Bastion of Magic (The Sidhe (Urban Fantasy Series) Book 4) Read online

  Shrugging off the piddly issues of the realm, and striding towards the door past the endless stream of lesser fey, Tiernan already felt a thousand pounds lighter. Donovan might’ve had the tolerance to listen to the fey in the Glamour Club but not even he could’ve kept up with this much bean counting.

  Just as he reached the door to the hall, Tiernan glanced down at the Unseelie laying on a bench, mostly hidden by the mingling droves of fey. Kieran levitated a peach so that it balanced in the air a few inches above his right hand, shifted it to float above his left and then back again. He watched a moment longer, then asked, “What’re you doing?”

  “Nothing.” And the Unseelie meant that seriously. Like he had absolutely nothing better to do.

  “Why aren’t you on the Isle of Fey, guarding the realm?” Tiernan suspected the reason but wanted to hear it from him.

  Kieran let the peach drop into his hand. Still lying on the bench, he finally tilted his head to look up at Tiernan. “Bryce and Trip have it covered. And then the sluagh and the Wild Hunt. Plus the Glamour and the technology. And even if people get past that there are a ton of fey that live there that can kick most anybody’s ass. They don’t need me. And I’m not going to march around the island patrolling it like some foot soldier. That’s boring and boring isn’t my style.”

  “And lying about isn’t boring?”

  “I’m sharpening my skills. Learning to levitate with sound vibrations takes a lot of practice. Besides, what else is there to do?”

  Tiernan flicked his hand indicating Kieran should get up. “Come with me, Kie.” He said, using the young man’s nickname.

  Kie got up, the eagerness of youth brightening in him. He’d wanted missions in the past, before he’d been ready for them. But he’d come a long way under Donovan. His personality and his magical talents made him an excellent choice for what Tiernan had in mind.

  Chapter Twelve

  With his pack slung over his shoulder, Kieran followed a half step behind Tiernan as he strolled through the mansion. Music piped through the speakers mounted invisibly in the walls. The wing that they crossed appeared to be mostly open to the guests. He glanced into a billiard room, then a lounge with a bar, a workout room, an entertainment room with a wall-sized television, and a dining area with a kitchen nook. Most of those rooms had access to the pool area out back. Everywhere there were people of every variety; fey, humans, vampires, and maybe even a werewolf or two. A few of them Kieran couldn’t even identify the species. The gathering seemed so random. People in business attire mingling with people in swimsuits. Someone clad in leather chatting up a guy in ripped up jeans. It was all so gloriously eclectic.

  “You ever Touch a human, Kie?” Tiernan didn’t even turn his head as he spoke to him.

  “Uh, just once.” He felt the heat spread up his neck. He hadn’t told anyone about what he had done with London. Malcolm had seen it and gone ballistic, but he’d not told the others. Remembering the feel of his magic as it spilled into her and then echoed back made his heart race. It’d been unlike anything he’d experience before.

  “Were you their first?” Tiernan cut a look back at him with those nearly colorless blue eyes that was serious.

  Obviously, the bloke was leading up to something. Kieran answered honestly. “No.”

  “Don’t enchant a human without clearing it with me first.” Tiernan stopped in front of a closed door, his hand resting on the handle. “Got it?” And he asked that the way Donovan used to. Like a screw-up carried serious consequence.

  “Got it.” He tamped down on his racing heart. It was hard to get it under control when just the memory of Touching a human got him aroused.

  With a nod of approval, Tiernan pushed open the door. The room beyond was narrow, and divided into two sections. Closer to them a leather sofa set faced a flat panel mounted on the wall. Beyond that, a small bar with stools. Blackout curtains shielded the exit out to the pool. Two women waited in the room. One, a sleek blonde perched on a stool. The high slit in her dress showed off long, shapely pale legs. That wasn’t alcohol in her glass. Kieran knew a vampire when he saw one.

  The other woman was most certainly human. She sat on the sofa with her elbows on her knees and her hands buried in her blonde hair. Dressed in jeans and a blouse she appeared to be in her early 20s. But the ache in her expression made her look older. She glanced up when they entered, fixing them with her desperate eyes, but she didn’t stand. Just rocked a little.

  Kieran had seen that look before. London had said that the addiction to the Touch could be a terrible thing once the magic faded. He might not know what it was like for humans, but Kieran knew what it was like for him. The other Sidhe didn’t seem to have the same problem that he had. They could Touch, or not, like it didn’t really matter. Like they didn’t suffer without it.

  With a hand on his shoulder, Tiernan steered him inside and closed the door. “Hanna is past due for her dose. Take care of her for me, Kie.”

  Kieran stared after him, as he walked over and joined the vampire by the bar. The two leaned close to each other with familiarity, close enough to whisper. But if they did, Kieran would hear them. Instead they just watched him with the quiet curiousness, as if evaluating him.

  “You want me to Touch her?” Kieran swallowed hard. London had been addicted to the Touch, leading her to do some despicable things. When Donovan had said to ‘take care of her’ he’d meant to put her down. Like she’d gone rabid.

  Tiernan just nodded, watching him with lazy half closed eyes that didn’t miss a thing. He didn’t even look over when the vampire handed him a tumbler of caramel liquid. He swished the glass, not drinking from it.

  Even just thinking about Touching the woman had Kieran’s magic dancing and flicking across his skin. It was as if his skin hungered, becoming excited in the ache. When he glanced down at her the human lifted her face to him. Her lips parted in a soft inhale. Hope mingled with need in her eyes. She waited for him though, as if trained to wait.

  Kieran stepped closer, letting his pack slip from his arm onto the floor beside the sofa. He reached out a hand to her, the Touch snapping and crackling in his palm. When her hands slipped into his, and her hungry skin pressed to his flesh, the magic leapt out of him.

  Hannah gasped. Her eyes went wide. Her pretty lips parted as if to speak, but only a shaky moan escaped her.

  Kieran felt the echo. Just like he had with London. The more magic he gave this human the more it shimmered around her and back into him. The feeling rolled deep within him, making him hard with need. He stopped worrying about being watched. He kinda liked that anyway. The way people stared at him. Following him with their eyes. When he danced, the Glamour Club people always watched. When he made out with someone, envious eyes devoured the sight. It turned him on.

  He knelt on the sofa cushion beside Hannah. Kieran lifted his hand to cradled her face, and angle her mouth up to him. Their mouths came together and this time it was Kieran who moaned. The Touch spilled from him in a thick flow that spilled into her mouth. His tongue followed.

  With her fingers twisting in the front of his shirt, Kieran lay over her. His body covered her soft features. There would be no mistaking his excitement as he pressed against her.

  The Touch rushed from him, heavy with his arousal. Hannah cried out into his mouth as if his magic kiss alone had her ready to orgasm. And he knew it was true. The echo of magic reverberating off of her fluttered against him like silk curtains in a breeze, feeding his need, filling the hungry void within. The more he gave her the more it returned to him, looping back around in an increasing spiral of sexual excitement. It was rising, and Kieran wanted more.

  “That’s enough for now,” Tiernan said with an even voice. The inflection hadn’t exactly been a command, but there was expectation that it would be obeyed.

  Ki
eran sucked in a breath, and pushed himself back. Lying arms’ length over the human, he stared down at her. His hunger not so acute but not sated either.

  “Don’t stop,” she whimpered, trying to draw him back down.

  She looked like she could eat him whole and Kieran knew he could’ve gone so much further with her. His body responded like it always did to the Touch. He’d filled her, all the void within her that the magic could fill. Everything he gave her now just reflected back to him. It wasn’t as pure, or as flavorful, as the Touch of a Sidhe. It wasn’t the rippling excess that would pour from the lesser fey when he Touched them. This was different, and exciting in its own way. The fey might enjoy the Touch, but they didn’t need it. This human did, and the void within her resonated like his own. It drew him to want to Touch her more.

  “Monique, why don’t you get Hannah some water and make sure she gets to her car okay.” Tiernan said, as he shifted to lean his back against the bar and watch the scene before him.

  The vampire, apparently named Monique, smile with a gentle amusement and collected the woman from the sofa with one elegantly tapered hand. Hannah allowed herself to be drawn away, but she stared back at Kieran until the door closed between them.

  Kieran rubbed his hands over his face, trying to clear his head and give his arousal a chance to simmer down. The tease left him aching. He’d definitely need to find some relief with a companion tonight.

  “I thought you might be Leannan.”

  Kieran focused on exhaling and easing back the stiffness that made his jeans uncomfortably tight. Then he cut a sideways glance at Tiernan. “Say what?”

  Tiernan pushed away from the bar, leaving his untouched glass on it. With that swagger of his, he crossed back to Kieran and then leaned a hip against the back of the sofa. “Leannan,” he repeated, “it’s a type of Sidhe. At one time people even thought it was a separate race of Sidhe, but it’s not actually. It’s a type of disorder. Some people have a genetic tendency to have deficiencies in their bodies. Like a vitamin deficiency, only you have a magic deficiency. They don’t make vitamins for that. Only the Touch can satisfy. Am I right?”

  Kieran shook his head. “I’ve never heard this before.”

  “Your mother must of been Leannan. It passes from mother to child. You’d only be able to pass it to your female children. Those that are Sidhe, that is. That’s why three quarters of the Leannan are female. But that doesn’t matter. What does matter is understanding your disorder and how to manage it.”

  All this was new to him. It made sense, except the part where he didn’t know this about himself. “How do I manage it?”

  “You can ask Brianna, she’s a Leannan and one of my crew. Her aspect is sexuality, like Druantia’s was back in the day. Touching a human is like yanking off, it’s not as good as the Touch of a Sidhe, but it’ll keep you from getting blue balls. Because sexuality is her aspect she’s able to do a few tricks that eases her disorder, a lot like a succubus. Unfortunately, you two probably can’t help each other out. Like vampires can’t feed off each other and live. You both have a deficiency, you’ll not get the vitamins you need from each other. I don’t really see how you’ll be able to use sound to help with your problem. There are some fey, and even a few races from the other magic realms that might work for you. I’m sure you’ve never had trouble finding people to hook up with. As for the Touch, there’s me and four other Sidhe in house. We should have enough Touch clients to go around, just watch not to burn them out. If they start getting dark circles under their eyes, and migraines then you’ve gone too far. The bigger your pool of clients the less likely you’ll burn any one of them out. But,” Tiernan pointed at him, “I didn’t bring you here to be a prostitute. You know you’re meant for more than that.”

  “Then why am I here?” Kieran crossed his arms over his stomach, feeling a little nervous with all the talk of this disorder, and burning out his lovers.

  “I need a lieutenant to handle things here when I’m in the realm. Monique knows how to run my business, but she has certain vulnerabilities. Like sunlight for example. More specifically, I want to have you run a crew for me. A specialized attack force that can strategically strike a target, act as enforcers to protect my interests, and to investigate matters that might jeopardize my business or the fey. You think you could handle that?”

  “Yeah.” Kieran got to his feet. After all his training, after all his requests to be allowed to go on missions, now he was finally getting the chance to prove himself. “Yeah, I can handle that.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Malcolm stared at himself in the mirror. A train of light bulbs stuck out of the frame all around the mirror, lighting up his face. Joel leaned over one of his shoulders and Griffin leaned over the other. They both fussed with his hair trying to get it to cover his ears, and not having any luck. “Can’t you just use Glamour?” Asked Joel.

  “I’m no good at it.” Malcolm waved away the hands.

  “Just give it a shot,” said Griffin, his own hair reaching his shoulders.

  Malcolm glared at his reflection and willed his magic to swirl out on either side of his head, accomplishing nothing more than a pink fluffy cloud hovering over his ears.

  Griffin screwed up his face. “Why is it pink?”

  “Because Glamour is pink,” sighed Malcolm. “Everybody’s Glamour looks pink to me. Even my own. I can’t see what I’m trying to make so I can’t make it.”

  “He could wear earmuffs.” Griffin suggested. “Or maybe a hat.” He flipped a flat cap from the hook on the wall and stuffed it down over Malcolm’s head.

  “Earmuffs? Really? Are you even trying?” Joel flipped the hat back off Malcolm’s head. “I don’t want to hide his face. The girls will flip for him. He’s our groupie magnet.”

  “Groupie magnet?” Malcolm twisted to look back at Joel, who used a little stage makeup to make his coppery skin appear like a deep tan. Griffin’s coloring was already close to that so he didn’t need to. They both wore colored contacts because their natural eye color was amber, and the contacts turned their eyes golden. Both of the dark elves had hair shaggy enough to cover their ears, something it would probably take Malcolm a few more weeks to accomplish.

  Joel pushed his fingers against Malcolm’s chin so he faced his reflection again. “Groupies, Malcolm, are the key to success. We need fans if we’re going to make this work. You want the band to be a success, don’t you?”

  Malcolm thought about that. What would success mean? “I don’t know. I mean, I thought I was just going to play the drums.”

  “The band is a team. A family. This will only work if we work together on this.” Joel gripped Malcolm shoulders and squeezed. “Come on, mate. Be on board with this.”

  “I just thought we were going to play a couple of gigs.” Malcolm could see his own doubt in his expression, and Joel’s worried eagerness. Griffin always had a look like everything amused him, and nothing worried him.

  The music from the sound system playing in the club reached them even in the green room. They were supposed to be going on soon.

  The door to the green room opened and two people pressed inside. The first was Kaitlin carrying a box. The second was Jasper, the dwarf that owned the club. Both of them grinning wildly. “We have an idea!” Kaitlin jammed the box down on the table in front of Malcolm, and then dug inside to pull out a handful of latex artificial elf ears of all different sizes and shapes.

  Jasper said, “Sometimes we’ve had costume parties or mythology night so that the fey don’t have to wear Glamour or disguises to hide from the humans. We hand out these ears on those nights so people assume the fey’s ears are fake too.”

  Kaitlin grinned at Malcolm in the reflection. “Maybe we could even change the name of our band. Something elvish, or mythical. And then we can always hand out ears to the fa
ns. Then none of us has to hide our ears and everyone would just assume it’s part of our style.”

  “Hey, I like that!” Joel reached into the box and pulled out two fistfuls of ears. “We might even start a trend. Like mohawks or nose piercings. I like it. What should we call the band?”

  “Big Ears?” Offered Griffin, earning himself a punch in the shoulder from Joel.

  “Be serious. This is important.”

  Joel’s eyes suddenly got big and he exclaimed, “I got it! Fey Bangers! Like head bangers, you know? It sounds rock ‘n roll.”

  “It sounds sexual,” smirked Griffin.

  “That’s even better! Everyone knows that sex sells.” Joel leaned forward cupping his hand in front of his face and poking at his eye until the contact fell out. “Then we don’t have these disguises at all. Everyone will just assume the way that we look is part of our costumes.

  Kaitlin leaned over Malcolm’s back and hugged him around the neck. She kissed him right on the tip of his ear. “We can just be ourselves. Very Unseelie.”

  Heat burned at Malcolm’s cheeks from her kiss. His reflection blushed. But Kaitlin just smiled at him in the mirror. Her own hair hadn’t grown out enough to cover her ears either, but leastwise she knew how to use Glamour. She was Joel’s ‘secret weapon’, a Sidhe with music as her aspect of magic. Even as she hugged Malcolm from behind, pressing her cheek to his, her music melted into his skin with her Touch. Her happiness, her excitement, spilled into him with the familiar melody Malcolm would recognize anywhere. He’d followed it across Ireland to free her. And here, with her now, the music seemed to play just for him. There was something about her magic. About her music. About her Touch. About her, that soothed him. That made the aches and pains on the inside not be so much.