Missing Magic (29 page)

Swallowing hard, she nodded. “I see.”

Mick raised his head and met her gaze.
“Understand this, Dee. Peter wasn’t right for you. He was living a
lie. He couldn’t live with his homosexuality, so he was using you
as a cover to hide behind. I love – loved – both of you too much to
let you get married. In the end, it would have caused too much
pain.”

“But you, Mick. You say you loved me, but you
lied to me all these years.” Her voice broke. “How can you claim to
love me so much yet keep so much hidden? Especially since you knew
how badly I always wanted a family.”

A trace of regret crossed his handsome
features. “You had me, Dee. Brother of your heart.”

“And brother of my blood, too, as I’m now
finding out.” Dee couldn’t keep the bitterness from her tone. “All
along, you were my real family and I had no idea.”

He sighed. “Are you any happier now, knowing
the truth?”

About to murmur answer, Cenrick’s touch on
her arm stopped her.

“Natasha told me why you did this, but I want
to hear it with your own tongue. Why, Talmick of Rune? What could
have made you do such a thing?”

“For Jack.” Mick grimaced. “Everything I did,
I did for him. He sighed, glancing around again, his expression
wary, yet eager. “I wanted to make him Fae. Natasha promised to
heal him. How is he? Have you seen him? How is he? He’s been very
sick.”

Dee winced. Somehow, Cenrick’s hand on her
shoulder gave her strength. “He’s gone, Mick. Jack’s gone.”

“Gone?”

Throat clogged with emotion, Dee struggled to
answer. Before she did, Mick read the truth in her expression.
“He’s dead?”

All she could do was nod.

“Jack.” Mick’s broken voice made her heart
break too. “Natasha told me he was getting better, that the magic
her machine stole was healing him.” He swallowed, fighting back
tears. “Did he die from AIDS?”

“No, she killed him.” Dee swallowed, hating
what she had to say next, but knowing she had to say it. “Natasha
lied to you. She wasn’t giving Jack any magic. She was keeping it
all for herself.”

His blank look said he didn’t understand.
“But why? Why would she do such a thing?”

“For power,” Cenrick answered. “She was
trying to make herself Fae, and destroy us all.”

As he absorbed this information, Mick’s face
hardened. Once again, he appeared the human cop, well aware of the
potential for harm in human nature. “She got that idea from me. I
wanted to make Jack Fae.” His earnest look beseeched them to
understand. “He was HIV positive, and dying. If I he became Fae,
the disease couldn’t touch him. He would live forever.” He broke
down, weeping, and turned away, out of Dee’s arms.

Cenrick came up behind her and put his hand
on her shoulder, offering silent comfort.

God help her, she took it. But, unable to
bear watching Mick suffer so, she reached out to him, meaning to
offer him comfort.

He spun away from her touch. “No.” His gaze,
full of pain and the awful knowledge of what he’d begun, touched on
her face. “Help all the others. I must find a way to atone for my
grievous sin.”

“My father awaits you,” Cenrick told him. “Go
to him and explain. He and the Mage will mete out your
punishment.”

“I must straighten things out for Dee first.”
Grim-faced, he crossed to her and took her hand. “Natasha was
behind those that tried to ruin your reputation. She knew how close
we were, and feared you would interfere.”

Stunned, Dee could only stare. “You let her
do this? Knowing my job was all I had?”

“I was half out of my mind.” He shook his
head. “Not an excuse, I know. But I will get your reputation
restored, not matter what.”

“They tried to frame me for your murder.”
Still shocked, she began reciting. “Police brutality, taking
protection money, and more. Internal Affairs has been out to my
place a couple of times now. On top of that, someone tried to shoot
me.”

“I swear I had no knowledge of that.”

“Did you send the photos?”

He looked blank. “What photos?”

Dee told him of the phone call, and the
envelope full of photos.

“I don’t know about that, either. Maybe Peter
sent them.”

“Go to my father, and talk to him. Explain
how you must right so many wrongs, and I’m certain he will let you
return to the human world. As long as you give your oath to return
quickly, and face your punishment.”

Dejected, Mick nodded. Then, kissing Dee
lightly on the cheek, he looked up at the taller man. “Prince
Cenrick, I would ask one favor.”

“What?”

“Tell her what she is, will you?”

Cenrick frowned. “Who?”

“My Dee. My sister. She deserves to know what
she is.” His mournful expression spoke of his knowledge of yet
another sin he’d committed. “I should have told her long ago, but I
didn’t want to lose her. As long as I was all she had, I knew she’d
never desert me. Again, I am sorry, Dee.”

Then, before she could respond, he snapped
his fingers and vanished.

Puzzled, Dee looked at Cenrick. “What did he
mean?”

“I’m not sure. But if anyone can tell us, the
Oracle or the Mage can. Let’s go find them.” He tugged on her
hand.

She resisted. “First, let’s finish helping
all these Fae. We can’t rest until everyone has been restored.”

Then they would have their answer. Whether or
not they liked it.

The faces blurred as the time passed. Fae
after fae, male and female both, started awake as they were
touched, looking at them with confusion and shock. Yet they were
aware, themselves once more, and Cenrick knew they would return to
the palace and the city as soon as they were able.

Several hours later, they both staggered into
the Oracle’s cave, exhausted. A few minutes later, Mort and the
Oracle stumbled in, equally drained.

“They are all back to normal.” The joy in
Mort’s voice made Dee smile.

Beside her, Cenrick exhaled. “Now we can
rest.”

“Do not think to rest so soon.” The Oracle
glided into the room, her white robes once again shimmering. “King
Roark has need of his son. He has woken and is calling for
you.”

Immediately, Cenrick pushed himself up. “Send
me.”

Dee struggled to her feet and grabbed his
arm. “I’ll go with you.”

He nodded, covering her hand with his.

“Leave the woman here.” The Oracle’s voice
was solemn. “Let her rest. We can care for her. Go alone to your
father. He has things he must discuss with you in private.” Her
glowing scarlet gaze met Dee’s, warning her not to object.

Cenrick started to protest. But Dee, who saw
something else in the Oracle’s gaze, silenced him with a squeeze of
her hand. “She’s right. I’ll be fine here. Hurry back.”

Pulling herself free, Dee stepped away from
Cenrick. Immediately, the Oracle clapped her hands and Cenrick
vanished.

“Thank you.” The Oracle drifted closer. “The
time has come for Cenrick to take his rightful place in Rune. His
father will name him heir, I believe.”

“I believe this as well.” Smiling, Mort
crossed to Dee’s other side. “And the Oracle’s prophecies are
rarely wrong.”

“Good.” So tired she could barely think, all
Dee wanted was a hot bath and a soft bed. And Cenrick, of
course.

Then, she remembered Mick’s words.
Tell
her what she is.
She repeated them out loud to Mort. “Will you
tell me?”

“Of course.” Mort motioned her to sit. When
she was comfortably settled on the hard stone ground, he swirled
his robes around him and lowered himself beside her. “You are
half-Fae, like Mick. You shared the same, Fae mother. Each time she
got pregnant, each time she learned she carried a half-human baby,
she celebrated. For a time.”

Joy and fear warred inside Dee. “You know who
my mother is?” Could she meet this woman? Did she want to?

Sometimes, when Fae go to live among humans,
they are eager to experience every facet of human existence.
Unfortunately, for some this includes drugs and/or alcohol. For
others, it’s an all-consuming addiction to sex. When those of our
kind lose their way, we try to bring them back to Rune for
cleansing. But they must want to go. Your mother refused.”

“So she left me – and Mick – in an orphanage
and forgot about us? Her own children?” Dee could scarcely credit
such callousness.

“The drugs claimed her mind.” Mort’s tone was
gentle. “All she cared about was her next high, her next fix.”

Watching him closely, Dee took a deep breath
before she asked her next question. “Where is she now? You speak of
her as though she’s dead.”

“She is. She was killed in your world by a
horrible fire several years ago.”

Dee’s heart sank. “Oh.” She shook her head.
“So my mother had no family? No one to retrieve her neglected
children from the orphanage? No one cared?”

“I believe she intended to come back for you.
But she was killed before she could return.”

“What about my father?”

“No one knows who he is, or even if he also
fathered Mick.”

Dee looked at Mort in horror. “I was left
there, in the human world, alone? Is that what you people do to
half-Fae, half-humans?” It had been bad enough knowing her parents
hadn’t wanted her. Now, to learn an entire race had abandoned
her…

“Of course not.” Mort’s voice was
soothing.

But Dee would not be soothed. Agitated, she
jumped to her feet. “I can’t believe this.” Then, to her horror,
she started to cry.

Exhaustion and shock taking their toll on
her, she cried great, gulping sobs. Dimly conscious of Mort and the
Oracle watching her, she wrapped her arms around her waist and
turned away.

Everything she’d lived for had turned out to
be a lie. She was no longer certain she believed in the fairness of
the justice system she’d been sworn to uphold. She’d been setup and
convicted, all without a trial. She no longer wanted any part of
law enforcement.

In addition, she’d been betrayed by her best
friend – no, worse – her own brother. Mick had known how deeply
she’d longed for family, but he’d chosen to keep their relationship
a secret. Though she knew she’d forgive Mick someday – he was her
brother, after all – right now she felt too raw, too wounded, to
even speak to him.

Saying good-bye to Cenrick would be the final
straw. She didn’t know that she could do it, as fragile and
defenseless as she felt.

Though she’d never been a coward, this time
she took the coward’s way out.

When her cries had subsided into soft gasps,
she wiped at her eyes. “I’d like to go home,” she said.

“Would you?” The Oracle’s soft voice pierced
Dee’s fog of pain. “I can send you there.”

Dee opened her eyes. “Yes. Back to my
apartment, in my own world.”

“Of course.” The Oracle held out her hand.
“Are you ready?”

“Yes.” Straightening, Dee stepped
forward.

“Wait!” Mort moved between them, breaking the
Oracle’s hold on Dee’s hand. “Take this.” He handed Dee a stone.
“If you need me or wish to return, you only need to hold it and
think of me.”

“I-—.” Dee swallowed. “Thank you. I’d like to
go now.”

The Oracle took her hand and sent her.

Back in her familiar apartment, Dee stumbled
into the bathroom, turned the shower on hot, and shed her clothes.
Once she’d scrubbed herself clean, she dried off, wincing at her
reddened skin. Then, with her heart aching as much as her body, she
crawled beneath the covers of her still-rumpled bed, and slept.

The sound of the phone ringing woke her.
Sitting up with a groan, she glanced at the alarm clock. Nearly
noon. She’d been asleep for five hours.

“This is Chief Ferguson.”

Her heart began to pound. Now wide awake, she
dragged her hand through her hair and cleared her throat. “Yes,
sir?”

He wanted her to come in to the station.
Internal Affairs had concluded its investigation. She’d been
cleared of all wrongdoing. Both the prostitute and the store owner
had recanted their allegations under questioning.

“I want to give you back your badge.”

She agreed to be there in an hour. Hanging
up, she wondered why victory felt so anticlimactic.

Never had the drive to the police station
seemed to take so long. She parked her car, fiddled with her purse,
checked her appearance in the rear view mirror, and touched up her
lipstick.

She hadn’t been back since the last time
she’d talked to Internal Affairs. Her co-workers, those who she’d
once counted as friends, had by and large turned their back on her,
as if by supporting her they could be tarred with the same
brush.

She wondered what they thought now that she’d
been cleared of any wrongdoing. Then, as she lifted her chin and
grasped the handle of the glass door to go in, realized she didn’t
care.

Those people – other officers – weren’t the
reason she’d joined the police force.

As though he’d been watching from his office
window, Chief Ferguson met her at the door.

“Welcome back.” His voice boomed around the
suddenly silent squad room. Where before when she’d visited, every
officer and clerk and found something urgent to do, this time they
smiled and nodded. “Glad to have you back,” the Chief
continued.

“Thanks.” Dee met his gaze squarely. Oddly
enough, though she’d longed for this day, now she felt no
vindication, no sense of pleasure. True, she’d been cleared of any
wrongdoing. An investigation had even been started to learn who’d
been trying to frame her, though now that Mick had chosen to remain
in Rune, she knew they’d never find him.

Everyone in South Worth now knew she’d done
nothing wrong. The newspaper had been given a statement, as had all
the media, and the story would run on both the early and late
news.

Dee discovered she no longer cared.

Though Mick hadn’t even tendered his
resignation, choosing to simply disappear, Dee carried a typed
letter, neatly folded, inside her purse.