Seducing Death Read online

  “So, you aren’t human?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Not anymore.”

  “You smell human,” he murmured as he processed what she’d said. “Well, mostly human. There’s a trace of something else that I don’t recognize.” He gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry if that sounded kind of crude. I’ve been told my social skills leave something to be desired and I shouldn’t comment on how people smell.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” she assured him. “I’m used to dealing with non-humans, and many of them have an acute sense of smell. As to your question, most people like me were human before they died.” Since she’d never considered herself anything other than human, Kyleigh didn’t mention the other part of her heritage. That was something she preferred to live in denial about.

  “Do you save people from death often?” he asked, examining the puckering scar on his bare chest. “It seems like the opposite of what you’re supposed to do.”

  “You’re awfully calm,” she said with a bit of wonder in her voice. She hadn’t expected him to handle things this well. When Kyleigh had been told all of this by Oriel and Arawn, she’d been anything but calm. Then again, Oriel and Arawn were scary on their best days.

  “Meeting wood nymphs and shape-shifters has opened me up to the idea of other creatures. The wood nymph I know occasionally slips up and mentions some of them. It’s funny as hell when she does it. So, you’re like the Grim Reaper?”

  “Some might call me that,” she said. “Although, what I do isn’t quite that spectacular, and I only deal in souls that are still filled with light. Darker souls aren’t my territory.”

  Ian let out a humorless bark of laughter. “Then I’m surprised you had anything to do with my soul. It’s got to be pretty fucking dark after all I’ve done.” Then he seemed to have a thought. “Did you save me without knowing that?”

  “I can see the souls, and I know about the darkness in yours. It’s getting lighter,” she assured him, “but you’re right; your soul was marked for the shadows. They’re the ones who consume darker souls to feed the Shadow Lord.”

  “Shadow Lord?” he asked.

  Kyleigh blushed. “Sorry, that was a slip of the tongue. Arawn would probably be angry if he heard me call him that, but it’s how I think of him.”

  “Now I’m even more confused. It doesn’t sound like you should have brought me here since I’m not your type of soul.”

  “There will be some unpleasant repercussions for my actions,” she said nervously, “but I couldn’t let the shadows have you when you were close to redemption.”

  “Why would you care?” Ian asked and tried to prop himself up some. The conversation was obviously agitating him. Kyleigh had watched him for years and knew he liked to have all the details. In this case, she was pretty sure knowing the facts wouldn’t help him. In fact, it might make things worse for him while he was recovering.

  Kyleigh rushed to Ian’s side to help him settle back against the pillows. “Maybe we should discuss this later. If you’re going to recover, you need to rest.”

  Ian leaned back, his eyes clouded with pain. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Damn, my chest hurts.”

  “Well, that’s bound to happen when someone stabs you in the heart. You’re just lucky the other vampire’s aim was bad, or you wouldn’t be here to complain about the pain.”

  “Don’t you have some super healing ability?” he asked.

  “Not really,” she said. “This place will heal you faster than you would in your own realm, which I understand is pretty fast. The most I could do was bind your soul to your body and bring you here while you heal.”

  “Thank you,” he finally said. “My biggest fear is leaving my son behind. God, he must be worried.” Ian’s voice was slurred with drowsiness.

  Thankfully, he dozed off again so Kyleigh didn’t have to respond. She didn’t want to admit that she wasn’t sure he could ever return to his old life. There wasn’t technically any rule against it, but there was a rule against her saving him. At this point, she should be more worried about keeping him alive.

  She was surprised she hadn’t been summoned already, but the Fae didn’t always respond to things in a timely manner, likely because time passed at a different rate in their realm. With a sense of dread, Kyleigh watched Ian sleep, wracking her brain to try to come up with a solution to the mess she’d gotten them both into.

  Chapter Two

  When creating her perfect world, Kyleigh knew she needed to be close to the water. Growing up on an island, the crashing waves had always been a comfort to her. Of course, she hadn’t been fond of the cold. That’s why it was always warm here. The water wasn’t deep, and she didn’t have the ability to create any wildlife. Actually, she was pretty sure that, despite the appearance of distant waves, her illusion of a world spanned only a short distance. That’s why she never strayed far from the shoreline. It might not be much, but it was her world and all she had.

  How long she sat on the beach watching the waves, she didn’t know, but no brilliant ideas on how to fix her problem with Ian came to mind.

  One would think she’d have learned her lesson about acting on her impulses long ago. Her impulsive nature had gotten her into trouble more times than she could count. At the moment, she wasn’t sure if she was hoping to be summoned sooner or later. Part of her didn’t see the point in delaying the inevitable. The other part was still hoping the Fae wouldn’t notice. After all, they couldn’t keep track of everything that happened. Could they?

  That ridiculous thought almost made her laugh. Oriel was the Fae she dealt with most, the one in charge of the souls who would move on after death. There was very little Oriel didn’t know about, but he might not notice this one soul, being as that soul was marked for the shadows. Even if Oriel didn’t notice what she’d done, Arawn would. Arawn would take offense to what she’d done if for no other reason than to use it against her.

  “You look like a woman with a lot on her mind.”

  Kyleigh nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Ian’s voice.

  Ian sat beside her, still looking a little weak. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said with an amused grin.

  “Yet you find it funny,” she grumbled.

  “Yeah, but most people will tell you I’m an asshole,” he said. “I haven’t seen a woman in a dress in a long time. Hell, it’s been at least fifty years. It’s strange seeing it, especially with your lip stud. That sort of thing is making a comeback with the younger vampires and humans, but most of the older ones let their piercing holes grow in. They were an ugly reminder of their days of slavery.”

  Kyleigh looked down at her faded green sundress. She had several, but they were all in bad shape since it wasn’t easy to come by dresses anymore. Women in the territory she covered wore pants because it was much more practical to do so. That’s what she wore when she left her realm, but she’d grown up in a time when women wore dresses, and she couldn’t seem to shake that habit completely.

  “I wish I’d stocked up on more dresses,” she said with a smile. “The ones I have are getting quite old. The piercing was an impulsive decision more than a century ago.”

  Ian studied her for a moment. “They both suit you,” he said, curling his toes in the warm sand. His legs were bare, since he was still only wearing boxers. He gave her an apologetic smile. “I didn’t have anything to put on. My clothes were all missing.”

  “After you bled all over them, they were no longer usable. I didn’t even consider what you’d wear when you woke up. Then again, I was busy worrying about you waking up. I’ll see if I have anything that will fit you.”

  “You entertain a lot of men here?” he asked with a lopsided grin.

  “No!” she said quickly. Silly as it might be now, she’d lived in a time when sleeping with men was frowned upon. “I meant you might be able to wear some of my baggy clothes until I can get some for you.”

  “I was just teasing about you entertaining me
n. I’ll wait until you bring me something more my size. You’re tall, but I’m still quite a bit bigger than you.” His brow furrowed in confusion. “This place is nice, and I feel strangely calm, despite feeling like I should be angry or scared,” he said with a shrug. “Hell, I’m not sure what I should be feeling. I’m not a very trusting person, yet here I am sitting on a beach chatting with Death. Do you have a name?”

  “Of course I have a name,” Kyleigh said incredulously.

  “Care to tell me what it is?” he asked, clearly amused.

  “Kyleigh,” she said.

  Ian nodded. “Well, Kyleigh, why am I so relaxed?”

  “This place, my realm, it’s soothing. That’s why I like it here. Without the calming influence of my realm, I might go insane. To be honest, I had no idea it would have the same effect on you.”

  “I can see why you might need a place like this. What you do must be stressful,” Ian said.

  “Not always. Some days things go smoothly, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes, people want me to tell them what’s coming next, or assure them their loved ones will be okay when they pass. Those are things I can’t do, and it’s hard living that way. There are times when I’m tempted to lie to them, but it feels wrong.”

  “Don’t you know what comes after death?” he asked, studying her.

  She shook her head. “As I understand it, death isn’t the same for everyone. What you believe has a lot to do with where you’ll go. Since I’ve never passed on, I’m just taking the word of others on that, and they aren’t trustworthy sources.”

  “What if you don’t believe anything?” he asked. “I mean, with my childhood, I don’t believe in any sort of god. Most days while I was growing up, I thought I was already in Hell. Where does someone like me go?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. “From what I was told, you’ll still go somewhere nice. They’ve always assured me people end up with their loved ones.”

  “Who are they?”

  Kyleigh hesitated because he probably didn’t want to know. Soon enough, he’d likely be faced with them, but maybe he’d get lucky and never have to be. “Trust me. You don’t want to know.”

  He nodded and lay back in the sand. “I can’t believe I’m lying on a warm beach. It’s been years since I was on sand this warm.”

  Kyleigh laughed. “You sound intoxicated.”

  Ian’s brow furrowed. “I’ve never been intoxicated. I’ve seen a lot of humans that way. It doesn’t happen to vampires, but I am acting strange. Trust me. I never act this nice. Maybe I need blood.”

  “Not here,” she said. “If you spend time away from here, you will. You’re still weak. It could have to do with your injuries.” That thought made her worry because she’d never brought a vampire here. Well, she’d never brought anyone here. Only the Fae or her own kind invaded her realm. Ian shouldn’t need any sustenance here. It was like being caught in limbo, but she had no way of knowing if that was true for vampires. “Maybe you should have blood just in case.”

  “I don’t feel hungry,” Ian admitted. “It’s been long enough that my fangs should be aching by now, especially after all the blood I lost.”

  “I only need to eat if I stay away from here too long,” she explained. “Actually, I can’t even remember the last time I ate.”

  “That must be strange,” he said as he studied her. “There are some born vampires who started out human, and they refuse to give up solid food. I guess it must be pretty good. My friend, Simon just started eating it, and he’s like an addict when it comes to cookies.” Ian’s expression darkened. “Si was taken by those bastards who attacked me. Do you know if he’s okay?”

  Kyleigh hesitated, since she wasn’t completely sure. “He was alive when I brought you back here,” she said, “and I wasn’t supposed to release his soul.”

  “There are a lot of things that’ll make a man wish he was dead,” Ian said, and the certainty in his voice made Kyleigh shiver.

  “I wish I could tell you more,” she said. “You sent your people a message letting them know he was taken, right? I’ve never used one of those phones, but I’ve seen people use them.”

  “Yeah,” Ian said. “At least they’ll be able to track my phone, but we have no idea where those bastards moved once we raided their last settlement.”

  Kyleigh was just about to reach for Ian’s hand when a nasally voice startled her. “You’ve been summoned.”

  The owner of that nasally voice was one of Arawn’s underlings, one who would enjoy seeing her punished. A weak looking Fae, whose name she couldn’t remember, this male thrived on the pain of others, nearly as much as Arawn did.

  Even knowing this had been coming, Kyleigh shivered because she still hadn’t come up with a good excuse. Of course, she’d still been hoping Oriel would be the one to summon her. Technically, she was under Oriel’s authority, but Arawn had been the one she’d wronged by saving Ian. With any luck, she’d be struck with inspiration before she had to answer to Arawn. Standing, she was happy her hands weren’t shaking.

  Ian stood too, looking more alert. She’d seen this expression before and knew Ian sensed the tension and was preparing for a fight.

  “I’ll be back soon,” she said, giving Ian a forced smile.

  “I don’t think so,” he said, crossing his arms in front of his bare chest.

  Even with the wound still healing over his heart, Ian was an impressive man. Kyleigh had been trying hard to avoid those thoughts about him. At first it had been easy because his pain had made him look more like a wounded animal than a man. Later, he’d just made her angry because he was so full of bitterness. She’d had a hard time imagining him ever being worthy of anyone’s love. In the end, even the anger hadn’t been enough to keep her from noticing, but she’d noticed in a clinical way. When he’d started to show signs of becoming a good person, she’d found herself staring at him longer than necessary.

  Maybe it had been too long since she’d been with a man. No maybe about it, she’d been without a man for more than a century, but her choices were pretty limited, and she’d learned the hard way to avoid entanglements with the Fae. Many of her kind were drawn in by the beauty of the Fae and ended up paying for their foolishness. The Fae treated all living things like toys, and not valued toys. No, the Fae were like spoiled children who tried to destroy their unwanted toys rather than let anyone else have them.

  “Are you listening to me?” Ian asked, making her realize he’d been talking the whole time she thought about his sexy body and her lack of sex. Yep, she was losing it.

  Rather than admit to her inattention, she decided to avoid the discussion altogether. “You can’t go with me. It will just make things harder, and I’m sure I can sort things out quicker on my own. For now, you need to rest. Don’t forget. You’re still recovering from a serious injury.”

  Without waiting for Ian’s argument, which she knew was coming by the pressed line of his lips, Kyleigh flashed herself out of her realm to the one place she feared most.

  Chapter Three

  The fact that Oriel chose to be present while Arawn dealt with Kyleigh was annoying but not worrisome. As far as Arawn was concerned, this was a simple matter, and Oriel didn’t have any right to intervene on Kyleigh’s behalf. The shadows were under Arawn’s control; they fed his power, not Oriel’s. As such, Arawn was the wronged party, giving him the right to decide on Kyleigh’s punishment.

  It’s not that Arawn cared much about the loss of one nearly redeemed soul. No, that soul would have provided very little power, and Arawn could easily afford to let it go. This incident was a means to an end. There was no way for Oriel to save Kyleigh this time.

  “Kyleigh broke the rules, and I demand satisfaction!” Arawn shouted indignantly.

  Oriel, the pompous fool, looked exhausted and had probably known about Kyleigh’s transgression before Arawn. That was a pity, since Arawn had hoped to catch Oriel off guard, making it more likely that Oriel would simply agree
to allow Arawn to punish Kyleigh. Oriel had been far too arrogant since some idiot human had declared him an angel. Worst of all, he’d started believing the Fae should be just and fair— well, mostly just and fair. Oriel also continued to feel some inane obligation to protect Kyleigh.

  “I am aware of her mistake, and she will answer for her actions,” Oriel replied in an overly calm voice.

  “She will be handed over to me,” Arawn demanded angrily, “and I will determine her punishment.”

  When he’d learned about Kyleigh’s actions, excitement had hummed through his veins. This was what he’d been hoping would happen for more than two hundred years. That day, ten years ago, when Kyleigh had nearly been released, he’d been crazed with rage thinking she’d escaped him. Then the fool had sealed her own fate and guaranteed she’d never be free. Now that she’d made her fatal slip, he would not miss out on this opportunity.

  “She is not yours to punish,” called out one of the stupid guardians surrounding Oriel.

  “She will be,” Arawn hissed back. “It is my right to claim her for what she’s done.”

  “Until we’ve spoken to Kyleigh, we have no idea what she’s done,” Oriel said in the same annoyingly calm voice.

  “Then summon her now!” he demanded.

  Oriel sighed. “Don’t play games with me. We both know you’ve already summoned Kyleigh.”

  Arawn laughed. “You know me so well.”

  Just then, Kyleigh appeared in the room. Arawn could taste her fear, and it aroused him to the point of pain. From the moment he’d first seen her, she’d affected him this way, and that pissed him off. Kyleigh wasn’t beautiful; no, she was pretty in a wholesome way. Her long red hair cascaded around her slender shoulders, begging to be wrapped around his fist while he fucked her. With freckles dusting her nose and wide innocent eyes, she should have been a turn off to him. Perhaps it was Kyleigh’s body that stirred his lust. She was tall for a woman, and her curves begged for a man’s attention. The little cock tease knew the effect she had on him, but she’d never once given in. No woman told him no more than once— that is, not until Kyleigh came along.