The Day Human King
Turner glared at him. Devin knew Turner hated to be called a puppy, and that was the exact reason he did that. Nessa shook her head at their play fighting. Neither was serious about the insults, and they both knew it.
“Just be careful,” Nessa replied. “It’s really poisonous.”
“Yeah,” Devin nodded, “Mori explained that we must burn it to get rid of it.” Devin nodded to Turner and they both walked out of the bedroom, toward the front doorway.
Once again Nessa hurried over, stopping Devin by grabbing his hand. When he turned to see what more she needed, she gave him a quick kiss before letting him go. It almost seemed like this was becoming a ritual for them. Tara giggled and Sean whistled as they watched. Devin tried to hide his smile as he turned to the two remaining sidhe children.
“Don’t leave this room. It isn’t safe out there. In here, Nessa will protect you,” Devin told them. Sean pouted a little and tried to puff out his chest to make himself seem more impressive. “If you are really nice, I bet she could show you a few new fighting moves.” Sean brightened at that thought.
Turner waited in the hallway for Devin to finally leave the room. “Where to, boss?”
“Let’s go make a short trip outside of the palace first. There’s someone that grows plants really well that I want to ask some questions,” Devin replied, not fully explaining himself. Luckily, Turner didn’t ask more. They had been friends for a long time, so Turner trusted Devin, and his judgment, completely.
Devin led the way through the village to the outskirts. It wasn’t hard to find his way now after wandering around a couple times. Devin had already mapped out the whole village in his head. He stopped at the first run-down house as they entered the castoff’s encampment. Devin paused at a partial fence that needed a few more pieces to be complete. Mara was in the garden, on her hands and knees, talking to a plant. Turner raised his eyebrows at Devin as if to ask what was going on, but Devin just shook his head. They waited a few moments and watched as a plant sprouted out of the ground. It grew, becoming full size in less than a minute.
“Hello, Mara,” Devin called from outside of the fence. The young girl looked startled, but stood and smiled at Devin.
“Day human. You’ve returned for a second time today?” she teased, wiping her dirty hands on her newly cleaned skirt. She looked better than the last time he had seen her in the morning, and he was sure that the milk had done some good for the young woman.
“I had some plant questions,” Devin replied. “I’m looking into something for my girlfriend.”
“What?” she replied with a chuckle. “You sound serious. Were you a detective in the day human world?”
“Something like that,” Turner mumbled for Devin to hear only. “More like prodigal child.”
“No, not a detective. Just trying to find some answers.” Devin nodded to Turner. “This is my friend, Turner. He’s a night human, too. He’s here to help me. We need to know more about the plants around here.” Mara looked Turner over with the same expression everyone in the village wore when they were walking around.
“First a day human in love with a sidhe, and now a new night human in the village. This must be some sort of crazy week,” Mara replied. She didn’t just look better, her spirits were up, too. Devin was finally seeing some of the youthfulness return to the young woman. “So what did you need to know?” She waved them into her garden to sit on the broken-down benches she had in the middle of the foliage.
Devin sat across from Mara, but Turner remained standing. He was still taking in the surroundings, and was a bit on guard. There was no threat to either Turner or Devin, but Devin was sure that Turner had talked to Nessa, and promised to keep him safe. It was funny to think he needed to be kept safe, but Devin knew the feeling. It was why he didn’t allow Nessa out of her room. They both had the same idea: they wanted the other safe at all times.
“How many people have plant abilities like you do in this village?” Devin asked. They needed to know where to look for the assassin.
“Plant abilities are fairly rare, except for the McKinny clan,” Mara replied, brushing her hands over the flowers next to her. They responded by straightening up and blooming a bit bigger for her. “All of the others maybe have one or two plant people.”
Devin already knew that most of the McKinny clan was associated with plant magic, but there was no one left to investigate there. Ronan and Gemma were both poisoned, and Rolf wasn’t about to do anything to his children or niece. There might have been more to worry about in the McKinny village, but Devin, for some reason, didn’t think it was them.
“So your family isn’t based on plants?”
Mara laughed. “Gosh, no. They were excited when I showed plant abilities, but when they never grew past flowers, they were ready to marry me off. They’d had high hopes for me, but what can you do? You don’t get to choose your ability.”
“What more would they want?” Turner asked. He didn’t know exactly what her ability was, but it was strange that any ability that rare would be brushed off.
“They wanted me to be able to grow trees, or something a bit more substantial,” Mara replied. “They wanted what I couldn’t do.”
“She can make flowers grow from seed, but nothing bigger,” Devin told Turner. Turner didn’t see a difference, but nodded, and let them continue talking.
“Does anyone have a plant seeking ability right now, like the former king?” Devin asked. He needed a teacher, and quickly. He didn’t care what clan they came from. If necessary, he could always frighten one into teaching him.
“No, not at this time,” Mara replied, finding the questions odd but not commenting on it. “He was pretty unique, though. Maybe in the McKinny village there’s one, but none here.”
Devin nodded and thought for a moment. If there was no one to teach him, he and Turner would have a harder time hunting for the poison. They would have to rely completely on Turner’s ability to sense dirt. Yet even that would be hard, because most of the houses had dirt floors. They had a long day ahead of them.
“Would you mind if we walked around your garden and house to get a better idea of the difference between planted plants and the earth that is used when making homes?” Devin asked. Mara gave him a look like she thought he was out of his mind, but nodded yes. She didn’t know what type of night human Turner was, but it was about to become clear.
Devin stood. “How great of a difference between the dirt do you need to smell? Will this work?”
Turner shrugged. Dirt was dirt to Devin, but he knew better than to think Turner smelt the same. Having a lycan for a best friend was coming in handy. Turner walked into the ramshackle house and took a whiff. Then he came back outside and took another whiff. He shrugged at Devin while Mara watched in wonder.
“That should be enough. I should at least be able to tell if someone if growing a plant in their place. We’ll have to search for it then, but we will know which rooms to search,” Turner explained.
“What?” Mara asked, still watching Turner intently.
“He’s a lycan,” Devin replied, which pretty much explained it all, and Mara seemed to understand what it meant
Devin hoped Turner’s abilities would be enough to save them. Time was running out. Devin made his way out of the garden and Turner followed, still looking around like someone might attack.
“Thanks,” Devin called back to Mara. She nodded as they turned to leave. They’d walked a few feet before Devin thought of another question.
“And the Ferguson family here in the village … do they currently have a plant magic person?” Devin asked. That was the real truth behind it. If they did, it would be the first person they would need to visit.
“Not right now,” Mara replied. “They exiled their last one years ago.”
That made everything even more complicated. Devin was sure that Maureen was involved somehow, but if she didn’t have anyone to order to grow plants, and couldn’t do it herself, then could it really
be her? Did she bring someone in from the other villages? Was it not Maureen at all? Devin didn’t think that was possible. No one in the Ferguson family had been killed, and that could be a coincidence, but Devin doubted that. How was Maureen doing it, then? Was she working with outside help? Devin was sure that no one had entered the village that wasn’t part of it—he would have felt their arrival—but what if someone had already been hidden inside of the village before he got his sidhe powers? There were too many questions to answer. They needed to first be sure the palace was poison-weed free, and then the village. After that he could block the village from people entering and exiting until he found the assassin.
Nessa impatiently waited in her room. Tara was still playing with Sean, and there was nothing Ronan and Gemma needed as they slept off the poison. She knew the risk of the assassin outside of the room, but figured the more people looking for the killer, the sooner they would be caught. Nessa opened her room doorway and tested the barrier Devin had put around it. Unfortunately, it was still there. It felt like gel to the touch, and pushed back when she pressed it. She wasn’t going to get through it. She was still stuck in her room.
Nessa left her door open and scanned the hallway. Somewhere out there was the assassin, lurking and waiting to kill everyone in her room. She saw no one, but even if it was clear, he had to be there somewhere. She was sure that the assassin was watching because there was no one else for him to target. They had to move sometime. She had all day, or at least until Devin came back, hopefully with good news.
“You don’t want to play?” Tara asked Nessa, sitting beside her.
“No. I want to wait for Devin,” Nessa replied. “You just keep playing for me. I thought I heard that you’ve beaten Sean twice now.” Nessa smiled at the child. She’d felt what Devin was feeling across the bond when he took her from school. Tara was completely innocent of the sidhe world. She deserved a chance to grow up and become a young lady without all of the drama going on around the elite. Devin had done the right thing by bringing the child here to protect her. The strange part was, not even her family had come looking for her. What sort of life were the young sidhe living in the palace?
“He lets me win,” Tara whispered. “But don’t tell him that I know. I like winning.”
Tara didn’t have a care in the world, and Nessa had forgotten what that was like. Even at the same age as the little girl, Nessa was already training. Tara was different. She was allowed to be a child.
“Are you worried about the day human?” Tara intuitively asked.
“Always,” Nessa replied honestly. There wasn’t a time he was away from her that she didn’t worry, and it wasn’t because of the bond.
“Because you love him?” Tara asked innocently.
Nessa scrunched up her face. Even if she were right, was Nessa about to admit that to a five-year-old?
“My mommy worries about my daddy all the time. She says it’s because she loves him,” Tara explained her train of thought. “I hear them talk. They say the day human is bad, but I think he must be an okay guy if he’s trying to keep us safe from the assassin.”
Nessa’s eyes shot open. They had not told either Tara or Sean exactly why they were being held in the room. Nessa was shocked to know that Tara already knew about the assassin.
“Who told you there was an assassin?” Nessa asked.
Tara shrugged. “I heard the older kids in school talking about it. They were betting who would be killed next.”
“Betting?” Nessa was stunned that they made it sound like a game.
Nessa had thought no one was looking for the assassin because they were afraid, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. No one was looking because they didn’t care. Now she could understand Devin’s frustration with the sidhe. What were they taught at home, if they thought you should bet on someone being killed for no reason beyond who they were? Nessa had heard Devin say hundreds of times that things needed to change, and at this moment she knew he was correct. The sidhe world needed to change.
“Am I a target?” Tara asked quietly. Her eyes were big, and she needed an answer. Nessa could tell the small child was scared, but she couldn’t lie to her.
“Everyone in this room is a target,” Nessa replied, pointing back at Sean and where her cousins were asleep in the next room. She didn’t want to scare Tara more, but she needed to be told the truth. “And that’s why we have to stay here. Devin put a protection spell on the room that won’t allow the assassin or anyone else inside it but us. We are safe here. He made sure of it.”
Tara nodded and stood back up. “That’s why the day human is protecting us. My parents were wrong about him. He really is a great prince.”
“Everyone is wrong about Devin. He’s much more than just a day human,” Nessa replied from her spot on the floor.
“Devin,” Tara tried out the name on her lips. “I like Devin. He’s a pretty good guy.”
Tara hurried back to the game with Sean as Nessa kept watch outside of the room. She didn’t expect Devin back soon, but she still felt the need to watch. If she caught a glimpse of the assassin, they could find him. Devin was able to link to every sidhe in the village and could recognize faces, so he would know where to find the assassin.
After sitting for at least ten minutes or more, Nessa quickly stood as someone approached. It wasn’t Devin and Turner, but a female, and she was running down the hallway to Nessa’s door. As she drew closer, Nessa knew who it was. Fiona stopped outside of Nessa’s apartment.
“Nessa, my mother will find me soon, but I needed to talk to you without her around,” Fiona explained, frantically looking behind her.
Nessa nodded warily. Fiona rarely did anything without her mother’s permission, and it could easily be a trap. Nessa had once trusted the Ferguson family completely, including Fiona’s younger brother, Finn, but she didn’t any more. Maureen had been trying to kill Nessa for months, and Finn had even stabbed Devin to kill him just days ago. If it wasn’t for her grandfather, Devin and Nessa would have both been dead. The Ferguson family wasn’t one Nessa wanted to associate with, but she found herself wanting to listen to Fiona. Something was different with her.
“I want out of here,” Fiona began as she continuously glanced around. The hallway was empty, and Nessa had no clue what Fiona was looking for. “I want to go into the day human world before I have the baby. I want to be free of this.”
Shocked at the request, Nessa’s mouth dropped open. Fiona was the last person Nessa ever expected to want out of the sidhe world. Her title might not be princess, since Nessa’s brother died before Fiona could marry him, but she was basically the equivalent of one. Fiona had everything, and anything, she wanted. Her family was respected, and ran most areas of the government. Fiona could do, and could be, anything. Why would she want to leave?
Fiona looked around again. She acted like she was being watched, but there was no one there.
“Help me. For the sake of your nephew, help me. Get me out of here,” Fiona begged. Her face was strained, and worry seeped out of her. Nessa wanted to stay strong and not believe her. Since her mother had easily tricked her, Nessa had no doubt that Fiona would do the same. Fiona held out her hand for Nessa, begging with her eyes.
“I can’t do anything right now,” Nessa replied honestly, unsure if to trust her or not. She needed Devin around to see if Fiona was telling the truth. “Devin has locked me in this room. There’s a barrier that won’t allow me out or anyone else in.”
Fiona looked at Nessa to see if she should believe her or not. When Nessa held up a hand and pressed on the barrier, her hand stopped just inches from Fiona’s hand. Fiona pressed her hand forward and found the barrier also. They were separated by just inches. Her desperation increased and she once again glanced around frantically. She was about to have a breakdown, and looked like the wind was taken out of her sails.
“Then I’m dead,” Fiona replied, and hung her head in despair. Her body shook a little as she talked. “My mother
told me she just wants the baby. I’m worthless to her now. I didn’t keep your brother here, and I didn’t get him to marry me. She’s going to have me killed for the baby.” Fiona dropped her arms. She had given up.
Nessa stared at Fiona. She didn’t need Devin to tell her the truth; Fiona wasn’t just acting, she was actually being honest. Every fiber of Nessa’s being believed Fiona, but there was nothing she could do until Devin returned. Maureen wasn’t the woman she’d thought she was, but this was beyond what she could conceive any mother would do. She wanted her own daughter dead.
“Stay here,” Nessa said to Fiona. “I’ll tell Devin to come back. He can put you in this room, and keep you safe, too.”
Fiona smiled only slightly. “Don’t worry. My mother won’t hurt the child.” She acted like it was already decided. Fiona turned to go.
“Fiona, stay here,” Nessa begged. The baby growing inside Fiona was the only family, beyond her uncle’s, that Nessa had left. The baby was innocent, no matter what Rhys ever did, or even Fiona for that matter. The baby didn’t deserve to be raised by Maureen. Nessa needed to help Fiona. If she wanted out of the village, Nessa had to get her out.
‘Devin, come back now. Fiona is here, and begging to get away from her mother,’ Nessa told Devin across their bond.
Fiona turned back to Nessa. “She’ll be here soon, and neither you nor I will be able to stop her. She is evil, Nessa. Pure evil. She should be punished for all she has done, but there is no punishment that could match it.”
Fiona dropped to the ground just outside of the barrier, and Nessa stared down at her. She wasn’t the poised princess Nessa was used to, the Fiona she had grown up with. Her makeup wasn’t perfect, her hair was falling out of its bun. Now she seemed like a normal girl … a defeated girl. Nessa glanced up when someone entered the hallway. Fiona was right; they were coming for her. The assassin was only feet away, covered in a dark hood, and Nessa stood there watching, shocked and unable to do anything. Suddenly, Fiona hit the barrier and sprawled on the floor. Maureen, who was beside the assassin, smiled slightly at Fiona’s prone body. Maureen said something to the assassin, and then began to walk from him. He bowed, and then screamed as Maureen did something Nessa couldn’t make out. The assassin fled.