“Crazy dream stuff, never mind,” I waved it away. “Why does that upset you?”
“Raven mockers?” He lifted a brow. “I know you've heard of them.”
“The raven mockers,” I whispered. I had heard of them. Why hadn't I made the connection? “Those fairies who steal life from the dying and old?”
“Those are the ones,” he grimaced.
“I've always wondered why they did that,” I peered into his night-shadowed face. “Why steal the few years left to an elderly person or someone who's sick?”
“Easy targets,” Tiernan scowled, “and no one is suspicious when they die.”
“But they don't even need life,” I shook my head. “They're fey, so they're immortal, aren't they?”
“Yes, they're immortal,” Tiernan sighed. “It's not the extra time that they're after but the energy of the life. It gives them a boost of power and a sort of temporary bliss. That's what they crave.”
“Like a drug? Are they energy addicts?”
“In a way, yes,” Tiernan mused.
“But if they get caught, they'll be extinguished,” I declared.
“Haveyouever caught one?” He lifted a platinum blonde brow.
“Well no but they keep mainly to the American Northwest and I was never assigned that region,” I chewed at my lip, remembering the tepees. That bit was strange. It wasn't like Native Americans lived in tepees anymore but I guess dreams like symbolism.
“No, they don't,” Tiernan said softly.
“What?” I focused sharply on him.
“They have ties to the tribes. They're descended from fairies who once bred with the Native Americans and because of that, Native American shamans have learned how to spot them... and how to kill them.”
“Right, there's a ritual,” I bit my lip as I tried to remember what I'd been taught in extinguisher school.
“Takes seven days though,” he shook his head. “They don't always kill the mocker.”
“So you're telling me that these fairies could be sucking the last bit of life out of people all over the Human Realm?” I clenched my hands in the comforter.
“Well, they do tend to stay in North and South America but yes,” he admitted. “The Wild Hunt tries to keep an eye out for them but they're smart, they know how to fly under the radar.”
“Literally,” I rolled my eyes.
“You're not asking the right question, Seren,” Tiernan was grim and that never boded well.
“What?” A chill coasted over my arms and I swear I heard the cry of a raven in the distance.
“Why are you dreaming about raven mockers?”
Chapter Two
If I hadn't been so damn tired and so accustomed to stress, I probably wouldn't have been able to get back to sleep. But my life had become full of weird premonitions and evil machinations. I was actually getting used to it and had no problem drifting off to sleep. In fact, I didn't want to stop sleeping. Tiernan had to coerce me out of bed in the morning by waving a cup of coffee beneath my nose.
“Maybe sharing a bedroom wasn't such a great idea,” I whined as he led me to the dining table, placed off to the left of my bed.
It was actually off to the right if you happened to be stumbling out of the bed, as I was. Oh why must I leave the warm, squishy nest of pillows and silky blankets to emerge into the crisp, cold, cruel morning? Don't fairy princesses get to sleep in? I frowned into my coffee cup as Tiernan pulled out a chair for me. Then I saw that breakfast was already on the table. I gave a little happy smile and took a sip of coffee.
“You were really tired,” Tiernan observed. “Normally tea does the trick but I had to resort to coffee this morning.”
“Hmph,” I mumbled but then he started piling food on my plate and I gave him a grudging, “Thank you.”
