Darkness Bred (Chimney Rock) Read online

  “Wait,” was the one-word response, followed by the channel closing.

  Elin was trying to see his expression but he didn’t look at her.

  The first needles of light sleet hit his exposed skin and he turned Elin’s face to his jacket. “Shouldn’t be long,” he told her. “Niles will get right back to me.” And, goddammit, if Niles messed him around much more, Sean wouldn’t be available to be reached.

  “Are you still on Gulliver Lane?”

  No time for niceties, huh? “Yeah.”

  “Meet us at Read It Again.”

  “The bookshop?”

  “Last time I checked, that’s what it was. On our way now.”

  Sean locked his jaw. Without a word, he lifted Elin onto the back of his bike and slid on in front of her. They had less than the distance of a couple of blocks to go; nevertheless, he drove too fast getting to the shop. Elin got off the instant he came to a stop in front of the lighted stained-glass windows of Read It Again.

  She had to feel his simmering anger.

  He cut the engine and kicked on the stand. “Sorry, Elin,” he said, catching her hand. “I’m getting hell from Niles and I don’t know why. I shouldn’t take it out on you.”

  “You don’t mean to,” she said.

  “He wants to meet here. Don’t ask me why but it’s weird.”

  “Could be he thinks it’s safe,” she pointed out. “We’re friends with Phoebe.”

  The sleet set up a whirl like a tornado and Elin put her hands over her face.

  Niles landed, Leigh clamped to his side, in a similar swirl of frozen rain. The alpha’s expression reminded Sean of the way the man looked when he went into battle. Sean was glad Elin wasn’t looking.

  Leigh, her hands curled into fists against her mate’s chest, exuded fury. “I didn’t like that,” she snapped at Niles.

  Immediately Elin dropped her hands from her face and stared.

  “It’s okay, honey,” Niles said, still holding her against him and stroking her back. “I know what I’m doing and I needed to get here fast.”

  “We’ll talk about it later,” Leigh said, and she was warning him. “In future I come by car. Or even on that mad Harley of yours.”

  Sean controlled a smile. “Up to some of your flying tricks again?” he said to Niles. They weren’t supposed to fly as humans unless there was no choice.

  “Get inside,” Niles said. “Elin looks frozen.”

  They went toward the door and Phoebe threw it open before they reached it. “Come on in. You can have the upstairs to yourselves. You’ll find anything you need up there.” She must have been watching for them.

  “Jan’s not here?” Elin said. Jan was Leigh’s twin sister.

  “She doesn’t work today,” Phoebe and Leigh said together. Phoebe laughed and continued, “Business is pretty quiet at the moment.”

  With a hand at Leigh’s back, Niles guided her upstairs and the other two went quickly behind.

  “Just yell if you want me,” Phoebe said, juggling books in one arm. “I’ve got a couple of hours of shelving to do.”

  A potbelly stove stood in the middle of the shop with hot chocolate and cider available on top. Book stacks stretched floor to ceiling and old but comfortable chairs were placed in convenient spots.

  Upstairs was almost a mirror of downstairs except for a lot more disorder. Boxes and stacks of books yet to be shelved. Unsteady piles of magazines. And no stove. A dividing wall separated the open room from Phoebe’s living quarters.

  Chairs were arranged in a circle at the farthest point from the stairs, immediately beneath a skylight that showed only darkness beyond. Pots of coffee, a jug of cider, mugs, and cookies waited on a tray in the middle of a scarred cherry wood table.

  It was Leigh who drew Sean’s full attention. She huddled in one of the leather chairs, her arms crossed and her chin sunk on her chest. He had never seen her so colorless and pinched. But then, his alpha paced circles about the room in a manner not at all like his usual cool self. Sure, Niles had a temper, but there was something different about this.

  The hard expression only softened when he looked at his mate. And then, soften it might but whatever lay beneath that expression was different, abnormally intent. His eyes, always impossible to ignore because they had the quality of blue flame, seemed to keep Leigh in their scope all the time.

  “We met with Saul,” Sean said, keeping his voice level and quiet.

  “So you said.”

  Elin drew herself up and looked as if she would say something sharp to Niles but she caught the faint shake of Sean’s head. “Why don’t you sit down,” he said and took off his jacket. “Put this over your legs, you look cold.” She did look extremely cold and he could see her shivering. Perhaps she was getting sick.

  Leigh looked at Elin with an expression Niles couldn’t read. Suddenly she shifted and stood up, all determination. She dealt with the mugs, pouring cider without asking if someone would prefer coffee, and gave some to Elin. Next she put a plate of cookies into Sean’s hands and said, “Make sure everyone eats some of those. A little sugar might help around here—carbs can raise the spirits.” She looked into his face and said, “Have I told you lately that your eyes look like a tiger’s when you’ve got a lot on your mind. They glow like you’re on a hunt.”

  “Yeah?” This wasn’t the time or place to get drawn into the confrontation he sensed was on Leigh’s mind. She was angry, probably made angry by the tension all around her.

  “You don’t feel the cold, Elin,” Leigh said thoughtfully. “The fae don’t.”

  Absolute silence followed and lasted far too long.

  “Elin’s cold?” Niles said as if hearing part of the conversation for the first time. “Leigh feels the cold, too. Unless she’s in the water.” He turned up one corner of his mouth. “Would you mind waiting for us downstairs, Elin?”

  “Yes, she damn well would mind,” Sean blurted out. “So would I. Where I go, she goes.”

  Niles stopped in mid-pace and faced off with Sean but Leigh interrupted him. “The fae don’t feel cold,” she repeated. She hadn’t moved her gaze from Elin. “Why would you—”

  “We’ll take this up again later,” Niles said to Sean.

  “Why would a fae start feeling the cold?” Leigh repeated.

  “I think it’s Tarhazian at work,” Elin said. “She helped me develop my talents because it suited her. I know what she’s up to. She’s changing things to see if I’ll go running to her, begging to be forgiven. Some hope. So I get cold now. I’ll get winter clothes when I get around to it.”

  “We’ll get them immediately,” Sean said. He stared at her and felt his scalp tighten. “If Tarhazian thinks to punish you by removing fae talents, what are we talking about? If she takes them all?”

  “I don’t want to discuss it,” Elin said. “She may just be experimenting with my body temperature and nothing else. I prefer not to talk about other personal things.”

  “Like shapeshifting into an undersized cat?” Niles said. “Not much use in a fight, I’d say.”

  Rounding on him, Sean had to hold back from landing a punch. “You’re in a foul mood. Save it. We’ve got enough problems here.”

  “You don’t know half of it,” Niles said. He threw himself into the chair closest to Leigh’s.

  Sean didn’t want to say it but he had to. “Elin, don’t shift again, okay?”

  She picked a chocolate chip out of her soft cookie and paused with it on the way to her mouth. “I beg your pardon?”

  “You know what he means,” Leigh said.

  “Maybe she’d prefer to get stuck as a cat,” Niles said. “It might simplify her life.”

  “Shut up,” Leigh said, and there was silence.

  Niles shook a hand in front of his face. “I’m sorry. I take it back. I’m not myself.”

  “You’re suggesting Tarhazian could take away my ability to shift,” Elin said quietly. “Perhaps she could but I was born able to shift. And
as long as I can remember, I could fly.”

  Niles looked a whole lot more interested in Elin. “I’m impressed—”

  “I haven’t finished,” she said, cutting him off. “Skillywidden can also become invisible. There’s more, but I don’t choose to talk about it.”

  A knowing glance passed between Leigh and Elin and for an instant Sean thought they were going to chuckle. They both sobered and looked in opposite directions.

  “What else?” Niles said.

  “It’s private,” Elin said. “Let it go, please.”

  “I can’t risk something happening that could be dangerous to the Team,” Niles argued.

  “Nothing about me could ever be dangerous to the Team.”

  Niles’s glance at Sean suggested he thought Elin was being difficult. “You’d better let us know what else Tarhazian could do to you,” he said.

  “Please,” Elin said. “There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

  Niles shrugged but he didn’t look convinced.

  Neither was Sean. Later he would be getting any details out of her.

  “Moving right along,” he said. “Unless you want to waste more time on trivial crap, we’d better try to get our minds around Saul’s announcement this afternoon.”

  “Do you think it would be quicker if we asked Saul to come over?” Elin said.

  “If he’d spoken to the Team in the first place, it would have been quicker. Whatever it is.”

  “He, whoever he is.” Elin was busy diving for chocolate chips again. “Saul doesn’t know who this horrible person is when he’s here on Whidbey. Maybe he’s afraid he’s one of the hounds. I suppose it could be. After all—”

  “Elin,” Sean said rapidly. “Niles needs the whole story, not just the end of what Saul said.”

  She frowned at him, but in question, not annoyance. “Yes, of course.” Her head whipped in Leigh’s direction and the frown cleared. “Of course. It took a moment but I see it now. Why didn’t I know it as soon as you arrived. Niles has a lot on his mind and I bet he’d rather be alone with Leigh.”

  Niles cleared his throat.

  “A baby,” Elin said, grinning, her eyes filling with happy tears. “It’s starting to happen, Sean. Our Team is going to have another generation.”

  chapter ELEVEN

  An hour and a lot of terse words later, nothing was much clearer, other than confirmation that Elin’s uncanny ability to announce invisible pregnancies was accurate.

  Leigh wasn’t just upset by Niles’s negative reaction to the baby, she was also afraid for all of them. Each time Sean relayed more of what he and Elin had been told by Saul, Niles’s mood grew darker, and he interrupted every few sentences. Her own fear struck deeper as Saul’s story emerged.

  “Hey!” Phoebe called up the stairs. “Can I bring some fresh coffee?”

  Niles tightened his lips. “In other words, she can hear every word we say up here. I didn’t think it was a good idea to come here.”

  “It was my idea,” Leigh said quietly. She raised her voice. “That would be great, Phoebe. Thanks.”

  “This is a good place,” Elin said. She reached out and squeezed Leigh’s hand. “But we have to be sure we aren’t overheard.”

  “As far as I know, Phoebe can’t hear us,” Leigh said. “Not that I don’t trust her completely so I wouldn’t be worried if she did hear.” Elin’s cold hand worried her. She wondered if Tarhazian could do things they hadn’t even thought of. “We’re going to have to settle down, Niles. We’re in some sort of trap and we don’t know where the enemy is, or who he is when he’s among us.”

  “Could just as well be a she,” Sean said. “We can’t be sure this sorcerer’s spy is a man.”

  Niles looked thoughtful. “Sally has been a good friend but I wonder—”

  “Sally has nothing to do with this,” Leigh snapped. “If the fae do you a favor, you’re going to owe something in return. I’m not saying anything we don’t already know and so far she hasn’t asked for a thing. But Sally has looked after Elin and we probably wouldn’t have found each other without her, Niles.”

  “It’s probably only because Elin is fae,” Niles said. “One of her own kind. That’s why she’s so careful with her.”

  “No,” Elin told him. “She’s my friend. Do you want me to go away? If it’ll make it easier on everyone else, I’ll go back to Two Chimneys. You want to come, Leigh? You look tired out.”

  “Sally knows I’m not fae,” Leigh said, becoming exhausted by Niles’s antagonism. “She couldn’t have done more for me if I were her daughter.”

  “If you and Leigh go, Elin, I’ll have to go with you,” Sean said. “We’re going in circles. Niles, should we call in the rest of the Team?”

  Niles turned his back and stood quite still for what seemed minutes. “Sean,” he said. “We need to deal with some Team business. It won’t take long.”

  On the way out the front door, Niles asked Phoebe to wait a bit before taking more coffee upstairs. Sean was grateful the other man made sure he sounded pleasant.

  A few steps from the shop, Niles stopped and faced Sean. “We need to keep our voices down,” he said. “Not that I can feel anything that shouldn’t be around.”

  “Neither can I,” Sean said, his face raised to the driving snow.

  “I trust you like a brother,” Niles said softly. “You are my brother.”

  Sean slapped his upper arm and held on. “The same goes for me. And the others would give their lives for us or for each other.”

  “I’m…I’m scared,” Niles said, shaking his head. “Not for myself, for Leigh. Ah, hell, that means I’m scared for myself, too. I don’t expect you to understand but I’d rather be dead than without her.”

  “Don’t you?” Sean said.

  Niles swiped snow from his face, staring at Sean. “Maybe you do,” he said. “That’s good news and bad news. We’ve got to deal with what’s facing us right now. We’re all going to need each other more than ever. I thought about getting all of us together, too, but I want to wait until there’s some sort of plan. Then we’ll just let it slip into place without drawing attention to any change in our behavior.”

  Sean felt watched. He glanced up at the building and through the windows saw the vague outlines of the two women at the top of the stairs.

  “Until Leigh…until the baby comes, I want to be close to her. Does that make sense to you, Sean?”

  “Couldn’t make better sense.”

  “I need you to stand in for me, make decisions, more or less run things. Of course I want to be in the loop and I’ll be second-guessing you all the way, but you’d be disappointed if I didn’t.”

  Sean couldn’t help smiling. “Yes, boss.” Taking on a lot of the alpha’s responsibility without actually being the alpha might be delicate.

  “That’s it, then,” Niles said as if he intended to walk away at once.

  “Hold it,” Sean said. “I expect to discuss decisions with you. But it won’t work if you always countermand any orders I give.”

  “I wouldn’t do that.” Niles sounded offended.

  Sean laughed. “Wouldn’t you?”

  “No. That is—no, I won’t, and if I do, you’ll let me know I’ve stepped on your toes.” He looked over his shoulder, then back at the shop. “It’ll be my fault if Leigh…if something happens to her. I know this is what we all wanted, a chance to get closer to being human again, but I’m so damn disgusted Leigh has to be the experiment.”

  “She wants to be,” Sean said quietly. “She’s going to be okay. We’ve got to believe that.”

  “Yeah.” Sean narrowed his eyes. “Let’s get back.”

  *

  “Here they come,” Leigh said. “I didn’t see any punches thrown, did you?”

  “No. I wish they didn’t feel they have to shut us out, though.”

  “They think they’re protecting us,” Leigh said although she was certain the private powwow had something to do with the baby. “These
guys are big on protection.”

  Niles and Sean came upstairs side by side, wearing smiles that didn’t look natural.

  “Coming up,” Phoebe called out, following the men. She brought another pot of coffee and switched it with the one on the table. She worked a big bag of M&Ms out of the waistband of her jeans.

  The bag didn’t make it as far as the table.

  Instead of turning to leave, Phoebe slowly set the cold pot down again and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. Her amazingly red hair escaped the bottom of a striped woolen hat she wore pulled over her ears and exploded in billowing curls.

  Leigh waited for whatever Phoebe intended to say and it was obvious the other woman was organizing her words.

  “What you talked about earlier—about me. I wasn’t eavesdropping but I can’t help hearing. I hear so much it’s scary sometimes.”

  “Me, too,” Leigh said automatically. She even heard small animals moving in the forest when they were far away.

  “I don’t hear like that,” Elin said and she didn’t look pleased about it.

  “How do you expect to get anywhere if you can’t trust a single person?” Phoebe asked Niles. “Suspicion makes you see things that aren’t there. And imagine things that aren’t true. I don’t know what all this is about. But I do know it isn’t good—it’s very dangerous. You don’t have to worry about me, though. If you think you do, lock me up or something—as long as you feed me.” She gave a lopsided grin. “Any kind of chocolate will do.”

  Elin laughed and so did the others. And just as quickly they were all quiet again.

  “Now you’re thinking that as charming as Phoebe is, there’s no reason for you to trust her,” Doc Saul said, his voice calm but unexpected nevertheless.

  He had made one of his silent and sudden arrivals, moving toward them from the top of the stairs, his long black coat swishing.

  “If you’re prepared to take my word about The One, then you should be prepared to take it for Phoebe. She has no connection to any malign forces.”

  “How do you know?” Niles asked brusquely.