Into the Woods: Tales from the Hollows and Beyond(119)
Author: Kim Harrison

"Fairies?" Felicity said, laughing. "Fairies are facets of us given their own identity by ignorant humans who see only half of it. A wispy daydream of us at our green-eyed least. Vampire is more the truth, and even then you get it wrong. We can break through the veil at any time, but only when it’s at its thinnest can we bring anyone back. Immortal doesn’t mean invincible, and beyond the veil, we are safe from you."

It’s the solstice, he remembered, feeling haggard. "Don’t touch me," he demanded as she tried to pet him again, and this time, she backed off as if he’d slapped her, a hurt expression on her face. "You drugged me," he accused.

"No, it’s the veil," she said, leaning to look under the pool table. "Emily, bring Leonard out to meet Mr. Cooper properly," she said, then smiled at him. "You’re in the gateway. Until you land to one side or the other, it feels as if you’re holding your breath."

Gateway? Cooper watched a little boy crawl out behind Emily, his chubby fingers holding tight to her hand. He had to be about four, shy as he snuck glances at Cooper from behind his mother. Leonard? They named the bat after him?

In a sudden surge of fear, he figured it out. Leonard is the bat. Emily had tried to sell her brother. What older sister hadn’t wanted to do that at some point? She’d tried to trade her little brother for a pet she hadn’t bothered to name. "I’m in hell," he whispered, and Felicity huffed.

"Don’t be silly," she said as she pulled Leonard onto her lap. "Hell smells better than the swill you breathe."

Cooper sat up, adrenaline giving him strength. He wanted to stand but wasn’t sure his legs would hold him. "You’re a demon," he said. "You are eating people!"

Anger flickered over her face, and she jiggled Leonard a little too hard. "We are not demons," she said hotly. "Filthy little . . . stinky-tailed vermin." Her expression became coaxing. "Please, Cooper. We’re running out of time. If I had wanted to poison you, I could have done it. I want to take you home-not as food, but as an equal. I need help, and Emily likes you. So do I. I can’t trust anyone else."

Emily was nodding, clearly having been in on the decision.

"One kiss," Felicity soothed him, her hand on his arm to make him shudder. "With that, the veil will part for you as it does for all of us. I don’t want another cow. My father keeps me well set. I’ve been careful. I’ve enough for two. Enough for all of us until the veil thins again in a year."

Enough? Enough what? Enough bodies suspended between life and death to feed upon?

"Oh my God!" he whispered, panic rising anew. He had to get out of here!

"Please," Felicity begged, looking as beautiful with her black hair and her dark eyes as she had with her red hair and green eyes. "I’m offering you everything a man wants. A beautiful wife, loving, obedient children. Power, status, people moving aside as you walk by. I’m from a wealthy house, Cooper. Old blood. And Cooper? We dance. We dance forever," she said, her eyes glowing with possibility. "You could have every earthly pleasure before you’re too old to enjoy it, because it comes with everlasting life. I promise!"

Fingers trembling, he looked at his hand, seeing in his thoughts as if it was worn and aged already. The music beat like a second, communal heart. Guttural groans from the dance floor were like the passion that she promised him. His head came up, and he stared at little Leonard, the boy grinning to show red teeth before he slid from his mother and ducked behind his sister.

"You’re animals," he breathed.

"As if you are not," Felicity said indignantly.

Yeah, but we don’t generally eat each other. He groaned, leaning away from her, from immortality, from savagery beyond belief. This was a nightmare. A freaking nightmare.

"Cooper. Listen to me," Felicity said, a new urgency in her voice. "The veil is thickening. If we wait much longer, you can’t come through. I know this is a lot, but I promise I will love you, and you will learn to love me. I just don’t have time right now!"

She laughed, shaking her head ruefully. "I’m going to live forever, and I don’t have the time. Cooper, let me mark you so the veil will let you through. Just one kiss, and you’ll see everything as it truly is, not the faded wisps that the sun bleaches everything into. Be my husband. Be Emily’s and Leonard’s father. Please."

Behind Felicity, the dance floor was going empty. People were being carried away, slung over shoulders with their arms dangling. Food? "No!" he said forcefully, and her eyes went round with surprise. "You are a bloodsucking monster!" he shouted as he found the strength to rise to his feet.

The music died, and pale faces turned. "All of you," he panted into the sudden silence, weaving on his feet.

Everyone was looking at them, and Felicity bowed her head. "Why can’t I find just one decent man? Just one?"

From across the room, her father stood. "Damn you, Felicity. I said no," he said, pointing directly at two young men. "Take him. Dump enough wine down his throat to get him across. I want this one as an object lesson."

"No!" Felicity stood in a panic, and Cooper blinked up at her, heart pounding. "If you won’t allow me a new husband from the families, I’ll make one!"

"I won’t allow you a new husband because I decided your line should die out, you stupid cow!" her father exclaimed, and the remaining dancers began to leave the dance floor and gather their things, skulking to stay out of his sight. "You and the ill-gotten spawn that ignorant sidestepper engendered. Who do you think closed the veil to him?"

"Papa!" she shrieked, her eyes shifting to a pale green. "You? You killed my husband?"

Cooper tensed, eyeing the door. It looked too far away with too many people between him and it. But no one was looking at him. Sweat broke out. They were animals, feeding on people. Feeding on him. Feeding on his cat!

In sudden impulse, he grabbed the animal. Emily shrieked and Felicity turned, tears slipping from her eyes. Grunting, Cooper shoved them both at the two men coming for him. Amid yells and screams, they all went down. Heart pounding, he ran for the polished bar.

The kitten tucked under his arm didn’t move. He hoped it was still alive as he shoved a woman of incredible beauty out of his way. A cry of outrage followed by a laugh went up, and his tired legs found strength. Hands grasped him, but he slipped them all, jumping onto the bar and running down it, scrambling to avoid the reaching hands.

"Someone catch him!" the old man demanded. Felicity was crying at his feet and Emily was curled into a ball, sobbing for her kitten.