Chapter 18

Things got busy in the main house in the late afternoon.

An assortment of demons rolled the cage containing the frozen statue of the female fairy to the middle of the foyer.

I'd supervised Hart building a portal just outside the front door. When Ezra arrived, I asked that his cage be set up facing my assassin's cage.

While I waited for all of it to be done, I went to talk to Ben and Felicity. "How long can ya hold back his beast with only yer magick?"

"A couple of hours," she said.

I nodded. "Hopefully, that will be all we need."

I turned to Ben and held out my hand. He slipped off the charm Felicity made to control his shifting and passed it over.

"Will it be okay if I wear it?" I asked.

"It will feel like nothing but a stone on you," Felicity said.

I put it on and slipped it under the sweater I wore over a camisole. "He should be here shortly. I want to be ready to glare at him."

Both Ben and his wife smirked at me. I'd included both of them in my meeting with Murray. The secretive fairy had been more secretive than I even imagined. Given how much he liked to drink, maybe I could pour drinks down him until his tongue loosened enough to speak freely.

I turned and reluctantly made my way to the door.

The male voice in my head cleared his throat. What are you wearing? It's very powerful. Is it yours?

No. It's something I borrowed so I could pretend it was ya . Keep yer sticky power-grabbing fingers off of it . It belongs to Ben, and he needs it. I borrowed it to trick the fairies into thinking it's the stone ya're in.

I also intended to put the energy holding the female fairy inside it, which I hoped it could hold.

I could drain all that nephilim power into me, but Goddess only knew what would happen. After nearly dying twice, I didn't want to risk a third time. Better to put it in something made to hold power.

I got to the doorway just in time to see ten guards carrying Ezra's cage on their shoulders like it was the Ark of the Covenant. They even used wooden poles and rings, which I felt sure were warded.

The sullen fairy sat inside the cage, smirking at what was happening. I don't know what was running through Ezra's mind, but I knew I wouldn't like it.

But that was all right. He wouldn't like what I had to say, either.

"Hello. Welcome back to my home," I said, sounding as polite as possible.

"What are ya planning for me, Aran?"

I raised one eyebrow. "I might be planning to set ya free, providing ya swear a blood oath to stop trying to harm me or my people. What did ya think I was doing?"

"No idea. I never understood the workings of yer strange mind. I doubt any illumination will be happening today, either."

"When ya're ready, bring him inside and set him facing the other cage," I said to the guards. I noticed the portal was still open and pointed it out to Hart. "Is someone else coming through?"

"Your friend, Murray... and he insisted on bringing a guest," Hart said. "Jessing says we should have sold tickets."

I chuckled at their teasing. Murray's attendance surprised me. He hadn't been very forthcoming when we spoke. Arguing with Ezra in front of Murray didn't hold any appeal for me. Everything I was doing was for the greater good. And if I got lucky, it would prove a point.

I couldn't change Murray coming, nor stop him from bringing a stranger. Murray was some kind of secret fairy operative with the ability to do what other fairies were not. While I didn't know exactly what he did, I knew everyone respected him.

And I still owed him for guarding Fiona when I fought the man-made guardians. If it hadn't been for him, Jack and his monsters might have tried to give the guardian serum to her.

So no, I wouldn't worry about why Murray came. I had a plan and would see it through. It was too late to worry how Ezra would react to the show I was going to give him.

Conn wouldn't be here. He was still doing his emergency regeneration thing, but having him so close allowed me access to his mantle and my swords. I'd only lose that if Conn sank into deep unconsciousness.

All that remained then would be the magick of the stone in my chest. This couldn't be put off. It needed to end. Relying on the stone alone was a risk I had to take.

They carried Ezra in and set his cage down in front of the one containing a covered statue.

"Does it remind ya of the time when Fiona's angel turned ya into a statue just like that?"

"I don't like the games ya're playing, Aran."

"And I don't like the assassins ya keep sending after me. Neither do the Shadow Breakers. Today is either about clearing the air between us, or it will be our last fight to the death. It will be yer call, Ezra. I won't be showing ya mercy again or letting anyone else do it."

"Where's yer demon sidekick?"

"He's having a nap to recover, but he's not far away. See?"

I wrapped myself in Conn's mantle until it covered me in a radiant coat of golden energy.

"Can ya still call yer energy sword? Or did I drain ya too much?"

I called a green energy sword from nothing and swung it back and forth.

"Ya're not scaring me, Aran. But I am curious about who else ya managed to cage."

"As well ya should be," I told him. "Because this yer fault as well."

I reached through the bars and tugged the sheet off the statue.

Ezra stiffened, which told me he hadn't known who this sibling was that had attempted to murder me and failed. Maybe all he was guilty of lately was wishing really hard.

"She is fairy royalty, witch. Ya wouldn't dare harm my sister," Ezra hissed between his perfect teeth.

"I was well within my rights to kill her. First, she stabbed me. Then, when she got a second chance, she stabbed Rasmus while she was trying to stab me again. I nearly took her head off with my sword after I chased her down. The Wu Shaman stopped her before I swung my blade. I was unlucky all around."

Ezra grunted. "My parents will avenge us both. They will bring the wrath of all fairies down on your head."

"On what grounds? It's well documented that both of ya came after me. What is this really about Ezra?"

Mulan dragged herself through the front door, looking tired and sick. She carried her staff but didn't look capable of fighting anyone.

"I am here. Once I release your fairy assassin, I will need to nap like Conn."

"And ya'll get one. I managed to find us a place to put the energy ya used, so it won't get wasted."

Mulan frowned and waved her staff at me, just as we planned. "Did it hurt to remove necklace from your chest? Do you have giant boob scar now? Does guardian boy-toy care you are deformed?"

"It certainly didn't feel good to remove it," I said, pulling Ben's talisman out of my shirt.

Mulan touched it with reverence. "Let's do this. I need more sleep."

"Ya really do," I said, running a hand over her hair.

Murray entered the foyer and came straight to me. "We talked about this, Aran. Ya have every right to kill them, but please don't do it. I'm begging ya."

"Killing them isn't my first choice, Murray, but I can't let Ezra's kill-for-power contract continue to send assassins my way. I'm tired of fighting without getting paid for doing so. The bills don't pay themselves. And Goddess knows, it's no fun dying all the time just because some entitled fairy is a sore loser. I don't even know what Ezra told his sister to send her after me."

Murray stared at me and still managed to glare at Ezra. "My royal cousin is an arse all around, but Princess Lulutha is a good fairy. She's just."

I looked around. "Hart, will ya bring me the dagger she used?"

Hart brought it to me, and I passed it to Murray. "The female fairy stabbed me with it, and then she stabbed Rasmus. Like a cat, I used one of my nine lives to come back and chase her down."

"That dagger is mine, Aran. It's a royal relic. Give it to me," Ezra demanded.

"What was yer assassin sister doing with a dagger of yers?"

Murray turned and glared at Ezra. "The Colwich Dagger is not yers. It belongs to yer father, and I know he'd never give it to ya. The only person worthy to wield it is the next in line to rule, and Lulutha is that fairy."

I looked at Ezra and blinked. "That was brilliant of ya. Did ya send yer sister after me so I'd kill her for ya? Ya'd be next in line for the throne for sure then, wouldn't ya?"

"That has nothing to do with any of this," Ezra said. "Unfreeze my sibling and give the dagger to her. Let's see how well ya handle being stabbed with it this time. There are too many witnesses for the ancient one to use his tricks to save ya."

"What did ya tell yer royal sister, Ezra? She's the executor of the contract between fairies and humans. Ya had to tell her something awful to make her willing to sneak into my home and kill me in cold blood."

Ezra's smile was awful. "Lulutha and I compete for the throne because that's what royal siblings do. But my sister is loyal to me—not my father, but me . And we've both been stuck in this realm for six hundred years, witch. We want to go home."

"But ya can't," I said to him. "Yer family won't take ya back. Why do ya think no one's tossed ya through the portal yet?"

I turned to Murray. "I understood yer people volunteered to come here. I thought fairy visits were to be mutual exchanges with us lowly humans. Was Ezra forced to spend time in this realm? Was he forced to be kind to me? To sleep with me? Because he talks like that was the case."

"No," Murray said, glaring at his cousin. "He was courting ya for yer magick. He was yer partner because they assigned the most powerful magickals to you to track down. And my wicked cousin knew The Dagda had incarnated again specifically to train ya. He planned to steal yer power all along. Ya just kept outmaneuvering him."

Ezra yelled through the bars. "Do ya think I enjoyed the fact that I couldn't go home? When I was nearly done and ready to return, ya robbed me of six hundred years of saving every scrap of power I could collect. Ya owe me for that, Aran O'Malley. Ya know ya owe me."

"We were partners, Ezra. We guarded each other's backs. I nearly died from shock when ya tried to get a criminal we captured to kill me so ya could carve the Dagda stone from my chest. I had every right to defend myself from a killer. I owe ya nothing."

"Ya stole the power I collected. I want it back," Ezra said.

"No. Ya didn't deserve the mercy Fiona's angel showed ya. And just so ya know, he was the one who took back the energy ya stole from the artifact the far darrigs had guarded for centuries. Ya could have gone home after that with plenty of power to spare. And, foolish me, I would have let ya because of our past. But ya didn't leave. Ya came after me again because ya just can't accept that ya're not entitled to any of The Dagda's power. It was gifted to me, and ya'll never have one bit of it."

"Ya're as big a fool as my cousin, Aran. No one is entitled to power. Ya earn it by taking it from those who can't protect what they create. That's how life works. Humans are weak. All of ya should be the servants of the fairies, and yer kind knows it."

I lifted my energy sword. "Ya're not making me any less inclined to settle this peacefully."

"Thaw out my sister, and let's see what she says about ya. Give her back her dagger, and I promise ya, she'll succeed in killing ya next time. Die with honor and rest knowing yer power will sustain my people for a millennia or two."

I lowered my sword and let it fade away. "I'll take that woman's head before she has a chance to hurt me."

I looked over at Murray's friend, who shifted from male to female in a blink. Ezra's shock told me Murray's story about siblings battling for the fairy throne had been truer than I knew.

Princess Lulutha—the real one—held her head high as she approached her brother's cage. She turned to the statue of herself and glared at it. "Do I really look like that?"

"Yes, but ya don't look as mean," I said. "Did ya hear enough? I told ya yer brother was behind the contract on me."

"Yes, but who took on my likeness and tried to kill you? Who slept with a centaur to carry the ruse? If I had stabbed you, Aran of The Dagda, you would be dead instead of talking to me."

"I might die in a fight between us, Princess, but then I'd come right back. Beings in high places keep saving me."

Ezra looked at his older sister. "Are ya going to take her word over mine?"

"Yes," Lulutha said and then turned to look at me. "Can we thaw the fairy statue and see who the impostor is?"

Now that I saw the real Arbitrator, I didn't need magick to figure out who my assassin was. It was sort of obvious now.

"We can thaw her, Arbitrator, but ya're not going to like what ya discover."

The female fairy arched one eyebrow. I motioned to Mulan. She came over and stood next to me. We both put our hands on the staff. I held out Ben's talisman in my hand.

Mulan drew in a breath and chanted. The wind rose from nowhere until it whipped our hair. I kept a firm grip on Conn's mantle to keep it from responding to Mulan. We needed the boost of me wearing it because the nagging nausea had weakened her.

The magick covering the fairy in the cage drained away one grain at a time and floated to my hand, where it got absorbed by the talisman. When it was done, I had to catch Mulan before she fell.

"Easy now," I said to her.

"I am good partner," she tiredly declared.

"Ya're the best," I said.

Rasmus rushed to us and lifted her into his arms.

"Put her in our bed to rest," I told him.

Princess Lulutha studied the woman in the cage. She was nearly a mirror image of herself. What set her apart was the look in her eyes but not much else. "Dreama? Why would you do this? Murder is a crime."

"Because Ezra is right, sister. Humans should be our servants. Instead, you serve them like a sheep. They are not our equals."

Lulutha stepped back and stared in shock at her two caged siblings. "This has been a very illuminating and thoroughly dreadful day. Our parents warned me many times that punishing family was one of the hardest things a ruler ever had to do."

She removed a weapon from her back and shot her two siblings. Both fell inside their cages.

I looked at them and sighed. "Did ya kill them?"

"No," Lulutha said. "But when they wake, both will wish they were dead."

She bowed to me and then looked at Murray. "Will you assist me in taking them home, cousin? I have to return and make sure my brother's kill-for-power contract is no longer active."

"I gave ya my word I would help ya no matter how mad yer parents get over yer siblings. But ya're going to owe me some fairy mead when it's done."

"Deal," Lulutha said. "I'm going to need some as well. My baby sister grew up to look just like me. I guess I should have gone home more often."

"Let's get this over with. There's mead waiting. Lead the way, Princess. Lead the way."

Each fairy grabbed a cage and disappeared with it.

Resealing the wards against all the beings who'd come and gone was going to take over a week to accomplish. And this time, I would have no help.

Mulan was going to need to rest for the next eight and half months—give or take a few weeks. Her child seemed determined to make her miserable.

I sighed and let Conn's mantle fade away. Rasmus walked to me and took me into his arms.

Hart and Jessing walked to us. "Princess Lulutha—the real one—will see that the contract is removed."

"Will ya stay a bit longer?" I asked. "Having ya here makes me feel safer, especially with Conn and Mulan both feeling under the weather."

"Staying will be like having a vacation in a fancy hotel," Jessing said. "We will stay until they call us."

"They won't call us until we report that we're done," Hart said.

"Perfect," Jessing said with a smile. "I want to see the ancient one turn a horse into a pegasus."

It was over—or mostly over. Lulutha would let the Shadow Breakers know when it was completely done, and they would contact Ben.

Somehow, it had all worked out. I had killed no one, and I hadn't died, either.

We'd all have to stay secluded a bit longer, but it would be worth it. Some of us needed the rest.

I hid my face in Rasmus's shirt and let myself laugh with relief.

"Can I have my talisman back?" Ben asked from behind my back.

I realized then that I still held it in my hand. Breaking free from Rasmus's grasp, I proudly lifted it up to reveal its new golden coating.

"I can't promise yer results won't be as equally hard to deal with as the jiangshi's."

Ben sighed and looked at his wife. "Nephilim magick is like guardian magick, isn't it?"

"They share the same origin. Nephilim is partly human and has evolved to serve their needs. Your results will be from whatever type Mulan's ancestors practiced. We have no way to predict what will happen."

He looked at his wife. "I love you, Felicity."

"I know, Benjamin. Put the necklace on. Nothing terrible is going to happen. I read my stones before we came."

Ben pulled the necklace over his head and let it fall beneath his shirt. "Ow... it stings," he said, pulling the material away from it. He started to adjust the straps, but they came away in his hands. The pieces looked like someone had burned the talisman off them.

He clawed at his shirt until he ripped it off. I couldn't believe Mulan was missing Ben's sexy man chest show again .

On his chest was the imprint of the talisman his wife made for him. It looked like a tattoo. I tilted my head, trying to make out what it was.

It looked different.

"It looks like a turtle," Felicity said, putting her face as close to it as she could.

"Oh. Turtle power," I said, raising my fist in the air. "That's from Mulan. She can do some wicked things with turtle shells."

Ben ran his thumb over it. "It stung when I put it on, but it doesn't hurt now."

"And it can't be snatched off ya again," I said. "They'll have to cut it out of ya now if they want to get rid of it."

"What do you think it means?" Ben asked.

I shrugged. "Get yer wife to take a picture. When Mulan wakes up, I'll ask her and let ya know. Be careful going home, Ben. I'm going to find someplace to crash in this monster house of mine and sleep for the next two days."

Felicity was trying to wrestle her husband back into his shirt to get him out the door. Everyone had disappeared, even Hart and Jessing.

Ben was still studying his new tattoo as they headed out of the front door. One of Henry's people locked it behind them and waved to us.

"Conn is in Henry's suite on the second floor. If ya carry Mulan there, she can sleep on the sofa, and we can sleep in our bed. She might be sick when she wakes up. Henry's people can watch over her."

"That's a great idea. Will you carry her staff?"

"Because ya can't manage both?" I asked.

"Physically, I can manage, but I try not to touch it."

Rasmus was afraid of the shaman staff. Well, that was fascinating news.

"Why not?" I asked.

Rasmus blew out a breath. Goddess, we were still struggling to tell each other the truth.

"Spit it out," I ordered.

"It doesn't like me, but it seems to really like you."

"Good goddess, it's a sentient stick with turtle shells on it." I nodded at his pained look. "Fine. Carry the Wu Shaman, and I'll carry her scary tool."

I laughed and danced with the staff all the way up the stairs and all the way back down.

When we got to our room, Rasmus picked me up and tossed me on our bed to make me stop laughing.

Goddess, I loved my crazy life.

— THE END —