Chapter 5

Five

I might havea crazy one on my hands.

I’d never in my life seen someone speak into a pocket before. Holding a full-on conversation, no less. I wasn’t sure at first whom he spoke with, but the Fae coin was in that pocket…oh dear. Fuck, it was the coin talking to him. Any Fae object able to talk was a harbinger of trouble. Nothing good ever followed. That was a known fact from many, many incidents in history.

I’d known when Jake had landed in my bed, things were bound to get screwy. I wasn’t usually one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but when a handsome man landed in my bed without explanation, there was likely a price tag involved.

Still, I couldn’t be too upset about the coin. It had brought Jake here. And Jake was, thankfully, exactly what I needed. A holy maiden. The relief, the anticipation that stormed through me, just about bowled me over. All was not lost, after all.

Jake abruptly yanked the Fae coin out of his pocket.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE A TALKING COIN?!” Jake’s voice rose into the realm of screeching children.

“Don’t judge a coin by its shininess,” Coin returned primly.

The priestess looked confused at this and whispered to me behind her hand, “What’s going on?”

Of course, as a Goblin, she wouldn’t be able to understand the coin. Very few in my duchy would. I think Jake only understood it because it had somehow bonded to him. Anyone with Fae blood, like myself, could hear it fine.

For her sake, I explained. “That is a Fae-wrought coin. It brought Jake here and gave him divine powers.”

She blinked. “Oh. Really?”

I gathered she didn’t care how Jake had come. She only cared about putting him to work before we lost our homes entirely. I was rather of the same mindset.

“All right, you, start explaining.” Jake growled at the coin. Despite his cute face, he looked quite menacing just then. “Why me, what am I doing here, and what kind of agenda are you working on?”

Coin made a noise like it was clearing its throat. “There are things you cannot comprehend in this life, young one?—”

Jake lifted the coin to eye level. I felt a shiver go down my spine at his expression. He looked…murderous. As capable of slitting a throat as the next man.

“Coin. I am only going to say this once. I will melt you in a forge, turn you into a cock ring, and count it as a good deed. Do not test me.”

I choked back a laugh. Damn, this man had guts. Not many would argue with a Fae artifact. He did it without batting an eye.

Coin made a disturbed sound, its light dimming for a moment. “You wouldn’t really.”

“Try me, punk.”

Personally, I wouldn’t. With the mood he was in, Jake would do it.

The coin apparently realized the same. It stopped trying to sound wise and went with a more succinct answer.

“Um. So. Honestly, I’d been rolling about on Earth for a while. I was waiting for someone sensitive enough to see me and pick me up. That was the first test.”

Jake tensed, brows drawing together, like he was remembering something.

I leaned a little against his side and murmured, “You did, I take it?”

“Yeah, I picked it up off the ground.”

Ah-ha. So he’d passed a test without realizing it.

“And?” Jake prompted the coin. “What else? Was there some other criteria I met?”

Coin stayed suspiciously quiet.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Jake’s head lolled back on his shoulders, his exasperation clear. “You seriously took anyone who would pick you up off the street? What are you, a cheap whore?”

“HEY! I am not!”

“The hell you’re not. You didn’t even ask me questions. You didn’t interview me, nothing. You just grabbed me and went.”

“I saved you from death!” Coin protested. “You got hit by that truck, didn’t you?”

“I got hit by the truck, yes, but saving me doesn’t mean you can do what you want with me.”

“I did ask if you wanted to go on an adventure! You said you’d love to!”

“You didn’t clarify that meant go to another world and wield new magic powers.”

I personally agreed with Jake. This whole deal seemed very one-sided. The coin had definitely taken advantage, and Jake had the guts to call it out for it.

Really, the more time I spent with Jake, the more I was impressed by him. He was smart, resilient, and took no shit. Jake was my kind of people.

Now, if I could just wrangle him into somehow staying and helping me, at least one of my major problems would be solved.

I felt like my heart was in my throat at the idea. I had no idea if he was enough to drive the miasma back, but he might be enough to give us a fighting chance. A chance was all I needed.

I didn’t think right now was the time to press him. He looked angry, and trying to negotiate with someone already mad never worked out well.

“Jake?” I asked gently.

He blew out a noisy breath and crammed the coin back into his pocket. “I need to take a walk. Let this all settle in my head.”

“Sure.” I didn’t blame him. Personally, I’d have gone to find something to hunt, as a little bloodshed always calmed me down, but to each their own. “Just don’t leave the main area. It gets dicey farther out.”

“Got it.” Jake turned smartly on a heel and marched right out the door without looking back.

Phew, really mad. Best for him to walk that off, cool down, before I tried talking to him again. I could only hope he didn’t do something rash in a spurt of anger or refuse to help because of how he’d been brought here.

Small, cold fingers wrapped around one of my hands. I glanced down to see the priestess looking up at me, expression warring between uncertainty and hope.

“Do you think he’ll help us?”

“I hope he will. I know this isn’t the kind of work he’s used to doing, so I really can’t say right now.”

She nodded, accepting this answer, curiosity tilting her pointed ears forward. “What did he do on his world? Do you know?”

“He’s told me a little about himself. He was a businessman, and I think he was quite good. He wore very fine clothes when he arrived.” Clothes that had been tailored to him. In fact, clothes much better than mine. “I think the idea of being able to wield divine power has thrown him for a mental loop.”

She nodded, still uncertain. “He has the power to help us. I want you to emphasize that if he doubts it. He’s so incredibly powerful, it was hard for me to look straight at him.”

“That much?” I let out a low whistle. Apparently, when a Fae artifact gave you power, it didn’t do it by half measures. Which was perfect for our sakes.

She bit her lip, eyes falling to the ground. “I can’t help him. I was never able to wield that kind of power. I wouldn’t begin to know how to teach him.”

Ah. I hadn’t thought of that, but she was right. Jake would need a teacher. “Little Mother, you do all that you can here. Don’t be hard on yourself.”

She gave me a tremulous smile. “I was sent out here because I barely have any divine power. I resented it at the time, but truly, I love living here. I have a kind lord and good people surrounding me, and I don’t want to leave. I’ll help Jake all I can, but it might be best to contact the main temple’s office, tell them he’s here, and arrange a teacher for him.”

I didn’t like this idea. Mostly for political reasons. “Little Mother, I think you know as well as I do that if they find out he’s here, they’ll do all they can to take him from us. Jake will be drawn into quite the power struggle.”

She winced. “I would like to say you’re wrong, that they would leave him where he’s most needed…but I’m afraid you’re right. It might be different if they were the ones who had summoned the holy maiden.”

“But they didn’t. That coin brought him here. Which means they’ll be fighting over him, like a pack of wild dogs over a new bone.” I blew out a breath, stressed by the idea. “I’d like to know why the coin brought him here. It doesn’t seem inclined to explain right now.”

“Does it really matter? Jake is the one we need.”

That was true. I couldn’t refute that. I just had concerns. Quite a few, and they seemed to be multiplying every time I turned my back. “Are you going to report this to your superiors?”

“I’ll delay it as much as I can, but yes, I’ll need to. In the meantime, you need to find him a teacher. That’s the one thing I can’t do.”

A few people popped immediately to mind. “Sure. I think I know someone who can do it.”

“Jake is our miracle,” she stated confidently. “All we need to do is convince him of that.”

Why did that sound like a very tall order?