Kindling Flames: Flying Sparks (The Ancient Fire Series Book 2) (17 page)

“What do you mean?” Vicky asked, looking at the dress.

“Things inside the Fairy Realm don’t always survive the banality of the outside world.” Darien gestured to the dress. “Things like this.”

Vicky looked at the dress again. It looked solid, but it was the softest silk she had ever seen.
“What is it made of?”

Darien stood up and held his hand out to her.
“Spider silk.”

Vicky made a face and looked around for the eight-legged creatures. The fay giggled at her reaction. Embarrassment rushed over her, and she reached out to have Darien help her from the flower-filled bed.

“Where are my shoes?” Vicky asked as her feet touched the cold stone floor. She looked down to see one of her heels resting on the ground next to the bed. When she bent to pick it up, a dark tentacle shot out from under the bed and grabbed it. Screaming, she jumped back into Darien as she watched her shoe disappear into the darkness.

The fay zoomed around laughing in wicked delight.

Dakine laughed from behind Darien and stepped around the pair to look under the bed. “It’s just Zak,” he said and made a motion as if calling a dog. “Come on out here, boy.” Dakine patted the floor. “Give Kian Dubhlainn’s lady back her shoes.”

Vicky nearly climbed Darien when a ball of greenish-black tentacles wiggled out from under the bed. She watched in horror as the thing held on to her new shoes. She could see beady, little eyes staring at her as a mouth full of tiny, sharp teeth chewed on the toe of one of her heels.

“It’s all right,” Dakine said, motioning her over.

Vicky shook her head.

Darien laughed. “It’s okay.” He pushed her towards the doglike fay.

Vicky looked at the tentacles and teeth, then back at Darien as if he were kidding her.

“Go on.” He waved her towards it again.

Drumming up her courage, she went to where Dakine was petting one of the squirming tentacles.

Dakine reached up and took a hold of Vicky’s hand. “He won’t hurt you.” He pulled her down to touch the undulating mass.

She touched the creature hesitantly, expecting it to be slimy, but she found that it was soft and warm. The tentacles wiggled bonelessly under her hand. One feeler wrapped around Vicky’s hand playfully.

“Now give her back her shoes,” Dakine said to the creature.

Vicky looked at the shoe still in the thing’s mouth and the partially eaten toe. “He can keep it.” She waved the ruined shoe back to the creature.

It made a noise as if it was purring and rolled over, wrapping itself around Vicky’s leg.

She squealed and tried to back away from it.

“He likes you,” Dakine said as more of the tentacles reached for Vicky.

She tried to scrabble away, scared of the little creature clinging to her leg.

“Enough, Zak,” Dakine called the animal to heel. “You’re scaring the mortal.”

The small creature made a whining noise before releasing her leg.

The fay giggled as they flew around the ceiling.

Darien reached down to help Vicky to her feet. “That was very brave of you,” he complimented her as they both looked down at Zak moving on the floor.

Vicky laughed, slightly deranged by the experience. The entire visit was making her sanity slip just a little. She hadn’t even thought to question how her hair had gotten long, curly, or golden blonde.

“Now that the little ones have had their fun, let’s head back.” Dakine stood up and headed towards the door. “Lady Aine will be worried about you.”

Darien took Vicky’s hand in his left and patted the back of it with his right. “Just in case.” The fay giggled and swarmed around them as he led her out of the door behind Dakine.

Vicky felt something soft on her ankle and found Zak was following her closely with her chewed shoes.

***

Lord Dakine led them back into the bright light of the banquet hall. Lady Aine looked up when they entered and smiled at the rescued girl. “Fairy looks good on you.” The woman looked over the change the lesser fay had made. Lady Aine looked approvingly at the golden hair and fair skin, but it was the blue of summer skies that the fay had set in Vicky’s eyes she like the most. “You are most welcome to stay and enjoy our hospitality for as long as you like,” the queen offered.

“That will have to wait for later,” Darien intervened before Vicky could say something. “We need to be heading back so Miss Westernly can rest before work tomorrow.” He bowed to the lady.

“What?” Vicky asked. She didn’t understand what he was talking about. Was there something that needed taken care of on Saturday?

“Very well, Kian Dubhlainn,” Lady Aine tipped her head forward, acknowledging him.

Vicky picked her foot up where Zak was nuzzling her leg again.

The queen smiled at the small fay. “Looks like you had better go before you lose your lady to Zak.” The little creature’s tentacles had reached her knee. “I haven’t seen him this excited in a long time.”

Vicky was trying to keep the small creature from climbing up her leg. “Get down, Zak,” Lord Dakine called the creature to heel again. “That’s no way to treat a lady.” Zak whined before releasing Vicky’s leg and dropping to the floor next to her. Vicky let out a sigh of relief.

“Then we’ll take our leave of you this evening.” Darien bowed to the queen.

Vicky dropped another curtsy, and Darien led her out of the Fairy Realm.

Lady Aine watched the pair go. “It’s so nice to see Kian has finally found a pet.”

“He does seem to care for her greatly.” Lord Dakine responded. “The little ones were trying to get him to kiss her.”

“Oh, I wonder what mischief they have in store for Kian.” Lady Aine smiled wickedly. “I would love to be there if he
does
kiss her properly.”

Lord Dakine’s smile matched Lady Aine as they looked towards the door where Darien and Vicky had disappeared. “I’m sure we’ll hear about it from Odette.” Zak rolled around on the floor at Dakine’s feet, happily mauling Vicky’s abandoned shoes.

The brightly lit forest stood just a step in front of Darien, but he had paused before crossing into the real world. He looked over at his changed assistant and took a deep breath before stepping through the veil separating the two realms. Vicky gasped as the tingle of the barrier passed over her skin.

Darien was glad to see her clothing hadn’t melted away in the sun. Whatever glamour the lesser fay had used to change her looks also remained. He shook his head and released her hand so they could head back to the car. Now that she was out of the mound, she was safe again.

“Ouch.” Vicky cried as her bare foot met with a sweetgum ball.

Darien turned to see what had caused the woman pain. “Are you all right?”

“I just stepped on something.” She moved again and stepped on another spiky ball. “Ouch.”

He looked down to find the forest floor was littered with the small, spiky spheres. Glancing towards the sky, he found only ash trees in the canopy and laughed. The fay weren’t quite done having fun with them. “Let me.” Darien turned around and swung her up in his arms. His heart thumped loudly as he lifted the girl against him. This reaction surprised him. He could hear a distant giggling as he started to carry Vicky away from the mound.

“Thank you.” A slight red tinted her skin as she wrapped her arms around her boss.

Darien struggled to push the intense feelings inside him away as he carried her from the clearing.

“I’m confused.” Vicky tried to wrap her boggled mind around what seemed wrong to her. “We were in there for at least a couple of hours, but the sun hasn’t set yet.”

Darien chuckled lightly. “Time moves differently in the world of the fay,” he explained. “It’s Sunday afternoon.”

She stared at him with an open mouth. Finally giving up
,
she leaned her head onto his shoulder. Darien closed his eyes for a moment as he worked to calm his heart.

“I’m so lost.” She tried to figure things out.

He let out another short, soft laugh and jumped at the opportunity for a distraction. “Ask your questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them.” Darien held her a little tighter; he couldn’t help but relish the feel of her against him.

A million questions rushed through Vicky’s head, so she picked the one that seemed the most important. “What’s a jinn?”

“You might know it better as a jinni,” Darien explained. “They are magical beings from Arabian legends.”

“Like Aladdin’s lamp?”

“Kind of.” He shrugged a little. “They’re sort of like demons, but they usually keep to themselves. Ifrits are jinn made of fire, but they can appear human if they want to. They’re known for being cunning and ruthless. I haven’t heard of an ifrit worrying the world in over three hundred years.”

She held on to Darien as she thought about this. It still didn’t explain why it was after her. Vicky’s hair caught on a twig, and she hissed as it tugged uncomfortably.

“Sorry.” Darien moved so her hair hung clear of the passing branches.

Vicky rubbed the sore spot on her head. “What happened to my hair?”

“That would be the little ones,” he answered. “It seems they found a kink in your protection and decided to have a little fun.”

She ran her fingers through the golden curls at the back of her head. “This is their idea of fun?”

“The fay have a wry sense of humor.” Darien smiled as he thought of some of the tricks he had been subject to over the years. “Their magic usually doesn’t last long outside of the mound.”

Vicky shook the hair back away from her face. “So this will go away?”

“Sooner or later.” He shrugged as they came out of the woods to where his car was.

She wasn’t comforted by that.

“I think it’s quite fetching on you.”

Vicky raised an eyebrow at his comment.

He sat her down so he could open the car, and a pang of regret passed through him at their broken contact. Darien shook himself a little, trying to figure out why she was having such a profound effect on him today. “Any other questions?”

Vicky moved her bag to the floor so she could climb in. Her feet hit the soft carpet of the floor, and she thought about how she had come to be barefoot. “What was that thing that ate my shoes?” She shivered as she thought about the little tentacled ball with beady eyes and sharp teeth.

Darien chuckled as he climbed into the other side of the car. Now that he wasn’t touching her, his mind cleared slightly. “That was Zak,” he explained as they made their way out of the park. “He’s like a fay version of a dog, only smarter.”

She shivered again as she tried to picture the wiggling mass walking down the road on a leash. Where would one put the collar?

“Once you earn his trust, he is very loyal,” Darien went on. “It was nice of you to give him the shoes.”

“Well
,
after he had already eaten the one…”

He laughed at the humor in Vicky’s voice.

“I’m going to need new shoes.”

Glancing over, he gave her an understanding smile. “We’ll stop after work tomorrow and pick some up.” Darien could feel his slow heart pulse harder as he looked over the way Vicky was dressed. She was beautiful in the tight-fitting gown, but she probably didn’t want to go shopping in it. He didn’t know if it was his stirring feeling or the magic in the blood he had consumed, but he was having a hard time putting down the thought of that dress crumpled on his bedroom floor. Darien watched from the corner of his eye as she investigated one of the scarves in her skirt. Picking up the silky material, she stretched the square scarf into shape to look at it. He pulled his eyes back to the road as her actions revealed a long line of pale skin along her leg. Squeezing his fingers around the steering wheel, he held his breath as she waved the scarf back and forth, lightly wafting her sent around the car.

It had to be something the fay had done to him; her smell was driving him absolutely nuts. The points of this teeth pressed into his lips as he released the steering wheel and cracked open his window. He was going to have to do something fast to get his mind off the delicious-smelling woman captured in his car. She was so close and so vulnerable. Darien worked the leather of the steering wheel, trying to distract himself.

“So do you have any other questions?” he prompted. If he could just get Vicky talking, she would put her skirt down, and he could concentrate on getting home, where he could get away from her. Then he could find some normal blood to help thin out the magic flowing through his system. Darien felt a little lightheaded and giddy. Thankfully, Vicky dropped her skirt and folded her hands as she thought about what to ask.