I launched myself at him, knocking him over. My legs straddled his torso and I started raining punches down onto his body. Reaching back into my ponytail I yanked out one of the silver needles, even though I knew it would do little lasting damage to the Fae, and jabbed it in his direction. He grabbed hold of my wrist and twisted till I dropped it, and laughed in my face.
Blood thundered in my ears and hot fire took over my body. Without even really being aware of it, I summoned up the green flames at my fingertips and shot them out at him. The smell of burning hair hit the atmosphere and his eyes widened infinitesimally.
“Am I hiding now, you fuck? Watch me incinerate you.” I sent out another bolt of flame and then I was falling forward into nothing. He’d performed some kind of sneaky Fae transportation trick. “Oh yeah?” I shouted out into the darkness. “Who’s the one who’s hiding now? Who’s the one who’s running away? Bring it on, Solus, I’m not afraid of you.”
“No, you’re not,” he said softly from behind me.
I spun round and prepared to attack him again, but he held up his hands in submission. I paused for a moment and glared at him with every ounce of malevolence that I could muster.
“You’re afraid of yourself, aren’t you, Mackenzie?”
I hissed at him and took a step forward, still on the attack.
Solus continued. “That’s a neat trick with that fire, darling. And yet I have never sensed a mage’s flicker in you before. I don’t sense it now. Neither have I ever seen a mage manage green fire before either.” His eyes gleamed in the darkness. “You could have taken on that bear in Cornwall, and you know it. I’ve done a little digging and I know that you could have bested him in a fight. That you already had bested him in a fight in fact. You could have been alpha right now, not him.”
“One slight problem there, Einstein, I’m not a shifter.”
He shrugged. “Semantics. The rest of the Cornish pack would have supported you and kept your secret. Instead you chose to run.”
“I did what I had to do.” I kept the flames on my fingers at a steady flicker, ready to attack him again at the slightest opportunity. The flames inside me, however, boiled with an intense ferocity.
“When I transported you to Corrigan’s lair, your first instinct was to run. You could have taken him on too. You might not have been sure of the win, but it would have been close.” Solus gazed at me assessingly. “That human, the annoying one?”
“I take it you mean Derek?” I inquired through gritted teeth.
He waved a dismissive hand through the air. “Whatever his nomenclature is. You could have – should have – destroyed him. And yet you didn’t.”
“Perhaps I just happen to have some morals, Solus. I’m not a soul-sucking Fae out for only myself.”
“Morals? If you had morals you’d have done something to stop him from pestering any other girls in the future. But you didn’t. Because you were afraid of what you’d actually end up doing. The same with those two wizards. I didn’t see what happened but I can guess. You could have put the two of them down then and there. Solved the problem with the Ministry in one fell swoop. But you didn’t. You’re scared, Mackenzie. And not of shifters or of mages or even of me. You’re afraid of yourself.”
I stared at him, nonplussed. Solus gracefully lowered himself to the ground and crossed his legs into the lotus position. He patted a spot on the ground in front of him and gestured at me to join him.
“What?” I asked. “You want to partake in some friendly yoga?”
“No, Mackenzie. You are going to keep your promise and you’re going to tell me what you really are and what you’re so afraid of.”
“Is Mrs Alcoon safe?”
“Tucked up safe and sound, snoozing away where no-one can touch her.” The look in his eyes was serious. “I promise.”
I stayed standing for another heartbeat and then joined him on the ground, crossing my legs. Taking a deep breath, I forced the heat inside me to dissipate away. It would do me no good now. I looked into Solus’ eyes without blinking. In for a penny, in for a pound.
“I’m one eight Draco Wyr.”
If I’d expected an immediate reaction, I didn’t get one. Solus stared back at me implacably.
“My mother left me at the pack in Cornwall when I was just a kid. I don’t know why. I think there had been something after us, something chasing us, and that was the only place she thought I’d be safe. Somehow she’d known John or he’d known us, I don’t know. And I grew up there with them, thinking I was human. I had a bad temper, and sometimes I got…hot inside when I got angry but I thought I was just human. They all thought I was just human. When I reached eighteen, John bit me. I wanted to be turned, to be a shifter. I wanted to be one of them. It didn’t work.”
I was silent for a few moments, remembering that terrible time. I’d been in a fever for days, twisting and turning in sweat soaked sheets, my body fighting the shifter infection. All that pain had been nothing compared to the crushing disappointment when I’d come out the other end and realised that I hadn’t changed and that I was still the same. That’d I’d never really be part of the pack no matter how much I wanted it.
“I stayed with the pack though. They were my family. John trained me to help them and I helped keep the perimeter safe. It turned out that even though I didn’t have it in me to be a shifter I still had certain skills that proved useful. I was a good tracker, and I could hunt and kill with the best of them. When there was a problem, John called on me.” I couldn’t keep the pride out of my voice at that.
“And then he was murdered. Because of me. Because somehow Iabartu found out what I was and she wanted my blood.” I shrugged. “Apparently it has some special qualities. It has healing power as well as being somehow addictive to anyone who tastes it. And it gives me power. I didn’t find any of this out until I found some papers in John’s study.” I swallowed painfully. “He’d known all along what I was but hadn’t told me. I don’t know why. But still, I went after Iabartu to kill her for what she did and I was arrogant enough to think that I had enough power to bring her down. I didn’t. Corrigan and Anton were the ones who killed her; I was just a momentary diversion.”
Solus continued to silently watch me. The weight of his gaze became too much and I looked down, away from his eyes, before continuing.
“Anton made me leave the pack. He said I was dangerous to have around and he was right. Being what I was had caused John’s death. If I hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t be dead. So I left. I couldn’t tell anyone why. Corrigan still thinks I’m a shifter because if he knew differently then he’d destroy the Cornish pack. No-one is supposed to know of their existence, you see? So I ended up in Inverness, hiding. Like a chin-fucking-chilla. Much good the hiding part did though because all I’ve done is cause even more problems.”
I looked back up at Solus. “So, there you go. That’s it. Do what you want with the information.”
Solus cleared his throat. “And the green flames?”
I motioned to the necklace that lay heavy round my neck. I really should just have taken the stupid thing off, consequences be damned. “That was some weird thing a witch did to me. A friend of Mrs Alcoon’s. It was meant to help me with Derek and Corrigan and…you. Instead all it did was make me spout fire from my hands and get the Ministry to put Mrs Alcoon into that coma because the so-called friend told them about me. So now I need to put it right.”
“Let me make sure I understand this perfectly. You’re part dragon. You’re not a mage but you have the power of fire. And a bad temper. And crazy blood.”
“I guess that about sums it up, yes.”
“How did you break through my sister’s cruinne?”
“I hit it until I bled. The blood, I don’t know, the blood did something to the ring and broke through it. Like I said, it does stuff. I don’t really know what. I’ve tried to find out more about the Draco Wyr but there’s not much around.”
Solus ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t believe it.”
That stung. “I’m not lying. I told you I’d tell you the truth and I’ve kept my word.” I got to my feet and dusted my jeans off. “Just tell me how to get out of this place, Solus. You’ve got what you wanted.”
“I didn’t mean I don’t believe you, I just don’t believe it. The Draco Wyr are a legend. They’re not real.” For the first time since I’d known him he sounded unsure of himself.
“You mean like faeries and wizards and shapeshifters?” I put my hands on my hips. “Come on, Solus, get a grip.”
He stood up also and took me by the shoulders. “This is big, Mackenzie. If the High Queen – or King - knew what you were…”
I jerked away. “You don’t have to tell them.”
“No, I probably don’t. But I also don’t think you can keep this secret for much longer. Who else knows what you are?”
“Tom, a werewolf from Cornwall, and Alex, a mage. And Mrs Alcoon.”
Solus’ eyes widened slightly. “So effectively the mages and the Pack know what you are?”
“No. One mage and one shifter know what I am. Plus one very, I cannot stress this enough, very minor witch. And now one Seelie Fae.”
“You don’t think that they will give you up? If this Tom is compelled to by his alpha then he’ll have no choice. It won’t matter how much you trust him. The same with the mage. A bit of magic to loosen his tongue and the whole world knows.” He rolled his eyes. “At least the old lady isn’t going to be blabbing to anyone any time soon.”
I winced at that last comment. “They’ve not given me up thus far. And the werewolf’s alpha is Corrigan.”
“Fucking hell, Mackenzie, you like sailing close to the wind.” He sighed deeply.