Evanescence 20

Chapter 20

He walks to the house and up the normally unused front door/steps. You know most people don’t they use the side door to their homes, or the garage door. I feel the convocation of women of the other me’s in my head slow to a stop and watch him. Only my Hispanic girl is intrigued. The rest of me doesn’t trust him. He get’s to the door and stops, he examines the door almost like Alecia would.

He does that a few moments before pressing the doorbell.

Shaun goes to move but Jill beats him to the door.

He looks like she was not expecting her to be there.

“Agent?”

“Director.”

“So why is the SDA here?”

“It’s my house.”

He stared at her, then me, Shaun and his parents. “I never heard that you were a spell worker Quinn?”

“I’m not.”

“But your family….”

“Was why I was recruited?”

“Is she here?”

“Who?”

“The witch that killed Shea.”

“Yes.”

“I want to talk to her.”

“Your word?”

“You have it.”

“No…We Don’t…” That was Shaun, he’s still all charged up and agro.

“Mortal, watch your place. Do you know who I am?”

Shaun bristles and stalks forward, Jill put’s a hand up to keep him back. “…Shaun…”

Goddess, I’m tired, tired enough the punchiness has started to wear off. I get up from where I’ve been sitting and watching and wrap the quilt around me a bit more…you feel so cold as a girl when you get tired. I walk over to the door and kiss Shaun on the cheek. “I’d love something hot to drink honey.”

“Raine, he’s…”

“He’s the Ashe and a representative of the light fae here on the mortal earth. I’ll be okay love.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve got lots of back up if he tries anything right?”

“Damned Skippy.” He kisses me back then looks at the Ashe and does that two fingered point at his own eyes the points at the Ashe.

I can’t help but roll my eyes. I give Shaun a shove. “Go…damned Faradays, lighting and testosterone are a bad combination.”

I look at Jill and there’s this urge to kiss her too, she’s being my protector again. She doesn’t know it but she is, she’s just being Jill. I smile at her instead and the amount that part of me is missing her just seems so heavy now. It makes me feel more tired.

I do a pretty good imitation of an old lady walking over to him and outside into the front step and lean against the railing and look at him.

He’s handsome, suave and debonair and the human disguise is only a reflection of his true self. He’s staring at me too looking at me…and looking at me…drawing me in. It’s not magic it’s the weight of years, it’s like a personal gravity…powerful, enticing…

Too bad it’s not just me, but me and the others in my and several of them have problems with men in general…..fae or not. I let him stare right at me and push his ages over me trying to dominate me with that more than mortal thing.

He’s smiling right up until I yawn.

He looks like someone slapped him with a fish. His eyes went wide and there’s some bit of fear and anger and confusion. It doesn’t last long, he’s too old to lose his temper.

“Please, Lord….? I’m sorry I don’t know how to address an Ashe.”

“Aaah…Please Mr. Drake here in the mortal realms.”

“Mr. Drake…I’m Raine what can I do for you?”

“What you did to Shea, it made waves, scared people. Honestly some of those people need scaring but still no one’s been able to do majik of that caliber for a long, long time her on earth.”

“Oh well I had help.”

“You had help?”

“I was linked to…other spell casters.”

“Oh, I was under the impression that you did all of that yourself?”

“Sorry, I had help.”

He’s looking at me and I can feel him burning off mana like it was nothing and I pull myself together, my selves together and layer and tighten our aura’s together like growing a thicker metaphysical skin. His eyes have that thwarted look in them again.

“You’re an interesting woman Raine.”

“And at you’re age you should know it’s impolite to stare Mr. Drake.”

Shaun comes out and passes me a large mug of soup. I take it and warm my hands. I take a long slow sip. God his mom makes great soup. I lean on Shaun who’s decided to stay and I don’t care because her does that dryer fresh trick again to the blanket.

“Regardless if you had help or not you wielded great powers and have earned the wrath of the dark fae.” He head gestured to Jill’s odd friend. “Why else would one of the Morrigan’s better assassins be here?”

“She’s an ally, we fought together recently.”

“An Ally, so you’d ally yourself with the dark fae?”

“I’ll be allies with many people Mr. Drake, not a servant or an employee.”

“You’d do well to come work for me. Things could get uncomfortable.”

“They already are uncomfortable Mr. Drake, and veiled threats are beneath the light aren’t they?”

“Well, When on earth.” He’s sort of looking smug.

“Well when on Earth the Ashe should be more attentive when Asmodeus has been corrupting the fae and the vampire realms in order to re-ascend to the mortal world.”

“Who told you such nonsense.” His eye widened for a moment and he looks…no he’s humming almost with being that pissed, contained but pissed.

“First hand experience Mr. Drake, at least the Morrigan had sent someone into battle with me against his disciples.”

“You must still be mistaken miss.” He’s giving me the hard stare now. Yeah, uh-huh one man mortal or not isn’t going to intimidate this many women that I am. Sorry, that one of the prices of power. Pronoun hell.

“I’m not mistaken about the fallen of the emerald flame Mr. Drake. It’s hard to make that big of a mistake.” I stare right back at him as I sip my soup and Shaun wraps his arms around me. That feels nice to be able to lean on him.

“You are sure of this?”

“I am, I’m as sure as I am of Rapture having been returned to the pit.”

“I heard about that, I didn’t know you were involved.”

“First responder.”

He gives me this look. One of his pretty sidekick MIB’s comes over and starts spouting a whole lot of stuff in what I can only describe as Latin but far more musical than that. I hear him getting angry? Upset at the very least and you can’t really change some things in the heat of the moment so I catch CDC and FBI in the back and forth between them. The underling jogs off and he turns to look at me.

“I’m afraid that our discussion has to be cut short, there’s and end of the world situation that just arose.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Sign on with us and we’ll see.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to turn your offer down, like I did the agency’s.”

“And the Morrigan?”

“They haven’t offered yet, but I’ll turn her down too.”

“Really she won’t like that.”

“And I don’t like Nutella, her getting miffed about it actually matters about that much to me in the grand scheme of things.”

“You’re a very, very arrogant young lady.”

“Mr. Drake, what do you and your kind honestly think? That he’ll stop here? That he’ll be satisfied with just this Earth? Some one in the fae courts doesn’t and Shea…Shea was just a middle fish really…wasn’t he? If I were the fae I’d stop worrying about me and if I’m going to be making any more paperweights and look towards home.”

He just stares at me again. They’re not really used to being thwarted or lectured to, he’s still not happy that I’m doing that being just a human and all but…well one he knows I’m right and two there’s something bigger going on right now.

The dark fae’s off to one side of the yard talking to her palm, Jill’s on her phone and the Ashe’s men are doing majik and a white flame circle with all these Celtic looking things in it forms. He’s walking into it. And so do his men and there’s a skyward whoosh beam of fae-fire and they’re gone.

I see headlights a row of them actually and three black escalades pull up to the house and Jill’s leaving, her duffle over her shoulder. She kisses my cheek then her brothers. “I’ve gotta go, I’ll see you guys when I can.” She jogs to the vehicles. “Sloan!, need a lift?”

The Dark fae girl nods and jogs over and gives me a nod before slipping into the backseat with Jill. They all pull away fast and I look around for HER but she’s not there. I’ll admit to this odd sense of something not right. That and the light fae and dark fae and the SDA are all hearing about it at the same time.

I lean against Shaun. “Are we done yet?”

He stands there and holds me for a long while like he’s listening to something before he picks me up. “I think so.”

“Oh goody.”

“Asmodeus likely won’t be waiting but, I’m sure we’ve got time.”

“How’d you know?”

“It’s not 2012 yet.”

“Har-dee-har-har, yeah I’m serious.”

“So am I, it too much like a coincidence really.”

“Shaun…”

“Yeah…”

“Take me downstairs.” I almost whine it. I didn’t want to know about the 2012 thing! I’m not ready for this at all!, it’s too soon…

He carries me downstairs to his bedroom and he sets me there while he runs around doing things. Set’s his laptop near the bed, runs me a bath…and brought me more soup. Squash-pumpkin with roasted yummy stuff in it and cumin and brown butter and cream. Homemade bread toast for me to dip in it. Dryer fresh made bed sheets and him in there with me cuddling and holding me. The laptop was the coolest thing too. He turned on some Sara McLaughlin on low but turned on one of those screens with the fireplace and stuff and touched it with his tech majik and I could smell it faintly, feel the wood heat coming off of it though.

“…………………mmm…will this melt your computer?”

“No, it’s part of the spell.”

“The chair……..?”

“It’s fine, we’re good.”

“S’good.”

I remember it really strongly y’know moment’s like this. Even falling asleep in Shaun’s arms was so much more than special.