Sophie Oak - Bound

“The women have gathered at the miller’s house,” Eiric offered. “Bri’s mother is very distraught. The queen would be very welcome there.”

“Assign a guard to the house,” Cian ordered.

“At least three,” Beck added.

Beck turned to her, but Meg knew her duty. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get dressed and go to Bri’s mother. Niall can take me. You and Ci go and find out what’s going on.”

Beck sighed and leaned down for a kiss. “Stay safe, wife.”

Meg held Beck’s hand as she reached up to kiss Cian. It felt so right when the three of them were physically connected. “You two do the same. Come and get me when you’re done.”

Beck whistled, and Sweeney appeared from the fields where he tended to run free during the day. As her husbands followed Eiric, Meg raced into the cottage, promising Niall she would be swift.

Meg quickly changed into soft brown trousers and a linen shirt. She shoved her boots on and laced up the black vest that completed the outfit. She had a more formal dress, but she wanted to be prepared to work if she had to.

Meg grabbed her satchel and draped it across her shoulder so it hung over her torso and rested against the opposite hip. She made sure she had the small medicinal kit Flanna had taught her to use. Just as she was going back out the door, the vampire computer caught her eye. She picked it up and slipped it into the satchel. It couldn’t hurt. If nothing else, it played movies from the Vampire plane. Perhaps a movie would entertain the children.

“I’m ready, Niall,” she called out as she walked through the door. “Niall?”

He was on the ground, his head at the oddest angle. Meg tried to get to Niall, but before she could reach the young man, a hand grabbed her arm. Ice seemed to flow up her skin, causing her to shiver.

“Not so fast, Your Highness,” a deep voice said.

Meg’s stomach turned as she looked up into red eyes. They smoldered from a cadaverous face. Meg remembered that face. It haunted her dreams. The Planeswalker’s skin was taut across his sharp bones like a corset that had been pulled far past its wearer’s comfort.

“What do you want?” Meg asked, forcing herself to breathe deeply.

There was no point in struggling. She could feel the strength in the demon’s claws. At this point, the wicked talons the demon possessed were merely brushing against her skin. Meg had no doubt they would sink into her flesh if she gave him the slightest provocation.

“What do I want? Oh, so many things, Your Highness,” the demon said with a rueful sigh.

He towered over Meg at roughly seven feet. His body was long and thin to the point of emaciation. He stared down at her. Those eyes were pitiless pools regarding her with curiosity. Meg didn’t know that she wanted a demon curious about her. “You really are their queen, you know. Even the hag has figured that out. Tell me something, have the twins come into their magic, yet? I rather think so. I can smell the power in this place now.”

“Why don’t you ask my husbands?” Meg tried. She knew it wouldn’t work. Niall was dead not three feet away. The Planeswalker hadn’t come to request an audience.

The demon chuckled. “I think not. I have a contract, you see. Someone is paying me to take you off the plane. Odd, isn’t it? You’re just a little cash cow, sweetheart. I made money stealing you from your plane, and now I make money taking you back. The village hag is paying me handsomely to get rid of you. She wanted me to kill you, but I told her she didn’t have enough to pay for that. I will have to stay away from this plane for a while as it is. If I killed you, I suspect the warrior half might never stop hunting me. I gave the hag a spell to take care of him, but I don’t trust her to get it right. I can’t have the warrior pursuing me.”

“The intellectual half wouldn’t be too happy, either,” Meg commented. She was trying not to think about the hag the demon mentioned. It was impossible. Someone in the village wanted to hurt Beck and Ci. She started to panic. They were in the village right now. What if Bri’s accident had really been a trap? “I don’t want to go back.”

A sly smile split the demon’s face. He showed jagged, sharp teeth. “Of course you don’t, dear. You’re a pathetic little nothing on your plane. Here, you’re a queen.” He shrugged. “It’s kind of a crappy kingdom, though. At least on the Earth plane you’ll have running water. Look at it that way, dear.”

“No,” Meg said, pulling her courage around her. “I won’t go.”

“You’re going to be trouble, aren’t you?” the demon asked. “Oh, well, we can do it the hard way, then.”

As the demon brought his fist down on Meg’s head, she wished she’d been smart enough to lie.

“Get moving, you bum,” someone muttered as Meg stirred awake.

She held her head. It was pounding as she pushed the newspaper off her body. Someone had covered her with it. As her eyes came into focus, she stared up. It was night, but she could barely see the stars. There was too much smog and too much light. The stars were so bright outside the cottage. Where was she? Only a few nights before, she and Cian had lain out in the grass, watching the stars and talking. Cian had told her his people’s stories for the constellations, and they’d made love on an old quilt beneath the nighttime sky. She couldn’t even see the stars now.

“Cian,” Meg said, suddenly sitting straight up. It did nothing for her headache. “Beck.” His name came out as a whisper.

“Miss, is there something we can help you with?” The question came from a middle-aged woman who stood at the end of an alley beside a well-dressed man. They stared down the short street where Meg had been lying against a huge metal dumpster. The smell was making her sick.

“Where am I?” Meg asked.

“How much have you had to drink, Miss?” the man asked. The woman elbowed him and sent him a dirty look. He sighed and answered Meg. “You’re in Fort Worth, Texas. You’re not far from Sundance Square. Did you get lost?”

Oh, boy, had she gotten lost. The trouble was she needed to get lost again.

“Did you see a big guy walk by? You couldn’t miss him. He’s really tall.” Meg struggled to her feet. She stretched her stiff limbs and wondered how long she’d been out.

“I haven’t seen anyone really tall,” the woman replied, shaking her head. “Do you need a homeless shelter? There’s a very nice one on Cypress Street.”

“I don’t need a homeless shelter,” Meg said between clenched teeth. “I need a Planeswalker demon.”

The man took the woman by the hand and forced her away. Meg sighed. She would have to watch her mouth on this plane. She walked out of the alley. It was half a block to the beginnings of Sundance. It seemed like she was moving through a dream. It was all familiar, but no longer hers.

Or was it? She looked at herself in the window of a restaurant. She was wearing brown pants, a white shirt and a black vest. She had on boots. It was what she had put on to go see the Miller’s wife. She wasn’t crazy. She had really gone to another plane and married two beautiful men. They needed her. Tears welled in her eyes.

What would happen to them? What happened when the bond was formed and then shut off? And the demon had said there was a hag after them. How was she going to get home?

Meg was pulled from her panic as she was jostled by a passerby. The sidewalks were crowded. Meg found herself pulled along with the throng. It was a mix of teens going to the movies, adults out on dates, families seeing the sights, and singles looking for the clubs and bars that dotted the square. They all had one thing in common. Not a one of them would believe she was the queen of another plane with two husbands who’d just come into their legendary powers and were now at risk because a fucking demon had carted her off the plane, again.