by Kaye Draper
I gaped at him. This was…I didn't even have words.
He gave me a shy smile. "Do you think this will satisfy my debt to him?"
I snorted. "I don't know what it is with you demons and your deals and bargains. But…Godsdamn, Orion. All this for some ED muffins? Do you even realize how much this will mean to him?"
He smiled then, a full, happy expression I hardly ever saw on him. "I had hoped he would be pleased."
He stood, scooping up his briefcase. "I will let Mr. White know you are pleased with your deal with him as well?"
I frowned at him as I shook my head. I didn't get it. It was like there was some weird, awkward subtext here that I was missing. "The trade center thingy? It's as much of an overpayment as your gift to Con."
He nodded. "He will be pleased. Thank you, Miss Lionheart."
I watched the incubus leave with a growing headache. What the hell was going on with those two?
And why the fuck did I care? I had a potential vampire problem to deal with.
I pulled my keyboard closer and opened my email. Nothing from Kai. I supposed that was to be expected. I mean, after all, she was probably out delving the depths of the ocean for her fellow kraken. It wasn't like stopping by dry land just to email her paranoid girlfriend was a high priority.
Still, I didn't like it. I didn't like her being so far away. I didn't like her interacting with the sirens. I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them. Though…thinking of flinging the haughty bitches around did put a smile on my face. I took a deep breath and told myself to stop being such an uptight alpha lion.
Con had left me some notes about the vampire bat thing, and I skimmed them. According to Oswald at the police station, the animal deaths had started to taper off. A few farmers were reporting seeing odd things or having livestock that seemed to be weak or anemic, but it was dwindling.
Which was good, right? Maybe the vampire and his legion of batty, blood-gathering minions had just passed through and they were moving away.
Or, maybe there was another reason the animals were suddenly faring so well.
I picked up my phone and called my police liaison. "Call me back when you can," I said when I got his voicemail. "I need your clearance to go talk to the hospital and local clinics. I don't think our bat problem is really gone."
And if I was right, we'd need Derek fucking White's help. Again. But I sure as fuck wasn't going to ask until I was sure.
Chapter 6
Oisin and I crossed the bookstore, headed toward the door. A burst of laughter came from Hisashi's occult section, and I glanced over to find Troya snorting at something Hisashi had said, while Con shook his head and pointed out something in a book he was holding. The girl saw me and the fae crossing the room and lifted a hand to wave at Oisin, going all red again.
I rolled my eyes as we shrugged into our coats and left the bookshop. "Uh-oh. Your girlfriend is cheating on you," I told the fae.
He pulled his jacket closer and glanced up at the gray sky. "Isn't it supposed to be spring? What is this hellishness?"
I started walking toward the Rover, which Halstad insisted we all share, since it was White's money that bought the damned thing. I unlocked the car and glanced at Oisin. The tip of his long nose and his high cheekbones were turning red in the nippy air. "What a princess. Spring in Michigan isn't until May. At the earliest."
He groaned and slid into the car. "First my love is unfaithful, now spring refuses to come. I might die of heartache."
I shook my head and started the car as he buckled in. It was weird. He hadn't said a thing about the whole pregnancy thing since I dumped it on him yesterday. And now he was acting like it had never happened.
I headed toward the local hospital as Oisin fiddled with the radio. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "Are we going to talk about—"
"No," he cut me off.
I sighed. "You're an asshole."
He turned up the radio. "Sorry, love, what was that? I can't hear you over the music."
I growled. "Sure, fine. That's not hurtful or anything."
The fae turned his head to look out the window. "It would have been nice had you voiced a desire to have children at all, before just deciding to open up your womb to squatters."
I squeezed the steering wheel so hard it creaked. That arrogant motherfucker. "Oh, how rude of me. Sorry about that. Next time I'll get your permission, Your Majesty, before I put out a vacancy sign on my own fucking body.”
He huffed. "Children, Gesa? Really?"
It was a good thing I had to focus on the road, because I really wanted to strangle him right now. "Children, Oisin. Really. Glad you're so supportive."
He was silent for several minutes, while I fumed. Sure, maybe I had suspected he wouldn't be thrilled. But still, he didn't have to be a complete asshole about it.
"You've met my family," he said finally, all snark gone from his voice. "Do you really think exposing a child to that poison is wise?"
I frowned. "I'm not planning on sending my kids to live with the fae. And besides, your sister isn't so bad. And I'm not about to go resurrecting Cadoc any time soon."
Oisin slammed his hand into the dash, startling me with his sudden fury. "For fuck's sake, Gesa! Stop being so obtuse. That monster's blood runs through my veins, pumps through me with every beat of my damned heart, and you want me to help you raise children?" He scoffed. "What next? What happens when you suddenly decide you'd like a little pointy-eared baby? I won't do it. That bastard's bloodline ends with me! Do you understand?"
I took a deep breath. Wow.
"Oh shut the fuck up, fae," I said, pulling into the parking lot of the local hospital. "Don't be such a drama queen."
Cold emerald eyes met mine, snapping with fury. "You might easily forget all the ways a parent can betray and damage a child. But my memory is long. This is the worst idea you've ever concocted in your tiny bird brain. There's not a single one of your pride who hasn't been damaged by their progenitors."
He got out of the car, slamming the door so hard it rocked. Progenitors. He really was pissed off, if he was pulling out the big words.
I stayed inside the Rover, taking deep, calming breaths. I wasn't going to murder him. I wasn't going to cry. I was a big girl. If he didn't like me having kids, fine. Fuck him. He could leave.
Or the rest of us could. He owned the house, after all. No biggie. I was used to packing up my life and leaving intolerable situations. It was kind of my thing, I guess.
My chest ached, and I rubbed at it impatiently. Gryphons didn’t do heartbreak. For fuck’s sake.
I checked my phone. Still no email from Kai. She was going to be surprised when she came home to find the pride split up and the bookstore empty, all because I didn't make Hisashi wrap his twin sausages.
And because I'd lost my mind when I thought Oisin was gone forever and my body freaked out and thought babies would help.
I got out of the car and joined the fae at the hospital entrance. He felt like a stranger. I could tell he was still seething, even though he was hiding it under his glamour and his emotionless mask.
"I thought we were building something together," I told him softly. "But that's up to you. Give me a bit to find somewhere to go and to tell the others, and we'll be out of your hair, King Silverleaf."
He whirled to glare up at me. "Oh, do shut the fuck up, gryphon. As if I'd cast an idiot like you out on the streets in your condition." He walked through the automatic doors. "Come on. Let's go warp some tiny human brains before you come up with any more of your stupid ideas."
I heaved a sigh and followed him inside, my eyes on the sway of his flaming red braid and the ramrod stiffness of his slender spine. Everything else was out of focus. All I could see was Oisin walking away.
Had to be the hormones. That’s all.
Oswald had greased the wheels, and Oisin's compulsion magic made the hospital staff rush to do our bidding. But it still took for-fucking-ever to find what we needed. I
knew what I was looking for, so it should have been easy. But the human medical record system was a clusterfuck of repetition and checkboxes, and utterly lacking in actual pertinent details.
I hoped that it was taking forever to find the info because it just wasn't there. I hoped that my theory was wrong and the vampire who owned the bats had just moved on, mozied though town to greener pastures, maybe somewhere more populated.
But of course I'm not that fucking lucky.
After three hours of searching—and one coffee break for Oisin because mind control gave him a headache—we had what I'd feared we'd find. We found documentation of a sharp increase in cases of fatigue and general malaise, all attributed to anemia of unspecified origin. The vampire hadn't left. It had just upgraded from livestock to humans.
I groaned and put my head in my hands, elbows thumping on the metal table we'd commandeered in the employee lounge. "Do you think it's even worth checking the records at the clinics and smaller doctor's offices?" I said tiredly.
Oisin sat back, balancing his ugly green plastic chair on its back legs while he levitated a tower of paper clips with his magic. "Really, gryphon?"
I sat up and pulled the papers we'd printed out into a pile, tapping the edges on the table to wrangle them into a more organized stack. "No. You're right. We've pretty much got all the proof we need. I was just hoping things would be simple this time. For once."
He gave me a wry smile, even if the storm in his emerald eyes said he was still stewing over the pregnancy thing. "You know better, darling."
I nodded and stood. Once we were back in the car, I gave Oswald a call. "I was right," I told him, cutting right to the chase. "Which means I can't bring this one in for you."
I glanced at Oisin. "Unless you know something I don't about vampires, fae?"
He carded a hand through his hair, then set to re-braiding it. I smiled a little. It was good to see him falling back into old habits. He'd always fiddled with his hair…before Cadoc shaved it off.
"Fae magic won't work on them,” Oisin said, eyes distant over some memory. Then he came back to the present. "Your best buddy could handle it though."
I heaved a colossal sigh. "You should probably let Derek White know what's going on," I told Oswald. The banshee huffed and blustered on the other end of the phone. He had always hated White's interference with the police department as much as I did.
"Look," I said tiredly. "Do you know what White is?"
That stopped the blustering. "No, I don't. If I did, I'd be shoving his ass right out of our territory. Uppity damned rich boy. Thinks he can just run the whole town. Wait…do you know what he is?" he demanded.
"He's able to handle a vampire problem, is what he is," I said diplomatically. I don't know why I was defending White's identity. I guess it must have been habit. Oisin insisted that sharing a demon's identity was some kind of taboo.
Maybe I should tell the world what he was and see if someone could summon him or send him back to hell or something just to get the asshole out of my hair.
But then…he did always show up right when I needed him most.
Fuck my life.
"Lionheart," Oswald growled at me. "You can't withhold important information from the police--"
I cut him off before he could even get good and wound up. "I can do whatever the fuck I want, Osawald. I don't actually work for you. I help you out. But I can refuse to do it anymore. Whenever I want."
He grumbled. But he wasn't quite pissed off enough to get rid of me. Because then he'd have to handle all the minor pain in the ass supe inconveniences himself. "Fine. But I'm telling him you made the referral. And if I have to deal with his creepy-as-fuck secretary, I'm docking your pay."
I laughed at him. "Poor baby banshee. Why don't you find a nice rooftop and cry it out? Maybe you'll feel better."
He hung up on me.
I turned to Oisin. "Well, that's no longer our problem."
He smiled at me. "For now."
I rolled my eyes and headed off toward home. My job was to hunt down small-time, minor offenders to keep them off the human police radar. Vampires were way out of my league. They were out of Oswald's league too.
Vamps were rare enough and secretive enough that not many people ever encountered one in real life. And magic did funky things around them. They weren’t truly undead, like all the stories said. But their living seemed to have different parameters than the rest of us. I wasn't surprised that Oisin couldn't take one on, even with his advanced age and power. I shuddered. Creepy fuckers.
My phone chimed, distracting me from my thoughts. "Hey," I said to Oisin, fishing my phone out of my pocket and tossing it into his lap. "Check and see if that's from Kai. I haven't heard from her lately."
He sighed. "You know, she is a grown woman. That monster has been around longer than your entire family line, Gesa. You don't have to fuss so much."
I shrugged.
He was silent for a minute and I glanced over to find him frowning at my phone screen. "What's up?" I asked, impatient with all the silence.
He shook his head. "It's from Kai. She says…she says she's found her family and she won't be coming back."
Chapter 7
I was still staring at Oisin in shock when my phone started ringing.
Kai wasn't coming home? What the fuck?
Oisin glanced at my phone and grimaced, holding it out to me. "You'd better answer. You know how fussy your bestie gets if you ignore his calls."
I groaned and snatched my phone from the idiot fae's grasp. "I am not friends with Derek fucking White.
I swiped the answer button angrily and growled into the phone. "What do you want?"
White's smoky, asshole voice purred down the line. "Why Gesa, I'm thrilled to speak with you as well."
I growled again.
He huffed. "I just received a call from the police, Miss Lionheart. It seems someone told them there is a vampire in our fair city."
I wanted to throw my phone, but I resisted the urge. "Yeah, and? Look, dickhead, if we have a vampire problem, that's all you."
He was silent for a beat, then his angry voice rang in my ear. "Of course it's all me. Do you ever utilize the lump of spongy matter between your ears? I was calling to make sure you planned to keep your big cat paws out of this."
I stared out the window, one corner of my lip twitching. I had never heard him react with so much emotion. I wasn't at all upset he was barring me from doing whatever the hell I wanted to do—he'd been telling me what I could and couldn't do forever now. I had learned to just ignore it. But his obvious anger was new.
"Are you…oh my Gods, White, you're pissed off you might have to do actual work, aren't you?"
He sighed heavily into the phone. His voice was muffled when he spoke again, as if he was holding the phone away from himself. "Here, you speak with her. She's being insufferable again, and I have better things to do with my time at present."
I rolled my eyes. What a baby.
"Hello, Gesa," Orion's soft voice came on the phone. "I apologize for my employer. He is…a bit concerned for the welfare of his citizens just now. It tends to make him act like a caveman."
I laughed. "I really hope he's still there with you, so he heard all of that."
Orion sighed. "Unfortunately, no. He left in a huff to go take care of our little trespasser."
I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, impatient with the whole damned conversation. I needed to figure out what was going on with Kai, not chit-chat with a bunch of stupid demons. "Great. I've got to go."
"Gesa." Orion's voice was hurried as he rushed to keep me from hanging up. "The warning was genuine. Please stay out of the vampire's way. While Mr. White has the utmost respect for your abilities, this is too dangerous a matter to risk your pride. Vampires can be unpredictable when cornered."
I took the phone from my ear and looked at it to make sure I was still speaking with Orion Black. "Are you telling me White wants us to stay out of the va
mpire thing because he's worried about our safety?" I snorted. "Did you hit your head? Have you fed recently? Maybe Con used the wrong herbs in that last batch of muffins. I'm really worried about you right now, Orion."
He sighed. "Yes, yes. Blasphemy, I know. Honestly, you two are like a couple of children who can't share a sandbox. Please just focus on Miss Troya. We wouldn't want anything to happen to her on your watch."
I clenched my teeth. "Yeah. Fine. Gotta go."
He chuckled. "Have a pleasant day, Miss Lionheart."
I hung up and turned to Oisin. "What the hell is going on around here? And what do you mean Kai's not coming home? Of course she's coming home."
Pulling up to the curb outside some random coffee shop, I thumbed open my email and read the note from her. I scanned it several times. In typical kraken fashion, it read like she had not a care in the world. Just something along the lines of "oh, nice to hear from you, I'm going to stay here and abandon my mate. Have a great life. Toodles." What the fuck?
"This can't be real," I said, looking to Oisin for confirmation.
He shook his head. "I should hope not." He took my phone from my white-knuckled grip. "Breathe, gryphon. Let's not explode into a rage until we get home and see if Hisashi can tell us anything.”
I forced myself to take a deep breath and not murder anyone. Yet.
My heartbeat was rushing in my ears like a thousand marching feet. "Oisin," I said, my voice rough. "Are you really that upset about the babies? Are you…?” I couldn't even force the words out. But, as usual, he understood. He wrapped his graceful fingers around my hand and squeezed.
"I'm not happy, darling. But I'm not going anywhere. We'll figure that all out, once our whole pride is with us, alright?"