Death Bringer

Chapter Sixteen

The moment Ella turned to strike Adam, Vadim lurched across the space and just managed to knock some of the power out of his father’s spell. Adam started screaming, blood gushing from his mouth, and fell, bringing Ella with him. Alighting beside them. Vadim picked his father up by the throat and shook him like a rat.

“What the fuck were you doing? If you’ve killed her, I’ll—”

A cool hand touched his arm. “I’ll see to her, my son.”

Vadim didn’t release his grip. “He still dies.”

“I wasn’t aiming at her, you fool! I had a clear shot at Adam!”

Vadim didn’t even deign to answer that; his attention all on his mate, who lay sprawled over Adam’s bloodied corpse. Blood oozed through her jacket from her left shoulder. His mother knelt in front of her and took her hand.

“She’s still alive.”

Vadim exhaled and loosened his death grip around his father’s neck a tiny fraction. “You are very lucky. Now she will be able to watch me kill you in person.”

“I didn’t intend to harm her. If I had, all I needed was to call in my mark. I was aiming at Adam!”

He bared his fangs an inch from his father’s face. “Release her from your mark right now.”

Sweat glistened on the king’s unlined forehead. “It is done. I swear it.”

Vadim dropped his father and went over to where Ella had fallen. His mother had disentangled her from Adam, and she lay on her back, her eyes closed, her battered backpack supporting her head.

“Will she be all right?”

“With your father’s influence now removed, I believe she will.” The queen hesitated. “She is a fine mate for you, my son.”

He sank down onto his haunches beside them and reached out a shaking hand to touch her unnaturally dark hair. His mother had already used magic to clean her obvious wounds and remove Adam’s blood. “I know. Even though I didn’t appreciate it at the time, you and grandmother picked well for me.”

“We knew our disapproval of the match would make you want it more fiercely.” She smiled and briefly patted his arm. “You must both come and visit us, often.”

“If that is your wish, and if Ella agrees.” He hesitated. “You no longer require my presence here in Otherworld?”

“I think you deserve a better life, don’t you?”

Ella muttered something, and Vadim’s gaze shot back to her. “Mother, look.”

As he watched, her face started to dissolve, the black hair and pale skin receding to reveal her usual fair hair and disgruntled features.

“How the hell did that happen?”

“Adam is dead. Perhaps his powers died with him.”

“I bloody hope so, after all that effort.” Ella mumbled.

“Soul Sucker.” Vadim took her in his arms and sat her in his lap. She leaned against his chest as if she belonged there. “You are alive.”

“Of course I am. I told you that you needed me, didn’t I?”

He drew her even closer against him. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“What, killed that monster?”

“You didn’t even know if he could die.”

“I was pretty sure that if the knife would work on you, it would work on anyone.”

“But it was my responsibility, not yours.”

“You aren’t just Death Bringer anymore, remember?” She put her hand on his cheek. “Don’t you think you’ve suffered enough?”

He swallowed hard as she held his gaze. Had anyone ever done that for him before? Taken on his burden? Killed for him? He didn’t think so.

He slowly exhaled. “I do not have the words to thank you.”

“That’s okay. I have that problem a lot.” She kissed his mouth. “How about we call it even?”

He wrapped his arms around her, buried his face in her neck and breathed in the strangely reassuring scents of Pop-Tarts and bubblegum.

“What’s going to happen now?”

She was already wriggling to get free and move on. With a sigh he released her.

“My mother is still insisting that my father hang for his part in this matter. So far, she hasn’t asked me to administer the final blow, but I’m sure it’s coming.”

“Can we leave?”

“Soon, hopefully. There are a few things I need to take care of here.” He hesitated. “Although obviously, you can leave whenever you want.”

She rubbed her left shoulder and looked away from him. “I’m okay to tag along with you for a while. This is still an open SBLE investigation, you know.”

He let her scramble out of his lap and went to stand himself.

“Hey, what about your arm? You’re bleeding.”

In his concern for her he’d totally forgotten about the wounds he’d suffered during the fight. “I’m fine. I should be able to fix it myself, now all the sect members are dead.”

“I could do it for you.”

“It’s okay, I think I can handle it.”

“You’re just worried I’ll blow your arm off.”

“Having seen the way you use my power, it had crossed my mind.” He let his palm hover over the wound and said the necessary words. Once the head of the arrow came free, the pain quickly eased. He wished it were that easy to control the pain in his heart.

“Your magic is extremely hard to manage. I completely blew up a troll the first time I used it.”

“That was probably quite messy.” He glanced over to where the arena had been and saw that someone had already tidied everything away. The room looked perfect and far removed from the violence that had erupted earlier and taken four lives...

“What’s wrong?”

“I was wondering where they’d put the bodies.”

“Let’s go and find out.”

She headed for the huge doors, and he followed her as meekly as a lamb.

Ella tried not to look up as Vadim walked alongside her, but he was being rather too quiet for her liking. Had she really offended him by stepping up and slaying Adam instead of letting him do it?

“Are you still mad at me for killing Adam?”

“No.”

He kept walking. It bugged her that she had to take the occasional skip to keep up.

“That’s it?”

“You did what was necessary, and for that you have my gratitude.”

“Oh. That’s okay, then.”

Maybe her emotional attachment to him had misled her into thinking he was more vulnerable than he truly was. He might only want to see the bodies to make sure his brother really was dead this time. She paused at the door to the trophy room, which stood open, the guards dismissed. Hopefully there were no black dragons lurking around either.

“Can we go and look in here?”

“Of course.”

He waited for her to walk past him into the vast room.

“I thought most of this stuff would’ve disappeared with the death of the sect.”

Vadim turned in a slow circle, taking it all in. “I suspect there are still other members. We just don’t know about them yet.”

“Good point.” She carried on through the room, heading for the back wall.

“What are you looking for?”

“My face.” She sighed. “I’m going to kind of miss it, and then there’s all that hassle of getting a new driver’s license, passport...”

“Ella—”

“Hey!” She spotted Brad Dailey’s face. “It worked!” She looked over her shoulder at Vadim. “Was Ciaran a blond version of you?”

“Yes.”

“I hoped so.” She whistled. “It was a bit of a risk, but I’m so glad I went for it.”

“For what?”

There was a hint of impatience back in his voice, which made her feel much happier. She moved out of the way so that he could see the three faces on the gold plinths.

“Adam’s replaced you.” Vadim said slowly. “Did you expect that to happen?”

“Well, I thought it might work. The only thing is, what happened to my face? I hope I didn’t end up on your brother. We definitely do need to check out those bodies.”

He caught her hand. “You chose to kill him because you hoped you’d exchange faces?”

“Yeah, I guessed there needed to be a group of three to spring the spell, and as the Fae Royal thing wasn’t going to happen and Brad and Ms. Phelps were already dead, I reckoned Adam needed one more victim. I still didn’t get my face back, but it did stop him adding me to his list of trophies.” She shrugged. “I bet he didn’t think he’d be the one doing the dying this time.”

“Why didn’t you share this theory with me?”

He was towering over her now, his beautiful blue eyes narrowed.

“I wasn’t quite sure which configuration was going to work. Originally I thought he wanted you, Nia and your father, but when that all changed, I substituted my own plan.”

“And didn’t tell me.”

Each word was spaced out and radiated fury. She gazed up at him and tried a smile. “You were rather stressed at the time. I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Stressed... And when, exactly did you come up with this idea that Adam was attempting to complete a hat trick of Fae royalty?”

“Dude, I told you that ages ago. When we were in that protected glen. When Adam had me up in the air back there, my theories kind of coalesced.”

“You mentioned only that you believed Adam wished to rule Otherworld.”

“Well, how was he going to achieve that unless he got rid of you and your father, who are both more powerful than he was?” She rolled her eyes. “Men are so dumb sometimes.”

His hand shot out and he pinned her to the wall. “So you were not trying to save me from having to kill Adam. You were merely carrying out your half-baked theory to get your face back?”

His tone was withering. She smiled into his storm-filled eyes. “Oh, no, I was trying to save you all right. The theory part was just a bonus.”

She held her breath, but instead of kissing her, he dropped his hand and turned away from her. She frowned at his broad back. Why wouldn’t he kiss her?

“We should go and check out the bodies.”

She pushed away from the wall. “Sure.”

He didn’t say a word as they walked down the endless hallways; his mind was closed to her as well, which was starting to tick her off. In the main hall, she spied Rossa in conversation with one of the gatekeepers.

“Hey!” She waved at him and he strolled over.

“You’re both alive! You look great now, Ella.” He grinned at the unsmiling Vadim. “It’s awesome that you beat all those guys. I knew you could do it.”

“What are you doing here?” Vadim’s question was distinctly uninviting.

“Your mother called me in to keep an eye on the place while everything’s up in the air.”

“She called you?”

“I have skills.” Rossa raised his eyebrows. “I also happened to be right here, so she didn’t have much choice. Were you looking for her?”

“No, we were wondering where they’d put all the bodies.”

“Oh, right. They’re in the place of worship, which is down this hall and then to the left.”

“Thanks.” Ella smiled at him. “And thanks for everything.”

Rossa preened. “It was nothing, babe. Anytime, for you.”

As they moved on, Vadim said something under his breath in Fae, but she chose to ignore it. After a moment he cleared his throat.

“He didn’t exactly do much, Ella.”

“He was very helpful to me when I first got here.”

“Because he’d been ordered to keep you safe.”

“I know that.” She kept her gaze on the hallway. “But he was terribly sweet about it, and he did help me get into this place.”

He resumed muttering in Fae.

It seemed to take forever to get to the chapel, or whatever it was called. The doors were gold and marked with a myriad of religious symbols from both the human realm and Otherworld. Inside, portraits of members of the sect lined the wood-paneled walls, the most prominent being one of Adam that hung over the ceremonial table at the front. About two hundred candles had been lit, and the waves of heat coming off them were extreme.

“Oh my, the cult of Adam. All bow down.”

He was blond in the picture and looked far too benevolent for her liking. To the side of the main altar was a row of four open coffins. Vadim had already moved toward them and stood looking down into the last one, his expression unreadable.

“Is that Adam?”

He nodded but didn’t take his gaze away. Ella went to join him.

“Well, that’s definitely not my face.” She angled her head to one side. “He would’ve looked odd with it anyway, and I don’t think I could’ve brought myself to try and take it off a corpse.” She shuddered.

Vadim turned away and checked out the other coffins, where Red, Baldy and Blondie had been laid out, all magically restored to their full beauty.

“What will happen to them now?”

“I believe there’s a vault beneath this space where sect members can choose to be buried. Unless there are new instructions from their families, I suspect the four of them will end up there.”

“And then maybe we can pull the whole place down around their ears?”

“Would you like that?”

“It would certainly make me feel safer about coming back here.”

“But it might enrage the remaining members of the sect, who are already going to be in disarray due to the demise of all four members of their council.”

“You’re no fun anymore. What’s wrong with a bit of vengeance?”

Even as she said it, she knew she’d erred. He turned away from her.

“I’m sorry. That was a stupid thing to say. You’ve probably had enough of death and vengeance to last you a lifetime, a Fae one at that.”

“Shall we go and find my parents?”

“If we must. Your father is really starting to get on my nerves.”

“Starting to? He has that effect on a lot of people.”

“And he’s up to his neck in this plot.”

He held the door open for her. “You’ll never prove it. My mother might get angry with him, but she doesn’t have the ability to take his power away.”

“Who does?”

He smiled then, but it was bleak. “I do.”

“But you won’t.”

“As you said, I’m no longer prepared to be Death Bringer.” He hesitated. “The ironic thing is, if Ciaran had asked me for my powers, I would’ve willingly handed them over to him.”

“But you couldn’t.” She poked him in the chest. “Why do you think they chose you rather than him in the first place?”

“I’ve never thought about that.”

“Well, it’s obvious to me. You have integrity and balance and...goodness inside you. If Ciaran had your powers, Otherworld would be a very different place and none of your family would still be alive.”

He stared down at her. “Why does everything seem so simple to you, my mate?”

“It just does.”

His smile this time was much better. “I will try and accept your counsel in this.”

“Cool. Now let’s go and find your adorable family and get the hell out of here.”

They were gathered in the entrance hall, and it was obvious to anyone who’d ever been in a relationship that the king and queen still weren’t speaking to each other. Ella glanced at the queen mother, who smiled graciously at her and drew her to one side.

“Soul Sucker, as a representative of the SBLE, are you satisfied that this case is now over?”

“I will be as soon as I write up my final report. Would you like a copy?”

“It depends on how detailed you wish to make it.”

Ella paused. “What are you hoping I’ll leave out?”

“The parts about your family.”

“My family?”

The queen opened her blue eyes wide. “You are part of this family, my dear, whether you want to embrace it or not.”

“If I leave your family’s antics out, that doesn’t leave me a lot to put in my report.”

“Exactly, granddaughter.” She patted Ella’s arm. “Perhaps I might make a suggestion. If you simply state that you tracked down Adam to the sect’s palace and disposed of him. You were the one who killed him, my dear, so what else is there to say?”

“What about the family vendetta and Death Bringer?”

“Surely they are of no interest to anyone at the SBLE?”

“What about the king?”

“I’ll take care of him. He will not be allowed to conspire against your mate any longer.”

“What about Ciaran being Adam?”

“The history books tell us that Ciaran died a very long time ago. Why resurrect him only to kill him again? Why not let him be Adam? You will only cause your mate pain.”

Ella contemplated the ageless face of the queen for a long moment. “And if I do this, what’s in it for me?”

A smile lightened the other woman’s features. “You are more Fae than you realize, Soul Sucker. You certainly haggle like one. If you omit my family from your report, I will no longer seek Death Bringer’s permanent return to Otherworld.”

Ella glanced over at Vadim, who was talking to his mother. “Suppose he wants to return?”

“He doesn’t, my dear. He wants to be with you.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Why do you doubt him? He will not leave you for all eternity.”

“That’s the bit that scares me.” She stared at the back of his head and then nodded. “If he doesn’t want to stay here as Death Bringer, then I agree to your terms.”

“Excellent, my dear. Now I suggest you take him home before he comes to blows with his father again. Those two will never share a universe amicably.”

She escorted Ella back to Vadim’s side.

“Are you ready to go, Morosov?”

He looked down at her. “If that is your wish.”

“I think I’ve got enough information to close the case, how about you?”

“There certainly isn’t anything else worth staying for. My mother insists she can deal with my father and that I shouldn’t worry about her.”

“She’s a strong woman.” She linked her arm through his and led him toward the exit. “She’ll be okay. Did she tell you she invited me back for dinner?”

“She invited you?”

“Well, she asked both of us.”

He looked down at her. “Is that something that would appeal to you?”

“Dude, she promised to show me her closet. I bet she has some amazing clothes in there that she is just dying to give away to her favorite new relative.”

One of the guards opened the door, and they were outside in the bright sunshine, totally alone. A gust of wind blew her hair into her face, and she pushed the blond strands behind her ear.

Blond...

Ella kept moving toward the wood and Vadim caught her hand.

“We don’t need a portal, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

“That wasn’t what I wanted. I just don’t want anyone at the palace spying on us.”

“While we do what?”

She looked over her shoulder at him. “While I kill you.”

The moment the shadows swallowed them up, she turned on him. “When were you going to mention that I had my face back, asshole?”

He raised an eyebrow. “When I felt like it.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Don’t you think it was rather important?”

“To you, obviously.”

“You’re still sulking about me killing Adam for my face, and not just to save you.”

He leaned back against one of the trees, his massive arms folded over his chest. “I might be. Or maybe I thought you might like to see how it feels to be left out of the loop.”

“When did it come back?”

“Just after Adam breathed his last.”

“It makes sense. How come no one else mentioned my face? Your whole family just stood there and said nothing.”

“What I find fascinating about you, Ella, is how you get all bent out of shape about the little things and yet can deal so calmly with death and disaster.”

“Because those things are easy.”

“Not to everyone. And while we’re on the subject of things you find uncomfortable, do you want me to return to San Francisco with you or not?”

She realized she was scowling at him. “It’s up to you.”

“That’s a typically evasive Ella Walsh answer.”

“It’s not evasive. I’m not going to tell you how and where to live your life.”

“Do you think I want to stay here?”

“I can see why you might.” She gestured at his awesome body. “Here you can be in your true form, have all your magic around you and be the most powerful being in Otherworld.”

“But I’d already given that up before I even met you.”

“Only because you felt so guilty about your siblings.” He went to speak, but she pressed on. “But at least that’s over. You know you didn’t execute your own brother, so if you wanted to come back here, you could.”

He contemplated the grass in front of his feet for so long that Ella wanted to scream.

“Sometimes I am tempted.” He held out his hand and flexed his fingers. “To feel such power running through me again is addictive. But I also fear that power. If I came back, I would eventually be corrupted just like my brother.”

“Not necessarily.”

He half smiled. “I appreciate your faith in me. In this instance, I know I would become too powerful or succumb to the lure of the dark king’s court and destroy my own. It has already been foretold.”

“By whom?”

“By many seers, including my grandmother.”

“That’s definitely a kicker.”

“And what do you want, Ella?”

She tried to laugh. “I’ve never been a long-term planner, you know that.”

“And I know why. You didn’t think you’d have a life to plan, did you?”

She shook her head.

“Is it still all too much for you?” He spoke very gently, his words barely reaching her on the breeze, as if he was afraid of startling her.

“What do you mean?”

“Me, the mating bond, the prospect of us being together...”

“About that. You’re immortal, right?”

“Technically, yes. But you could kill me, or I could choose to die for you.”

She grimaced. “Neither of those options appeal to me at the moment. Why would you even want to come back to the SBLE, where you have to pretend to be something you’re not, and hide your powers and true self?”

“Feehan knows what I am now. I won’t need to hide anymore.”

She pointed at him. “You can’t walk down the street looking like that!”

“Other shape-shifters manage to live in your world. I’m sure I’ll find a way to stretch my wings occasionally. Why are you offering me so many reasons not to come with you?”

“I’m not, I’m just trying—”

“What if I asked you live in Otherworld with me?”

“I...”

He smiled as she stuttered into silence. “It’s all right, I’m not that stupid. Forcing you to make such a choice at this moment would only result in you storming back to San Francisco alone.” He studied her. “Perhaps that is what you’d prefer—an ultimatum, a reason to walk away.”

“That’s not fair. I haven’t insisted you come back with me, have I? I’ve tried to give you a choice.”

His eyes flashed fire. “You won’t force a decision on me, because you’re afraid I’ll take you up on it. You’re afraid I’ll walk and leave you, like everyone else has done.”

That hurt. She drew in an unsteady breath. “I’m scared, Morosov.”

“Of me?”

“No. Of myself.”

“I can’t fix that, can I?” He sighed and walked toward her and she tensed. He held out his hand.

“We still have a job to do. The rest can wait until later. Let’s go back to the SBLE and close this case once and for all.”