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  Once again she was on his arm, walking through some of the most hostile people that she had ever met. She had been at goblin bridal showers that were a lot less hostile, and some of the attendees had been bitten at those events.

  “So, I hear that your mother works as a vocational nurse.” The hissing tone was unmistakable. James’ mother slunk by with as much noise as a wraith.

  “Yes she does Electra. She went back for her degree six years ago. As soon as I finished my trade school.” With her back against the wall near the fireplace, Izzy felt confidant that no one could sneak up on her.

  “So, you completed your education? You are a magus, are you not? Why do you need to work?” Judging by the manicure, the jewelry, and the designer dress, she thought that work was a four-letter word.

  “Why does your son? It was at his business that I was working when the Council interviewed me.” Her chin jerked up a notch. Magic was being gathered in the room. She could feel it.

  “Please excuse me.” Izzy left the astonished Electra with her mouth open in retort, and began to wander the room, scanning for the power signature.

  Suddenly, she didn’t have to look anymore. The power blasted her from behind, throwing her into the startled arms of the Clan representative and burning through her system. The magic burned into her flesh, coiling and seeking to destroy. Then it gathered itself and left her, stunned but alive.

  A scream rent the air. The Clan rep’s hands clenched on her arms and she stood as quickly as she could.

  Isobel turned to see a brutal sight. One of the female guests who had not yet bothered to introduce herself was smoking and writhing on the ground. Izzy took a deep breath and yelled, “Mom! I need you!” Then knelt at the side of the damaged woman and took her hands in her own, ignoring the smoking flesh.

  Power flowed through her and into her attacker. It helped the damaged cells and kept her conscious while Izzy waited for her mom.

  An abrupt knock on the door occurred a few minutes later. James opened it and there stood the Marlins, power bristling around them as they came to their daughter’s defense. “Where is she?”

  “Trying to save the woman who tried to kill her.” James’ face was a mask. He had kept the other guests at bay as Izzy acted as life support for Indela Morris.

  “Oh, Junior.” Isobel senior walked swiftly to her daughter’s side and knelt at the head of the charred body on the floor. She knew better than to touch Izzy, but based on the red hands around the room, some of the guests had tried to remove her.

  “She’s still alive, Mom. Help me.” Tears were tracking down her face as she kept a slow trickle of power running through her hands. The pain that the woman was in was leaking back to her through the link that she had forged. “Please. It hurts.”

  “I know it does, baby.” Isobel senior looked over to her daughter’s lover. “James, come over here and put your hands on her shoulders. She is going to be providing the energy for the healing, and I don’t want to drain her.”

  Unhesitating, he placed his hands on Izzy’s shoulders, ignoring the shouts from his parents that he would be burned. Immediately he felt a rush out of his body and into hers. He almost fell. It felt like the rush of energy that they experienced when they climaxed.

  In a brusque tone, Isobel Senior explained while she set her hands on either side of her patient’s head, careful to avoid contact. “It is the way that the power exchanges the healing for the energy of the bearer. The only way healers can hold a husband, quite frankly. If the powers did not make it pleasurable to share energy, the healer would be drained dry.”

  He could feel the shift in the energies as Isobel Marlin, the hedge witch, began to take the Warlock away from the edge of death. Her power was a flowing river of cool, soothing warmth that had Indela’s labored breathing eased in no time. Or so it felt to him. Time stilled as the healing continued. At some point, Sirus placed his hands on his wife’s shoulders and she visibly relaxed as his energy bolstered hers.

  Hours passed. When Isobel Senior took her hands away, Izzy fell forward and James darted in to lift her in his arms.

  “She just needs rest. Healing is not her forte. Take her upstairs. I will deal with the rest of the remainders.” She was referring to the few guests that had not left, his parents and the Clan representative. With her husband’s help, she got to her feet and faced the much smaller crowd. As soon as James had turned the corner at the top of the stairs, she rounded on them.

  “Alright. Who here is willing to tell me what the hell is going on? Why did that bitch try to kill my little girl?” Her voice dripped ice. There was no avoiding her gaze either, it burned with the magical energy of the enraged witch.

  Silence reigned for long moments and then Electra could stand it no longer, “Indela was supposed to marry James. It was arranged. And then he had to go and hand fast himself to that little tramp.”

  “So why did she try to kill her? It would be over in one year.” Sirus’ calm baritone rumbled through the room, his eyes burning with rage that his daughter was coming under attack here, where she was supposed to be safe.

  “It is an insult to our family to have one of her kind bonded to us.” Electra was sulking. She could not deny the power of Izzy’s mother, or father for that matter.

  “Isobel is now a Lady of the Marlin Clan. You will show her the proper respect.” The Sterling Clan rep finally stepped forward and made himself known.

  “Thank you, Dennis. It’s nice to see you again.” Sirus was relaxing as he recognized the powerful warlock. “So, you ended up as the Sterling rep? How fortunate for you.”

  “Do you acknowledge the attack on my daughter by a member of your Clan?” Isobel was trying not to be shrill, but she knew she failed when Sirus wrapped his arms across her shoulders and squeezed.

  “Yes, Lady. We do. Indela will be restricted and punished for her actions this evening. She will also be stripped of her powers for the next five years. Does that meet with your approval?”

  “It will have to do.” She looked over at her patient. “She can be moved now. You had best get her out of here before I reclaim my power.”

  “Yes, Lady. She will be taken before the High Council, this afternoon.” Isobel looked outside and noted that dawn had arrived. Healing stole time from her that would not be replaced, but she did not regret her choice.

  Dennis scooped up Ms. Morris and left the house, heading for the transfer point, leaving the Marlins facing the Sterlings.

  Arthur took over the roll of host and darted into the kitchen for a moment and Electra looked over at Izzy’s parents and flushed in embarrassment. “We weren’t expecting to see you here.”

  “Yes, I can imagine that you weren’t expecting us.” Sirus wrapped his arms around his wife and spoke while resting his chin on her shoulder. He was as exhausted as she was. The woman had almost been dead. It had taken everything that they had in them just to repair her body. Her mind however may never recover..

  Isobel took over the conversation. “Yes, but you know how it is. When your child calls, you come running. No matter what.”

  “Yes, of course.” Her lips were tight and she began to tap her foot in impatience. Where the devil was Arthur?

  Chapter Eight

  Arthur was holed up in the kitchen with Cheeves, trying to get the recalcitrant goblin to prepare some food for the remaining families. It was not going well.

  “Why won’t you make us some coffee Cheeves?”

  “Because I don’t work for you. I work for James Sterling, not Arthur and certainly not that bitch Electra.” He hummed to himself and faced the warlock as his arms continued to do the dishes behind his back.

  In a quiet hiss he begged, “But the Marlins are here as well, we have to make a good impression.”

  “The Marlins? Izzy’s parents? Why didn’t you say so?”

  Arthur ducked as a flurry of plates, foods and cutlery began to swarm through the kitchen. “Get out Arthur. Breakfast will be served in the dining
room in five minutes. Take your seats.”

  Blinking in startled amazement, he left the kitchen and went back into the parlor where his wife was glaring at one of the most attractive couples he had ever seen.

  “Breakfast will be served in a moment. Cheeves is preparing it. Shall we adjourn to the dining room?”

  Sirus met his eyes and nodded. “I think we could all use something after the events of the evening.”

  Isobel muttered, “And the morning.” But followed the Sterlings into the dining room and took a seat at the table opposite them.

  “Here ya go, Mr. Marlin.” Cheeves swooped in and gently laid ten plates in front of the Marlins, including napkins and utensils. “Do you need anything else?”

  Sirus blinked at the goblin and ignored his wife’s smile. “Some coffee would be wonderful. Thank you.”

  “In a minute, Sir.” And with that he was gone, leaving the Sterlings staring in confusion.

  “Don’t worry, he’ll get to you. He is just acting on James’ behalf in the goblin manner.”

  Arthur was curious now, “What do you mean?”

  “He has to please the female’s parents, so that they won’t reclaim her. In the goblin family, the parents retain all rights to the children and can recall them at any time until a child is produced.”

  “Oh. How do you know so much about goblins?”

  Sirus and Isobel smiled in a condescending way, “Just because the Mage and Warlock Council’s refused to acknowledge our union, didn’t mean that everyone did. We have continued a relationship with all non-human members of the Realm councils.”

  “Sirus’ best man was a goblin. Baktanat and Nerella are two of our best friends.”

  Electra was surprised, “The Goblin Councilman?”

  “And his wife. She’s one of the Warders, and Junior’s godmother.”

  Her voice was weak now, “A Warder? How did she come to marry a goblin?”

  “He asked her, and you know as well as I do about the Warder’s marriage restrictions. Our daughter was raised with theirs, and she knows the ins and outs of the non-human societies like the back of her hand.” Sirus forked up a bite of the eggs and bacon from his plate. “It could be a useful asset to your son, if he decides to pursue the rank of Clan Leader.”

  The Sterlings were shocked. It was not common knowledge that they had high political hopes for their son in Realm.

  Isobel sipped calmly at her coffee, and waited for her husband to fill them in on the Marlin’s exact place in non-human society.

  “I can see by your faces that you didn’t know that your plans are no longer a secret. It isn’t known in Realm, but all of the other magical races have been talking about it for years. If the Warlocks and Mages weren’t so stuck up about mixing bloodlines, they would have known it as well.”

  Electra looked up to the ceiling with slight hesitation. She was obviously turning the ramifications of having a well-connected daughter in-law, versus the half-breed mage that she had been thinking of, in her mind.

  “Any plans that you are working out for my daughter will have to go through her. Force won’t work in any way. Nor will blackmail or any other type of coercion. Trust us on this.” Isobel Senior was smiling at the thought of her daughter’s wild childhood.

  “As one mother to another, I think you know what I mean.” She kept working on her breakfast and eventually Cheeves brought the tray for the Sterlings. After he had served them coffee of course.

  The rest of the meal went silently, with the Marlins finishing minutes before the Sterlings due to their head start. As Cheeves cleared their plates away, Isobel stood and thanked him.

  She placed both hands on his upper shoulders and sent a ripple of power through him. He thanked her profusely and stripped off his apron. “My wife is so going to enjoy this,” was his last statement as he left for his home on the rear of the property.

  “What did you give him?”

  “Just a bit of healer’s energy. It went straight to his groin, and he left to make full use of it. Goblins are pretty basic that way.” Isobel’s words were matter of fact, as she started to the stairs leading to the bedrooms.

  * * * *

  Apparently, Junior had come to when he brought her upstairs, because their bodies were still twisted together with the scent of sex in the air.

  He was holding her gently against him, his body covering hers in a protective manner.

  Isobel turned to leave after feeling the energy flowing between the two. They were well and truly bonded now. They were sharing the energy that he had in his body, to replace hers. Isobel had been ready to supplement them, but it was unnecessary. They were doing fine on their own.

  She left the room and stopped short at the gathering in the hall. Sirus was blocking the hallway, using his energy to keep the Sterlings at bay.

  “We need to leave now folks, they just need sleep.” She stepped forward, “And I think that waking would be more pleasant if we weren’t here.”

  “The house is warded, the estate is gated, and the doors lock. They’ll be fine.” Sirus stepped forward and shooed the others down the stairs. “We should go. Now.”

  And so it was that the Marlins drove the Sterlings from their son’s house and waited until they transported before putting a lock on the house. Only Izzy or James could open it. And Cheeves of course. That would give them time to recover.

  “Did we do the right thing?” Isobel asked him as they prepared to leave.

  “We did what we could. He was her choice after all.” And he wrapped his worried wife in his arms and took them home.

  Chapter Nine

  Izzy felt like she had been run over. Every part of her body hurt. Only the gently swirling and retraction of the magical energy within her soothed her frazzled nerves. But the magic felt weird, like it was masculine in nature.

  Her eyes creaked open and she met James’ concerned gaze with her own bleary one.

  Her voice was a croak but she cleared it to say, “I choose you, James Sterling. For better, for worse, for beyond the year. I have chosen you.”

  His eyes widened. “For better, for worse, for the rest of our lives, I choose you Isobel Marlin Junior.”

  What followed was the sweetest kiss that two half conscious people could have. And then the consciousness left again, only the gentle energy of their vows wrapped around them proved their bond.

  * * * *

  It was afternoon before James raised his head out of the pillows. Isobel was no where to be seen. But based on the trail of clothes from the closet, she had headed down stairs for food. He was on his own. So, completely naked, he left his bedroom and wandered down the stairs.

  There she was, her back to him, jeans and a t-shirt covering the body that he loved. A hand was raised up to give him a backwards wave and she kicked a chair out for him as she continued to eat as if days had passed.

  Maybe they had, “Cheeves, how long were we out?”

  “Three days and Izzy, thank your mother for me. Vreda is going to send her a fruit basket, it was the best sex we had had in years.” Cheeves looked tired but happy, all of his eyes glowing with satisfaction.

  “Uh, I will. You probably deserved it.” After finishing the protein that he had laid out for her, she was starting on the fruit. She knew her priorities.

  James, meanwhile, had scooted in next to her and was filching pieces of fruit off her place while Cheeves wielded his pans and spatulas with a vengeance.

  “Izzy, did we wake up and…”

  “Take life mate vows?”

  “Yeah. We did.”

  “Are you surprised?”

  “Nope, I am not. You?”

  “No. Surprisingly.”

  “Oh, James. There is a meeting of the Half-blood club in a few weeks. You might want to leave the house that night. We can get a little rowdy.”

  “The Half-blood club? What the hell is that?”

  “George, Hookey, and Jinx. I called them all this morning, and they are making
arrangements to be here in two weeks, for a sleep over. Oh, you might have to deal with one werewolf, two elves, and the dragon that you met at the investigation.. Maybe you could form some sort of poker night…?”

  He sat there for long minutes pondering his fate. This woman was quicksilver. Whenever he thought she was under control, she slipped away. He should just be thankful that she warned him.

  “Your friends are welcome in our house anytime.”

  Suddenly he was holding a lap full of mage. “Thank you for that.”

  “What, the girls night?”

  “No, the ‘our house’.” She gave him a slow kiss that curled his toes. “It means that I can move my stuff in, and feel at home. And that we are truly bonded, whether we planned it or not.”

  “So we can skip the girls night?” He looked pathetically hopeful.

  She threw her head back and laughed. “Not a chance. Love me, love my friends.”

  “Well. At least loving you is easy.” He shook his head, then dumped her back on her chair, and ate his breakfast.

  “Ah, you say that now, but wait until we host the Goblin Birthday Party. I’ll quiz you after that.” She grinned and then started laughing in earnest. Life had turned her plans upside down, and she couldn’t be more pleased. A Magus and a Warlock, who would have thought?

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  A compulsive crafter and sucker for a ‘happily ever after’, I spend my time avoiding anything related to housework. My hobbies have included needlework, metalwork, henna tattoos and costume design. Oh yeah, and writing. I love to write. A rabid sci-fi buff and nerd to the core.

  Visit Viola at:

  http://www.violagrace.com