Death Bringer

Ella tried to look convincing. Even if Vadim wasn’t buying it, everyone else was.

“We were taken to the sect’s stronghold, and the four leaders, including Adam, went after Morosov in a weird game of deadly hide-and-seek.”

“Four against one?” Sam shook his head. “That’s, like, so not cool, man.”

Ella smiled at everyone. “You’d be surprised. Morosov easily destroyed the first three, and when Adam tried to use me to get away, I helped kill him.” She sat back. “As soon as Adam died, my face changed back to normal.”

“Wow.” Sam whistled.

Liz stared at Vadim. “You’re Death Bringer.”

He inclined his head a wary inch. “What about it?”

“The most powerful being in Otherworld.”

“I was.”

“Why would you give that up?

“Because I no longer wished to be anyone’s trained assassin. I will kill if I have to, but never again at another’s bidding.” His mouth curled in disgust. “A weapon in the wrong hands is always dangerous.”

“But you could destroy the human world.”

“If I wanted to, I suppose I could.” He glanced over at Ella. “But while my mate lives in this realm, I promise you will all be safe.”

Ella cleared her throat. “Does anyone have any more questions?” Everyone looked at her. “About the case, I mean. I don’t think we’ll be able to get Brad’s and Ms. Phelps’s faces back, seeing as they’re dead, but we can certainly try... What?”

“Don’t you realize that you hold the fate of humankind in your hand, Ella?” Liz grinned. “You’d better stop pissing Vadim off immediately.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.” She managed a fake sigh. “Perhaps he’ll have to learn to be nicer to me first.”

“Very funny, Ms. Walsh.” Vadim wasn’t smiling. “Mr. Feehan, is the nurse Delia still at the hospital, or has she recovered?”

“She’s still there. We have her under SBLE guard. There’s been no change in her condition.”

Vadim rose smoothly to his feet. “Then I think that if everyone is satisfied with Ms. Walsh’s version of events, we can consider this case closed. Despite these latest revelations about my reputation, I assume you still wish to employ me, Mr. Feehan?”

“Sure I do.” Feehan smiled up at Vadim. “I consider you an asset to our team.”

“Then I’ll be off to the hospital to see what I can do for Delia. I’ll see you all later.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Ella asked.

He turned to look at her. “No, thanks.”

With a cool smile, he left, and she slumped down into her chair. So, he was annoyed with her. What was new? Didn’t he understand that she’d just been trying to protect his ass?

“He’s not very happy with you, is he?” Liz murmured.

“Men.”

“What did you do?”

“Killed someone he wanted to dispose of himself.”

“Adam?” Liz lowered her voice even more. “By the way, you left out a load of stuff from your story.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m a Fae-Web specialist, dork. I see the truth, I can’t avoid it.” She hesitated. “He really is incredibly dangerous, Ella. Don’t you think you should’ve left him in Otherworld, where he belongs?”

“To be ordered to kill on command like a hunting dog? He hated that existence, Liz. It destroyed his soul.”

“Then who will keep order in Otherworld, now?”

“I don’t care, as long as it isn’t Morosov. He deserves a break.”

Liz started laughing. “Trust you to end up with Death Bringer.”

“I know, it’s sort of like mutually assured destruction, isn’t it? I’m the person who makes him the maddest in the whole world, and he can’t kill me because I’m his mate.” She patted her heart. “It was obviously meant to be.”

“Don’t even joke about that, honey. The Fae live forever, remember, and often plan for things hundreds of years in advance. They’ve probably been waiting for you to turn up to neutralize Death Bringer for centuries.”

“I suppose so.” Uneasily aware of the Fae queens and their meddling, she got to her feet. “And now I need to go and type out that report.”

Liz winked at her. “Before you forget what you said.”

“Something like that.” She hesitated. “Are you free for a quick drink after work? I think I need some alcohol before I have to face Morosov again.”

* * *

Vadim got a taxi to the hospital, which gave him plenty of time to brood about the incredible story Ella had cooked up for their team. What was worse, apart from Liz, everyone seemed to have lapped it up and not questioned a thing. He still wasn’t sure why she’d gone to so much trouble to truncate the truth. Did she not want his coworkers to know how dangerous he was? Or was it simply a matter of getting away with the shortest report in SBLE history? He shifted on the patched leather seat. Being in his human body still felt strange and constricting. The sense of not being himself surprised him. Was it possible that Ella was right and he should’ve stayed in Otherworld?

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the arrival of the taxi at the hospital. He paid off the driver and headed to the administrator’s office on the fifteenth floor. At the staff desk, he recognized Jose and headed straight for him.

“Hey, Morosov, isn’t it? How’s my favorite girl?”

“She’s fine. Unfortunately she had to type up a report at the office, so she couldn’t accompany me.”

“Damn. What can I do for you, man?”

“I wanted to see Delia. Is she still on this floor?”

“She is. Let me show you to her room. She’s stable, but that’s not saying much. We’re just hoping her body will come out of this by itself at some point.”

Vadim followed Jose down the hallway right to the end, where a tall SBLE security guard sat outside the door on duty.

“Thanks, Jose.”

“You’re welcome. Let me know if you need anything,”

Vadim exchanged pleasantries and credentials with the guard and was allowed into Delia’s room. Apart from the regular drip, drip of something going into her arm, the tick of machines and her faint breathing, the room was quiet. He sat on the side of her bed, took her limp hand in his and studied her face. She opened her eyes and looked right through him.

He could still sense Adam’s magic clinging to her and set about cleansing it. Having Ella’s empath abilities made the task much quicker and easier than he had anticipated. He gladly took the dark magic into himself. One of the benefits of having been blessed and cursed by both Fae courts was that almost no magic could harm or hold him for long.

As he worked, Delia’s color returned and she began to breathe more deeply and evenly. Her eyes closed in a more natural sleep, and Vadim sat back. Within a few minutes she became restless, her head turning on the pillow. The monitors around her bed started to flash and bleep with activity.

She opened her eyes, and he got to experience how a prince in a fairy tale must feel as she stared at him. But she didn’t smile. She just looked terribly confused.

“Is this a dream?”

“Not anymore.” He let go of her hand, then stood. “You’ll be fine now, I swear it.”

He could hear the sounds of activity approaching down the hallway and stepped swiftly out of the room. The security guard was on his feet, his weapon already out.

“Sir?”