Read Online Among the Unseen by Jodi McIsaac - Free Book Online Page B

him,” he said to Cedar, not looking up. Just as he said it, Jane tried to make a lunge for the man on the bed, but Cedar grabbed her arm and held it tight.
    “Let go!” Jane snarled. “You’re hurting me!”
    “Talk to me!” Cedar pleaded. “What do you mean, you love this man? Who is he? What about Felix?”
    But Jane didn’t have a chance to answer, because Felix had crept up behind her and held a handful of crushed petals under her nose. She started to jerk away, but it was too late—she inhaled deeply, and then her eyes closed and she fell backward into the healer’s arms.
    “Thank you,” Felix said to Cedar. He settled Jane in an overstuffed chair in the corner. “That’ll keep her down for the moment.”
    “What’s wrong with her?” Cedar asked.
    “Irial is a gancanagh, a male succubus,” Felix said, his eyes still fixed on Jane. “Not like the leannán sí that bit Finn,” he added when he noticed the look on Cedar’s face. “The male and female succubi are quite different—the only similarity is that they attract and ensnare humans. He didn’t need to bite her. Irial’s skin is toxic to human women—it drives them mad with love. He says he came to Jane looking for you, and she touched him. At first…well, I wasn’t sure what I was seeing, but then I recognized Irial.”
    “You’ve met him before?”
    “It was a long time ago. I was at a festival in Derry, visiting a, um, friend. This was before the sidhe were closed, obviously. I hadn’t seen one of his kind in years, so I thought they were extinct. Anyway, I recognized what he was right away. Either he was incredibly cruel, or he didn’t have a clue what he was doing.”
    “What was he doing?”
    “He was out in public in a human town, for starters. Just walking around the festival as if he owned the place. There were women all around, and any one of them could have brushed against him by accident. As I watched, he started chatting with one, this pretty young girl with a basket of flowers. She was holding out a flower for him to buy, and he was reaching for her hand. That was when I intervened.”
    “Intervened?”
    “I basically threw him over my shoulder and removed him from the situation. Then I gave him a lecture I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten.”
    “But he didn’t know what he was? He wasn’t trying to hurt the girl, was he?”
    “No,” Felix said. “He knew women liked him, but he never stayed in one place long enough to find out what happened to them after he left. He was devastated, and I don’t blame him. Why these creatures even exist in the first place is beyond me.”
    “So what will happen to Jane?”
    Felix’s tone was grim. “If I hadn’t found her, she would have gone mad with love and eventually died.”
    “ What?” Cedar said, swiveling around to look at her sleeping friend. “But that’s not going to happen now, is it?”
    His jaw hardened. “No,” he answered, but didn’t elaborate. Cedar started breathing again.
    She looked down at Irial, who was silently watching them. “What’s wrong with him? Is he sick?”
    “Ask him yourself,” he answered. “It seems so. But I don’t know why. He says he needs to speak to you. I’m going to move Jane into another room so that I can start a healing potion for her. I haven’t had the time to properly question him yet. You don’t need to worry. He can’t infect you, only humans.”
    Felix hoisted Jane into his arms and left the room without sparing Irial another glance. Cedar drew up a chair beside the bed and sat down. Irial’s dark eyes were fixed on her, and she felt a warm, tingling feeling in her stomach again.
    “I’m sorry about your friend,” he said, his hoarse voice sending a thrill up her back. “I really did try to warn her.”
    “Well, here I am,” she said. “Why did you want to see me?”
    “A great sickness has come upon the Unseen. Logheryman said you might be able to help us.”
    “The Unseen?” Cedar asked.
    He