“We’ll be there in about ten minutes,” Nicholas spoke softly. I was staring out the window telling myself I was too old to cry from fear. I couldn’t remember why I had agreed to put myself through this.
Why was I doing this?
“Pull over.” I undid my seatbelt, but he did not pull over. I looked at him. He was looking at the road and checking the rearview and side mirrors. “I’m going to throw up.”
He glanced at me, and I noticed that he was looking pretty pale himself. “We’re almost there, Piper. We have to go through with this.”
“Why?” I could hear the panic in my voice and somehow that increased my levels of adrenaline.
“Remember the Siths?”
“I’ll stay off the mountain.”
He shook his head. The truck was slowing down. He pulled the parking brake in front of a huge white pillared building. I reached for the door handle, but Nicholas grabbed my other hand. “I’m just as afraid as you are.”
“What?” That was ridiculous. “Let go.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll be right with you.” I ripped my hand from his and jumped out of the truck. I heard his door slam as my feet hit the concrete. It was pointless to run from him. I fully expected him to grab me and drag me inside. He hugged me, and I clung to him like a lifeline. “Everything will be okay.”
“Then why are you scared?”
“Because, I don’t want you to hate me.”
“Wait,” I said when he took me a step toward the huge building. “My birthmother is in there isn’t she?” My body was shaking and that at least gave me some anger to hold onto. That would keep me from crying so I was grateful.
“She is.”
“I can’t do this.”
Nicholas smiled at me. “You can do anything, Piper.” He caressed my cheek. Nicholas took my hand. “Ready?”
I wasn’t getting out of this, and I didn’t know if my birthmother was watching already. She had sold me for money, and she was with gypsies.
Gypsies are con artists aren’t they?
I did not want her to think she could prey on me. I straightened my back and pushed down my fear. “Yes.” I wished I could stop the shaking. Or pretend that my back was not completely rigid with every muscle of my entire body flexing to the straining point. We walked side by side to the doors, and he opened them and led me through.
People were everywhere, and they were all smiling at me. Some were crying, and I hated every second of their attention. Where was the person who was going to help me get rid of the Siths? I gripped Nicholas’ hand tighter when we began passing them. A couple of the gypsies reached out, and I batted their hands away.
“Stop that.” Nicholas’s eyes were wide, and he was squeezing the hand he had a hold of. “They just love you,” he whispered close to my ear and kept us moving.
I glanced back and saw two of the women who had tried to touch me were crying. Was one of them my birth mother? “I don’t know these people,” I said when I caught his furrow browed expression.
“This is the clan of your mother. They look at you like family, and you’re hitting them?”
“My birthmother’s clan. Not mine.” He was walking faster, and his jaw was clenched.
I’m not getting out of here alive.
“Where are we going?” This place was even bigger than it looked on the outside.
“You are to be formally introduced.”
“To who?” I stopped walking, and Nicholas had to catch me when he kept moving, and I fell forward.
“The clan.”
I took a deep breath. “Just point at my birth mother so I can stay away from her.”
“It is up to your birth mother to reveal herself.”
We entered a huge ballroom with stained glass domed ceilings. “You were right to think I’d hate you after this visit.” I glared at Nicholas when he looked back at me. He couldn’t just nod toward her or something? This was ridiculous. I was going to die from a heart attack at the age of seventeen. I glanced back and as I had suspected everyone was following us.
“I am going to introduce you to the Bandolier. He is a very important person in the clan. He helps to lead us and bring about the Queen’s laws and directions.” He stopped and was holding onto my shoulders. “Do not hit him.”
“Tell him not to touch me.” He murmured something about Marime as he led me to the far side of the room. Everyone was exquisitely dressed. My old jeans and t-shirt felt like a garbage bag at the moment. The man he stopped in front of smiled at me with love in his eyes, and so I averted my gaze.
Nicholas leaned in toward my ear again to tell me his name was Madric, and that he was very important. Everyone was already quiet when he held up his hands to silence everyone. I noticed that behind him, there was a woman seated on what looked like a throne. On each side of her I recognized two of the men who had come to the mountain and were werewolves.
“She has returned to us,” Madric the Bandolier said and everyone cheered. “Kellan Breanne Frasier is home.”
Nicholas was still with me, so I yelled in his ear to be heard over the cheering, “Is he talking about me? That isn’t my name.” He said this was my home. They knew I was leaving didn’t they? I was not coming back either.
“It’s the name your mother gave you. Your gypsy name.”
The woman on the throne stood and whispered something into Madric’s ear. He smiled and said something that was either another language or completely unintelligible. The crowds started leaving though so it must have meant something to them. I stood with Nicholas watching the majority of the people leave. Only a small group remained when the doors were closed. The werewolves were among them, and a group of about seven or so women.
I was trying to find a resemblance or feel recognition in one of them when Nicholas whispered to me, “It is time for you to meet Seraph, our Queen.” This woman was important to Nicholas I told myself and turned to face the woman who had been on the throne.
“Kellan Breanna Frasier, do you have any wish to meet your mother?” She asked me in perfect English. I glanced at the group of women. They were all holding their breath. This was not what I was here for.
“No.” The entire group of women began crying and the queen signaled them away. “I did not come here for that. I have black Sith’s hunting your werewolves all over my property.” Her green eyes traveled from me to Nicholas, and the dark-brown eyebrows above them rose at him.
“We do not lie.”
He lied to me? Why am I surprised?
I glared at him and heard him swallow. I hoped it was bitter guilt.
“I did so because she was unprepared for the truth.” He looked at me, and I folded my arms. The only ally I had in this place, and he was a compulsive liar. “How may I make amends?”
“She must hear the truth.”
Nicholas’ face was tight as he turned his head slightly side to side in disagreement. I heard people gasp and looked around in time to see the alarm on the faces of the gypsies who were still present. Seraph held up her hand to silence them. “Forgive me, Seraph. I still see she is unprepared.”
“Your fear is making you weak, Nicholas.” Seraph turned her face toward me once again. “Do you find yourself unprepared?”
“How can I know that when I don’t know what the truth is?”
“Fear runs deep within you as well. I see.” She sighed meeting Madric’s gaze. “You have raised your hand against this clan.”
“What?”
“You struck members of this clan on your way inside.”
I looked around in disbelief before answering, “I didn’t strike them. I pushed their hands away. I don’t like people I don’t know touching me.”
She had a look of distaste on her lips. “You don’t want anything to do with your clan, but you want our help?”
“That’s right.” I heard Nicholas suck in his breath and hold it beside me.
/> Seraph’s face was unreadable as she looked me over. “We refuse this opportunity to assist you, child. You may leave.” She turned to look at Nicholas. “You will vacate her property permanently as of this moment. Inform Tony and Johnny that they are to vacate immediately.” I fisted my hands.
Tony and Johnny? No way are they gypsies, they have been working for my grandparents forever. She’s bluffing. She’s just trying to make me do things her way. Well forget her.
I turned toward Nicholas and lifted my hand palm up. “Please give me the keys to the truck so that I can go home. I’ll give the keys to Johnny, and I’m sure he’ll scurry back to this con artist palace.”
“She doesn’t understand,” he said to Seraph. “I will tell her the truth?”
“If this is to be your amends you will not lie to her again.”
“I will not lie to her again.”
“Under penalty of Marime.” Nicholas looked at Seraph, as though she had just told him he was dying. “Agreed?”
“I will not lie to her.” He turned toward me. “Your mother was married to a gypsy man who became ill. He did not wish to die so he broke a very sacred rule of ours, which is to have no dealings with the Baobhan Siths. He bargained with them to preserve his life.
“But to remain on earth he had to die. He became the walking dead himself, a Baobhan Sith.” He paused glancing over at Madric. “The Baobhan Siths are very powerful and evil. They do not help someone for a small price. Therefore, he had to promise them something big.”
“Money?” I asked, figuring that to be the price my birth mother traded me for.
“His wife’s unborn child.” I felt myself sinking to the marbled floor. “Your mom tricked Harold LeVine into believing it was his baby she carried.” I was shaking my head. “She had to ask for the money or Harold would not have taken you or her false threat to ruin his career seriously. She had to hide you in plain sight.”
I couldn’t breathe. I wanted to run but where could I go? Sidney wasn’t my grandma. Harold wasn’t my father, and Trina wasn’t my sister. At this moment, I had no identity. I had no one and was no one.
“Tony and Johnny have both been on the sanctuary to keep an eye on you. The Baobhan Siths want you and it looks as though they may have found you,” Seraph said. Nicholas knelt down beside me rubbing my back.
“Take a deep breath.” I could barely hear him. “Piper, look at me.” He tilted my face up to look at his. “I’m here.”
“You’ve told her the truth. Let’s give her time to accept it, embrace it.” Seraph stood up and walked away. I could hear her heels on the floor as she left.
Nicholas didn’t leave until I was breathing normally again. He said he would be right outside the door. I didn’t realize how comforting his presence was until it was gone.