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He nodded carefully, not wanting to startle her more
while she was still sitting in dangerous proximity to his
crotch.
Am I?
He thought for a moment, making sure he was
following the conversation correctly. You re asking if
you inherited your father s title?
She nodded. I mean, I was legally adopted. And I am
female.
Believe me, I ve noticed. And inheritance works
somewhat differently at the Seelie Court. They don t
much care about human legalities. You are the eldest
child of the eldest child. In fact, the only, for several
generations, as far as I know. Therefore, you are in fact,
my Lady Rose.
But what about Aidan?
94 Motor City Fae
Ric shook his head. Other side of the family. Aidan s
mother married Lord Green Oak. Her brother, Emery s
father, married Lady Rose.
So is Aidan a lord?
Yeah.
What about you?
That gave him a laugh. Not I, my dear. You see
before you a humble bard.
She smirked back at him. Humble, my ass.
He couldn t help it, he reached behind her back and
squeezed. And a fine ass it is. But I mean it. I m not
noble, Meagan, not in any sense of the word. You outrank
me by a mile.
Even though I m only half elf.
Even though.
Her gaze grew clouded again. Can you tell me about
my parents?
Not much, he admitted. I didn t know your father
well and never met your mother. I know her name was
Linda Jameson and she was a pretty girl, tiny, like you,
but with strawberry blond curls and blue eyes.
She sighed and he went on. I know your father loved
her very much. Where had that comment come from?
Ric was well known for his total disbelief on the subject.
Even his songs reflected the futility of love; he never sang
romantic ballads. He tried to tell himself that he was only
offering a platitude to comfort Meagan, but he couldn t
quite erase the chill that had run down his spine when he
heard himself speak of love.
Did she have a family?
Yes. Aidan has the details.
I have to know, Ric. Where do you fit into this? And
why does it feel like there s something more, something
Cindy Spencer Pape 95
immediate, that you haven t told me about?
He sighed. She was way too perceptive. Because
there is, he replied, answering her second question first.
And I got involved as a friend of Aidan s, but primarily
because I was ordered to by my boss. A bard is something
more than a musician in my world. I m also well, call
me an agent, of sorts. The rank is knight, but I don t
usually get involved in actual combat. The nearest
equivalent here would be intelligence operative, I
suppose. The queen orders and I have no choice but to
obey.
Queen?
Queen Llyris Astrella, Ruler of the Seelie Court.
She s a decent enough monarch, but watch yourself when
you meet her. She is completely and totally ruthless in
achieving her goals and only she knows for certain what
those are. The thought of Meagan being used by Llyris
was making his skin crawl. He knew, down to his bones,
that if worse came to worst, he d break the geas that
bound him to Llyris if she tried to hurt Meagan. Even
though the gesture would probably cost him his life.
Of course. I get to meet the queen of the fairies. Can
this day get any weirder? Her snicker was shaky, but
genuine.
Oh, probably. Her resilience amazed him. He
couldn t resist a kiss, a quick smack on the lips. She
didn t turn away and he took that as an encouraging sign.
So why, after all this time, were you suddenly sent to
find me? You mentioned danger and I m still getting this
sense of, well, urgency, which doesn t quite compute.
Because you are at risk. Llyris has enemies. There is
political intrigue in every reality and Elfhame is no
exception. You, like it or not, have inherited your father s
96 Motor City Fae
seat on the Seelie Council. That makes you a playing
piece in a bitter, long-running chess match. Both factions
would prefer that you end up on their side.
And Owen Ferris belongs to one of these factions?
Ric growled. Owain le Faire aka Owen Ferris is
the leader of a group of radical racists. The Ku Klux Klan
of elvenkind. He d like nothing more than to seize control
of the throne and break the compact that has kept peace
between the worlds for the last thousand or more years.
And I m somehow involved in this?
Yes. This was the critical moment. Ric knew his
magic was strong enough, he could compel her to believe
him, force her to accompany him, but if he did, she would
eventually find out and she might never trust him again.
And he didn t think he could stand for that to happen. He
grasped her shoulders, looked into her eyes. You are in
danger, Meagan. If Owain can t control you, he means to
kill you. The next in line for your house is one of his
toadies. With you out of the way, he ll control the council
and take the throne. Then the gods help both our worlds.
Then why hasn t he hurt me before now?
Ric winced. That s my fault. He probably couldn t
find you either. But when he saw us at dinner last night,
and saw your painting today, I m sure he came to the
same conclusions we did.
Last night? She raised one eyebrow in accusatory
question.
He nodded. He saw us at the restaurant. That s why I
hustled you out the back. And why I left you in such a
rush. I needed to report in, let my boss and Aidan know
that Owain was here in Detroit.
Your boss, the queen. She was shaking her head,
obviously still astounded by the whole concept. He
Cindy Spencer Pape 97
couldn t blame her and he hoped she didn t end up
blaming him either.
My boss, the queen. Are you ready to go meet her
yet? He tried to curb his impatience, but his foot tapped
out a rapid beat on the wooden floor as he tried to hurry
her along. Talking was important, but he also needed to
get her somewhere safe.
I I don t know. How do we get there? He stopped
tapping and groaned. The vulnerability in her eyes was
ripping out his heart.
There are portals scattered all over the world. The one
for the Detroit area is at Aidan s house.
Aidan. My cousin.
Ric nodded. He s dying to know, by the way. We
could stop there for a bit. Finish our conversation. Talk to
Aidan. He wondered why he hadn t thought of that
before. There were three days left before the council
meeting. She d be safe under the protection of himself
and Aidan s security force and she d have time to
acclimate, to ask her questions before being whisked
through the portal to a whole other world.
The more he thought about it, the better it sounded.
More security for Meagan was suddenly at the top of
Ric s priority list. Ric knew his boss. As soon as Ric
presented Meagan, he d be sent out on another mission,
while Llyris kept Meagan sequestered at the palace. The
longer he could keep her out of the queen s clutches, the
better.
In fact, Ric mused, Aidan could probably even be
convinced to accompany them. After all, he d have to
show up for the council vote, anyway. If Aidan went
along, Meagan would be more comfortable and have a
personal ally at court. Then Ric wouldn t have to worry
98 Motor City Fae
about her every second. Aidan was about the only other
individual Ric trusted with Meagan s physical and
emotional safety.
He looked over at Meagan and could practically see
the wheels turning behind her clear green eyes. He
wondered if she d been considering any similar
possibilities. She smiled thinly. Well, hell. How long
will I be gone?
I don t know. He honestly didn t. Time gets a bit
weird when Llyris is involved.
What about my house, my art, my class, my cat? He
could tell that she was trying hard to restrain the faint
undertone of hysteria that crept into her voice and he
wanted nothing more than to promise her that everything
would be all right. But he never made promises he wasn t
sure he could keep.
Ric, she asked, eyes wide. Will I ever be able to
come home?
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| Cytat |
Dobre pomysły nie mają przeszłości, mają tylko przyszłość. Robert Mallet
De minimis - o najmniejszych rzeczach.
Dobroć jest ważniejsza niż mądrość, a uznanie tej prawdy to pierwszy krok do mądrości. Theodore Isaac Rubin
Dobro to tylko to, co szlachetne, zło to tylko to, co haniebne.
Dla człowieka nie tylko świat otaczający jest zagadką; jest on nią sam dla siebie. I z obu tajemnic bardziej dręczącą wydaje się ta druga. Antoni Kępiński (1918-1972)
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