Chapter 18

Conn and Henry used the demon strength they possessed even in human form to slide the jiangshi in his massive demon form over by the stairs. Ezra would come out of being frozen with his sword primed and ready. I’d made peace over what I might have to do to him. Our power would not be as unevenly matched as it was last time. I would greet him with one of my own swords drawn and ready.

Claiming a seat on one of the leather couches in the foyer, Rasmus and Zara stared at us with unwavering focus. I thought about offering them popcorn as a joke, but guardians were so literal that they might expect the demons to make it for them.

Henry and Gale were also there. I’m sure they were worried about what damage Ezra and I might do to the foyer if we started swinging energy swords around. Maybe we should have taken Ezra outside. I turned to suggest it but Zenos charged over to me.

“I don’t have much time to use my power. Give me the talisman,” he ordered.

I pulled the polished and blessed wooden circle from the pocket of my jeans and handed it to him.

He rolled his eyes at me once he held it. “Why did ya waste the energy to bless it?”

“Because I felt like it,” I said just as testily.

Zenos grunted. “I thought ya’d be a little friendlier after getting yer field plowed last night.”

I called an energy sword and pointed it at Zenos. “Leave off me, dragon. I’m primed to kill a fairy. Keep fussing at me and I’ll add yer complaining carcass to my dead body pile.”

Zenos looked back at the guardian and shook his head. “Did she fall asleep on ya before ya could do the deed? She’s very cranky today.”

Conn and Mulan covered their mouths to stifle their laughter and walked several steps away from my humming sword. I didn’t give Rasmus time to brag about all the hours he’d devoted to me or the quickie he’d talked me into this morning.

I growled at the dragon mage. “We’re essentially creating an angel relic without an angel being directly involved. The Dagda stone helped me put a sacred protection on it so no one could extract the wood from the remains of the jiangshi and use it for some terrible purpose after he dies for good.”

“What if the angel power doesn’t like yer sacred protection?”

“Then we’ll have to do something else. I took a Goddess damn precaution because I’m going to be responsible for creating a body bomb like ya warned me could happen. Deal with it.”

Zenos blinked at my yelling. “Okay. I guess we have an understanding of why ya did what ya did. We’ll just keep the faith then, shall we?”

I motioned to Ezra with my sword. “Do yer part, dragon mage, and I’ll do mine. Let’s get this done. Our work’s just getting started.”

“Mine will be over if this works. I’ll need to go shift and renew myself.”

“Understood,” I said. “Come back and watch the rest if ya can. A giant dragon won’t fit in this room but I’m sure ya could shift into some creature that will. I think yer phoenix form would fit.”

Snickering at my bossiness, the dragon mage turned one of his hands into a dragon’s claw and held it up palm-out facing Ezra while holding the wooden disk in his other, still human, hand.

I’d never seen a being able to control themselves the way Zenos could. Too bad that control didn’t extend to his libido or mouth.

“Before ya get going, thank you for helping. I’d have been days coming up with something and it wouldn’t have been this. Working with ya has expanded my imagination. Ya’ve been an excellent teacher.”

Zenos snickered. “I’m surprised ya didn’t choke on the words as ya said them.”

“I am too,” I admitted. “And I’m done.”

“Are ya sure ya’re ready for this, lass?” Zenos grinned at me.

I blew out a breath. “No, but we have to do it.” I waved the sword at Ezra again.

As Zenos began the chant, I took up a battle stance, preparing myself to fight. Whatever happened now, there was no turning back.

Slowly, the magick residue coating Ezra pulled away from him and entered the talisman disk Zenos held. I saw Ezra blink as he came out of whatever hold the angel had set upon him. He continued to blink as it peeled away from the rest of his body. Zenos started walking backward with the disk when it got to the sword. I don’t know how he’d manage to leave it for last, but I appreciated the effort.

When it was all done, Zenos snapped his fingers around the disk and sort of sagged. That it had taken so much out of him surprised me. I hadn’t really believed him about the toll it would take. Henry rushed to his side and caught him before he fell.

I had to let someone else look after the dragon mage because I had a problem that still needed clearing up.

“Hello, fairy. Did ya have a pleasant sleep?”

“Ya filthy harpy,” Ezra exclaimed. “Ya let that angel poison me.”

“Ya went after my daughter with yer sword, ya pointy-eared bastard. I wanted to kill ya, but the angel made his own decision about yer fate. I only wish I could have left ya like that forever, but people have other plans for ya.”

Ezra lifted his sword and smiled to see that it was still working. “Yer power is no match for mine, Aran of The Dagda. I’ve become more powerful than ya could ever dream of being.”

“I’m not trying to match ya in power,” I said, blocking Ezra’s sword swing when it came down and clashed against mine. “Matching ya wouldn’t do any good. I need ya to know once and for all that I’ll not tolerate another minute of yer betraying ways. It’s time for ya to pay for yer faithlessness.”

Ezra glanced around, saw everyone watching, and grinned. “Are ya willing to risk yer friends to my sword? I could easily run away while ya attend to their wounds. Ya went soft in prison, Aran.”

“Is that right?” I asked, inching a bit closer. “Why don’t we see about that?”

Instead of heading for me, Ezra moved sideways and headed for Rasmus and Zara. I could have let them fight for themselves, but there was more than stopping Ezra at stake. I wanted to send him back to his people with enough fear of me that other fairies would think twice.

I let the sword go and pulled a charged dagger from the weapons belt I’d worn.

“Siste in loco!” I yelled as I threw it at him.

The dagger was meant to stop him from getting away. It hit Ezra in the back, right between his shoulder blades. His knees buckled and he hit the floor of the foyer on them. His energy sword faded away.

I walked to him, and then around him, until I could look into his eyes once more. Ezra was trying to speak but the magick in the dagger made that nearly impossible for him.

“Don’t bother trying to talk, fairy. I couldn’t leave ya able to speak a spell, now could I?”

His gaze was full of shock. For a moment, I saw the fairy I used to know—the less evil one. Then his gaze changed until he glared at me for daring to do what I’d done. Somehow I had missed knowing the second Ezra. Maybe I’d never looked close enough.

I smiled at him. “I know. Ya never thought I’d hit ya from behind because I’m not that kind of fighter, but ya see, that actually was something I learned after being in prison. I’m unwilling to let anyone hurt me again and walk away unscathed. For the record, though, I tried to send ya back as ya were but yer kind wouldn’t take ya. So it’s come to this, Ezra. This is the inevitable moment ya never saw coming.”

I pulled a sharpie from my pocket and stepped closer. He tried to bring his arms up to block me but they wouldn’t obey him.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’m not going to kill ya. When I pull out the dagger, ya’ll heal up good as new. But I’m taking half yer accumulated power first, especially anything ya stole from me or mine. Consider it recompense for trying to kill me and Fiona.”

I drew the symbol from the spell I’d rehearsed early this morning. I’d been still on the fence about what to do about Ezra despite the lecture from Zenos. Hurting people, even those who deserved it, was not something I relished.

But even I knew Ezra needed to be an exception. I had to set a precedent about crossing any child of The Dagda.

Once the symbol was drawn on Ezra’s forehead, I pulled the bloody dagger from his back and cut my palm with it. I slapped our mingled blood over the symbol and quoted the spell. The Dagda stone heated in my chest as it absorbed the power I was pulling from the fairy.

Conn leisurely walked to my side. “How much do you intend to take from him?”

“Half,” I said, gritting my teeth at some of what was coming into me. “Can ya tell how much I’ve taken?”

“Take a little more,” Conn said, looking between Ezra and my chest. “Okay. Stop.”

I used one hand to pull the other away. I panted like an out-of-breath runner.

Ezra sank back on his ankles. His hands came around to hug his knees. The wound in his back must have closed over because he could speak again. “What have ya done to me?”

“I made ya pay for yer treachery to the people on this side of the veil. I’ll make every fairy pay if I hear of any other who crosses a human the way ya have me.”

“Ya took my power from me.”

“Yes, and I’d do it again, Ezra. Be lucky I’m not sending ya back empty-handed. I let ya keep some so they won’t toss ya back here right away. This is my way of putting all the Fairy Folk on notice. Kin or not, I won’t tolerate what ya did here. Ya’re going to serve as my example.”

“Ya had no right to violate me in that manner.”

“Ya had no right to try and steal mine from me. The moment ya pointed a sword ya become my enemy. Not a creature in any realm would blame me for taking yer life. Be grateful I’m sparing ya. I know for sure ya won’t have spared me or mine.”

I looked at Conn. “I’ll be needing the cage now.”

Morphing into his demon self, Conn disappeared. A few seconds later, he reappeared and let the cage drop against the foyer tiles.

“Easy on the tiles, you two,” Henry yelled.

I winced as I looked at Conn. “If the tiles break, ya’re the one who’ll have to replace them. I’m not paying for them.”

Grinning with a mouth full of sharp fangs, Conn grabbed the fairy by the back of the shirt and threw him into the cage. I winced a bit as a weakened Ezra bounced off the bars. Once the lock and the magick to hold him were in place, Conn morphed back to his human self.

“Now what?” he asked.

“Call Ben and get him to send the collection van. Ezra needs to be shipped back to Ireland as soon as it can be arranged. He’ll need an escort capable of making sure he doesn’t break free. The Shadows Breakers will have to handle his delivery to his people. I’m done playing nice with him. Let Murray know he’s off the hook. We removed the poison from him.”

Ezra glared at me from the cage. “I’ll be back to make ya regret this.”

“Come back if ya want,” I said, weary of his bravado. “Just know that next time, I’ll kill ya before ya get a chance to raise yer hand to me. If ya ever get near any of my family or friends again, I’ll cut ya up into pieces and feed ya to my demon wolves. I’m sure they’ll find yer magick very tasty. Then it will be as if ya never existed at all. Ya best shut yer mouth now before ya make me mad enough to see killing ya as a better idea than sending ya home.”

“What demon wolves?” Ezra asked.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. “None of yer business, fairy. They never were.” I looked at Conn. “Part one is done. I need a break before we deal with jiangshi. Is Zenos alright?”

Conn snickered, picked me up, and swung me around. “I’m so damn proud of you. Yes, the dragon mage is fine. He changed into his full dragon form and went for a swim in our lake.”

My mouth dropped open. “Where do we have a lake?”

“We own seven acres outside what’s fenced in. There’s a body of water that’s quite large. Maybe it’s more of a pond. I’m not an expert.”

I laughed. “If ya hadn’t stopped me, I’d have done the same thing to Jack that I did to Ezra.”

“Ezra was a fling. Jack fathered your child.”

“Goddess, let’s not argue about Jack today. Get that fairy out of my sight. I don’t like the way he’s glaring at me.”

Conn turned and whistled. Several of Henry’s people came running with custom moving rollers. They tilted the fairy’s cage left and right before getting enough wheels under it to roll it out the front door. It barely fit. I chuckled and rubbed my forehead with my bleeding hand.

“Shit. I just rubbed blood all over my face. Now I need to go wash up.”

Conn laughed as he pulled his phone out to call Ben.

I looked at the bloody dagger still in my hand. Then I noticed that the tiles around my feet were stained red. Blood had also dripped on my pants and onto my shoes. I had blood from the fairy and myself all over my body. Normally, I would have burned it off with magickal flames, but I needed to conserve what magick I had left for the jiangshi work later.

I sighed as I looked at my house’s caretakers. “I’m sorry, Henry. I told ya I tend to make a mess when I work. I hope you can get up the blood.”

“If not, we’ll just put a rug over it until Conn pays to have the floor replaced,” Henry said dryly, fighting his smirk. “And yes, you did warn me about your penchant for being messy.”

I grinned at him. “Did ya enjoy the show?”

“Immensely,” Henry said with a grin. “Zenos said to give this to you.”

Using my least bloodiest fingers, I plucked the wooden disk filled with angel magick from Henry’s hand. I slipped it in my cleanest jeans pocket to avoid smearing it with blood.

“Come back for the encore later. Ya’ll really see something then.”

“Will part two also take place in the foyer? Perhaps I should find some sheets to put on the floor to catch body fluids. In my experience, dead bodies are nearly as messy as you are. I can only imagine what will happen when you and the Wu Shaman attempt to bring such an old dead man back to life. When this is over, I think you and I need to talk about several better and less messy ways for you to spend your vacation time.”

I hung my head at Henry’s lecture and laughed until tears streamed down my bloody face.