Page 102 of Changeling
And then it was as if everything snapped back to where it had been. The sidhe stood there while Nathan sat pushed back into the cushions, but Jim and Sasha sat normally, their eyes both blue again and looking at Nathan expectantly for his answer.
Nathan couldn’t express how glad he was that they didn’t seem to realize anything had happened. He would have thanked the sidhe for that if the thought didn’t sicken him.
Slowly, Nathan sat up straight again. He didn’t look at Jim or Sasha, only her. “Okay. We have a deal.”
She grinned. “An offering of the flesh is necessary to seal the new contract, I’m afraid. I used to take payment by cutting out a pound of it, so be glad I’m so nice these days. You backed out of our last deal, after all.” She took a few steps toward Nathan and stopped in front of the sofa.
Nathan wanted this over with so he stood up, finding her to be somewhat short in female form but still imposing. “What kind of offering are you looking for?”
“Just your promise…sealed with a kiss.”
“You’re fucking kidding me.”
“I don’t kid about deals, Nathan. We sidhe take them very seriously.”
She grabbed his arms, but before pulling in closer, she shifted again, taking on the male form in his neat black suit. The male sidhe with blond hair tossed Nathan a smirk.
“I thought you preferred this these days,” he said.
Nathan shook with anger. “You gonna at least give me a name I can hate too?”
If he didn’t know any better he would swear the sidhe looked pleased. “Of course. For you, Nathan, I’d be happy to. Should you feel the…desire to call on me, though I can’t guarantee I’ll actually answer…” He pulled Nathan close with a sharp jerk, his lips brushing Nathan’s ear to whisper just loud enough for Jim and Sasha to hear too. “Call me…Malak. And please…use the name wisely.”
Then the sidhe’s lips wereonNathan, possessive as any kiss he had ever known. It was almost too deep, an invading tongue marking Nathan as his. The whole thing was a surreal rush, like kissing dry ice, and as the contact lasted, Nathan felt the mark on his chest ache as if branded anew. It came as a shock when the sidhe released him only to disappear, vanished into nothing.
Nathan almost fell face-first into the carpet. “Jesus,” he grumbled, steadying himself. “Talk about wham, bam, thank you, ma’am, the fucker.” He wiped at his mouth, still feeling the presence of that tongue and the taste of something he could only describe as sinister. He shuddered.
Jim stood from the sofa, and when Nathan turned to his brother he saw an expression that Jim usually only wore when Nathan had said a bad pun.
“What?” Nathan asked.
“That name. Malak? It means ‘angel’ in Arabic. I guess he was trying to be ironic.”
Nathan huffed. He realized then that Sasha hadn’t stood yet. He was still on the sofa. And he looked terrified. “Sasha…?”
“It’s just…uhh…well,Malakmeans something else too. It does mean angel, in Arabic and other languages. But for some, it means a very specific angel.” Sasha swallowed deep in his throat.“The first angel who fell. The same name as the king of all dark sidhe.”
Three pairs of eyes met across the small space between them and stared for several moments.
“I think I need a drink.”
“Me too.”
“Fuckyeah.”
Chapter 40
Thunderstormsandfreezingrainin the middle of March were not among Nathan’s favorite things. He was already caked in mud up to his knees by the time they snuck their way over to the side of the barn. Despite the location difference, Nathan had a horrible sense of déjà vu from their Dryad encounter in the Georgia woods.
Armed with replenished iron bullets, they had parked their most recent vehicle a little less than a mile away. There was a strange, unearthly light emanating from the barn. The farm was abandoned, with no other homesteads anywhere nearby. Over a dozen sidhe were inside the building according to the lead Ula had given them over the phone.
They had split up to surround the barn and make a perimeter first, ensuring there weren’t any lookout fae or sidhe waiting to strike, then they would meet up at the back of the barn to assess the situation. Nathan reached the rendezvous point first, having spotted only one lone fae along the way—a satyr, he guessed, ifhe’d noticed hooves like he thought he had—but he’d seen the guy head straight for the barn and enter. Then he stood waiting for the others.
“Walt?” Nathan whispered.
No answer. Not that he was surprised given the supposed concentration of sidhe. They hadn’t had many conversations since Malak first appeared, nearly two weeks ago now, but Walter was on constant watch even more so than usual whenever he was able to manifest and express his concern.
“Nate,” Jim hissed from the shadows, then appeared out of the trees to join him a few yards from the back barn windows. Sasha’s route was the longest.
