Kindling Flames: Flying Sparks (The Ancient Fire Series Book 2) (16 page)

“Lord Dakine, Kian Dubhlainn has brought a mortal woman with him this night.” Lady Aine waved the man’s attention to where Darien held Vicky against him. “Kian has asked safe passage for her, and I have agreed. Please grant her protection and sight so she may enjoy her stay with us.”

“As you wish, My Lady.” Dakine bowed to her and faced Darien and Vicky.

Vicky looked over the man that resembled an elf straight from the House of Elrond.

He held out his hands, and Darien released her.

“Trust him,” Darien said softly in her ear as he passed the worried woman into the waiting hands of the tall elf.

He brushed his long, silver hair back from his shoulder and looked down at her.

Vicky felt herself falling into the depth of his light, lavender eyes.

Dakine held her by the shoulders as he leaned forwards and placed a soft kiss in the center of her forehead. “I grant you the gift of sight,” he said softly as he moved his lips to kiss each of Vicky’s eyes. “And protection.” Dakine slid his hand down her back and raised her face to place a light kiss on her lips. She tried to move back, but his hands held her firmly in place. Dakine made a distressed noise and deepened the kiss. He slipped his hand from Vicky’s chin and pulled her against him, kissing her harder.

When he finally released her, Vicky’s head spun and her knees buckled slightly from the passion he had poured into the kiss.

The elf looked down at the amulet on Vicky’s chest and then up at Darien. “Kian Dubhlainn, you make my job harder than it should be.” Dakine handed her back to Darien. She was still a little shaky. “Warn me next time you take it on yourself to do magic. The two forms don’t mesh well.”

Darien held Vicky against him as she recovered. “My apologies, Lord Dakine.” He bowed his head to the elf. “I didn’t realize it would cause a problem.”

Vicky blinked as her vision cleared, and she stood up by herself.

“Better?” Darien asked, and she nodded.

She looked around the room to find the darkness had lifted to reveal a room filled with people. The sheer numbers watching them was amazing. Many were humanoid in shape, but there were a few as far from human as something could get. Vicky huddled in Darien’s arms, unsure what was going to happen to her.

“It’s all right. You’re safe.” He turned her around so she could face the queen again.

“Be honored
,
Victoria Westernly,” the woman said. “It has been a long time since a mortal has seen these sights.”

“Thank you, My Lady,” Vicky answered.

The queen smiled at her as if she were a child who had just done something right. “The day grows old,” the woman announced in a loud voice. “The time has come to feast.” A cheer arose from the watching crowd, and everything started moving out the door Vicky and Darien had come in. “Will you be joining us for the feast?” She looked at Darien. “Or would you like a more private place to feed?”

Vicky blanched under the queen’s intense gaze.

Darien laughed a warm, rich sound from behind her. “We’ll join you for the feast,” he answered. “Miss Westernly is my guest tonight, not my dinner.”

The blood rushed back to Vicky’s face at this answer.

The queen smiled at her again. “Very well, Kian.” The queen stood up. “We’ll make arrangements for you.” Lord Dakine held out his arm, and Lady Aine took it and let him walk her from the room.

Darien held out his arm for Vicky to take. Her mind was a little too overwhelmed to say anything.

Darien escorted Vicky out of the door and into the same bright meadow, but now there were long tables filled with the creatures that had been hidden in the halls.

Vicky looked over the things she had believed only existed in stories. Things with tentacles and wings beyond what she could ever have imagined. Small, winged creatures flew around their heads, giggling and talking to the host of fay.

“Cailín will join us for dinner,” one of the little people cried, and a whole flock of them came swarming over.

Vicky watched them with fascination.

“Lord Dakine granted cailín sight,” another called. “She sees us.”

Darien brushed the little people away from his face as they flew around, calling for Vicky. He followed Lord Dakine and Lady Aine to a long table and sat down across from them.

Vicky was drawn by the wonders and turned her head back and forth, trying to see everything around her.

“Will Kian Dubhlainn let cailín play with us now?” A small fay landed on Vicky’s head. The creature weighed no more than the butterfly it resembled.

“Not now
,
little one.” The queen spoke softly to the lesser fay. “Let cailín eat in peace.”

The fay pouted but turned away to find something else to entertain herself with for a while.

“You must forgive them.” Lady Aine smiled at Vicky. “They don’t often see mortals.” Vicky didn’t know what to say to this.

“They’re just so fascinating,” she said, looking around at the little bodies whizzing past.

Lady Aine laughed a musical sound. “I’m glad you are entertained. Please, enjoy what my land has to offer.” The queen waved her hand at the table of food laid out between them.

“Thank you,” Vicky answered and looked over the plates filled with wonderful things.

The feast commenced, and Vicky enjoyed the fruits of the Fairy Realm as Darien and Dakine talked about the outside world. It wasn’t long until two of the lesser fay brought Darien a goblet. Vicky chewed her food slowly as he took a sip from the cup. She still wasn’t used to him drinking blood, but she worked to keep it from bothering her.

“So what brings you to my table with a mortal woman, Kian Dubhlainn?” Lady Aine finally decided to come to the point of Darien’s visit.

“This.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and held it out for the queen to take.

Lady Aine took the cloth and opened it up to see the small coin in its folds.

“There has been a rash of unexplained fires recently. This was found in Miss Westernly’s home after she became the most recent victim.”

Lord Dakine took the cloth from Lady Aine and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“I believe this coin is responsible for the burn on Victoria’s hand,” Darien continued. “It’s a wound I haven’t been able to heal.”

Concern crossed both Lady Aine and Lord Dakine’s faces.

“Did you try Niall’s potion?” Dakine asked.

“Much to Miss Westernly’s chagrin.” Darien nodded his head. “It healed a little, but the wound is still fresh.”

Vicky listened intently as they talked about the fire and her hand.

“Let me see.” Dakine looked at Vicky.

She held her left palm out towards him.

Lord Dakine pulled it closer and touched the raw spot. “This isn’t good. It looks like the work of an ifrit.”

“I haven’t seen an ifrit in years.” Darien leaned forwards to look at the mark again. “Are you sure?”

“As sure as I can be from just this,” Lord Dakine said and released Vicky’s hand. “There’s nothing I can do to heal this wound. You’ll need to find the ifrit that’s marked her and bargain with him for her release.”

Vicky didn’t like the sound of that. “What’s an ifrit, and what do you mean by ‘bargain for my release’?” she asked as she looked at the mark on her hand.

“An ifrit is a fire jinn,” Darien explained.

She still didn’t know what an ifrit was.

“The burn is a brand that marks you as his,” Dakine answered. “The ifrit has claimed you for some reason and will be back for you.”

“Why would he claim me?” she asked, trying to understand what had happened.

“It depends on the ifrit.” Dakine shrugged. “Could be that he just likes you, but if there have been a lot of fires, that probably isn’t the case. More likely, someone who feels they have a claim on you could have offered you up as payment for something.”

The color drained from Vicky’s skin as she thought about this. Who could have a claim on her that would deal with a jinn, whatever that was?

“Is there something that we can do to stop it?” Darien asked.

“We should be able to track it back through the brand, but the fay aren’t able to handle something like this by ourselves.” Lord Dakine swirled his drink in his hand. “Our power isn’t what it used to be.”

“What if I could get the wolves and the vampires to help?” Darien asked.

“With all three groups together, we should be able to confront the culprit,” Dakine agreed. “Maybe it’s time to hold a council of the night.”

Their thoughts were interrupted when Vicky let out a surprised squeal. She had been too busy listening to the conversation to notice the lesser fay flying around. The small creatures had been refilling wine cups all evening. One slipped just as he flew over her head and spilt chilled wine down her back.

“That was not nice,” Lady Aine reprimanded the winged creature as it begged for Vicky’s forgiveness. “Take Kian Dubhlainn’s lady and clean her up.” The queen waved the lesser fay to Vicky, and they squealed in delight as she found herself pulled to her feet.

“We get to play with cailín
!” the little fairies giggled and sang.

“Darien!” Vicky cried in panic.

“It’s okay
,
Victoria,” he calmed her. “They won’t hurt you.”

She was left to go with the fay as he turned back to his discussion with Lord Dakine.

***

“So
,
I’ll set everything up, and we’ll all meet under parlay,” Darien agreed. He and Lord Dakine had worked out all the details on how to get the three groups of supernatural beings together without killing each other. It would take all Darien’s diplomatic skills to convince everyone to work together, but it was necessary. There was no telling how much damage an ifrit on the loose could do.

“You have our support, Kian.” Lady Aine bowed her head slightly to the vampire.

Darien bowed back to her. “Thank you
,
My Lady.” He looked around for his missing assistant. “What has happened to Miss Westernly?” She had been gone an exceptionally long time.

Both Lord Dakine and Lady Aine looked around for any signs of the woman. Most of the lesser fay were missing also.

“I’m not sure.” Dakine stood up. “But, we had better go find out.”

Darien joined him and they bowed to Lady Aine as they left together.

“She has both my protection and yours, so she should be safe, but you know how the little ones love mortal women.”

Darien let out a knowing sigh. “I remember.” A seed of worry took root in his heart as his mind recalled the last time he had brought a mortal to the fay unprotected. She had come back out unharmed, but it had taken Darien three years to convince the lesser fay to release her.

Lord Dakine led Darien through a door in the side of the chamber and down a hall. The men wound their way through the halls, looking for the lesser fay. Vicky would be where the greatest concentration of them were. It didn’t take long to hear the giggles and the songs of the little ones.

“Where is she?” Dakine asked the group.

They scattered, giggling, away from him. A path opened up that led them into another chamber. The two men stopped as soon as they walked through the door, and Darien let out a deep sigh. The lesser fay had done what they were told, but they had also found a hitch in her protection.

Darien walked over and looked down at his assistant sleeping upon the bed of flowers. Vicky was wrapped in a white, corseted gown. The sleeves attached at a point on the shoulders and split open to reveal the pale skin beneath. Bands held the material together at the wrists and elbows. The skirt of the silken dress was made of white scarves, attached by one corner to her waist. The fay had arranged them so they split up her leg to show off a long line of creamy thigh beneath. One of the fairies had attached a ring of silver flowers around her ankle.

But, it was not the clothing that had Darien sighing. Vicky had been fair before, but her skin was now kissed with moonlight, and her hair hung in golden curls to her waist.

Dakine stepped up next to Darien and looked down on the girl surrounded by giggling fairies. “I told you the magics didn’t mesh well.” He sighed regrettably, looking down at the medallion still resting on Vicky’s chest.

Darien reached down and petted the curls at her temple.

The fay giggled at him. A choral went up with instructions on how he should wake her up. “Kisses! Kisses! Kian Dubhlainn has to give cailín
kisses!” The fay giggled.

Darien leaned over Vicky, and the fay urged him on with cries and laughter. “Miss Westernly, if you don’t wake up this instant, I will fire you.” His voice was soft with the threat.

Vicky’s eyes popped open as she pulled free of the fragile spell.

He stood up to the boos of the lesser fay.

Dakine laughed at the foiled attempts to humiliate the great vampire.

Unsure of what was going on, Vicky went to sit up and clutched her head as pain shot through it.

Darien dropped to sit on the bed next to her. “Careful there.” He pulled her over to lean against him. “Fighting off fay magic can be taxing.” Taking her hand from her head, he caressed her back lightly.

The fay squealed in delight.

Vicky curled her legs under her and sat in his arms until the pain and fog in her head cleared. “What happened?” she asked, when she became more aware of her surroundings.

“The little ones found you a delightful distraction,” Dakine answered from where he was watching.

Vicky looked down at the dress she was wearing, confused. “This isn’t what they gave me.” She lifted one of the scarves and looked at it.

Amusement slipped across Darien’s face. “Where’s her clothing?” he asked, and the fay giggled again.

A rain of scraps fell from the swarm of winged creatures. Vicky picked up a piece with a button on it. She gasped in horror as she recognized the button from her shirt.

Chuckling at the fay’s joke, Darien looked down as the soft gown Vicky was wearing. “I’m going to be very mad if this doesn’t survive outside the mound.” He glared up at the swirl of giggling beings.