Twilight Siege

14

When I opened my front door to head to work my eyes dropped down to a small object on the entry mat. Not an object, a person. My tiny brownie friend lay on his back, his head had been ripped from his body and was cradled in one of his limp arms. My bags fell from my hands, tumbling to the ground as I stared in horror at the atrocity before me. My breath left me in shallow puffs as my mind tried to wrap itself around what had been done. There was no possibility this had been an accident—not the mauling by a cat or other nocturnal critter. This tiny docile creature to whom I owed my life had been senselessly murdered and left for me to find. My vision blurred as tears streaked down my face and bile rose in my throat. Had Ronan known the brownie had helped me? Had the little man lost his life because of me? I closed my eyes and whispered a litany of apologies. I knew it wouldn’t undo what had been done, but I had nothing else to give. He had paid the ultimate price for his good deed, and I would never forget it. I had no idea how brownies honored their dead or if there were even other brownies around to care for him. Scooping up his limp body and tiny head, I brought him inside and placed him gently inside a tissue box on the kitchen table. I plucked a handful of leaves off the shrubs outside my living room window and covered his body reverently as if he was simply tucked in bed to rest. If he was still there when I got home from work, I would find a special place to bury him. Taking a calming breath, I stepped back onto the sidewalk and looked up at my two-story row house. I had no doubt whoever had been there that night would have gone inside had they been able. I would have preferred not to have had any visitor at all, but at least now I had confirmation that the wards were working. Approximately six hundred kids passed through our halls that day. I helped plan the event and had tried to mentally prepare for the onslaught of children, but it had been pointless. There was no preparing for hundreds of six to eight year-olds, you just ride out the storm and hope you make it out alive. By closing time I had tied more than a dozen pairs of shoes, watched enough kids eat their boogers to make me nauseous for a week, and answered at least sixteen hundred questions. I was beat. I gathered my purse and work tote, but before I made it out of the office, Fergus came bustling back through the door. “Becca! I was just about to leave when someone came in to tell us that there’s a big dog trapped in the graveyard. Cat’s gone and so is most everyone else, could you be a dear and call animal services to get the bloody thing out of there? We can’t just leave him, he could start digging up graves and we can’t have that.” “Of course.” I offered with more energy than I felt. “Thank you so much, I would normally do it myself, but I have plans and I’m already late. Thanks again, see you tomorrow!” He hollered the last part as he tore off down the hallway. I plopped back down at my desk and pulled up the number for animal services. A recorded message informed me that they were closed for the day. Great. Just how I wanted to end my day. Friar’s Bush Graveyard was a beautiful old cemetery next to the museum. It dated back to the early 1800s and was surrounded by a thick wall with an iron gate on the street side for entrance. I had no idea how a dog would have gotten inside, but I agreed that he needed to be removed. I gathered my things and trudged downstairs and out to the front gate of the graveyard. There was a heavy layer of clouds that drowned out any moonlight and shrouded the tombstones in darkness. The area was spotted with old trees and thick shrubs, making it even more difficult to see, but my rapidly developing Fae vision was enormously helpful and I was able to navigate the landscape with minimal fumbling. Had I been in heels, traipsing through the moist grass would have been a squishy nightmare. In anticipation of leading the student visitors on tours through the museum I had worn flats that morning and was now doubly glad for my practical decision. I rubbed my bare hands together for warmth and called out for the dog, hoping to retrieve him before my hands were permanently frostbitten. “Come on, buddy, it’s freezing out here. Where are you?” I muttered as I walked around a large bush. “I see you embraced your power and are back to wearing your necklace.” The man’s voice coming from behind me would have simply startled me had it been unfamiliar. As it was, I was intimately familiar with that callous voice and the recognition caused terror and rage to rip through me. He was here and it was too soon, I wasn’t ready! I had only had one single training session and I still didn’t know anything about my magic, but that didn’t seem to matter. Ronan was here in the graveyard, standing not five feet behind me. I slowly turned in his direction and attempted to calm my breathing as adrenaline pulsed through my body. “What do you want, Ronan?” I spoke calmly in a low warning tone. “Me? Just out for an evening stroll. Imagine my surprise when you showed up. Not very smart for a girl like yourself to be wandering about after dark.” He was now allowing his twisted nature to shine vividly through his eyes and my feet took an involuntary step back. My pride and anger insisted I stay put and not give Ronan the satisfaction of seeing me run, but my legs were on the verge of mutiny. I commanded myself to stand strong against him. This was the f*****g monster who had played me, tricked me into having s*x with him, then nearly killed me. Not just me, but he had set up a trap to kill Lochlan and was helping to let Fae onto Earth. “Did you kill the brownie?” I asked with gritted teeth. “Ah, so you found my little present. It wasn’t very nice of him to interfere in our discussion the other night, something like that can’t go unpunished.” “You’re just a f*****g coward hurting those who are smaller than yourself. And if you can’t outright hurt someone, you weasel your way into their lives and stab them in the back when they least expect it. How long have you been lying in wait, leaking information and plotting to hurt the men that were your brothers?” My calm façade quickly slipped away and temper got the better of me as I shot accusations at him. Ronan stepped forward, his features rigid and hands clenched. “You walked into our world five minutes ago and you think you know anything about us? I’ve known them for centuries and they deserve everything they get and more.” “If anyone deserves anything it’s you—you deserve to die.” I didn’t think more hate-filled words had ever left my lips and I felt zero remorse. “That’s probably true, but it’s not going to happen, not anytime soon.” His lips curled up in a vile grin.