Page 84 of Changeling (The Incubus Saga #2)

Jim and Sasha made it plain as soon as they were both on their feet and capable of walking that they needed to get away from the mine as soon as possible.

There wasn’t time for apologies or explanations, which Nathan couldn’t have been more thankful for right then; they had to get back to Iain, get clear of the mine, and tell that poor bastard waiting for them that his mother wouldn’t be coming home.

If Nathan really was free of his mark, there would be time to celebrate later.

They couldn’t just leave the mine as it was though, not with the pull it would still have on anyone with strong enough fae blood. There was also the body of Iain’s mother lying inside that larger cavern.

It was decided that after telling Iain the bad news, the others would stay at the motel where they would no longer be able to feel the cave’s pull, and then Nathan would return to seal the mine. Blowing it up wasn’t enough. They had to seal it off for good.

When they finally reached the motel, Nathan wanted nothing more than to pull Sasha to him, wanted to hold the incubus and banish that haunted look that would surely only get worse as what happened in the cave came back to him and Jim fully. But that had to wait.

Iain’s reaction to learning about his mother’s death was surprisingly calm.

He didn’t break down crying, though Nathan certainly saw tears.

The man just tensed, tightened his fists so hard they went white, and said, “I’m coming with you,” when Nathan mentioned having to go back for her body, even when Nathan said they’d have to burn it.

Iain’s resolve was heartbreakingly steadfast and in some ways so honorable that Nathan couldn’t bring himself to refuse the guy.

Alex promised to look after Jim and Sasha until they fell asleep, and that she’d call if anything happened.

Nathan didn’t even get the chance to say anything substantial to any of them before they were all parting ways.

He just patted Jim on the back and reached for a moment to grip Sasha’s hand.

He hoped his eyes said everything they didn’t have time for in words.

They switched out the duffle bags of caving supplies for paint to draw runes, lighter fluid, and matches, and headed back to the mine.

Finally the book Nathan had used to summon the Messenger when he freed Jim was useful again.

It mainly contained spells for summoning fae and sidhe, but also had counter spells to banish similar power.

It hadn’t had anything to help with the Animus House, but Nathan was confident that he had the right runes to draw to keep the mine from spilling out any more power.

Iain was dressed the same as he had been before, all comfortable earth tones beneath an equally earthy dark brown jacket.

He shivered hard, however, against the quickly dropping temperature.

It was below freezing, maybe even single digits which was abnormal for so late in the season in Colorado, like maybe it had saved itself just for them on that exact night.

At the rate the cosmos usually screwed Nathan over, he wouldn’t be surprised if that was true.

But his luck shouldn’t have to encompass others.

Nothing had been disturbed when they got back to the mine, but as soon as they reached the mouth, Iain stopped cold.

“It feels like it’s pulling me in…”

Nathan flinched. “Shit. Iain, you can’t go in there with me. I thought maybe you wouldn’t be affected since you hadn’t been before, but your mom was pulled here because…because there’s fae blood in your family and it was strong for her. That might mean the same for you. Maybe even—”

“I know what it means.”

Nathan gaped at him.

A small sad smile crossed Iain’s face. “Your brother’s a changeling, isn’t he? We can’t usually sense others like us, but I wondered if he was.”

Just when Nathan’s hand twitched for the gun in his jacket, Iain stepped back from the mouth of the cave.

“Get her for me, Nathan. Do what ya gotta do inside. I’ll be okay. Then we’ll burn this fucking place to the ground.”

Nathan had learned enough over the past several months that he wanted to trust Iain, wanted to believe that Jim wasn’t the only changeling who could be different.

He nodded, and ducked into the cave, hard hat light on and flashlight ready too.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, Walter was beside him.

“I tried to tell you in the library, Nathan,” he said. “I knew Iain was a changeling. I don’t know what that might mean. For you to come across one of the few others currently in the world… must mean something. He seems like a good man, but please be wary.”

“I know, Walt. Thanks. I guess we should have known better. I’ll tell Jim and Sasha when I get back.”

The way inside the cave was slow going. Nathan came upon nothing out of the ordinary, but he would swear he could feel the lingering presence of evil from all those dark things that had been gathered there.

He covered the main cavern in protection and dispel runes then left a trail of gasoline behind him as he carried Gloria Wilde over his shoulder back into the cool night air.

He set her body in the grass and let Iain have a moment alone as he returned to the mouth of the cave and lit a match that trailed fire all the way back inside.

Nathan spouted every incantation he knew, everything he’d learned from the book, everything that could cleanse a dark spot or curse, even a few he didn’t fully understand.

Then he fired three rounds into the cave and waited for a rumble.

It didn’t take long before smoke and dust wafted out after him.

“I feel better,” Iain said, even while he was crouched there, his hand on his mother’s. At least her body wasn’t marred. It had been a quick, clean kill. She looked peaceful. Iain looked over at Nathan and blinked back tears. “I don’t want to go into the cave anymore.”

“Good. Hopefully it’ll last.”

Iain helped Nathan build a fire, confident no one would think anything was off about his mother’s disappearance given the others.

He set her already stiff body down with tender care, let Nathan pour the lighter fluid, but lit the fire himself.

Nathan didn’t have many more pieces of his heart to give up tonight but he was pretty sure a small bit of it burnt away in the fire for Iain’s sake, for his mother, and for the others lost before her.

As they stood before the fire, Nathan started to feel the strain of the night’s wear on him.

His sore muscles. His cut up wrists that stung and probably needed to be thoroughly cleaned and bandaged.

He gingerly touched his fingers to the cuts but recoiled, which made him think of the scars he already had—through his eyebrow, on the palm of his left hand, and…

Iain started shivering on the way back. Nathan slipped his jacket off and fit it over the other man’s shoulders. A smile flashed in reply that was wholly genuine.

“Thanks. I don’t really know what I’m going to do now,” Iain said.

His voice sounded hoarse like maybe he had swallowed a few embers standing over the fire.

“I don’t want to…be in the house. I’ll stay at the motel tonight.

Then…I don’t know. I know you did everything you could. Your friends looked pretty wrecked.”

They hadn’t explained to Iain why Jim and Sasha looked so wrecked.

“Thanks. And you know, if you don’t think you can stick around here, and don’t feel up to going back to classes in Denver…

we might have a research position for you.

” He smirked, thinking of the Gatehouse library and what a mess it was, and how he really hated Alex always being there alone.

Being able to keep an eye on the only other changeling they knew about sounded good too, though Nathan hoped he’d never have anything to fear.

“Really?” Iain said hopefully. “I might take you up on that.”

After seeing Iain to his room at the motel, Nathan figured he should check on Alex before seeing Sasha and Jim. He hoped they were both so exhausted that they’d fallen asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow.

“Iain okay?” Alex asked when she opened her door.

Nathan stepped inside but not too far. “As good as can be expected. I’m thinking you should offer him a job.

He could clean up that mess of a library, help you run the place so you can take a vacation once in a while without leaving it empty.

Might be a load off for ya.” He decided to leave the ‘he’s also a changeling’ conversation for tomorrow.

And as far as Nathan knew, no one knew about a changeling in Colorado, so Iain should be safe from seals too, unless he did anything too telling.

Alex nodded, and Nathan figured her mind was somewhere else.

The way her head turned the direction of the room Jim and Sasha were hopefully passed out in right now, wasn’t a surprise.

“Do you really think Jim is some…evil thing wearing a pleasant disguise?” she finally asked in a tone that said she already knew his answer.

“No.” Even in the cave Nathan hadn’t believed Jim was really evil. “No matter what he does, how he looks, or what messed up things happen…he’s still Jim.”

Alex smiled in agreement. “That’s why I wasn’t afraid. Well, I was afraid,” she admitted with a small laugh, “but I could see that it was still Jim. Even behind those amber eyes.”

Something caught in Nathan’s throat. He had thought the same thing, only that’s what had made his panic all the greater. “So,” he said, wanting to change the subject, “he say anything to you when you were alone? Back in the cave?”

She smiled wider, and he thought he saw a blush fill her cheeks.

“A little. He said that even though he would put you first until he saved you…that didn’t mean he doesn’t still want things for himself.

I don’t think subtlety was either of their fortes while we were in there.

But at least it gave me a straight answer finally.

Otherwise Jim just looks away and gives that bashful, boyish smile of his.

Urg. It can be pretty frustrating for a girl who knows what she wants. ”

Nathan had to laugh, but he kept his chuckle light.

“Good. About the still thinking about himself part,” he clarified when Alex raised an eyebrow at him.

“That’s good. Wouldn’t want Jim to miss out on any…

” He let his eyes flick quickly over her body to prove he could still act like himself. He could . “Awesome opportunities.”

To her credit, Alex smirked right back at him, but their mirthful expressions faded fairly fast. Nathan literally felt the merriment melt from his face like globs of mud from that night he and Jim had wrestled in the rain.

Some people sought the supernatural. Others were hunted by it. Iain had ended up being both, and neither option ever really ended well. But they were all in this together now.

“Sleep tight,” Nathan said. “We’ll let those two rest as much as they need, then head back to the Gatehouse tomorrow.” He turned to leave.

“Nathan…was Jim right? Did he banish the last of the sidhe? Are you free?” Her voice sounded more plaintive than Nathan was used to, openly concerned and anxious to hear the answer.

Nathan touched a hand to his chest, keeping turned away from her. He’d checked earlier, while he and Iain were still standing by the fire. The mark was still there.

“I guess we’ll have to wait and find out,” he said, and quickly left the room.

He paused for a moment to catch his breath, willing away thoughts of his own fate.

Maybe the mark wasn’t supposed to go away, but Nathan had a sinking feeling that they were missing something, that Malak had some final trick up his sleeve and knew exactly how everything was going down.

It was in a fae’s nature, light or dark, to always be one step ahead.

Walter flickered in front of Nathan.

“Dude,” Nathan gasped. “I really can’t handle any extra surprises tonight.”

Walter shook his head as his image continued to flicker, not stabilizing. “Nathan…”

“What’s up? Are you having trouble with Iain and Jim both nearby?”

“It was becoming…easier, but there…is too much power here…” His voice was barely audible. He turned to look down the hallway.

Nathan did the same. He hadn’t checked on Jim and Sasha yet. His eyes whipped back to Walter’s, but he only caught a glimpse of worried brown eyes before Walter’s image fizzled.

Nathan sprinted down the hallway. He pulled out the extra key and quickly, carefully pushed on the door.

It got stuck halfway because of Jim’s pants lying on the floor.

Then Nathan noticed a shirt lying there too.

A navy blue T-shirt. Sasha’s. That wouldn’t have seemed out of the ordinary if they hadn’t been so close together on the floor.

Nathan didn’t understand what it meant, but spiders gnawed at his gut as he lifted his eyes and pushed the door the rest of the way open.

Jim was lying on the bed, pants gone and shirt hitched up nearly to his neck.

Sasha was hovering over him, wedged between his legs, shirtless and jeans half down his backside.

Sasha’s right hand was raking so far up Jim’s thigh beneath his boxers that he had almost reached Jim’s bony hip, the other hand holding the back of Jim’s neck as they kissed fiercely, all teeth and tongues.

Jim was pawing at Sasha’s chest, trying to find something to clutch onto, and Sasha was egging him on with agreeable moans and presses of his hips down against Jim’s clothed thrusting until Jim gasped his name.

Nathan did the only sensible thing he could think of, given the situation.

He reached for his gun.