i groaned, putting my hands up to my ears to block out his voice... but the voice was inside my head... it was graeme... but he was inside... and i had to block him out, but the more i tried the more i realized... the voice is yours, jane.

the voice was mine. and i did want it... i was his slut, his fuck toy, to be used and discarded, and only his pleasure mattered because his pleasure was my pleasure was his pleasure...

graeme's searingly cold blue eyes were right in front of me, so i crawled forward, toward him... your lover...

... my lover...

and then his hands were in my hair as he jerked my head up so that i knelt in front of him. gus's small fists pummeled at my lover's torso, but they were ignored until, with a negligible flick of his wrist, graeme flung the stone spirit away with his power.

in that second, his power divided by gus's assault, graeme's hold on me broke just enough that i struggled, hard, suddenly remembering who and where i was. and that graeme was anything but my lover.

in that split second, two things happened.

the first was that graeme grinned evilly as he hauled me up to my feet and toward him. but instead of biting me, as i'd expected, he only whispered in my ear.

the second was that nell's power blossomed through the glade like a mushroom cloud. the force of her mojo shook all of us to our bones as she stood atop gus's boulder, peering around to get a bead on the situation.

then, with another huge outpouring of power, she apparated all of the bad guys out of her territory and, hopefully, straight to the moon.

once i knew gus and i were safe, i used all my remaining energy to stay upright.

"what happened?" nell demanded, levitating over to check on me and the stone spirit.

raising my head wearily, i looked the gnome in the eyes.

"something tells me we just found the first lock," i said, feeling my knees buckle.

without graeme's hand in my hair, i was in no shape to keep myself upright. so i tumbled to the side, where i was caught at the last second by large, strong hands.

anyan's face was more than a little worried when he turned me over, asking how i was. "he was in my mind," i babbled. "in my head, like he was me. telling me what i wanted, who i was-"

"shhh, jane. i know. he can do that," anyan said, stroking his hand across my cheek. i had to remind myself that it was anyan's hands, not graeme's. then i remembered what graeme had said, and i shuddered, pulling away from the barghest.

sitting up, i drew my jean jacket tighter around me. "why didn't you tell me he could do that? why didn't i know?"

"i'm sorry," anyan replied, letting me move away from him. "there was so much to teach you, and so little time."

"why did he never do that before?" i asked.

"um..." anyan said, clearly trying to figure out what to say. "he didn't really have to before," the big man finally said, sounding embarrassed. it took me a second, and then i cottoned to what he was saying.

i'd been so weak before that graeme didn't need to pull out his big guns.

i bit my tongue on the nasty retort i had waiting. i was letting graeme get to me, and taking it out on the barghest.

but what graeme said... came an insidious thought that, try as i might, kept worming deeper into my consciousness.

shivering, i looked toward where nell knelt over gus. what i really wanted to do was take a scrub brush and lysol my brain. but if i couldn't do that, i wanted a distraction. no more thinking about graeme.

"is gus all right?" i asked, even as i forced myself to take a deep breath. but i couldn't stop thinking about what graeme had said to me.

anyan is anyan. graeme is graeme. and a liar, i reminded myself, even as i focused on nell.

"he's hurt. anyan's stabilized him, but i think we should get him to caleb or dr. sam," answered the gnome.

"can you apparate us?" i asked, wanting to get right the fuck out of this glen so i could think straight. i felt like i was wearing graeme residue, and i needed to get away, to where i was only me again.

"yes. you both ready?" she asked.

i nodded and stood, as anyan moved toward me. i tensed, but didn't let myself move away.

it's anyan, i told myself, trying to get graeme out of my head. it's anyan. don't let that monster get to you.

so i held still as anyan walked to my side. i held still as the barghest raised his hand. i didn't flinch when he took my chin between his fingers.

"are you okay?" he asked.

i forced myself to nod, and i forced myself to say, "i'll be all right. just really freaked out."

anyan nodded to me and then nodded to nell.

"we're ready to go."

it was only when nell's magic surrounded me that i allowed the long, rolling shudder to work its way up and through my body. for every time anyan touched me, i heard graeme whispering again.

don't act innocent, slut. i know that's just how your barghest likes it.

chapter nine

i think dr. sam is stoned," i whispered to trill, who nodded gravely.

"he was with amy," she whispered back, and i grimaced. that would explain the red eyes. and the fact that the goblin was wearing only boxer shorts and a few multicolored leis.

"is gus going to be okay?" i asked, from where i sat next to the kelpie. she'd taken anyan's overstuffed chair, and i was perched on the arm. gus was stretched out on anyan's sofa as caleb and dr. sam attended to the little stone spirit.

"he'll be fine by tomorrow. he got quite a knock to the head, but we got to him before his brain could swell too much," caleb's deep voice rumbled.

i grimaced as dr. sam giggled delightedly and totally inappropriately.

"why on earth did they attack gus?" anyan asked. he was sitting on his fireplace ledge across the room from me.

"who knows?" nell replied, rocking away in the littler rocker she apparated everywhere with her. "but it was definitely a coordinated attack. phaedra got my attention and kept anyan and me busy while her entourage went after gus."

"they weren't after gus," i interrupted. "they were interested in his rock."

"his rock?" anyan asked. "why on earth would they want gus's rock?"

"why on earth would they want gus?" trill countered, voicing what we were all secretly thinking.

"a great big fucking zen garden?" dr. sam questioned the universe.

"maybe," i conceded to our stoned doctor's wisdom. "or maybe there's something on or inside that rock we've never noticed. i'm betting it is, or it houses, one of the locks. we need to check it out, carefully."

caleb nodded. "definitely. but how about in the morning? we're all tired, and it's not going anywhere. plus, i left iris alone."

none of us missed the plaintive note in his voice, and nell smiled at him.

"home you go, caleb. thank you for your help."

caleb's magic gathered as he gave gus one last once-over before saying his good-byes. after which nell apparated him back to iris in a burst of magic, tousled-blond hair, and enormous schlong.

lucky iris, my libido sighed, jealously.

then i nearly jumped out of my skin as a hand brushed beneath my hair to grip my nape gently. anyan (to whom, i reminded myself for about the twentieth time, i need to attach a bell) tilted my head away from him to reveal the vulnerable shell of my ear, just a little, as he leaned down toward me. my whole body shivered.

and not in a way that has anything to do with graeme, my libido purred, although my brain was still swirling around discontentedly.

"don't leave with the others," anyan growled into my ear. "i want to know what happened."

trill got up from the chair, giving us some space as she gave me a cheeky side-eye. then she went and whispered to nell.

"can we leave gus here for the night?" the gnome asked, nodding at trill's words as she stood up from her rocking chair. she walked over to the stone spirit, placing a small hand on his forehead. "i could apparate him, but he's so peaceful. and i'm not entirely sure where he sleeps."

"it's fine, nell. let him rest," anyan said as his hand began to massage the back of my neck in a way that neither my overactive brain nor libido could argue with. my eyes closed as my body relaxed. his touch was so strong and possessive, and i felt almost hypnotized by my desire to submit...

just like graeme made me feel.

i sat bolt upright, dislodging anyan's hand with the force of my movement. he cast me an iron look just as we heard a thud.

dr. sam, giggling, had ended up ass over teakettle from where he'd tried to sit in nell's rocking chair. his long, scaly green limbs waved in the air as he chortled, his lei tangled around his head.

nell sighed and wiggled her fingers. dr. sam poofed out, no doubt apparated back to amy and her famous five-foot glass bong. then the little woman nodded her goodbyes to us and poofed away herself and the kelpie.