By the Enchantment of Moonlight Read online

  “It feels normal, doesn’t it?”

  “By the Skies, wanting you this way is like breathing or flying or watching the sunrise. It feels like a part of my life I can’t remember being without.”

  “I can’t go back to the way things were, Swift,” she admitted, snuggling closer to him. “Please tell me we won’t have to.”

  “Everything we want is in front of us,” he said, kissing her forehead and pulling her close. “I don’t know what we’ll find, but we’ll find it together.”

  * * *

  He must have dozed off. The afternoon sun had dipped lower, becoming evening sun, low on the horizon. The warm rays poured over them, drenching their naked bodies in a golden glow. He studied the tempting curves of Pimma’s soft form and memorized every inch of her. Emotion filled him and he relived the feel of her tender touch.

  She owned him completely. He doubted she even knew that, but he was bound to her in a way he had never been bound to another soul in his life. It didn’t seem like something he would particularly like, but he did. He liked it a lot.

  A cool breeze brushed in from the lake. It tossed her hair and she stirred. Her indigo eyes flicked open and she smiled when she saw him.

  “I hate to say it, but we should probably put our clothes back on now,” he said.

  She gave an adorable little sigh and stretched her arms over her head. The posture was innocent and ragingly sexy at the same time. But he was determined to focus on something other than the way Pimma’s nipples peaked in the gentle wind or how her toned legs practically begged for his touch.

  “We’ve been here a couple hours at least,” he said, hunting for the clothes they had discarded so carelessly. “There’s no sign of Amarie. I have to assume that means she’s run into some sort of trouble.”

  “What about the men on the boat?” Pimma asked, a trace of passion still tinting her voice. “Are they safe?”

  “As soon as I find my pants I can check. I left the Stone in my pocket.”

  “I think they went that way.” She pointed.

  He found his pants and pulled them on. The Stone was right where he left it. He examined it closely, the image it showed catching him off guard.

  “Is Devin all right?” Pimma asked, hunting for her own clothes.

  “I don’t know. He doesn’t have the Stone.”

  “What?” She slipped into her shirt and came to peer into the Stone. “Did Miranda find him?”

  He watched the foggy image inside the Stone. Not Miranda, thank the Clouds.

  “It’s some other woman,” he assured Pimma. “Devin’s wife, I would guess. He must have given the Stone to her.”

  Pimma frowned, peering closer. “But she looks like a human. Didn’t Devin say his wife was a mermaid?”

  “She must be. That pale hair and the color of her skin—she doesn’t exactly look human.”

  “Except for the legs,” Pimma pointed out. “She’s got legs.”

  “She’s got a husband, too. She must not be a normal mermaid.”

  “Oh look, is that the man from the warehouse? It seems like she’s taking care of him.”

  “It does. They’re on a boat, just like Devin said. At least that much is as it should be.”

  “I wonder where Devin is, though,” Pimma mused.

  “Me, too,” he replied. “Maybe we should go there and check on things.”

  “What about meeting Amarie?”

  “If we haven’t seen her by now, I really wonder if we’re going to.”

  Pimma had found her skirt now and was wiggling into it. His cock hardened just enough to threaten distraction, but he forced himself to look away. He had other things to think of right now. Forces were working against the Forbidden Realm and he needed to deal with that. By the Skies, he hoped there would be time enough later to get lost in the wonder of Pimma’s loving again.

  “Look, what’s that?” Pimma suddenly said, pointing off toward the distance.

  A brief flash of light caught his eye. Glitter. He knew it immediately. A fairy was approaching them.

  “Is it Amarie?” Pimma said, hurrying to set her clothes right and straighten her hair.

  “I can’t tell,” he replied. “Why don’t you get out of sight. If it’s someone from the council—”

  “Then we’ll both have to deal with it,” she finished defiantly. “We’re in this together, if you recall.”

  Her slender fingers laced with his and she smiled up at him. His nerves were on high alert, but he returned her smile with conviction. He’d never felt that he needed anyone to stand with him for anything. Today, though, he couldn’t imagine continuing alone.

  “All right. Be ready to transport out of here just in case this isn’t Amarie. We’ll go to the boat. Keep hold of my hand and I can get us there.”

  “Or maybe you should keep hold of my hand and I’ll get us there,” she said.

  He loved the quirky little smile she gave him. Whatever they were facing here, Pimma was ready for it. They watched the approaching fairy and it didn’t take long before he could recognize the bright gold color of her sparkling aura.

  “Oh good. It’s Amarie,” Pimma announced.

  “Where have you been?” Swift asked when the older Fairy fluttered up to them.

  “I was keeping Miranda away from you,” Amarie replied and gave a knowing nod to their rumpled clothing. “It appears you’ve managed to pass the time.”

  Swift ignored her implication. “It’s been hours. We were just about to give up on you and go check on the injured human.”

  “Is he safe?”

  “Yes,” Swift assured her. “We sent a Watcher Stone with Devin, and he’s being tended to. Pimma put a temporary shield over him, but we need to go and make sure the protection will continue.”

  “Good. We can’t let Miranda find him. I managed to make it look like he died in the fire, so hopefully that will buy us some time. She shouldn’t be searching for us right away.”

  “Where is she now?” Pimma asked. “How did you get away from her?”

  Amarie ran a hand through her waves of unruly golden hair. She looked tired, and clearly she’d been through an ordeal. “I almost didn’t. She’s got some powerful magic. Fortunately, her kind requires constant feeding or she loses strength quickly.”

  “Constant feeding?” Pimma questioned.

  “She needs to engage men in carnal intercourse,” Amarie explained. “If she goes too long without it, she becomes weak. I managed to get her to go after me, and she was so persistent that she wore herself down. I finally got away from her when she stopped to seduce the policeman directing traffic at the intersection outside the Sandstrom warehouse complex.”

  “But that must have been hours ago. Why didn’t you come back here?” Swift asked her.

  “I had to get word to my people, let them know what was happening,” she said. “Things are coming to a head and we need to be extra vigilant.”

  Swift wasn’t certain he believed her entirely. Her demeanor seemed to indicate she was keeping something from them, but this was not the time for arguing. They had to get to the boat. Maybe there he could convince her to explain herself thoroughly.

  “Then let’s go take care of things with this Blake person,” Swift said. “Stay with us and I’ll get us to the boat.”

  She seemed content with plan. “Lead the way, Enforcer.”

  Swift paused. What had she said? He glanced at Pimma and she gave a worried look. Yes, she’d caught Amarie’s words, too. Neither of them had mentioned that he was an enforcer.

  Chapter Eight

  The boat rocked gently as the calm waves lapped at its sides. It was a larger boat than expected, and Pimma was impressed that the magical shield she’d created had covered it so well. The sun was setting now, though, and in just a few hours it would be midnight, and the temporary spell would expire.

  For now, though, they were focused on caring for the injured engineer. He was finally breathing easily and seemed to hav
e recovered from the smoke he’d inhaled, but still the man had not regained consciousness. It was obvious there was more going on than they knew.

  “I’ve tried several remedies,” Devin’s wife said, shaking her head, watching the man’s restless slumber with huge, worried eyes. “His body is responding, but I can’t reach his mind.”

  “You mean you can’t use telepathy to communicate with him?” Pimma asked.

  Mermaids had excellent telepathic abilities, and Devin’s wife had indeed turned out to be a mermaid despite her appearance. Her name was Aliya and she had understood their confusion right away. Her legs, she explained, were the happy result of a Fairy Wish. She claimed she and Devin shared their time with the land and the lake, and somehow it worked.

  Their greatest concern right now, though, was this human. Amarie insisted the very future of the Forbidden Realm hung on him. The story behind that was one Pimma knew they needed to hear.

  “How can one human be the key to such a thing as that?” she asked pointedly.

  “It’s complicated,” Amarie said. “And it involves tampering by very Dark Magic.”

  “That’s probably why I can’t reach him,” Aliya said sadly. “I’ve never had contact with Dark Magic before.”

  “How long before he might wake up and we can simply ask him what’s going on?” Pimma asked.

  “That’s just it,” Aliya said. “I don’t know if he will wake. There’s something very wrong in his mind and until I can reach him, I don’t know what else to do.”

  “Well we have to do something,” Swift said.

  He’d been pacing with irritated furor since they’d gotten here. Devin was not on board, and that had set him off immediately. Aliya explained that her husband had left the Watcher Stone with her on the boat and sent her off into the lake with the injured Blake, but Devin had not boarded. He’d gone back to his office to meet with insurance people and something called a board of directors to do damage control after the fire. The man was very devoted to his work, apparently, and Aliya said he was worried for his employees who counted on him to keep the company strong.

  Pimma wondered if the man shouldn’t have been a little more worried for himself. The last conversation he’d had with Miranda had not been particularly pleasant. If the succubus had any idea that he was onto her schemes now, she might turn entirely against him. It would not be just Blake whose life was in danger.

  She knew Swift had the same thoughts. They’d shared enough glances for her to know this had crossed his mind, as well. Neither of them wanted to put extra worries on Aliya, though, so they’d kept silent. But the fact still remained: if Devin didn’t call his wife on the cellular phone device she kept at her side, very soon someone would have to go look for him. And to be honest, Pimma was not hopeful for what they might find.

  “I’ve asked my mother for help,” Aliya said, pressing another cool cloth over Blake’s forehead. “She’s working to discern what magic has been used on this man.”

  “I’d love to get some answers for this,” Amarie said, shaking her golden head. “We can’t fix things until we know just what sort of plot we’ve all stumbled into.”

  “Plot for what?” the mermaid asked.

  Pimma wished they didn’t have to tell her and upset whatever peace she thought she knew. “The succubus claimed she would take over the Forbidden Realm.”

  “And we’ll be lucky if that’s all she’s planning to do,” Swift added. “From what I saw when I was in Iceland, there’s a whole coalition working toward that goal, and they are not afraid to use violence. Worse, the plot involves humans as well as magical beings. Nothing good can come of that interaction.”

  He must have forgotten who he was speaking to. Amarie practically snorted at his words and Aliya clearly disagreed.

  “But Devin is human, and he’s the most decent, honorable creature I’ve ever known,” she insisted.

  “We’ve been told to distrust all humans,” Amarie added. “But we’ve been told wrong. My husband, Baylor, is human, too, and he’s worked tirelessly for years to protect the Forbidden Realm from anyone who might threaten it. Unfortunately, the greatest threat has been from our own people.”

  Aliya seemed very interested in hearing all about Amarie’s relationship with a human, but their discussion was interrupted. Aliya suddenly leaped up from her seat beside the bed where the injured human had been placed. She smiled.

  “My mother is back! She’s conferred with the elder mermaids and is nearby, calling to me.”

  Aliya hurried from the room and Pimma followed. She watched the young woman stand at the side of the boat, close her eyes, and apparently send her thoughts back to her mother. Very likely she was telling her how to find them as the shield Pimma had created would keep them hidden from all magical creatures.

  Soon the nearby water was breached by the beautiful face of another mermaid. She glanced nervously up at them, clearly less comfortable near a human vessel than Aliya had become. But Aliya must have reassured her mother, because the older mermaid swam close and gave a gracious nod to Pimma. Fairies and mermaids did not often have interaction, but when they did it was generally peaceful.

  Aliya and her mother locked eyes and their smiles and nods indicated they were, indeed, deep in conversation. Some of what the mother conveyed must have concerned Aliya. She furrowed her pale brow and frowned. In a universally maternal way, the older mermaid apparently sent thoughts of comfort and encouragement, and after another minute or two, they nodded loving good-byes and the grandmaid sank back into the water and disappeared.

  “What did she say?” Pimma asked.

  Aliya shook her head. “It doesn’t sound good. I’ve never heard anything like it.”

  She passed Pimma and went back into the little cabin that was very much like the inside of a small human house. Pimma buzzed along behind her. Blake was still unresponsive on the bed, his head tossed one way then the next as he seemed to fight against the cloth Aliya had placed on his forehead. His eyes were open now, but they gazed blindly. He was no more conscious than he had been, though he seemed considerably more agitated.

  “Did your mother have any insight into his condition?” Amarie asked.

  “Some,” the mermaid replied. “She concurs with my belief there is something wrong in his mind.”

  “His brain has been damaged?” Pimma asked.

  “No. It’s worse,” Aliya said. “Someone intentionally splintered his mind. More than once.”

  Pimma wasn’t familiar with the term. Swift seemed to know it, though. His troubled pacing ceased, his wings buzzed, and he moved to hover over the human on the bed, studying him.

  “How many splinters?” he asked.

  “I have no way of knowing,” Aliya replied.

  “What does this mean? What has been done to him?” Pimma questioned.

  “It’s worse than we thought,” Amarie said, shaking her head and letting her wings droop as she settled onto a nearby countertop. “Whoever did this used Dark Magic to splinter his soul. Parts of him have been disconnected and removed. What’s left is a weak, narrow mind that can be used for their purpose.”

  “Like designing their machines,” Pimma said, trying to piece it all together. “But how does this make him such an important key in all of this? If his mind is splintered, wouldn’t that make him less of a threat?”

  Swift shook his head. “He’s only part of it. Splintering doesn’t destroy pieces of the mind, it simply allows them to be shuffled around. If this man is the key, then we need to find those missing pieces before our enemies can use them against us.”

  This was getting more bizarre by the minute. “Find them? Where could they be?”

  “Hidden,” Amarie said calmly. “Most likely inside someone else.”

  * * *

  Splintering. This was a concept Swift had heard of, but hardly believed possible. It was Dark Magic at its best, and he’d certainly never encountered it before. Amarie claimed she’d heard stories from yea
rs ago, but never really considered them to be true, either.

  Whatever knowledge or talent this poor man possessed, someone with Dark Magic had gone to great lengths to make use of it. For some reason, though, Miranda had tried to kill him. Maybe she’d gotten all she needed from him and was tying up loose ends. Whatever her reasons, she hadn’t been playing around. Swift had to admit that Amarie’s decision to let Miranda think she had succeeded in getting rid of Blake was a stroke of genius. It might just buy them enough time.

  Unless Miranda got her hands on Devin and seduced him into admitting that he’d sent his engineer out here to be protected. That would be the worst that could happen right now. Swift was determined to see that it didn’t.

  “I’m going to find Devin,” he announced to the group. “We won’t be safe until he is secure and can’t be used to divulge our location.”

  “I agree,” Amarie said. “You and Pimma go find Devin. While you’re gone, I’ll make sure this boat is hidden securely. Keep the Watcher Stone with you, but don’t return here.”

  “Don’t return here? Why not?” Pimma asked.

  “We have to keep Blake safe at all costs,” Amarie said. “It will be too easy for Miranda or one of her people to follow you. I know a safe house where you can go instead.”

  “A safe house?” Aliya asked. “You just said you’ll make the boat safe. Why won’t they be safe here?”

  It was a reasonable question, but Swift understood. The protections on the boat would keep it from detection, as long as no one tipped Miranda off where to look.

  Amarie explained the situation. “The boat will be safe…unless Miranda follows someone back to it. That’s why it’s better if we don’t have people coming and going. Swift and Pimma should take your husband to the safe house, then they will be out of her grasp and so will we.”

  “Agreed,” Swift announced. “But how can we be sure we aren’t followed there?”

  Amarie had a ready answer as she began riffling through one of the pouches on her belt. “Here. It’s a little bit complicated, but I can give you everything you’ll need to be safe. First, though, you’ll need to find Devin and give him this.”