L. BANKS: Cursed To Death

The fourth book in the Crimson Moon series, 2009

Excerpt from Never Cry Werewolf copyright © 2009 by Leslie Esdaile Banks.

New Orleans… French Quarter

Sir Rodney took a sip of Fae ale, feeling the buzz of the lager hit his bloodstream. The thick malt caused a pleasant hum that finally began to lift his spirits. Under the circumstances, it was good to see Ethan McGregor’s establishment filled with happy patrons. The Fair Lady was a good place for his constituents to see their king out and about enjoying life as though he hadn’t a care in the world… as though nothing was amiss.

It was important to keep up appearances even as darkness crept upon them. In the three hundred years he’d ruled, he’d never seen anything as devastating. Fae magick was under attack and not even his top advisors could stop it. Even his most trusted investigator had come up empty-handed. But it had to be dealt with and eradicated before the Midsummer Night’s Ball a few evenings hence. It had to be or everything would fall to ruin.

His personal bodyguard, MacDougall, inclined his head closer, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Milord,” the bodyguard murmured in a discreet tone. “The young lady is trying to get your attention.”

“Indeed,” Sir Rodney said quietly as he made eye contact with the gorgeous redhead across the room. Clearly she was performing tonight; her low-cut semi-sheer red costume told him that. He watched her saunter over, her large breasts swaying with each step. Despite her delicate bone structure, her body was lush in all the right places. Red stilettos made her long legs seem to go on forever and a flicker of flame haunted her pretty green eyes. Something settled into place within him. This was what he needed. To lose himself, to completely drown himself in the fire and passion of a lovely Phoenix.

“Desidera,” he said with a gallant smile as he stood when she arrived at his table. Rich, dark hair spilled over his broad shoulders as he leaned forward to kiss her gently at the corner of her mouth.

He frowned and MacDougall gave him a sidelong glance. Something was wrong.

“Sir Rodney,” she said calmly, but he could hear the agitation beneath it, “please sit down or you’ll cause a stir.”

If anyone was causing a stir it was she, but he could see that Desidera was in no mood to tease.

“Desi, what-”

She looked him right in the eye and said, “Foul magick is afoot, is it not?”

Sir Rodney froze and his bodyguard went on full alert. He felt his best man step forward, but Sir Rodney made a slight gesture with his hand telling his guard to stand down.

“What are you talking about?” he said, his face giving nothing away.

“Please, Your Highness,” she said softly and she touched his arm gently. “Sit.” Her eyes held fear; this was no game.

This time he slowly complied, folding his athletic build back into his chair. She slid into the seat opposite him.

Desidera glanced nervously around the crowded room before leaning forward and speaking to him in a private murmur. “Rodney, I must talk to you in secret tonight. It is of the utmost importance.”

“Tell me now,” he said, his voice soft but dangerous.

She shook her head. “Too many eyes and too many ears… What I have to say is crucial, but it cannot be done here out in the open.”

His gaze was hard as he stared at her. “Tell me where and when I can meet you, then.”

“At my apartment,” she said.

“No, if it is a matter of such urgency,” Sir Rodney said, “then I will have one of my guards relay a message to Ethan McGregor that I needed to meet with you. It will be a king’s request for his-”

“No, Rodney, please. I have to dance tonight. Everything has to appear as it always has been. But bring a guard with you when you come… I don’t know if I’ve been discovered, and if anything happens to you-”

He reached out and took her hand, suddenly seeing how distressed she was. “I’ll meet you at the end of your shift and we will escort you home. You can tell me then.” He squeezed her fingers. “It will be fine.”

Desidera nodded as two large tears rose in her glittering green eyes before she blinked them away. She stood with great flourish, gathering the brightly colored plumes of her dancing costume about her. She leaned down, placing a hand on his shoulder, and brought her lips close to his ear. It looked like an intimate exchange between lovers. “I have hidden it in the wine cellar,” she murmured. “I’ll collect it then will meet you in the dressing room.” She squeezed his shoulder, then leaned back and smiled at him. “And I appreciate the escort.”

Sir Rodney looked up at her, his expression serious. “Desi, you’re in danger. I can take you back to the Sidhe immediately. Know that you have amnesty at the castle. As a matter of fact, tell me why I shouldn’t do it right now?”

She gave him her first true smile. “Relax, Your Highness. I’ll be fine on stage. I already feel better that you’re here.”

“You trust me?”

“Without fail,” she said, then leaned down again and this time kissed him for real. It was a passionate kiss, just like the woman, but over all too quickly.

Sir Rodney licked his lips. He could taste her fear. “Desi-”

“Later,” she said, caressing his cheek. Then she turned with a flourish and walked away.

Sir Rodney watched her go. He clenched his fist on the table before forcing his hand to relax. Only his bodyguard noticed the slight trembling in his fingers.

Sasha stooped down and kept her fingers just above the ashes at her feet. Still warm. The acrid scent of burned Phoenix flesh stung her nose as she surveyed the charred remains.

This was so not how she wanted to return to New Orleans, but she’d do anything to help Sir Rodney the way he’d helped their Wolf Clans. And as tragic as it was, what had happened in Ethan’s wine cellar gave her a cover for the nervous energy she’d been feeling ever since the invitation came. Shogun would also be here for the annual Midsummer Night’s Ball, and her jumpiness wasn’t appreciated by Hunter. It had taken everything within her to hide her excitement, as well as the guilt that went along with it. However, this new situation made all that go away.

Without her having to evade his razor senses, Hunter now assumed her previous nervousness had to do with somehow picking up on what lay at her feet. Which sucked, on a variety of levels.

A twinge of guilt twisted in her side as Sasha looked up at Ethan McGregor. “Who found the body?”

“Sir Rodney and his best man,” Ethan McGregor said quietly.

“We’re going to need to talk to them more thoroughly,” Hunter said in a low rumble. “Where is Sir Rodney?”

“In my office… after he witnessed this, we necessarily removed our monarch from this… this awful sight. He is up there with his bodyguard.”

Sasha gave Hunter a glance. “Did she say anything about why she was down here? Is there anyone you know of who might have wanted to hurt her?”

The establishment owner shook his head and let out a weary sigh. “I don’t know why she came down here, but I do know that she wouldn’t hurt a fly, and everyone loved Desi. She was well liked by everyone here at The Fair Lady. Everyone. Desi had been working for me for over ten years… I’ve never seen anyone who got on so well with others. That was Desi. She and Penelope, my other Phoenix dancer, came to town together and are from the same rookery. They were like sisters. I don’t even know how to begin to tell Penelope.”