Chasing Shadows Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  CHASING SHADOWS

  Erin Bedford

  Chasing Shadows © 2017 Erin Bedford

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Chapter 1

  Kat

  THE TWO MEN standing on my doorstep had to be CIA. Or at least cops. If they were trying to pass as civilians they were failing horribly with their matching black suits and black sunglasses. They each had a crew cut, one brown and one blond, and a stern, no nonsense type of expression on their faces. It didn’t make the urge to shut the door lessen.

  “What can I help you with?” I repeated. When I had first opened the door I’d been in the middle of a call with my mother and already irritated as fuck by her constant need for me to make more appearances for the Fae community. You’d think that having a Fae for a daughter would make her want me to shy away from the public view, but not Sylvia. It just made her even more determined to make the world see the Fae as normal human beings and not alien invaders like the local news was still spouting out.

  Easy to say my greeting of “What?” that was practically shouted didn’t set well with the cops. So, I had hung up with my mother and apologized for my rudeness. I still didn’t let them in, though. Too many reporters lately had dropped by unannounced wanting to get an interview with the Seelie Princess. I still hadn’t found out how that got out, but when I found the person responsible they would be wishing to visit the Bandersnatch.

  “Miss Nottington, I am Agent Drake and this is my partner, Agent Walker. We are here on official government business that would be better discussed inside.” The blond crew cut said. He put his hands on his hips and there was a slightly uncomfortable grimace on his face. It was the first emotion I had seen on them since I opened the door.

  “It’s always official business with your type.” I gestured a hand up and down at their stuffy suits, not at all feeling underdressed with my sweats and t-shirt that said ‘No Talkie Before Coffee.’ It was one of my nicer tees, and they were lucky I was wearing clothes at all since it was barely eight a.m.

  “Why don’t you just make it easier for all of us and just tell me what you want?” I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for them to get to it.

  Agent Walker cleared his throat and stepped forward, pulling a piece of paper out of his suit coat. “We have here a letter from the Secretary of Defense, requesting your help in a Fae related matter.”

  “Fae related matter?” My brow scrunched down as I took the letter from him. It had the official seal of the Secretary, but for all I knew it could be fake. I was an English major and an ex-librarian. Well, hardly an ex-librarian since my career lasted a whole month before I got fired for taking too much time off to deal with Fae drama. When Brandi, my ex-boss and the mean girl of my existence, found out that she had fired the Seelie Princess, she’d had a field day and had wasted no time giving interviews to any reporter that would have her. A tell all about the sadly uneventful life of the human turned fairy princess’ life.

  At least there wasn’t much in my past life as a human to tell all about. I wasn’t exactly Miss Popular and preferred to be alone, but Brandi took that and spun it into an intricate tale of high school loner who never quite fit in ends up as the heir to the Seelie kingdom. The press ate it up, and thus, the knocking at my door tripled.

  I’d had to get Bar to act as gatekeeper just to keep them off my grandmother’s lawn. Since the two men in front of me were on my door step, I made a mental note to check on where the troll was now.

  Besides the fact that I was the Fae Princess of the Seelie Court, it didn’t exactly make me an expert on official documents. If anything, it would make me less qualified. No matter how much studying I did, my Seelie mother always seemed to be able to pull one over me.

  “We can show you our badges if that would help,” Agent Walker spouted out, his neutral tone turning to a nervous stutter. So they weren’t so nonchalant about being here after all. I forced myself not to grin at the break in their armor.

  I frowned at the paper in my hand, the legal jargon not really my area of expertise. I handed it back to them. “You might as well come in. I have no idea what this thing says.” I stepped back from the doorway, letting the two into my grandmother’s tiny home. I had been living here for about six months now, and she still hadn’t returned from her vacation in Florida. She called every once in a while to check in, but every time she seemed happy and seemed to be having the time of her life with no plans to return.

  After they came inside, I moved to close the door but not before my eyes swept the front lawn. I frowned. As I thought, Bar was nowhere to be found. The little setup I had put together for him on the front lawn was still there. A blanket with a variety of toys, no chair because Bar was so big he would break anything I could possibly set out for him. The toys were a bribe, one that I was lucky to have figured out the last time he came by when my Seelie mother had ordered him to capture me. To non-friends, Bar was a big ferocious troll that had the mental capacity of a toddler. His three word sentences were pushing it on a good day.

  So, I treated him like any child. Gave him candy and toys to sit in my yard and look intimidating. So far, it’d worked pretty well at keeping unwanted guests off my porch. Seeing as the two, possibly FBI agents, were sitting on my couch, it wasn’t going well anymore.

  Closing the door behind me, I stepped into the living room and surveyed my visitors. Maybe they were secretly Men In Black? At this point, I wouldn’t even be surprised if Will Smith showed up at my doorstep asking for my registration to be on this planet. It would actually make my day. I love me some yummy goodness. Not like anything good was going on in my love life these days, not since…

  I swallowed down the lump in my throat that had come from letting my thoughts stray to Chess and shoved the pain deep down. Now wasn’t the time to get emotional. There were potentially alien cops in my living room that needed to be dealt with. I could cry later over a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.

  “So…” I started, sitting in the chair across from the two. Agent Walker seemed more nervous by the minute. He had to be new. “…what’s all this about?”

  “Well, you see,” this time Agent Drake stepped in giving his counterpart a warning glance that made him sit back in his seat a bit like a pouting child, “There has been a particularly large outbreak of Fae refugees coming out of the portals all ar
ound America, and it has come to the government's attention that there has to be some way to regulate those who are taking up residence in our fair country. We…I mean the Secretary of Defense was hoping as the Seelie Princess and the…”

  “Moderator,” Agent Walker supplied earning him a glare from his superior.

  “As I said, as the Seelie Princess and the Moderator for your kind on this side, they are hoping that you would be forthcoming in helping compile a list of all the Fae residents who have made a home in this world.”

  “So, you are wanting to know who is Fae and who isn’t?” I cocked a brow at them.

  “Exactly.” Agent Drake nodded his head, seemingly happy that he had explained it right.

  “It’s not really hard to tell who is Fae and who isn’t. I don’t know why you need me to help you,” I shrugged, “Besides a few half-bloods, most Fae look exactly like they are supposed to. Otherworldly.” I gave them a pointed look, telling them how silly I found all this. “A brownie looks like a brownie and a pixie a pixie. Hardly a need for a list when you have your own two eyes to judge what is and isn’t Fae.”

  Agent Walker cleared his throat; his eyes seemed to be asking permission from his partner to speak. Agent Drake gave a short nod indicating that he had permission.

  “What my partner is trying to say is that some of the Fae are not so easily distinguished from humans. While, like you said some are easier to spot, others look more or less human, but a more attractive version. Like Miss Erydesa,” he paused for a moment as if envisioning her, “with her long, gorgeous fountain of golden hair, and her eyes are so blue that sapphires don’t do them justice.” His eyes took on a lusty quality that made me cringe. Gab’s sure knew how to leave an impression.

  Before the, still-didn’t-know-if-he-was-a-cop-or-not, could continue on his praise of Gab’s endless perfections, his partner elbowed him in the ribs. He winced and rubbed where he had gotten nudged, his face turning red with embarrassment.

  “The problem isn’t that some of the Fae just look like humans. It’s that we aren't able to regulate them as well as we would like,” Agent Drake paused for a moment, placing his hands together as he leaned forward in his seat, “What we're asking is for you to make some kind of proclamation telling them to go to a certain place at a certain time so that we may register them as Fae refugees. This will help with policing any Fae who get out of hand and keep our officers safe. They’ll know what they're going up against when there's an incident.”

  I frowned at the agent. I didn’t feel right about having to do some kind of proclamation that forced my people to out themselves if they didn’t want to be outed by me. It was like saying Irish people had to be registered so the cops would know how to treat them.

  I wasn't stupid, I knew exactly what they wanted. Control. They always wanted control over things they didn’t understand. But forcing the Fae to register was going too far.

  So far they hadn’t done anything to provoke the humans. If anything, it was the Fae that should be the ones that were upset. There wasn't a day that I turned on the television that there wasn't a protest or some kind of altercation that ended with a Fae getting hurt. That was usually when the humans were stupid enough to pick on one of the Fae that were bigger than them. I so wasn't about to be part of something like that, government orders or not.

  “So say that you get all the Fae registered, what exactly is that going to accomplish? I mean, the Fae that look human could easily use their magic against you before you can even get them close enough to ask for their registration.” I crossed my arms over my chest and threw one leg over the other as I leaned back in my chair. “It seems like a waste of time to me.”

  Agent Drake’s face reddened as if he didn't like my answer or that I was questioning what the government had asked. “Now you see here,” he shook a finger in my direction, “You Fae came into this world without so much as a lick of thought to any of the humans you were putting in danger, or any of the troubles that you would have caused, or the jobs you're taking by residing in this world. The government has been more than lenient towards your kind, even when you have spread throughout the country and the world without so much as a police force to handle those who get out of hand.”

  He took a deep breath, the redness of his face deepening with his labored breathing. “You were supposed to go back to where you came from when the danger was over. Instead, you are here, sucking us dry. And if you won't help the problem, you're part of the problem.”

  He stood to his feet until he was towering over me. I was used to being the smaller person, intimidation tricks like this didn't bother me any. I'd long since gotten over the need to be taller than someone. Being short had it’s advantages, like being able to kick someone in the nuts without much effort.

  Instead of reacting to his provocation with words, the magic beneath my skin crept up to the top, causing a greenish glow to engulf me. The moment Agent Drake saw my magic, the emotion in his eye confirmed what I'd already assumed based on his words.

  While he had tried to put on a front about needing to protect the humans and Fae, he really was afraid. Scared of the unknown, of anyone who dared to be called different. It was his kind, the ones unyielding to change that really pushed my buttons.

  I was pleasantly surprised though to see Agent Walker didn't seem afraid at all. In fact, his eyes filled with an excited kind of curiosity. Turning my attention back to the raging brunette officer, I let my magic fill me up. My eyes narrowed. I had no doubt that the blue of my eyes had taken on a fluorescent glow. It caused the officer to fall back in his seat, his scent reeking of terror.

  “I will only say this once,” I tightened my jaw, “Not now, nor will I ever help you register the Fae. I’m on to your game. First, it is registration, and then you round us up to put us in some kind of concentration camp. The president has assured our safety and residency in this country. And until the time comes that our welcome is no longer valid, then this conversation is completely pointless.”

  My words did nothing to decrease the fear in the agent’s face. If anything, it made his fear turn to anger. He took his stance once more, his rage flowing off him in waves. “Now you see here, girly” he started.

  I stopped him by getting to my feet and waving my finger in his face.

  “No, it is men like you that kept this country from progressing forward, and I want no part in it. You came to my house asking for my help, and then you insult me and my kind?” I gave a haughty laugh that made the brunette flinch. “You're lucky I don't rip you to shreds right here.” I clucked my tongue at him, the urge to use my magic becoming overwhelming.

  “Is that a threat?” he roared.

  “You bet your sorry ass it is,” I shot back. “Now get the hell out of my grandmother's house.”

  The younger agent scrambled to his feet and tried to steer the other agent towards the door. The stubborn ass jerked his arm away, and snarled, “No, I'll leave when I'm good and ready. And that will be when you agree to this order.”

  “Oh?” I drew out, “it's an order now, is it?” I cocked my head to the side; his words were the last straw in a long list of insults.

  “Yes, and as a US citizen you are expected to obey.” A mean smile curled up on his face, and it made me only too happy to react.

  The magic that had barely been contained in my skin flew out and wrapped around Agent Drake’s body. He struggled against it, trying to get some kind of grip, but as his hand went through it, he cursed and screamed at me. The other officer was smart enough to scramble for the door, not waiting to be personally escorted out. Not leaving my spot in the living room, I hurled the officer across the room, out the open door, and slammed it firmly shut behind him.

  Releasing my built up magic, I collapsed into my chair with an aggravated sigh. I didn't know why I was surprised. I knew it was bound to happen eventually. I just didn't think it'd be this soon. We were going to have to come to some kind of agreement or al
l hell was going to break loose. The leash I had on my Fae mother was short at best, and there was only so much that I could do on my own. This was one of those times I really wished Chess were here; he’d know what to do.

  Chapter 2

  Chess

  I SCREAMED AT Kat’s reflection in the mirror while pounding my fists against the glass. She was washing her hands in the bathroom, and she didn't even look up at me. With an aggravated cry I slammed my hands down hard against the glass, but it didn't move or crack. It was as if I'd barely hit it at all.

  “I don't know why you even bother?” Morgana commented behind me.

  My scowl deepened as I stared at the barren floor of the Shadow Realm. Not looking up I said, “What else am I going to do?”

  “I don't know, but I have a few ideas.” She pressed her body against the side of mine, her ample breasts shoved into my arm that was holding onto the side of the mirror.

  Morgana had stopped trying to be subtle the last few months. Compared to the time in Kat’s world it felt more like years, and Morgana had spent every waking moment trying to get into my pants. A lesser Fae would have been tempted, and if I was anything, I was a lesser Fae. If she'd caught me a year ago before I had met Kat I would have taken her up on her offer.

  Now, that I've known love and melded my magic with Kat’s, the thought of touching anyone else disgusts me. Not to forget the gaping hole in my heart that seemed to widen every day we were apart.

  “I've told you once and I'll tell you again. Not now or will I ever be with you.” I shoved off the glass with my tail wagging in aggravation behind me. I marched out of the mirror graveyard.

  I didn't look to see if she would follow. She was the only person that I’d seen since my arrival, and as far as I knew, I was the only company she had. I knew she’d come after me eventually.

  The days in the Shadow Realm were always the same. I’d wake up disoriented and for a moment forget where I was. When I remembered the ache in my chest knocks me breathless, and I had to fight to drag in each agonizing breath. Eventually, I am able to move without pain and crawl out of bed.