Chapter Three: Come With Me Now

Bronach was aware that she was coated in mud and soaked to the bone. One of the old fishermen had come to her earlier that day to let her know that there had been a Nessie sighting on the Loch. She immediately made her way down to the beach to find that there was spoor and marks in the mud from the creature's flippers.

Old Fergus had found her on the docks, getting ready to board one of the boats that would go hunting for the Nessie. He said the most beautiful man he'd ever seen was asking for her. Even more odd was that he was mounted on a cyborg horse, which was incredibly rare in these parts. Because of the hold the Fae had over Great Britain after driving the Nobility away, the high technology of the vampires was few and far between. Nature and magic were the primary forces here, other than a few remnants of the Nobles' reign like the Nessies.

She had made her way home to find said cyborg horse wandering around the castle in the pouring rain. Feeling sorry for the creature, she had taken it to the stables with the actual horses. She wasn't overly sure that it could eat hay, but she put some in the stable anyway. Then she had made her way into the castle to see the rime of frost spread over the stones and begin to freeze the water on her cloak and clothing.

Isobel had been watching with her manic glee. Gwendolyn's magic was leaking everywhere and her poor dear Da just looked exasperated with everything. Uncle Angus was allowing Gwendolyn to bait him. Again, Bronach thought dryly.

In the middle of it was an incredibly gorgeous young man.

She couldn't believe how young he looked, in his late teens if anything. Yet the aura emanating from him was anything but young. It was almost crushing with its intensity, the feeling of death behind it was a tangible thing.

He was tall and broad shouldered, but most of his figure was hidden by the long black duster he wore. Long, raven hair tumbled down his shoulders to his back from underneath his large traveling hat. His skin was like fine white marble; his face was carefully sculpted with a wide mouth, elegantly sharp cheekbones, and dark eyes that she couldn't quite make the color of.

Bronach resisted the urge to rub the streak of mud from her cheek before she offered him her hand.

He didn't take her extended hand as the bantering of her family and their consorts sounded around them.

Then her father said, "Which is why he is the only Noble left in Scotland."

The youth turned to look at the elder Faerie with a frown. He looked at Bronach with those dark eyes as that aura threatened to drown her. There was part of her that wanted to get sucked into its undertow, to see how deep that power went.

If he thinks he can threaten me with this, then he can just shove off, Bronach thought as she straightened to her full height and folded her arms across her chest.

"You said that you believed that there was another Noble hunting these lands." His voice was low and soft, like velvet laden steel.

Bronach nodded and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. "Aye, I did."

"I am D, and I received your letter." He pulled a folded manilla envelope from the combat belt around his narrow hips and handed it to her.

She sighed and offered him a smile. "I'm honestly surprised you came."

"I have questions." His hands were at his side as he took another step closer to her.

Heat began to fill her cheeks and the tips of her ears despite the fact she was wearing half-frozen clothing. "I probably have answers."

She looked at her father and smiled at him. "Is D our guest then?"

"If he obeys the laws of hospitality, then he is welcome here." Coinneach sighed as he rubbed his forehead.

She moved quickly over to Coinneach and kissed his smooth, warm cheek. "Thank you, Da," she whispered to him before giving his shoulders a quick squeeze.

He reached up and took her left hand, giving it a gentle pat before letting it go. "Just be careful, sweeting."

Bronach blinked to see D watching the two of them. His head was slightly tilted, but his expression was as lovely and unreadable as a doll's. Yet there was something sharp in his dark eyes, and she saw his jaw clench ever so slightly.

"We can go to my solar; and hopefully I can answer your questions." Bronach rubbed her chilled arms and narrowed her eyes at Gwendolyn. "And maybe warm up."

Isobel smirked from where she stood, her eyes bright in her face. "I imagine that would be pleasant for both of you."

Bronach bit the inside of her cheek at the lady-in-waiting's words. D's eyes narrowed at Isobel and that aura seemed to pulse aggressively around him towards the other Faerie. Then it was gone as he turned and looked at Bronach.

"I will take your lead then."

She rubbed the back of her neck under her braid and offered him a lopsided smile. "Please, follow me."

D followed the tall blonde up a series of winding staircases that lead up to one of the castle's towers. There were four rooms he could see; three of the doors were closed and one was opened to what looked like a small study. There were bookshelves filled with various books from heavy leatherbound volumes to cheap paperbacks. Beside a chair was a music stand with loose sheets of music on it and a violin leaning against it. A fireplace had a stack of earthen bricks beside it and a metal rod with a tea kettle hanging going across it. A desk had a high back chair and there was an overstuffed recliner that looked like it had seen plenty of use. He also noticed that there were crystals of various colors, even though a good number of them were purple, tucked into the shelves or displayed on top of the bookshelves.

Bronach turned back to face him and offered him a lopsided grin. He could see she was biting the inside of her cheek and that there was a soft flush against her cheeks and the tips of her pointed ears. "I apologize if they said or did anything down there to you."

"I've experienced worse." D shrugged and noticed that her posture relaxed slightly as she walked over to the hearth.

She picked up a few of the bricks and laid them at the bottom of the fireplace before opening the tinderbox beside it. "The others can do this with magic; I'm not so lucky." D blinked as she pulled out a blow torch and striker.

She smirked as she lit the torch. A bright blue flame extended from the flume, and she held it close to her face. "But I make do." She then held the torch towards the bricks, waving it slowly back and forth over them. It took a few moments, but they caught fire and began to burn with that same earthy scent he had caught downstairs.

She shut off the torch and put it and the striker back in the tinderbox. "Peat," she said, gesturing at the burning blocks.

"You use that as fuel here?" D asked as he moved towards the fire.

Bronach nodded and answered, "There's an abundance of it here, and it burns nicely. There's some wood, but groves are sacred to my people. We don't like to cut them down unless there's no other choice."

She untied her cloak and draped it over a hook by the fireplace. She gestured to a hook on the other side of the fireplace. "I bet you're freezing."
D was quiet as he took off his duster and hung it on the hook. He stood at the opposite end of the fireplace, feeling the warmth of the pale flames start to seep through his armor and wet clothing. "Thank you."

"I would murder for a cup of tea. Would you like some?" She smiled at him as she pointed to the kettle over the fireplace.

D remembered a girl a long time ago offering him a cup of coffee after she had made it for herself. Lina had been dead for quite some time, but that bit of courtesy she showed him stayed with him. "And there was that whole bit about extending hospitality that sounded damned important," Left Hand said in a low voice from where it rested at his side.

"The Rules of Hospitality are something that the Fae take very seriously," Bronach said as her voice drew off. Her wide violet eyes blinked as she looked at D before they narrowed at his hand. "That wasn't your voice."

The being that resided in D's hand laughed and D clenched his fist to silence it.

Bronach's long ears twitched as she stared at his left hand. "These aren't for show. I hear quite well."

"Well, the cat's out of the bag. She was going to find out, sooner or later," the parasite said, his voice muffled by D's fingers.

Sighing, D lifted his left hand and extended his fingers, palm facing outwards. There was that sickening crawling sensation of the face taking form there. D watched as small, dark beady eyes looked the blonde over before giving a slow whistle.

Don't say it, D thought as that face tilted towards him. "Not bad. A little lean, but she's got a nice face. Probably cleans up nice. The eyes are pretty too, if that's your thing. It's not mine."

And there it is, D thought.

Those violet eyes narrowed and sparked. The blush deepened on her cheeks and ears. D could hear her heartbeat begin to race as her blood began to rush within her. Her jaw twitched as her ears flattened against her head. Her right hand clenched into a fist as she stared at Left Hand.

D lowered his hand and the thing said, "Hey, wait a second, I wasn't done yet. I've never seen a Faerie in person before. Heard about them. Gotta say, you're not what I expected."

"And what were you expecting?" she asked in a low voice.

D answered, "I didn't know that my client was going to be a Faerie."

"Is that a problem?" Her heart started to race even more as she shifted her weight.

D shook his head. "Not unless you start harming humans."

"Of course not! I like humans . . ." Her heartbeat started to slow down as she shook her head. "I try to help them, when I can."

"A man in town said you protect them from things from the Sluagh and hunt 'Nessies' for them." D extended his right hand to the fire, letting its warmth spread across his chilled skin.

Bronach bowed her head with a slight smile. "I was Nessie hunting when I was told of your arrival."

"What is a Nessie?" D asked.

She held her hands out to the fire as well, rubbing them together. "Years ago there was a legend of a Loch Ness Monster. When the Nobility moved in, they actually created beasts that fit the legend's description and released them into the loch. They're predatory and dangerous, and they're an invasive species."

She flashed a lopsided smile as she lowered her hands. "Luckily, they're delicious if fixed properly."

Of course the Nobility threw this place's ecosystem out of balance just to make a legend real, D thought with a shake of his head. Aloud, he said, "And what of the Sluagh?"

"What do you know about Faeries?" Bronach replied.

D tilted his ears and regarded his client. "Very little. I know that you can use powerful magics."

"I can't, but yeah, others of us can. Da can do some really nasty stuff if pushed." She rubbed the fingers of her right hand against the streak of mud on her cheek.

D met her eyes and nodded. "Enlighten me then."