Saving Jace: A Fada Novel Read online

  He limped around a chain-link fence and zigzagged through the town, trying to throw off any trackers. He was fading fast when he slipped between two buildings and ended up on a dark, quiet street. At some point, he’d lost the blood-soaked bandana, but maybe that was a good thing—if he was being tracked, it would draw the tracker’s attention and hopefully, grant Jace a little more time.

  He’d left Grace Harbor’s small business district. He stared at the long row of attached Formstone houses, mind working.

  He couldn’t run much further. He had to go to ground.

  Two doors down, a plump gray-haired human sat on a concrete stoop, cigarette in hand. She glanced at him and did a double take.

  His lips peeled back to show his canines. He snarled lowly, his cat rising at the sign of a threat.

  “Easy now.” The female came to her feet and backed up. “Tim?” she called through the screen door. “You there?”

  Jace didn’t wait to meet Tim. He set off at an awkward, lurching pace down the sidewalk. Thunder crashed and he scented the rain close behind. That was good—it would wash away the blood, hide his scent.

  There was a break about halfway down the row of houses. He darted into it and found himself on a narrow asphalt path leading to an alley behind the houses.

  He was almost back where he’d started, the bar a hundred yards to his left. He cursed and headed the opposite way. He was staggering now, the single streetlight hurting his eyes. A few doors from the end of the alley, his legs gave out.

  Hide. Dark. Den.

  But his den was thirty-some miles south in Baltimore. He crawled into the nearest backyard, instinctively seeking a shadowed corner, and collapsed against the concrete steps.

  The iron in his blood burned like a thousand fire ants crawling through his vein. He took a few short, ragged breaths and tested his quartz. The tiny crystals were nearly depleted. Instead of humming their customary song, they were barely vibrating. Too weak for him to draw on the quartz’s energy to heal himself. Too weak even to signal for help.

  If the iron didn’t kill him outright, the night fae would find him.

  Jace leaned his forehead against the steps and prepared to die.

  3

  Evie almost didn’t see the shapeshifter.

  She was on her way home from a late shift at the restaurant when thunder rumbled in the distance. She picked up the pace, jogging the last few yards down the alley and into her narrow backyard. The lavender her mom had planted was about to bloom. Its purple spikes trembled in the rising wind, the sharp scent mixing with the coming storm. She hurried down the gravel path that bisected the tiny garden.

  Suddenly, every hair on her nape lifted. She skidded to a stop, straining to see in the light cast by the single bulb over her back door.

  There. A man huddled by the stoop, his eyes glowing an unearthly green in the gloom. His breath shuddered in, and the chunk of quartz hanging from a leather cord around his neck caught the light.

  Earth fada. With those glowing green eyes and the quartz, he had to be.

  Keeping her gaze on the shifter, Evie bent and scrabbled in the garden for something to use as a weapon. The fada were hard, vicious creatures who rarely interacted with humans. An earth fada lurking outside her door could only mean trouble.

  Her fingers closed on a small rock. She straightened and raised it threateningly.

  “Get the fuck out of here.”

  The man stared back at her, unblinking. Then his lips curved. The prick was laughing at her.

  Anger shivered through Evie. Anger, and fear. Her younger brother Kyler was in the house. At least, he was supposed to be. She had to get this man—this fada—out of here.

  “Did you hear me?” Her fingers tightened on the rock. “I want you gone. Now.”

  His eyes closed. The small smile faded, and he rested his head against the concrete foundation. “Can’t.”

  “What do you mean, you can’t?”

  She inhaled sharply as he slid sideways, boneless as a rag doll. Was it a trick?

  Several seconds ticked past. The man didn’t move.

  She took a step forward. That’s when she smelled the blood, sharp and metallic.

  She darted a glance around. There were three homes to one side of her house and six to the other. Most times you couldn’t move two yards without a neighbor popping out to see what was up.

  Where was nosy Mrs. Linney when you needed her? Or Kyler, for that matter?

  “Hey.” She nudged the shifter’s shin with her toe. “You okay?”

  When he didn’t move, she dashed up the steps to the back door. “Kyler?” she yelled and pounded on the door. “Open up! It’s me, Evie.”

  No answer.

  She set her jaw. Would it kill him to be where he was supposed to be for once? She dropped the rock and dug in her backpack for her keys, her eyes on the motionless earth fada.

  Her fingers closed on the keys. She shoved the house key in the lock and pushed open the door. The kitchen was empty, but the light was on. She dropped her backpack on the nearest chair.

  Her brother sauntered into the room, tall and thin and full of sixteen-year-old attitude until he saw her face. “Evie? What’s up?”

  “Outside.” She jerked her chin at the back door. “A shifter. He’s hurt—bleeding.”

  “Seriously?” Kyler pushed past her and vaulted over the railing to the injured man.

  Evie was right behind. “Hurry. I have a bad feeling about this.”

  Somehow, she knew she had to get the shifter inside—and soon—or he was dead. The fada were the killers of the magical world—assassins and mercenaries. If this man was injured, someone dangerous was after him.

  Kyler slid his hands under the fada’s shoulders and head. “Grab his legs.”

  She hurried to obey. Rain poured down, drenching all three of them.

  Kyler looked at her. “Ready?”

  “Yep.”

  “One, two, up,” he said, and they lifted him.

  Evie staggered, struggling to keep her end up. “Damn, he’s heavy.”

  “I’ve got him.” Kyler moved his hands lower on the shifter’s back, taking more of the weight, and together, they maneuvered his limp body up the stairs and into the kitchen.

  Her brother raised a dark brow. “Where should we put him?”

  “The floor, I guess.”

  They set him down on their sad excuse of a vinyl floor. Evie swiped the rainwater from her face and peered down at the unconscious man. His face and shoulders were wet, but the dark stain spreading across his T-shirt wasn’t from the rain.

  While Kyler locked the door, Evie scrubbed her hands in the kitchen sink and squatted down for a closer look.

  His thick lashes were spiked with water drops. Despite her worry, she couldn’t help noticing how hot he was—shiny black hair; broad cheekbones and a body that was all lean, hard muscles. But then, the fada had a few drops of fae blood, and with it a touch of the fae’s beauty.

  She eased up his T-shirt and sucked in a breath. He had a deep slash across half his lower abdomen, and another small but deeper wound directly above it.

  Kyler whistled. “Somebody cut him good.”

  She nodded grimly. “Get me something to clean it with. Hot water, but not too hot.”

  Kyler nodded and filled a bowl with warm water. Meanwhile, Evie found a couple of clean kitchen towels and knelt next to the fada, dabbing at the blood. From what she knew about first aid, the wounds weren’t life-threatening. Neither was spurting blood, which meant the knife or whatever had cut him hadn’t hit an artery. And the blood seemed to be clotting.

  The biggest danger was probably infection. Hopefully, he’d be out of here before she had to worry about that.

  She wrung out the cloth and dabbed at the gashes again. She’d heard somewhere that whiskey disinfected a wound, but the only alcohol in the house was a six-pack of cheap beer.

  “D’you think we should pour some beer on it?” she asked Kyl
er. “You know, to kill the germs?”

  “No.” The earth fada’s eyes opened. The intense green had faded to hazel. “Use…my quartz.”

  Evie didn’t know much about shifters, but everyone knew earth fada had a special connection with their quartz. This man’s looked like an ordinary rock to her, but what did she know?

  She reached for the pendant.

  “No!” He grabbed it himself. “Don’t touch. Only…me.”

  She jerked her hand away. “Take it easy. I’m just trying to help.”

  The fada’s fingers toyed with the quartz, and it started to glow the same green as his eyes had. His lips moved, and the blood stopped seeping. His wounds seemed to close a bit, too.

  “Wow,” said Kyler.

  The fada’s head dropped back to the vinyl. “Can’t.”

  He released the pendant. The quartz lost its glow and turned back into a plain, smoky gray with a touch of purple. Pretty, but nothing out of the ordinary.

  Evie swallowed. “So what should we do?”

  His eyes shut. “Nothing.”

  She sat back on her haunches. “Look, you are not going to die in my kitchen. You got that?”

  He grunted.

  Kyler dropped to the floor on the other side of the shifter. They met each other’s eyes over his body.

  “Maybe I should call 911,” she said.

  “What good would that do? Fada use their own healers. A human doctor would probably be useless.”

  “At least they could clean the wounds and stitch him up.”

  Outside the storm boomed. Wind whipped through the trees and rain drummed against the kitchen windows. A crash of thunder shook the house.

  She and Kyler stared at each other. Neither moved to take out their phones.

  Her shoulders slumped. It had been a long day. Before working her shift at the restaurant, she’d gone to her biology class at the community college. In between, she’d rushed home to make sure Kyler had supper. Now she was exhausted, out of ideas.

  Hopelessness rolled over her. “He’s going to die,” she said dully. “And take us along with him.”

  Kyler’s throat worked. “There’s nothing we can do.”

  The earth fada roused himself to growl, “Fucking fae. He’s messing with your minds—you have to fight it.”

  “What do you mean?” Evie asked.

  The fada’s hand was on his quartz again. The muscles of his neck strained with effort. The glow infused it again.

  “Touch me,” he gritted.

  “Touch you?” she repeated. What was the point?

  “Now. Anywhere.”

  She and Kyler glanced at each other and then Evie shrugged. “All right.”

  She took the earth fada’s hand while Kyler touched him on the shoulder. Nothing happened.

  Evie blew out a breath. Why bother? She was so tired, her clothes and hair soaked from the rain. If she could only lie down…

  Then something odd happened. The hand touching the earth fada warmed. She frowned down at it. The heat moved up her arm to her shoulder, and she and Kyler were enfolded in its warmth.

  Her brother’s mouth slackened. “What the fuck?”

  “Night fae,” the fada rasped. “Don’t…talk. He—hear you.”

  Evie’s stomach did a complete flip. “A night fae? That’s who’s after you?”

  She’d only seen one night fae in her entire twenty-six years, but one had been enough. He’d been coming out of an after-hours club in Baltimore, tall and loose-limbed with black hair and pale skin. She’d stopped and stared. He was rock-star sexy in his tight black shirt and leather pants.

  Then he’d turned and caught her looking—and smiled, a cold show of teeth. Darkness washed over her, powerful, seductive. When she’d shuddered, his smile had widened.

  Evie had sprinted out of the alley, his mocking laugh echoing in her ears.

  The earth fada gave a terse nod. “Afraid so.”

  Evie shut her eyes. What had she done?

  For the most part, the fae kept to themselves, considering humans as somehow less—which was fine with her. You did not want to attract the attention of a fae. You especially didn’t want to attract the attention of a night fae.

  She looked at her white-faced brother, the brother she’d promised her mom to protect, and stifled a moan.

  The rain eased. Gravel crunched.

  The night fae was right outside.

  Evie grabbed the fada’s hand with both of hers and prayed. Hard.

  4

  Jace swam out of the darkness. A female appeared. Dreamlike, he wondered if an angel had descended to save him from the night fae—an edgy blond angel in jeans and a black muscle tee.

  Then she threatened him with a rock, and he jolted awake.

  Fucking wonderful. She was going to bash his head in. A female, and human at that.

  His mouth twisted wryly—and he passed out. The next thing he knew, he was on a vinyl floor blinking up at a fluorescent light.

  He tensed. There were two humans now, the edgy blond angel and a lanky teenager with short brown hair and suspicious eyes.

  He had to get out of here. He tried to roll over, but the female was doing something to his stomach. He readied himself to fight her off until he realized she was cleaning his wounds. That wouldn’t be enough, not against iron. He tried to use his quartz, but he was too weak, the crystals barely vibrating.

  He let his head drop back to the floor.

  An earth fada’s quartz was almost a living thing. With rare exceptions, his crystals’ unique song had been with him ever since he’d bonded with his own personal quartz as a cub. To have the song fail now was hard, like watching a family member do a slow fade into death.

  And there was nothing to stop the iron burning a path through his veins, poisoning him slowly and inexorably.

  His gaze fixed on the female. She was striking, with a face he could’ve stared at for hours—warm brown eyes topped by dark, definite eyebrows and high cheekbones in a narrow, intelligent face.

  Her mouth moved. She was scolding Jace, telling him he’d better not die in her kitchen.

  Inside he chuckled—if he were himself, he could take her out with a single swipe of his claws. But she had spirit. He liked that. Reminded him of Takira.

  He inhaled, testing the humans’ scents. They were tense and afraid, but they seemed to want to help.

  And his cat liked the blonde’s smell. It relaxed, easing them both. When the female touched Jace’s stomach, the cat damn near purred.

  Okay, that was strange.

  Then every hair on his body stood on end. All the sass went out of the female. Even her hard-eyed brother drooped.

  Night fae. Jace had brought trouble straight to these people’s door.

  “Think,” he managed to say. The female leaned closer to listen. “Happy thoughts.”

  He used the quartz’s last trace of energy to protect them, then slid back into the darkness.

  “Happy thoughts? Yeah, right.” Evie met Kyler’s eyes. “Better do what he says.”

  The doorknob rattled and she froze. She darted a glance at the deadbolt. But somehow either she or Kyler had remembered to lock it in the rush to get the injured fada inside. Fortunately, the door was solid wood, and the shade on the back window was down. He couldn’t see into the kitchen.

  Because she knew it was a man. She could almost picture him on the top step—tall, dark and coldly determined, sending feelers out.

  A night fae.

  She stilled, her breath shallow. Dread filled her. As if she could fool the fae when she knew he could sense them. But the earth fada was somehow shielding them. The dread lessened.

  Across the unconscious man’s body, Kyler had his eyes screwed shut. Her wannabe badass looked scared to death, his face pale, his lips pressed tight.

  Her heart clenched. That frightened, vulnerable expression took her back seven years to when Kyler’s dad had died and all they’d had left was their mom.

&nb
sp; Their mother had tried her best, but those first few months, she walked around like a zombie. Evie’s dad had left before Evie was two, but Kyler’s dad had been an anchor for all of them. His sudden heart attack was just too unfair. Meanwhile, the money was running out. Her mom’s part-time job and food stamps only stretched so far.

  Kyler had tried to act tough, but one night their mom had snapped and thrown them outside, ordering them not to come back until bedtime.

  Kyler had slipped his hand into Evie’s. “What are we going to do?” he’d asked in a small voice.

  Evie had taken a deep breath. “Why don’t we walk to the playground?”

  Fortunately, it was summer, and there was another hour of light. She and Kyler rode every piece of equipment on the playground at least three times, and by the time they went home, their mother had calmed down and let them back in without any fuss.

  The rattling stilled. But the fae was right outside.

  Evie didn’t know how she knew, but she would’ve bet her pitifully small bank balance on it.

  Happy thoughts, Evie. Happy thoughts.

  Kyler’s tenth birthday. Yeah, that had been a good day.

  Things had been better by then. Their mom had a job at an upscale restaurant, and Evie was working at a pizza place after school and on weekends. They lived paycheck to paycheck, but at least they had food in the house.

  She and her mom had pooled their money to buy Kyler the latest video game console and a couple of games. Evie had baked Kyler’s favorite cake—chocolate banana, but hey, he’d asked. Now she tried to visualize his expression as he blew out the candles, then tore open his packages.

  He’d learned not to expect much. That made his grin when he’d seen the console even more special. His face had lit up brighter than the ten candles on his cake. “This is the best birthday ever!”

  Now Evie smiled. She squeezed the fada’s hand more tightly.

  More footsteps, but they were moving away. The ominous presence receded.

  Evie expelled a breath. She felt the night fae moving down the alley, testing other doors.