Lie Down with Dogs (11 page)

I bumped my shoulder against hers. “Be nice. He saved my ass in Faerie. He’s good people.”

“I’m not saying he isn’t. I’m just saying he’s eccentric, even for a cat.”

I shrugged. “As long as he’s not hurting anyone, I don’t care what he does.”

Her laughter tapered into a low whistle of appreciation. “My God, Thierry. Look. Slabs of abs.”

My mouth got a tad dry. “Those are the gray men?”

She bit the nail on her pointer finger. “Mmm-hmm.”

“Wow.”

Hang around fae awhile and their beauty starts to blur. Nothing was blurring here. Twelve men, all tall and tan with swimmers’ bodies, lounged on the beach near a multicolored umbrella that popped against the white sands. Neighboring rental lounges with their navy-blue fabric never stood a chance. The umbrella’s bright colors and its slight spin drew the eye straight toward all of those surfer-god bodies. A clever marketing campaign executed to perfection.

All the women stared openly, and the gray men ate the attention up with a spoon. Otherwise, why wear skintight black swim briefs more at home in Europe than in Florida, where the boardshorts style was the norm? Oh yeah. They knew what those skimpy briefs did to women. Between a grunting selkies-versus-selkies volleyball game and guys evening out their nonexistent tan lines, I was shocked that no one had drowned while gawking.

I bet these guys knew CPR. They were probably certified in mouth to, well, everything.

Mai’s voice was dreamy. “Why would they ever cover up those bodies with seal skins?”

The same reason they removed them. They were of each world and belonged wholly to neither.

I could relate.

“Legend says if you hide a selkie’s skin or take one from the sea, they die of broken hearts.”

“I bet I could kiss it and make it better.”

“They’re half seal, Mai. You don’t kiss away half of someone’s identity.”

She bumped her hip into mine. “Don’t ruin my love-conquers-all fantasies for me.”

I dusted the conversation off my hands. “Fantasize away.”

Let her imagination run wild, as long as I didn’t have front-row seats for the sappy movie playing out in her head.

“They aren’t mingling much,” I observed.

Gray men sightings were rare, and rarer still in warm waters. These outings served a purpose. The kind of purpose best served by endless supplies of bikini-clad humans with lowered inhibitions.

The crowd of gathering women was ripe for picking, so why weren’t they being plucked?

“Now that you mention it, they were flirting earlier, but I didn’t see any, um, you know.”

“Splashing and dashing?” I supplied. “Reeling and dealing?”

Her mouth fell open like I didn’t have her to thank for half my repertoire of immaturity.

I tapped her chin, and her teeth clicked. “Watch out. They might take it as an invitation.”

She rubbed her cheeks to hide her blush. “I can’t even with you right now.”

“Back again?” a paper-thin voice rattled.

My gaze hit on the umbrella, and I noticed a stoop-backed man sitting underneath it.

“Now, now,” Mai chided. “You boys don’t have a monopoly on the beach.”

His hand gripped the thick pole and twisted. “Don’t we?”

Mai cut me a confused look. Clearly, this wasn’t the welcome she expected. I jerked my head toward the hotel. She lifted a finger, asking for a minute.

“Did I misstep before?” She circled to stand in front of the man. “If I did, I apologize.”

The mesmerizing spinning stopped. “You brought
her
.”

I stepped forward. “
Her
has a name.”

“You should not have come back, little fox.” He shifted his grip higher on the pole. “The others will scent your friend. Death is not welcome in our midst.”

“In that case, we’ll be on our way.” I waved at Mai. “Come on.”

The man shook his head. “It’s too late.”

The Adonises we had admired earlier converged on us while we chatted with the elder.

Fingertips brushed my elbow, a reassurance from Righty. A reminder he could get me out if I wanted to go. Good to know, but no way was I leaving Mai trapped behind the wall of agitated man-seals. Instead, I waded through muscular bodies and stood by her side, placing us between the old man and the sea.

“This is not a defensible position,” Lefty hissed in my ear.

To keep his presence our little secret, I ignored him.

From this angle I could see the elder’s face, and I had to admit the guy must have been hot in his day. He still had bone structure that drew the eye and radiated an alpha vibe that cowed his followers.

So of course I stomped on social etiquette rather than dance around it. “What’s your problem?”

He examined the waves behind us. “You are.”

“I get that, but why? I haven’t hurt you or threatened you.” I added, “I’m here on vacation.”

His lips curled. “Death takes a vacation?”

“No, it doesn’t,” I answered truthfully. “But I’m not death. I’m just me.”

I might be a portent thanks to my father, but his legacy didn’t define me.

“Can you prove it?” His gaze lowered to the sand and refused to meet my eyes. “Why should I believe you?”

A dangerous idea sparked, but I filed it under
last resort
. “I have nothing to prove to you or anyone else.” Nudges at my elbows told me both of my guards were ready to intervene if necessary. “We’re leaving now.”

The man flicked his wrist as a wave crashed behind us. Cool water teased the backs of our heels and sucked us lower into the sand. Shadows loomed over us. Reinforcements. Great. The one nearest Mai wrapped a casual arm around her waist, but when she struggled, he brought her hard against him in an embrace she couldn’t wriggle out of.

“You really don’t want to hurt her,” I told him.

“We won’t harm the kitsune,” the old man replied. “If you prove yourself, then you may go.” He pointed to another selkie. “Invoke the perimeter spell. We don’t need humans seeing this.”

I cocked an eyebrow at their preparedness. “What did you have in mind?”

“A race,” he said with a flash of white teeth. “The winner decides the loser’s fate.”

I ran every day. Okay, so every
other
day. I was in good shape, better since the princess thing began making me paranoid. Terrain would be key. Sand would bog me down and cost me the advantage. Assuming they didn’t opt for a swim-off, which if I were half-seal, would be my pick. Either way, it was a lose/lose proposition for me.

This losing thing was getting old.

I squinted at the elder. “The kitsune goes free either way?”

“Yes.” The old man inclined his head. “She is welcome among us.”

That was one point in my favor at least. “What are the rules of this race?”

“You are the challenger, so you may choose either the weapon or the location.”

Freaking monkeys.
This was not the harmless afternoon of flirting I had planned, damn it.

With a smug grin hitching his lips, he asked, “What is your preference?”

I smiled blithely at him. “I defer the first choice to my opponent.”

“Thierry...” Righty warned in my ear.

“Let us end this now,” Lefty murmured.

“I would prefer to part ways without violence,” I said to them through tight lips. “We wait.”

“An interesting choice,” the man allowed. “Kynon, step forward.”

Possibly the most handsome man present came to my side and tipped his head.

“Kynon is the swiftest among us,” the elder bragged. “The challenger has given you first choice. Take it.”

“I choose location.” His voice was surprisingly soft. “I choose the Mother.”

I shook my head. “Surprise, surprise. A selkie choosing sea over land.”

“It is a mercy I offer you,” he said. “I will end this quickly.”

My heart stuttered. “This is a race to the death?”

“You are death.” A pucker appeared between his eyebrows. “There is only one end for you.”

“Kynon has chosen,” the instigator called. “Choose your weapon.”

A slow grin spread over my face. “I can have any item I want to protect myself?”

His nod was regal. “Yes.”

Last resort, here I come.

I lowered the boom. “Then I choose your skin.”

For the first time since I’d arrived, he looked right at me. Horror shone bright in his eyes. I wasn’t sure what his hang-up with death was, or how he sensed I was a portent, but his shock told me I had reaffirmed his worst fears, proving myself evil beyond measure and in need of being put down.

Jerking his chin up, the elder gestured toward Kynon. “He will retrieve my pelt from the vault.”

My opponent strode toward the waves, dove into the water and disappeared.

Mai, who had stopped resisting her attack-hugger huffed. “Now what?”

“Now we wait.”

The man reached out beside him and began twirling the umbrella.

K
ynon took his sweet time. Left unprotected, my skin began to burn. I had a bottle of sunscreen in my messenger bag, but the gray men had taken that an hour ago after they caught me arguing with Righty under my breath and decided I must be crazy or was activating a pre-mixed hex.

They gave my paltry spellwork skills way too much credit.

“How are you holding up?” I called to Mai.

The old man had taken pity on her and allowed her to share in the shade of his umbrella.

Not
a euphemism.

“You’re going from lobster to fire hydrant.” She glared at the elder. “Can I bring her water?”

He shook his head. “She will soon have all the water she desires.”

I flashed him a nasty smile. “Salt water that will dehydrate me more if I drink it.”

He spread his hands in a helpless gesture.

A frustrated growl jerked the nearby gray men into high alert.

Oh.

That was me.

“When you are finished being stubborn,” Righty said, “we will handle the situation.”

“You say handle, but what I hear is slaughter.” I sighed. “You can’t kill this many Seelie.”

As precarious as my position was on the throne, a misstep of this magnitude would topple me. If a murderous faux pas got me off the queenly hook, I would consider taking a header, but it wouldn’t. The only thing it would earn me was a knife in the back once Rook dragged me to Faerie.

“You are learning,” Lefty remarked. “That response was almost diplomatic.”

I stuck my tongue out at him, which meant I was mocking thin air.

Smooth. Real smooth.

Behind me, waves slapped the shore, and cooling waters frothed around my ankles.

The old man’s spine stiffened. “You brought it, then?”

“I did.” Kynon’s voice rose from over my shoulder.

From his seat in the sand, the old man made a gesture in the air. “Let it be done.”

Kynon came to my side, clutching the fur tight in his hands. “What will you do with this?”

A knowing smile curled my lips.
Sweet confirmation.
He had no idea. Not who I was or what I was about to do. These guys picked up on my portent vibes somehow, but his ignorance was proof they hadn’t specifically targeted me. Good. That made this business.

Business I could handle.

I wrested the gray lump from his grip. “Why don’t I show you?”

Exhaling through my teeth, I focused on the skin and let myself sink inside its residual memories. With my hold on its identity secured, I draped the skin down my back, pulling its eye slits over mine. Magic shimmied over my body, twisting me into a more compact shape. Down and down I went, until my soft belly rested on the hot sand. Thick whiskers flicked when I twitched my nose. Shifting side to side, I thumped my meaty hind flippers and barked at Kynon.

His head swung between me and the old man, who shot to his feet.

“What manner of creature are you?” he demanded.

I barked again. Speaking while shifted was still a work in progress.

He shook a gnarled finger at my face. “Do not mock me.”

Mai rose slowly. “She can’t talk once she’s shifted.”

The elder spun on her. “Is she a shifter, then?”

She extended a hand and wobbled it. “Not exactly.”

“What manner of creature is she?” he repeated.

She leaned around him and looked to me for permission. I made a strangled cough.

That must have been enough for Mai. “She’s the Black Dog’s daughter.”

This time the strangled noise came from his throat. “Macsen Sullivan’s child?”

“He’s the only Black Dog I know of.” She huffed. “Well, except for Tee.”

His knees buckled before they gave, and he hit the sand near me. “You’re the princess.”

Cough-bark-cough.

Mai plopped onto the sand near me. “I think she’s wondering if the race to the death is still on.”

“I offer my humble apologies, Princess Thierry.” He bowed low before me. “I only sought to protect my people. I meant no offense, Highness.”

Figuring it was safe to let go of the skin, I did, or tried to. I had sunk so deep into its memories, I was loath to be parted from the Mother, the sea, reluctant to walk as men did in this hot, dry place.

Mai stroked the length of my spine and whispered, “It’s safe to come out now.”

Her touch, her voice, shocked my own memories to the forefront of my brain, and I released the skin with a shudder, peeling it off while magic crackled and stood my hairs on end.

“Next time—” I coughed into my fist, “—have a reason before you attack someone, okay?”

“Death has not been kind to us.” His lips flattened. “We are picked off, one by one, year by year.”

“If you’re this aggressive to outsiders, I can see why.” I passed him his pelt. “I have never seen gray men, but legends of your people’s beauty lured me down to the shore. I was curious.” I paused when his papery hand brushed mine. “I offered you and yours no insult, and yet you challenged me.”

“We must protect ourselves against your kind.”

“Wait.” I rubbed my forehead. “You thought because I was a death portent that I would, what, kill you? For no reason?”

He returned my frown. “It is the nature of a portent to announce death, is it not?”