Faerie Dust Dead (The Luna Devere Series Book 2) (6 page)

“If you want my cooperation,
I’d like to know who I’m dealing with,” I insisted. His manner annoyed me, but
wasn’t frightening. Maybe he wasn’t a bad guy, after all. The shadowy figure
popped into head, and I gave him a keen look.

His expression cool, and his
eyes dark as a stormy Atlantic ocean, he stepped close.

“There are things we all must
take on faith. I’m one of them, Ms. Devere,” he said. “We have much to do, and
I don’t have time to waste on your insecurity over who I am, and what I’m
about. Annie was mistaken when she said to keep your distance. If I were you,
I’d stay as close to me as possible. I’ll protect and guide you through what
needs doing. It’s important that I have your help.”

With a roll of my eyes, I
muttered, “This just keeps getting better and better.” I leaned against the
closed door, watched him measure me with his eyes, and asked, “You’re talking
about faerie dust, right?”

His lips curved slightly. Calis
was handsome in a dark, dramatic, sort of way. Like a bad boy, he exuded sexual
magnetism. Unable to look away from his deep blue stare, I thanked my stars
Devin was the one constant in my life, rather than this man. A few years ago, I
might have found Calis irresistible, but not now.

Holding my breath, I waited for
him to change my perspective on the elfin world. Though I’d never had difficulties
with them, I’d quickly come to realize that faeries, as with humans, had a
dangerous side. The difference being, faeries could use magic.

“The fae are being trapped and
drained of their dust. They die without it. The dust is not just a protection
device, it is a life stream that keeps them functioning. As blood is to you,
dust is to them.” He’d not taken his gaze from mine for a second, and I found the
depth of his eyes somewhat mesmerizing.

“Who’d do such a thing? The
faeries lived here long before I moved in. We get along well. I’ve never
witnessed this sort of disruption in their lives before,” I remarked.

“I’m not sure why it’s
happening, I just know it is. My purpose is to figure all that out, and put an
end to it. Arianna Gentile works with faerie dust, does she not?” Calis asked.

“I can’t say,” I answered with
a shrug. I’d made a promise to keep her deal with the faeries a secret, and I
refused to go back on my word.

“If she isn’t, then why would
she be upset after she’d gathered dust from the forest?” he chided softly with
a hint of a smile.

“I wouldn’t know, the dust may
have drawn her to it. It’s quite magically alluring.”

Impatient with my evasion, he
angrily leaned forward and said, “Be careful how you play this game. You know
Arianna works with dust, and that she may be the key in finding who’s
responsible for stealing from the faeries.”

His anger chilled me. I stood
still with my arms folded, while I regarded Calis. “Did I hear a threat? If
you’re trying to intimidate me, think again.” Wary, I left his close proximity
and headed for the cases where the last cakes awaited removal. “If you want my
assistance, you’ll have to do better than that, Calis,” I tossed over my
shoulder.

In an instant, he was by my
side, his fingers locked in a tight grip around my arm. With a yank, Calis
pulled me to a halt. Okay, now he had my full attention, and my suspicion of
him hiked a couple notches.

“Back off,” I snapped and
struggled against his hold. When I was free, I gave him a shove.

His brows arched as humor
replaced his anger. “You don’t fear me, do you?”

“Not in the least. Should I?” I
asked. Was I cautious? Yes. Scared? No. Angry? Maybe.

“Mm, you’re braver than I’d
initially thought. Come, let’s take a walk.” He ushered me through the corridor
toward the rear door. I grabbed my jacket from a hook and said I’d be back in a
second. Surprise filtered over his face when I ran up the stairs.

“I have to let Riddles out,” I
called to him and opened the apartment door.

Riddles reached the third step
from the bottom and reacted to Calis in a way I’d never seen him behave. In a
crouch, Riddles tensed, hissed, and spit, while he flattened his ears against
his skull. Every hair on his body stood at attention and his tail puffed to
twice its usual size. Sharp claws protruded from the edges of his furry, double
paws. Riddles appeared ready to launch.

I reached down, smoothed his
coat, and whispered in his ear. I gave Calis a sharp glance and said, “It’s
safe to say he’s not a fan of yours. Open the door and let him out before he
shreds you,” I said.

His eyes on the cat, Calis
opened the door and held it wide. In full fluff, and looking all bad-ass mean,
Riddles edged past the door casing. Once on the porch, he leaped toward the
flower beds and disappeared. I smirked and, though I might be foolish, I
followed Calis along the wooded path. We headed in the direction of Arianna’s
house. It would be interesting to see how she reacted to Calis.

Here and there, Calis pointed
to evidence of faerie dust. Weblike it clung to plants and leaves. In each
instance, I worried there’d been a faerie’s demise. Before I could ask, Calis
turned his head in my direction and assured me what I was thinking was correct.

“I didn’t say a word. How did
you know?” I asked.

“Your face shows all, Luna. I
can see you’re horrified by thoughts of their deaths,” he said. When he moved
on, he said over his shoulder, “Has anyone unusual been hanging about lately?”

I watched his fluid movements
and kept pace. “You mean, other than you?”

He stiffened for a mere second,
turned, gave me a wicked glare and nodded.

“If you haven’t been lurking in
the shadows outside my house at night, then the answer is yes. If it’s you
who’s been hanging about, then I’d say yes, again.”

His face held an aggrieved
expression. Calis hadn’t expected me to be glib, and I hadn’t meant to act that
way. Something about him and his attitude chafed me, just as a hair shirt
would. I found he annoyed, yet baffled, and interested me, all at once.

“How long has this been going
on? Did you notify the authorities?” Calis asked in a controlled tone as we
walked side by side.

I raised a shoulder, stating
I’d been unsure if there really had been someone. I hadn’t pushed it because
the police already suspected I was a bit daft at the best of times. If I was
unsure about a person being there, why would I prove it to them? “I saw the
figure once, maybe twice. When I looked again, it seemed to be gone. I couldn’t
be sure.”

“You’ll pay closer attention in
the future then,” Calis remarked.

His sharp comment was meant to
goad me. Sure of it, I refused to rise to the bait. Instead, I said, “When I’ve
been back and forth through these woods, there’s been a lot of rustling that
sounded like I wasn’t alone. It was like someone tried to keep up with me
without being seen. Creepy, you know? Anyway, now I wonder if it was you or the
lurker who was behind it.”

We’d cleared the wood and stood
on the edge of Arianna’s property. With a grim smirk, Calis gave me an answer
that set my teeth on edge.

“It wasn’t me, but if your
lurker
followed you, you’re lucky you’re still alive. He – we’ll say it’s a male for
the moment – wants something from you and is waiting for his chance to get it.
What would that be, Luna?”

I shrugged and spread my hands
out, palms up. “No clue, sorry.”

“Keep moving,” Calis murmured.
“We’ve left ourselves vulnerable here in the open.” He glanced from side to
side as we hurried forward.

Again, I was chilled. Whether
it came from fear, or if Calis caused it, I wasn’t sure. Either way, I was
seriously uneasy. We mounted the short flight of steps of Arianna’s house, and
I knocked on the door.

Ari peered through the window,
gave a start when she laid eyes on Calis, and then cautiously opened the door a
crack.

“What do you want, Luna?” she
asked in a tremulous voice.

“I have to speak with you.” I
pointed my thumb toward Calis and then at myself. “We have to.”

“O-okay. Were you followed?”
Ari asked as she peered past us.

The days had grown shorter and
dusk had already replaced sunshine. The trip home would be in the dark and fast
and furious, if I had my way, although, Calis might have magical powers of
protection. Maybe he’d failed to tell me about his Harry Potter invisibility
cloak he could use to protect us. I glanced in the same direction as Ari had.
If something was out there, I sure couldn’t see it, so I assured her we’d come
alone and had been cautious.

Ari hastened us inside. She
closed and bolted the door, and then guided us toward the warmth of the
fireplace. I sat in a rocking chair, Calis stood with his back to the flames,
and Arianna gawked at us as though we’d just arrived from Mars.

Her gaze glued to Calis, Ari
asked “What do you want?” Wringing her hands, Ari shivered at his dark
expression.

“The faeries are dying because
you’ve taken their dust, Ms. Gentile. How do you justify your actions?” he
asked coldly as he stepped forward.

Startled by his accusation,
Arianna stumbled back. Her hands aflutter, she visibly trembled.

Bolting from the chair, I
stepped between them and faced Calis. “If this isn’t a fact-finding mission,
but your idea of taking revenge on Ari, you may as well get out Calis. I won’t
stand here while you accuse her of being a murderess,” I snapped.

I turned to Ari and asked if
she’d make coffee for us. She nodded and rushed away. While she was busy, I
murmured softly, “Back off, right now. Arianna is our ally, and you’ll treat
her with care… Understand?”

His dark blue eyes grew a shade
deeper as he held my gaze. Calis finally nodded and turned to the warmth of the
fire. “She didn’t deny using faerie dust, Luna.”

With a grimace, I countered,
“No, but it doesn’t make her guilty of murder, either.”

He slanted a dangerous sideways
glance in my direction. “It’s unwise to mess with faerie dust in any measure.
If she’s guilty of that, she’s culpable where their deaths are concerned.”

I gave him a grimace and
whispered, “She’s coming.”

Ari lowered a wide tray onto
the coffee table and offered us each an earthenware mug of brew.

I sipped appreciatively and
waited for the next round of trouble to begin. Calis accepted the cup, but didn’t
drink from it. Instead, he studied the room until he noticed a leaded glass
window that glowed softly, hanging in the lamplight.

“There’s faerie dust in that,”
Calis said and pointed to the piece. “You’ve no right to use fae creatures for
your own gain, Ms. Gentile. I warn you, it’s dangerous for you and harmful to
them.” He’d managed to keep his attitude in check, but I heard the underlying
steel in his voice. Whether Ari realized she was on shaky ground, I couldn’t
tell.

Calis’s face grew colder than
I’d seen it thus far, as we both stared at Ari in turn.

“They willingly gave me minute
doses of dust to make their images more inviting. I didn’t realize it would
hurt them.” Ari glanced at each of us and uttered plaintively, “I wouldn’t harm
the creatures, not ever.”

His temper took over. His jaw
muscles pulsed and Calis slammed the coffee mug onto the table. “What did you
think would happen when you messed around with faerie magic?” Calis thundered.
“It isn’t of
your
world, and should never be taken for granted. Tell me
how it started, and why there’s been a pixie in your workplace with you.”

How did he know Ari had a pixie
watching over her?
Was there anything he didn’t know?
Surprised, I gave
him a quick look and then stared at Ari, whose astonishment was also apparent.

“Who the hell are you?” Arianna
demanded.

Calis flicked his hand. “Never
mind that, just tell me what I want to know.”

Her face reddened before Arianna
took a deep breath and blustered, “I-I don’t have to explain myself to you, or
anyone else. Who do you think you are, coming here and bullying me about?”

She stood beside me as though I
gave her courage. Having little of my own, I had none to offer others. After
all, I was all bluster.

Not to be put off, he assessed
Arianna for a moment. Then Calis countered, “You’d better tell me or we won’t
be able to save the faeries. How would you feel about that? They’ll all die,
Ms. Gentile, all of them. It’s just begun – we’re not too late, but I need both
of you to aid me in this.”

With a lightening change in his
attitude, Calis had made headway with Ari. I wasn’t so sure I could, or even
wanted to give him my assistance, but somebody had to step up and work to save
the creatures. A sudden thought struck me.

I asked, “If the faeries die,
whoever is in charge of them, will avenge their loss, won’t they?” Holy cow,
how would humanity survive such a plague as faeries, wielding power greater
than anything mortals could ever fight off? It was surreal to even consider
such a notion. I shook my head, tucked the idea into the back of my mind, and
waited for his answer.

“I’m hoping it won’t come to
that. The three of us need to work out a way to stop the problem before it
grows out of control. Fae creatures have magic on their side, but truly, they
aren’t strong enough to survive the total loss of dust.” Calis took a seat near
the fire, I resumed my place in the rocker, and Ari settled on the farthest end
sofa, well away from Calis.

“It all started when I made a
delivery to Luna’s shop a few months ago,” Ari said. “As I walked through the
woods, I saw shimmering faerie dust splayed over a tree stump. I hurried to
Luna’s, dropped off the artwork and then rushed home for a container to collect
the faerie dust. It was the first time I’d ever seen it like that.”

Calis interrupted her. “Was
anyone around? Were there other fae present?”