck off.” He looked back at me.  “My Lord, we should get you to bed.”

“No.” I could feel some semblance of strength returning to my limbs.  “I need to check on the others.” I stood up, testing out my balance and blinking to clear my vision properly.  I fixed my gaze on Mack.  “I suppose I owe you a thank you.”

“I am here but to serve you, oh Lord and Master.”

I snorted aloud at her melodramatic obsequiousness.  Unfortunately, it was my undoing because it meant I stopped concentrating on staying upright and fell heavily against her.  She still caught me though.

Staines grabbed me too. “You are going to bed to rest, my Lord Alpha.”

“Staines,” I growled, “I said I would check on the others and that is what I am damn well going to do.”

“And what good is it going to do them if you keel over on top of them?” he scolded.

Who was Lord Alpha around here?  “It is my duty.”

“Shut up, my Lord. A few hours’ rest and you will be raring to go and fighting fit.”

“As right as rain,” Mack interjected.  The humour in her tone was so obvious that both Staines and I turned and stared at her.

Staines bowed in her direction.  I almost applauded.  He was prepared to admit when he’d been wrong. “As the Lord Alpha stated, again, thank you.”

Mack, sadly, was less than gracious.  She grinned cheekily back at him and winked.  I realised that regardless of how distracting her presence was, I couldn’t bear for her to leave.

“Mack.  Will you stay?”

She met my gaze, regret mirrored in her eyes. “I have to go, my Lord. I have a prior appointment that I must keep.  I’m sorry.” 

My stomach twisted.  “Don’t call me that.”

“Err…what?”

“My Lord.  Don’t call me my Lord.  You aren’t one of us.” I wasn’t explaining myself very well and I could see her body stiffening with hurt.

“Of course,” she said tightly.

I sighed.  “The two of us seem to live in a world of constant misunderstanding.  What I mean, Mack, is that you aren’t one of my subjects.  In fact, after having saved my life and potentially the entire Pack’s lives too, you are most definitely my equal.”  Staines’ reaction was one of horror.  I ignored him, however, and focused on her, taking her soft hand in mine. “Whatever manner of creature or mage you might be, I don’t just owe you a thank you.  We all owe you a true debt of gratitude.  I would like you to keep in touch, Mack.  And, know this, if you ever need help in any shape or form, then the Pack will be at your side.  Do you need intervention with the mages?”

“I … No.  Thank you.  I gave them my word that I would return to them.  They won’t hurt me, they just want to help me.”

It wasn’t unexpected but I felt disappointment all the same.  Then she reached out, almost touching my cheek before she seemed to think better of it and pulled away.

Staines coughed.  “I can have someone drop you back at the Ministry.”

“Okay.  Thanks.”  Mack bit her lip.  “Can you say goodbye to the others for me?  Julia and Betsy and Tom?”

“You don’t want to say goodbye to them yourself?”

“I, uh, no.  It’s best this way.  I’m going to be gone for a long time.”

I wanted more than anything to stop her.  I could dig out those restraints again and force her to stay with me.  The others would accept her now the strange weed she’d brought actually was an antidote after all.  But keeping her here would be like trying to cage the wind.  Besides, she might be leaving to be with the mages but at least this time I’d know where she was.  Things could still work out.  I leaned over, wanting a taste of her before she vanished yet again.  I brushed my lips against hers then, as much as it pained me to do so, I drew myself up “Then I’ll be seeing you, kitten.”

I think I’ll go to my room now after all, Staines.  Don’t let me do anything stupid like fall to my knees and beg her to stay.

He took my arm and began helping me stagger off. 
You’re still sick, my Lord.  That’s the red fever talking.

I resisted the urge to look back round at Mack. 
If you say so. 
Then I heard the front door opening and I looked back anyway.  Her red hair was the last thing I saw.

I put down the phone on the Arch-Mage.  Staines gazed at me expressionlessly.  “I’m not sure, my Lord, that threatening the entire Ministry is the best course of action.”

I shrugged.  “Mackenzie Smith saved our sorry hides, Staines.  The least we can do is make sure that the mages treat her properly.”

“She’s still going to cause us trouble, you know.”

I grinned.  “I certainly hope so.”  I nodded towards the door. “Is he here yet?”

“He’s been waiting for over an hour.  Don’t crow too much.”

I raised my eyebrows at him and smiled.  “Show him in.”

When the vampire finally walked in, I didn’t bother getting up out of my chair.  “Good afternoon, Aubrey.  How are things with you and your little bloodsucking friends?”

He inspected his fingernails, attempting to remain nonchalant.  I could tell he was still feeling rather tense though.  “Things are fabulous, Lord Alpha.  We cannot wait to attend the first of the Otherworld social gatherings.”  His tone, naturally, conveyed the complete opposite.  “We are glad the Brethren and the Pack have come out relatively unscathed from your recent health scare.”

I smiled even more broadly.  “I bet you are.”

His eyes sparked with sudden malevolence.  Then he swallowed it down.  It occurred to me that he hated me because he feared me.  I kind of liked it.  He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a photograph.  “We thought, as a token of our … regard for you, we would give you this.”

Somewhat warily I took it from him.  I really hoped it wasn’t going to be a picture of the vampires’ casual indifference to violence.  When I turned it over and looked at it, however, I was somewhat taken aback.

“I’m told,” Aubrey sniffed, “that some people think they’re cute.”

I stared at the photo of two Cwnn Annwn puppies frolicking in a meadow.  It was date-stamped three days previously.  “Some people might say that,” I said.  “But they also have to be careful that they don’t get their hands bitten off if they try to approach them.”

His gaze met mine.  “Indeed, Lord Alpha.  Indeed.”

Sign up for Helen’s newsletter to get up-to-date information about her exciting new releases:
http://helenharper.co.uk

Turn over to get a sneak peek of the first chapter of Helen’s new novel, Night Shade.