“She already started. Or rather, she was giving him an earful—and you do not want to know what kind of language she was using—but by the time she finished, she had backed him outside to the porch. I was starting to follow, I didn’t want her out there alone with him, when the wards went off. I rushed out in time to see Camille racing for the backyard. Hayoto was following her. I came back in to grab my coat here.”
“It’s a demon on the land.” Shade looked up from his notebook. “But I can’t tell you what kind, though it’s probably a bloatworgle.”
Roz nodded. “We don’t know where they went. I was about to head out to find her, but Vanzir said you were pulling in so I decided to wait.”
A bloatworgle. Bloated and putrid, the demons were nasty, and they could breathe fire. They also could gut a cow with one swipe of their long, taloned claws.
The alcohol fled from Morio’s body in a rush of adrenaline—one of the perks of being a youkai. “I’m on my way. You said toward the back?”
“We think it came in through the rogue portal on the land.” Shade turned around, a serious look on his face. “Delilah is on her way home from her martial arts program. I called Menolly and she’ll be home as soon as she can make sure the bar’s covered.”
“We don’t have time to wait. Come on.” Morio turned to Trillian. “Let’s go. Roz, you head toward the pond, just in case they went that way. Vanzir, stay here and guard the house with Shade.”
Trillian was headed toward the utility room where they kept spare weapons. “Let me grab a weapon. You need one?”
“I am one.” His expression grim, Morio headed for the kitchen door.
BACKYARD WAS A misnomer. Stretching out for close to fifteen acres, the land stretched into forest and wetlands, and eventually came to Birchwater Pond. The rogue portal lie west of the pond, through what had been a stand of tall grass until the guys had built Iris and Bruce’s house.
One of the few places the house could be easily placed, it meant that Iris had a rogue portal basically across the street from her. She wasn’t thrilled about the idea, but there was no help for it. During the autumn before, they had laid a sidewalk from the main house to Iris’s place.
The thought had first been to use cobblestones, but even though they were pretty, the face of the stones was incredibly slick during the rainy season, and the mold grew faster than it could be power washed away. It was just part and parcel of living in the NW. Mold made streets slick. Mud made paths both nasty and slick. So they opted for a simple concrete sidewalk, wide enough for a wheelbarrow, strollers, and whatever else might be needed. The sidewalk was wet, but it was clean of debris as Morio raced along it, Trillian close on his heels.
As they passed Iris’s house, it was lit up, and Chase was standing guard at the front porch.
Morio paused. “Did you see them go by?”
“Yeah. We have a warding system set up here too. When it went off I came out to see what was going on. Camille and some strange man went racing past. Iris is alone with the babies or I would have gone after them. Bruce is at a meeting at the UW tonight.”
“Which way did they go?”
“Camille headed off over toward the Standing Tree.” Chase pointed to one of the trees. They’d nicknamed it the Standing Tree because it had a double trunk, looking for all the world like a man standing with spread legs. “The guy who was with her followed her into the brush.”
Morio started out at a dead run again, with Trillian right behind him. Behind him, Chase said something but neither managed to catch what it was.
The night closed in around them as they plunged into the eight-foot tall patch of Scotch broom that led to the rogue portal. A rough path had been carved through the gorse, thanks to the guards from Talamh Lonrach Oll. But obviously, somebody was off their game tonight, because there were no guards in sight.
Rounding a curve, Morio skidded to a stop. Up ahead, the portal shimmered between two trees. Near it, he could see Camille—she was building energy, that much he could tell, drawing it down from the hidden moon overhead. To her left, stood the bloatworgle, one gorilla-like arm holding Hayoto by the collar. Hayoto was unconscious…if he was still alive at all.
The bloatworgle let out a roar but Camille stood her ground.
Morio began to shift into his demonic form, but as he was in mid-transformation, the bloatworgle brought Hayoto’s hand up to his mouth, about to bite down.
“No you don’t!” Camille launched a bolt of energy in the demon’s direction. The bloatworgle roared, shooting a mouthful of fire toward the Moon witch.
Trillian leaped toward her, but the fire caught her full force before he could reach her side. She screamed as flames licked at her gown, sending wisps of smoke up as the material began to spark and sputter.
Horrified, Morio waded in, smashing at the demon. The bloatworgle dropped Hayoto and turned toward him. Fully eight feet tall and terrifying in his demonic fury, Morio caught the creature full force with a blow to the head. The demon lurched back, but came at him again.
The bloatworgle opened his mouth to send a breath of fire but, once again, Morio slammed his fist into the creature’s face. He grabbed the bloatworgle by the neck and squeezed.
The demon slashed out with his long talons, clipping Morio across the chest. Blood began to seep from the gash marks lining his torso, but the sear of pain only drove the youkai-kitsune’s fury on.
The sight of Camille, burned and weeping, as Trillian cautiously moved her out of the way…the sight of his cousin prone on the ground…it was all enough to send Morio over the edge. He whirled on the bloatworgle, in a frenzy of anger, slashing with his own claws. Blood sprayed through the air. Once again, Morio let go with a right hook that caught the creature under the chin. An audible crack split the air, as the bloatworgle landed on the ground.
Morio leaped, landing square atop him, his meaty fists coming down. He dug deep with his claws, eviscerating the bloatworgle. The demon groaned and clutched his belly, a short burst of flame flaring out of his mouth as he let loose one last shriek and fell silent.
With one last glance at the portal to make certain no more followed the first, Morio quietly shifted back to his human form and ran to Camille’s side.
Trillian was cradling her in his arms. Several large blisters had formed on her skin, but he had managed to strip off the smoldering clothing before a painful injury could become life-threatening.
“She’s going to have a few scars and hurt like hell for a couple weeks, but if we get her back to the house now, she should be all right, I think.” Trillian glanced at Morio. “You should shift back into youkai form. You can carry her easier. I’ll see to your cousin.”
Morio nodded. Once again, he transformed. Gently lifting Camille into his arms, he winced as she let out a moan. Without another word, he began to quickly, smoothly, lope back to the house.
IRIS HAD HUSTLED up to take care of Camille, leaving Chase to watch the babies. She and Hanna were laying out their ointments and salves, arguing over what would be best to use. Vanzir headed back to the rogue portal to find out what had happened to the guards and make certain no stray sparks from the bloatworgle had started any fires.
Hanna finally agreed to tend to Hayoto, while Iris undressed Camille and examined her wounds.
“She’ll live, but she’s going to be in a world of hurt while she mends. But these aren’t serious enough for us to send for the medic. She’s lucky you were there to pull the burning cloth away from her. Somebody fill the bathtub. Make certain the water is cool, but not cold. Slightly cooler than lukewarm, but no more. And I need some antibiotic soap.” Iris motioned to Morio. “Carry her to the bathroom when the tub is ready. Gently—very gently—lower her into the tub.”
“I hurt like a son of a bitch,” Camille moaned, trying to sit up.
Iris pushed her back. “Hush. You lie down and let me look you over. All the damage appears to be on your front side.”
“How’s Hayoto?” Morio turned to Hanna.
“He’ll be all right. Looks like he was knocked unconscious but his eyes are beginning to flicker and I don’t see any obvious bumps or lumps.”
“He’s lucky he still has his hand.” Morio gritted his teeth as he lifted Camille and carried her into the downstairs bathroom. At that moment, the front door opened and Delilah rushed through. She was panting.
“I got stuck in traffic. What happened?” She spied Camille and let out a gasp. “What the hell—”
“Walk and talk, woman.” Iris bustled past. “Morio, get her in the tub. I’m going to get some clean sheets and arrange them on the sofa. Nerissa, you go tell Chase I’ll be staying up here tonight to keep an eye on things. I’ll pump some breast milk while I’m waiting and you can take it down for him to feed the babies. He’s good at that.”
Nerissa nodded, heading out the door. Nobody messed with Iris when she took control.
Once Camille’s wounds were clean—and the soot was washed away—Iris slathered her burns with a thin layer of salve and then loosely bandaged the open blisters with light gauze. After they settled Camille on the sofa, Hanna brought her a cup of charyo tea, a powerful pain reliever.
“What happened out there?” Morio sat down by her side.
“Your cousin and I were arguing on the porch. The wards went off and I could feel the bloatworgle. Well, I didn’t know it was a bloatworgle at the time, but I could feel Demonkin near.” She paused to shift position, wincing as she did so. “I headed to the portal and your cousin followed. He was yammering in my ear, asking what the hell was going on, when the bloatworgle jumped out from behind a bush and smacked him over the head. It was going to kill him, so I body slammed the thing and drew its attention. The bloatworgle and I got into it, but as I was regrouping, summoning up the Moon Mother’s energy, the demon grabbed hold of your cousin and tried to drag him off. That’s when you showed up.”
Morio nodded. He was about to go check on his cousin when a voice interrupted from the entrance to the living room.
“She saved my life out there.” Hayoto was leaning against the archway. “I was still conscious after that first blow and I saw what it was about to do to me. Your…wife…risked her own life to save me.” He flickered his gaze over to Camille, then to the floor. “I cannot imagine why you would bother, when I was so cruel to you.”
“You’re my husband’s cousin. We place a high value on family, dude. Even if family turns its back on us.” Camille’s tone was stony, but Morio knew just how much it cost her to say that. Her own father had disowned her for a time, and they had only begun to repair the rift when he died in the destruction of Elqaneve.
Morio turned to Hayoto. “Now you see why this woman…these people…are my family. If you still don’t approve, then leave here and never darken our door again. You can report back to my mother than I’m a lost cause. At least I’m lost on the right side.”
Hayoto shook his head. “I won’t be telling her that.” He turned to Camille. “My actions…my words…were inexcusable. I don’t expect you to accept my apology, but please, know that I mean every word of it. I was judgmental where I had no right to be, and I made assumptions I had no right to make. I’d like to call you cousin, if I may?”
Camille stared at his outstretched hand. The look in his eyes said far more than his words, and she placed her hand in his.
“Apology accepted. But you have to promise to stay with us for a couple days and truly get to know us. And you have to buy us ice cream. Lots of ice cream. And coffee. Lots of coffee. That is, if Morio agrees. It’s his decision. He’s the one you wronged the most.”
Laughing, Hayoto nodded. He turned to Morio. “My apology to you…goes beyond words. I am afraid to ask but…are we are still cousins?”
Morio let out a long breath. It would be an uphill battle with his parents, but with Hayoto’s help, there might be hope. And hope…hope was their mainstay right now.
“Cousins…yes. Family. Now sit down. That blow to the head wasn’t an easy one. Speaking of ice cream, if Menolly’s still on the way, can somebody call her and ask her to pick some up? Nothing’s too good for my wife.”
Morio glanced around the room. The journey from Japan to the living room in Belles-Faire had a been a long and winding one, but he realized that he was truly home. This house, these people, they were his life and his family. And family was what mattered the most.
If you enjoyed this book, know that the most recent Otherworld book—MOON SHIMMERS—was just released. The next Otherworld book—HARVEST SONG—will be out May 2018.
Meanwhile, how about getting acquainted with my new characters—the wild and magical residents of Bedlam in my Bewitching Bedlam Series, about fun-loving witch Maddy Gallowglass, her smoking-hot vampire lover, and their crazed cjinn Bubba (part djinn, all cat). Read BLOOD MUSIC, the prequel, and BEWITCHING BEDLAM—the first in the series, while waiting for MAUDLIN’S MAYHEM to come out.
Or, if you prefer a grittier series, try my post-apocalyptic paranormal romance—the Fury Unbound Series. The first two books—FURY RISING and FURY’S MAGIC—are out, and the third will be out in June 2017.
You can also read my entire Chintz ‘n China paranormal mystery series, including HOLIDAY SPIRITS, the holiday novella I wrote to wrap it up.
For all of my work, see the Bibliography at the end of this book, or check out my website at Galenorn.com and be sure and sign up for my newsletter to receive news about all my new releases.
Upcoming releases
June 2017: Fury Awakened (Fury Unbound—Book 3)
July 2017: Maudlin’s Mayhem (Bewitching Bedlam—Book 2)
August 2017: Fury Calling (Fury Unbound—Book 4)
October 2017: Siren Song (Bewitching Bedlam—Book 4)
October 2017: Taming the Shifter (Anthology)
November 2017: Fury’s Mantle (Fury Unbound—Book 5)
December 2017: Silent Night (Otherworld Holiday Novella)
Cast of Major Characters
The D’Artigo Family:
Arial Lianan te Maria: Delilah’s twin who died at birth. Half-Fae, half-human.
Camille Sepharial te Maria, aka Camille D’Artigo: The oldest sister; a Moon Witch and Priestess. Half-Fae, half-human.
Daniel George Fredericks: The D’Artigo sisters’ half cousin; FBH.
Delilah Maria te Maria, aka Delilah D’Artigo: The middle sister; a werecat.
Hester Lou Fredericks: The D’Artigo sisters’ half cousin; FBH.
Maria D’Artigo: The D’Artigo Sisters’ mother. Human. Deceased.
Menolly Rosabelle te Maria, aka Menolly D’Artigo: The youngest sister; a vampire and jian-tu: extraordinary acrobat. Half-Fae, half-human.
Sephreh ob Tanu: The D’Artigo Sisters’ father. Full Fae. Deceased.
Shamas ob Olanda: The D’Artigo girls’ cousin. Full Fae. Deceased.
The D’Artigo Sisters’ Lovers & Close Friends:
Astrid (Johnson): Chase and Sharah’s baby daughter.
Bruce O’Shea: Iris’s husband. Leprechaun.
Carter: Leader of the Demonica Vacana Society, a group that watches and records the interactions of Demonkin and human through the ages. Carter is half demon and half Titan—his father was Hyperion, one of the Greek Titans.
Chase Garden Johnson: Detective, director of the Faerie-Human Crime Scene Investigation (FH-CSI) team. Human who has taken the Nectar of Life, which extends his life span beyond any ordinary mortal and has opened up his psychic abilities.
Chrysandra: Waitress at the Wayfarer Bar & Grill. Human. Deceased.
Derrick Means: Bartender at the Wayfarer Bar & Grill. Werebadger.
Erin Mathews: Former president of the Faerie Watchers Club and former owner of the Scarlet Harlot Boutiqu
e. Turned into a vampire by Menolly, her sire, moments before her death. Human.
Greta: Leader of the Death Maidens; Delilah’s tutor.
Iris (Kuusi) O’Shea: Friend and companion of the girls. Priestess of Undutar. Talon-haltija (Finnish house sprite).
Lindsey Katharine Cartridge: Director of the Green Goddess Women’s Shelter. Pagan and witch. Human.
Maria O’Shea: Iris and Bruce’s baby daughter.
Marion Vespa: Coyote shifter; owner of the Supe-Urban Café.
Morio Kuroyama: One of Camille’s lovers and husbands. Essentially the grandson of Grandmother Coyote. Youkai-kitsune (roughly translated: Japanese fox demon).
Nerissa Shale: Menolly’s wife. Worked for DSHS. Now working for Chase Johnson as a victims-rights counselor for the FH-CSI. Werepuma and member of the Rainier Puma Pride.
Roman: Ancient vampire; son of Blood Wyne, Queen of the Crimson Veil. Menolly’s official consort in the Vampire Nation and her new sire.
Queen Asteria: The former Elfin Queen. Deceased.
Queen Sharah: Was an elfin medic, now the new Elfin Queen; Chase’s girlfriend.
Rozurial, aka Roz: Mercenary. Menolly’s secondary lover. Incubus who used to be Fae before Zeus and Hera destroyed his marriage.
Shade: Delilah’s fiancé. Part Stradolan, part black (shadow) dragon.
Siobhan Morgan: One of the girls’ friends. Selkie (wereseal); member of the Puget Sound Harbor Seal Pod.
Smoky: One of Camille’s lovers and husbands. Half-white, half-silver dragon.
Tanne Baum: One of the Black Forest Woodland Fae. A member of the Hunter’s Glen Clan.
Tavah: Guardian of the portal at the Wayfarer Bar & Grill. Vampire (full Fae).
Tim Winthrop, aka Cleo Blanco: Computer student/genius, female impersonator. FBH. Now owns the Scarlet Harlot.
Trillian: Mercenary. Camille’s alpha lover and one of her three husbands. Svartan (one of the Charming Fae).
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