Chapter 9

After washing suntan lotion, as well as Mandy's salty sweat and sweet juices, from my frame, I was working in my front office. At the sound of a roar racing past my house, I looked up to watch her speeding away, eyes fixed straight ahead. As I shrugged, about to turn from the window, I caught a lithe, little figure materialize and flit along the hedge. After going to the door, I yanked it open just as Mi stepped out onto my stoop. Clad in the same red-sequined, painted-on micro dress, she flung her long blonde tresses back over her shoulder and flashed me a broad smile.

"A bit overdressed aren't we?" As I gestured at my own shorts and t-shirt, I forced a grin. Well, Gary had warned me, but she had discovered me awfully quickly.

As her smile widened, her attire morphed into a bubble-gum pink, cut-off t-shirt. Hanging from their sharp points, it was not long enough to cover the entirety of her pert boobs. My eyebrows raised. With her little frame vibrating under my gaze, she glided her hands down her trim flanks. My eyes followed them until I settled below her bare midriff, where darker pink booty shorts wrapped tight to her slim pelvis. To finish the image, when I looked up, her lengthy hair now wafted around her, suspended from twin pigtails, high on each side of her skull.

"Okay. Nice trick." As she swept loose strands from her face, I cocked my head, adding. "What do you want?"

"May I come in?" Without waiting, she moved forward.

"No." I flung my arm out to bar her.

Mi thrust out a hip and pouted ... actually pouted, as long, glittery pink-nailed fingers twirled in a swirling pigtail. "Please, Iakovos."

Her use of my true name startled me at first, but I pursed my lips and tilted my head the other way as she stared up at me. The woman ... Fae, was even smaller than Mandy, but her lively roiling irises, with the constant color-switching, were alluring. A tantalizing perfume puffed from her. It was no mere chemical concoction; its intensely flowered scent hinted of much more. Her nipples lengthened. Yeh, that last was a bit much.

"On one condition."

Just as her mouth opened to ask what that might be, I flashed my hand under her ridiculous "top" to clasp one of her sturdy stems in my fingertips. When I twisted, her eyes flew wide, and she lurched into my grasp, thrusting her warm cone into my palm. Her now pink glossy lips parted to release a hungry low moan.

"If I detect the tiniest flicker of magic. One single trick. You are out on your pretty little ass, and we are done."

After yanking my hand from her, she stumbled forward, bobbing her chin while gulping air. The glamour no longer present, she had settled on brilliant blue eyes. Fitting. With a smile, I stepped aside and swept my arm inward to welcome her. Still shaking, she click-clacked into my house–she'd kept the shiny, red strapped heels. They enhanced her already perfect little legs and, as I shut the door behind her, I inspected her tight, petite frame.

Impressive little creature.

"Who are you? What are you really?" she said, after catching my neutral look when they finally returned to hers.

"You know my name?" Before I answered any questions of hers, I wanted her to admit how she knew it.

"Your men—"

Yep. I figured. With a snarl on my lip, I cut her off with a sharp gesture and a sharper tone. "The ones you fucked?"

"Yes." Her eyes glistened and her lower lip trembled as she replied. Contrite? Really? "One of them told me that much." Twirling her hair, she paused and tentatively skimmed her tongue over her shaking lip. "But nothing more."

With a forced grin and a hissed sigh, I ushered her across the foyer and into my main room, nodding to the couch as I stepped to the sidebar.

"Would you like a drink?" When I turned, she was staring at the battered blade over the fireplace as she walked.

"Yes, please." She muttered over her shoulder as she whirled, taking in my oh, so humble home.

Lined with bookshelves crammed with mementos from the more recent past and many books, the long, broad area also held older-style, over-stuffed chairs centered on a fireplace. The couch to which she was headed and another pair of armchairs faced my wide-screen TV. The pointed toes and heels of her small stilettos sank and dragged in the thick carpeting.

While trying to keep my heartbeat as normal as possible, I poured two tall whiskeys and turned just as she settled her side against the couch's back cushions. Shoes abandoned on the carpet; her legs were now curled beneath her. As she took the glass from my hand, she remained silent, her eyes locked on mine. After the merest hesitation, she lifted it to her lips.

With a sigh, I sat across from her and took a lengthy gulp before beginning. It was a story I hadn't been able to tell in a very long time. As the first words slid from me, my heart hammered

"At his request, I had followed Clearchus into exile to Thrace and we fought. We pushed them back and then he got hired by Cyrus. So we followed. But ... long story short, they murdered Clearchus. He had been a good general and a hard-hearted fighter, and they killed him for it. Along with the other generals. Well, we had little choice. We picked new leaders and began hacking our way home." I lifted my eyes from my drink and looked at her. "That was a long ass time ago. Nowadays, they ... the humans ... call it 400 BC."

"And that's all we were trying to do ... get home. Me and some others were scouting out ahead of the column, across a white stony, scrub-brush covered ridge in the Armenian hills. With not a single cloud in the bright blue sky, the sun was full up, beating down relentlessly as we trudged along an ancient hard-scrabble lined goat path.

"It was so hot. We had left our heavy cuirasses behind to move quicker. With our helmets in the wagons as well, we should have been able to see and hear better, but it made no difference. They knew the terrain, and we were just passing interlopers. So..."

After a pause, I took a slow drink and then rolled my lips, gazing, not at Mi, but through her. Once more under the beating sun, I found myself slapping at hordes of biting flies while sweat dripped beneath my filthy gray tunic.

"We still got ambushed. Overwhelmed in seconds. Before I had a chance to do more than cry in alarm and draw my sword..." When her eyes flicked to the one over the mantlepiece, I chuckled. "No, that I carried much more recently. My sword back then—long gone."

After one more slow draft, draining my glass, I stood to refill it as Mi sipped hers; her gaze never left me as I shambled to the bar before returning to the chair.

"There was a thud. A hammer struck me, hard, and I stared at the sun as the world drifted upwards. I had taken a spear to the chest." At her gasp, I paused and gulped another swig. It was good whiskey ... strong.

"When I awoke to a rough-hewn wooden shaft wavering over me, I scrabbled at it with my grimy fingers as the chilly evening breeze blew dirt and dust over me. All I could manage to do, since luckily it had a flimsy haft, was snap that free, leaving the narrow head inside. It took a while ... a long while, but I was able to roll and then stagger to my feet. Along those shattered shale mountainsides, I wandered for hours in dim starlight until I stumbled across a tiny village."

When Mi leaned forward, her eyes widening, a taut grin slipped onto my face. She was like a child at story time. My heart slowed, and I swirled the golden fluid in my glass, foregoing a sip before continuing.

"An elderly crone caught sight of me as she returned from ... relieving herself. At first terrified, she started to dash away, but noticed the broken shaft protruding from my chest; my tunic was sticky with dried and drying blood. Well, she decided I was no more threat than any other ghost and shuffled me into her tiny hut.

"They said I was out of it for almost a week. All I can recall, especially after all these years, is foreign whispers, blurry half-dreams, chanting and the ever-present aroma of potent incense."

With a soft chuckle, I finally relented and took a swig, letting it swish in my mouth before gulping it down. Glinting blue eyes even wider, Mi's lips were parted, and she almost missed them when she raised her glass.

"Well, when I finally awoke, the spear point was gone. But she and the others were wary as I regained my strength. That blade, they showed it to me with some reluctance. But it had pierced my heart. Gone straight through it before poking from my back between two ribs. I should have been dead."

As I remembered the villagers' gaunt faces, the fear in their eyes, I let out a long sigh and then forced a tight smile at Mi. Her lower lip quivered, and her pink fingernails tapped on her glass.

"But I became stronger each day. And I learned their language. And I worked ... hard. While they never understood ... Hell, to this day, I also have no idea what happened. Or why."

Even as the room blurred with the tears in my eyes, air hissed between my teeth and I managed another slow sip. With the dusty memories racing into me, bubbling up from the dark corners of my mind, I halted and stared out the rear doors, across the pool and towards the swaying trees.

After regaining my composure, I added in a softer voice. "As I helped in their fields, up in the scrabbled goat pastures, and around the village, they began to trust me. Then like me and..." As I choked back a sob, my glass shook. I couldn't even remember her name anymore. Fuck. She had been so beautiful. So alive.

"And they loved me. At last, they loved me." I had to pause when tears trickled down my cheek at her memory. My first real love. Then added in a colder tone. "And then they died. She died. They all fucking died. And yet I lived. Their children ... my children ... grew up around me. When they began to die, I left. I ran."

At that, my heart was hammering so fast, I couldn't lift my glass anymore. As a sob slipped from me, I slammed it on the table and let the tears flow. My hands shook as I stared at Mi through blurry eyes, blinking as warm trails slithered down to drip from my chin.

"And I kept fucking running. One town after another. I raged. I was fury unleashed. And I fell back on what I knew best. I fought. I killed. I led men into war. For any reason. Any reason at all. All the while fuming. Why had this happened to me? Everyone I knew disintegrated to ash around me and still I lived on. And I was..."

As I pounded my thighs with my fists, I glared at the ceiling and shook as I spat out more words. "Merciless. I collected people. Used them. Cast them away before they died on me. Accumulated riches. Before losing even more. All the while, I lost the struggle to grasp a shred of my humanity."

When I lowered my head to gaze at her, her jaw had dropped and tremors raced through her; all the blood in her face had faded.

"I was a beast. Wilder than the doggies. Worse than the bloodsuckers. Because I knew what I was doing. They are turned, but I was only changed ... physically. And I chose to be a beast. And Gods above, was I ever. A force of fucking nature, striding around, taking what..." As I wandered her quivering frame, memories flew back into me and I murmured. "And who I wanted."

Mi's tongue flicked around her lips as she pulled her arms tight around herself; her glass shook in her fingers.

"Until I had my own little fucking kingdom. A grand picture of the most vile and decadent debauchery your pretty little mind can conjure. Vast riches. Vaster amounts of slaves. Pretty slaves."

When I smiled, it must have been eviler than I intended as Mi started back and curled tighter. After lifting my shaking glass to my lips to sip, I peered over the rim at her and let the anger drain from me. The poor thing, troublemaker as she was ... she didn't deserve my wrath. Of all the creatures in the world right now, Mi definitely did not deserve that.

"But you ended up helping ... them." At Mi's soft voice, I only stared, watching as her fingers, though shaking, once again teased her hair. Her head cocked; she had raised one sculpted, perfect little brow.

"What else was there for me?" After a lengthy sigh, I took a drink and added. "I came to an agreement with myself. Trying to understand the will of the Gods is pointless. I am who I was. Just different. But, with all I knew long gone, I needed a purpose."

"That village. My first love. At last ... after everything I had done, their faces returned to me. Along with the visages of my first children. Their friends. My friends. They finally struggled their way past my anger and ... disappointment at myself. So, here I am."

As she nodded, Mi lifted her drink and scanned the room once more before returning to me with both brows now raised. Her slender thighs slipped along each other; the wheels were turning behind her gleaming eyes.

"So, you don't want to go back to court, right?" I said in a much softer tone; my emotions slipping away ... again.

After halting her glass, she shook her head over its rim.

"Well, don't."

The glass fell away with her gasp.

"Look, they are not my masters. The humans, I mean," I said, while forcing a wider smile this time.

Head tilting, she scanned me and swallowed.

"Yes, I was once." After a wave of my hand, I took a sip. "But let's face it, by now I am as different from them as you."

The expression on her face ... she had not exactly accepted my words. As she sipped in silence, her brilliant eyes locked on me, I continued.

"So find a town. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Help them. Get a boy ... or a girl ... or several of each. Love them. More importantly ... much more importantly ... get them to love you. Become ... useful. Keep the magic on the down low and help. Find a purpose and build your own future ... with them. Because if you don't wish to stay with your own people, you're alone. And being alone..." As air hissed through my teeth, I looked around the silent house before adding. "Well, it sucks.

"Are you the only one?" Her whisper, spoken from behind her glass, was barely audible.

"As far as I know. There may still be others, but I haven't heard of anyone like me in ages. Literally ages."

"I could stay with you." Half-filled glass before her lips like a shield, Mi's voice was so low it mingled with the rushing of blood in my ears.

My eyes flicked towards Mandy's house.

With a sigh, Mi played in her hair in silence for a while before lowering the glass shield and speaking. "She is very pretty. She ... She loves you, Iakovos. I ... I could love you, too."

The latter had been spoken with a hint of desperation as a quiver rippled through her little frame. As the room warped, my mind buckled. Neither Mandy nor I had mentioned the "L" word. My heart stuttered, and I stared at my drink for long, silent seconds. The curious glimmer behind Mandy's eyes ... Perhaps? But that would take some digging.

After a long sip, I processed her last sentence while a smile slipped onto my face. It was a tempting offer. Mandy lived with Charles, her husband. With Debbie gone, I had nobody at night. There was nobody to care for me when I was ill or just needed to talk. Like this. But that was all about me. After a lengthy sigh, I shook my head; I was well past living my life just for me.

"No, you need to find your own way. Your own purpose and direction. Don't rely on mine. Or anyone else's."

"You are a good ... man, Iakovos."

"And you can be a good person, Mi."

As the first smile crept onto her face, she chuckled and stared out at the darkening sky beyond my pool.

"I'm serious, Mi. Strive. Every day, try a little harder to change the world around you. Make it better than when you arrived. We may all live in this world, but the humans run it. Be something to them. For them. It's either that or return to court or...

As her eyes returned to mine, she nodded. Neither of us wanted the last unspoken fate for her. But a lone Fae. Tricks or not, she was prey in many places.

"I'm scared, Iakovos."

At her soft, wavering words, my heart slowed. For the first time since she had entered my home, she appeared as she was dressed - a fearful young girl. Not a glamour, but a reflection. A young Fae. On its own. In a wide world filled with far more than human threats.

"Can I visit?" she muttered.

"Yes. Yes, if you want. But we only talk. And, next time, you wear more clothes." With a grin and a raised salute of my glass, my gaze shifted from her scantily clad frame to Mandy's home again.

As I wondered where Mandy had gone, I caught Mi's slow nod.

"She is very lucky, your woman. Very lucky, Iakovos ... the Wise."

My woman? She was Charles', not mine. And I opened my mouth to retort. Except Mi stared right into me. No glamour. No tricks. Her eyes shone like blue diamonds. Hard blue diamonds, like the truth she had just spoken.

Without another word, she finished her drink, uncurled, and slipped into her heels. When she stood, I lifted myself with a groan and walked alongside her to the front door.

"I'm serious, Mi. Be better. And the world will be better for you."

"And if not, Iakovos?" she asked as I opened the door. "If it ... if they hurt me."

"Then call me and I will rain unholy hellfire down upon them."

Even I was startled by the chilled steel in my tone, and Mi's grin remained frozen on her lips as she clacked onto the concrete stoop. With a nod, she wandered across the yard before fading into the greenery. With a sigh, I pushed the door closed and then collapsed against it, staring at the empty house. Listening to the empty house. The silence. The dim lighting. The nothingness. Anymore.

What had I done? I had perhaps saved a life. And given some unsuspecting town an ally in this cruel world. And given up a hauntingly gorgeous night partner to boot. Except ... With a chuckle, I pushed from the door and staggered to the kitchen. For my at least temporary night partner, I still had dinner to prepare, and it was getting late.

The struggles with the others. It was endless and dangerous. My discussion with Mi had brought old thoughts and buried feelings to the surface. After cracking my back and rolling my shoulders, I had a long sip of water. It was still war. And that's what I knew best. Raised for war. Lived through so many of them.

Did I have the right to endanger Mandy? Her family? Though I had come close to telling Debbie the truth about me, thinking it might pull her back to me, I had never done so. Not that she would have understood, and given her issues, she probably wouldn't have cared. But Mandy was special. A bit secretive, but very special. "Slut" or no, my naughty little neighbor, had moved fast to get what she wanted. And, for whatever reason, she wanted me.

And I wanted her. Gods above, how I wanted her.

As I set out placemats and silverware, I scanned the quiet rooms. This little house. Debbie had loved it. And I had liked the idea, thinking it was low profile. No matter, they had discovered it anyway, but always stayed away. Mi was the first ... other to visit.

More than likely they feared me because I knew, and shared the locations of their little bolt holes. And over the centuries, once I'd made my decision ... found my purpose, I studied their weaknesses. The seams in their alliances. The secret deals. The skeletons in all their closets. And I used it all. To keep people like Debbie safe. And Mandy. And perhaps even Mi. And ... Kali?

With a wince, I slammed down the last of the water before heading to the kitchen. As I meandered around grabbing dinner ingredients and pans, I kept going back to the morning. And what Mandy had said. Not only her words ... But the way she'd spoken. The glint in her eyes. Okay, yes, the words she'd chosen. That word-slut. Really, slut? The memory of her expression when she'd said that had me clamping tight to the countertop and staring out the window for a long while.

What if Mandy doesn't even show? She must have realized she'd gone too far. That's why she'd raced away, without even a glance at my house. She was married, and it was ... She had talked to her husband while ... Okay, so Charles wasn't a concern for her. But, me? A woman like her could cheat with guys much younger and ... prettier. She must beat them off with a stick. It made no sense.

Bored, I had just been teasing. Most likely bored as well, she'd teased back. That was all. And then ... more than teasing. Okay. Perhaps she was as "ignited" now as I had become. Good for her. Even as I continued to peel and slice, I gazed through the window, my lips rolling. Another night? With her? That was far too much for me to hope. It had been bravado to ask. Plain and simple.

Except she'd ask what to wear. She was coming. That glint ... it had been blazing as she'd looked up at me.

And that glint? Was Mi correct? Was it...? Was love lurking behind Mandy's gaze? Mandy wouldn't speak it. She couldn't. Not with Charles. With my fingers trembling, I lowered the knife to the cutting board as I shuddered. And why the fuck was my heart racing so fast?

After raising my eyes to the dazzling blue sky, I released a lengthy breath before continuing to prepare dinner. The world became more colorful ... I didn't recall why ... as I prepared a roast with all the fixings. Hell, I even began to hum as I whipped up a nice fruit-topped dessert. And, as I set the table, I knew she was coming. And why.

My heart thumping, I was like an expectant kid on his first date as I wandered the house, waiting. Which was utterly ridiculous. With the ticking clock echoing through the empty rooms, I clenched my teeth so hard my neck pulsed as I gazed down at my hand. It was trembling. Why? After all these years? Hundreds of years. And all the other women. Why now? Because of Mandy? At my age. But Mandy ... Gods, should my heart explode at last, she was worth it.

Glass half full in my shaking hands, I sat, stood, wandered, checked on dinner, then sat, stood, and wandered. Over and over. As the clock's ticking reverberated deep in my soul, around and around, my mind whirled. Because Mi was right, that's why. But, of course, Mandy had never once mentioned ... love. She couldn't. Yet.

And me? As I gulped, I glanced at the sword over the fireplace. More to life. Except I wasn't ready for love. I wasn't deserving of it. It had been far too long for me. Especially with a ... human. Oh, and Debbie had proven quite poignantly that I no longer understood love.

And complications? Charles, for example? What of him?

My eyes misted as a lengthy exhale sputtered from my trembling lips. What about him? I wanted his wife. And she craved, perhaps, loved me. No, Fae knew emotions. There was no "perhaps." That glint, and the impish smile Mandy wore ... just for me...

As I sighed once more, clenching my quivering fists tight to my hips, I nodded. As I had promised Mandy, we would find our way through this. Whatever "this" was. Love or not. Together. We would. She wanted it all. And I wished more than life itself, which is something coming from me, to give her what she demanded. Everything. Every damned sensation she could handle ... and more.

While I may not deserve her love, she deserved ... everything that I could provide her.