the windows so effectively prevented light from entering the car that I couldn’t see many of the interior details in the pre-dawn darkness. It reeked obviously of opulence and, less obviously, of menace.
“Impressive. Is this how you usually travel?”
Tarrek slid in after me and pulled the door shut behind him. “Only if I’m dealing with mundanes or, now, you. Faeries dislike being around so much metal. It inhibits our powers.” He settled back into the seat. “We are creatures of nature and much of our magic is tied to it. This is why we are so particular about where we build our sithens. There are certain things we look for, and certain things we avoid.”
Well that’s cryptic enough, I thought. I made a mental note to pick up several books on Celtic and Norse mythologies when I had a little free time.
Tarrek looked out the window, and I could see his face reflected softly over his shoulder. “When we travel alone we use what you might consider teleportation. It’s called waxing and waning. While it’s not tied to the cycles of the moon it is very similar. It means to appear and disappear, yes?”
I nodded, all thoughts of book shopping forgotten.
“It’s a matter of willing ourselves from one place to another.”
“Is it magic?”
He turned back to me and smiled. “Not for us.”
The car pulled away from the curb quickly, setting deeper into our seats. I buckled my seatbelt then turned to try and look out the darkly tinted windows as the driver sped through the city. It was impossible to see anything through the double darkness of night and tinted window so I turned back to look at Tarrek, and he smiled. He was so startlingly attractive it took my breath away for a minute. I stared openly, but his smile never faltered.
He shifted in his seat and put his hand over mine on the center console. That same electric spark seemed to jump between us yet again. It was more than a simple attraction, more than what I had thought of earlier as intangible chemistry.
“Why are you and Bahlin so interested in me?” I blurted out. I blushed and cursed my pale skin and big mouth for the hundred thousandth time in my life.
Tarrek tightened his hand on mine slightly, and I shifted my grip to hold his hand back. There was something about the contact that was as comforting as it was confusing. “You are beautiful,” he said, stroking his thumb over the back of my hand repeatedly. “Surely you’re used to the attention of men?”
“Um, not really to either thing—not beautiful or used to the attention.” I turned to face him, completely flustered with this conversation. “I mean, compared to you two, I’m like a third wheel on the beauty bike. Totally out of place.”
“Beauty bike?”
“It’s just a phrase. It means that a bicycle by definition has two wheels and a third is seriously unnecessary. You two are the wheels, and I’m out of place between you.”
“Oh.” He continued rubbing my hand. “I disagree. It seems impossible that you would see yourself as unattractive…” The look of concentration on his face lent me to believe he was having trouble finding the right words to convey his feelings. He looked down at our hands, then up at my face. “I sense no false emotion from you, so—”
“You can sense my emotions?” I asked a little too loudly. I saw the driver’s glance in the rearview mirror, and I gasped. His eyes were dark orange, and it wasn’t a trick of the dash light reflection. They were dark orange, as in navel. The pupil was a pinprick of red. It was disconcerting as hell, and hell was exactly what he brought to mind.
“Maddy?” I turned my wide green eyes back to him. “I realize I’ve not prepared you for this morning’s visit to the sithen, or at least the exterior mounds. Unless something goes terribly wrong, there will be no need to expose you to the dangers that lie within for a mortal. Regardless, there are undoubtedly things you’re going to see that are new to you and will cause you some…well, let’s just say that you’re likely to see things you’ve never seen before. I would encourage you strongly to avoid staring at those things that catch you off guard.” He smiled gently again then turned and said something to the driver in that same flowing language he’d used earlier. The man nodded his head and sped up.