Trees in the Desert (Afterlife Book 8) Read online

  Contents

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY-ONE

  TWENTY-TWO

  TWENTY-THREE

  About the Author

  ONE

  Harper Hawthorne sat in her bedroom, looking through the pictures on her phone. They went back several years. She studied those of her parents, old friends, and new friends. There were tons of her and her best friend, and roommate, Brittney Conley. Most of all, she studied the pictures of Conner Kingsley.

  She'd met him when she joined Afterlife. He was an incubus, but for a reason unknown to her, she was immune to his charms. They'd become friends first, and after a while they'd started dating. Their relationship had never turned physical, though she was certain Conner would have been more than ready to take that next step.

  They wouldn't be taking it now, though. Conner had broken up with her after their last mission. He'd said she could never love him the way she loved Alec Morodan and that it wasn't fair to either of them. She couldn't blame him; she knew it was true.

  She also knew she cared for Conner greatly, and she hated that she'd hurt him. She stopped at a picture of the two of them. They were both laughing as they took a selfie together. She couldn't deny that he was handsome, with his dirty blond hair and blue eyes. He had a great smile.

  Harper wished it could have worked out with them. He'd told her that maybe in the future, they could have a relationship, but only after she moved on completely from Alec.

  But could she? There were no pictures of Alec on her phone to look at. He hated having his picture taken. He was burned into her mind though; she didn't need a picture to summon up his face. He had long dark hair and darker eyes. She remembered a time when he wore a motorcycle jacket. She thought he was cool the first time she'd seen him.

  Part of Harper blamed Ileana for her attraction to the vampire. Her great-grandmother had been in love with him first, and they shared a special connection through the locket that Harper wore.

  She pulled it out from beneath her shirt, opened it, and studied Ileana's image. They could have passed for sisters. She cradled the locket in her hand and closed her eyes.

  She was transported to a time long past, on a small hill overlooking a village. There was snow, and she was cold. She was wearing Ileana's clothing, and she wore her face too. She made her way to the village below, and saw two twins run by. She was used to them by now, but still found them incredibly beautiful.

  Alec was waiting, as he always was.

  "Ileana," he said. "I've missed you."

  "I missed you too," she said. She knew he wasn't talking to her, not to Harper, but to the woman he thought she was. She relished in the moment anyway. "I've missed you more than you could know."

  "Are you okay?" he asked. "You look... different."

  She reached up and touched his face, something she could never do as Harper. "Tell me that you love me."

  "You know I do."

  "Say it then."

  Alec reached out and put a hand under her chin. He tilted her face up so their eyes locked; her green ones and his dark brown ones. "Ileana," he said softly, "I love you. Now and forever, I love you."

  "I love you too," she said.

  Then she forced her eyes open and stared at the picture on her phone, the one of her and Conner. How could she have used him like she did? How could she date him when she knew she loved another? She'd even cheated him on once, in Phoenix. It had been spur of the moment. Alec had been hurting, and she'd comforted him. The act weighed on her conscious daily.

  "I hate you," she whispered, talking to herself. "I hate you, Harper Hawthorne."

  If her great-grandmother was alive, she would be so disappointed. She'd told her as much in Phoenix, when Harper had called on her to ask for advice between the two. Your friends are in danger, and you're worried about boys.

  None of her friends were in danger right now, though that wouldn't last long. They had a new job to do. They had to help the fey. And here she was again, worrying about men.

  Since she didn't want a lecture from the long dead Ileana, she instead called her mother.

  "Hello?"

  "Hi, Mom," Harper said.

  "Hi, dear," Serena Hawthorne said. "It's been a long time. I'm glad you called. How are you?"

  "I'm alright," Harper said. "How are you and Dad?"

  "You know your father," Serena said. "He won't admit he's having fun on the vacation, but I can tell he is. How are you and Brittney? Her mother called me, you know. She said something funny. She said you two were part of the FBI. Was that some kind of joke?"

  "No," Harper said. "We went through a course. It was quick, but intensive and we had to keep it a secret until we finished our job. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. Our boss said it was a need-to-know thing."

  Serena laughed. "That's alright, dear. You're an adult. You can do what you want. Just be careful, dear, it's a dangerous job."

  "Don't I know it," Harper said. "Mom, that's not why I called. I did something bad."

  "Oh honey, I doubt that," Serena said. "But tell me about it."

  "I fell in love," Harper said.

  There was a moment of silence. "Harper, that's great! Who is he? Or is it a she? I heard Brittney's dating a woman now."

  "She is, her name's Chloe McAllister," Harper confirmed. "But mine isn't a she. The guy I fell in love with is... unattainable. He's not on the market for dating. We could never work out. We decided that a long time ago."

  Serena sighed. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. That happens, though. I once fell in love with a married man -- took me ages to get over him. Thank God I met your father."

  Harper shook her head. "That's not the bad part, Mom. The bad part is I tried dating someone else, to get over him, I guess. And I cheated on him... with the first guy."

  Serena said nothing for a moment, and Harper was sure she was in shock. "Harper... dear..."

  "I know," Harper said. "I got caught up in a moment. It only happened the once. But I feel terrible about it. In fact, the second guy and I broke up. I'm not with anyone now, but I'm still in love with the first guy, and I still care about the second one. What am I supposed to do?"

  "There's nothing you can do," Serena said. "You can't date someone while you're in love with someone else, Harper. It's not fair to either of you. My advice is to wait it out. You'll get over him. If he's truly someone you can't be with."

  "He is."

  "Then wait it out, honey, and know that your father and I love you very much. People make mistakes. Don't blame yourself."

  "Thanks Mom. When will you be back? I'd love to see you."

  She could almost see Serena's smile through the phone. "Just ten more days, honey, and we'll have a nice long conversation about this then. Until then, just try and feel better, alright? Your father and I have somewhere we have to be right now, honey, but call if you need us."

  "Thanks Mom. I'll talk to you later."

  After she hung up, Harper frowned. She got up, took a shower, and dressed for the day. Brittney was waiting out in the living room. As usual, she looked beautiful with her black hair and a dashing red dress. She wore knee-high boots that were flat on the bottom -- better for running in.

  "Hey, girl," Brittney said.

 
"Hey."

  Their chocolate lap puppy ran up to Harper and pawed at her legs. Harper knelt down to pet her. "Hey Ash, yes, I didn't forget you."

  "How are you doing?" Brittney asked immediately. When Harper looked over at her, she saw sympathy on Brittney's face, which she didn't like. She didn't want anyone feeling sorry for her. The breakup was hurtful, but it was mutual, and they were still friends and co-workers.

  "Tired and hungry," Harper said. "You didn't by chance make breakfast, did you?"

  Brittney did most of the cooking. She hadn't used to; she used to live off fast food and frozen meals, but since she'd on a more serious approach to life, Brittney had begun making more substantial meals.

  Brittney rapped her fingers on the couch. "I wasn't asking if you're hungry. I was asking about how you're doing with the whole Conner thing."

  "I'm fine," Harper said.

  Brittney studied her for a moment. "Your boyfriend breaks up with you and your fine? Are you sure you're not just suppressing it?"

  Harper rolled her eyes. "When did you become my therapist?"

  Brittney smirked as she stood up and went to the fridge. "You want ham in your omelet?"

  "Sure."

  "You know, this is probably a good thing," Brittney said, as she cracked eggs into a bowl and whisked them together. "Now you can get together with Alec."

  "No, I can't," Harper said. "All my reasons for staying away from him haven't changed, Brittney. We're just not meant to be, just like he wasn't meant to be with Ileana."

  "Love is supposed to conquer all," Brittney said. "Isn't that what we learned on our last case?"

  Harper sat down at the table, silently contemplating for a couple of minutes. "Well sometimes it doesn't, and that's something I'm just going to have to accept," she finally said.

  "Fine," Brittney said. "But we can at least follow our post-break up traditions, right? Go get drunk, flirt with everyone, and dance until our feet fall off?"

  "No," Harper said.

  Brittney made a face at her as she dumped the omelets on plates and put them on the table. She brought them over and sat down on the other side of the table.

  "We can't do that," Harper said. "We have work to do, remember? We have to help the fey. We're supposed to be meeting Marissa later today."

  "Do you think Chloe is nervous?" Brittney asked. "She hasn't been home in years."

  "You haven't asked her?"

  Brittney shook her head.

  "Why not?"

  "I don't know," Brittney admitted. "I guess I'm just worried. What if she realizes that she belongs there and not here with us? With me?"

  "She won't," Harper assured her.

  "Good," Brittney said. "Because we have that dinner with my parents soon."

  Harper swallowed a bite of egg. "Are you sure you want me there?"

  "Absolutely," Brittney said. "I don't think I can face my parents without you. Besides, Chloe wants you there too. She's nervous. We invited Peter too."

  "How has your brother been doing?"

  Brittney shrugged. "I haven't heard from him lately. Hopefully he's staying out of trouble."

  Once the two of them were done eating, they put their plates in the sink and headed over to Afterlife in Brittney's SUV. They almost always took her car because Harper's was pretty beat up. She could afford a new one but she hadn't yet decided what she wanted. Besides that, she still felt bad about spending money from her Afterlife account on unnecessary things.

  Everyone was waiting in the back room for them. Conner gave Harper a large hug, to show there were no hard feelings, and then everyone went to the conference room. Marissa was waiting inside.

  "About time you two got here," Alec said. "We've been waiting for an hour."

  "We had to eat breakfast," Brittney said. "You know, it's the most important meal of the day. Alec, are you sure you should be going with us? It's daytime."

  "I'll be fine," Alec told her, turning to Marissa. "Now, what's the plan?"

  Marissa smiled at them. "I'm going to take you someplace that humans never go. I'm going to take you into the forest."

  "There are no forests around here, in the middle of the desert," Sarah Conner said. "Unless you're talking about the scattering of trees up in the mountains."

  "There's a forest here that you can't see," Marissa said. "We're a very guarded people. Our home is well hidden. Come now, it's time to leave."

  TWO

  Alec felt the sun blaring down on him. He felt weak, and he couldn't transform. He knew it was a price of being a vampire. When it was daytime, he was more or less useless. So he carried a gun with him at all times. It was better safe than sorry.

  He didn't think he'd run into any trouble where they were going, though. They fey were peaceful creatures. Unless, of course, you counted Chloe when they'd first met. She'd tried to stake him. The memory still brought a smile to his face. She was his first real friend since Ileana.

  Marissa led them out of the city, but Alec had no idea where they were going. They walked instead of taking a car and he felt sick by the time they arrived. Harper kept sending him glances and he knew she was worried about him. He shrugged off her concern. He appreciated it, but it was unnecessary. He'd been taking care of himself long before they'd ever met.

  Eventually, they reached a small group of trees. Alec looked around. Was this the fabled home of the fey? It was only three trees. Then Marissa put her hand on one, causing the world to glimmer, and an entire forest opened up before their eyes.

  "What is this place?" Brittney asked.

  "This is the home of the fey," Marissa said.

  "How does nobody know this is here?" Harper asked.

  "Because nobody looks," Chloe supplied. "It's camouflaged. You can only see it if you're fey, or if you're with a fey."

  "Come with me," Marissa said as she led them into the forest. It was a village, surrounded by great trees. There were houses made from logs that bent and angled to create homes. There was no stone roads, just dirt covered in pine needles and grass.

  "It's beautiful," Alec said. In all of his hundred years of being alive, he'd never seen anything like it. There was an iridescent glow that lit everything up and he could see magic emanating from every corner.

  A tall fairy with long blond hair approached them. "Marissa," he greeted. They kissed each others' cheeks. Then he looked at her guests. "You've brought those who are not our kind into our home."

  "They're here to help us," Marissa said. She pointed out each member of Afterlife, introducing them one by one. Then she said, "This is Frederick."

  Frederick moved forward, kissing the cheek of each of the women and shaking hands with each of the men. When he grasped Alec's hand, he paused. "You are not welcome here."

  "What?"

  "We do not allow flesh-eaters in our domain," Frederick said. "You will have to leave. Normally, we would kill you simply for entering, but out of respect for Marissa, I will let you leave with your life."

  Before Alec could argue, Marissa held up a hand. "He's here as a guest of mine, Frederick. He's the leader of Afterlife. They're going to help us figure out the problem that's been plaguing our home. If you force him to leave, the rest will likely follow."

  "That's right," Conner said. "It's all or none."

  Frederick sighed. "I suppose an exception may be made on this account. Tell me, flesh-eater, do you partake in drinking?"

  "No," Alec said. "Not for many years. I prefer hamburgers. Rare, sometimes, but never blood. I'm not a flesh-eater, either. My name is Alec. I'd appreciate if you could use it instead."

  Frederick studied him for a moment and then bowed his head. "Forgive me. We have had problems lately and we are on edge. Alec, you will be allowed here, as long as you abide by our laws."

  "So what are these problems you're having?" Sarah asked. "What are we here to help with?"

  "Demons," Frederick said. "We are hidden, but demons have been stumbling upon our home. We kill them, of course, with our own
powerful magic. If one escapes, he could bring others back, and we could have a war on our hands. We need to find out what it is that is allowing demons to find our home."

  The group looked at each other. If Alec had been expecting anything, it hadn't been that. Demons hated fey in general.

  "Your satyrs aren't keeping it hidden?" Chloe asked.

  "No," Frederick said. "They sing still, and they lead our people, but they are unable to hide our home anymore. We do not know why. Please solve this problem for us."

  "We will," Alec promised.

  Marissa smiled. "Perhaps you would like to look around. It is not often that visitors come to our home. If you observe the place, perhaps you will have come up with some kind of explanation."

  "We'll do that," Conner said. He looked around at the others. "Should we split up into groups then?"

  "I'm going alone," Chloe said quickly.

  Brittney looked over at her, and so did the others. Alec was surprised; he would have thought that the two women would go together considering their relationship. He wondered what was going through Chloe's head. It was her first time back into the land of the fey. Perhaps she didn't want anyone else to see her emotions, even her girlfriend.

  Brittney looked hurt, but quickly hid it behind a smile. "Of course."

  "I'll go with Conner," Alec said. "Sarah, you, Harper and Brittney can go together."

  "Sounds good," Harper said.

  Alec knew she was grateful that he hadn't paired her with Conner. He would have liked to have paired her with himself, but he didn't know how she'd feel about being alone with him. He turned his attention to the fairies. "Marissa, Frederick, do you want to show us around or are we free to look on our own?"

  Marissa and Frederick looked at each other. Then Marissa spoke up. "I think it is better if you get an unbiased look at our home. We will let the others know you're visiting, but we will be here when you are done with your search. Please, take your time. We want to make sure that everything is observed and considered."

  Alec and Conner went one way and the girls went another. Chloe went off on her own. She walked with determination and Alec couldn't help but wonder where she was going.