Heart of Thorns: a Between the Worlds novel Read online

  He hesitated slightly as if he was considering her offer, correctly reading between the lines. But then once again the interest was replaced by distance as if he was attracted to her, but wasn’t at the same time. She couldn’t figure it out.

  “I’m here to get something for my girlfriend,” he said calmly, stepping away from her and gesturing at the shelves he’d been perusing before she’d walked up.

  She tried to cover her shock and confusion at that entirely unexpected announcement and keep up the seductive role, “I didn’t think elves had girlfriends,”

  She purred the words, stepping forward and pressing herself against him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and desperately seized the moment to slip the paper into his jacket pocket. No sooner had it slipped out of her fingers then his hands were hard on her wrists, moving her away.

  “I do,” he said firmly. “And as it is I am not looking for any additional companionship, although I’m sure you won’t have any problems finding someone else to show you around.”

  “Right,” she agreed, feeling herself flush with the thrill of unexpected success. She could not believe she’d had the nerve to do that and it had worked. He nodded uncertainly at her, looking suddenly uneasy, but she couldn’t keep the triumphant grin off her face. He reached out and grabbed a box off the nearest shelf and turned without another word.

  She lingered, almost shaking, consumed with euphoria. She’d touched him – actually touched him! – and he’d had no idea who she was, what she was doing. No one back home would believe it. That could not have worked out better, and with the new hex actually, physically, on him it should affect him more directly. Suddenly curious she looked at the shelf he’d grabbed from but it was nothing interesting, just boxed cereal, the sugary kinds that kids liked. It seemed like a weird thing for someone to be getting for his girlfriend…Unless he was getting it for himself and didn’t want to admit it she thought, giggling at the mental image of the tough, black-clad elf eating Marshmallow Crunch.

  Whistling happily to herself she decided to leave the store and go find a restaurant to eat in. A nice sit down dinner. She’d earned it this time for sure.

  ******************************

  Allie was sitting on the couch in the den with Shawn and Jason watching a movie when she felt Bleidd returning. She scooted off the couch and eased out of the room leaving her two roommates as quietly as she could. She was halfway across the kitchen when Bleidd walked in with his head down. She could feel his unease and it made her uneasy in response.

  He glanced up and then stopped, clearly surprised. “Allie! I hadn’t expected you to be home.”

  “Nice to see you too,” she teased, “I had to cancel with Miss Amelia. Or, well, really I kind of forgot and by the time I got out of the clinic I was late and she doesn’t tolerate that.”

  He crossed the space between them in a few steps wrapping her in his arms without even bothering to put down the cloth shopping bag he was carrying. “It is always good to see you Allie, never doubt that,” he bent over, kissing her neck and muttering into her hair, “I hope the old mage wasn’t too angry.”

  “Well you’re in a mood,” she breathed, feeling his lust going through her and fighting to keep it from overwhelming her. “What happened, someone try to pick you up today and get you all hot and bothered before you came running home to me?”

  She’d meant the words to be more teasing, even if they were probably true, but he pulled back clearly stung. “You know I have no interest in sex with anyone except you…and Jessilaen.”

  She caught herself before she could say that the only reason for that was that being bound to her meant he physically couldn’t act on his urges with anyone else. Dear Gods what is my problem? She thought, annoyed with herself am I trying to start a fight? Instead she slid her hands under his jacket, around his body, and said, “And you should know that I don’t care who you look at since I know it’s me – and Jess – you’re coming back to.”

  He relaxed into her arms, placated. “Well, there was this one odd girl in the store. She all but threw herself at me.”

  Allie laughed, knowing that his ego had probably appreciated the attention. While Jess had never even realized that he was effected by Allie’s binding because he had chosen monogamy as one way to try to please her, Bleidd had previously had a voracious sexual appetite and Allie knew that he still chafed at the limitations that being with her imposed. “She must have been very disappointed when you turned her down.”

  “That was the odd part,” he said, frowning. “She seemed delighted.”

  “Really? That is odd,” Allie agreed, resting her cheek against his chest. “Who knows though? Maybe she just felt brave for having spoken to you at all. Humans do get pretty intimidated by elves.”

  He smiled, “I had not thought of that, but you may be right. That might explain much of the situation actually.”

  “Mmmmm,” she sighed, feeling content. “So anyway, good news at least my hand is looking great, I got the stitches out, and I can stop taking that horrible antibiotic.”

  He stepped back and took her injured hand in one of his, running his fingers deftly over the red line that would soon be a scar. “Impressive. It is not quite what elven healing would look like, but certainly far faster and better then human healing.”

  “Yeah, I’m just a freak,” she said, and when he gave her a reproving look she grinned impudently up at him. “It’s okay, I’m learning to love my freakiness.”

  “You are in a much better mood,” he said.

  “Well, moping around isn’t going to change whatever’s wrong with my car,” she shrugged. “And besides my hand doing so well I also may have found us a new roommate – a nurse at the clinic.”

  “Then perhaps I shouldn’t give you the gift I picked up on the way home,” he said mischievously.

  “Gift? What gift?” she asked. He held up the grocery bag and she giggled. “You got me a present at the grocery store?”

  “Indeed,” he said reaching into the bag. “You said that you hadn’t been eating because your stomach was upset, so I thought this might help.”

  “Oh! Marshmallow Crunch,” she snatched the box out of his hands. “My day has definitely improved. Let me grab a bowl and we can go join Jase and Shawn in the den.”

  He slid his jacket off, draping it over the nearest kitchen chair before heading towards the den. Despite the difficulties of the past few days Allie felt hopeful that things were starting to turn around. After all she thought any day that ends with my favorite cereal for dinner can’t be that bad.

  Chapter 3 - Saturday

  “Mmmmphf,” Allie groaned, trying to pull the blanket back over her head.

  Bleidd laughed, poking her in the side through the comforter, his hand firm enough to move her but gentle enough not to hurt her. “Come on Allie, I have to go to work and after Wednesday’s debacle I don’t dare leave you in bed when I go.”

  She pulled the blanket down enough to glare at him. “I’m not going.”

  “Of course you are,” he sighed. “I know it’s been a rough week…”

  “Rough week?” she said, throwing back the covers and sitting up, which predictably made her head spin and stomach twist. She winced but tried to push the physical discomfort away. “My car is dead, thanks to a blown timing belt, the lock on the back door of the store jammed so I have to go in the front, and the building inspector came by for the first time ever and gave me a citation for not having a fire exit because the back door is jammed. Half my book order disappeared in transit and no one seems to have any idea where the boxes may have gone and I have customers freaking out about their special orders. And even though I stopped taking that stupid medication I still keep getting dizzy and feeling sick.”

  “And,” he said gently, “I already found you another car which we can pick up tomorrow, Jason has a friend who is going to stop by in the next few days and fix the lock…and I have told you, as has Jessilaen, that if you keep fe
eling sick you should go and see Brynneth.”

  “Meh,” she mumbled, not wanting to be appeased. He leaned over and kissed her, making her shiver.

  “And,” he added, sliding his hands around her shoulders and pulling her smoothly to her feet by the edge of the bed. “Jess should be back tomorrow.”

  That made her smile. “I think you miss him more than I do.”

  “I doubt that,” he laughed, crossing the room to finish getting dressed. “I’m sure you’re quite tired of my exclusive company by now.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” she said stretching, “but let’s agree we both miss him equally. I’m sure you’re getting tired of my exclusive company.”

  “Well,” he said smirking at her as pulled his shirt on, “I wouldn’t necessarily say that either, but I do admit that I miss him. He gives better blow jobs than you do.”

  “Bleidd!” she yelled, mortified that he’d say that and knowing he wouldn’t say it unless it was true. He was already laughing his way out of the room, clearly amused by his own joke, and she dressed quickly to follow him.

  She could hear Jason snoring through his door as she passed his room, and almost woke him up – he’d promised to give her a ride to work later – but then decided to let him sleep in. He didn’t have to get up for a few more hours and there was no reason to wake him yet. She yawned her way down the stairs instead, somewhat surprised to find Shawn already up and in the kitchen. The actor kept late hours and was almost never up before she left for work, but when she walked in, not too far behind Bleidd she found him sitting at the kitchen table reading a book.

  He saw her and smiled tentatively. “Morning guys.”

  Bleidd nodded non-committally; Allie mumbled a greeting back.

  “How are you doing Shawn?” she asked, trying to be polite to the newest roommate. She hadn’t made much effort to get to know Shawn in the last six months, but she knew that Jason liked him, and she trusted Jason’s opinion.

  “Okay I guess,” he said. “The new show’s doing well. And we may put on an extended run of Vansey’s ‘By My Will’ after this one closes. I did that one in school and I’d love a chance to do it again at a better theater.”

  “’By My Will’ really?” Allie said, genuinely shocked. “The new theater manager must be feeling brave.”

  “Or he’s trying to get some cheap publicity,” Bleidd said dismissively. “Putting on a notorious play about a human who uses iron to poison his Fey lover in a Bordertown is bound to cause controversy.”

  “Ummm, Allie? Can I ask you something?” Shawn said, his voice as hesitant as the emotions she could sense from him.

  “Sure,” Allie said, sliding into a seat at the kitchen table with her cereal while Bleidd walked over to get the coffee started.

  “I don’t want to sound weird or drag up anything from, ummm, before, but when you were in the hospital…I guess I didn’t realize how serious that sort of thing was,” Shawn said.

  “Oh,” Allie said, unsure what exactly he meant. Her already twitchy stomach flipped unhappily remembering what she’d gone through several months before. “Well, yeah. Iron poisoning’s a pretty big deal. It’s usually fatal. With full elves, I mean.”

  “Yeah,” Shawn said flushing and looking down at his cereal. Allie was suddenly reminded of how young Shawn was. Although she might look the same age or a bit younger than he was, in reality she was more than a decade and a half older and in that moment she was keenly aware of it. She found herself wondering if this was how the elves felt around humans all the time. “Jason explained that. When we went to visit you. But, umm, I meant how serious it was as a crime. Like worse than killing someone usually is.”

  Bleidd was giving Shawn an openly hostile look over his shoulder and Allie was glad the young actor couldn’t see it. She tried to step in before Bleidd could unleash his formidable mouth on their hapless roommate. “It’s considered the worst way someone can die yeah. Of course I didn’t die, something I’m very grateful for,” she met Bleidd’s eyes across the room and watched his expression soften at that before she went on, “But it also violates the Treaty so…”

  “Not the Treaty,” Bleidd corrected as the sound of coffee percolating filled the kitchen. “The 1937 Odessa Convention. That was the agreement that outlined how warfare would be conducted in future conflicts and outlined specific actions that both sides agreed would be unacceptable.”

  “Really?” Shawn asked, wide eyed.

  “You never studied this in school?” Allie said, trying to remember her own high school history lessons.

  Shawn looked embarrassed. “Well, ummm….history wasn’t my best subject. All those dates and names and places. I think I slept through most of it.”

  “The Odessa Convention specifies that iron is not to be used offensively against elves, and only against the lesser Fey under exceptional circumstances. It also clearly states that to use iron as a poisoning agent is banned at all times, even during war, because of the extreme agony it causes. It was considered inhumane,” Bleidd said, his voice dripping with irony on the final word.

  “But…” Shawn started to say, then stopped as Bleidd’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

  Allie took a minute to soothe the elf’s feelings, knowing the subject bothered him for several reasons. She spoke directly into his mind, feeling his emotions twisting in unpleasant ways. “I know this is a tough thing for you to talk about, but I think it’s important for him to understand. If you want I can try to explain to him…”

  “Allie,” Bleidd replied in her mind, his emotions settling into a grim amusement, “you’re grasp of history isn’t that much better than his. No, I just dislike someone we live with asking questions about iron poisoning. But you may be right, if he doesn’t find answers here the Gods know where he’ll go looking.”

  Speaking into what Shawn had to believe was a tense silence Allie said, “It’s okay Shawn. If you have a question you can ask.”

  “Well, it’s just we do use iron. People are always talking about having iron around their houses to keep Fey stuff out,” he said, his expression puzzled.

  “Yeah, but that’s only defensive,” Allie said.

  “Indeed,” Bleidd agreed. “Iron is used as a deterrent to discourage some of the less intelligent lesser Fey from attacking humans. But it isn’t used as a weapon, unless there is no other choice and only then against those beings who are little better than animals.”

  “Oh,” Shawn said slowly. “So this convention thing was to assure the Fey that humans wouldn’t use iron against them?”

  “Partially,” Bleidd said, obviously impatient. “The human governments made certain concessions and so did the different Fairy Holdings.”

  “Like what?” Shawn asked.

  Bleidd smiled wickedly, “The Fey agreed to stop using humans as a food source, for one.”

  Shawn’s eyes went huge and round and Allie knew Bleidd was enjoying his discomfort. She sighed. “The Elven Guard was tasked in part to help with that, to maintain the Law in the Borderlands and also to make sure that the Fey, all the Fey, followed the new Laws about interacting with humans.”

  “Wow,” Shawn said. “Is that, ummm, is that what you do Allie?”

  “Me?” Allie said, trying not to laugh at the look on Bleidd’s face at the question. “No, definitely not. I’m not really in the Guard, exactly. I mean I have the badge and all but I’m just like a part time employee. I help when they need a cultural intermediary.”

  Shawn looked embarrassed. “Really? Ahh, I’m not really sure I know what that means.”

  “It means,” Bleidd said setting a cup of very milky coffee down in front of Allie, and joining them at the table with his own cup, “that she helps the Elven Guard deal with humans and human culture when they have cases that intersect with the human population of Ashwood.”

  “Oh,” he said, although Allie still wasn’t sure that the explanation had helped anything.

  “Speaking of Elven Guard,” she sai
d. “Jessilaen should be back tonight or tomorrow morning.”

  “Oh good,” Shawn said, and Allie was happy to sense that he was genuinely relieved to know that Jess would be back soon. He stood up and yawned. “Well, I think I’m going to hit the sack and try to get a couple hours before I have to get up for rehearsal.”

  Allie felt her eyebrows lodging in her hairline. “You just got in?”

  “Yeah, about half an hour ago. I raided the fridge for leftovers, kind of a late dinner. After the show last night Wendy and I ended up hanging out and well, before I knew it, it was dawn.”

  “Sounds like a good time,” Bleidd said, earning a nervous smile from Shawn.

  “No complaints here,” he agreed before heading up to his room.

  “Well, he seems to finally be settling in,” Allie said before taking a tentative sip of the coffee to see how her stomach would react. As much as she loved coffee and her morning routine of drinking a cup, in the last few days she usually couldn’t choke down more than a few sips.

  “Don’t worry I remembered about your touchy stomach and made it more milk than coffee,” Bleidd said.

  She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, knowing he was starting to worry about the continued dizziness and nausea. “Thanks. It seems better this morning anyway. I think I just have to make myself eat more. You know it becomes a vicious cycle - when you aren’t eating that will make you dizzy and make your stomach off.”

  He reached over, caressing her cheek, “I cannot help but worry for you Allie. I spent so many decades wandering, and then ten years waiting for you…and now finally I seem to have everything I ever wanted in my life. But it seems like such a fragile happiness.”

  She reached up and took his hand, squeezing it. “I’m not going anywhere. You should know me well enough by now to know that once I’m in something I’m all in.”

  “I don’t question your fidelity,” he said softly, “But I worry for your safety.”