“I’m no threat to you or the baby, Finn. You know that in your heart. You know me. I’m only trying to help.”
Finn walked over to the baby, and I released the field to let him pick her up and hold her tight. I held my hand out and made her favorite stuffed puppy appear, then slowly and cautiously walked forward to hand it to her. She giggled and reached for it, then when she was cuddling the puppy, they reached for me to hold her. Finn looked down at her and then looked long and hard at me. The distrust hurt, but I knew I’d brought that on myself.
“Please, Finn, you have to believe me. If I wanted to hurt you or the princess, I would have done it already.”
Ameria was getting frustrated not having her wishes granted. She started wriggling and fussing enough that Finn finally let her go to me, although very reluctantly.
“We need to have a very long talk, but not right now.”
“I agree. We should get back to the cabin, and we can talk over everything.”
Finn was nodding his agreement. When from the other side of the tree, there was a huge bang and the sound of several new arrivals in the clearing. We both pushed up as close to the trunk as we could to listen.
“I told you they’d fail! What is wrong with you? I hired your group of Dark Fae to get this job done because you were willing to do anything for the coin. Now, look at this mess! No baby, and now he’ll know we’re coming for him.”
“But, sir, we didn’t know he’d be this strong.”
“He’s a Nightshade Guild Mage, for fuck’s sake! What did you think it would be like? Birthday party parlor tricks? Track him, find him, and bring the baby to me, or you’re all going to be dead.”
I raised an eyebrow to Finn, and he nodded. I put my arms around him and nodded that I was ready. Closing my eyes, I felt my body float, then nothingness, before landing moments later in a stunning but unfamiliar garden.
We’d gotten away, for now, but what were we going to do if they really could track us?
Chapter 9
Finn
Henry and I had been walking around in the gardens at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, for a while, and we were all exhausted. If they did have the ability to track us, I had wanted to give us a chance to fight out here in the open forests and sparsely populated gardens of the grounds. Neither one of us had spoken about what had happened so far. I didn’t know about Henry, but I needed time to process.
“Why did you bring us here, Finn? I mean, it’s beautiful and all, but where are we?”
“This is Biltmore. It’s a huge estate and grounds with the largest privately-owned house in this country. The Vanderbilts built it about a hundred years ago, but now it’s open to tours and has become a tourist destination.”
“All that would be fabulous if we were on vacation, Finn, but we’re running from paranormal bad guys. A tourist spot doesn’t seem like the first place on my list to run and hide.”
I couldn’t help but rumble a small laugh before answering, “You’re right, it might not seem like it, but it’s perfect. This place isn’t far from my home, so it was a minimal drain on my energy to get us here. Plus, the old forests here are a source of energy for me.”
I reached out and touched the great redwood we’d been standing under and let my energy become visible. The aura of golden light surrounded me, and the tree responded to my polite request for replenishment. The surge of energy and light from the tree shone green against my gold, feeding my strength. When the exchange was over, I gave the feathery bark a reverent pat and mentally thanked it for its gift.
“Wow, so you really do get your mojo from the trees.”
Before I could answer, Ameria leaned over and slapped her hand against the tree, imitating what I had done. When no glow occurred, she got frustrated and started swatting at the tree. Henry and I both reached for her hand at the same time.
“No, no, princess. Don’t hit it. It’s got different magic for you. Look.” I pointed up, and the tree’s lowest branch was bending and curling itself to get down to where she was. When it was close, the tip of the branch feathered its leaves across her face, changing her frustrated frown into a sweet giggle of delight. Henry gave her a hug and indicated the tree trunk.
“There now. It still loves you. Now give the tree love.”
She slowly reached out and touched the trunk again, this time patting it gently. Henry put his hand on top of hers and patted the tree with her.
“That’s a sweet girl. All is forgiven.”
Ameria smiled, yawned, then buried herself against his shoulder. Night was coming fast. I didn’t want us out in the open after dark.
“So the trees and proximity are the reason we came here?”
Henry was cuddling the baby as we walked in the direction I indicated.
“Not the whole reason. This land is supposed to be neutral territory. None of the paranormals are supposed to attack on the grounds at certain times. The Spring Equinox is one of those times, and it’s coming up this month. I’m hoping we can lie low here until the end of the month in peace. We’re staying at the Inn here. We need to change clothes before we go in, and I need to work out a reservation for us.”
“We don’t need a reservation; I can make it happen. I
