Read Online She's No Faerie Princess by Christine Warren - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Christine Warren
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who tried to snack on her. This is bigger than that."
"Of course it is. Besides, if Walker was the one trying to kill me, I'm pretty certain he'd take care of it himself, not leave it to chance in the hands of an obviously incompetent demon or a far from lethal spell on a gate he didn't even know ahead of time I'd be using."
Walker could see the changes of expression flit acrossthe alpha's face as he waded through that reassuranceand attempted to figure out what the hell she'd actuallysaid. It didn't take a mind reader to guess when thewords "demon" and "gate" finally sank in. Especially notwhen Graham punctuated each epiphany with a mutteredcurse. He turned to Walker and spoke through clenchedteeth. "Tell me everything. Now. Start from the beginning. Of time, if necessary."
The order didn't bother Walker. He heard it and got onwith it. Unlike his predecessor as pack beta, who hadmoved to Connecticut in order to assume the role ofalpha of his own pack, Walker had no desire to lead hisclan. After seeing what the upheaval of the last year hadput Graham through, he'd have to be crazy to aspire tothat position. He had enough headaches of his own. Asbeta, he was answerable to no one except the alpha, andsince the alpha was a first cousin he'd grown up with andwhom he loved like a brother, that suited him just fine. Hehad most of the authority of a pack leader with very littleof the responsibility. What could be better? At least, that'swhat he'd thought before today. Before a princess haddropped into his lap.
He kept his summary of events clear and concise andslightly lacking in details. Especially the ones about
Fiona's royal relatives. He figured the rest of the storywould cause quite a sufficient amount of trouble withoutthat tidbit of information coming out. He also sent up aprayer that the princess had sustained just enough of ahead injury at the gate to keep her from interrupting untilhe finished.
Graham listened to the whole story before directing hisfirst question to Fiona. "Did you notice anything odd whenyou originally came through the gate?"
"You mean other than the big, slavering demon?" She shrugged. "No, the gate worked the way it always does. It got me here in one piece. That's the only thing I've ever kept track of."
"I have a hard time believing the demon was just a coincidence. There've only been three confirmed demon sightings in North America in the last century, and all of those were still under the control of their summoners. It strikes me as a little weird that the fourth happened with no sorcerer in sight right next to a gate to Faerie."
"Could the demon have come in through the gate, too?"
Walker speculated.
"Not a chance," Fiona said. "If you think it's been a long time since you had to worry about demons around here, you got nothing on Faerie. Our borders have been sealed against them for almost three millennia. Since the end of the Wars."
The Fae-Demon Wars had resulted in the banishment ofdemon kind from the human world and the now-inbornhostility the Fae and demons felt for each other. Demonsmade very poor losers, but they'd been confined to their
own plane for aeons, just as Fiona had said. Because the human world had its share of summoners and sorcerers —interchangeable terms for magic users known to consort with demons—the creatures appeared there occasionally, but not often and never unattended. If that had changed, it meant trouble. Right here in River City.
Jake piped up again. "Then how can we be sure the gateand the demon are related at all? They could be twototally separate issues. Stranger things have happened. Every Thursday and twice on Sundays."
"At the moment, we can't afford to take chances," Walker said. "There's too much at stake in these negotiations. We have to be paranoid."
"You're right about that," Graham said, his expression grim. "This is not the time to fool with the negotiations. For six months, we've been crawling along at
who tried to snack on her. This is bigger than that."
"Of course it is. Besides, if Walker was the one trying to kill me, I'm pretty certain he'd take care of it himself, not leave it to chance in the hands of an obviously incompetent demon or a far from lethal spell on a gate he didn't even know ahead of time I'd be using."
Walker could see the changes of expression flit acrossthe alpha's face as he waded through that reassuranceand attempted to figure out what the hell she'd actuallysaid. It didn't take a mind reader to guess when thewords "demon" and "gate" finally sank in. Especially notwhen Graham punctuated each epiphany with a mutteredcurse. He turned to Walker and spoke through clenchedteeth. "Tell me everything. Now. Start from the beginning. Of time, if necessary."
The order didn't bother Walker. He heard it and got onwith it. Unlike his predecessor as pack beta, who hadmoved to Connecticut in order to assume the role ofalpha of his own pack, Walker had no desire to lead hisclan. After seeing what the upheaval of the last year hadput Graham through, he'd have to be crazy to aspire tothat position. He had enough headaches of his own. Asbeta, he was answerable to no one except the alpha, andsince the alpha was a first cousin he'd grown up with andwhom he loved like a brother, that suited him just fine. Hehad most of the authority of a pack leader with very littleof the responsibility. What could be better? At least, that'swhat he'd thought before today. Before a princess haddropped into his lap.
He kept his summary of events clear and concise andslightly lacking in details. Especially the ones about
Fiona's royal relatives. He figured the rest of the storywould cause quite a sufficient amount of trouble withoutthat tidbit of information coming out. He also sent up aprayer that the princess had sustained just enough of ahead injury at the gate to keep her from interrupting untilhe finished.
Graham listened to the whole story before directing hisfirst question to Fiona. "Did you notice anything odd whenyou originally came through the gate?"
"You mean other than the big, slavering demon?" She shrugged. "No, the gate worked the way it always does. It got me here in one piece. That's the only thing I've ever kept track of."
"I have a hard time believing the demon was just a coincidence. There've only been three confirmed demon sightings in North America in the last century, and all of those were still under the control of their summoners. It strikes me as a little weird that the fourth happened with no sorcerer in sight right next to a gate to Faerie."
"Could the demon have come in through the gate, too?"
Walker speculated.
"Not a chance," Fiona said. "If you think it's been a long time since you had to worry about demons around here, you got nothing on Faerie. Our borders have been sealed against them for almost three millennia. Since the end of the Wars."
The Fae-Demon Wars had resulted in the banishment ofdemon kind from the human world and the now-inbornhostility the Fae and demons felt for each other. Demonsmade very poor losers, but they'd been confined to their
own plane for aeons, just as Fiona had said. Because the human world had its share of summoners and sorcerers —interchangeable terms for magic users known to consort with demons—the creatures appeared there occasionally, but not often and never unattended. If that had changed, it meant trouble. Right here in River City.
Jake piped up again. "Then how can we be sure the gateand the demon are related at all? They could be twototally separate issues. Stranger things have happened. Every Thursday and twice on Sundays."
"At the moment, we can't afford to take chances," Walker said. "There's too much at stake in these negotiations. We have to be paranoid."
"You're right about that," Graham said, his expression grim. "This is not the time to fool with the negotiations. For six months, we've been crawling along at
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