Heart of Thorns: a Between the Worlds novel Read online

  Soon enough even Zarethyn would have to admit that the agent had gone to ground and chasing him was futile. A new strategy would be needed, and once that was decided Jess knew he would be sent back to the Outpost and back to his home and his lovers. He had been given one more week, but he hoped that Zarethyn might grow frustrated before that time had passed – the next best strategy was to allow the agent to think he had escaped and try to lure him back to Ashwood. It was a solid strategy, given that the Dark court had tried twice already to take Allie, and since they had lost an agent the first time and returned to try again anyway it did seem likely that they would not give up this time either. Jess disliked that plan if only because it meant using Allie as bait, but he would not argue against any idea that would send him back home.

  He sighed, shifting again, unable to find a comfortable way to lay. Sleep was more and more elusive and he dreaded the nights, when he had nothing to do but stare into the darkness and think of the things that he was able to ignore during the day.

  And then as if his thoughts had conjured her he felt Allie in his mind, and he smiled up in to the darkness, as she pulled him towards her. Her emotions swirled around him, sweet and rich as honey. “Can you talk?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he thought back closing his eyes and trying to picture her face.

  “Since you’re still awake, I wanted to let you know about my hand being treated. There was a slight issue, nothing worth worrying about, really, but I had a reaction to the pain killer,” she said. “I’m sure you picked up on some of that when Bleidd and I were talking earlier and I didn’t want you to worry.”

  “You’re certain you are alright now?” he asked, unable to hide his concern. It made him wish even more that he was with her so that he could see for himself that she was well.

  “I’m fine. They said the glass missed everything important. Really, it’s all right,” she soothed him, wrapping her love around him like a physical weight. He sighed out loud.

  “I miss you, my love” he thought to her, knowing that she would already know it, but wanting to say it anyway.

  “I miss you too,” she said. “But I know what you are doing is important.”

  “It’s harder and harder for me to remember why,” he thought morosely.

  “Jess,” she started, and then he could feel her distraction and she broke off.

  “What is it?” he said, worried.

  “Nothing, Bleidd is coming up the stairs, and I had wanted to…I need…”she floundered trying to find the best way to explain. There was no need though, he knew well enough what she must be feeling then, and why she would want to seek out the energy she needed to heal herself.

  “Shhh, love, its alright,” he soothed, feeling his own excitement and lust growing. “Do what you need to do, I would rather be with you this way now than not at all.”

  “Soon enough Jess, you’ll be back,” she thought back, her love still surrounding him. “and then we will get very thoroughly re-acquainted.”

  “Oh yes my heart, soon enough,” he agreed before thinking to himself and until then, at least I have this…

  ********************************

  Bleidd would never be crass enough to tell Allie that he was happy her cousin was dead and that the house belonged to her now, but as he walked up the stairs and down the hall to the room he now shared with Allie and Jess – a room that had once been her cousin’s and before that her grandmother’s – he could not deny that he much preferred the current situation. He had moved into this place out of convenience, and stayed as much from inertia as any real desire to be there. Now though, with the feeling of real belonging that had slowly grown since Liz’s death he found himself thinking of this house not just as another place in a long parade of places he’d lived, but as a real home with a sense of permanence.

  He sat down on the edge of the king-sized bed and once again found his mind going back to the note that had been waiting on the door step. Desperately he tried to decide what the cryptic message could mean, but no matter how he tried to take it apart the only thing he could be certain of was that it was addressed to him and it was a threat. What kind of threat though, was maddeningly vague. He sighed, frustrated. He knew that he should tell the others, especially since he had been thinking earlier that openness was key to the success of their relationship’s survival, yet he could not bring himself to admit to them that just when things were going so well some personal threat to himself might be endangering it all. No he though frowning better to say nothing until I know what this threat might be and what this person wants from me. And what they think I might have done…

  Allie emerged from the small bathroom attached to their room wearing nothing but the bandages on her hand and a look of determination. He turned his gaze resolutely to the ceiling. It wasn’t often that she was the assertive one and if he was entirely honest with himself he’d have to admit he had a very hard time refusing her. Even in the clinic it had taken a monumental effort not to let her follow through with what she had tried to start. Only knowing that it was her own need for his emotions that motivated her, not true desire, and that she would deeply regret acting on that need after the fact had allowed him to push her way.

  She sat down next to him, reaching out to caress his side.

  “Allie,” Bleidd said grabbing her wrist and moving her hand away. “I already said that this isn’t a good idea. You need to be resting, firstly, and the risk is too great.”

  She tried to pull her hand free, her eyes locking with his, challenging, “And I already told you, I don’t think there’s very much risk. I trust the birth control I’m using even if you don’t. And I’m not going to avoid your bed all of a sudden just because you’re spooked about something that’s not going to happen.”

  He released her wrist, still uncertain, and she resumed stroking his abdomen, sliding her hand under his shirt.

  “Besides,” she said, trying to sound sensible, “we both know I need this, the energy from your positive emotions, to pull from.”

  He shook his head slightly, trying to ignore what she was doing. “There are other ways you can get the same satisfaction.”

  “Not tonight,” she said stubbornly, struggling to unfasten his jeans one-handed. “And if it worries you that much you know men have birth control options too.”

  He frowned, hating his own hypocrisy, “I can’t stand those things.”

  “That’s your choice. And this is mine,” she said, finally succeeding in her mission. “And I don’t want to hear any more about this, and I don’t want you making me feel bad for treating you and Jess equally.”

  He felt his will faltering under her persistence. “At least let me use a spell –“

  “No,” she said, her voice firm even as she kissed her way along his jaw line. “No infertility magic. I let you do it once and I don’t like how it makes me feel. Besides I have as much faith in the method I use as you do in your magic, so why don’t you just trust me?”

  He closed his eyes, his resolve crumbling beneath her persistent hand. That feeling of unease that had plagued him since the afternoon swept over him yet again and he was seized with the sudden irrational certainty that he should refuse her. But he could not resist her need for him, or his own weakness when it came to physical pleasures. In one swift motion he rolled her over, pinning her to the bed. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  She giggled, smiling up at him triumphantly, “Oooh, I’ve been warned. Duly noted.”

  Chapter 2 - Wednesday

  Allie woke up late Wednesday morning feeling entirely out of sorts. Bleidd had already left for work earlier that morning and she had made the mistake of going back to sleep instead of getting up with him. When she finally lifted her head again it was after 9 a.m. and she had barely half an hour to get dressed and out the door to get the store open on time.

  Ugh she thought rolling out of bed and wincing as her bad ankle protested the speed of the movement, quickly followed
by her stomach, which threatened to force her to make a run for the bathroom. What is wrong with me today? I swear if I’m getting the flu on top of everything else I’m going out and looking for four leaf clovers in the front yard.

  She swallowed hard several times until the nausea settled down to something bearable. Flexing her injured hand cheered her up though, as that didn’t hurt at all anymore, and was only uncomfortable where the stitches pulled at the flesh. Come to think of it it’s probably not the flu, it’s probably the gigantic dose of antibiotics I’m taking three times a day to keep this from getting infected Allie thought, rolling her eyes at herself. She’d had such a run of bad luck the last few days it just seemed natural to assume the worst, but the more she thought about it the more she realized she was being silly. And speaking of antibiotics I better get my butt out of bed and take my morning dose because the last thing I really do need is an infection.

  With that thought to motivate her she managed to get up and pull on a pair of jeans and one of her older grey t-shirts. It was hardly an inspired outfit but she wasn’t feeling up to the effort of sartorial decisions today. When she met with her mentor, Miss Amelia, that evening, she’d probably get a sniff and a raised eyebrow from the elderly mage, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to care.

  Yawning she staggered down the stairs following the smell of coffee to the kitchen, where much to her surprise she found Jason sitting at the table picking at a big plate of eggs and bacon. “Ummm. Aren’t you on first shift today?”

  “Yeah, I am. Was anyway,” he said. “I went in and after like half an hour it was so slow they sent me home”

  “Can they do that?”

  “I had the least seniority of all the guys on today,” he shrugged, looking morosely down at his plate.

  “Well that sucks,” she sympathized. Then, “Hey wait doesn’t that mean you already ate breakfast?”

  “Yeah, this is my second breakfast,” he shrugged.

  “Your second…what are you a hobbit?” she was only half joking, looking from her muscular roommate to the generous plate of food.

  “Naw, my feet aren’t furry enough,” he grinned back scooping up a big forkful of eggs. For some reason the comment and the sight of the eggs made her stomach turn again and she grimaced walking over to get her usual cup of coffee heavily mediated with milk.

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  “Hey are you okay?” he said around his mouthful of food. “You just got really pale. Paler than usual and trust me that’s scary.”

  “Fine, my stomach is just rebelling because of these horse pill sized antibiotics they have me taking,” she said holding one of the pills up for him to see.

  “You have to take that?”

  “Three times a day.”

  “Well damn no wonder your stomach’s upset. That thing is gigantic,” he said, continuing to shovel his second meal down.

  She managed to choke down the pill and a few sips of her drink, but it was quickly apparent that she wasn’t going to be able to push her body very far or she really would be running for the bathroom. Dumping the rest of her cup in the sink she gave breakfast up as a lost cause. “Have a good day Jase, I’m going to head out to work.”

  “Hope you feel better,” he said, still eating.

  She walked briskly down the hall remembering halfway to the door that she was supposed to go to the clinic to have her hand checked today. Well crap, crap, crap she thought irritated all over again that she’d let herself sleep in. I’ll just have to go as soon as I close the store and hope I can get in and out and make it to Miss Amelia’s without being late. Crap.

  Trying really hard not to start feeling pessimistic about a day that had only just started Allie walked across the front yard to her car, her feet shuffling through the leaves which had already started to fall.

  Okay she thought trying to find something positive to hold on to. Jess will be back soon. That’s a good thing. And my hand feels a lot better. That’s another good thing. And despite sleeping in since I skipped breakfast I’m actually leaving for work early, which is also good.

  She slid into the front seat of her car trying to think of one more good thing. She turned the key in the ignition and nothing happened. With a growing sense of despair she tried again with the same result. The car didn’t even try to turn over. She felt helpless tears welling up and blurring her vision and in that instant when she least wanted to deal with another living person she found both Jess and Bleidd speaking in her head, drawn as always by her distress. She wanted to scream and beat her head on the steering wheel.

  “Allie are you okay?”

  “My heart what is wrong?”

  She throttled down her own feelings ruthlessly, physically scrubbing the tears from her eyes and forcing herself to take a deep breath. “I’m sorry guys, I’m fine. I overslept and now my car won’t start. It’s not a big deal, really.”

  “You seemed very distraught,” Jess thought back and his worry and distress grated on her nerves.

  “I am very sorry that I distracted both of you from your work. I am having a bad morning but it is nothing, truly. Just frustration.”

  Bleidd surprised her by asking “Do you need me to come give you a ride?”

  “No, no really,” she thought back hastily, aware of Jess still hovering. She got out of the car and slammed the door with more force than necessary, caught between appreciating their concern and feeling smothered by them. “Jason is home from work because it was too slow and they didn’t need him today, I’m sure he can drive me.”

  Finally she felt them both pulling back and to her consternation she felt the tears welling up again. She walked back across the yard sniffling and wiping her eyes, overwhelmed by a sense that she was failing at everything today. She managed to get herself under control before opening the door and yelling down the hall “Hey Jason? Can I ask a favor?”

  **************************

  Bleidd had finished his shift at work and didn’t linger. He enjoyed his job well enough; he liked most of the drivers at least as much as he liked most people, he knew his boss truly valued him, and he enjoyed the challenge each shift presented in coordinating the different calls that came in with the available cab drivers. He also genuinely appreciated having a job that paid well and didn’t make him feel like he was being put on display for the humans to gawk at, as some of his previous jobs had done. At other times he wouldn’t have rushed home, but taken his time to socialize with his coworkers, listen in on the gossip going around, and see if there were any under the table opportunities worth taking for extra money. But the past few days he had continued to be plagued by that sense of impending doom, and he just could not shake it. Allie’s cryptic comment that morning about having a bad day, and her trouble with her car worried him, although he couldn’t quite put his finger on why. As well today had been an odd day, with several of the cabs breaking down, more than the usual share of people trying to skip fares, and a small flood in the breakroom when someone tried to refill the water cooler and accidently broke it instead. Henry was in a truly foul mood and Bleidd didn’t feel like pretending to sympathize when he really wanted to tell the man that a little more money invested in the cars would save at least some of these issues.

  He moved out into the lengthening shadows of the early evening, leaving behind the troubles of work, already looking forward to another night spent with Allie. He had not expected to miss Jessilaen as much as he was, which was a strange sensation. He wasn’t entirely sure he liked it, although he found himself craving the other elf’s presence. But he was enjoying the time spent with Allie, just the two of them in the dark hours of the night, talking and simply being together. That was something new, and different. He could almost understand the appeal humans saw in committed relationships.

  As he approached his car at the back of the lot he saw something white stuck under one windshield wiper. It fluttered in the slight breeze and he guessed it was probably paper. He frowned in
real annoyance then, assuming it was some sort of parking ticket, although he couldn’t imagine what law he’d broken. What really annoyed him though was that anyone had been able to touch his car at all, since he went to great lengths to ward it very carefully. It should have been all but invisible to most people. Perhaps the bad luck is reaching me now Bleidd thought sourly reaching out to grab the paper.

  He froze when he recognized the same type of envelope that he’d found on his doorstep a few days earlier, the word “Outcast” scrawled almost illegibly across the front. His gut clenched and then he tore the paper up furiously, scattering the pieces across the asphalt. His eyes searched the area around the building and lot while his magical senses probed the area for any hint of an active spell, but there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.

  Finally, slowly, he moved around to the driver’s side and got into the car. He started it and put it into gear reflexively, his fear turning inexorably to a slow burning anger. Whoever you are, where ever you are, I will find you, he thought as his car pulled sedately out into traffic and headed towards home. For the first time in half a century my life has meaning again, purpose. Value. No one is going to ruin that, not now. I will not lose everything I’ve gained because some fool thinks I haven’t suffered enough yet.

  ********************************

  Allie walked into the clinic after work Wednesday preoccupied with worry about her car. When she’d asked Jason for help the first thing he’d tried was jumping the battery with his truck but that had done nothing. In the end she’d had to call a tow truck to come get it and bring it to the repair shop. Of course she’d opened the store late, although Jason had been a sweetheart about driving her in and then had stayed with her all day and even offered to bring her to the clinic. She’d tried to call the garage when she hadn’t heard anything from them late in the day, but by then they’d closed. Her worst fear of course was that the problem was not repairable, or too far out of her budget and she found herself wishing that she’d kept Liz’s car, although after her cousin’s death she hadn’t even been able to look at it. I swear it’s like I don’t have any luck right now that isn’t bad she thought shifting her weight off her bad ankle.