Fire Touched (Mercy Thompson #9)(20)

“Tad told me you destroyed my shop,” he said sourly.

I shrugged. “Wasn’t me. It was pretty tough to keep up with things with just Tad and me anyway.”

He frowned at me suspiciously. “You still owe me the money on it even if it doesn’t exist anymore.” The fae are very particular about their bargains.

“Insurance and Adam are rebuilding it,” I told him. “And I’ve been making payments into your account the tenth of every month, which you would know if you only looked. I’ve never been more than a week late since I bought it from you.”

“See that you aren’t,” he grunted. “I love you” can be said in odd ways when you deal with very old fae. I was satisfied, and I think he was, too, because he quit paying attention to me. He frowned at Tad. It was the same expression he had on his face when someone brought a car into the shop before we figured out just what was wrong with it. He was, I thought, checking for damage.

Finished, the old fae glanced at Adam, who was still lying, apparently unconscious, next to me.

“Old man,” said the boy Tad had called Aiden. He’d been waiting with apparent patience while Zee and I talked, without moving away from Joel. It wasn’t quite a threat, but there was something deliberate about it. If it doesn’t walk or talk like a ten-year-old, despite appearances, I wasn’t going to treat him like a ten-year-old if I could help it. He was dangerous.

No one had gone to Joel’s aid, and I realized they were waiting for me to signal them. Was this boy—and I wasn’t the only one who knew he wasn’t wholly human—an enemy? Joel breathed easily, but his body was lax.

“Old man,” said the boy, “I’ll have you do as you promised.”

“This is Aiden the Fire Touched, Mercy,” Zee said neutrally. “I told him that your pack could likely make the Gray Lords back down for a day or two if you chose to.”

“You should live up to your word,” said the boy, his voice low and threatening.

Zee’s eyelids lowered. “You don’t know as much as you think you do,” he said. “Boy.”

Nope, I thought. If this boy was as young as he looked, I’d eat my hat—but he didn’t smell like fae. I was close enough, and the wind was right; if he were fae, I should be able to scent it.

The boy held up his hand, still ruddy with heat. “One,” he said, displaying a finger. “You will introduce me to the Alpha of the pack.” He held up a second finger. “Two. You will ask them, as a person friendly to the pack, if they will protect me—even if it is only temporary.” He held up a third finger. “Three—you will do your best to see that they agree.”

“Snotty,” I observed to Zee.

He pursed his lips. Which wasn’t actually an agreement. He didn’t like many people, my old friend, but he was soft on this boy, and I couldn’t see much reason for it. Most people wouldn’t be able to tell that Zee liked him, but I’d known the grumpy old man for a long time.

“What did he promise in return?” I asked him curiously.

“He got Dad and me out of Fairyland,” Tad said, and when his dad grunted, he added, “Out of the Walla Walla reservation, then. And when he could have left us behind and escaped free without going back on his word, he stayed to help.”

The boy had been following the conversation; now he narrowed his eyes at me. “Who are you?”

“She’s our Alpha’s mate,” said Darryl in a very unfriendly voice. “That means that right this moment, she’s in charge of the Columbia Basin Pack.” Then he raised his voice without looking away from Aiden the Fire Touched. “One of you bring some sweats for Joel.” Apparently, we were going to step down the threat level so we could take care of our own.

“Got it,” called Warren. I’d thought he was still down talking to the police. But there was no mistaking the sound of his voice or the rhythm of his footsteps as he ran back down to the base of the bridge.

I could leave Joel’s care to Warren and Darryl. That left me to deal with Aiden.

“You aren’t a werewolf,” he said, but I could tell he wasn’t sure.

“No,” I agreed. “But I am in charge right this minute.”

Aiden made an angry noise.

“If Zee promised to do his best to see that we protected you,” I told him, “he’s fulfilled his word to you.” I smiled grimly. “If he’d come singing your praises, we’d have killed you where you stood. The only way Zee would sing anyone’s praises is if someone had managed to hit him with some kind of nasty magic when he had his back turned.”


Joel moaned and rose to hands and knees just about the time Warren came up with a pair of sweats in his hand bearing the letters KPD. He must have gotten them from Tony. Warren walked through the invisible no-man’s-land between me and Aiden without apparent effect on his usual loose-limbed, big-strided walk. Ignoring Aiden altogether, Warren knelt and began helping Joel. If it weren’t for Adam resting against my leg, I’d have run over to help—leaving Aiden until I was sure that our people were okay. I was worried that Ben wasn’t back with Zack, yet.

Darryl stayed where he was—to guard me from Aiden, I realized, guarding Adam and me. He didn’t look down at Adam, but I could feel his awareness and worry.