Page 17 of Beautiful Soul

Stepping outside, he froze.

“We want to talk to you, Mage,” the largest of the crowd of not-quite-humans in the alley said. His voice rumbled up and down the alley as if from the depths of hell.

He stood nearly seven feet tall and wider than a doorway with muscles that went on for days. Only the grayish complexion and oversized pointed ears announced he was not simply a large, heavily muscled human. The short, delicate fairies and stocky LWarves gathered on either side of him made him look even taller and more powerful.

Kingsley took a breath and forced himself to relax. He had known this was coming since the negotiations between the vampires and shifters had begun. Which was one of the reasons they had been meeting at the café.

“What can I do for you?”

“We hear you negotiated a contract between the bloodsuckers and wolves,” the gargoyle said. It wasn’t a question.

“I did. We are hoping to maintain the peace when the old contract expires next month.”

“We want to know why we weren’t included?” the LWarf standing in front of his group asked. “The city is no longer home to just vampires and wolf shifters. Why weren’t the other supernaturals invited to the table?”

Kingsley knew his answer would not make anyone happy, but he had taken a vow centuries before to always be honest in his dealings. “The original treaty was between the vampire and shifter communities. We wanted to solidify that before we addressed the rest of the supernatural community.”

An unhappy grumble went through the crowd at his words. Each type of paranormal conferred before turning back to face him again.

“We want to be included in this treaty,” the leader of the fairies said with a sharp, tinkling voice.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Kingsley said as he began to edge toward the door which led to his apartment. The charms that had been placed on the building by him, and others, over the years would keep him safe if he could just get inside. “The contract has been agreed to and the signing will be tomorrow night in the park at midnight. Once that is signed and sealed, I will be happy to address any other treaties that need to be negotiated. Please, do us all a favor. Go home and be patient with the process.”

A roar came from the back of the crowd before the gargoyle spoke. “Be warned, Mage. We will be heard and there will be no peace contract until then. It doesn’t matter what we have to do, we will be included.”

Kingsley did not like the threat, but did not have any more words to assure the crowd that their voices would be heard. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I will be happy to talk to you all next week … once we finish this contract.”

With that he flicked a hand and sent a wave of calming energy over the crowd. “Please go home now,” he ordered in his deepest, most powerful voice.

The crowd blinked and looked at one another. Then they turned on their collective heels and made their way out of the alley. With that Kingsley stepped into the hallway and made his way upstairs to his apartment. He had a few people to warn that peace might not be as easily obtained as they had first thought. Then he needed to get a few hours sleep before heading to the park to begin preparations for tonight’s signing.

Chapter Ten

“What the hell did you do to me?” Lena asked that evening as she pushed her way past Kingsley into his apartment.

“Please do come in,” Kingsley said, his pleased expression belying his sarcastic words. Once she was inside, he closed and locked the door then shifted and leaned against it.

She had paced to the kitchen and back twice before stopping a few feet in front of him. She had spent the entire walk from her apartment trying to come up with answers, but only ended up with more questions.

Only then did he ask, “What do you think I did to you?”

Frustrated, Lena pushed the scarf she wore back until her face was clearly lit by the available light. “This. My scars. They’re nearly gone. The doctors told me I would carry them the rest of my life. What did you do to me to make them go away?”

Looking at his tall, gorgeous form so at ease and confident, her outraged indignation shifted to confusion. Tears filled her eyes, which only made her mad again. With a huff of impatience, she began to cross the large room as she waited for his answer.

“I did nothing, sweetling. Your own magic and intention is doing the healing. All I did was have you name your greatest desire then add my will and desire to yours to make it come true. Combined, our magic is extremely powerful.”

His simple, yet complex explanation had her stopping to stare at him from across the room. “I did this to myself? I healed myself? Why couldn’t I do this when it happened? What magic do I have? Am I really a monster and don’t know it?”

She sounded as lost and wounded as she felt so she was not surprised when Kingsley crossed the room and pulled her in for a long tight hug. She blinked. He was sitting in his big recliner and she was curled up in a ball on his lap with her head resting on his shoulder. She was trembling and fighting back tears, though she did not know why she would be crying.

Kingsley held her securely, his arms warm bands around her. He allowed her a few minutes to cry out the big hard bubble of emotion that painfully filled her chest.

Finally, he said, “Shhh, sweetling. You’re going to be fine. Your scars are healing now because the magic that comes out of loving is so powerful it can overcome nearly everything.”

“So, if I never see you again after today, the scars will come back?” she whispered.

“No, the healing is permanent, but I hope that doesn’t happen. I find I’m very, very drawn to you,” Kingsley said before brushing a kiss on top of her head. “In fact, I’d like to see more of you, like all day, every day.”

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