Crazy Seduction(erotica)

“The Fae are no longer restricting themselves to work to rule or house arrest. Last month they went back to their day to day routines and actually seemed more cooperative than before, with one exception. Any requests for information about Queen Mab is met with silence. They won’t or can’t speak about her. It’s almost like she doesn’t exist for them.” Michelle gave Marisa a sympathetic look.

“She broke the deal.” Eyes turned to Mahati, who continued. “When Queen Mab enacted her spell at the party, she broke the deal Henry made with her for the glamors for his friends. She requested three favors in return. The deal I brokered was simple: The favors cannot, in any way, impinge upon Henry’s physical or mental freedom. They must not, in any way, endanger him physically or mentally. And those two conditions also applied to those Henry considered important to him.”

She watched that sink in with the other guests. “Mab used up her first favor making Henry assist with the healing of the Ogre. No risk there. A simple exchange. The second favor was participating in the Fertility Ceremony. It was during that event that she broke the deal. She intentionally bound him against his will. This act impinged upon his freedom. Then she had his child and took its body, leaving the child to die of old age. This act physically endangered someone Henry considered important to him, his daughter. When he attempted to protect the child, she attacked him with her magic. This act endangered him physically, which broke the third and final condition of the deal.”

The others were realizing how severely the Queen broke the deal, an unthinkable breach for a Fae.

Mahati nodded to Henry. “Shortly after the night of Queen Mab’s party, I filed a grievance against the Queen with the Fae Court, outlining the terms of the deal and the actions she took which broke all of its conditions. The court called one witness: Ikehorn, Queen Mab’s former Enforcer. He confirmed the charges. The sanctity of honoring a deal is the cornerstone of Fae society. They aren’t above finding a loophole in a poorly worded deal to wiggle out of having to fulfill their side, but our deal was solid and not open for interpretation. The court found their Queen at fault. Mab has been dethroned. They won’t speak of her again. Unfortunately, this also means they won’t help us get Mr. Walker back.”

The room was quiet as everyone stared at Mahati incredulously. Henry moved to stand before her then knelt at her feet. He took her hand in his and looked her in the eye. “Thank you for this justice for my daughter.” He kissed her hand as she watched him with wide eyes.

Camila’s mouth was open in shock, but nothing was coming out. She gave herself a shake. “You went after the Queen of the Fae in a Fae court?!? You do realize if you lost the case, your life would have been over, and that would have been the best-case scenario!”

Mahati was trapped by the admiration in Henry’s eyes. It made her feel a little drunk, and his touch was sending unfamiliar but intriguing tingles throughout her body. Her face was flushing once more, so she tore her eyes away from him and looked to Camila. “I couldn’t lose this case. My evidence was unquestionable, the deal was simple, concise, and watertight, and the crime perpetrated could not be ignored by the court. I also spoke with my mother to get her opinion of the Fae Court’s current political climate before presenting my case. Mab’s recent decisions have put her people at risk multiple times. There wasn’t a better time to file the charges against her.”

“Well, you certainly have a pair of brass ones on you to take on the Mad Queen on her home turf,” Roy said with a wry grin.

Sigrid nodded. “Your confidence is admirable, but nothing is straightforward with the Fae. You took a major gamble, and thank the stars above it worked. This time.”

Mahati huffed at the fear in their voices. She looked back to Henry, who was still watching her with awe in his eyes. She smiled as his hero-worship made her efforts feel so worthwhile. She’d never felt so good about her work before.

“Henry, let’s serve the hors d’oeuvres,” Tish said, drawing his attention away.

As he sent one last smile to Mahati on his way to the kitchen, he missed Yuko staring daggers at the dark-skinned woman.

Kali’s subtle smile said she didn’t.

Colonel Gordon Crane leaned back against the seat cushions in the executive jet the army used to take him to and from Washington, DC, for his debriefings. Due to the sensitive nature of his mission, this was the best method for his travel. He assumed this was how his former commander, Colonel Devlin, made his reports as well.

His mind flashed back to the day Devlin lost his life to something not born on this Earth. That little fact wasn’t widely known. Whatever the hell that black ribbon creature had been, he knew it hadn’t originated on the planet he called home. For him, it was the unequivocal proof that Devlin was right, they were at war, and for the first time, the enemy wasn’t us.

It was shortly after that tragic event that he’d been called to Washington for his first debriefing. He realized now how unprepared he’d been for what came next.

Then, he’d been First Lieutenant Gordon Crane, but he’d learned upon his arrival at the Pentagon that he’d been promoted to Colonel. He waited for the other shoe to drop. In his experience, rapid promotions only came in times of deep peril.

He’d been ordered to get everyone out of the town and personally report to the Colonel’s chain of command in Washington, immediately. Before he left, he’d delegated the task of bugging out to his next in command and headed for the closest airport. He’d had to run a gauntlet of the press, but he smartly kept his mouth shut. Next, he was sitting in a windowless meeting room somewhere in the bowels of the Pentagon, across the table from three very grim-faced men in dark grey suits. He only recognized the Director of Homeland Security, Stephen Dawes. The other two were unknown to him. The conversation came back to him.

“Colonel Crane, do we have containment?”

Gordon looked to the speaker. “Yes, Director. The town was evacuated immediately upon our arrival. Most civilians were unconscious, and none of the conscious were in the proximity of the stadium. There are no civilian witnesses. Unfortunately, there’s no sign of the glass entities.”

After the… flying creature escaped from the gymnasium and massacred some of his teammates and Devlin, they’d opened the gym to find it empty.

Where the glass entities went was a mystery, as was where the flying creature came from.

“We received word that the Chinese troops are leaving the remote province empty-handed and minus their leader as well,” Dawes admitted, and Crane stared at the men in surprise. “Apparently, a doorway opened and the glass being stepped through.”

“When did this happen?” Gordon asked.

“We understand it was the same night ours went missing,” the Director replied.

Crane thought about that. “A globally coordinated extraction?”

“By who? Did anyone get past your people?” Dawes asked, and Crane shook his head definitely.

“No, sir. The gym was built on a solid concrete pad. We had soldiers on the roof of the gym and a full guard encircling the building. The building was sealed. Unless… unless this doorway was opened inside the gym from the other side. The location the entities were moved to,” Crane suggested.

One of the other men finally spoke. His voice was like tumbling gravel, and he had a thick southern accent. “Shit, that’s a nightmare scenario I’d rather not consider. Doorways that open in our most secure locations, bypassing all security measures?”

Gordon could only nod. The idea gave him chills too.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

The third man finally spoke. He was tall and handsome, but his smile was slightly crooked. There was… a look in his eye, or maybe it was his body language, but something made the hair on Crane’s neck stand on end to be the man’s focus of attention. “Colonel Devlin spoke highly of you. He placed a great deal of faith in your abilities and judgment. We depended on the Colonel to spearhead some sensitive missions where our society’s very stability was threatened. Can we rely upon you to the same degree?”

Gordon Crane was no fool. He knew the stakes Colonel Devlin played for, and some of the decisions the man had made led to questionable actions. This thought led him to recall their previous mission. That said, he had no doubt in his mind there was a greater good Devlin had been working towards in every case. Devlin never shared those decisions with anyone. Now, Gordon was being asked to follow in the man’s footsteps to protect his country. He might not make the same decisions as Devlin did, but putting his country first?

He could do that.

“Yes, sir,” he said with conviction.

There was a subtle easing of tension in the room.

“We need you to get a handle on these pseudo-cloud creatures. We need to contain them, control them, or find a more efficient way to eliminate them. Just let us know what you need, and we’ll get it for you. Report only to us. This is top secret at the highest clearance level, and there must be no hint of this in the press or the public. Is this understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

The Director opened his briefcase and slid a dossier across the table. “This is everything we know about the creatures.”

Gordon saw the docket wasn’t very thick. He glanced inside and saw the data on the first plane-pseudo-cloud collision was in there. As was a report on the Chinese glass entity.

“Have your troops been evacuated?” Dawes asked.

“I received word when I landed in Washington that they’ve left the town and have moved the quarantine zone out to a five-mile radius,” he reported.

“The town will be sterilized to ensure nothing is left behind and to validate the cover story,” the man with the gravelly voice said.