Story of Sebastian, Chapters 4-6

Story of Sebastian, Chapter Four

By: Jennifer Feuerstein

 “I see you understand,” Paul droned. “Open your eyes.” He laughed as Sebastian was forced to follow the command. “Good. Your first job is to find a woman for me.”

“I don’t think I know your type,” Sebastian interrupted and grinned. “Let me guess, you like them young and stupid with big breasts.”

“I like your spirit, I really do. Right now though, you’re going to listen and watch.” Paul’s hands waved through the air and a picture formed. “This woman is called Sorcha. You will find her somewhere in America. Find her and stay with her. I will tell you what else to do later.”

Sebastian fought the hold over him. “Two questions. One, how am I supposed to find her and, two, what if she kills me on sight?”

He studied the woman in the image while he waited for an answer. Long red hair, bright green eyes, and a deadened expression stared back at him. Sebastian was sure she’d drop him as soon as he waved in her direction. Of course, it could work in his favor and now he regretted asking. Something about the woman pulled at his memory though. He tried to study her further, but the image disappeared.

“Good points. The first is easy. You have an assignment, your angel skills will find her for you. As for the second, while it’s not easy to kill an angel, I can make it even harder.”

Sebastian’s skin tingled everywhere as Paul muttered some Latin sounding words. Great, Paul knew spells too, ensuring Sebastian was doubly screwed. The tingle grew to an annoying itch and his toes curled. He ground his teeth; his second life as an angel wasn’t starting out so well. And, if he was an angel of death and destruction, where was Death? Sebastian only knew the folktales, but he guessed Death would command an angel of death not some skinny punk.

“There,” Paul broke through his insights. “You’re now invincible, you’re welcome.”

“Gee, thanks,” he mumbled.

Sebastian felt the chains fall away from his body and stretched. He got up slowly, never taking his eyes off his opponent. With one chance at freedom he lunged instinctively from years of experience. Sebastian was going to hold true to his oath to tear the fucker limb from limb.  He shot across the room aiming to take him down to the floor with a body tackle.

Paul grinned and stood his ground. Sebastian’s body stopped obeying him, swerving away from Paul and slamming into the concrete wall. He bounced off and onto the hard floor. It stung for a second, but Sebastian assumed he was fine. He shook his head and rolled his shoulders. Okay, so outright violence against his captor was off the menu. Lesson learned.

“Your hand,” Paul pointed.

Sebastian looked down to see his hand hung at an odd angle. Oddly, it didn’t hurt at all. Then, the bones moved under the skin and snapped back into place with a loud crack. “Holy hell…” He wiggled his fingers and stared in amazement. Fast healing powers, check.

“Something like that.” The voice was full of evil menace now, signally playtime and Paul’s patience were at an end. Sebastian climbed to his feet and stared the man down. So, there were rules to this game and he didn’t have the manual… just bloody wonderful.

“You can’t hurt your master…”

“No shit.”

 Paul smiled again, chilling Sebastian to the bone as he moved closer. “Now go and find the woman.”

He was about to ask how again when his body come apart at a molecular level. His last thought before he disintegrated into the air was a need to kill.

Sebastian felt all the bits and pieces of his body as they found their correct matches. This was the first time he’d been aware of his body as it jogged through space. He wondered why it hadn’t hurt as his body burst into being. He wiggled his fingers, amused with himself and the whole process.

He’d barely begun to ponder the situation when a dagger sliced into his shoulder. Again, he registered no pain. Sebastian noted his body was already pushing the blade out. He lifted his head to casually look for its owner, studying the night around him.

The woman he was sent for watched him warily, another dagger rested lightly in her hand and her stance spoke of skill. Sebastian caught the knife as it worked free from his shoulder and studied it. Odd, it looked just like the type of dagger Dubhan favored. He looked up at her, pasted on what he hoped was a nice smile, and cocked his head. Well, time to make friends.

The second dagger hit closer to his heart as he took a step toward her. Sebastian blinked, surprised this injury stung a bit. He ripped the blade free and tossed it aside, allowing the wound to heal faster. She launched a third with his next step and he caught it easily.  His patience and understanding wore thin with each new hole.

“Okay, knock it off!” He shouted, tossing the blade end over end in his hand. “It’s pretty obvious that tactic hasn’t worked.”

Her green eyes studied him coldly, iridescent in the moonlight. “And just what the hell are you?”

Sebastian couldn’t resist the opening, especially the way his day was going. “I’m your Guardian Angel, tada.”

His sarcastic response was the perfect one. Her eyes widened as her hand lowered. Good thing too, the woman was loaded with an arsenal of daggers. It could have taken a while before exhausting her weapon of choice. Sebastian found himself wondering what the blazes this female did and why she was so important to a sick man like Paul.

“They’ve noticed,” Sorcha murmured. Putting her blades away, she pulled her jacket over the straps crisscrossing her body.

“Excuse me?”

“The Gods,” she replied. “They’ve noticed all the good work I’ve been trying to do. They sent you to me.”

“Oh, right… the guardian angel thing. Well…”

“You are a guardian angel, right?” Again, her eyes narrowed and her fingers itched over her belt where more slice and dice awaited him.

Sebastian tried to tell her exactly what he was and why he was there. Maybe if he scared the crap out of her, she’d take off and he wouldn’t be able to carry out whatever sick orders he was given. The problem was nothing came out of his mouth. His voice stuck in the back of his throat causing him to choke. Sebastian finally gave up, swallowed, and started over.

“It’s complicated,” he coughed out. “I can’t go into it all Sorcha, so don’t ask again.”

That came out easier. Great, more rules he didn’t know about. Sebastian wondered how many rules there were to trip over. The new gig was going to be a trial and error type deal. Not a good plan when he was trying to save his ass, and hers. Oh, and his friend was still trapped in a dungeon. Perfect, like skipping through a minefield.

Sorcha moved a little closer, openly inspecting him. “You’re really who you claim to be?”

Funny, it’d been easier to spit out the word “angel” when he’d been sarcastic. Now when he was trying to be serious, he couldn’t get it out. Instead, Sebastian nodded. Gods, his second life was really going to be a pain.

Sebastian’s eyes widened as the biggest fireball he’d ever seen came hurling straight for his head. He was too stunned to counter; shocked the little thing in front of him had so much power. His analytical brain noted he would have to teach her to start with that parlor trick and save the knives for dessert.

His jumbled thoughts stopped as the fireball shrunk and disappeared before striking him. It happened so rapidly that Sebastian retraced the path with his finger in disbelief. Fireball sent, fireball coming, fireball gone. What the flipping… warning shot?

“How the hell did you do that?” Sorcha asked, moving back slowly from him as some other magic gathered in her hands.

Sebastian moved closer wanting to test the waters. Something told him she hadn’t fired a warning shot, so the stopping power had been all him. As he moved closer the magic between her palms sputtered out and he grinned. Angelic shield against powers, check. Finally one good perk of the job, except Sorcha looked ready to bolt.

“Magic doesn’t work on my kind,” Sebastian explained, forming the words around the roadblocks in his brain.

“Why are you here?” Sorcha asked.

Sebastian shrugged. “Hell if I know. This is where I was told to go, you are who I was told to find, and here I am.”

“You’re not a very helpful guardian angel.”

He didn’t miss the sarcasm in her words and shrugged again. “My boss isn’t very good at giving a lot of information or details.”

His flippant honesty seemed to calm her and Sebastian stepped back a few paces to give her room. Sebastian wasn’t sure why he was trying to win her trust. He should be sending her bolting for the hills. Maybe it was because of Paul’s control, but part of him admitted he wanted to help her. If he sent her running scared, Paul would find someone else to pick her up. Sebastian thought maybe he could offer a small shot at protection.

Sorcha walked away and sat back down by a small fire while he’d contemplated his purpose. Sebastian rolled his eyes at himself and moved to sit across the fire from her. She would think she’d earned a brain damaged angel if he kept spacing out to think. He focused on the small fire barely throwing off any heat or light. A pity since the temperature was dropping as the sun gave way to the moon.

“Where are we?” Sebastian asked to break the silence.

She didn’t seem surprised by the question. “America, the southwestern desert. Not many humans out this way yet.”

“So what are you doing out here?”

“Your boss is really bad with details,” she chuckled. “I’m hunting dark ones, loads of them out here too.”

“So why the small fire?” Sebastian pointed to it, knowing someone with her power could create a bonfire in a downpour.

She stared at him like he was crazy. “Sure, I could make a huge fire but then those inky bastards would know what was out here. I want them to think I’m some human, ripe for the picking.”

Sebastian sat back, momentarily surprised.“They don’t prey on humans.”

She scoffed, “Trust me, these ones do. They’re after someone.”

“So, I’m sitting in the middle of a trap with darkness closing in and dark ones everywhere in the shadows… did I miss anything?” At least his sarcasm still worked.

He heard a shuffle in the distance that raised the hair on his arms. She smiled. “I hope you have a weapon.”

She was looking forward to the fight; Sebastian saw it in her face. Gods, this woman was a blood-thirsty one! He wondered again what Paul wanted with her. If she was out hunting dark ones she was on the good side. Paul definitely was not. Was this petite woman really killing off enough foot soldiers that Paul would go through the trouble of finding and trapping an angel to send after her? And, what did he have for weapons? He couldn’t be hurt, but he wanted to help. Being able to stand there and take shots wasn’t very helpful unless Sebastian wanted to play shield.

“Excuse me a minute,” he said.

She nodded and he walked out a distance from the camp, checking to make sure she couldn’t see him. Sebastian closed his eyes and focused. Time for a lesson in angelic warfare. With only about 25 minutes to total darkness, it was going to be a crash course.

 Chapter Five

Sebastian found a quiet spot, out of sight of his new companion. He didn’t want to scare her or make her think he was inept. He had a feeling she’d be more bothered by the latter. He wondered how to find out about his powers and settled for testing his old skills first.

He concentrated on trying to do all the things he could before his death. Thankfully, they all seemed to work. Not so thankfully, they only worked as well as they had in his first life. Sebastian rolled his shoulders and shook out his hands. Since he’d never bothered to practice them, they weren’t his best option. He wasn’t going to be much help this way.

Gods, he wished he had a sword. Sebastian choked back a startled cry as his sword appeared in his hand. He twirled it around, comforted by the familiar motions. He concentrated again and it disappeared. He took a calming breath and puzzled over this new development. Maybe the thought had triggered it?

Sword, the word rattled in Sebastian’s brain and he watched as it appeared to grow out of his hand. So, the weapon was tied to his essence somehow, meaning he’d always be armed. The thought was reassuring. He practiced a few more times until darkness began to close in. Even though magic wasn’t his strong skill, he was able to summon the sword quickly when he’d finished practicing.

Sebastian marched back toward the fire and the girl next to it. Sorcha looked up as he approached. “You okay?”

“Just getting prepared,” he hedged as he sat again.

“For what?”

“You seriously think I’m just going to watch you battle who knows how many of those things?”

“Maybe you should watch and learn,” she grinned.

Damn, she was really looking forward to the coming fight. Sebastian wondered what made her eager as he watched Sorcha stoke the fire. When she smiled wider something rang out in his head, begging to be acknowledged. He pushed the memory aside, wanting to focus on the fight ahead.

Sure enough, the shadows moved in around them. So intent on tracking them, he barely heard her whispered order not to move. Right, they were supposed to be clueless humans. His sword hand itched and Sebastian found himself wanting to do battle as much as she did. Old yearnings for blood and battle welled up and demanded release. Judging the movements around them, there were definitely a lot out of dark ones to unleash his frustration on.

Careful to use only his gaze to track them, he watched the shadows creep closer and tighter around them. Sebastian’s focus returned to the woman across from him, noticing she observed them with the same skill. One moved close to smell her and he wondered exactly how long the bloody woman would wait to strike out.

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as a claw sifted through Sorcha’s long red hair. The woman was definitely crazy. Before the thought finished, her short sword snaked around and the clawed hand fell to the ground. Unearthly screams lit the air—the dark ones’ battle cry—and Sebastian stood to pounce. The sword’s appearance at his side was instinctual and immediate.

He needn’t have worried. Sorcha held her own against five enemies as he was attacked. Sebastian fought like a madman, ignoring the knowledge that he couldn’t be killed. Dark one’s claws were poisonous and he couldn’t run the risk of being incapacitated. Not when Sorcha’s life hung in the balance.

Sebastian dropped a dark one with a thrust of his sword, kicking the pieces into the fire. The flames rose with the addition and the shadows shrank from it. He quickly killed another one and added it to the fire. Even the small light would be enough to create a safe zone. Who knew Grylocks were so flammable?

Sorcha’s yell cut off his smirk. “You’re scaring them off, you idiot!”

He watched as the fire died suddenly, under her influence no doubt. The woman really was nuts, a walking death wish. His eyes adjusted to the light of the semi-full moon above them. Sebastian scrutinized the battle as her form disappeared and reappeared among the remaining shadows. She had raw talent and senseless luck on her side, but she needed some more practice.

After dispatching his last opponent, he admired her drive. Sorcha never surrendered and never seemed to tire. Sebastian finally broke through and started fighting at her back. They mirrored each other’s movements, the dance continuing until the shadows stopped attacking. Then the fire flared back to life, a bonfire in the desert.

Sebastian took in her smiling face and shaking arms. Sorcha’s panting proved she was winded, but still she moved methodically to study their perimeter before resting. Abruptly, she jumped up and let out a shout of triumph. Sebastian’s eyebrows rose as she danced a victory lap around the fire.

“Happy much?”

He hadn’t realized he’d spoken until she stopped and blushed. “Sorry, I’m not used to an audience. I’ve been doing this alone for so long.”

Sebastian felt like he’d been slapped in the face. The memories he’d ignored earlier rose unbidden and uncontrollable.

Meeting Dubhan, fighting beside him, and Dubhan saying he’d been alone a long time. Dubhan drunkenly rambling about a woman with red hair and green eyes. Dubhan staring up at him from a dungeon. “Just get yourself out of here and find Sorcha…Sorcha, tell her—shit— tell her I messed up okay. Tell her I’m a rotten fucking person and she deserves a whole lot better…”

Sebastian’s head rolled on his shoulders. He moved to a spot clear of bodies and dropped his ass into the dust. His last few minutes of life were still foggy, but why hadn’t he put two and two together when Paul had ordered him to find Sorcha? He groaned—because Dubhan had only used her name twice in all their years together. Maybe it was a different girl?

Sebastian thought over everything he knew about both of them. Her fighting style was almost identical to Dubhan’s and she used similar weapons and tactics. Dubhan must have noticed her real talent and trained her. She’d settled into cleaning her weapons, completely ignoring him, and even that routine reminded Sebastian of his only friend. She had to be Dubhan’s Sorcha—there were too many coincidences.

An idea formed in his mind and Sebastian smiled at her. She might be the damnation of him, but maybe, just maybe, she could be Dubhan’s salvation. Sebastian knew he had to move quickly before Paul chimed in with orders. The plan was sound but missing a timeline.

First up, Sorcha needed more training. Raw talent and a few tricks wouldn’t defeat the dark sorcerer holding Dubhan captive. Sebastian acknowledged he still had to learn about his new gifts. Not to mention, figure out the rules of the game he was playing. Good thing rules always had loop holes. The trick would be finding them in time.

Sebastian felt a shiver of awareness and glanced up to see her looming over him. “Headache?” she asked.

He shook his head, trying to avoid the choice between lying and explaining.

“Message from the Gods?” she asked sarcastically.

A slow grin spread as his plan got a jumpstart. “Hard to get anything by you.”

“Really?” She quickly hid the excitement. “I wasn’t sure how it worked.”

“Yep. We need to get a move on. How do you prefer to travel?” Sebastian looked around.

Sorcha began moving and motioned for him. Sebastian followed her over to an old jeep on the edge of camp. As she patted the seat, he groaned.

“What, no love for antiques?”

“Has this thing run since WW2?” Sebastian thought it came right out of a warzone.

“Have some faith.” She tied a bag down in the back and pointed to the passenger seat. “Hop in and tell me where to go.”

Sebastian held on for dear life as the thing bounced over the rough trails when she broke the silence again. He asked her to repeat it because he wasn’t sure he heard right.

“Sorry, I was talking out loud,” she answered. “I like to spend my driving cussing out the son of bitch that got me in this predicament.”

“What son of a bitch? What’d he do?”

She shrugged and turned hard to avoid a boulder. Sebastian was pretty sure he left his stomach behind, the simple lap belt digging into his gut as the jeep righted itself. He silently prayed they hit roads soon.

Sorcha swerved again. “Men are fucking bastards! Love you, leave you, and tell you it’s for the best. How the hell is a broken heart better?”

Sebastian wisely kept his mouth shut and let her carry on with her tirade. There was certainly no love lost for Dubhan. He’d have to be careful to leave his friend’s name out of the discussion. At times though he wondered if Sorcha was trying to convince herself of everything she ranted. Maybe all wasn’t lost.

“So what’s your story?” She turned her attention to him.

“Not much to tell. This is a recent change for me, still learning. I do know I need your help.” He answered as honestly as he could. “I’m just kind of doing this as I go.”

“So where exactly are we headed?”

“We have to work our way to Ireland. Your first mission is there.”

“Why do I feel a ‘but’ coming?” She asked.

“You need training.” Her icy stare would have killed him cold if someone hadn’t beaten her to it. “You’re good, but you’ll need to be better.”

“Fuck. Off.”

Sebastian went back to being quiet, thankful when the tires slid onto asphalt. This was going to be a barrel of fun. It was obvious she would be super accommodating and help him out of the goodness of her heart. He kicked the rusty floorboard as his inner sarcasm burned, but Sebastian remained silent.

“Don’t kick the jeep. It likes to kick back…”

Sebastian barely held on as she sent the jeep into a series of swerves and donuts. Somehow he knew she wanted to launch him out of her rust bucket and he refused to get airborne. He fought the urge to leap from the vehicle and kiss the ground when the tires finally stopped squealing.

 Instead he smiled calmly back at her. “Feel better? You still need more training.”

“You’re going to be hard to get rid of, aren’t you?”

“You’ll grow to like me.” He winked.

“Great.” She snorted as she slid the jeep back into drive and slammed the gas.

It’d been weeks since he’d first found Sorcha and Sebastian was worried. He hadn’t heard back from Paul yet and he knew the fucker wasn’t dead. All the rules of servitude still applied and he was pretty sure they would have lifted if Paul died. Sorcha had greatly improved on her fighting and he knew it was more to spite him. He didn’t care the reason, he wanted her progress.

“Are we done on this boat ride from hell yet?” Sorcha’s head popped back up over the railing.

He hid a smile. Sorcha, it turned out, was not very seaworthy. “We’re almost there.” Her head nodded once before it disappeared again. The sound made Sebastian’s own stomach churn and he stepped back a few paces to stare into the horizon.

“Don’t worry, we’re coming,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Can’t we just shimmer the rest of the way?”

Shimmering was what her people called moving through space. Sebastian almost took pity on her. Almost. It was sort of karmic retribution for the trouble she’d been. Every time they’d trained, she’d tried at least once to kill him.  Shamefully, he liked her resolve.

“Please,” she pleaded.

Sebastian sighed and explained it again. “Then we’d be missed on the boat. This was your idea after all.” His reminder earned him another dirty look, comical with the green cast to her skin. “I’ll see if I can find you some crackers.”

The mere mention of food had her lurching over the side again. Sebastian went to look for something she might be able to keep down.

The captain bumped him and stopped. “Sorry. Your sister still not on her sea legs?”

Sebastian grinned at the ruse. Being siblings gave them the excuse to bicker constantly. “Only if her sea legs have a permanent place at the boat’s rails.”

The captain nodded. “Tell the cook I sent you to the kitchens. Get the poor girl some ginger ale and crackers. I’ll see if the medical staff can send something to her room.”

He knew the captain meant sedatives or anti-nausea medication. Usually Sebastian would have turned it down with the danger they faced, but he was willing to knock her out with a hammer at this point. Sebastian shook the man’s hand and thanked him, turning to retrieve Sorcha from the edge.

He looked around and didn’t spot her. If she shimmered or disappeared off the side of the boat, he was going to strangle her. Thankfully, Sebastian hadn’t informed her that by thinking of her he could find her. He hurried to the location, worried she wasn’t on the move.

Sorcha was passed out in a deck chair, her skin a blue-green shade. The poor girl was probably freezing and dehydrated. Sebastian shook his shoulders out and picked her up carefully, nervous when she didn’t stir. Noticing her chapped, dry lips for the first time, he felt like a bastard. He was really just using her in this little side trip and he didn’t like the new feeling of guilt.

Afraid to leave her alone too long, he carried her back to their little room and phoned the kitchens instead. As he studied her breathing, he began to wonder if Paul was leaving them alone long enough for Sebastian to form an attachment to the little chit. It would be diabolical enough. Let the hunter start liking the prey and then order him to kill her. The worst part—Sebastian knew he couldn’t disobey a direct order. Gods, this was a new kind of hell.

Chapter Six

Sebastian checked them into the motel using the same ruse as before — brother and sister visiting distant relations. The woman at the desk had accommodated by giving them separate rooms connected through a doorway. He’d immediately taken the connecting doors off their hinges and stashed them in his room. No sense in leaving her an opportunity to bolt. Surprisingly, Sorcha had only laughed at the maneuver.

He’d left their departure date open-ended and paid in cash for a full week. He doubted they would stay the full week, but Sebastian wasn’t worried about the money. He’d discovered he could pull money out of thin air if it was needed. Yet another cool angel power he’d learned about while training with the redhead.

Now came the tricky part. He needed to do reconnaissance, but he couldn’t risk taking her along or leaving her behind. Sebastian was stuck and not sure how to proceed. He needed to learn if Dubhan was still being held in the same dungeon or if he’d been moved. Sebastian prayed the sadistic fucker holding Dubhan was still holed up in the same place. If he wasn’t, well Sebastian would run out of time trying to track him down.

Thankfully, Sorcha solved the problem the morning after their arrival. She looked much improved from their little boat ride after swearing off boats for all eternity. After the kindness of the Captain, she’d slept away the last day and a half of the trip in their cabin. Blissfully unaware of her discomforts, she’d yet to thank him for it and Sebastian wasn’t expecting gratitude any time soon.

“I’m bored,” Sorcha muttered, uncurling from the bed and hurling a book across the room. “Can we go look around?”

“Seriously?”

“Why not? The lady said there are great ruins just up the street. Maybe we could check those out?” She asked it all nonchalantly.

He knew it was as close to begging as she would get and it did solve his problem. Sorcha had no idea what was inside the ruins up the street— well what Sebastian hoped was still in the ruins. He was also hoping if he got close he could just call for Dubhan the way he did Sorcha and his new gifts would let him know if he was there or not.

Sebastian grabbed his recent purchase, a long black trench coat. “I think you’ve earned a field trip. Especially since you look recovered.”

He quickly ducked the pillow that flew his way. Sebastian had used her sickness as a cover for keeping her inside the previous day. Truth was, his brain had been busy planning and wasn’t up to the added task of babysitting. Now she’d unknowingly set his plan in motion.

Sorcha danced around excited as she threw on her coat and hat. Ireland still had moody weather and the humidity did hilarious things to her red hair. She’d begun hiding it with a hat the second they’d climbed off the ship. Since it helped hide her identity he wasn’t going to comment. Again, Sebastian felt the slightest nudge of guilt.

He watched as she danced around from flower to flower, smelling each of the abundant wild blooms. Now she looked like the Fae he sensed her to be. If it wouldn’t have cost him his head, he might have asked how a Fae got mixed up with Tuatha like Dubhan. Sebastian kept quiet as they neared the top of the hill. It was slow going with Sorcha enjoying the scenery, but appearing too eager would raise suspicion.

He crested the hill with Sorcha close behind. Sebastian tucked his hands in his pockets and just waited. His plan was really just to follow her lead in this. He couldn’t make her doubt his reason for being here. Honestly, he was afraid if he told her the ruins where her ‘first mission’, she run off into them. Usually not a bad plan, but he’d learned his lesson the first time around with Mr. Wizard. This time he would have a definite plan of attack first and surprise on his side. And, Sebastian seriously doubted she’d like the plan he was coming up with. Sorcha didn’t strike him as the type to enjoy playing bait.

Reeling his thoughts in, Sebastian mentally lined up his plan of attack. First things first, he needed to find out if Dubhan was still there.

“WOW! That’s amazing,” Sorcha uttered, taking in the view of the ruined old castle.

“It’s really more of a fort, but those served as castles for the Irish…”

“Who cares? It’s incredible!”

Sebastian motioned with his hand. “Go ahead, but don’t go into it. The crumbling thing is dangerous. Mind the ropes around it.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be careful, Daaad. What are you going to do?”

Hell, what was he going to do? Sebastian smiled. “I’ll check in with the bosses.”

She nodded and took off at a full run. He knew she was armed according to his own instruction, but he still felt a chill. Sebastian’s intentions were two-fold. Get Sorcha off his back so he could concentrate on Dubhan and get Mr. Bad Guy’s attention. Hopefully the bastard was home, because a magical, pretty fairy dancing around his parameter was sure to get his attention.

Sebastian didn’t want to leave her out there too long. He broke his attention away from her and began to concentrate. He wasn’t sure it would work and, if it didn’t, plan B wasn’t going to help much. He finally closed off the sight of Sorcha twirling around the grassy field and let his senses wander.

There. He felt the tingle announcing the presence of who he was looking for. Dubhan was still inside, but the signal —if he could call it that— was weak at best. They’d have to act fast. Sebastian didn’t know the true name of the person holding him hostage, so his parlor trick wouldn’t work for finding Mr. Evil Magician. He tried to open the rest of his senses. He skimmed over Sorcha’s playful presence, Dubhan’s fading one, and found what he was after. Oh yeah, the sadistic asshole was still in residence and he was moving in on Sorcha. Part A accomplished.

He whistled loudly to call Sorcha back to him. She surprised him by coming immediately causing him to wonder if she’d sensed the danger stalking her from the ruins. Sebastian remained hidden by the trees, using another angel technique he’d stumbled on. He could become invisible and wasn’t that just a treat.

“Where the hell did you go?” Sorcha whispered.

Sebastian reappeared and chuckled as she jumped.

“You HAVE to teach me that trick!” she ordered and turned to start down the hill. “I take it you got instructions?”

He peered over his shoulder and his eyes narrowed. “I sure did.” His voice turned cold, “I hope you’re ready to fight.”

Sebastian jumped as her fist connected with his arm. “Of course I’m ready to fight! I kicked your ass last time!”

He groaned; of course she would think he’d been talking to her. “I know you’re ready to fight. I was talking to the guy we’re going after.”

“Oh… is he here?”

He shook his head. Sometimes, Sorcha showed moments of the carefree girl she probably used to be. Sebastian fought back the quick thought of leaving Dubhan to rot. She’d done nothing but complain about the guy since he’d met her. Sebastian had learned it was better not to interrupt her tirades. Of course, only he knew how much Dubhan had suffered for it. Not like he could clue her in though, it’d end their relationship in seconds. Sometimes, he had to remind himself why he was rescuing Dubhan though and, one day, he’d punch the guy for it.

“He’s holed up in the ruins. We’ll come back tonight.”

“YES!”

Sebastian laughed outright as Sorcha did somersaults and flips down the hill. He really should worry about her bloodlust, but it was so damned appealing right now. Mindful of her audience, he went invisible again and floated down the hill next to her. Yeah, so this angel couldn’t fly without his wings, but floating and gliding along weren’t so bad.

Sorcha stared into the fireplace, causing the flames to rise and fall. Sebastian considered it like a nervous twitch even if it was annoying in the extreme. Little flicker, raging inferno, little flicker… ugh, enough to make a guy jump out the window. He’d filled her in on his little plan and, while not completely opposed, she wasn’t very happy with him. The wound closing over his stomach was proof enough of her ire; her curses had just been the icing.

“You could have told me the plan BEFORE you decided. I don’t like playing bait and not knowing it.” Her quiet voice carried over to him.

He rubbed the now healed spot. “I gathered, but really it was just an on the spot idea.”

Her head turned, her eyes burning a hole in him. “You still could have taken five seconds to fill me in.”

Well, he had no comeback for that one. He couldn’t tell her that he wouldn’t risk Dubhan’s life on her saying no. Sebastian wasn’t willing to risk saying anything that mentioned the man’s name. Somehow he knew if he did, Dubhan would die and he’d spend a lifetime chasing Sorcha over the continents.

“Who exactly are we rescuing?”

Bloody hell, could she read his thoughts? She definitely kept him on his toes. “A powerful Warrior is all I know. And I’ll do the rescue, you’re job is the distraction.”

“Bait.”

“Distraction,” he growled.

Her eyes narrowed and Sebastian swallowed the growl too late. “You’re Tuatha.”

“Was Tuatha I guess, but I never knew my parents,” he hedged.

“The growl gives it away.” She stood to check her weapons. “Don’t like the thought of me being bait?”

She was actually teasing him about it? Sebastian wanted to strangle her and change his plan. “Of course not. The guy is dangerous, but it’s the only option we have of getting in. Unfortunately, he knows me.”

“How?” He winced in response. “Another can’t tell me bit, huh?” She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll take him out, you get the guy, and everyone is happy.”

“And what do you do after?”

“I wait for you here,” she answered in a monotone.

“Um, Sorcha, I have been assigned to you and I can find you anywhere. If you even think of running off…”

“You can find me?” She interrupted, punching a hole in the antique headboard. “And when were you going to share that?”

Sebastian shifted on his feet, ready for another attack. “I just did. It wasn’t important before.”

“And just what kind of danger am I in exactly?”

His head shook sadly. “I don’t know, but Gods I wish I did.”

And he meant it. He suddenly could understand why Dubhan loved this woman so much that he’d given her up. It still didn’t explain why Dubhan would actually give her up, but it gave him some understanding into his only friend. Damned if Sebastian would fail him by letting Sorcha get hurt. Keeping her safe would be something he could give Dubhan and maybe one day, Dubhan would be willing to help him in return.

“Sun’s almost down,” Sorcha interrupted, dropping the curtain and starting to arm up.

“You don’t have to do this…”

“I think you’ve guaranteed that I do.”

Her voice sent chills down his spine. Oh yes, she was resigned to playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse. His guilt grew a little larger and Sebastian itched to do something differently. He couldn’t though, even knowing he was on a dead end road, his only choice was to keep going. He would just do his best to make sure Sorcha didn’t go down with him.

~*~*~

 Stay tuned for more Sebastian to come... the quirkiest side character from the Tuatha Destiny series who just demanded his story be told!