Garrett is sitting, still looking super uncomfortable and disturbed, in one of Walker's black chairs. After a little convincing I got him to drink a cup of tea, which he's currently sipping, while he eyes each of my men with wary eyes.
"Ann...honey...are you sure you can..." he looks at Branuel and Terrenel and then back to me, "...are you sure you can trust these guys? That one, especially looks...suspicious," and he points to Branuel Or De A'lanuel and I almost laugh, because hell yeah Branuel looks suspicious, I don't think he can not, not look suspicious.
"Yes, Garrett, I can trust them, I trust them with my..." I swallow, "...life. I trust them with my life." And I realized I did. I really did trust them to keep me safe and to lay down their lives for me, if it ever came to that.
You're already beginning to realize it.
Realize what, Chamuel?
You are already making headway with the Dark Fae King. You are beginning to trust him...
No I—
—Don't backtrack now, my amour, you said you trusted him
I said I trusted him with my life. That I trusted him to do whatever was in his ability to keep me safe, and I do. As for the rest, I'm so not there yet.
I know, beloved, I know. But again, I said you're beginning to get there, and you are.
Okay, whatever...
"What are they doing?" That from Garrett.
"Ooohhh this is gonna be good," Walker says and I shoot him a dirty look. "Why don't you explain to the boy what you're doing, and HOW you're doing it."
Oh Jesus.
I take a deep breath and exhale. "Chamuel and I were speaking, Garrett."
"No you weren't."
"Yes, we were. We have mindspeak."
"You have what now?"
"Mindspeak. It's where you can speak mind-to-mind. You don't have to utter the words out loud."
Garrett looks pensive for a moment before asking. "So you spoke to the angel directly to his mind?"
I nod. "Yes.
"And he answered to your mind."
Again I nod. "Yes."
"You haven't always been able to do this, though. I mean, we can't do it. And I know it's not like one of your innate powers. I would've known, we would've done it before now, and or, I would have seen you do it to others."
And here it comes. I sigh. "No, it's not one of my innate Treader abilities. It comes with—"
"—Just rip the damn bandaid off, darling girl," Walker says with an evil smile on his face.
"Shut up, Walker. I'll tell him how I feel like telling him." I begin to stroke Bento a little more strongly, and Bento purrs and rolls onto his back revealing his belly to me. "Ohhh you silly kitty," I murmur, "You want some belly scratches," I begin to stroke Bento's little belly and laugh when he purrs even more loudly,
"ANN!" Garrett yells.
I jerk my head up. "Sorry, what?"
"Will you stop petting that fucking damn cat and answer me?"
"Do not ever speak of my familiar that way, boy." Walker narrows his eyes, "I once threatened to cut out your tongue if you couldn't keep it civil, and I will, do not think I wont. It will make an excellent addition to my collection."
"Ohhhh, could I watch, help even?" Branuel Or De A'lanuel asks, rubbing his hands together. "I do so love a good taking of the tongue."
"Oh my God, Annora, honey, do you hear these guys? I told you that one was suspicious. And he's a fairy. He could be our—"
"—Don't even say it. Don't even think it, Garrett," I grind out through clenched teeth. My bond to Chamuel strengthens and knots, making the stone in my chest ease a little. "I'll give you a pass because I KNOW this isn't you. But you were rude to Walker's familiar, and to me. Bento is my friend and you insulted him. And then you insinuated something that isn't true. Walker has every right to be cross with you."
"Ann why are you being like this?"
I run a hand across my eyes and sigh. "Garrett we can try to talk, or you can just sit there and argue with me, in which case, I'm going to tell you to take your butt home, because I don't have time to deal with this shit."
"Ann..."
"NO!" I say firmly, continuing to pet Bento (he really does calm me). "I'm not budging on this, Garrett. You are my partner, and I respect that. I will share what I have about THE CASE, and the case only. I will give you what I feel is necessary for us to close this case and catch this sonofabitch, but everything else is off limits...unless I choose to clue you in. And then, it's MY choice, do you understand. You won't brow-beat it outta me. You won't threaten or try to make me feel guilty. I'm done playing this 'game' with you, Garrett."
"It's not a game," he says so sadly that the stone cracks and begins to crumble a bit. "Its never been a game with you, honey, and it never will. I'll...I'll listen and I'll try not to insult anyone," he eyes the cat, "or...anything...but honestly...I just feel...I feel...off, honey. I just feel like the only thing that will fix what's wrong with me, is you. Actually I know the only thing that will fix this is you."
Actually the only thing that would fix it was that bitch healer. Damn it. We needed to figure this shit out ASAP. I couldn't have Garrett running around like this. He was a liability and every word he spoke to me was like a laceration to my heart.
On a positive note, he seems to have forgotten about the mindspeak, my beloved.
Shush! I say to Chamuel, I don't want to tempt fate any. Let's try to leave it at that...the whole, he's forgotten about it part.
"Garrett, you know I care about you," I say, "You know I love you—" I ignore my guy's growls and Garrett's wide smile and continue, "...as my partner. I love you as my partner. You have been a terrific partner, and I trust you to always have my back. Isn't that enough?"
"No, Annora honey, it's not enough." Garrett sighs, "But for now I guess it'll have to be." His eyes brighten, "Because I know in the end you'll be with me."
Oh boy, we REALLY needed to get that healer bitch to fix this.
"Ann honey...didn't you mention at the very first Tread that there were two killers?" Garrett asks suddenly, fork poised halfway to his mouth.
"Baby girl if he keeps calling you honey—"
"—Can it, Walker." I snap. "We've got more important fish to fry, than your annoyance over a stupid pet name."
"It is more than a pet name..."
"No, it's not. And just remember it's NOT really him speaking. It's the spell. Now seriously, shut up, Walker. Because Garrett has a really, really good point." Gah, I can't believe I didn't remember that point. Well it wasn't as if I hadn't had a lot of serious shit hit me lately, but still...
You've had a lot pressed upon you very quickly, my amour
That's no excuse, Chamuel. Garrett is right. There were two Treads I followed in that first scene...before any of you showed up. We went to a scene where there were two distinct signatures. One was a human signature...well, he or she wasn't Tuatha de Danaan.
"What is this stringy thing, with these crushed pebbles?" Branuel Or De A'lanuel says suddenly breaking up my mind to mind speech with Chamuel.
We're all sitting in Walker's huge kitchen eating Thai food and having a brainstorming session...of sorts. I snort. "That's Pad Thai, Branuel."
"Pudding Tie?"
"No, Pad Thai, like Paaaahhhhdddd and then yes, like tie as in tying a knot."
"Why does it have pebbles in it?"
I roll my eyes. "Does it taste like it has pebbles in it."
"I don't know, I don't want to eat something that has pebbles in it."
"Branuel, eat the damn Pad Thai and then tell me if you think you're eating fucking pebbles." I watch Branuel eye the Pad Thai warily before sticking a forkful into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. His eyes light up and he smiles. "This is good. This is very, very good."
I nod. "I'm glad you think so. Those aren't pebbles, those are crushed peanuts."
"What is a peanut."
Did they not have peanuts in Tir na nOg? I guess not.
"That's a peanut," I say drolly. "Anyway I'm glad you like it. I adore Pad Thai, pretty much any Thai food, so does Garrett."
"So do I, Annora my darling girl," Walker interjects.
"So does Walker," I say with a half laugh.
"Well you can add me and the Dark Fae King to that list of yours of people who like Thai food. Everything you have introduced us to, is delicious." Terrenel says.
"Well I'm glad for that," I say, smiling, and take a bite of my Thot man kung. The small round flat cakes are perfectly golden and fried to perfection. Hmmmm fried seafood. Hmmm fried Thai seafood.
"So what is this about there being two killers?" Terrenel asks.
Oh yeah, back to the little thing called, massive serial killer running around the city. "On my first Tread there were two signatures. Garrett just reminded me of it. That means..."
"Someone is helping G'harna," Branuel says coldly.
"Precisely," I say.
"Annora honey, why are these guys in on our meeting? I mean the angel I kinda understand, he was here earlier, and you're half angel, so I get it. And him," he points to Walker, "I don't like it, but he has clearance AND well, we are using his horror house as a sort of base right now. But what do the two Fairies have to do with any of this?"
"Listen Garrett, we really do have more important things right now than to discuss my love life and—"
"—YOUR LOVE LIFE?" Garrett jumps up from the table and drops his fork.
Well shit. "Yes, my pseudo love life. We have more important things to do, like catching a serial killer and his accomplice. This really needs to wait until you're fixed and feeling—"
"—You keep mentioning that, feeling better, fixed, etc. I'm FINE! Do you understand, honey, I'm just fine. And I don't need to wait any longer for answers. You keep changing the subject."
"No, I don't. The subject at hand is murder, Garrett, or have you forgotten."
"That's not fair, Ann darling."
"Don't call me darling, and life isn't fair, Garrett."
"A'int that the truth," he mutters.
"I'm sorry?" I say.
"I said a'int that the truth. Because if life were fair then you'd be with me right now Ann, honey. We were really, really good together."
Oh Jeez. Not this again.
"We were! We had a connection, I know we did. And then you pulled away because you were afraid of that connection. But you don't have to be afraid, Ann honey, we can totally be together. There are no rules that say that fellow officers, well, at our level can't be together. I mean, it's not exactly favored, but well, we can't get in trouble for it." Garrett comes over to where I'm sitting and plops down next to me. He takes my fork from me and places it on my plate. HEY! I wanted that! "Listen, Ann darling, we can be together. I mean, we are in a way already together. This would just be a REAL melding, a true partnership in every way."
"Garrett," I say, "We already have a true partnership. You are the best partner anyone could wish to have. I trust you with my life, I have for four years. I don't know if I'd have made it to this point without you. But...but..." The cement stone in my heart begins to crack and splinter. "...the way you feel for me...like that...I don't feel that way toward you."
Garrett grabs my hands and squeezes them hard. "No! I know you're lying! Why are you lying honey? What are you afraid of? Them?" He looks over his shoulder and glares at a few of my guys. "Cause I can tell you that you don't have to worry about them. They aren't going to be a problem."
"Uhmmm what do you mean by that, Garrett."
"Just that...that...we can be together and you don't have to worry about them. They don't control you, darling, and they can't tell you who to be with. I know...I know that something is happening, and I know that they have something to do with it and—"
"—YES!" I say triumphantly. "That is what I've been trying to tell you, Garrett! Something has happened, you see—"
"—I KNEW IT!" He shouts. And pulls me up from my seat.
"Hey!" I protest, "I was eating, Garrett!"
"I KNEW they did something to you, Ann darling!"
"No, Garrett you've got it all wrong. They didn't do anything to me," Well not really. It was Branuel's crazy ex-lover that fucked this up for Garrett and I. "Listen what you're feeling isn't real, it just isn't."
"It is."
"No, it isn't. Branuel's ex girlfriend—"
"—What is an ex-girlfriend?" Branuel asks.
"Someone that you used to date, and make love to."
"Then she wasn't an ex-girlfriend."
I sigh, "Branuel could you just...be quiet and let me explain this to Garrett, please."
"Not if you are going to explain it incorrectly, mo bhanrigh àlainn meadhan-oidhche. Amira and I never made love. We fucked less than a handful of times. She was never this girlfriend thing you said."
I slap my hand to my forehead.
"He's crude and rude, and what the hell is he doing here, honey?" Garrett pulls me closer. I wriggle a little to get away. I don't want to hurt him while I disengage from his embrace, but if he continues doing this, it looks like I might have to.
"Yeah, I won't disagree with you on the first two points, Garrett. But as to what he's doing here...he's important, Garrett...to the case and to...to..." I swallow, "...to me."
Garrett looks crushed. "I...I don't understand."
"God, I know. I can see that, Garrett. And that is what I'm trying to explain to you. There is a lot going on right now, and one of those things is that you've been messed with. I was messed with to, actually it originated with me, which is why I was agreeing with you when you said something happened to me. Branuel Or De A'lanuel, he's a king, Garrett. He's the Dark Fae King."
"That nut is a king?" Garrett says, shocked.
"Yes, that nut is a king. He has very pertinent information regarding this case, plus we need him to help fix what is wrong with both of us."
"What's wrong with you, Ann honey? From what I can see, there's nothing wrong with you. You look..." his eyes soften, "You look so beautiful, I can barely stand it, honey. Soooooo beautiful."
"That's part of the problem, Garrett. You...you're being influenced, Garrett. Branuel Or De A'lanuel's uh....the girl that he used to sleep with, she messed with me when I was in Fairy and she made it so that you would feel things for me, things that aren't real. Well apparently the spell it magnified emotions and feelings. So you see, you're being influenced by this spell, and it isn't really real. Oh, I know you care about me, the way I care about you, Garrett...but you don't love me in the way you've been displaying."
"You're lying."
I shake my head. "No Gar, I wouldn't lie to you." Shit, I'd used his pet name again. I had to stop that. Stupid spell, stupid stone in my chest, stupid bitch healer.
"You're just afraid of what your feel for me, Ann."
I resist the urge I have to hug him, because I KNOW that wouldn't help matters any right now. "No, Garrett, I'm not afraid of what I feel for you. I know what I feel for you." Okay so that stupid spell was causing me to waffle back and forth, but not really. I knew what Garrett was to me, and it wasn't what he wanted me to be to him.
You must tell him, my amour
It will destroy him, Chamuel
It will be no easier to hear later, than now, my beloved
But maybe when he's feeling better, when the spell has been taken away, he will be more rational and then...
No my beloved...my sweet beloved. He loves you, Annora my amour. It is one of the reasons that Walker is so hard on him and the others display such tempers with him, because they know he loves you, truly loves you.
It's just the spell...
Now who are you trying to convince my beloved?
He...he was okay before. He had accepted that we couldn't be together, remember.
Yes. And I also remember how he looked, and I know what HE and The Graces have said. It is a difficult situation, my amour. He genuinely loves you, my beloved. No, he was not meant to be yours, but that doesn't lessen the love that he feels for you. Did you not wonder why the spell hit him so hard? Other's like that Richardson wanted to be near you, the spell is meant to bring a human male to you and stoke a fire within your soul to sever the bonds between you and Branuel Or De A'lanuel. There has to be an attraction there, remember what the healer Desharra said, but the stronger the emotion, the bond, the more the love grows until it overtakes everything. Goodson has loved you since before you were even partnered together
WHAT?! I mentally shriek
Yes, he has loved you for a long time. That night...that night which nearly broke me...
I knew what night he spoke of. Stupid Johnny and Jack. Stupid loneliness. Stupid, stupid Annora!
No, do not do that to yourself, my love. You deserved to have someone. You were...lonely...and THEY would not allow me to come to you yet. I understood, despite the hurt, I understood. But that night you fulfilled Goodsons deepest wish, and you made him the happiest he has ever been. He legitimately believed that the two of you would be together eventually...and that the night scared you, what you felt for him scared you and that pulled away because of it. But that eventually you would come around and you would be together. Yes he bowed out when he realized you were an angel...but his heart still yearned for you. If not for the spell all this would still be there, just left unsaid...and well, less violent. Goodson is not a violent individual. He never would have shot Romanoff if he hadn't been under the influence of that spell.
I KNOW that. Chamuel. This isn't healthy, it's just not healthy. How am I supposed to work with him if he loves me.
I do not know. You face a difficult decision, my amour. You either accept what he feels for you. And when he regains his wits, you pretend that everything he feels, well, you pretend that he doesn't feel it. Or...you get a new partner.
That thought left a bitter taste in my mouth
I guess I'll have to think about it. But first we need to fix him, Chamuel.
Yes, my beloved, we do.
"What the hell is going on? You keep blanking out, honey?" Garrett shakes me a little and I hold up my hand to keep my guys from rushing him. I so did not need a bloodbath right now.
"I told you, Garrett, I can mindspeak with Chamuel."
"Yeah, that's right. You were going to tell me how you're able to do that."
I sigh, and give Walker a dirty look when he laughs. "Uhmmm...Chamuel and I have a bond."
"Uh, yeah, I know you get along well with him, I mean, he's an angel, you're part angel."
"No, Garrett," I take a deep breath. Like ripping off a bandaid, right? "We have a bond, bond. Like we're connected. We were bonded at birth. He was intended for me."
"Intended?" Garrett says almost stupidly. "Like...engaged?"
I nod. "Sorta like that. Angels don't have engagements like humans. They have bonded and their bonded...those are their mates."
"You're not a Lycanthrope. I thought only Lycanthrope have mates."
In the four years of being partnered with Garrett I'd filled him in on the preternatural communities. "Lycanthrope do have mates. But there are many Otherworlder's that have mates...or bonded."
"So you're trying to tell me you're engaged to the angel."
I nod.
Tell him my amour
I'm fucking getting there. Give me a goddamn break!
"I'm bonded to him. Because I'm bonded to him we're able to speak mind-to-mind..."
"Oh do tell him the rest, Annora darling," Walker says snidely.
Oh God. "I had to finalize the bond with Chamuel to be able to mindspeak with him. But...but there are so many benefits to being bonded with him, Garrett."
"You..." Garrett gulps, "You...finalized the bond...what exactly does that mean, Ann honey?"
"Oh for Goddess sake, is this child always so dense?" Branuel spits out, "She fucked the High Heavenly Host, child! And they are now for lack of a better word, married. As shall she be with the rest of us."
Garrett's hold on my arms tightens to almost the point of pain. "What...what is he saying, Ann? What the hell is he saying? You...you slept with the angel?"
I swallow and nod. I had nothing to be ashamed about. Chamuel was mine, and I was his. It was pre-destined. "Yes," I say quietly, gently.
"You're...you're married?"
"Married?" I squawk.
Well what did you think finalizing the bond would mean, my beloved Chamuel says gently but with some mirth.
I guess...I guess I didn't think that far. But okay...uhmmm yeah, if we're going to be together forever, I suppose it makes sense that we're married. I just...I didn't even have a bachelorette party.
Bachelorette party? What the fuck was I saying? First off, I hated those things, secondly I hated people, thus I had no girlfriends to have a bachelorette party with. So yeah, I was probably bette off anyways.
If you wish this bachelorette party than we shall give you one, my beloved
No, no, I'm just being stupid. I don't need a damn party where I watch strippers.
STRIPPERS?
I laugh. And shake my head, and turn back to Garrett. "Apparently I'm married, Garrett."
"Apparently you're married," he repeats stupidly.
I nod.
"And what that nut over there said about the rest of them?"
Shit. Did we have to do this now? Fuck. Apparently we did. No lies. No more lies, Annora girl. "I have bonds with all of them, Garrett. That is the main reason that they're all here. Because we're all bonded in some way."
"You have bonds with four guys." Garrett says disbelievingly.
"I know, it sounds crazy. Hell, I thought it was crazy too for a while. I really fought against it." Hell in Branuel's case I was still fighting it, (although in all honesty, not quite as much). "But now...now I know it's the truth. And I...I don't want to fight it anymore, Garrett. Each of them brings something into my life, something important."
"That used to be me," Garrett says quietly.
"It's still you, in your own way, Garrett," I say, pleading with him to understand where I'm coming from. "Don't you see, I need you as my partner. I trust you in a way that I trust very few others. You still bring something necessary into my life, Garrett...friendship." I smile softly at him. "You're my only friend Garrett. When everyone else would've deserted me, you stuck by me. Can't you stick by me now...please."
Garrett releases me so suddenly I stumble back and he turns around and begins to walk out of the kitchen. When he reaches the door he calls back over his shoulder. "I...I...can't...can't...do this right now, Ann...I..." and he rushes off.
I'm left to stare at the empty doorway, and the lead stone hardens once again.