5 Part 5

The door seemed to open back up as soon as it closed. "Go away Rharonis. Just leave me to think since you've taken away my choice." Her emotionally thick voice spoke from under her covers.

"Tori my sweet wonderful sister. Mother and father didn't tell me till after he was in here with your food. I tried coming in. Dad held me back until I saw him walk out the door. Don't worry I won't let him back in here unless you ask for him. Stupid bastard taking advantage of your weakness like that. God if I had known I would have never left you by yourself."

Autora rolled over and reached for him as he curled in next to her on the bed. A few tears trickled down her face when she looked up at him. "Crete, why is it that now I've become the one that he wants. I just want to be left alone. I don't think I'm going to go back to work. It was a bloody test Crete. A test. I went thru all that just to meet the council's approval as a mate for that arrogant jerk. I don't want or need a mate. Haven't I gotten this far without depending on a man? Hell after we grew up I barely saw you when we were in finishing school. I didn't depend on you then to protect me from other people." Autora rubbed the palms of her hands against her eyelids and cleared away her tears. "And thanks to that jerk, my room smells like him. All warm....and....and vanilla-e. Geez it smells like a snickerdoodle in here. Crete what do I do? They can't possibly mean for me to go thru with this. The council won't approve of me. Not as their queen. There isn't even...a pull."

Autora took a deep breath and shivered doing her best to put faith into words that to her own ears sounded weak." No not even a tingle of wanting him." The look on her face was desperate as she dug her nails into his upper arms and her voice went up an octave. "You have to help me. I'm too impulsive to do this. I'll bring our people to ruin. No one will accept me. I'm not pure enough. Hell no one even knows who my parents are. Please Crete I'll do anything for you. Just please get me out of this."

Shaking her side gently he grabbed her attention from her hysteria. "I'll do whatever you need darling. Don't worry about work. You're on leave until you want to come back. I'm making sure of it. I am also going to be beside you for as long as you need me. He is just going to have to get over it. No need for a lady in waiting when you have me around." Tweaking the tip of her nose he smiled his signature crooked smile making her smile back softly.

"There really is no getting out of this is there. Thank you for taking care of me once again. I need to get my report to him over with first." Kissing the middle of his forehead she rolled out of the bed and padded over to her cold plate of breakfast. While he climbed out of the bed and walked to her door opening it. Soft classical music flowed from the front room. Nibbling on her cold scrambled eggs and chewy bacon she bumped his shoulder as they passed thru the doorway. Handing her half empty plate to her brother she brushed her hands together and then made her way into the living room where she settled onto the couch opposite the king. He looked at her in surprise. He leaned his body forward to rest his elbows on his knees, steepling his fingers under his chin. Autora angled her knees to the side and rested her hands in her lap.

"I apologize for my reaction earlier. Your declarations just came as a shock to me. I still do not think I would make a good candidate as our peoples Queen. But in the interest of being fair I will consider your proposal over the next week at least until after the report to the council. I am however ready to go over my report with you as you requested."

"Please ma cher go ahead." Autora recounted the whole tale from the moment she received the envelope with the reports to the moment she had woken up in her brother's guest room. Rharonis didn't even twitch as he listened to her intently, while in his head wanting to hunt down this Fadan and his father himself. He knew there were rogue groups but they were few and far between. But this one was bolder and causing too much of a disturbance to be ignored. He was infuriated by the males blatant display of possessiveness over what was not his. Autora arched brow noticing his frown.

"They were very persistent about me staying. Obviously it wasn't about mating but about how they did not want me to be able to tell anyone about what I saw. I was very lucky that they had a defector inside their compound. Unfortunately that contact gave her life to help me and to keep my memories intact."

Rubbing her palms on her knees she shrugged and took a long breath. "That's it. It's up to you and the council to decide what to do with it. Next time find yourselves a different guinea pig to do your dirty work. I am taking leave from work."

Roni started to say something but Tori held up her hand. "I'm taking a leave and it's already been approved by my boss. I'll be taking someone with me when i go to the high council. Needless to say they will be like my chaperone. Wherever we are, they will be also. That is my condition. You want me close and I want to feel normal. I think it seems like a good compromise."

Roni chewed on his bottom lip and stared at her waiting to see if she was done. Picking up the glass of water that sat in front of him he sipped from it before he spoke. "You are within your right to take your leave as well as to have someone with you as a chaperone. I had hoped you would feel safe with just me but it cannot be helped. I will only agree to this so long as your chaperone does not interfere with my pursuit of you."

An overly calm voice spoke from behind them both, eerie in its softness belying its agitation and anger. "Her chaperone won't interfere so long as you don't push her too far and ignore her requests. I might understand your position but hell if I like it." Crete came up beside Tori and patted her shoulder.

"Your brother, He's your chaperone?" Rharonis's frown deepened but he nodded his consent. " I agree to this but on a condition of my own. I get to add a female to your group to help you in more delicate situations."

"If that's your wish then so be it." Tori nodded her head slightly in acceptance. Rharonis stood to leave and leaned in to take her hand. He lifted it to his lips and placed a kiss to the center of her palm, his lips lingering there just a bit longer than appropriate as he inhaled her scent, finally releasing her hand he bowed and they listened to the rustle of his wool slacks as he moved down the hall.

"I'm proud of you sis for standing up for yourself. That took a lot of guts. I think it's time for us to ditch this stuff and go to a party." Reaching into his jacket pocket he pulled out the black envelope he found in her apartment the other day. "I'm not quite sure what this is, but it looks interesting." Tossing the envelope onto her lap he flopped down onto a seat beside her and threw an arm behind her on the back of the couch. Picking it up she looked over the outside, a brief whiff of sandalwood assaulted her as the outside had no return address, and only her name written on the front. Sliding her finger under the edge of the envelope she cut open the back and winced as the bite of the paper cut caused a small drop of blood to well up across her fingertip. One droplet splashed onto the parchment within. A brilliant flash lit up the room surrounding Autora in a smoky white haze.

"What the fuck!? Tori...Tori are you okay?" Crete reached out a hand into the haze and came back only a single strand of hair. Crete sniffed the hair and cursed.

"Rharonis!"

Jogging followed by a skid was heard coming from the hall. "Crete what's wrong? Wait where the hell is Tori?" Stepping into the room Roni took a deep breath and his face flushed red. "That bloody bastard! How the hell did this happen?" He turned to Crete angrily, his whole body trembling in fury. "I don't know Sir. I handed her an envelope I found in her apartment thinking I had found a party invite for her. She cut herself opening it and then poof, this horrid blinding light and then Tori was surrounded by a haze. How the hell did they find her and where are they getting the magick to do this. What the hell did you get her involved in?"

Crete turned on Rharonis and struggled with him to the floor. Rolling around like two teenagers they got pulled apart by Crete's mother and father. "Stop it you two idiots. I heard your shout from outside. Fighting each other isn't going to bring her back." Shoving his son down onto the couch he turned to their king. "Your majesty the decision is yours on where we go from here. I'm sure the council will want to know about this turn of events. Leave that up to me. You and Crete...have a damsel to rescue, and if you don't do it then who knows what she'll leave for you guys to pick up." Wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders he ushered her outside of the apartment. Crete and Rharonis looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. Nodding at each other they walked out thru the patio door and launched themselves off the railing both shifting midair. A warm rich gold shines back on a platinum silver. Their bestial roar of the hunt shook the glass from a few windows as they disappeared out of sight following a faint trace of magick left behind from the transport.

Tori coughed and choked at the thick white smoke. Her hands dropped the envelope, momentarily forgetting her cut, she waved her hands frantically in front of her trying to clear her vision. The lack of oxygen was starting to make her woozy. No matter how much she waved her hands the smoke only got thicker. Doubling over she covered her mouth with her arm as her body was wracked with coughs. She couldn't even choke out her brother's name. Black spots filled her eyes before total blackness settled in, Tori slumping over to the ground. Before she fell completely a pair of arms wrapped around her torso and tossed her over a shoulder.

"Sorry sweet cheeks, but your presence has been requested by the high council and they don't like to wait."

Rharonis sent out a call to his enforcers and informed them of his change of plans. Both Crete and himself stretched their wings and beat past the tiredness making them ache all over. It had been awhile since they had to fly so long and hard. The iridescent swirl of their eyes locked as they decided to set down on the rooftop of the hotel Autora had stayed in while on assignment. An updraft flipped chairs over and towels flying off deck railings. The two men shifted back and thought of clothes as they pulled the magick of their being back under control. Ripping the top entrance from its hinges they wasted no time and jumped down each stair level bounding over hand rails and stopping at a floors entrance that faintly held her smell. Opening the door they sniffed until they reached her room. It was paid for up to a week and had the do not disturb sign hangar on the door. Picking the electronic lock on the door with a few keystrokes of his phone Crete had it pulled open silently in a couple of seconds. Both of them slipped in and closed the door behind them hiding them from prying eyes.

The room in front of them was in complete disarray. Her luggage was spread across the room, bed sheets thrown to the floor, even her makeup bag was spilled across the top of the mattress. The identification tag from her luggage was ripped off the handle and laid on the dresser. A pen and the hotel stationary laid out beside it with a sheet torn off.

"Fuck now we know how they found where she lived." Huffing the guys left the room, but not before Roni snuck one of her shirts and stuffed it into his back pocket. Taking the elevator to the lobby they strolled out into the searing heat like they owned the place. The two of them tried retracing her steps and ended up at where deep gouges tore up the dried earth. Broken trees and charred branches was the ending of the story but where was the beginning. Her rental truck was gone so obviously they had cleaned up to throw off the local authorities. Roni held a handful of blackened earth in his palm and sighed. His gaze naturally sliding up the tall mountain. A slight shimmer caught his attention and he tossed the dirt away and tapped Crete on the shoulder. He had been staring down at the destruction when he felt Roni's tap.

Pointing up at the imposing mountain Rharonis narrowed his eyes and focused on the unusual sight. It reminded him of a bubble. When looked at from specific angles it cast a rainbow hue along its surface. Echoing Tori's same words from a few days ago Crete nodded his head as he looked up to the extinct volcano. "I think that's worth investigating, looks like we go up the mountain."

It took them no time at all to make it to the edge of the barrier they had seen surrounding the southern end of the island, the weather getting milder as they approached it. Rharonis placed his hands in front of him. The energy radiating from it felt weaker than it should be for a barrier. It appeared the rogue group hadn't recovered from losing one of its fae. Stretching out his senses he searched for a weak spot. Maintaining the barrier was an extreme expenditure on multiple fae let alone one. The magick was riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. Gesturing to a spot between the two trees about 30 ft. away Roni guided Crete thru one of the holes. Both of them watching their footing so as not to trip thru the barriers warning system.

Inside the barrier it was extremely muggy due to that the environment was normally an abundance of water and now it seemed like it was trying to re-dominate itself. It had both guys pulling at their shirts and grumbling.

"They must have taken a serious blow, so how would they be able to accomplish stealing back my sister? Something else doesn't make sense. What is your opinion on it man?" Wiping away at his brow Crete tugged at his collar and spared the other man a glance.

"That's what we are here to find out. But you're right something is most definitely up." Shrugging his shoulders Rharonis walked on ahead and did his best to ignore the humidity. Every footstep sounded like a giant's in the silence that stretched around them. There were no animals or insects. There wasn't even the sound of a breeze coming thru the top branches. Every so often Roni would signal for a stop to listen for anything really. They slowly curved their way around the base eventually stopping about midway up when both heard a few voices about 50 ft. in front of them. They dropped to a crouch and then their bellies, dragging themselves forward until a large outcropping of rocks made a ledge. Seated below that were two males and one female. Edging their way closer, Crete pulled the phone from his pocket and set it up to record, sitting it along beside his hands as he peeked over the ledge. The voices sounded strained as they spoke out in the open.

"How long do you think it will take to repair the damage that stupid chit caused?"

"They better do something fast because it's sweltering out here. We are all going to drown in our own sweat at this rate. I thought Fadan was speaking with Palturn about acquiring a new female fae. Knowing him he probably chased after that girl."

"You have to admit she was certainly something to see. If I was a few years younger she'd well be worth the time and patience needed to break her." A sharp smack followed by a chuckle came from the group.

"I don't care what you say. Eryavin promised us peace out here, and it's been nothing but trouble since we arrived."

"Whatever we'd better get back to patrol before we get caught." The grumbling from the three faded away as they disappeared up higher in the mountain. The two men watching looked at each other. Roni mouthing a name "Palturn".

"Why the hell would this group of rogues be talking to a member of the international high council?"

"You don't think there corruption on the council do you man?" Crete asked him seriously. None of it making much sense but it made it that much more imperative they found his sister and fast.

"I know I didn't mishear them. Fuck! It's possible that someone on the council is aiding the rogues. This might be why they are always slipping from my grasp. I don't think we are going to find her here. Why bring a valuable female back to a barely defensible lair? I'm going back to Boston and from there onto Inverness. Are you coming back with me or do you want to sweat your balls off in this jungle?" Rharonis smirked and slapped Crete on the shoulder before picking his way back down the mountain. Crete kicked his shin and followed close behind.