Glimmerglass

I turned to glare over my shoulder at Finn. He was rubbing one hand across his mouth, trying to hide a smile.

“Thanks a lot,” I growled at him. Maybe later, I’d see the humor in the situation, but not right now. I considered changing my mind about learning self-defense, but that would be too much like letting Keane win.

Finn shrugged. He was no longer smiling, but there was still a twinkle in his eyes. “His methods are, shall we say, unorthodox, but he’s a good teacher. He’d have made a great Knight, if he’d wished.” There was no missing the pride in Finn’s voice.

“So, are we going to have a lesson?” Keane asked, “or are we going to shoot the shit?”

Turning my back on Finn, I met Keane’s challenging gaze. “Next time, I won’t hesitate,” I promised him.

He nodded his approval. “Glad to hear it. Now move your ass.”

Man, I wished I hadn’t asked for this. Made it hard to complain about it, even if I wanted to. Figuring this was going to be one hell of a long morning, I followed Keane down into the garage.

I was right about it being a long morning. Keane would make the stereotypical drill sergeant seem like a gentle soul. He was arrogant. He was condescending. He was insulting. But damn it, he was good. He showed me all the places on the human body that were most vulnerable to attack, and what parts of my own body made the best weapons. Then he made me use those weapons, and if I didn’t hit hard enough, he made me pay for it.

By lunchtime, I was so exhausted I could barely move, and I ached all over. One problem with hitting hard—it hurts. But there was no way I would admit that to Keane, so I stifled all my complaints. I’d be lucky if I could get out of bed tomorrow once all the bruises and muscle aches really had a chance to set in.

I expected Keane to leave now that our lesson was over, but apparently Finn couldn’t let him out without breaking the extra wards my dad had put on the house after yesterday’s attack. Oh joy, we were stuck with him all day.

Shortly after lunch, the doorbell rang. It was the first time anyone other than Kimber had visited this house since I’d taken up residence. My nerves tingled, and my pulse raced. Did I dare hope this was my mom?

I started toward the spiral staircase, but even though Finn was all the way across the room from me, he made it there first.

“Stay here!” he ordered, and my eyes widened when I saw that he’d drawn a gun. Keane was sitting in the living room, looking bored and put upon. He showed not the slightest interest in Finn’s defensive measures.

The electric sensation of Finn’s magic prickled across my skin, even though I wasn’t wearing the cameo. He was in full bodyguard mode now, ready for anyone, human or Fae. He made his way down the stairs and into the empty garage with predatory grace. I crept down the first couple of steps, ready to bolt if Finn’s defensive preparations turned out to be necessary.

Finn peered through a peephole, and his posture didn’t relax any. “Can I help you?” he asked, without opening the door.

I didn’t have to hear more than “I’m Cathy” before I let out a choked scream and started hurtling down the steps.

“Mom!” I practically fell over myself I was so eager, and my quick descent of the spiral staircase made me dizzy.

“Dana!” I heard my mom shout.

I was flying toward the door, ready to jerk it open and throw myself into my mom’s arms. But there was a wall between me and the door, and its name was Finn.

If he’d been human and I’d barreled into him like that, we probably both would have gone down. But he wasn’t human, and the impact didn’t even seem to rattle him, though I bounced backward and he had to grab me to keep me from falling.

“Let go of me!” I tried to pull free, not with any real expectation that he’d let me go. “That’s my mom!”

“Dana? Dana, are you all right?” My mom was pounding frantically on the door now.

“She’s fine,” Finn said. “Everybody calm down a minute.”

“I don’t know who you are,” my mom shouted, “but if you lay hands on my daughter you’ll wish you were never born!”

Yeah, my mom can spout clichés with the best of them. Usually, I would roll my eyes when she did that, but right now I was too desperate to see her with my own eyes.

“I am your daughter’s bodyguard,” Finn said. I tried one of the kicks Keane had taught me, and my foot made solid contact with Finn’s shin. He winced, but I hadn’t been cold-blooded enough to kick with the kind of force I’d need to really hurt him. He wasn’t the enemy, after all. “And if I open the door for you, it will break some of the protective spells Seamus has put on the house. That would be inadvisable at the moment.”

“You have no right to keep my daughter from me!”

“It is for her own protection. There have been attempts made on her life. I’m sure you’d prefer she be as well defended as possible.”

Oh, yeah. Telling my mom people were trying to kill me was guaranteed to improve her state of mind. Not!

“I’m okay, Mom,” I said before she could throw a fit. “Between Dad’s spells and Finn, I’m as safe as if I were packed in with cotton. Please don’t worry.”

I winced at my mom’s wrenching sob. Usually, her tears don’t have much effect on me anymore, but there was no denying she had a legitimate reason to be upset. Worse, I couldn’t think of anything to say that would make her feel any better. I thought the knowledge that both Queens of Faerie were on my enemies list would drive her completely around the bend.