Scholar (Emerald Isle Tigers Book 3) Read online

  He hated G.H.O.S.T.’s with a passion. They were an abomination – pure humans who had chosen to become what they were. Whereas he… he had been forced into this miserable existence. Everything about them disgusted him.

  And then, of course, his goddamn curse on top of a curse had to go and activate on the one of the irritating little Frankensteins. Bad enough that he was a raging monster, but he was also forced to mate with whoever the gods picked for him?! Miserable creatures those gods were, bored out of their minds and playing with human’s lives for their own amusement.

  He had meant to scare her off, hurt her, so he would never have to see her face again. Never feel that twist of desire low in his gut. She was a pretty little thing, he had to admit that. Small boned, delicate, extremely feminine. Wide brown eyes blinked under long lashes, flyaway red hair just brushing her shoulders. Freckles dusted her nose, lending her a childlike air. Frankly, she could pass for a teenager.

  Fuck.

  Theron cursed to himself, hating the idea that he might be lusting after a child. For all he knew, she had been checking out Finn.

  Finn! Theron was a mess – the kid had had his mind trapped, forced to do her bidding, and he hadn’t even checked on him. Some guardian he was.

  Finn was on the ground, legs crossed, back against one of the counters. His eyes were still a little glassy, and there was a slight tremble in his hands that hadn’t been there before. Theron kneeled in front of his charge, doing his best not to show too much concern. He had spent years convincing the kid that he didn’t care about him, he wasn’t about to mess it all up now.

  “Hey. You back with us yet?”

  Finn blinked at him slowly, no trace of comprehension in his eyes.

  “Snap out of it boy, we have work to do.”

  There was an angry sigh from behind them – of course Hecate would feel the need to voice her unwanted opinion.

  “You can’t even give him ten minutes to get himself together? Jesus Christ Theron, you’re a piece of work. What just happened to him – it’s not fun. It was never meant to be fun, and if they keep it up for long enough, the G.H.O.S.T. can actually turn their victim’s brains to mush.”

  This little tidbit just added fuel to Theron’s rage. “And yet we let them walk the streets as though they aren’t murdering psychos?! They can do that to anyone, anytime! What’s stopping them from creating mindless zombies armies??”

  Hecate gave him that look, the one that plainly says ‘you’re a blithering idiot.’ “What’s to stop you from losing it and ripping someone’s head off their body? What’s to stop me from cursing this city? What’s to stop a human from whipping out a gun and shooting up the Coliseum? Nothing. We are all capable of horrific acts; all we can do it trust each other not to… give in. ‘Cause if you think it’s hard for you to NOT kill whoever you don’t like, I guarantee that it’s harder for her not to just have everyone around her do her bidding. Especially with the kind of power she’s throwing around.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Theron hated to admit his ignorance. “She seemed powerful?”

  Hecate’s ‘you’re a blithering idiot’ look only deepened. “Of course she did. These days, you don’t see many left with that kind of control. Most of them are dead, killed by their makers or other paranoid types such as yourself. Some were kept by the humans, to use against us. The ones who were created in the year or so just before the Blink were left to their own devices, and usually ended up offing themselves. She had to have been created pretty early on in the program, and must have escaped her keepers somehow.”

  Theron had no idea what she was talking about. His knowledge of G.H.O.S.T.’s could pretty much be summed up in one sentence – magicless humans who volunteered to have their heads cut open so they could gain power over everyone else’s minds.

  “What… what are you talking about? They volunteer for that shit. Why would they kill themselves?”

  Hecate’s mouth opened slightly, a look of amazement on her face. Reaching down, she patted Theron on the head, hitting a little harder than tradition dictated. “You really are stupid, for all that you have this city fooled. But I’m not in the mood to teach you the history of the G.H.O.S.T. program. What are you planning on doing about her warning?”

  He shot her a nasty look and turned back to Finn. “Nothing. Zelloth wants to kill me? Big whoop, Zelloth wants to kill everyone. I can take him.” He snapped his fingers and a tiny ball of light appeared, shining into the boy’s pupils. Still dilated. “Finn come on. Stop playing around, you can’t possibly still be out of it.”

  Finn swallowed, a lump stuck in his throat, and tried to focus. He could hear voices saying his name, but they were so far away. It was like he was in a pool, but he couldn’t come up for air. There had been a woman…

  The boy rose, in a daze, and stumbled towards the door. Theron rose with him, his face turning purple again. “Where do you think you’re going? Our workday is not finished!” He put one foot forward, fully intending to drag Finn back into the lab.

  Hecate grabbed his arm, forcing him to a halt. Her voice was heavy with disgust. “Leave him Theron. You should consider yourself lucky if he’s coherent by the end of the day.”

  Theron rolled his eyes, completely fed up with everything. “I don’t care! This potion is delicate, it needs to be finished! He was only under her control for a few minutes, this is just pathetic!”

  The goddess turned on him, fire burning in her eyes. Literally. She shot one arm out, a finger pointed at his vials. Purple smoke exploded around them and cleared. They were still intact, a golden liquid simmering within. “There. Your precious potion is finished. I only hope it works, and you’re rendered worthless to us all. I’ll take care of Finn – don’t follow us.”

  With that, she swept out of the lab, leaving Theron to contemplate her final statement. If he succeeded in what he was trying to do, he wouldn’t be worthless. On the contrary, the humans would probably bow down and worship him. Right before they used his potion on everything with a drop of magic…

  Chapter Four

  Lily trudged back towards her apartment, trying not to let Theron get to her. It was just that no one had ever been quite that unnecessarily rude to her before. And after she went there to help!

  It would serve him right if he was enslaved or murdered.

  She sighed at herself. That was too harsh - no one deserved the things that Zelloth liked to dish out. She could only hope that with a magical vine wielding teenager and Hecate at his side, Theron would be well equipped to deal with the Incubus and his thugs.

  As she approached her shabby building, she allowed herself a brief moment to consider the kind of riches she could acquire if she wanted. No more maid jobs or crumbling apartments. She would be able to experience the luxury that Theron undoubtedly took for granted.

  It would never be. She would not sell her soul for a nicer place to live.

  That was the thing about being designed to be a weapon - there weren't a lot of ways to use her gift for good. So she did what she could, working for evil men and trying to foil their plans. No matter that most people didn't take her warnings seriously, and she encountered constant abuse over her... Lily didn't actually know what to call herself. Species?

  She wasn't fully human anymore, but she also wasn't one of the easily definable magic races. G.H.O.S.T.'s weren't a new species - they couldn't have kids and pass their powers along. Could they? After all, they hadn't even existed two decades yet. When the Blink hit, most would have been fairly young. And since then, they were all too busy trying to stay alive.

  She hadn't really considered the possibility that she could pass her powers to a child. And now that the thought was there, she couldn't decide if it would be a good thing or a bad thing. What would happen if she started a family with one of the supernaturals? Would she have little psychic tiger cubs?

  Tiger cubs? Lily shook her head. She should absolutely not be considering her hypothetical future partner to be a
tiger. No. Theron was an ass and she had no interest in him. There were plenty of other attractive guys in the world. And lots of them were shifters!

  She could find someone else, who towered over her, giving that feeling that he could protect her from anything. Someone else whose eyes swirled with hints of gold. Someone else...

  Lily had been a fool, too lost in her thoughts to keep an eye out. She knew better, after eight years of this new world.

  As the door to her apartment swung shut behind her, she found herself staring into the manic face of one of Zelloth's personal guards. Nasty fellow, she wasn't sure if he had ever taken a shower. And there he was, sullying her couch with his putrid presence.

  She didn't have to turn around to know that another guy had moved into position behind her, melting out from some dark corner of the hallway. Zelloth must have finally caught on to her. Apparently her time in Emerald Isle had come to an end. Still, he must not have realized exactly what she was capable of, or he would have sent more than two guys.

  Lily twisted her face into some expression she hoped resembled fear, and addressed the interlopers, throwing a little quaver in her voice for extra effect.

  "W-what are you doing here?" In a normal city, in a normal world, she would have acted surprised, shocked, outraged. Not here, not now. Times had changed - people could no longer assume they were safe in their own homes.

  The gross one on the couch smirked at her, baring his crooked, yellow teeth. "The boss would like a word with you."

  Lily continued her coward act, shrinking away from him, pretending not to notice the one behind her. "Why would he want to see me? I'm just a maid."

  "You'd think that, wouldn't you? Worthless little maid. Turns out, you might be more than you seem. Zelloth just can't wait to have a chat about your... gossiping."

  They were calling it gossiping? Huh. Lily would have expected him to come right out and accuse her of being a spy. They weren't even giving her credit, belittling her actions. How rude. She was getting pretty fed up with rude men who underestimated her.

  She took a few more steps back, aiming directly for the other goon's clutches. The first one's face lit up with delight - he waited to drink in her terror. Not today.

  At the very last second, she ducked and twisted, smoothly making her exit through the small space between the door frame and his torso. Couch Goon's smirk turned into a furious grimace as watched her escape.

  He had no time to react. Reaching out with the whispering tendrils that filled her mind, Lily grabbed ahold of the two guy’s. Their faces went slack, a vacant expression sliding over their faces a clear indication that they were under another’s control. Sometimes long term victims of incubi had the same expression.

  She piloted Hallway Goon into the apartment with great care. Not that she cared if he got hurt; she just didn’t need to attract any undue attention.

  With both of Zelloth’s thugs now sitting on her couch, completely under her control, she considered the implications. If the incubus had realized what she was up to, the city would no longer be safe. The very warning she had delivered to Theron could now be applied to her. Emerald Isle only held death or slavery for her now.

  She needed to pack.

  Chapter Five

  Theron would be damned before he'd let some uppity goddess waltz out of the place with his kid and obey her orders to back off. He knew Hecate could turn him into something far less majestic than a tiger with one pointed look, but didn’t care.

  After allowing himself a few minutes alone, moderating his breathing and getting his emotions back under control, he stomped towards the door. He’d taken the precaution to put a location spell on Finn, so there wouldn't be any problems tracking the pair down.

  As he stalked down the city streets, he considered the implications of Hecate's offhand remark. If he did finally succeed in creating the potion that would remove the magic within him... then what? He would be human again, free of the worry of losing control and... well.

  He would still be able to cast normal spells - no inherent magic was needed for those, just the right ingredients or words, and lots of practice. So would he stay here, and merely find something else to research? Would he even want to stay here? It might be preferable to head back East, to the heart of modern human civilization.

  But then, what about Finn?

  He could just use the potion on the boy as well. But then the truth would have to come out. And what if Finn didn't want to lose his magic...

  Theron cursed under his breath. For the past eight years, his mission had been one thing: find a way to reverse the tiger curse. Go back to being human. Stop living his life disgusted with himself and afraid of what he was capable of.

  Then Hecate had to go and throw a wrench in it all with one snide little comment. Man he hated that woman sometimes. He didn't even know why she hung around - she just showed up one day, completely out of the blue, and announced that she was going to watch him work. Anyone else would have gotten laughed out of the door, but as it turns out, there's no great way to rid yourself of a goddess.

  She wasn’t important now. Finn was the only thing that mattered.

  He had thought he was doing the right thing for his son. As long as Theron had the tiger curse running through his blood, no one was safe around him. That was the whole point of the last eight years – study shifters and magic and find a cure. Then he could tell Finn the truth, and they could be a real family again.

  And he had built them a good life here, with money and status. Humans didn’t bother them, they didn’t have to live in fear, running from town to town like fugitives. There was no need to worry about Finn’s safety while he concentrated on his work.

  But now that annoying little freak had to show up and ruin everything. Theron didn’t even know if he would be able to continue his work anywhere else – as far as he knew, he possessed the only combination magic and science lab on the continent. He couldn’t afford to leave everything.

  True, his brother was in Hovenweep now. His brother might be able to help him set up a new lab, if only to reap the benefits of his work… but relying on someone who justifiably hated him was not the best plan.

  Theron let a low growl escape his throat, as he furiously strode down the street. There were no good options here. Ignore the warning and operate under the assumption that the woman was full of shit? Ignore the warning and operate under the assumption that Zelloth would be trying to kill or capture him? Run with his tail between his legs? Fuck. Why did she ever show up in his life?

  Had he ever gotten her name? He didn’t think so. He remembered every other detail about her, he would have remembered that.

  Theron let his eyes drift shut, picturing her in his mind.

  A G.H.O.S.T.

  Freak.

  Monster.

  Mate.

  She was so small and fragile looking. Those freckles across her nose adding to the childlike vulnerability she exuded. Flyaway red air floated around her head like a halo. His own little angel…

  Theron brought his thoughts to a screeching halt. He had no desire for a mate, especially one who… one that… He could never accept a G.H.O.S.T in his life. Period.

  And even if he could get over his personal problems with her kind, he didn’t deserve an angel. He was too tainted, too broken. Couldn’t be trusted around anybody. Hell, if she found out what he’d done, she would run screaming.

  Chapter Six

  It was more difficult than Lily anticipated, keeping two people in check while also trying to decide what she could manage to bring along with her. She could handle it, but it took all her concentration. Sweat ran down her back, and she battled moments of confusion – it happened when her mind was all wrapped up with someone else’s.

  To make matters worse, she heard a commotion in the hallway. Had Zelloth sent more people to check on her?

  She turned to the door, trying to prepare herself for a fight. Whoever it was moved rapidly towards her unit.


  When a sparkling vine of light slid under her door, she relaxed a bit. Obviously she knew who the intruders were, having seen those magic vines just recently. As far as she knew, Theron’s people had less reason than Zelloth to cause her harm.

  Lily carefully opened the door, making sure not to touch the vines.

  Finn stood there, still rather dazed and honestly a bit green. Hecate leaned against the wall behind him, looking extremely pleased with herself. Why she was pleased, Lily had no idea. Regardless, she didn't really want the pair in her apartment.

  "Uh, hello." Unfortunately, there was no easy or polite way to say "get the hell out." And Lily strived to always be polite.

  Finn didn't acknowledge her greeting, merely sagging against the door jam.

  Hecate did respond, skipping a few feet towards her like a child, her face lit with glee. "Hi! I have to say, you are without a doubt the most powerful of your kind that I've had the pleasure of meeting."

  "Thanks? Why... what are you doing here?" Lily was confused - most people were not at all happy to meet "her kind."

  The goddess waved her hand in a dismissive motion. “Oh, you know. Theron can be very difficult, I just wanted to come here and apologize for all of that. And Finn was… well, he was hoping for reassurance.”

  While she wasn’t sure what the teenager needed reassurance about, Lily did think he needed medical attention. “What is the matter with him?”

  Hecate raised her eyebrows a bit. “You mean you don’t know? I assumed that he was like this due to your… whatever you do to people.”

  Whatever she did to people. Lily sighed, wondering whether she would ever see the day when she was understood and accepted. Even this woman, who didn’t treat her with fear or revulsion, obviously didn’t know anything about her.

  “I didn’t do anything to him. I mean, nothing long term.” At this point Finn had crumpled to the floor, sitting there on his knees in a half upright, half puddled sort of position.